Footyhead's rd 1 review Carlton V Richmond

Back for another rollercoaster Australian Rules football season the one eyed 100% biased Carlton fan Footyhead.



Thankyou for your time and attention, Geoff

Professional golf coaching is a good thing...

28/3/12 Wednesday. One advantage of having a plan of sorts with golf coaching and the resulting practice is the ability to isolate problems and target them in training. Instead of discovering new faults and fixes for faults through conversations with playing partners, a golfer must find a coach and listen to advice given. Then get to the range or backyard and practice what has been passed on. As with all advice given by other golfers no matter how well meaning it has been intentioned all that has been done is to store it away in my knowledge. What this advice has done is make it possible for me to understand what is being described and taught during coaching. I have always been a astounded to hear golfers critique professional coaches and using advice given by Billy Club-Golfer as the counter point. 

It has been apparent to me over the past three years that there is no problem with receiving coaching from more than one professional. In my instance this has never had any major differences. An effective golf swing, which is the core of anyone's game, is what is required to be established from coaching. What I do now is not perfect, yet it is 90% better than the one I began with. In 2009 my game did not include using Drivers when playing competition as there was no possibility of knowing where the ball would go off the tee. Putting and chipping was equally erratic yet I was practicing and getting better. Dropping 9-10 strokes from the 36 handicap when I began playing that first year.

That was improvement of course, but now I play of 13 having halved the handicap from then. Now playing with all clubs available and working on a consistent game to go the next level towards a single figure handicap. Still play with golfers who when I started were on the same  level as I and are playing off significantly higher handicaps still. The difference is that my planning and coaching has followed a designated path.  

Establishing and maintaining the practice schedule this week has been the focus. Beginning on Monday the short game faults which had been so destructive of late were concentrated on, with chipping and putting drills. Being satisfied with the results on the day is one thing, getting out and playing holes to see if the practice had a lasting effect would be the proving ground.

Added a little extra pressure during the practice rounds played by using the #2 hybrid off the tee on the par4 and 5 holes. This club needs some game time to get accurate and consistent off the fairway and tee block. With winter beginning to loom in coming months using long irons is a preference that has to be rationalized. I will lose a lot of game effectiveness in the winds that howl around the course sticking with irons. In tandem with using the hybrid this put my long to mid iron play into effect for approach shots and going for the green. Which meant that the need to chip onto the green was needed throughout the practice rounds.Still a long way to go in hitting greens in regulation. 

The practice so far this week has delivered improved chipping and there were no problems at all. The decision to extend the use of the 56 degree wedge to 50m in practice was a good choice. Not once did I even come close to playing the stabbing swing with no follow through, which caused so much damage to the weekend rounds. 

Putting always needs work, still messed up a couple of putts that went short or wide of the hole. Given that I do no pre-round warm up before playing that was acceptable. In the main it was all good confident putting with only one that was significantly short. Dropped some good long putts as well as consistent confident putting strokes on 9 out of the 10 holes played.
Thankyou for your time and attention, “Hit ‘em straight all.”

 Geoff

Bordertown Spring Open this weekend...

26/3/12 Monday. Two days of competition golf this weekend again and the result is more improvement. Whilst the coaching and range practise has been very beneficial since January the game time has been the clincher in getting better at the game. Have been getting very close, playing to handicap and in to the zone of breaking it. What is stopping this is poor putting and chipping.

The Kingston round on Saturday returned 35 points. With two holes, that following good drives fell apart after the second shot, both three putt greens as well as too many chips. There was another three putt hole that was the only wipe on the scorecard as well. Scoring 1 point out of these two holes, from the 4 that should have been the result. Then at Beachport on Sunday a three hole run of bladed chip shots resulted in a double bogie, bogie, double bogie and 3 points out of the possible 6 expected were gone. No three putt greens at Beachport although the bouncy greens did result in a couple of putts jumping aside from the hole and missing. As was proved by a playing partner who putted hard at the hole every time and off a 12 handicap scored 43 points, that method is the way to get the ball in the hole.

