Golf Thread

Bit of an odd weekend for me. Range Friday, played Saturday and lesson yesterday which in any other scenario would have been the best way to do it, but my teacher told me something yesterday which changed everything.

I'd explained to him the problem I have hitting mid to long irons. Slices, tops and duffs aplenty. He took me out on the course for the first time where we played a few holes together. As per usual off the tee I was garbage. I could save about 9/10 strokes a round if I didn't loose balls and have to play 3 off the tee. The problem it seems is that I was never told that hitting a longer iron requires an entirely different technique... A flick of the wrists, a slightly more open club face and a more pronounced, earlier follow through with my right hip to the target. Before the hour was up I was hitting 170 yard 5 irons with height I never thought you where supposed to get from those clubs... It explains why I hit the shorter clubs so well really, it's the only swing I've ever practiced :rolleyes:

I'm sure it's not going to be that easy at the range tomorrow. Hitting them with an instructor there and doing it on your own are two entirely different things, but at least I've got something to work on until my next round (playing Saturday afternoon as well as Monday).
 
Top tracer numbers starting to look a little more realistic (for what it's worth).

First practice session after altering my mid to long iron technique. Felt OK. Would say generally flushed more then I topped or chunked but still a ways to go.

Unfortunately going to have to abandon the lessons for the time being as we've just had our first hint of an increased energy bill... bit of a shame but feel like I've got enough to work on for the next month or so. Gonna try get out to Dartmouth for a quick 9 Saturday morning before a round with my brother at Calderfield on Monday. Hoping the weather holds out as he flat out refuses to play if there's even a hint of moisture in the air :rolleyes:
 
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Don't know if this is really an answerable question but how do you guys deal with a lack of confidence standing over a ball, if that ever happens?

Had issues with my driver for ages in the form of an absolutely wicked slice. I've had lessons to rectify this which is good as I know what I'm doing wrong and it's not nearly as bad as what it used to be. Whenever I've got it tee'd up, I starting bricking it and end up making a hash of it (on the course and at the range), it gets to the point where I don't even want to use it. I'd started to convince myself it was the driver that I didn't like as it's very whippy even though it has a stiff shaft but I'm starting to accept that it's me that's the problem! :D
 
The way for me to fix my issues, is by dropping 2-3 balls on the tee - even if i'm playing with friends or other members, only if there's time and no one is rushing us from behind.
If I hit a big slice, which is rare for me nowadays. I have to put another ball down and fix my swing before I move onto the next one, which gives me confidence. You can start to build up some feels that worked, ready for the next.
 
Aye, it's a real problem that I think a lot of us struggle with, I know I do. Personally I get it on the tee regardless of what club I'm holding and it's the weakest part of my game, easily where I gain the most strokes through playing three of the tee.

I think if you have an anxious disposition by default then it can absolutely creep into your game in all sorts of nefarious ways. If you're not one of those lucky swine who can step up to a shot and isolate themselves to it naturally, then you really just have to build in a routine to get there. My teacher talks about set up and execution, having the same cues for a shot every single time regardless of surroundings. He pointed at Matthew Wolff and his knee kink as an example. Probably doesn't aid his swing technique at all but it's a cue or 'tick' he needs to perform in order to isolate the 'swing headspace'.
 
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Not really sure I get nervous but these days I often just have no idea where it's gonna go off the tee :/ It's not great but I've kinda just started 'accepting' it (for now, I know I've got work today), just go there hit the ball and deal with whatever happens :p

Played again today, ended up cancelling the 9 holes on Monday due to rain so hadn't played (or gone to the range/lesson) since the shocker last Sunday. Same course today and got 124, still kinda awful but not as awful. Hit a lovely par on the 6th I think it was, Drive was beautiful to put me ~90 yards out on a par 4 dogleg right, actually hit the chip nicely and putting for Birdie, didn't quite get it but had a knock in for par which I'll take any day. Some nice shots around the rest of the course really but just stupid errors. On the 16th I lost 2 off the tee before giving up and dropping near where the second went into the bushes to take my 5th shot on a par 5 maybe 50 yards from the tees... Was a pretty good hole after that with a really nice Hybrid shot followed by a 9 Iron onto the edge of the green but bit late to start playing well by that point :p

But another thing I did today for the first time on that course was walk it (with trolley) after finally getting some hedgehogs sorted, in a lot of ways better than a buggy now they have to stick to the path but also my feet are 'a little' sore :cry: 14k steps compared to ~9.5k in the buggy last Sunday...
 
Still get slightly nervous on the first tee but after that it goes. No way of getting rid of it. I just accept it but also trust my swing. For me that the biggest issue with a lot of people and as @SKILL has said, he doesn't know where the ball is going to go :cry:

As my playing partner tells me when playing into blinding sun etc, just trust your swing, don't rush to lift your head and watch the ball. That's my issue at times. Lifting my head before I've hit the ball.
 
Scored my best today, 85.
My stats say I hit 12 fairways, which doesn't include the par 3s.
Hit 8 pars
1 triple, 2 doubles and the rest were bogeys.
The conditions were terrible too, boggy in some of the fairways, but the greens were good for this time of year considering the rain we've had recently!
Super happy with my score, expecting my hcap to drop at midnight, to below 18 for the first time.
 
