Tell us about your game today...

First topic message reminder :

Congrats Super!

beninho wrote:I know almost everyone is better then me, but I shot 83 and am pretty damn pleased. Would have been better if I hadn't stuck 2 in the pond on 18 and took an 8.

Input on to the online handicap thing and it puts me to 18, I was previously at 20'

Good work - and shooting 83 with a snowman on there pretty much guarantees you'll not be worse than everyone, here or wherever you play.

navyblueshorts wrote:First round since last October and with new (well, new to me) irons and driver in the bag. Not too bad and, unusually for me, driving was a real strong suit.
First round pairs KO and we won 1-up, so a good day .
Even the experimental 'left hand low' putter style I'm determined to trial was going OK. Not sure I'll stick with it, but I guess it just feels weird at the moment. We'll see. Anyone else putt cack-handed?

Jordan Spieth?

Sorry - just being facetious. Guy I play with flits between conventional, cack, pencil and once recently armlock. He's brilliant with all of them for a few holes or up to a round then misses a few, perseveres for a few weeks then convinces himself he needs to change, again.

The odd occasion I have tried it (on the practise green only) I just can't work with it, feels awful. But I haven't ever given it any more than a few putts

Thanks for that.

I had considered a few lessons, but I thought there might be a few obvious things to work on, like stance, grip etc.

My local club does a free 45 minute Swing Assessment, so i've signed up for that.

Seniors Stableford competition off the back tees today. Not as good as Beninho but still a good 39 points. With a blob on one hole. Gross 86 nett 67 Not going to win it but might be in the money and a handicap reduction.

Roller_Coaster wrote:

navyblueshorts wrote:First round since last October and with new (well, new to me) irons and driver in the bag. Not too bad and, unusually for me, driving was a real strong suit.
First round pairs KO and we won 1-up, so a good day .
Even the experimental 'left hand low' putter style I'm determined to trial was going OK. Not sure I'll stick with it, but I guess it just feels weird at the moment. We'll see. Anyone else putt cack-handed?

Jordan Spieth?

Sorry - just being facetious. Guy I play with flits between conventional, cack, pencil and once recently armlock. He's brilliant with all of them for a few holes or up to a round then misses a few, perseveres for a few weeks then convinces himself he needs to change, again.

The odd occasion I have tried it (on the practise green only) I just can't work with it, feels awful. But I haven't ever given it any more than a few putts

Navy I had horrendous problems with long putting last year, I’ve always been pretty decent from under 10 ft but take me beyond 20 feet and it was horrendous and it felt horrendous. Last September I tried a period of left hand low on longer putts (thought process was it couldn’t possibly be worse). I eventually twigged that part of the issue was lining up ok, then I would look at the hole, then the ball, then again, each time I look at the hole the shoulders would open slightly so by the time I went to putt I was too open shouldered for the stroke I was trying to make. Left hand low felt better, in fact it was trying left hand low that helped me identify what I was doing on conventional grip putts (going left low actually helps square up the shoulders.
Anyway that wasn’t the only problem, I went to a putting specialist over the winter, he put me on the Samm putt lab and spotted right away that I had an overactive right forearm as well. Switched to the pencil grip and boom!! Putting more confidently than I have been for years.

A friendly game today, so short putts were given, but effectively went around in nett 66, 4 under par. (Including a 7 and an 8 on two of the par fives, and a 5 on a par 3). Had a run of (gross) par, bogey, par, par, birdie, par, par, par at one stage. Now I have four days away from golf and the tournament featuring the winners and runners up in the last 12 months.

Played yesterday in glorious weather and the course at its best. Went round in nett par. So I’m happy. Course was having the final touches done to it for a pro am today. Pity the teams of three that have paid £400 to play in this weather.

Pretty much on the verge of jacking the game in. Senior Champs on Tuesday, pretty bad but not impossible conditions. Got to the turn in 39, not brilliant but decent and in touch (77 won it in the end) however came back in bloody 50 even allowing for the conditions that was a pure chopfest. No 3 putts but must have had 11/12 2 inch tap ins. 3 reloads off the tee, just awful stuff. Bad round Sat will see me off 8. Considering back in April I was raring to go and had my eyes on 5, it hasn’t gone well. Made a conscious decision not to have any more lessons (as I’d gone from 4.2 to 7 with regular lessons).
Now thinking I should seek another alternative view or just go and do something else that doesn’t frustrate me as much.