There were some stroke playing reasons for the poor chipping and putting results, the cause though is what has to be fixed. Lack of confidence is corrupting my short game and improving the mindset is going to take some specific effort. In practice my short game and putting is not excellent but much better than the return in competition rounds. The problem is that accepting my current level of ability and not surprised when the chip or putt played is not the best, I am accepting failure. Looking at my figures in an 18 hole round there is two or three holes being destroyed by the poor short game. Approximately 85% of the holes are fine but the 15% of failure holes are all a result of the same errors.

I will not accept the failures and am working on correcting the faults. A lot of progress has been made in 2012. To sit here and know that the problem areas in my game are identified as chipping and putting. There is not much needed to improve them, hitting through the ball when chipping, and believing in my putting ability. The latter is going to come from more practice as always and continued improvement in competition results. Fairways hit is now at 50 % GIR is still low at 11%. At Kingston, 6 GIR and Beachport, 8 GIR was a significant improvement on the 2 year average percentage. The important statistic is the hole results with 47% bogies, 28% par and 20% double bogies the biggest numbers.

The chipping is going to be rectified with adding to my existing practice routine over 10 and 20 metre shots. This will be setting up on the practice fairway and hitting out to 50m distances with the 56 degree wedge. I feel that working on better accuracy is the simple key to better chipping. The putting does suffer from this failing, too many putts from 10m away from the hole end up with 3 putt results. On top of that is the realisation that with improving GIR I am going to have to keep on getting better accuracy with the mid to longer irons as well.

Talk is not what gets the improvement and today on the range this was put into effect. In the main it was all good, the error percentage was 15% from each series of balls when using the Wedge to 50m. Interesting was that the #8 iron had the same 15% error margin at 110-120m as well as the #6 iron in the 140-150m distance. The error was the same in each instance also, instead of hitting through the ball I play a short swing pulling the club across the ball and slicing to the right. Doing this on the range though in an environment with no pressure gave me the identity and cure for the fault. The putting will get a work out later in the week.

Practise is in preparation is for the two day Spring tournament at Bordertown this weekend. Having played the winter open at Bordertown the past two seasons the coming event is something that I feel will be benefited from the recent two round weekends. Playing both in the one competition again and at a course that is suited to my golfing limitations. Adding the advantage of not getting up to work at 5.30am before a 130km drive to play I should be a little fresher for the second days play. Thankyou for your time and attention, “Hit ‘em straight all”

 Geoff

Would you go for the green or lay up on this par4?

13th Hole at Kingston SE. 

This hole is a par 4, 324m off the back marker, on the day this was shot, played of another tee block taking 20-30m off the distance. The hole info board does not show how sharp the fairway doglegs to the left. I hit 220m consistently and straight off the tee these days and this is one of the holes that has became a shot saver. By cutting the corner it is very possible to hit the green if you have a 250m drive in your regular shot selection.

Even with my 220m drive, on a day like today I actually went 5m too long off the fairway. My fault I was filming and it did not register that we were playing a shorter fairway.
Not my best film work I was trying to play well in a competition round, and a little distracted by the game. As you can see the 150m peg is on the far side of the fairway just before the dogleg. The 100m marker is around the dogleg. The drive shown was shorter than mine but was almost off the fairway going too long and still cut 20-30 m off leaving a second shot of 70m approx. This also barely cut the corner.

No sand bunkers a few deep grass potholes have been created. Again on the left side of the fairway, facing the green and closest to the tee block. 

No matter, the point is would you play the lay up shot to the turn or take the punt and hit over the native bush, cutting the corner and go for the green/fairway?

Thankyou for your time and attention, Geoff

Better concentration assists better scores

23/3/12. Friday. It has been a busy week off and on the golf course for me, fact of life for us golfers who do not play the game for a living. If I did play the game for a job my main sponsors would have to be assorted charities, so I had food to eat and a roof over my head, considering my level of ability. Would probably have the practical experience to write a book on “1000 recipes for two minute noodles” in quick time as a professional golfer.

