1/12/11 Thursday. The return to form after the layoff over the past two weeks is working at the minute. Nothing spectacular more so back to my previous standard, with perhaps a little improvement which is an unexpected bonus. Starting on Monday this week I have played 9 holes every day and several additional improvements to my game have been established as the restriction of the golfers elbow abates. Once again getting positives out of the negative has rewarded me, admittedly the frustration and anger that boiled over last week still sucked.
So far this week the first major improvement has been the hitting of greens in regulation, giving birdie chances. This has never been a consistent aspect of my golf, which the analysis and introspection of the past month while limited on the course has highlighted. The following are some game improvements that have came from the experience, 1) Established a defined setup routine for tee and fairway shots, 2) Improved swing plane, 3) Pitching and Chipping accuracy and versatility improved, 4) Returned to using any of the clubs all of the time. With a little more physical improvement to follow there is a few other specific aspects of my game that have been identified for development.
The restrictions from MVA injuries are abating through regular playing of golf since 2009. To the extent that now I am going to target getting a complete follow through on my swing, as far as my body limits will allow. In this the progress has been very extensive already, flexibility and rotation of my hips has improved at least 20% in 3 seasons. To attain an improved forward swing will be a valuable addition to my ball striking. This one addition will go hand in hand with my practise of tee and fairway shots. Secondly, yet most importantly is improving the results on the green when putting. This part of my game has really suffered from the Golfers’ Elbow injury. Even now I am using the lighter and shorter putter to accommodate the strain the action puts on the tender spots.
Beside the obvious enjoyment at being able to play again, the use of blades has been a very successful exercise for my game improvement. The need to strike the ball well with blades to get a good result is a great incentive when practising and playing with them. I still alternate between using blades and the Titleist AP2’s, whilst my consistency with the blades is maintained when returning to the AP2 irons the improvement is markedly noticeable. With Ebay and the variety of used irons available there, picking up a set of blades for $30 and paying $100 for extensions and new grips was unbeatable value. I am not a coach and thoroughly recommend any golfer to not hesitate in taking lessons from qualified coaches. This has been the best thing I have done in my golfing, followed by regular practise routines. That is not discounting the vocal minority who will espouse that coaching was wasted on them, just take note this is a minority of golfers.
Which brings me to the free part of improving your golf, watching good golfers play the game. The last few weeks I have benefited from this during the club Open with playing partners and this past weekend in the Robe Village Classic Ambrose, followed by the 18 hole Classic Invitational event for 5hcp or less golfers. This year I followed the deciding group of 4 players tied on 71 gross and filmed the two hole play off. Doing this was well worth the walk, and the deciding factor in two changes that are now part of my game. Establishing and following a setup routine for each shot, putting is the one that is lagging in this. Coaching is needed for my putting, as well as a little more recovery time for the elbow injury. This also assisted in returneing to using any club for all shots instead of automatically grabbing what seems best. These two changes came from my observations and discussions with the low handicap golfers played with during these events. Thankyou for your time and attention, “Hit ‘em straight all”
Geoff
Thursday, December 01, 2011
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Back to playing the game at last...
29/11/11 Tuesday. The past weekend golfing was a pleasure to see and play in, starting on Friday afternoon with my first decent hit in 2-3 weeks. The 9 hole “chicken run” competition on Friday afternoons is fun and my approach to this is to especially enjoy the round and use it to tune up my game for competition. Having spent so long on the side lines of late it was good to be hitting the ball well and enjoying the company of my playing partners. Akin to a scene from Caddyshack the skies around us on the course were black with flashes of lighting sparking across the roiling sky followed by rolling thunder. With two holes to go the wind changed direction and the storm clouds turned towards us and soon big fat raindrops were splatting onto heads. Sitting on 16 points and playing well I stuck it out to the end. Totally drenched by the finish and a total of 20 points was well worth the soaking.
Saturday was the Robe Village Classic Ambrose and our four put in a very credible effort. With a final total of 7 under for the day, getting 5 birdies on the front nine our game lacked the putting skill on the back only adding another 2 birdies to the scorecard. We did not get any bogies or worse in the round either, but not able to drop the birdie putts on the back nine had us miss out on the prizes on a countback at the end of the days play. Best total was a 14 under, proving that the summer conditions are a boon to playing better golf. Each team included 1-2 players who were invited players for the next days Robe Village Classic Tournament for 5 hcp. or less golfers in the Mens and 18 or less in the ladies tournament. Personally I felt some responsibility for out teams shortcomings on the back nine, struggled after the 11th hole to putt well especially. In the team talent scale I was the 2nd best golfer, with a Scratch, me on 12, a 23 and a 27.
