5 Rounds - Lots of Feedback

May 30, 2006 @ 10:59 pm by chris

So I made my way out to Michigan for a great golf weekend. I’ll recap the scores and courses in the next few posts but I wanted to cover where my game is, good areas and areas for improvement. Playing 5 rounds of golf in 4 days really taught me a lot about my game because I was able to get into a groove. I was quickly able to figure out what areas I was good in and what areas I really sucked at. Flat out, my short game kicked some serious ass. From 100 yards out I was gold, relatively speaking. I was usually able to stick the ball close and either drain it or come pretty close. Even around the green my chipping lessons came in handy, I was decent but with a little more time it will be better. In all I chipped in 2 from the rough which was a great feeling. The putting lessons really helped out as well. I only 3-putted a few times but they were from long range so I wasn’t too disappointed. What I really felt great about was my ability to drain the short putts. 3-4 footers are usually ones I get nervous about but I never thought twice about these. I simply went through my putting routine and drained them. It was great. Okay, enough bragging – time to get to the parts I need work. 2 area, my driver and power. My driver is still a disaster and now it was starting to weigh on me because it was killing my scores. I hit the ball about 200 yards with a severe slice so not only is it very short, it was unpredictable. I was losing balls due to the slice but even worse, it was making it impossible for me to hit greens in regulation. Any Par 4s over 360 yards actually play like Par 5s for me due to my lack of driving distance and you can only imagine what that meant for 600 yd par 5s or 180 yd Par 3s. Driving wasn’t something we addressed in training because Jon wanted to focus on other areas and initially I thought it was a mistake because I needed length to be able to shoot low but then came this trip. I couldn’t believe how good my short game had become. I was forced to learn how to be extremely good within 100 yards in order to salvage bogeys. I also learned golf course management. When I was far out, I wasn’t trying to be a hero and clear water or bunkers. I would simply hit to the 100 yd marker and make my way from there. I guess it is true was Jon always says; It isn’t about where we are today, it is about where we will be down the road. That being said, I am really itching to see when we go for the driver. I have my next lesson this afternoon so lets see where we go!

5 Rounds - Lots of Feedback

May 30, 2006 @ 10:12 pm by chris

So I made my way out to Michigan for a great golf weekend.  I’ll recap the scores and courses in the next few posts but I wanted to cover where my game is, good areas and areas for improvement.  Playing 5 rounds of golf in 4 days really taught me a lot about my game because I was able to get into a groove.  I was quickly able to figure out what areas I was good in and what areas I really sucked at.  Flat out, my short game kicked some serious ass.  From 100 yards out I was gold, relatively speaking.  I was usually able to stick the ball close and either drain it or come pretty close.  Even around the green my chipping lessons came in handy, I was decent but with a little more time it will be better.  In all I chipped in 2 from the rough which was a great feeling.  The putting lessons really helped out as well.  I only 3-putted a few times but they were from long range so I wasn’t too disappointed.  What I really felt great about was my ability to drain the short putts.  3-4 footers are usually ones I get nervous about but I never thought twice about these.  I simply went through my putting routine and drained them.  It was great. Okay, enough bragging – time to get to the parts I need work.  2 area, my driver and power.  My driver is still a disaster and now it was starting to weigh on me because it was killing my scores.  I hit the ball about 200 yards with a severe slice so not only is it very short, it was unpredictable.  I was losing balls due to the slice but even worse, it was making it impossible for me to hit greens in regulation.  Any Par 4s over 360 yards actually play like Par 5s for me due to my lack of driving distance and you can only imagine what that meant for 600 yd par 5s or 180 yd Par 3s.  Driving wasn’t something we addressed in training because Jon wanted to focus on other areas and initially I thought it was a mistake because I needed length to be able to shoot low but then came this trip.  I couldn’t believe how good my short game had become.  I was forced to learn how to be extremely good within 100 yards in order to salvage bogeys.  I also learned golf course management.  When I was far out, I wasn’t trying to be a hero and clear water or bunkers.  I would simply hit to the 100 yd marker and make my way from there.  I guess it is true was Jon always says; It isn’t about where we are today, it is about where we will be down the road.  That being said, I am really itching to see when we go for the driver.  I have my next lesson this afternoon so lets see where we go!

