Thursday, June 16, 2011
Footyhead's Rd 12eview Carlton V Brisbane
Highlight of the round was the game between Geelong and Hawthorn, showing how tight it is between the top 4 sides. Rd 12 was an easy victory for Carlton over Brisbane, Collingwood def Melbourne and adelaide's poor form continued.
Thankyou for your time and attention, Geoff
Monday, June 13, 2011
Hit the wall or another door to open......
The first week of dedicated practise in preparation for the coming Club Open events starting in July was not the best fun. Being out in the wind and rain with the cold temperature stinging my cheeks and nose did create a mental note of the practical use of balaklava in winter golf. The first session using 3-7 iron blades did not take long to have me get the technique going as it should. A big incentive for improvement is hitting balls and not have the hands stinging from mishits.
Friday night’s 9 hole “Chicken Run” was my first competitive hit out for the week. This is a fun event that I play to enjoy, winning is not the be all and end all of this comp. Even so it is handicapped differently which I use to my advantage. For me that means I am playing off 12 (now down to at least 11) which was 2 strokes less than my official hcp on Friday. (In January everyone starts on their Golf Link handicap, every time you win you lose a stroke plus every score over 20 points lose another stroke.) I also took the 460cc Cobra driver out for its first hit in 3 months. Besides 6 GIR’s with the iron shots, the distance off the tee was significantly longer that with the 380cc Driver. Again the fall down was inaccurate drives with the Cobra and the distance added does not make the effort worth doing to get this club into the bag at the minute.
Interesting bit of detail was discovered mid week while researching in my search for a new set of irons. I have 20 odd year old knock offs of the original Ping irons with Shark stiff shafts. (“Ping's Karsten I irons are a remake of Ping's original irons. They have a barrel hosel construction and deep single cavity located closer to the heel side of the back of the club.”) The review of these irons remarked that this design was not inducive to hitting the ball long. I have often wondered if my inability to hit the short irons very far at all was a swing fault of my own or if the clubs had an influence on this as well.
With improved accuracy with my irons the 10 m shortfall with 7, 8, 9 and Pitching Wedge is literally the difference in hitting the green or missing short. The practise has helped a lot in now being able to take an iron longer and hit it well enough to the green and not go through. I have now invested in a Distance Range Finder as my “eye” is not accurate enough in gauging the distance and I too often end up underclubbing. I am looking forward to combining the use of this piece of equipment in my game to improve accuracy and Greens in Regulation shots.
Now to Sunday’s round, the definitive proof of how practise is a major benefit to playing better golf. A gross 82 for a Nett 68 was full of confident stroke making. Even the mishits shots were a chip away from the green. After two weeks of carrying the 60 degree wedge I have taken it out of the bag, personally I prefer using the set’s sand wedge for lob shots and the pitching wedge for pitch and run on the greens. The group coaching session on short game and putting with the club pro last week has improved my skills. Nothing major yet just the bit of fine tuning that has added consistency by removing technical errors from the strokes played. To also win the putting comp. with 27 and nearest the pin with closest for the monthly competition so far (1.02m) on the day were part of how well I played.
The magical 80 figure was not broken and this time though it would have been nice to achieve I made the errors that cost me in the end. Having played this well though makes it possible in the day after to sit back and after reviewing the score say that 3 strokes could have been shaved off the score. Optimistically perhaps 5 or 6 less shots could have been possible, but dreams have to be a little tempered with reality. The handicap goal has always been 10 and that was seen as an unattainable golf dream by others never myself though. Now as the figure is nearly achieved I can say at the minute, I do not believe there is much fuel left in my tank to surpass that.
Once it is reached though I will begin starting to enact the plan going the next step into single figures. I will continue to follow the steps and procedures written in my golf books that I have published in the last two seasons. Nothing special about them and no “Secret” method revealed to make it possible to play better golf either. Nothing but following the basic techniques of golf swings, getting professional coaching and practise, practise and practise. Sitting here right now making the attempt at single figures is going to take a hell of a commitment on my part and will not be attempted until I can maintain playing to 10 first. This will be easier than last season when I broke the 20 mark and struggled with the transition during winter.
Thankyou for your time and attention, “Hit ‘em straight all.”
Geoff
Friday night’s 9 hole “Chicken Run” was my first competitive hit out for the week. This is a fun event that I play to enjoy, winning is not the be all and end all of this comp. Even so it is handicapped differently which I use to my advantage. For me that means I am playing off 12 (now down to at least 11) which was 2 strokes less than my official hcp on Friday. (In January everyone starts on their Golf Link handicap, every time you win you lose a stroke plus every score over 20 points lose another stroke.) I also took the 460cc Cobra driver out for its first hit in 3 months. Besides 6 GIR’s with the iron shots, the distance off the tee was significantly longer that with the 380cc Driver. Again the fall down was inaccurate drives with the Cobra and the distance added does not make the effort worth doing to get this club into the bag at the minute.
