Joey's Golf Bag

This afternoon after work, I had a lesson with Mike Murray at Golf Galaxy. I told him about my good driving the last time I played last Friday, and also how bad my irons had been. My main issue on the course was inconsistent contact with the ball. Sometimes I hit the ball fat, sometimes thin. I just could never make solid contact on the ball. He had me hit a few balls with the pitching wedge so he could see what was happening. The first thing he noticed was I didn’t have enough shoulder tilt. We fixed that easily, I just setup the same way I do when I hit the driver, plus a little more forward lean of the club. This change helped immediately with making better contact on the ball.

Next, we noticed on the video that my hips were nearly square to the line at impact. That looks like my main issue right now. We worked on getting my left hip to turn properly so that my hips are turned toward the target at impact. This change was a little hard to get used to, but certainly necessary. He wants me to initiate the downswing by turning my hips to the left. I thought I was doing that, but it was clear on the video that I wasn’t. He gave me a drill to help with that. I hit a few balls trying to get the hip turned properly, and on the occasion when the club hit the ball, I made powerful contact on the ball.

Next week, we’re going to work on my position at the top. The clubhead is quite a bit open at the top, so that’s what we’ll work on next week, and also check that my hips are turning properly.

I’m making progress, more slowly than I’d like, but I’ve had little time to practice due to work schedule and bad weather.

Yesterday, I took the afternoon off to go play at Grapevine Golf Club with John. The day was sunny, warm and blustery. We went off at 12:30PM on Bluebonnet and finished up on Mockingbird about 4 hours later. I didn’t keep the scorecard, but it wasn’t pretty, other than my driver was good all day. It felt so good, in fact, I used it on every par-4 and par-5 hole, even on my nemesis holes like #6 on Mockingbird and #2 on Bluebonnet. I hit 10 fairways, and all the ones I missed I still had playable lies. And, for only the third time ever, I had no penalties.

No penalties didn’t help, because the rest of my game this day was just awful. I did have a couple of good second shots on par-5 holes, but my iron play was just atrocious. I had only one green-in-regulation (a par-3 hole), my sand play was a complete and total disaster, and I had three 3-putts and only got up-and-down 3 times. I did make a couple of long putts, but I also missed two putts within 3 ft.

But at least I can hit the driver! My confidence with the driver was very high, and I found myself with shorter irons into the green than ever before. Not that having short irons helped, as I didn’t hit a good iron shot from the fairway all day, typically coming up well short, either hitting it very thin or very fat.

On the other hand, my lessons are going well. I had my third lesson with Mike Murray on Thursday, and although I’m making progress (evidence: my stellar driving yesterday), I still have much work to do to get rid of 5 years of bad swings. We’re working mostly on getting into proper position at the top of the backswing, and then making sure the clubhead is on the right path. This is mostly working with the driver / fairway woods / hybrid, and mostly not with the irons. I also need to be more aggressive with my hip turn on the downswing. I’ve definitely found the right instructor.

This week, I’m concentrating on short game and putting for the tournament next weekend at Grapevine Golf Club.

On Monday afternoon this week, the weather finally got out of the freeze zone and I was able to hit a bucket of balls before the sun went down at Golden Bear. I didn’t hit the ball very well, too many swing thoughts from my lesson the previous week. Most of the balls that were well struck were going dead right 15 to 30 degrees right of the target. I had problems with tempo as well, due mostly to lack of practice because of the very cold weather.

Yesterday afternoon, I went to Hank Haney Golf Ranch to hit some balls. The weather was pleasantly warm and sunny, but there was still ice on the pond, see photo.

Well, I managed to make the short irons go straight, more or less, but the long clubs were all going right. The driver, well, let’s not talk about the driver, other than to say, if players were on the 2nd green, they’d be in danger.

Today, I went to a golf lesson with Mike Murray at Golf Galaxy, and what an outstanding lesson it was. While my swing had marginally improved from the last lesson (grip was good, posture better, much less sway on the downswing), my swing path still needed work. My main issue was that I wasn’t in a good position at the top of the backswing, and that’s where we spent the bulk of the time. First, he put a Swingyde on my 7-iron and that device, once I made a few swings, improved both my swing path and my release. Next, he focused on getting me into a good position at the top of my backswing. Once he got me to move into the right position, the ball started going straight and my clubhead speed was really improved.