Sounds bad JAS. Lessons bedded in fully yet? Maybe it needs more time? The pros have the same fun and games making significant changes.

Had our Club Champs last Sunday - the one good day for weather in the last week or more, which was lucky. No expectations and came 4th (+6 and +1), so pretty pleased given time for practice etc. Second round coulda, shoulda been in red numbers as well. One swing thought - still head (yeah, Mac, I know). Hit the ball like God (well, sort of). If it hadn't been for the snowman on our par 4 3rd (bettered it by 5 shots in the second round) in round one, could have been more interesting. Gotta love those full, mid-iron hosel rockets into deep cabbage haven't you?

navyblueshorts wrote:Sounds bad JAS. Lessons bedded in fully yet? Maybe it needs more time? The pros have the same fun and games making significant changes.

Had our Club Champs last Sunday - the one good day for weather in the last week or more, which was lucky. No expectations and came 4th (+6 and +1), so pretty pleased given time for practice etc. Second round coulda, shoulda been in red numbers as well. One swing thought - still head (yeah, Mac, I know). Hit the ball like God (well, sort of). If it hadn't been for the snowman on our par 4 3rd (bettered it by 5 shots in the second round) in round one, could have been more interesting. Gotta love those full, mid-iron hosel rockets into deep cabbage haven't you?

That was a decent effort Navy, good that you never let the hosel rocket eat away at the mindset. ;-)
We’ve got our club champs Sat, I now look at my comments from after the senior champs and feel like it was way in the past and not last week. Buffered at the weekend and on Tuesday night had 13 holes, the most solid I’ve played for months, birdied 1st then 10 straight pars bogeyed the last 2 but they were “good bogeys”. So back in a better place mentally.
My conundrum for tomorrow is whether to go for more practice or go to an event at a nearby club where Dr Karl Morris is giving a workshop/presentation on the mental side of the game. I’m tempted to do the latter because it’s different. I always go flog practice in the week leading up to club champs and the results never really justify the time involved.

I'd avoid the quack.

McLaren wrote:I'd avoid the quack.

You don’t think learning about the mental side of the game and how you can better manage it is important? Yet you’re one of the first to jump on the “Choke” bandwagon when somebody doesn’t convert a good chance to win?

JAS wrote:

McLaren wrote:I'd avoid the quack.

You don’t think learning about the mental side of the game and how you can better manage it is important? Yet you’re one of the first to jump on the “Choke”  bandwagon when somebody  doesn’t convert a good chance to win?

Go JAS. You can always choose to discount anything he said afterwards.

It's a bit like Mac's post. Valid perspective, tad derisory but probably intended as humour. I'll ignore it (ironically demonstrated by posting about it). I'd avoid avoiding the quack. I'd avoid too much practise in the build up to the big comp.

Jas

Holding it together down the stretch is vital, whether some charlatan spouting pop psychology will help you is highly debatable.

McLaren wrote:Jas

Holding it together down the stretch is vital, whether some charlatan spouting pop psychology will help you is highly debatable.

Mac I’m going to listen to what he has to say on sports psychology not ask him to caddy for me on the back 9.

JAS wrote:

McLaren wrote:Jas

Holding it together down the stretch is vital, whether some charlatan spouting pop psychology will help you is highly debatable.

Mac I’m going to listen to what he has to say on sports psychology not ask him to caddy for me on the back 9.

But, if he was available...

If a faith healer was available after you broke your leg would you use them?

McLaren wrote:If a faith healer was available after you broke your leg would you use them?

Of course I wouldn’t I’m a bloody aetheist Mac. So are you trying to say that the mental side of the game isn’t important and that there is nothing to be gained from striving to learn techniques to keep oneself in a positive frame of mind. This guy has incidentally mind coached 6 major champions. Are you saying they shouldn’t have bothered either?