This week has been one of physical recovery again, no complaints from me in this, another flare up of existing chronic injuries. Sure not having the pain and discomfort would be a great, reality dictates that this is something that can be managed not removed. This was not too bad and a half hour Bowen Therapy treatment soon had me up and moving freely again. Following the heavy training load began in January the physical reaction of discomfort is moderating. Like any good training program once it has been done the benefits are a standard feature of your game. This preseason was significantly more in preparation for working towards being competitive in A Grade competition. First goal for the season is to win my first A Grade Open handicap section. No real potential to do any better than that on my current handicap. The “off the stick” section is the domain of the single figure golfers.

Out practising all week though even before the treatment playing nine hole and eighteen hole rounds, continuing the commitment to getting more game time on top of range practice. The effect of the injuries is most noticeable after treatment, my swing returns to a consistent smooth rythym. My body is so uncomfortable when out of sync that the pyhsical pain undermines my focus and concentration too often. This does have a benefit, I can see it as being a very effective tool in the future. Although it still is a distraction the impact is gradually being over come as I strengthen my resolve. This has always been a driving force in my golfing, ever since beginning to use the game 20 plus years ago as rehabilitation therapy. My experience is nothing compared to other golfers who have far worse disabilities and play at professional and amateur levels.

The past weekend was one of playing two 18 hole competitions. On Saturday travelled to Kingston SE for 18 holes in their stroke round. Started with a 51 strokes and 18 putts on the front nine followed with 40 strokes and 13 putts for the back nine. 91 for a nett 78. Double bogies on the first five holes cracked the front nine apart. Came back well, putting got into the groove. Short game was the hole wrecker in those first 5 holes. The improved short game is very noticeable after having therapy on the injuries. Yesterday I hit 100 balls in chipping practice with no bladed or fat shots. In this round with the restricted body movement chips were short from being hit fat or bladed too often, including iron fairway shots. Frustrating to say the least but as the score shows I got on top of the distraction.

Bugga! Home club Monthly Medal on Sunday and was in the hunt all day. Just ran out of steam on the last 3 holes. Not disappointed more so a little surprised to tell the truth. This was a benefit from playing at Kingston the day before. Was cruising along well enough missed a few birdie putts but was covering all the bogies with pars and keeping the card on track for a playing to par finish. Then on the 16th. a par 3, bladed a 9 iron through the back of the green under trees and ended up with a 6 (with 3 putts). Still did not give up but could not pick up birdie or par finishes on the last two holes. Had nothing left in the tank, the mental effort of the day took everything I had to stop the physical restrictions from affecting the game as it did at Kingston. Yet the experience from the day before was a definite advantage, the only blemishes were two double bogies on the front nine and the triple bogie on the 16th hole.

My score at the finish, a pair of 44’s with 15 putts on the front nine and 16 on the back. Gross 88, nett 75 with 31 putts.Winning score for the day was a nett 72 and 4th place for myself. Following the recent weekends of playing Saturday and Sundays it has been beneficial to me golf form.

The tiredness in the legs and feet and general back stiffness caused the concentration wavering on the greens too often. Yet I do not see that as the problem as opposed to a result of the one. Not fit enough and not enough playing/practice time. It is improvement on recent results as I have stepped up playing since the Southern Ports Tournament. Obviously my game is still a work in progress. Next is a two day Open at Bordertown on the 31st of March and 1st of April, usually play in their October event but going to continue the two day golf weekends while possible. Thankyou for your time and attention. “Hit ‘em straight all”

Geoff

The achievments from tournament...

14/3/12 Wednesday. Got out on the course late yesterday to play a casual 9 holes and put to the test some observations that came from the rounds at Naracoorte. These two rounds were some of the most disciplined that I have played. This was part of the reason for why the result and finish mid field was not disappointing. The poor putting was not a surprise and is behind me as a problem. This aspect of my game is now at the forefront of future practice to deal with it as best I can.