Wow, just wow.

OK, I know it will take weeks or months to get this improved swing (a pretty classic Jim Hardy one-plane swing) grooved, but the improvement on the video was amazing.

Much work to do, but I’m feeling more optimistic than I’ve felt in the two years since I first broke 90.

On Thursday after work, I had my first golf lesson with Mike Murray at Golf Galaxy in Lewisville. In addition to the change we made in my introductory lesson (getting my left hand grip more in my fingers), we worked on these things.

• Posture. He wanted better posture, as I had a little too much knee bend and not enough bend at the hips (in other words, stick my butt out more).
• Swaying. While I was not swaying on the backswing, there was significant swaying toward the left during the downswing, that would cause inconsistent contact on the ball, because the center of the swing was not always in the same spot. He had me work on turning my left side around and posting hard on my left leg.
• Swing path. As I suspected, my swing path was over the top. He had me change my swing path so that it was too much inside, knowing that I would naturally tend to move it to inside-to-square-to-inside. I spent much of the lesson hitting the ball right of the target, but was able to make the ball more down the target line as the lesson progressed.
• Backswing angle. My backswing is a little flatter than he wants, but not excessively so. I’m working on getting it slightly higher on the backswing to get it more on plane. He says I have a classic Jim Hardy type one-plane swing.

A very good lesson. I was able, within a few swings, to significantly improve my release angle with much less flip of the wrists at impact. I have a lot of work to do, but it was amazing to see on the video the improvement from one lesson. I know I’ll get worse before I get better, but I’m fine with that.

I’ve really needed to get back in front of a golf instructor, and I’ve finally found one. I went over to Golf Galaxy in Lewisville today after work and met with Mike Murray, who is the PGA Professional for that store. He gave me a mini-lesson while I was there. He had me hit a couple of balls on video. He corrected my posture and tweaked my grip slightly for my left hand. He also gave a drill to reduce my tendency to flip my wrists. I had some immediate improvement in striking the ball.

I’ve signed up for 5 lessons, and I’ll do them weekly starting this week. I’m really looking forward to the lessons.

Yesterday, John and I played 18 at Coyote Ridge on cool, but sunny morning. There was just a little 1-club breeze most of the day, from the south. We went off just after 11AM on a largely empty golf course and finished in 3-1/2 hours. We never had to wait until we caught up with a foursome on the 15th hole. And that group was moving fast enough that we really only had to wait a couple of minutes on 2 holes. I just love fast golf.

My score:

* Hit green in regulation.

Themes:

• Off the tee. While I didn’t have a great driving day, I did manage to get around the course without a single penalty. I didn’t keep stats (except putting), but I probably hit about 8 fairways. My best drive of the day was a wind-aided drive of nearly 300 yards on the par-5 4th hole, where I had 175 yards remaining to the pin.
• Approach shots. Not very good, as I hit only two non-par-3 hole in regulation (the par-5 4th hole and the par-4 12th hole). On the other hand, I didn’t have any penalties, so I’m not complaining (much!). Even my approach on the par-5 4th (going from the green in 2) wasn’t great, as I hit the rocks in front of the green and the ball bounced over the green (I did get up-and-down for birdie, though).
• Wedges. I didn’t really have a lot of wedge shots, but the ones I had were pretty stinky, with one exception. I was in the center of the fairway on both #6 and #17 with short wedge shots into the green. I hit the one on #6 pin-high right of the green, and chunked the one on #17, then hit a poor one to follow. My best wedge shot of the day was a lob wedge over a pine tree to less than a foot (nearly went in for eagle) on the par-5 #4 hole, where I tapped in for birdie.
• Chipping. I only got up-and-down twice, so pretty pathetic.
• Sand shots. I hit into 3 greenside bunkers and one fairway bunker. I got out successfully out of two of the three greenside bunkers (failing on #18 to get out on the first try). I got out successfully out of the fairway bunker on #15, but the ball went only a few yards.
• Putting. I did keep putting stats, having two 3-putts and two 1-putt greens, for a total of 36 putts. My speed was off all day. I nearly putted off the green twice.

Well, considering I’ve not practiced but once in the last two weeks, I’m not going to complain too much about a 95 on Coyote Ridge. And I beat John! 😉

For weeks, Tiger has been dragged through the scandal sheet grinder, and will take a break from the tour.