I thought it was pretty clear I was saying don't bother.

I am also not dismissing the mental side of the game but saying that going to the equivalent of a motivational speaker won't help you.

McLaren wrote:Jas

Holding it together down the stretch is vital, whether some charlatan spouting pop psychology will help you is highly debatable.

Mac, why do you think sports psychology is the work of a charlatan?

Why wouldn't you at least consider the different ways of approaching any issue, whether it's golf, work, life etc? That's probably why you're such a loser in life, because you think you have all the answers and aren't capable of even questioning your way of thinking about things. You don't think that anyone could have any insight that you couldn't think of yourself. That's the hallmark of a complete loser, and frankly it shows.

It's fine to claim that someone like Rotella doesn't work for you, but that doesn't mean it's not a valid form of mind exercise for someone with a bit more imagination.

By the way, what's your handicap again? Thought so. If your mind is so strong, why aren't you any good?
Didn't you also claim that you didn't even earn 30k a year at around 30? Yeah, perhaps you should look at how you think about things in future and consider you might not have all the answers and that someone else might actually have good ideas which you could put to use. Your life and golf game might actually improve from their current dismal state.

McLaren wrote:If a faith healer was available after you broke your leg would you use them?

As a caddy, yes. That was the scenario, was it not, down the stretch/on the back 9?

McLaren wrote:I thought it was pretty clear I was saying don't bother.

I am also not dismissing the mental side of the game but saying that going to the equivalent of a motivational speaker won't help you.

I think you are actually, if you concede that the mental side of the game is important, how would you go about understanding it better by yourself that would be more beneficial than getting a head start from someone who actually knows the subject and has a demonstrable record of successful clients?

Anyone read the (non golfing) book, Black Box Thinking by Matthew Syed? It’s a fascinating read about to learn from previous failures. The author does an excellent job of contrasting the airline industry which has an open culture of learning from mistakes to make things safer with the medical profession which has a culture of denial and cover up. Do you work in the medical profession Mac?

Is there a college of sports psychologists for example? If there was such a professional body I would start by making sure the speaker was a member. Much like you would do for any medical profession.

Essentially I would want to know if sports psychology was a legitimate field of science, with journals and the like.

Otherwise they are no better than Chiropractors and nutritionists.

Do you have any idea how many years of study it takes to become a chiropractor ?

If it's many I feel bad for them but it's not part of science based medicine.

Yep you're right, 4 or 5 years of college studying physiology, microbiology, neurology, radiology, pathology etc, etc. No science there.

Off topic guys. Take your nonsense to the DFS thread please Mac.

On topic. Grr! Giving back a 0.1 today I imagine. Medal round. Lovely weather. Hit the ball great. Putted like an idiot and thought I was already outside buffer after having missed a par putt on last, so flicked at bogey putt, missed, and then realised a 5 would have been in the damned buffer zone. As a colleague of mine would say; a learning opportunity!
Still, driving was extremely good today. Some day, I'll combine it with decent irons and putting. Honest.

I'm right cheesed off with my golf, because I'm not playing.
Was playing well, regularly scoring in the 70's. Hcp down to 9.9 when I collapsed on the golf course back in April. Not played since and don't expect to play in the near future.
Hoping for an August start after returning from the UK.

Double, double, then 7 successive bogeys for the front 9. Back 9 all pars except for a horrendous 9 when I should have played smarter. Nett 2 under par. But it was one of those Medalford comps, so although our team did well, don't think I'll be in the money. But pleased with my game as it's been well off the pace lately.

JAS wrote:Pretty much on the verge of jacking the game in. Senior Champs on Tuesday, pretty bad but not impossible conditions. Got to the turn in 39, not brilliant but decent and in touch (77 won it in the end) however came back in bloody 50 even allowing for the conditions that was a pure chopfest. No 3 putts but must have had 11/12 2 inch tap ins. 3 reloads off the tee, just awful stuff. Bad round Sat will see me off 8. Considering back in April I was raring to go and had my eyes on 5, it hasn’t gone well. Made a conscious decision not to have any more lessons (as I’d gone from 4.2 to 7 with regular lessons).
Now thinking I should seek another alternative view or just go and do something else that doesn’t frustrate me as much.