There has always been parts of my game that needed improving and in one case was non existent. Establishing consistent tee shots with the driver has been a work in progress for a long time. That had a lot to do with my pride in the discipline during the Naracoorte competition. The result off the tee was good and on a course that had the obstacles of towering gums alongside the fairways, hitting the fairways was a must. With 5 holes to go on the last day a little voice started to pipe up in my head, “C’mon give the ball a decent crack off the tee, stop holding back!” After so many good shots played over he weekend, I really felt that there was a bit more I could get out of the driver. Felt good physically, the tempo and rythym were on song and my game was struggling due to the bad putting. Belting longer drives was not going to do anything to improve the round, changing the driving technique would take out an established constant from the weekend. I did not change and whilst a little frustrated at not testing the drivers limit, the discipline was a more important win in itself.

Yesterday I gave the driver free reign off the tee, the changes were minimal. Adding a very moderately faster forward swing from a slightly longer backswing with more hip and body in the movement. The latter has not been possible until recently, my body did not have that amount of physical movement available. Improved fitness and training exercises combined with the coaching in January, which established the current golf swing that has given my game the base to improve from. The result was excellent, 230m plus drives, straight and effortless off the tee. To have tried this in the round Sunday would still have been a mistake. In practice though I can begin to plan adding this new aspect to my competition rounds in moderation.

Now to the thing which my game has never had previously. To have this regularly over two days of competition golf to me means this is not a freak occurrence. I have never put noticeable backspin onto the ball until this past weekend. The few times it has happened previously it was ignored as a game influence it was so rare. This weekend though the 9 iron and PW shots to the green after drives were hitting the green and the ball was definitely spinning and holding the green. Most did spin to the right after impact, the rest backwards still with a favouring towards the right after impact. These were not gentle spin but definite rips, then stop.

Again while playing around the course yesterday the consistent drives put me in place to play these irons often enough to see the spin was still there. Have got a modicum of understanding of why it is happening and can now concentrate on developing this into another game feature. Previously one influence on my club selection for green shots was the concern that the ball would go through the green. The appearance of regular back spin now makes it possible to be attacking with the removal of another distraction and addition of the backspin feature.

The enjoyment of the weekends golf has a lot to do with why I travel to play in various club Open Events. Among my playing partners were 3,4,5,13,21 and 26 handicappers, including the tournament winner. The single digit golfers were the ones I watched to see how they played the game, the others are the golfers who play at the same level I do or was until just recently. That I played my best round with the two lowest handicappers in the group, is an example many golfers can relate to. The putting was still a major fail in that round. This is the start of the season and there is another two day open event at Bordertown GolfClub at the end of the month that I would like to play in. In past seasons I have made the trip to play their winter open in October. It is another course that I want to take up the challenge again with it’s native bushland along the fairways. Will have to check the club program to see if it is possible. Thankyou for your time and attention. “Hit ‘em straight all.”

 Geoff

Naracoorte Open 2nd round...

12/3/12 Monday. It is great to be this early in the golf season to come and be already able to review the results of the coaching and practice since January with optimism. This seasons coming experience, even with the knowledge picked up in the past three years, is going to test my ability to the limit. Now in the “A” Grade, at the back end of the handicaps there is no room to put faith into luck getting me to a competitive standard. My initial target of having a crack at the Nett Handicap sections of the various open events that will be played in during 2012 is going to take every bit of knowledge picked up in the past three seasons.

This weekends Naracoorte Open has been particularly beneficial, following on from the recent Southern Ports Tournament. This time two consecutive days of competition golf at a course which when played last year exposed all of the shortcomings of my golf at that stage. The inconsistent driving off the tee, fairway shots that were erratic and poorly thought out strategically, short game chipping that was woefully under prepared and putting that was in the same condition. These faults previously were not major concerns when playing through the handicaps on the way down to my current level. Once the handicap is 15 or less the consistency of a golfers game is vital to improving. Whilst I could play myself into a state of good form and get a score comparable to a 10-11 handicap, the following week that could blow out to a 20 handicap level.

