Golf Experiment

My handicap is continuing to drop as we come to the end of July and I am now sitting at a solid 5.

My ball striking is as good or better than it has ever been and I am plenty long throughout the bag.

At this point I believe the only thing coming between me and my goal of a 2 handicap for the season is putting!

I recently shot 79 with 6 three putts followed by 73 that still included a couple of three putts and at least a half a dozen birdie putts missed from inside of 15 feet (half of those inside six feet). The only birdie putt I made on my one-under back nine was a kick in 1 footer after I stiffed a wedge on a long par 4.

So… I intend to find a significant amount of time over the next couple of weeks to work exclusively on my putting. I have worked on it throughout the season somewhat randomly but not with a specific goal, game plan or practice routine in place.  

I have done some research on putting statistics related to handicap level and the consensus seems to be that as a five handicap my putts should be no more than 32-34 putts per round. I have tracked my putts on a casual basis and believe my putting average at the moment would be 36-38. In addition to a rigorous practice routine for putting I will now track my putting statistics more closely in order to monitor my improvement and the subsequent impact on my handicap.

I am considering using a software program to begin tracking not only my putting statistics but also other key statistics such as fairways, greens, up and downs, and bunker play percentage. I will provide an update on stats programs and my personal results over the next couple of weeks.

Today’s tee time is 3:45 and showers are in the forecast… maybe I’ll putt better on wet greens?!

Be well, play well.

GE

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Well we are halfway through the golf season and I am playing off a six handicap. This is four strokes short of my goal of 2 by seasons end.

I suspect I will be able to get under five for the year but 2 is looking somewhat unlikely. I may be able to get close if I can clean up my putting which has been very inconsistent, ranging from okay to poor.

My putt count is often in the high 30’s and sometime goes to 40+ this is obviously unacceptable and needs to be an area I focus on until my putt counts start coming in consistently in the low 30’s.

On the positive side I have been able to play alot of golf this season and my ball striking is fairly consistent. I feel more at home on the golf course than I have for a very long time.

I’ll keep you posted on my putting progress and fill you in on the results of our club championship which is taking place this weekend.

It is a beautiful Sunday morning. Get out…play well.

GE.

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As of December 28th I am 45 years old.

I’m trying to keep the tears off my keyboard.

Not really, I feel great and I am hugely optimistic about the coming year. I expect to have several breakthroughs this year in my personal, business, and of course, golf life.

I have elevated my strength training and nutrition program to the next level and will be adding a golf specific flexibility program over the next few weeks. Flexibility is a weak point for me that I need to address and prioritize before the season starts. On a scale of 1-10 my strength would be around 8. On a scale of 1 – 10 my flexibility would be around 2. Tight hamstrings? I have to warm up for 10 minutes just to touch my knees. Not good. I will be investigating a few flexibility/stretching programs and keep you posted on my progress.

For anyone out there interested in increasing their strength I am in a better position to give advice in this area. I have a very simple strength training strategy…SQUAT. No, this is not an acronym for a complex training program. It simply means put a heavy weight on your shoulders and go up and down. If you are physically able to do this (with good form) this should be the heart and sole of your training program. If you get your form down and work hard you can (and will) make amazing improvements in your ‘overall’ body strength including your core. I do train my entire body but if I could do only one exercise it would be the squat. Nothing fancy here, have I made myself clear? SQUAT.

Anyone who may have advice when it comes to strength, cardio, or flexibility training as it relates to golf please weigh in!

Inflexibly yours,

Golf Experiment

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Well our golf season has been over for a couple of months and we now have a good foot of snow on the ground.

The season was fun and frustrating!

I finished the season with a handicap of 7, four strokes short of my goal. I am somewhat disappointed with the results but I do realize that a 3 handicap was a very aggressive goal. My goal for next season is to be a 2. I think going from 7 to 2 is still aggressive while still being ‘reasonably’ realistic. Time will tell.

Although the season was frustrating to a degree I did make significant improvements in my technique and improved my short game dramatically. This gives me hope for next season!

I am on track with my off-season fitness program and I am gaining strength and flexibility. When the weather breaks I intend to set up an off-season program with my swing coach that will continue to improve my technique and more importantly allow me to practice and groove my swing before the courses open this spring.

I turn 45 in 6 days…the clock is ticking.

Have a great Christmas and a Happy Golf Year!

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Well we are over halfway through June and the rain has just not let up this month. It must have rained 25 out of the last 30 days. The temperatures have been very cool and the courses have been a mess. There, now you have my excuse for not posting over the last month! I just haven’t had the heart or the motivation during this spell of crooked weather. The long range forecast looks much better though and I expect to get out several times over the next couple of weeks.

I’m struggling a bit with my game on the course (when I have been able to play) and on the range. I have always found the golf swing to be elusive. Here one day, gone the next but I have put in enough practice time this year that I thought I would have a more consistent action grooved by now. I’m playing off an 11 and right now I’m not sure I’ll get under 10 by season’s end let alone down to a 3!

Golf is a funny game though, you never know when you will have a breakthrough, you just have to keep going. I read an article that said your handicap doesn’t come down one stroke at a time. It comes down in plateaus. You will break through from ten to single digits and stay there for a while. Then you will drop to a five perhaps for several months (years even) and then down to scratch. That is of course if you are practicing, playing and have considerable talent for the game. I can check the first two off my list, the third remains somewhat uncertain.

Until next time you can rest assured I will be here, waiting for a breakthrough.

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Well it has been almost a month since my last post!

The low-lights of the last four weeks include snow, temporary greens, and a horrible short game (as usual) to start the year. The snow has probably cut a full month off our already short Alberta golf season.

