Golf Thread
- Thread starter Andr3w
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Associate
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I know that feeling, it is frustrating when it just teases you and leaves - been there, got the t-shirt lol
Went back to see Paul at Mind Body Golf on Monday and we spoke about some mental stuff/pre shot routine etc. He's also given me some exercises for Pilates for my restricted hip range etc.
He ask me about pre shot routine and did I have one - I said not really but I have a nailed on pre shot routine for my putting.... He asked me how my putt is - I said best part of my game....
So... He asked me to hit 5/6 shots as if I was on the course (but on his sim) - He observed me in terms of routine, how many steps to the ball, waggles, looks at target etc....
Funnily enough - each time all different - some more steps into the ball, sometimes a look at target, sometimes not etc.
He showed me his pre shot routine and it's robotic - very interesting to watch. He even incorporates his breathing as a rhythm/timing for his.
Even things like when lining up a shot - which is your dominate eye? Loads of people close one eye when picking a target, but loads of people close their dominate eye so their alignment is miles off to start with.
Got a couple of pages of hand written notes away with me and going to really work on my routine over the winter. I want it to become automatic as I think this is a huge step forwards, cause I know how good my putting is because I have a routine for every single putt from 2ft / 20ft doesn't matter - it's the same every time.
He ask me about pre shot routine and did I have one - I said not really but I have a nailed on pre shot routine for my putting.... He asked me how my putt is - I said best part of my game....
So... He asked me to hit 5/6 shots as if I was on the course (but on his sim) - He observed me in terms of routine, how many steps to the ball, waggles, looks at target etc....
Funnily enough - each time all different - some more steps into the ball, sometimes a look at target, sometimes not etc.
He showed me his pre shot routine and it's robotic - very interesting to watch. He even incorporates his breathing as a rhythm/timing for his.
Even things like when lining up a shot - which is your dominate eye? Loads of people close one eye when picking a target, but loads of people close their dominate eye so their alignment is miles off to start with.
Got a couple of pages of hand written notes away with me and going to really work on my routine over the winter. I want it to become automatic as I think this is a huge step forwards, cause I know how good my putting is because I have a routine for every single putt from 2ft / 20ft doesn't matter - it's the same every time.
I've been kinda trying to work on a pre-shot routine over the last two months and found it kinda hard to consistently do it, I inevitably at some point rush myself and miss bits/all of it at points, think it's helped in general and getting more consistent but definitely a process...
On the other hand I really don't want a full-on checklist type thing, number of steps to the ball? Ain't nobody got time for that
For me it's more I want to properly/consciously go over the shot/hole/hazards/everything, even if I'm at a course I've played 100 times, to be 100% sure and confident in the shot that I'm about to do. Add in a few 'swishes', not full practice swings, picking a bit in front of the ball to line up to and then actually hit the damn thing.
Out today played St. Pierre in Mathern with the networking group. Very cold start, very cold, but not too bad with clear skies/sunshine. Game was very meh, struggled with putting speed as the greens changed a bunch during the round, at the start they were firm/frozen and covered in ice so big bounce, no check and slow putts. Then the ice thawed a bit but the ground was still frozen so still a firm bounce/no check but much faster and then finally the ground thawed too so they got soft with check and even faster as the grass dried a bit. Bunch of 3 putts towards the end
Did hit a spectacular bunker shot on the 9th though, green was shaded so still frozen and still got it to check, that thing was spinnin!
On the other hand I really don't want a full-on checklist type thing, number of steps to the ball? Ain't nobody got time for that
For me it's more I want to properly/consciously go over the shot/hole/hazards/everything, even if I'm at a course I've played 100 times, to be 100% sure and confident in the shot that I'm about to do. Add in a few 'swishes', not full practice swings, picking a bit in front of the ball to line up to and then actually hit the damn thing.Out today played St. Pierre in Mathern with the networking group. Very cold start, very cold, but not too bad with clear skies/sunshine. Game was very meh, struggled with putting speed as the greens changed a bunch during the round, at the start they were firm/frozen and covered in ice so big bounce, no check and slow putts. Then the ice thawed a bit but the ground was still frozen so still a firm bounce/no check but much faster and then finally the ground thawed too so they got soft with check and even faster as the grass dried a bit. Bunch of 3 putts towards the end
Did hit a spectacular bunker shot on the 9th though, green was shaded so still frozen and still got it to check, that thing was spinnin!
Had a lesson last night. My coach is very good as proved when I was curious on my equipment quality (whilst secretly curious of his skill level) he smashed it 280 carry 305. So nothing wrong with my old driver.
Best I eventually managed was 253 / 270 which I was very happy about, nearly 30 yards gained in a single lesson.
The difficulty I have with lessons is turning instructions into feelings and he does explain it very well, my body just doesn't want to always do what I know but what it knows. Years of muscle memory always beat my conscious thought.
I do have a set path to stick too, I just need to drill baby drill.
Best I eventually managed was 253 / 270 which I was very happy about, nearly 30 yards gained in a single lesson.
