Going Pro Golf Blog

I had a rough year in 2006.  I started the ‘Going Pro’ experiment and had very high hopes.  I thought after a year of lessons and training my butt off, I would go from a regular 105-110 hitter to cracking 90 on a regular basis.  In hindsight…wow I was an idiot.

I am a typical ex-jock, well past my prime but supremely confident in my athletic ability.  Like most people who watch the game, I thought it was very simple…I now know different.  Playing this game is tough and requires tremendous mental and physical discipline.  So this off season I didn’t pick up a club at all.  I read back through all my past lessons with Jon.  I went over my notes not just on the swing and everything he taught me, I also went over my notes on how I felt, what was good and what I struggled with.  Guess what?  It might have worked!

This spring I hit the range and couldn’t believe the results.  I was hitting long and straight, my chipping was better and so was my overall understanding of my swing.  I will get into the rounds in more detail but my first round I shot 100, followed by a 95 which was quickly followed by my best round of all-time…and 86!

Perhaps sometimes we just need to walk away and reflect.  Let’s hope I can keep up the improvements.

The off-season may have brought a change in my game but I have also changed some of the partners helping me with my goals.  The biggest change may be my equipment.  For those faithful readers of the Illogicial Golf Blog, you know I have been following Element 21 for sometime.  They have agreed to come on board as an equipment sponsor and I can’t say enough already.  I plan on writing more about this equipment and the results they have posted in independent test.  In the meantime, please see the latest press release on the Going Pro experiment below:

—

From Weekend Duffer to Pro Golfer, With a Little Help From His FriendsAre professional golfers as good as they are due to superior natural ability or because of privileges not normally afforded to the average golfer? What would happen if we took a 30-handicap weekend duffer and provided him with instruction from one of North America’s top golf instructors, access to top courses and training facilities, state-of-the-art golf clubs and equipment? These are the questions we’ll continue to answer throughout the coming seasons, with a reader experience that has proven to be both entertaining and informative, in the Going Pro Golf Blog.

A lot of time has passed since my last golf game.  I thought I was going to spend the winter training and devoting my life to golf in an effort to improve.  Instead I did the exact opposite.  I put my clubs away and focused more on fitness and mental preparation.  I thought about golf and reflected on my game, and the game in general, but that was about it. 

Jon recently invited me to a class he was hosting revolving around Ben Hogan’s 5 Secrets.  The first class was different from what I expected but still a lot of fun.

We had 6 people in the class…3 men and 3 women.  Some were very experienced golfers and some were brand new to the game.  The course entails 6 classes.  Each week we will review a chapter of the book then hit the driving range to work on the fundamentals which Hogan discusses in his book.  This was such a great experience that I asked Jon to start a second class for some of my blog readers.  Jon enthusiastically agreed so if you are interested, please email me at Nigel @ golflogic.ca and we can arrange a time.  Sorry to those who aren’t local, but the classes take place on Sundays at The Ultimate Golf Center in Vaughan, just north of Toronto.

This will be a great tune-up for the season so let me know if you are interested or have any questions.

…well sort of.  As some of you have noticed, I have taken more than a month away from golf and the blog.  Time to clear my head of playing and thinking about playing.  Monday I finally got around to taking my clubs out of the car and giving them a good season ending clean. 

In almost CSI-like fashion, each club really tells the story of my game.  3 and 4 irons are almost spotless as I rarely take them out of the bag and all other irons are dirty everywhere except the sweet spot.  I noticed toward the end of the season that I was hitting most shots off the inside of the club…I guess I am still doing it!

So what happens now?  I still have a wedge in my living room which I swing from time to time but I am almost happy the season is over so I can re-charge my brain.  Over the next few weeks I will be meeting with Jon to make a plan for the winter and next season.  I have been spending a lot of time at the gym as well.  Really working on improving my core strength which is really helping with my normal day-to-day activities as well.

Aside from that, I am going to enjoy the winter, the NFL playoffs and not think too much about golf.  That being said, the blog will continue…with what. I have no idea but check back often!

I am looking at a round of golf mid-next week and in all reality, that should be it for my outdoor season.  This weekend is supposed to rain so that kills any hope of getting out.

After my final round next week (hopefully), I am going to take some time away from the clubs and process everything going through my head.  My head is crammed full of golf information that I fear other valuable information like my name,or how to chew will somehow overflow out of my knowledge bowl.  As funny as it sounds, I wish I could hold a microphone to my ear as I stand over the ball and let you all hear the chatter going on in my head. 

