A great golf course to play, Heywood, Victoria

10/2/13 Sunday. Returned form playing Heywood, Victoria last night was a great day and well worth the 2 1/2 hour drive over to play. Fronting up again to play at home this afternoon as well. The training and fitness program of the past two months is delivering the result planned. Missed getting the week before game report on line as well. The usual Kingston then Robe competitions were played on Saturday and Sunday. The first day I really let loose off the tee and pushed my limits with hitting the ball as hard as possible. The previous weeks exercise routine had been a bit more than was comfortable and was a little drained to tell the truth. The poor score did not bother me again. I have been using this round to develop a course strategy at Kingston as well as test the limits of my improvement. As usual after the Kingston round I get on the Robe track and reap the rewards of the day before practise session done in a competition round. Some may find this a little confusing to be playing in a competition round and deliberately adopt a mind set of 'this is practise'. I am not interested in protecting my handicap my goal is to get it lower and this requires a major change in my game play in tandem with the skill improvements. So far every week it has worked, a poor score on day one is countered by a good score the next day using the knowledge gained from taking the path less travelled. This weekend I stepped up another level in going to Heywood. This round included pride in playing well besides enjoying the atmosphere and catching up with mates at their home club. A gross 86 with 33 Stableford points and beating most of the field for a 5th place not a bad result. First time on the track and that made the result even better. Today I am backing up at Robe and going hard for another par or better round. Thankyou for your time and attention “Hit ‘em straight all” Geoff

Handicap breaking form continues...

28/1/13 Monday. Another weekend of playing two competition rounds, Kingston on Saturday and Robe on the Sunday. This weekend was significantly different in golfing approach on the Saturday. Choosing to experiment in a competition round with using the 56 degree wedge in my approach shots from 70-100 metres out from the green. This was brought about with a combination of harder greens and the need to drop and stop the ball as well as the recent distance improvement I am getting off the tee as well as with all clubs. I had practised during the week with the 56 degree wedge, which I carry for use in sand bunkers and for shots 25 to 30 m out from the green when not suitable for the pitching wedge. Was never comfortable with this club and duffed most of the long shots. Reverted to playing it as before from 30 metres in to the green for the time being. It is going to be a matter of practise to improve results with this wedge. It is possible to not practise with it of course. My choice though is to improve with it and have an extra selection available in my clubs. Day two was a head down and serious golf day as far as is acceptable for my summer rounds. The focus was still on having fun and that perhaps showed in the two double bogies during the last four holes. A few concentration lapses from being relaxed prevented a sub 80 score finished with a gross 82 and nett 69 to break my handicap easily enough. Several birdie putts just lipped out as did 3-4 par putts. None of which mattered, close enough is good enough when gauging the improvement at this early stage of pre season preparation. On the other side of the coin is that I hit the ball 240 metres plus on eight the par four and two of the par five holes and these shots were on the fairway. As well as green in regulation on the three par three holes. Accuracy is always the goal but now the distance is beginning to become regular change in my game. Hitting approach shots to the green from 125 metres or less on ten of the eighteen holes played was a significant advantage. I will add that I played in below avareage physical condition on both days as another guide to the significant improvement in my golfing capability of late. The improvement has been excerbated by an addition to my golf practise regime. The next month will be a defining period in the effectiveness of this recommended tool. Thankyou for your time and attention “Hit ‘em straight all” Geoff

25/1/13 Friday As I do every year this time is spent training and practising for the coming season. 2013 is markedly different with an increased fitness training program that is definitely adding more improvement to my golfing. In addition I have imported a training aid that is designed to improve golfing as well. At this stage after 3 days this is definitely having an effect. Third day with the Dream Swing training equipment. Definite improvement in ease and comfort while using the equipment. Considering the noticeable changes the Dream Swing design is perfectly created to suit any golfer who is serious about improvement. As was proven the day before with hitting the ball on the range a marked increase in club-head speed and ease of swing. At the minute this improvement is coming at a time when I had intensified training and practising in my annual season preparation. To be playing well at the minute and then notice a marked improvement in several aspects of my golfing is no mean feat. The coming weekend of golf competitions on Saturday and Sunday are going to be challenging. Having to adjust to significant game changes and still play consistent and competitive golf at the same time. This is where my attitude of "playing for fun' during this period shows it's benefit. I enjoy playing well and winning, at this time of the year though the focus is on having fun. Enjoying my game improvements in a thrill. Even when it is a challenge to play consistently while adjusting to the effects of the training is why there is no tantrums in my golf. Thankyou for your time and attention. "Hit 'em straight all" Geoff

Fitness means better golf...

22/1/13 Tuesday. A very successful weekend of golfing on Saturday and Sunday again. The fitness training is delivering obvious benefits in tandem with practise. In this my second set of rounds for 2013 after the week before I broke my handicap on Saturday with a 38 stableford point round and backed up on the Sunday with a 36 Stableford point round. These results have got my playing handicap down one stroke to twelve. In the coming weeks I will be adding a new facet to my training which is expected to drop several strokes off my handicap and establish a solid single digit playing handicap. All of the recent improvement shown by the competition results has come from the improved fitness and weight loss. This is not an instant change and the dieting started in August 2012 the fitness training was gradually introduced in December. A daily routine since January 1st, 2013 using strand pulling (chest expander equipment) exercise routines and swimming. My golf practise has not increased or changed from the past 3 years in terms of action and time spent. Whilst this with coaching has definitely developed golf skills, it is the fitness that has made the execution much better on the course. As regular readers will be aware my game has never been a long one due to health and physical condition. Hence my total focus has always been on establishing a proven correct swing technique to make the ball go forward as well as it is possible for me to do so. No prizes for guessing who won the Long Drive competition on the Sunday, it was me. Once again I had a great game off the tee and noticeably consistently much longer. This was also happening with the rest of my clubs and did cause some difficulty with club selection. My game attitude is one of having fun more so than usual at the minute. Taking the opinion that as I am hitting the ball much better than 2-3 months ago, so what if this is causing problems. I had never imagined that hitting the golf ball like I am now, could feel so good! Golfing feels so fresh and new to me every week and these days I hit many shots that are so sweet, it is sensational. Sunday I tied in second place in the A Grade at Kingston SE. Playing for fun is the focus but the success in the competition is still an important motivation behind the enjoyment. There is a consistent fault in my game at the minute and this is exacerbated as a result of the improved fitness. In all of my past two weekend rounds (four) I have belted putts way past the hole. It is in part a misread of the green speed at the time. The major cause is that my strength has significantly improved and these misreads end up with the ball going four to five metres too far. In my reading of other golfers game diaries and many observations on the analysis of our golfing rarely is fitness given as much attention as swing plane or grip, stance etc. My Golf Diaries were not much different. Physical condition was a regular subject in mine, as I have permanent injuries which affect my game so they would get attention. Mostly because of the limitations placed on my ability to swing a club correctly. Fortunately awareness of injury as a regular facet of my life, does make me look at improving the condition, just as I have my golf swing. Rory McIlroy has made significant changes in his physical training and Tiger Woods was always noted for it. There are many lesser contemporary golfers who have done the same as well and this is something that many club golfers have ignored as a way to significantly improve their golf. I fully expect this fitness program I am now doing in tandem with the new golf training system starting in coming weeks to be the cause of a three to eight stroke drop in my playing handicap. Thankyou for your time and attention “Hit ‘em straight all” Geoff