No matter it was great fun and it was well worthwhile to see the difference between my standard and a scratch golfer up close and unleashed off the tee. With the consistent set up of each hole with a shot on the fairway every time before the scratch golfer teed up, it was possible to see first hand the talent that is in the hands of low handicappers. On the day he used the driver several times off the tee in the Ambrose which if it was a solo stroke round would have used anything from a fairway metal to #2 iron. That comment was filed away in my brain box together with the observation of the same game approach from Mark Pretty (+1 hcp.) who played in my group during the Robe Open on the 6th of November.
Mark Pretty and Dylan Morgan were both tied at the end of the Open’s 18 holes and there was a playoff to decide the winner. Out club has a two hole playoff with best gross score deciding the winner and if tied it is sudden death play until there is a winner. The 2011 Robe Open video footage of the 5 playoff holes has been edited now and is included in the post here;
1st playoff hole
2nd Playoff hole
3rd Playoff hole
4th Playoff hole
5th Playoff hole
Winners Presentation Robe Open 2011
This was an interesting notation in my mind when referring back to my first year back golfing in 2009. I played successfully in that season using the #3 iron off the tee for 6 months before getting coaching from the club professional in January 2010 in using a Driver. Even today with the smaller driver (380cc) in the bag, I do not have to change to a #3 metal off the tee when that is a better choice than a 460cc Driver. Improvement with the #2 Hybrid in coming months is a must, this club is going to be a vital ingredient among others in my quest to reach a 5 handicap. Thankyou for your time and attention, “Hit ‘em straight all” Geoff
Saturday was the Robe Village Classic Ambrose and our four put in a very credible effort. With a final total of 7 under for the day, getting 5 birdies on the front nine our game lacked the putting skill on the back only adding another 2 birdies to the scorecard. We did not get any bogies or worse in the round either, but not able to drop the birdie putts on the back nine had us miss out on the prizes on a countback at the end of the days play. Best total was a 14 under, proving that the summer conditions are a boon to playing better golf. Each team included 1-2 players who were invited players for the next days Robe Village Classic Tournament for 5 hcp. or less golfers in the Mens and 18 or less in the ladies tournament. Personally I felt some responsibility for out teams shortcomings on the back nine, struggled after the 11th hole to putt well especially. In the team talent scale I was the 2nd best golfer, with a Scratch, me on 12, a 23 and a 27.
No matter it was great fun and it was well worthwhile to see the difference between my standard and a scratch golfer up close and unleashed off the tee. With the consistent set up of each hole with a shot on the fairway every time before the scratch golfer teed up, it was possible to see first hand the talent that is in the hands of low handicappers. On the day he used the driver several times off the tee in the Ambrose which if it was a solo stroke round would have used anything from a fairway metal to #2 iron. That comment was filed away in my brain box together with the observation of the same game approach from Mark Pretty (+1 hcp.) who played in my group during the Robe Open on the 6th of November.
Mark Pretty and Dylan Morgan were both tied at the end of the Open’s 18 holes and there was a playoff to decide the winner. Out club has a two hole playoff with best gross score deciding the winner and if tied it is sudden death play until there is a winner. The 2011 Robe Open video footage of the 5 playoff holes has been edited now and is included in the post here;
1st playoff hole
2nd Playoff hole
3rd Playoff hole
4th Playoff hole
5th Playoff hole
Winners Presentation Robe Open 2011
This was an interesting notation in my mind when referring back to my first year back golfing in 2009. I played successfully in that season using the #3 iron off the tee for 6 months before getting coaching from the club professional in January 2010 in using a Driver. Even today with the smaller driver (380cc) in the bag, I do not have to change to a #3 metal off the tee when that is a better choice than a 460cc Driver. Improvement with the #2 Hybrid in coming months is a must, this club is going to be a vital ingredient among others in my quest to reach a 5 handicap. Thankyou for your time and attention, “Hit ‘em straight all” Geoff
Thursday, November 24, 2011
A little dummy spit... Feel a lot better now
24/11/11 Thursday. Getting close to spitting the dummy at the minute, had a gutfull of not playing golf today. After spending a few hours at the club sorting out the stock in the bar and with the electrician getting the power fixed went to the car and got the sticks out of the boot and played five holes.
Bit of anger in the first few holes so some ratty shots, still hitting greens in regulation was done a couple of times. Putted crap and did not care was just happy to throw off the shackles and have a swing. Still some damned pain in the right fore arm, that is not a good sign. Of course I would rather have the arm ,even if it is a bit second rate than be a Mr Stumpy. In fact as I write this the anger is really roiling away, a good thing. Have been through a lot of physical discomfort for a long time so my acceptance of it is very limited. Being fitter from playing golf and enjoying the handicap progress, stopping something so good is not easy.