Goodness me, the above post seems like ages ago, since then I’ve had a small cut in the club champs, another 0.1 and a buffer at home and got the feeling that the good ship JAS is a lot more steady again.

Our playing group had an away weekend just gone and I ended up top of the pile with 39 points around Machynys near Llanelli. Didn’t strike the ball that great but just got up and down from nearly everywhere. Didn’t drop a shot until the 9th. Started the back 9 blob, blob before resuming the steady stuff.
So 3 under handicap on an away course suggests my game is definitely out of the doldrums. Only slight concern is that I don’t feel I’m doing anything different. Certainly feel more confident but I’m just not sure how I’ve managed to turn it around other than sheer bloody minded perseverance.

A round that sums up my golf. 92 on a par 71,  I play off 18. But 7 pars and a birdie, mixed in with a 2 quad bogeys, at least 1 triple and a few doubles, maybe 2 bogeys. Worked out at 35 points.

I can be good I can also be cr@p.
Still nice to be out and done by 10.20!

Only 5 weeks till Scotland!

beninho wrote:A round that sums up my golf. 92 on a par 71,  I play off 18. But 7 pars and a birdie, mixed in with a 2 quad bogeys, at least 1 triple and a few doubles, maybe 2 bogeys. Worked out at 35 points.

I can be good I can also be cr@p.
Still nice to be out and done by 10.20!

Only 5 weeks till Scotland!

So you can play a quick round, but you don't believe me when I do?

depends what time he started

Another decent weekend, 2 rounds and 2 small cuts so definitely heading in the right direction now.

Saturday was going really solid until an out of the blue big hook left off the 9th tee, repeated by the provisional so going 5 off the tee could feel the round had gone pear shaped, managed to find the first provisional, chop out the cabbage, iron on and single putt for a double bogey 6. Next 3 holes involved green side bunkers, a hole bunker shot and 2 up and downs kept everything on track and finished with a solid 75 net 68 and a nice wee 0.4 cut (CSS actually came down 1)
Sunday off I went full of confidence, with playing partners asking about the previous days good round and as I walked up the 1st I was regaling stories of the previous days bunker heroics. So when I popped my approach into the green side bunker no trepidation existed. Of course as well s typical in such situations, a small stone lay just under my ball just covered enough for me to not realise it was there and therefore zap my bunker shot a good 10 yards further than intended and over the back...double bogey, green side bunker again at the 2nd and this time left it in...grr!! So double double start and admittedly a month ago so such a start would have steered the scorecard in the general direction of 90+ and voices telling me to jack it in. It’s a good illustration of the change in mindset that by the 15th I was 3 over gross but in bunker trouble again, this time in a footprint!! Triple bogey but followed up with a par par par finish for 77 net 70 so should get another -0.2, scores looked similar to the Sat so I suspect CSS will be 70 but the triple will get modified down to a double for HCP calculation. So all in all a good weekend and on balance a good reminder to stay away from sand!!

Jas

It will get reduced to a nett double for handicap. So check the stroke index of that hole.

McLaren wrote:Jas

It will get reduced to a nett double for handicap. So check the stroke index of that hole.

Yep I know that, it’s stroke 11, what I was less sure of was what the CSS would be and yes it did come down 1 to 70. Clearly a corner has now been turned (3 cuts and 2 buffers in the last 6 rounds). On the face of it that’s good and I’m pleased with the progress, however, I STILL have too many calamity holes. I’m basically playing scratch golf for 15/16 holes but somewhere buried in there I’ll add 2-3 horror holes.

Jas

Everyone claims they play scratch apart from one or two holes. Fact is you are not making enough birdies to cover the risk of a double bogey. You will never get really a really low handicap without being able to mitigate a double or a few dodgy holes.

McLaren wrote:Jas

Everyone claims they play scratch apart from one or two holes. Fact is you are not making enough birdies to cover the risk of a double bogey. You will never get really a really low handicap without being able to mitigate a double or a few dodgy holes.