Interesting bit of detail was discovered mid week while researching in my search for a new set of irons. I have 20 odd year old knock offs of the original Ping irons with Shark stiff shafts. (“Ping's Karsten I irons are a remake of Ping's original irons. They have a barrel hosel construction and deep single cavity located closer to the heel side of the back of the club.”) The review of these irons remarked that this design was not inducive to hitting the ball long. I have often wondered if my inability to hit the short irons very far at all was a swing fault of my own or if the clubs had an influence on this as well.
With improved accuracy with my irons the 10 m shortfall with 7, 8, 9 and Pitching Wedge is literally the difference in hitting the green or missing short. The practise has helped a lot in now being able to take an iron longer and hit it well enough to the green and not go through. I have now invested in a Distance Range Finder as my “eye” is not accurate enough in gauging the distance and I too often end up underclubbing. I am looking forward to combining the use of this piece of equipment in my game to improve accuracy and Greens in Regulation shots.
Now to Sunday’s round, the definitive proof of how practise is a major benefit to playing better golf. A gross 82 for a Nett 68 was full of confident stroke making. Even the mishits shots were a chip away from the green. After two weeks of carrying the 60 degree wedge I have taken it out of the bag, personally I prefer using the set’s sand wedge for lob shots and the pitching wedge for pitch and run on the greens. The group coaching session on short game and putting with the club pro last week has improved my skills. Nothing major yet just the bit of fine tuning that has added consistency by removing technical errors from the strokes played. To also win the putting comp. with 27 and nearest the pin with closest for the monthly competition so far (1.02m) on the day were part of how well I played.
The magical 80 figure was not broken and this time though it would have been nice to achieve I made the errors that cost me in the end. Having played this well though makes it possible in the day after to sit back and after reviewing the score say that 3 strokes could have been shaved off the score. Optimistically perhaps 5 or 6 less shots could have been possible, but dreams have to be a little tempered with reality. The handicap goal has always been 10 and that was seen as an unattainable golf dream by others never myself though. Now as the figure is nearly achieved I can say at the minute, I do not believe there is much fuel left in my tank to surpass that.
Once it is reached though I will begin starting to enact the plan going the next step into single figures. I will continue to follow the steps and procedures written in my golf books that I have published in the last two seasons. Nothing special about them and no “Secret” method revealed to make it possible to play better golf either. Nothing but following the basic techniques of golf swings, getting professional coaching and practise, practise and practise. Sitting here right now making the attempt at single figures is going to take a hell of a commitment on my part and will not be attempted until I can maintain playing to 10 first. This will be easier than last season when I broke the 20 mark and struggled with the transition during winter.
Thankyou for your time and attention, “Hit ‘em straight all.”
Geoff
Tuesday, June 07, 2011
Hitting the ball forward works best...
Tuesday 7/6/11 Wind, rain and the lazy cold that goes through you instead of around has settled in since Sundays cancelled round, pretty much confirming that winter has arrived. The inner golf nut is not distracted by these changes in weather conditions, in my case it has upped the ante in practise becoming even more important. Having already mapped out the increased commitment in preparation last week, for the start of the Various Regional Opens come July, there is no backing away now the weather has gone crap. Mind you sitting here at the minute I am realising that sometimes my golf obsession does border on the edge of stupid, stupid man behaviour.
The benefit of having made the commitment to get in form for July and onwards did deliver during the cancelled Sunday round. The score was on track for a a good one up until the cancellation of the round due to weather, hail, lightning, wind and big fat rain storms caused a rush for the clubhouse after 6-8 holes play. I was doing damn well with only one wipe and that was caused by the wind blowing the ball off the tee and a ball flying right across two fairways into lost ball oblivion. If it had not been for a playing partner telling me he saw the ball taking off sideways as I played the stroke I would still be wondering what the hell happened. The wind is a major influence here on the coast during winter and must be taken into all game day thinking.
Practise this week, yes out there in the crap weather started with getting the iron play adjusted to hitting into, accross and with the very strong winds. Coming in at 110kg myself it is a struggle to stay in place on the tee and on the fairway, let alone play good strokes.The adage “hit easy when it is breezy” works well with and into the wind. The lofted irons require the most concentration for my game, 20m to 80m out from the green with a howling wind is not easy from club choice to playing the shot. Did my prefered iron tune up exercise using blades and getting the swing down pat then pulling out the cavity irons and sure enough hitting the ball so much better. It does not take many mishits stinging the hands with the blades to stop me making lazy errors in set up and swing.