Probably a good idea to take a break.

Tiger Woods to take ‘indefinite’ leave from golf – Tours & News – Golf.com.

Tiger Woods is shifting his focus from winning majors to saving his marriage.

Two weeks after Woods crashed his SUV into a tree outside his Florida home, setting in motion a swift fall that featured reports of rampant extramarital affairs, golf's biggest star delivered a stunning development of his own. He temporarily is walking away from the game that made him the first $1 billion athlete.

“After much soul searching, I have decided to take an indefinite break from professional golf,” Woods said Friday evening on his Web site. “I need to focus my attention on being a better husband, father, and person.”

Michelle finishes 2nd in the Dubai Ladies Masters and manages a B+ in her statistics class after taking the final while in Dubai.

Wie makes charge, finishes second in Omega Dubai Ladies Masters.

Honolulu’s Michelle Wie put on a show and a strong rally to finish second in the Omega Dubai Ladies Masters at the Emirates Golf Club in Dubai.

Wie, who started the day six shots back of leader and eventual winner In Kyung Kim, shot a bogey-free 7-under-par 65 to finish with a 15-under 273.

Kim of South Korea shot a 4-under 68 for a four-round total of 18-under 270 to win by three shots.

On Saturday, I played the Grapevine Golf Association tournament at Grapevine Golf Club. We went off in a shotgun start just after the frost melted around 11AM and finished nearly 5 hours later. We played lift, clean and place, as there were significant wet spots on the course that left mud on the ball. We went off on Pecan #2.

* Hit green in regulation.

Themes:

• Off the tee. I hit only four fairways and had two penalties off the tee (into the water on #9 on Pecan) and lost in the brush to the right on #3 on Pecan). I also hit two of the four par-3 holes in regulation.
• Approach shots. I hit 5 greens-in-regulation, though two were on par-3 holes. I had a penalty on the 2nd shot on #9 on Pecan (ball into a pine tree for an unplayable) and my second shot into #3 on Bluebonnet went long into the woods (hazard). My best shot all day was a 7-iron approach between two trees and over the tree in front of the green on the goofy par-4 fifth hole on Pecan, where I overclubbed a bit and hit the ball 25 ft over the pin (made a difficult downhill putt for birdie, though).
• Wedges. I didn’t have to hit a lot of wedges, other than a few get-out-of-trouble shots.
• Chipping. My chipping was mixed. I got up-and-down 4 times, though not always for par. Mostly, I left chips short.
• Sand shots. I hit into only one fairway bunker, on the short, up-hill par-4 sixth hole of Bluebonnet. I hit a really nice 9-iron from the bunker, into a strong wind, to about 30 ft and two-putted for par.
• Putting. Oh my, how I sucked. Two 4-putts, two 3-putts, 37 total, only 5 one-putt greens. On the other hand, I hit a 25 foot, downhill, left breaking putt for birdie and bombed two other putts from more than 30 ft. But really, now can you three-putt from four feet?

Well, it was ugly, ugly golf. Very cold (I had long underwear, a long sleeve shirt, a hoodie and a rain jacket at the start, though it warmed up enough to ditch the rain jacket) and windy. On the other hand, I managed 1st place net (2nd gross) in D flight, so I’m not complaining to the golf gods.

Much.

Michelle Wie won the Lorena Ochoa Invitational tournament today by two shots over Paula Creamer.

Let the Michelle Era begin!!!

Michelle Wie wins Lorena Ochoa Invitational | Tours & News | Golf.com

The Michelle Wie era has, at long last, begun. After years of injury and controversy, too much hype and money and not enough birdies, Wie won her first pro tournament Sunday afternoon at the LPGA's Lorena Ochoa Invitational in Guadalajara, Mexico. Typical of Wie's highly melodramatic career, the win didn't come easily, as she survived a final round dogfight with a half-dozen of the game's biggest names, ultimately making five straight nerve-jangling pars and then a gorgeous birdie on the final hole to close out a two-stroke victory over Paula Creamer.

Along the way Wie displayed both her awesome talent and enduring starpower, reminding everyone what all the fuss was about in the first place. It was a deeply personal triumph, capping a period of tremendous maturation on and off the golf course.