A little closer to breaking 80...

11/4/12 Wednesday. The reshafting has been a success. After a try out on the range hitting into the wind, alternating between the 380 cc and 400cc drivers the distances are now consistently the same. The stiff flex shaft replacing the ultra flex in the 400cc driver has improved it’s performance in my hands. The two clubs have very different ball flights with the 380cc an 8.5 degree loft and the 400cc at 10 degree loft. The two 'feel' very different on striking the ball as well but that is no matter it did not cause any confusion for me when using them. Which is something that I am a little proud of, with a swing that is not affected with using unfamiliar equipment.

After the range session I went out yesterday and played 9 holes hitting two balls off the tee using both drivers. The results were excellent, again accurate with both and the 400cc nosing out the smaller driver for distance off the tee. The different ball flights are a facet that is going to be interesting to explore in practice over coming months. The 8.5 loft is a lower flight as would be expected and a very satisfying straight reaching drive with the addition of run. The run will not be as influential with the heavier ground conditions in winter. This has been the main reason for those 250m drives that have been a noted influence on my game. These unusual long drives have been part of the inspiration behind the current shaft replacement.

Reading recently that the standard shafts in drivers are not the best available off the shop floor has further peaked my interest in the practical experiment of changing shafts. Initially the 400cc dfriver was purchased as a back up for when a chronic back injury restricts my swing. The reason being that the extra flex shaft would compensate for the impaired swing. Since the coaching changes to my swing in January the injury no longer has a major influence on my golf. A Taylor Made 370cc driver stiff shaft was available so in it went. No cost to me and the result has shown that it was worth the effort. I have now reshafted the 420cc Infinity Driver 10.5 degree loft. This time I have shortened the shaft (regular flex) by about 7cm which has significantly reduced the flexiblity, it is about 3cm shorter than the 380cc driver shaft now. Whilst this is not a technically precise change it will be very noticable when having a hit tomorrow.

The 400cc driver at 10 degrees has a expected rising flight to an apex then falling, with a negligible run effect. When having the trial on the range it was initially a relaxed session and I enjoyed just letting loose and exploring the drivers limits. In the final two 10 ball sessions it was all about the accuracy of the shots. Once on the course the tee shots where all comfortable easy swings and the distances were at the 210-220m accuracy was a little poorer than usual though and 5 bogies and four pars for nine holes all included GIR on the par holes. The bogie holes all included poor second shots with three limited to just returning to the fairway from the rough. Short game though was very good hitting the greens easily from 50-100m.

The reshafted Drivers will not be going into the bag for competition play at the minute. I am doing this with a specific purpose that is all about getting an additional 10-15m off the tee. Not straight away, this is an equipment exercise. The rest of this season I am continuing the swing development to a better level of consistency. That alone has increased distance for all shots. To begin breaking 80 regularly it is apparent to me that getting 230-250m drives as a standard feature off the tee is needed. Back in 2010 when I had the Cobra S9.1 Driver the 250m drive was possible, it was just not possible for me to be able to regularly produce the shot with any reliability. Most of problem was caused by the ‘frog in a blender’ swing I had then. It has taken two years of practise and coaching to now be able to begin the final stages of adding a driver shot to my game that is the correct combination of the golfer and equipment.

When having coaching sessions it is not just the practical that has my attention, it is what the professional says. To take a cliche’ I will call it “cause and effect”, each stance, swing, club drill has a purpose that is IE about cutting 3-4 strokes off a rounds score. Accurate drives off the tee on to fairways will save those short shots from the rough or behind trees just to get on the fairway. More GIR’s mean more par in regulation holes and birdie opportunities. Better chipping within 1m of the hole means more par holes and birdie chances same with better putting. Having reached 13-14 handicap the next few seasons I am pulling all the stops out to see how low I can get and play winning tournament golf. Thankyou for your time and attention. “Hit ‘em straight all.”

 Geoff

A time for golfing reflection...

9/4/12 Monday This weekend of golfing reflection has revealed a few interesting insights into my game. The best one being the realisation that my ability with shots played has significantly improved. Whilst playing the game the nuances of improvement get overlooked in the concentration that is required to play the shots.

Whilst reviewing the past three months of golfing, the last round played at Bordertown was the one that revealed the most. I used a 5 iron off the tee on the No 11, 157m hole (started on the back nine). Where I had an 8 (par 3 into the bunker off the tee) and finished with an 87 Gross. The point was that in playing the shot I was actually going for the green and was only 2-3m off target, to the right with a slight fade. Coming from a course that has two bunkers in total I did not even consider the threat of them in playing this shot. In fact every par three at Bordertown I approached the same way and this was the only one which came to grief in the two days of play.