It may seem odd to readers that for me it has been a matter of not knowing what was my golfing capability, whilst playing for 3 years. This was never possible until recently when during the last three months coaching sessions established a setup, swing and stance that is reliable and effective with all clubs. The result is that no longer creating different circumstances with irregular stance and setup positions, every shot now has the same swing and power/energy delivered to the ball. All that is different is the club used and that is what creates the desired effect to get the ball to the target.

Following the round on Saturday, it was a golfer with a purpose and confidence that returned the following day. With a front nine score of 43 with 16 putts it was the best round I have had at Naracoorte. The second nine was a failure, not getting a par until the 18th hole finishing with 47 strokes and 18 putts. That was the final confirmation that the flat stick is a major failing in my hands. This was realised early in the round and after that I just played on enjoying the good shots played off the tee, from fairways and chipping to the pin. That I could not get the putts into the hole with consistency did not affect the round. I just kept on playing as well as possible satisfied in the knowledge that after the round I knew what was needed to improve.

There was no despair and nothing but happiness through out the round on my part, the group all enjoyed the company and the banter. Golf is fun, I did not even consider trying to change anything during the round to improve putting results. That is what practise and coaching sessions are for. That the issue is in part to do with confidence and needing to improve my chipping as well as putting practise, playing the round still gave me my best return on the course. A year after the first destructive experience on the Naracoorte course, my game is much improved because of that. That I was up at 5am each morning and worked until 6.30am before leaving on the 120km drive to Naracoorte perhaps added a little to the result. Nothing of consequence in my opinion though, if anything this added mental motivation that countered the physical effect.

Hence I am really looking forward to the coming season and the practise on the putting green while tuning up my mind to be a confident putter. Thankyou for your time and attention. “Hit ‘em straight all”  

 Geoff

2nd Place in final round at Robe

3/3/12 Saturday. The last round of the tournament had my game come together at last. With an 82 Gross for a 69 Nett and 28 Putts and tied for best Nett on the day, losing on a countback to the tournament winner of the A Grade Nett competition. Hopefully that is not a sign of the season to come, the winner was our current club champion who had my measure and then some in the playoff last season.

This afternoon I have been out and played another nine holes to stretch my legs and enjoy the return to form after the week of golf. It has been some time since it has been possible to play 18 holes several times in a week. Back in 2009 that was one of the features of my regular practise and I believe successful results. Alternating between 9 and 18 holes a day 4-5 days a week. That was realised as something which was lacking in my practise several months ago. It has not been possible to return to that with increased commitments off the golf course.

Being totally absorbed in the competition the past week released the influence of outside distractions on my vision of golfing. In the past two years I have been at my best form during the tournament and played very well in getting 2nd place. This time the task was beyond me with the move into A grade and the higher quality of opponents. The experience has been invaluable and hopefully I will be able to have another crack at the title in 2013. Todays round was testament that my form has returned and the past three months of coaching improvements have established themselves. The longer drives, also longer irons with accuracy now making Greens In Regulation an expected game facet. Short game and putting can always be improved in regard to my ability for a lot more time yet.

On Thursday while practising I had an epiphany whilst hitting balls on the range deep into the ‘mental golf zone’. Nothing new to many golfers I am sure, for me though it was the culmination of the past three months of coaching, playing and practising. “My body and the club are a single unit creating the power to strike the ball and send it to the chosen target.” Having practised for so long to establish the stance, and swing from the coaching it has now became automatic. My mind is no longer having to consciously oversee what was happening during a swing. Now it is free to see the ball, feeling the club head on its path of sending it to the target. while my body provides the power. That is the only thought in my mind while playing any shot with a driver, iron or putter.