The difficulty I have with lessons is turning instructions into feelings and he does explain it very well, my body just doesn't want to always do what I know but what it knows. Years of muscle memory always beat my conscious thought.
I do have a set path to stick too, I just need to drill baby drill.
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Crap weather this morning, trolley blew over twice (brolly wasn't even up the second time) 
Only redeeming factors were not losing a ball and a lovely 5i on the par 3 fourth to bag nearest the pin, missed the 3-4 footer for birdie
Edit: picked up some new shoes yesterday as my current pair had just started to crack on the left toe. Another pair of Under Armour (Drive Medal spiked). Broke them in at home last night, first time out this morning. Extremely comfortable, good grip and kept my feet nice and dry
Only redeeming factors were not losing a ball and a lovely 5i on the par 3 fourth to bag nearest the pin, missed the 3-4 footer for birdie Edit: picked up some new shoes yesterday as my current pair had just started to crack on the left toe. Another pair of Under Armour (Drive Medal spiked). Broke them in at home last night, first time out this morning. Extremely comfortable, good grip and kept my feet nice and dry
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Soldato
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well I haven't even picked up a club since 22nd Oct. Holiday and the weather just hasn't given me the urge to play. I need to re-find my mojo
Smashing the golf in at the moment. Went out yesterday to the range for 150 balls just concentrating on grips and not swaying. Also picked up a mizuno 5 wood which I'm happy with.
Left the range grabbed some food and played 9 holes at the local course. 4 over
Played this morning the full 18 and shot 87 so my 2nd time under 90. I play of 23 so 8 shots under.
Were still on normal greens but some moved t boxes so not looking into the scores to much but I look to take the positives ...
No topped shots. Not duffed chips. No missed fairways from the t. Putting let me down quite a bit so there's something to practise.
Left the range grabbed some food and played 9 holes at the local course. 4 over
Played this morning the full 18 and shot 87 so my 2nd time under 90. I play of 23 so 8 shots under.
Were still on normal greens but some moved t boxes so not looking into the scores to much but I look to take the positives ...
No topped shots. Not duffed chips. No missed fairways from the t. Putting let me down quite a bit so there's something to practise.
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Played this morning with a couple of the lads and only 1 temp green was a surprise to be honest as I would have expected 3 based on the rain the last few days
Shot 75 (+3) with a 1 under front 9, but then a lost ball on 12 was annoying as we knew where it should have been, but the leaves hid it, so I marked it down as a triple bogey (nett double bogeys)
I then made bogeys on the next 3 holes to play those 4 holes at 6 over par but pulled myself together to make a birdie on 16 and then finish with a couple pars
Round had a triple, 5 bogeys and 5 birdies but it was one of those 'what might have been rounds' overall
I drove the ball well today so hoping that the changes are starting to bed in, but got another lesson in a couple weeks to check how it looks
Shot 75 (+3) with a 1 under front 9, but then a lost ball on 12 was annoying as we knew where it should have been, but the leaves hid it, so I marked it down as a triple bogey (nett double bogeys)
I then made bogeys on the next 3 holes to play those 4 holes at 6 over par but pulled myself together to make a birdie on 16 and then finish with a couple pars
Round had a triple, 5 bogeys and 5 birdies but it was one of those 'what might have been rounds' overall
I drove the ball well today so hoping that the changes are starting to bed in, but got another lesson in a couple weeks to check how it looks
Had another great morning at the driving range with the kids yesterday, we're all getting better with our swings and more consistent lengths, new 7 iron record for me 152 yards nice and straight... Kids are hitting a total distance of 80ish yards with their 7 iron.... Will get some more clubs payday for more variety of shots
If you're on about clubs for the kids check out local pro shops, i got a set for free from my local that had been gifted to them. I'll hand them back for someone else when my youngest outgrows them
Ohhh wow that's amazing, was going to pop to our local pro shop Tuesday to see what's available, might get lucky
Just awaiting the course going to winter tee's. Playing off the tips with no rollout sucks! A real struggle. Swapped out my driver shaft today as a "test" for winter golf. Usually I have a Tour AD VF6S but a mate has let me borrow his HZRDUS Black 60 X flex. So far with the winter grind it was going well today, with winter 3 layers of clothing on I felt that the Swing I needed to put on the VF6 wasn't there as it's a really stout shaft. Wedges, god I hate winter golf haha. Clipping them clean is the challenge, the touch isn't there yet.
I'm out in Turkey at the moment, yesterday was the first round at the Aspendos course at Cullinan Links, great facility and it was a toasty 27c
Played well and got 40 points, didn't even feel that great but the back 9 was just full of 3-pointers for 23 on the back 9...
Today is the Olympus course, but after some rain this morning it's only 20-ish, I guess I'll have to cope
Playing Cumberwell Park on Friday after I get back, that's gonna be a bit different
Played well and got 40 points, didn't even feel that great but the back 9 was just full of 3-pointers for 23 on the back 9...