Even with my much improved swing over the past 3 seasons, my lofted iron shots are not powerful distance eaters. Even with the injury effects on my body that make me take it easy. The preference for me has always been consistent accurate strokes, being able to hit a wedge 100m has no appeal to me what so ever, which is a good thing as I average 80m with the pitching wedge. The 8 and 9 are my club choices for 100m distances, in the winter wind even the 7 iron gets a look in for the shot at times. It adds to my golfing enjoyment to have a lot of versatility with my irons ever since I returned to golf. With the latest leap in improvement off the tee with the driver my game now has a good foundation to be able to add a better short game.
Since the last week I have began to trawl the golf club market in earnest with the nearness of my 10 handicap goal. The time has come to prepare and get the set that will take the next step down to a single figure handicap. Still with 4 strokes to go to ten and having played to 11 and 12 in recent competitions the reason for starting to look seriously is because there are several sets that I have to whittle down. The Bridgestone J series appeal and I will be trialing a set of those in coming months, Titielist AP2’s, TalyorMade Burners, Wilson Ci/9’s, Callaway X series all have been given a run. Taylor made R9’s did not make the grade with me which I was bemused by. R9’s just did not feel good at all yet the cavity back Burners were a delight to hit. Mizuno fans do not feel slighted same as with the AP2’s it is a club choice that is out of my pockets reach for now. Together with the belief that my game is not at a level that warrants those at the minute. As confident as I am in my ability to improve and play a decent round of golf, a reality check that works for me is not to get capability and ambition confused.
After all of the experimenting with various clubs blades and cavity backs the sensation of a beautifully hit ball from either is delightful. The changes in my swing and improvement in my bodies flexibility have gone hand in hand since December 2010. It has not been easy or enjoyable at times as my previous posts reflect when expressing how pain is something to avoid. A game improvement iron is the best choice at this stage, something that will deliver feel and sensitivity to strokes played. Plus give a little tolerance to my shortcomings. Whilst I played well with the blades during the summer months the results fell away rapidly as I could not maintain performance and consistency. Two months of playing well with them was a great learning experience and I will return to them besides use as a practice tool.
Thankyou for your time and attention, “Hit ‘em straight all” Geoff
The benefit of having made the commitment to get in form for July and onwards did deliver during the cancelled Sunday round. The score was on track for a a good one up until the cancellation of the round due to weather, hail, lightning, wind and big fat rain storms caused a rush for the clubhouse after 6-8 holes play. I was doing damn well with only one wipe and that was caused by the wind blowing the ball off the tee and a ball flying right across two fairways into lost ball oblivion. If it had not been for a playing partner telling me he saw the ball taking off sideways as I played the stroke I would still be wondering what the hell happened. The wind is a major influence here on the coast during winter and must be taken into all game day thinking.
Practise this week, yes out there in the crap weather started with getting the iron play adjusted to hitting into, accross and with the very strong winds. Coming in at 110kg myself it is a struggle to stay in place on the tee and on the fairway, let alone play good strokes.The adage “hit easy when it is breezy” works well with and into the wind. The lofted irons require the most concentration for my game, 20m to 80m out from the green with a howling wind is not easy from club choice to playing the shot. Did my prefered iron tune up exercise using blades and getting the swing down pat then pulling out the cavity irons and sure enough hitting the ball so much better. It does not take many mishits stinging the hands with the blades to stop me making lazy errors in set up and swing.
Even with my much improved swing over the past 3 seasons, my lofted iron shots are not powerful distance eaters. Even with the injury effects on my body that make me take it easy. The preference for me has always been consistent accurate strokes, being able to hit a wedge 100m has no appeal to me what so ever, which is a good thing as I average 80m with the pitching wedge. The 8 and 9 are my club choices for 100m distances, in the winter wind even the 7 iron gets a look in for the shot at times. It adds to my golfing enjoyment to have a lot of versatility with my irons ever since I returned to golf. With the latest leap in improvement off the tee with the driver my game now has a good foundation to be able to add a better short game.
Since the last week I have began to trawl the golf club market in earnest with the nearness of my 10 handicap goal. The time has come to prepare and get the set that will take the next step down to a single figure handicap. Still with 4 strokes to go to ten and having played to 11 and 12 in recent competitions the reason for starting to look seriously is because there are several sets that I have to whittle down. The Bridgestone J series appeal and I will be trialing a set of those in coming months, Titielist AP2’s, TalyorMade Burners, Wilson Ci/9’s, Callaway X series all have been given a run. Taylor made R9’s did not make the grade with me which I was bemused by. R9’s just did not feel good at all yet the cavity back Burners were a delight to hit. Mizuno fans do not feel slighted same as with the AP2’s it is a club choice that is out of my pockets reach for now. Together with the belief that my game is not at a level that warrants those at the minute. As confident as I am in my ability to improve and play a decent round of golf, a reality check that works for me is not to get capability and ambition confused.