After the first two rounds the professional coach brought up the topic of my mental state. Citing an example of his early days and playing in a state tournament at a course which he had been successful on many times. Yet in these games he failed, alluding to the fact that he was focussing on a ‘figure’ to be scored and this did not have a positive effect on his game. In analysing this, I first thought did I get ‘stage fright’? No I did not, and that was not what the coach was trying to impart on me. I was confident in having a crack and was aware that it was a big ask to be successful with my standard of golf.

After two competition rounds of erratic golf the third was a smooth as silk. I was 100% immersed in the moment while playing shots and still managed to be sociable. Definitely a detached person from the group at times, which I kept in check by walking by myself for fifty or so metres on each hole. Then being convivial and chatting as per usual on the tee, green or between shots. This state of mind was not in the slightest bit emotive, a pure golfing experience with plenty of laughs and fun hitting the ball with a group of other golfers. Which is why after the round in an ego-less analysis of the score I found 7 to 9 shots that were total cock ups in the round. These were the result of brain fades and that is why I am on a 13 handicap. Now that the club professional has brought up the mental side of the game to me I can now work on improving this side of my game and continue the journey to the single figure mark.

Next weekend is the two day Naracoorte Summer Open and I will be returning this year to the course that severely opened up my games short comings in 2011. The current Club Champion is returning as well as we both had a visit last year and failed. Interestingly both of us have began the year with improved games and definitely new outlooks on golf and what we want from playing the game. With a week of travelling coming up for me I will play the home club competition Sunday. Have a social round lined up for Tuesday and will be satisfied with a session at the Drummond Golf Range on Thursday. That should keep my form constant and in fine fettle for the Naracoorte event on the weekend.

Thankyou for your time and attention, “Hit ‘em Straight all.

 Geoff

Southern Ports Golf Week Rd 2 at Beachport

1/3/12 Thursday. After the second round at Beachport my score had improved but once again poor putting combined with poor tee shots cut my round out of contention. With only one triple putt for a bogie a marked improvement on the Kingston SE round. It was the several lip out putts that cost me 4-5 strokes combined with a driver which went off the fairway too often. Having to play five shots to get back onto the fairway that effectively killed off the potential to score well. With a gross 91 for a nett 78 with 32 putts this put me in a mid 20’s placing still much better than many and not a disaster.

The final round on Friday at Robe is going to feature gusting winds on the coastal course. Again I am expecting to play better than the previous two rounds, this is not blind optimism. It has been a very beneficial experience, having pushed my physical boundaries in preparing to play in the 2012 tournament that was in itself well worth it to now have a better swing. As always when playing golf the social conversation often goes around to golf matters and chatting with single figure golfers again has delivered more vital knowledge. This time though I am competing in the same grade albeit at the tail end of the handicaps in A Grade on 13. The importance is that now I am in a position ability wise to begin making the move down the numbers and play at a much improved level.

Not forgetting that there are differences between ‘my game’ and any other golfers game, the process is not about aping another golfers game to improve. In fact there has been one epiphany during this week which I will describe after the tournament is over. The whole series has been great fun and not a single bit of bad attitude or complaining about the condition of fairways, greens etc. has come from me. Unlike others who have not performed well either and started that self destructive blame game on all of the various outside influences which have affected their game.

Today I am going out with the same attacking game plan for my home course with form that has improved over the week. The mental attitude has not faltered through the week, the fact is that I am not good enough yet, to be able to play successfully among this level of competition. With that simple reality not being ignored on my part already the planning has began for the rest of 2012 to improve the standard of golf I play to be competitive. dear readers I am a hungry b@st@rd when it comes to the desire to play good golf and win. The game play goal is to develop the ability and quality of golf played that can support my desire for success. Golf is great fun to play, win or lose there is always a new challenge to create that adds to the enjoyment. Thankyou for your time and attention. “Hit ‘em straight all.”

, Geoff