I think it would be usefull to review my lesson entries and spend some time thinking about what worked and didn’t work over the season.  The hit an indoor range sometime in December to see how things progress. 

I sat down with Jon a few weeks ago to review my progress for the year.  Needless to say, I was more than a little worried.  My scoring really hasn’t changed that much even though I am much more in control of my swing. 

In my mind I have failed miserably this year.  I was expecting after a few lessons to be consistantly scoring in the low to mid eighties.  This never happened.  I feel great but there are a hundred different things going on in my head at all times.  Perhaps I did too much too soon?  I think I also needed to heed Jon’s advice about a good pre-shot routine - Envisioning what I will do and how I will do it, then just stepping up to the ball and making it happen…clearing all thoughts out of my mind.  This will be something I work on this off-season.

On the other hand, Jon feels I did well.  He said my swing and approach to the game is night and day.  I understand the swing and fundmentals and it will eventually come together.  I can’t have possibly expected to shave 30 strokes off my game in a single season.  Basically he feels I should throw away scoring this year.  Just keep focusing on what we learned and keep practicing…next year will be about scoring.

With that, I am not ready to write the season off just yet…I am hoping to get in 1-2 more rounds and acheive my goal of breaking 90!

It might be over!  I am heading away this weekend, my 33rd birthday is on Sunday so it is time to celebrate…but unfortunatley it won’t involve golf clubs.  Hopfully the weather hangs on for another week!

Performance Review September 27th, 2006 We have all had the sick feeling in our stomachs from time to time…you know the one I am talking about!  Being called in to your boss’ office for a performance review or being summoned to the Principal’s office for something you did.  Well, it is my turn except this time is isn’t my boss or Principal, it is my golf coach. The season is just about over (as much as it pains you to read it, it pains me even more to write it),  and we are going to sit down and review the last year, look ahead to what training, if any, we will do over the fall and winter and perhaps even look forward to next summer.   I am looking forward to sitting down and getting more feedback from Jon on my progress.  I feel like this year was very tough because my scoring remained high but my understanding of golf and the swing in general grew at a tremendous rate.  I want to know from Jon the real areas I need to focus on and what he suggests I do in the ‘off-season’. The meeting is Thursday so I will keep you posted.

Last week I was fortunate enough to play in the John Daly Pro-Am at Thundering Waters. It was a hell of a day and I hope they do it again next year. First and foremost, it wasn’t an actual Pro-Am, it was just a scramble format golf tournament with no pros playing in the groups. Almost every hole had a pro, celebrity or professional athlete at the tee but that was about it. There were a lot of former Buffalo Sabres and Buffalo TV and Radio personalities in attendance but no pros playing with the players offering tips and advice. Either way, it was a really fun day. I was paired with 2 young guys I didn’t know, who turned out to be a lot of fun (I have to write that because they will be reading this). Both were decent golfers and I was playing some good golf (for a change). We ended up at 9 under, well back of first place who ended up at 17 under. First prize was a full set of new John Daly Clubs and professional golf bag for each of the 4 people – Not bad at all. The day started with a breakfast sponsored by McDonalds, then John showed up and gave a nice speech welcoming everyone and spoke about his charity, Kids R King, which helps under privileged children. We then headed out to the course for an 8:30 shot gun. The day finished up with an amazing dinner at Noir 17, a fancy restaurant located at the Fallsview Casino. So what about John? He was positioned at a joint tee-box. One direction was the Par 3 - 8th hole and the other the Par 5 - 16th. As groups came through, you either got to challenge John on the Par 3 or try to out-drive him from the 16th. To be fair, he drove from the “John Daly” tees while everyone else hit from the White Tees – a difference of 131 yards! First of all, I was shocked at his size. He isn’t as tall as I thought he was and he was probably the slimmest he has been in a while (which isn’t saying too much I guess) but he looks weathered as hell. You can see the lifestyle has taken its toll on him but he greeted us and everyone else with a handshake and a big smile. Now for the story…we teed up against Big John on the Par 3, although we did hang around to see his hit a drive…WOW, not only is it impressive how far he hits the dame thing, it is crazy how long his backswing is…I have no idea how me manages to return the club to square. When we arrived at the tee we heard his last few shots weren’t his best so we decided we would trash talk him. He took it for a few minutes then proceeded to grab his iron, put his cigarette down, smiled at us and proceeded to just miss a hole in one, leaving the ball 2 feet from the hole. It was funny as hell. I got the whole thing on video…the quality isn’t great but it is all I got.. Click HERE to check it out. For the record, I hit my tee shot to 10 feet and nailed the birdie putt.