The highlights include a last minute trip to Radium (B.C.) to escape the snow for two very nice rounds of golf. An early season 82 (unusual) in which I hit the ball very solidly and only my poor short game kept me from shooting in the mid to high 70’s and, last but not least, getting my custom fit Ping G10’s.

I am now officially a Ping guy. The G10’s were the first clubs I hit. I subsequently hit everything you could imagine and simply could not find anything I liked better. They are very forgiving while providing reasonable feedback on mishits and you can still shape the ball if you have to (not my forte this early in the season or ever for that matter).

My bag is Ping G10’s top to bottom with the exception of two Cleveland CG14 wedges (very nice) in 56 and 60 degrees. I went with driver, 3 metal, 2 & 3 hybrids and 4 – PW. I am going to add a gap wedge and drop one of the hybrids depending on the course I am playing. Big hole in my bag between the PW and my SW right now.

The G10 driver is a bomb. On the launch monitor I carried several over 290 and a couple just over 300 (yes ‘carried’). Due to my inconsistent contact (smash factor) my ball speed ranged from 170-190mph. I hit this driver 20 yards longer than anything else including the hot new Cobras. I love this driver, straight and long and extremely forgiving but if you make a bad enough swing you can hit a snap hook ( I know).

If I was single…I would buy it a ring.

The hybrids and irons are also long and straight with a nice high ball flight. I haven’t had a chance to check my distance through actual on course play but I will be playing an evening round tonight and will report back here shortly.

The final piece to the puzzle is my putter, a Ping Anser (Redwood version). This is truly a beautiful putter. I just love the look, feel and balance of this club. I make every effort to make a pretty stroke in its presence so as not to embarrass myself!

If you are considering new equipment, do yourself a favor and check out the G10’s.

My tee time is at 5:20pm, I should make 18 by sunset. The quest to get my index down to a 3.0 before season’s end is on! I’ll let ya know how it goes. Quit laughing.

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No…I’m not speaking of the the ‘average’ anything! I’m speaking of what is between me and playing golf this weekend. Six inches of snow.

Before this most recent challenge to getting our golf season started here in Calgary I actually managed to play 27 holes, albeit on shortened holes and temporary greens.

My first 9 holes of the year came in at 43. This is quite a bit better than I usually start of the season. I am a notoriously slow starter so I am hopeful that some of the instruction and practice I put in this winter may actually pay-off.

I followed this with 18 holes a couple of days later with a score of 83. Again, not bad for this time of the year. Time will tell if this early season potential holds up as these ‘unofficial’ scores were carded under circumstances that do not accurately reflect the skill required to play the game under ‘normal’ conditions.

Keep your fingers crossed for me on two counts. Better weather and better golf.

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Although today’s instruction went reasonably well, I still have a long way to go on mastering the fundamentals of the golf swing.

Video analysis has shown a significant improvement in my posture, downswing and follow-through and my ball striking has come a long way since first making my swing changes. My posture is still not coming as naturally as I would like, I need to build my grip and posture into my pre-shot routine so I can forget about them and swing the club.

With the recent improvements in my swing my coach now has me working on my take-away and back-swing. I am still dragging the club way inside and making a slight over the top action to get the club back on plane. The ‘new’ take-away feels radically different than what I am used but it is definitely putting me in better positions on the way back. If I can groove this over the next few weeks I might be able to take it to the course with decent results.

Prior to my lesson I made the mistake of hitting the new g10 irons and woods at the Ping demo booth. All I can say is WOW…I hit them very well and they felt great. I’m playing with 10 year old Titliest DCI’s and I am extremely anxious to get new gear. I will be purchasing new equipment within the next 6 weeks and will hit several clubs in that time period but man those Ping’s felt good. I will be getting custom fit as well so we will see how much (or how little) this impacts my game.

I’ll keep you posted on my club testing and the fitting process over the next few weeks.

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It has taken me a while but I am now much more comfortable with the changes in my golf swing.

To date we have worked on four major areas:

1. Grip

2. Posture

3. Path

4. Follow-through

Swing path has been the most difficult to correct as I had been playing with an over the top move for quite sometime. I have pretty much grooved an inside out approach to the ball over the last couple of weeks and I am now starting to draw (or hook) the ball with reasonable consistency.

My ball striking has improved significantly since first making the changes to my swing. It is probably on par (pun intended) with how I was hitting the ball before the swing changes. The good news is that this may be evidence that I am indeed on the path to improvement. Hitting balls on the range has actually been somewhat enjoyable my last couple of times out. 

I suspect my first round of golf may be played before the month is up and I am eager to see  how my winter program will translate to the course. I suspect my early scores will be off the charts but hope to have my game ‘in shape’ much earlier than usual. The goal of a reasonably low (5 or less) single digit handicap for the season remains unchanged.

 I know…GOOD LUCK!

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The snow is gone….or going anyway.

Well lesson #4 is under my belt and I do believe I’m making some (albeit minor) progress with my golf swing.

My posture and grip are much improved and are now coming to me (after many repetitions) reasonably naturally. My follow through is improving although it still feels somewhat forced. These are all good signs…unfortunately…we have a fairly major problem. I can’t hit the ball.

The video analysis shows significant improvements in terms of the ‘look’ of my swing but my contact is horribly inconsistent. Check that, it is consistent, consistently horrible. My coach tells me this is normal and is attributable to the tension created by the recent changes to my swing. With time he informs me this will pass. Lets hope so, the courses could open in less than two months!

I am looking to step up my level of golf specific fitness over the next couple of weeks and will keep you posted on how that develops. I have never really gone into a season ‘golf ready’ and the first month is usually spent just getting my legs and unused swing muscles in shape rather than focusing on lowering my score. This year will be different. Honest.

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