This past week I have been out 3 times and hit 20-30 balls at the range each time, just keeping my hand in with the 6 and 9 irons. Again not playing competition this week I was relaxed and just enjoying the ease of the shots played and the accurate results. Did not even think about anything to do with my game at the time. On Saturday after getting out and being a little more serious when using a reshafted driver the golf brain switched on. It was then I realised that I am hitting the ball so much better and finally hitting greens in regulation. My Average for the year to date is still 13%, my last 5 rounds have been 22% three times, then 11% and 44% at Bordertown.

That is the confirmation that the improvement, whilst not excessive it has definitely established a better strike rate. This is a combination of two factors, accurate use of my irons and the increase off the tee by 10-15m with the driver and using #8 iron to Wedges in shooting for the green. To use a phrase from Steve Bowditch “I carry 4 wedges because I worked out along time ago that I’m around the 100m mark a lot more then the 220 mark and that I would be more affective if I carried more wedges to give myself more options with the scoring clubs rather then the 3 iron…”  Obviously I do not hit the ball that close to the green on par 4’s which are the majority of holes on a course. The ‘scoring clubs’ are still higher lofted ones, which are now coming into play for me more often. The confidence is a pleasant feeling to have when an iron is in my hands lining up to hit the green. It is still the actions that have to be maintained in set up etc. that gets the result.

Today after lunch and watching the final round of the 2012 Masters, if the weather holds out and does not pour rain to go with the blustery winds, I will get on the range and test out the drivers again. This time taking the first choice (in the bag)380cc driver and see how the now stiff flex shafted 400cc driver compares. Thankyou for your time and attention. “Hit ‘em straight all”

 Geoff

Relaxation time off the Golf Course...

6/4/12 Friday This weekend is still looking at being mostly golf free. Could play if I wanted too but I am sticking with the idea that formed mid Tuesday that now is a good time to let the body have a little rest. Among many lessons that have been learnt since 2009, one is that playing at 100% efficiency is not physically and mentally possible for too long. The improvements since January have been many and at the minute my instinct is to have a time out and relax away from the golf course.

Yesterday found myself at the club doing some volunteer tasks and had a 30 minute wait for a cart hire to turn up. Grabbed the putter and wedge and put in 10-15 minutes on the practice green, then ambled to the range and hit 20 balls with an 8 and 6 iron. That was enough to soothe the withdrawal symptoms. The balls hit all had good flight and accurate enough. That will be my approach this Easter weekend head out and hit 20 balls if I want to feel the club hitting a ball and that will be satisfactory.

One impressive return from last weekend's tournament was the #2 iron effectiveness. Especially the accurate ball placement in conjunction with the distance carried. Being a golfer who does have a preference in playing iron shots the #3 iron is easy for 165m plus. The #2 Hybrid in my hands stretched to the 200m limit and an easy 180m plus generally. Sadly maintaining consistency with this club is a failing of mine and is woefully inaccurate. The Diawa #2 iron (cavity back) has the distance of the hybrid but the accuracy was a huge difference in its favour.

My clubs carried is going to need a little thinking about over the winter in this instance. At the minute the hybrid is not even in the picture as worthwhile being in the bag. This weekend I am reshafting a 400cc Driver with a stiff flex shaft to trial on the range. Use a 380cc Driver to good effect on the course but the slightly larger Driver was around the mark, with a very flexible shaft was fine when carrying injury. The imp[roved swing plane and body posture I now have has relieved the injury restrictions. So I will test out the driver and see if it can deliver some extra distance.

Regular readers will perhaps see this as a visit to hypocrisy on my part, distance has been a secondary goal after accuracy for most of my golfing. In the recent gradual improvement, 220m drives are the norm off the tee. Have stretched to 230-250m drives in summer and to maintain a 230m drive would be a very good trade off for the winter. I am coaxing the extra distance if it is possible, simply to get closer to Par 4 greens and improve the GIR strike rate. Once the reshafting is set I will get out and have a few cracks on the range to see if this change can get that little bit more off the tee.

Thankyou for your time and attention, "Hit 'em straight all”

 Geoff

Carlton V Brisbane rd2 2012. Footyheads Review

Second game of the season and a trip to the Gabba playing the Lions who cracked a win in the first round. Carlton showed the benefits of past seasons and put substance to the target of a top four finish with the 91 point win. Footyhead is keeping a lid on his bias but the confidence is starting to get through the veneer of self control. GO YOU BLUES!!!!




Thankyou for your time and attention, Geoff