Played again today and it seems getting a handicap has fixed my swing :p

Either it's purely coincidental or maybe I was pressuring myself a bit for those first few games, it didn't feel like it but maybe...

Anyway, I played pretty well, 115 which matches my best (done twice previously) and other than 3 holes which just went horribly wrong it was pretty good all around so happy days :) Bit annoyed with myself on one hole as I had to lay up with an 8 iron after a short drive and kept the 8 iron in hand as I went to the ball, checked my watch and I knew the 8 Iron was probably too long but went for it anyway, got a clean hit straight into the bushes ~5-10 yards long of the pin. 9 Iron would've been perfect. But I was too lazy to walk back to the buggy (after walking Friday I gave my feet a rest :p)

Still, good times, back to playing how I 'was'/feel I should, long may it continue :D
 
Played pitch and put this morning, holes ranging in length from 75-115 yards. Managed to keep it to pars and bogeys which was pleasing, especially considering I didn't hit many GIR - a lot just short or greenside. Only a couple of poor strikes which, fortunately, I got away with. Putting could have been better but ground was saturated which made it tricky. Made a nice change from range practice and my game was a considerable improvement from when I played it in the summer which shows progress is being made :)
 
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Had great fun the last few days. Played with my pah at Calderfield yesterday for 9. Both played reasonably well despite the weather being a bit all over the place. Was surprisingly strong off the tee but putting was a little off. Ended up shooting 58 which I was quite happy with.

Went to Great Barr golf club for the first time today and wow, was very impressed. Whole place is in great nick considering the weather we've had (despite a few flooded bunkers), cheap as well!
Went around 13.00 and foolishly thought I could get around in 3 hours before the dark set in, made it to the 15th before heading in.
Played some of my best golf though, made 2 pars and kept it to triple bogey and under all the way round. Quite surprising really as its by far the longest course I've ever played, almost 6500 from the yellows and as I dont use a driver I probably lost a few shots on the par 4 and especially the 5s.

Ended up shooting 55 on the front 9 which is probably the lowest I've ever shot.
 
Went out for 9 at my local today, played 'ok', hit 59, some good shots, some bad, but most of the score came from my chipping and putting going a bit awry.

On the last hole there's a ditch/stream that kinda goes in a U shape that's kinda annoyingly placed with the second bit right in driver/good hybrid range for me so I've been torn between a safe 6 Iron landing on the 'island' or trying (and failing :p) to clear both 'sides'. Today I'd been hitting the driver well (and great on Sunday tbh) so I went for it, honestly it wasn't a great shot I think I hit a bit low on the face as it just didn't pop up as much as I expected and it came down behind a tree so I was fully expecting to have yet again found the ditch but as I walked up I was a couple of metres past it on the fairway, happy days :D Shame my next shot went out of bounds though...

But... Work was a bit crappy last week/yesterday and this morning and it was so nice to get away from that and just play some golf for an hour and a half, weather was lovely, fresh air etc :)
 
It really is a tonic. I used to bodybuild up until a few years ago and golf is one of the few things comparable in terms of escapism from the mundane. My mental health has been a touch shakey since I quit (rotator cuff injury) and golf has really helped me get some space and perspective on things in the same way going to the gym did.
 
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ArcticHeron said:
Had great fun the last few days. Played with my pah at Calderfield yesterday for 9. Both played reasonably well despite the weather being a bit all over the place. Was surprisingly strong off the tee but putting was a little off. Ended up shooting 58 which I was quite happy with.

Went to Great Barr golf club for the first time today and wow, was very impressed. Whole place is in great nick considering the weather we've had (despite a few flooded bunkers), cheap as well!
Went around 13.00 and foolishly thought I could get around in 3 hours before the dark set in, made it to the 15th before heading in.
Played some of my best golf though, made 2 pars and kept it to triple bogey and under all the way round. Quite surprising really as its by far the longest course I've ever played, almost 6500 from the yellows and as I dont use a driver I probably lost a few shots on the par 4 and especially the 5s.

Ended up shooting 55 on the front 9 which is probably the lowest I've ever shot.
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I'm on annual leave now for over a week if you fancied a game over at Great Bar (Weather Depending)
 
ArcticHeron said:
This Saturday. Should be able to get on for around 11.00 I'd imagine.

Has anyone here got the ShotScope 3? Was going to pick up a range finder but American Golf have the SS3 up for a decent price atm. They also have a good deal on the Garmin S12...
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Shotscope v3 - 100% the best thing you'll buy for the golf game.....

If your a stats nerd - unreal amount of data to dive into etc.
It will also show/highlight all the strengths and weakness in your game to allow you to work on things better.

Do you miss left side more or right side?
Distances of your irons/clubs
Are you short/long of greens etc.
How many putt on average
Literally goes into each individual hole and your tee shots/spread of shots etc etc

I'm a huge fan on shotscope - can't say enough good things about it. Honestly I think they could sell it as a £400 product and it would be worth the money. Can't recommended it highly enough.
 
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