After all of the experimenting with various clubs blades and cavity backs the sensation of a beautifully hit ball from either is delightful. The changes in my swing and improvement in my bodies flexibility have gone hand in hand since December 2010. It has not been easy or enjoyable at times as my previous posts reflect when expressing how pain is something to avoid. A game improvement iron is the best choice at this stage, something that will deliver feel and sensitivity to strokes played. Plus give a little tolerance to my shortcomings. Whilst I played well with the blades during the summer months the results fell away rapidly as I could not maintain performance and consistency. Two months of playing well with them was a great learning experience and I will return to them besides use as a practice tool.
Thankyou for your time and attention, “Hit ‘em straight all” Geoff
Saturday, June 04, 2011
Now for the Open Tournaments
Saturday 4/6/11 Now that Pennants have finished I have got a copy of all the various Club Open Tournaments in the region yesterday and can start planning my next golfing challenge. The first Open hits off on the 24th of July at Lucindale, in 2010 I won the C Grade this season I am in the B grade and will need to get a bit of dedicated practise under the belt to repeat the performance. This tournament is also the 2nd round of the DK Edwards Trophy which started last season and requires playing in 5 of ten regional Open Tournaments to qualify for a ranking. Entered it last year and it was a good incentive to travel and play in the many regional tournaments. Not entering this year due to the underwhelming promotion and information available on the event circulated by the regions Golf Association. I thoroughly support the idea yet cannot participate in something that is so poorly administered. Given that this is a volunteer based association, it is just not a promising evolution to do things half arsed. Hoping that word of mouth and supplying no running tables/ranking etc is going to inspire golfers to enter.
My motivation is to use these Open Tournaments as the inspiration to get out in the winter weather and practise hard and try to knock off 3-4 strokes by October for the Club Championships. Because of the dearth of low handicappers at our club 13-14 will have me in A Grade and there is no way that I will be competitive against the single figure golfers on my existing number. I have managed to play to 11 and 12 in competition this year so perhaps I may even manage to get into single figures by October. Joined with a group coaching session this week on short game and putting, This has definitely helped in planning my next practise routines that are going to assist in getting 3-4 strokes off my scores. The Open Tournaments have the competitive edge that inspires me to play my best. This time I am aware of the various course layouts and that is going to be a benefit together with my improved game.
Mentally at last I have come to terms with playing off the lower handicap (down 4 strokes in 5 months) It was fun enjoying seeing the numbers and having a wallow in getting there, the need to have competative golf to play and beat others is vital to getting value for the effort put in so far. Yes, I enjoy playing at the home club, the need to play better is supplied by the Open Tournaments. The whole experience of playing with new people and enjoying the socialising is a big part of the anticipation. There are a few courses which “kicked my arse” in 2010 that I am looking forward to returning and having another crack at. Well the sun is now up and time to get out and start the next round of practising. Thankyou for your time and attention, “Hit ‘em straight all”. , Geoff
My motivation is to use these Open Tournaments as the inspiration to get out in the winter weather and practise hard and try to knock off 3-4 strokes by October for the Club Championships. Because of the dearth of low handicappers at our club 13-14 will have me in A Grade and there is no way that I will be competitive against the single figure golfers on my existing number. I have managed to play to 11 and 12 in competition this year so perhaps I may even manage to get into single figures by October. Joined with a group coaching session this week on short game and putting, This has definitely helped in planning my next practise routines that are going to assist in getting 3-4 strokes off my scores. The Open Tournaments have the competitive edge that inspires me to play my best. This time I am aware of the various course layouts and that is going to be a benefit together with my improved game.
Mentally at last I have come to terms with playing off the lower handicap (down 4 strokes in 5 months) It was fun enjoying seeing the numbers and having a wallow in getting there, the need to have competative golf to play and beat others is vital to getting value for the effort put in so far. Yes, I enjoy playing at the home club, the need to play better is supplied by the Open Tournaments. The whole experience of playing with new people and enjoying the socialising is a big part of the anticipation. There are a few courses which “kicked my arse” in 2010 that I am looking forward to returning and having another crack at. Well the sun is now up and time to get out and start the next round of practising. Thankyou for your time and attention, “Hit ‘em straight all”. , Geoff
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