Yep and that’s exactly why I’ve been 7 for over a year, I feel that 6 is honestly about my level, so struggling I may go up to 7 (so I’ve had a sustained struggle) a decent purple patch can get me to 5. I like 5 as a target as it opens up a lot more scratch opens on good courses. 7 is like...for goodness sake man go sort yourself out!!

I'm a 20 handicap on my golf society and had been struggling off the tee with my Taylormade Superfast burner driver. It had a shaft length of 46.5 inches and was so inconsistent. Quite often I'd hit a duff off the butt of the club or if I did hit the sweet spot i'd slice it way right with hardly any distance. My scoring would be roughly 27-28 points.

I decided to blame the driver for my golfing pitfalls and bought the Callaway Rogue Driver for £349. I never thought a single club could make such a difference. I was bombing the ball 260 yards down the centre, I even made a par 5 in 2 (despite 4 putting) Despite poor iron striking I was still able to play to handicap of 36 stableford points shooting a 91.

Can you believe our handicap secretary now wants to cut me

Harry

How the fck did you hit it off the butt of the club?

McLaren wrote:Harry

How the fck did you hit it off the butt of the club?  

apologies i meant heel that would be really special wouldn't it

harry

260 is massive for a club golfer, your handicap will plummet if that is the quality of your ball striking.

260 may have been wind assisted but definitely between 240 and 260.

I need to improve my Iron play though because I don't strike them too well. I hit a 5 iron roughly 160 and a 9 iron about 110. 6-8 can be anything in between.

It would be nice to get down to 14-15 by the end of the year.

McLaren wrote:harry

260 is massive for a club golfer, your handicap will plummet if that is the quality of your ball striking.

Rubbish Mac. There's tons of players who can hit it that far, and not necessarily all that good either.


Also, we don't know if that is carry or where the ball ends up, I presume it is full distance.

If you can swing at 100mph (which isn't that hard), with the right launch and attack angle, you're going to hit 260 (full distance) drives all day long.

However, if it is CARRYING the ball 260, then you have a point. That's a much rarer thing for club golfers, but not unheard of.

One thing I would also caveat is the weather conditions on the day. Is the course dry? Is it downhill/downwind? How warm is it? Is it an elevated tee? How short is the fairway? How firm is it? I'm sure most of us have driven over 300 when the conditions are right, however I'm not one of those people who claims they can carry it 260. My launch monitor sessions show I average about 245 carry, which is not long, but not short.

Super

I obviously don't have launch monitor data but it feels like most of the people I play with carry their driver about 220.

The better players are probably averaging over 240 like you but still think 260 would be the numbers of a longer hitter. Assuming 260 is 245-255 carry then a bit of roll.

And by the way I am note sure what I carry, just know I tend to be 20-30 yards up on a typical club player so probably in your 245 range.

Morning,

Thought i'd come back here. Having played a lot recently i'm starting to see improvements in my game. Played 2 weeks ago and hit 115 (Marlborough), which for me was pretty poor even by my standards. Been struggling with my driver, so i've been taking my 3 iron off the tee for the most part (obviously not on a short Par 3) and it's working for me, so much so i'm contemplating getting a driving iron whilst I work out the kinks with my Driver.

This weekend played West Berkshire; a lovely course actually, one of the best i've played recently, if anyone is based that way i thoroughly recommend it. Anyway, albeit i had some serious luck getting out of a few tree based lies, i shot 104. Had it not been for 2 stupid 8's (bunker issues) I would've shot sub 100 for the first time in years.

Keep enjoying, Beer.

Statements that work with or without commas:

1 - that one.

Cheers, Roller.

Swung the club round Royal Norwich for the first time in 2 years, on Tuesday (yesterday). Went round in a total of 128, played the par 3's nicely (got a 3 on the par 3 11th with a nice up and down from the bunker) and also putted very well. However, I struggled on the par 5's, the driver didn't work and neither did the 3 wood - anybody got any tips for hitting those clubs better?

Either way massively enjoyed it, and hoping to get out there more often with Weston Park opening up its new course in the Autumn.