Good results from practise make it all worthwhile...

 18/1/12 Wednesday. With an electricity outage this morning it was not possible to do anything work wise so I headed out on the golf course for a casual 9 holes. Following yesterdays extended time on the range hitting a bucket of balls with the 6 iron and driver into the wind there was some definite progress. This was not a gentle breeze but a gusting wind that took some improved concentration to play strokes into. Apart from five big lofted slices towards the end of the session with the driver the results were very satisfying. The five slices at the end of hitting 90 balls were a result of tiredness affecting the strokes and an aberration for the days practise. The 6 iron as with all my irons is still needing some work to prevent the pull/hook that crops up. During the coaching session it was recognised and in part may be caused by having sticks too short in the shaft, even so the improvement to my stance has minimised the effect of the error when it creeps into my shot play.

The short game is not acceptable at the minute. This is not a major problem as the cause is simply the result of increased strength from the exercise routines. Also using the 60 degree lob wedge again which is not my preferred choice is the cause of many chipping errors. That is still no reason to not work on getting better with this club and adding it to the bag. The benefit of having this lob wedge to use on the hard and fast greens of summer is a bonus that cannot be ignored to improve my shot options.



The Driver is the shining light of success from the current practise program. Accuracy and distance have became a feature that I can rely upon with this club again. Having moved up in club size to a 420cc driver head has lost some of the ability to work the ball which was apparent when using the 380cc and 400cc drivers. Given my game standard though I prefer the ability to hit the ball straighter with diminished ability to work the ball. Does surprise me that I utilise this characteristic of the clubhead affect on the ball, it is still an exciting experience ‘feeling’ my hands affecting the ball flight while playing shots.



With the cooler weather, today I am planning practise sessions today with the driver and 6 iron again s well as the wedges. To sit back and wallow in the current progress is not a good thing. The end result is still 6 weeks away, persisting with the established practise routine continues. In fact I am considering upping the ante if the time is available in the coming weeks. Playing a competition of 3 rounds in a week is not usual for us club golfers. There are benefits, game wise playing with existing form and not having week long or greater breaks between rounds is one. If you have a consistent game the format is very compatible to these golfers, which has been one of the major reasons for my success in the past two Southern Ports events. At the minute this is starting to become a feature of my golf again which is the point of doing the practise, it is really enjoyable to be hitting the ball to the target and knowing it is not a fluke.
Thankyou for your time and attention. “Hit ‘em straight all.”Geoff