Saturday is the Village Classic Ambrose, unfortunately only two of us from last seasons successful team can make it and I am not in prime form. That said it is an Ambrose and will suit my current game very well. Pretty pumped to play after so long away, hahahah two weeks of reduced golf. Then Sunday a day of watching a field of 24, 5 or less handicap golfers playing for the 2011 Village Classic honours.
The power problem had been noticed for 6 months or so and was a dimming of the lights in the main. Sparky gets the call and says it is not a good sign, as an electricity nimrod I had no idea what this potentially meant. A mini Hiroshima or a burst of cow flatulence. To make a long story short after answering no to the questions ie has any one been shocked with the juice or any electrical equipment been fried. He was surprised and then showed that instead of 240 Volts the club was getting up to 300V. ETSA sent a crew straight away and fixed the lines and so now we are back in the safety zone. By pure luck it seems because the club gets limited use through winter, not much wedding hire etc the possible disaster was avoided.
The Club AGM went well last night, bigger attendance than the last one, which in AGM terms can be a concrn as if members are happy they dont come out in large numbers. Yet the meeting went along smoothly the floor members voiced no concerns or problems with the plans and decisions mooted for the coming expansion. New people on the committee as well which is a good thing and I have stepped down from Secretary and taken on Vice President for the year. Thankyou for your time and attention, “Hit ‘em straight all”, Geoff
Bit of anger in the first few holes so some ratty shots, still hitting greens in regulation was done a couple of times. Putted crap and did not care was just happy to throw off the shackles and have a swing. Still some damned pain in the right fore arm, that is not a good sign. Of course I would rather have the arm ,even if it is a bit second rate than be a Mr Stumpy. In fact as I write this the anger is really roiling away, a good thing. Have been through a lot of physical discomfort for a long time so my acceptance of it is very limited. Being fitter from playing golf and enjoying the handicap progress, stopping something so good is not easy.
Saturday is the Village Classic Ambrose, unfortunately only two of us from last seasons successful team can make it and I am not in prime form. That said it is an Ambrose and will suit my current game very well. Pretty pumped to play after so long away, hahahah two weeks of reduced golf. Then Sunday a day of watching a field of 24, 5 or less handicap golfers playing for the 2011 Village Classic honours.
The power problem had been noticed for 6 months or so and was a dimming of the lights in the main. Sparky gets the call and says it is not a good sign, as an electricity nimrod I had no idea what this potentially meant. A mini Hiroshima or a burst of cow flatulence. To make a long story short after answering no to the questions ie has any one been shocked with the juice or any electrical equipment been fried. He was surprised and then showed that instead of 240 Volts the club was getting up to 300V. ETSA sent a crew straight away and fixed the lines and so now we are back in the safety zone. By pure luck it seems because the club gets limited use through winter, not much wedding hire etc the possible disaster was avoided.
The Club AGM went well last night, bigger attendance than the last one, which in AGM terms can be a concrn as if members are happy they dont come out in large numbers. Yet the meeting went along smoothly the floor members voiced no concerns or problems with the plans and decisions mooted for the coming expansion. New people on the committee as well which is a good thing and I have stepped down from Secretary and taken on Vice President for the year. Thankyou for your time and attention, “Hit ‘em straight all”, Geoff
Monday, November 21, 2011
How low can I go.....
21/11/11 Monday. Sticking with the no golfing effort to assist in recovery from the Tennis/Golfer elbow malaise. The last week was not easy did go out on Tuesday and hit 20 balls with my drivers just to work on the swing fault which affected the Penola round and had a 15 minute putting session on Wednesday. That is the total of golfing practise and the least number of hits in the past three years, so it was a difficult excercise. At the minute the recovery is still very slow, unfortunately on weekends I throw the papers for the local newsagent. Whilst the discomfort was less on Sunday than after Saturdays paper round it was not a good thing to do. At this stage I will have a hit on Friday in the Chicken run 9 hole stableford, before playing in the Robe Classic Ambrose Comp. on Saturday. Should be no problems with this amount of activity, although the Race To Cypress Lakes competition on the 2nd of December is looking like a non entry for me. Only 7 spots left in the field for the Vines and I cannot commit given the slow improvement.
Southern Ports Tournament in 2012 , end of February and first week of March is still the major start to next seasons competition targets, after finishing second in “B” Grade in 2011 and the same in “C” Grade in 2010 now I am up into the”A” Grade. Relishing the challenge at having a crack at this, reality is that being in the higher handicap section of the grade, target is the Nett competition not the Gross. Another two weeks are committed to recovering from the injury before I have to start the pre-Competition preparation.
