April 19th 2010 Worked on my swing after the problems in March were noted and the changes are not huge but a major step towards getting close to the correct technque. Long ways to go in adjusting to the new body movement freedom and getting acustomed to it. Feels strange to say the least.
Finished the week off with social rounds on Thursday (18holes) Friday (9) and Saturday (18) for the respective gross scores of 87/29 putts, 47/16putts and 91/34putts. The old putter is back in service and it will not take much longer to get the ‘feel’ and touch on the greens improving. It had better as the 2nd Qualifying round is on this coming weekend 25th April. Even though my last score should have me qualifying (currently sitting 7th out of the 16, 7 strokes off top qualifier and 4 strokes from 2 and 3). I would prefer to have a score closer to my handicap at least to feel comfortable. After last weeks 6 days of playing I have began to get some fitness and form As effective the hitting of balls on the range helps refine and improve technique and consistency, playing on the course is still the final conditioner. Had Sunday off it was an Ambrose comp. and there was not much energy left in my tank to play another 18 holes, having achieved what I wanted the rest was better.
It is another case of back to the future, almost a year since I started playing and the same practise routine that worked well then is still as effective. My technique and consistency has improved having gone from 32 to 21 in handicaps stakes explains that. Dropping the next 5 strokes will be another challenge. A major bonus has been the improved physical fitness and the additional repair of some existing injuries which did cause discomfort during some rounds and make it impossible to play several times as well. The past month has been a time of dedicated physio therapy that is returning better flexibility and movement in the lower back which is pretty much the last area that needs to be tuned up. This will be an ongoing part of my golf regime in 2010 and will eventually make it possible to complete a swing close to the technically correct manner.
The best round on Thursday was assisted with being joined on the last four holes by one of the club pennants team who was out having some practise. We have played several times socially during matchplay preparations. Given he is a single figure (9) golfer I actually beat him in one 18 hole matchplay practise off the stick in 2009. It was not me playing brilliant golf, he had several wayward shots and I came out one shot better with an 85. This time we played the 4 hole off the stick and I beat him 2up. At the time my mind was focussed on breaking 90 with 4 holes to go when we met up and this added component definitely lifted my game. Without doubt you can include me in the category of golfers who believe match play definitely improves my game play. The two things I noticed during those holes compared to the previous 14 was my concentration and preparing to play shots was much better and I putt with a more confident, direct, attack on the hole.
The last 24 hours has delivered a good soaking of rain here and whilst last week was clear and sunny with a little breeze, winter is beginning to effect the course now. The most noticeable difference is the shorter ball flight through the air, you have to put a bit of power into drives to get flight distance. The ball on fairway’s run has been gradually decreasing, fortunately for me the improved technique and using a driver will still get me 210-220 metres off the tee this winter. A big improvement on the 170-180 m I played with last season using the 3 iron off the tee. Thankyou for your time and attention, hit ‘em straight all.
Thankyou for your time and attention, Geoff
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