The Art of Putting

May 26, 2006 @ 10:59 pm by chris

I am not a great putter but really feel I am pretty decent.  My biggest issue is reading greens which I was really excited to cover this week with Jon…but as I quickly find out, putting isn’t just a few lessons, it is a process with lots to learn.
The two of us wonder over to the putting green and just spend some time hitting balls on our own.  I don’t sink many but come close a few times.  Jon has a little more success then I do.  We then get down to the lesson.  “How often do you practice putting?” I am asked.  Damn, that is one hell of a question because I really only putt right before a round to get a feel for the greens.  That is the extent of it.  Jon says I should be practicing putting about 30% of the time!  Seems like a lot to me but who am I to argue.  Most strokes we make are on the green so this is money territory!
We first review grip.  We don’t spend a lot of time on this because everyone has a different grip but the one thing which stuck with me was the use of our key fingers, our thumb, index and middle finger (more commonly known as the F-U finger).  Jon uses the analogy of reaching into a pocket full of change and looking for a nickel.  When feeling around for it, we use these 3 fingers because we have the best feel with them.  This is why we should always have these 3 fingers on each hand on the shaft as much as possible…for best feel!
The next key is our wrists, much like chipping, we need to maintain strong wrists with no breaking and we really want to keep our head down and follow through for a good clean stroke so we are able to square the face of the putter at impact.
Next we bust out the training aids.  The first is the Putting Arc.  This is a basic wodden tool which a lot of pros actually use and I found very interesting because it dispels a very common myth – during a putt the club moves from 6 – 12 in a straight line.  That is not true at all, in fact the club moves in an arc like fashion almost going from 7-11.  Check out their web site to see more.  It is a nice little tool which if used enough, will help you train yourself to putt on his line all the time.
The second was just a little strip of metal.  Reminded me of the old plastic race car strips I used to piece together for my Hot Wheels cars.  The metal strip is about 4 feet ling and is someone convex in shape.  Jon places the ball on the metal strip and points it at the hole.  The goal is to hit a put that runs along the strip and into the hole.  Anything slightly off line will cause the ball to drop off the sloped metal strip.  The goal of this is to practice making square contact with the ball.  Anything off square will give you a negative result.  Without telling me the purpose of this tool, Jon placed a ball on the strip, pointed it at the hole and told me to putt.  Guess what?  I drained the damn thing.  Jon gave me a weird look and said in all his years teaching, no one had ever done that on their first try.  Looks like I am a phenom baby!!  Turns out the record on that is around 11 in a row…pros even struggle with it.
That is it for the lesson.  Some good fundamentals but lots left to learn.
Practice advice of the week.  Jon said I should only practice with 1 ball.  Play each shot like it is a game, trying to sink it in as few strokes as possible.  This is the same training technique used by the Swedish team which I wrote about a few weeks back.

5 Rounds in 5 Days

May 18, 2006 @ 10:13 pm by chris

The long weekend is coming and I have a lot of golf planned.  5 Rounds in 5 days in 2 Countries.  Reallying looking forward to it but a little concerned how the body is going to hold up.  I’m not going to lie to you, there might also be a few drinks involved so I may be a little tired and worn out next week. The trip starts tomorrow with a round in Burlington, ON at Hidden Lake.  I’ve never played it but I hear it is a nice little track.  We then pick up a friend who is finishing work and we drive to Michigan.  We then play 2 rounds Saturday, 1 Sunday and 1 more on Monday before heading back to Toronto.  In Michigan we are playing:  Greystone Orchards Shepherds Hollow Westwynd  I am feeling good especially since Jon took me through some short game lessons.  I’ll update the blog when I am back next week.  Have a great long weekend!

The Denim Dumbass

May 05, 2006 @ 10:14 pm by chris

I showed up yesterday at Eagles Nest for my lesson with Jon.  It had been a few weeks since my last lesson because Jon was away, so I was pretty excited to get going.  In my excitement I forget to pack my golf clothes and showed up to the course in jeans.  Guess what?  You can’t wear jeans on Eagles Nest practice facility!  Eagles Nest is a really nice facility and has an image to uphold and I fully agree with them.  I am a real dumbass. I am trying to re-book Jon for the next few days.  Moral of the Story: Always carry spare golf clothes in your car!

What Worked and What Didn’t Work

May 03, 2006 @ 10:15 pm by chris

My first round went well and I was pleased.  While I would have loved to break 100, I thought 101 was decent especially considering Eagles Nest is a tough course.  I was happy with my drives and irons but what I need to know is what exactly worked well.  In have a bunch of lessons under my belt which is good, I just got great new equipment which is amazing and I started using a ball (look for it in my next post) to help maximize distance for someone with a slower swing speed.  Obviously all of this helps but I wonder which is helping the most.  I have a lesson Thursday with Jon so I will bring it up then. What wasn’t working: Putting and Chipping.  I had no real touch around the greens and didn’t make many putts.  Chipping was touch because I never had a sand wedge before so trying to learn how to use it during a round wasn’t a great idea.  I usually left the ball 20 ft short.  Putting was the usual story…hit it and hope for the best. The good news is that Jon wants to start working on short game the next few lessons so we’ll see what happens in these areas.