The upside to not playing golf at the minute is the amount of “thinking time” that my game is getting to counter not being out playing. Was about time, in hindsight, that I sat back and put some thought into where I am going with golf. The dreamed of handicap goal back in 2009 when starting was 10, the must get target was 15. Reached that figure in February 2011, and now playing off 12. Nearing the first of the double figure handicap numbers, has me looking at the single digits below. Playing to 19hcp is still fresh enough in my experience to be able to notice the major improvement in 12 months to be 7 strokes better. Whilst all of the playing focus is on cracking the 10hcp level, mentally my mind is rambling among the single digits for a target.
Being aware of other golfing partners/opponents achievements over this time handicap wise is a benefit. Specifically two have got down to a 6hcp from 12-13 another from 4 to 2. In that time there has been several casual golfing partners, who during rounds have discussed their handicap journeys from where I am at to the single figures. After a week of thought, the revised handicap dream target is 5, I will accept 6 or 4 either side of the number as well, which pretty much reveals that until I get there the hunger to improve is a motivation at the minute. Being able to go back over three seasons of a golf diary and two of blogging which were written as the golfing happened is a significant benefit. I can see where I have had various influences, positive and negative on my game develop. The equipment and coaching experiences are especially valuable. In fact the latter is the most influential aspect which improved my game. A golfers attitude to receiving professional coaching is what makes or breaks their game in my opinion. For those who stand by the position of coaching does not benefit a golfers game, that is your choice. I will draw your attention to the fact that the professionals who play at the highest level today, still get coaching to keep their own game at it’s best.
Whilst I do have a documented training/practise schedule that has worked so far it is not static or set in stone. It has evolved since 2009 to produce my golf improvement and although it has maintained the core principles to enable playing my best golf. Not once have I gone off on a tangent chasing one of those imaginary “Secrets” that will take your golf to a brilliant level. Grip and Swing in tandem with practise are what has got me this far. Never have I gone to a coach without a set idea of what was needed. Hence I could listen to the advice. practise the routines and here I am playing my best golf for now. Thankyou for your time and attention, “Hit ‘em straight all”
Geoff
Southern Ports Tournament in 2012 , end of February and first week of March is still the major start to next seasons competition targets, after finishing second in “B” Grade in 2011 and the same in “C” Grade in 2010 now I am up into the”A” Grade. Relishing the challenge at having a crack at this, reality is that being in the higher handicap section of the grade, target is the Nett competition not the Gross. Another two weeks are committed to recovering from the injury before I have to start the pre-Competition preparation.
The upside to not playing golf at the minute is the amount of “thinking time” that my game is getting to counter not being out playing. Was about time, in hindsight, that I sat back and put some thought into where I am going with golf. The dreamed of handicap goal back in 2009 when starting was 10, the must get target was 15. Reached that figure in February 2011, and now playing off 12. Nearing the first of the double figure handicap numbers, has me looking at the single digits below. Playing to 19hcp is still fresh enough in my experience to be able to notice the major improvement in 12 months to be 7 strokes better. Whilst all of the playing focus is on cracking the 10hcp level, mentally my mind is rambling among the single digits for a target.
Being aware of other golfing partners/opponents achievements over this time handicap wise is a benefit. Specifically two have got down to a 6hcp from 12-13 another from 4 to 2. In that time there has been several casual golfing partners, who during rounds have discussed their handicap journeys from where I am at to the single figures. After a week of thought, the revised handicap dream target is 5, I will accept 6 or 4 either side of the number as well, which pretty much reveals that until I get there the hunger to improve is a motivation at the minute. Being able to go back over three seasons of a golf diary and two of blogging which were written as the golfing happened is a significant benefit. I can see where I have had various influences, positive and negative on my game develop. The equipment and coaching experiences are especially valuable. In fact the latter is the most influential aspect which improved my game. A golfers attitude to receiving professional coaching is what makes or breaks their game in my opinion. For those who stand by the position of coaching does not benefit a golfers game, that is your choice. I will draw your attention to the fact that the professionals who play at the highest level today, still get coaching to keep their own game at it’s best.
Whilst I do have a documented training/practise schedule that has worked so far it is not static or set in stone. It has evolved since 2009 to produce my golf improvement and although it has maintained the core principles to enable playing my best golf. Not once have I gone off on a tangent chasing one of those imaginary “Secrets” that will take your golf to a brilliant level. Grip and Swing in tandem with practise are what has got me this far. Never have I gone to a coach without a set idea of what was needed. Hence I could listen to the advice. practise the routines and here I am playing my best golf for now. Thankyou for your time and attention, “Hit ‘em straight all”
Geoff
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