Today is the Olympus course, but after some rain this morning it's only 20-ish, I guess I'll have to cope
Playing Cumberwell Park on Friday after I get back, that's gonna be a bit different
I'm out in Turkey at the moment, yesterday was the first round at the Aspendos course at Cullinan Links, great facility and it was a toasty 27c
Played well and got 40 points, didn't even feel that great but the back 9 was just full of 3-pointers for 23 on the back 9...
Today is the Olympus course, but after some rain this morning it's only 20-ish, I guess I'll have to cope
Playing Cumberwell Park on Friday after I get back, that's gonna be a bit different
Enjoy - but I hope you are getting a cut after that 23 point back 9!!!
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I did! We started off with our EG handicaps but I got 2 shots cut for that round...Enjoy - but I hope you are getting a cut after that 23 point back 9!!!
Today was matchplay which I won, with +15 (ish, gimmes etc so far from official) off 19 shots so another ~40 points. Also with +5 over on the back 9 it was probably similar again.
Tomorrow is not part of the week's competition but I've got another 2 shot cut for Wednesdays finale, more matchplay goodness
Friend down the range had a Nike 7 iron blade, one of the tiger woods one. Can't get any more bladed than that, really enjoyed hitting it! When i hit it well sounded and felt great and gave great feedback off on shots. Going to get myself a blade for practice down the range.
Back from Turkey yesterday and had a good, and successful trip
Think I mentioned before but the main golf was at the Cullinan Links courses, we stayed at the Titanic hotel and played 4 rounds of golf there (2 on each of the courses), we also played 9 holes of night golf at Carya.
The Cullinan setup is pretty nice, hotel was decent with all-inclusive setup for food etc which worked well, to get to the course they had a few ~12 seater buggies running a shuttle, it was kinda walkable but with clubs buggy it is Also if you played golf the clubhouse at the courses and the 'buggy bar' were all inclusive as well and the food was really nice so we often ended up stopping at the clubhouse for a few drinks and shared pizza after the rounds
Course wise they seem to have made some changes, not sure if permanent or not but as far as Garmin is concerned the front 9 of both courses come from the Garmin Olympus course whilst the back 9 of both courses were the floodlit Aspendos holes, if that makes any sense... Anyway, got that figured out by the 3rd hole on the first day I'd say the back 9's (which is the Garmin Aspendos/floodlit holes) were the easier by far with the front 9 of Olympus actually being semi-links-y and the most interesting of the setup. Both courses though were on the easier side (distance and forgiveness) but without being too boring so given the groups handicaps it worked well really.
Also, kinda 'easy', forgiving/not many lost balls, means the rounds weren't too bad, around the 4-4.5 hour mark with not much pressure or anything. When I went to Portugal I think every round was 5+ hours.
Carya was lovely, if expensive! Would like to go back and play the full 18, maybe in daylight, if I can stomach the cost
Beware, it's a slippery slope! I did similar, picked up a Mizuno blade 7 iron as an ex-demo club for ~£20, loved it and then bought the Takomo 301 combo set so blades in 8-PW
Think I mentioned before but the main golf was at the Cullinan Links courses, we stayed at the Titanic hotel and played 4 rounds of golf there (2 on each of the courses), we also played 9 holes of night golf at Carya.
The Cullinan setup is pretty nice, hotel was decent with all-inclusive setup for food etc which worked well, to get to the course they had a few ~12 seater buggies running a shuttle, it was kinda walkable but with clubs buggy it is
Also if you played golf the clubhouse at the courses and the 'buggy bar' were all inclusive as well and the food was really nice so we often ended up stopping at the clubhouse for a few drinks and shared pizza after the rounds Course wise they seem to have made some changes, not sure if permanent or not but as far as Garmin is concerned the front 9 of both courses come from the Garmin Olympus course whilst the back 9 of both courses were the floodlit Aspendos holes, if that makes any sense... Anyway, got that figured out by the 3rd hole on the first day
I'd say the back 9's (which is the Garmin Aspendos/floodlit holes) were the easier by far with the front 9 of Olympus actually being semi-links-y and the most interesting of the setup. Both courses though were on the easier side (distance and forgiveness) but without being too boring so given the groups handicaps it worked well really.Also, kinda 'easy', forgiving/not many lost balls, means the rounds weren't too bad, around the 4-4.5 hour mark with not much pressure or anything. When I went to Portugal I think every round was 5+ hours.
Carya was lovely, if expensive! Would like to go back and play the full 18, maybe in daylight, if I can stomach the cost
Beware, it's a slippery slope!
I did similar, picked up a Mizuno blade 7 iron as an ex-demo club for ~£20, loved it and then bought the Takomo 301 combo set so blades in 8-PW Haha well i do like the look of it and i think the look of something has an impact on how well you hit it as stupid as it sounds. I did try the 2 iron he has, not tempted by one of them! I got about 150yards he's well over 200 yards with it.Beware, it's a slippery slope!