The Nineteenth Hole

[stui magpie]

^^

Cheers Laurie, there's a few posts by Bruce and I in the Happy thread last 2 pages.

Welcome on board everyone. My first goal is to break 50 off the stick for 9 holes.

[Bruce Gonsalves]

Thanks Stui.

Interesting with your stance. I don't think I'll go down the path of lessons but with the bent knees, I've always set up with knees bent and pretend my rrse is resting on a bar stool.

I smashed out a 42 on my regular Friday arvo 9 hole game. [personal best at this course] Very happy indeed. The beers went down very well afterwards!

I love golf, after a 15 year hiatus, it is fantastic!!

[stui magpie]

^

Cheers Bruce, it was a 1 off coaching session with a guy called Jack Cox who's the pro at Growling Frog Golf course and is on the PGA.

We did it in one of those simulator things which shows swing angle, club head angle and projected ball path.

he stood face on watching me hit about 10 balls, then started making adjustments and explaining why they worked.

1 change, hit a few more balls, 2nd change, hit a few more balls, etc.

You could see on the analysis that my club face was open and swing coming from outside to inside and as I worked through the adjustments how it improved. Got plenty to work on but now I can see it works.

[Culprit]

May have to organise a Nicks Hacks Classic get-together. By the sounds of it, we are all pretty good-average golfers.

I concentrate on my short game. 2 Putts in or less is what helps my scoreline.

I do have a hole-in-one and have never come close since.

[LaurieHolden]

I've started back to the game post a back related lay-off which has seen me play about 5 full games since Dec. 2018.
I was down to 12.4 before I had to step away from the game but was pushing towards singles, before it became too painful to play.

Part of the return was re-building my core strength but also changing my swing. At 52 y/o changing your swing is about as easy as learning a new language.

I've played a few 9's recently and snuck in a 41 last week. My home course usually plays of a average slope of 126+ and monthly medal 134+, which is like playing off the black tees for most municipal courses. So there's plenty that can go wrong out there if you don't pay attention to what you're doing.
At my home club here in Brisbane we're fortunate enough to have 36 holes, so there's always plenty of variety.

Apart from getting the carcass back in shape, my biggest focus has been set-up, swing plane and getting my hips turning.
The most common mistake I see in golfers that are trying to break 100 then 90 is their lack of establishing the correct set-up. I've played enough golf over the years to know that I could probably shave 5 strokes a round for most players games from set-up alone. Where you position a ball for a driver is very different to that of a mid-iron. Also, one of the simplest things is lining up to your intended target.
Course management i.e. knowing when to go for a shot or play for relative safety is another easy 5 shots per round.

The biggest impact for me has been my swing plane on my driver and 3W, where the club goes back with my left arm fully extended then I'm looking back down over my shoulder at the ball before I start my hip turn and my arms trailing (as opposed to starting the arms first in the turn which will usually result in 'casting' and coming over the top.
The round I had last week was the first I've had where I didn't pull up sore after the round or the next day.

I play with 1W, 3W, hybrid 2, 4i-9i, P, 50°, 54°,60° and a Titleist Scotty Cameron Caliente with a fat Super Stroke grip (which is the only putter in his range Scotty Cameron refuses to put in his putter museum, but hey it works for me)

Over Christmas my nephew who has just completed his PGA traineeship is going to school me, so all going well I'll return to Brisbane ready to have a crack at single figures.

[Culprit]

The best thing about Golf is the handicap system. It's one of the things that works.

[stui magpie]

^

I've never had a handicap, only played social golf. If anyone asked me what my handicap was, I'd reply "I'm shit at golf"

[Culprit]

^^I got one when I joined a club, but I let it lapse as the club went broke. Social golf is good fun as you are not serious. With the handicap, it's a lot more fun as it evens it up if you are playing with better golfers and taking it a bit more seriously. Having a 30-shot start and still losing is depressing though

I set the Caravan up on the Rye foreshore for 10 weeks soon. I will be playing a lot down there as I WFH um the Van. Not at Portsea though, I will hack around at Bayviews.

[LaurieHolden]

For anyone looking to improve their short game, this Masterclass from Phil Mickelson really changed my approach. You'll be hitting flop shots in no time!
Seriously though, these instructions changed my game. Go to school on them. If you practice each one for an hour, thank me later.

Phil Mickelson - Secrets of the Short Game

https://youtu.be/GhzY7TIMnMU?si=HKO1sg-5j0xAPr4d

The great thing is with smart.phones, you can take Phil to the practice area with you.

[LaurieHolden]

On the short game, it's another area I see those looking to break 90 regularly, make consistent errors in.
One of the things I always focus on is 'do I need to get this ball up in the air using a high loft, or am I better to hit it low and get it rolling'
As Don Bradman used.to say, why hit it in the air, where danger is, when you can just as easily hit it along the ground and not get caught'

So with that, use Phil's guide about when to use loft, and when to use roll. There's another 5 shots a round you can save by understanding what the best club selection is for the required shot to be played well.

[Bruce Gonsalves]

Laurie, you sound like a golf nut! I like the boy!
My love of golf started with Greg Norman in 1977 after he won the Sth Oz open.

Always self taught, I know that's not the best way as bad habits are hard to change. Early '80's I get my hands on Jack Nicklaus's 'Golf My Way' vhs video. I wore the tape out watching it at every opportunity. Fast forward 30 years listening to Mark Allen on the radio, he says that tape was the worst instructional video ever. He didn't explain why but I imagine it would be impossible to emulate Nicklaus's game, so a waste of time.

I've given up on lob wedges into the green after I purchased a 'chipper', my approach to the flag is becoming very good and 3 putting is a thing of the past.

I'm a member at Golden Beach in Sth Gippsland, run by a small group of dedicated golf nut volunteers. Not a long course but stray off the fairways and forget about it. It has 9 greens but 18 tees, great clubhouse and bar.

[stui magpie]

^

What's a "chipper"?

I use a pitching wedge but have 3 different kinds of shots, depending on distance.

One is a normal Golf shot, the other is a half swing to about waist high for around 30m and for closer I move my stance so i'm almost facing the target, lock the wrists and do a sort of putt shot which just gives a little lift then relies on run.

[LaurieHolden]

Yeah I love it. The banter with your mates on the course is my favourite aspect of golf. If you can put a half decent round together, all the better.
Find me another sport where phones are turned off, you get 4-5 hours to tune out from the world and wander around nature.

Next time I'm out I'll get some pix of my home track, with the purple flowered jacarandas and the fire red poincianas blooming, it's a good time of year to be out there, before the Summer and humidity make player comfort levels pretty oppressive.

For the twitchers, the Channel-billed cuckoos have migrated in as they do each year to disrupt the local birds. Like most cuckoos, they lay their eggs in the nests of other birds (e.g. currawongs, magpies, crows), which then raise the cuckoo chicks.They're distinctive in looks and sound, because of its large size, pale colouring, and toucan-like bill. Their sound is raucous, something akin to a chook and a currawong being strangled.

[LaurieHolden]

Stui, a chipper is like a putter with more loft.
https://www.golfmonthly.com/buying-advice/best-golf-chippers

Handy if you get chipping yips around the green, a chipper is a good option, although I'd argue you can get just as much benefit from a hybrid around the green.

They're useful if you're off the green and just need the ball 'lifted' through the fringe rough or has enough loft to get it moving through to your target. Reads like you've sort of doing that anyway with that shot variation you're using.
The chipper has a shaft length more like a putter. I just grip down on a hybrid.
Same principal though, if you practice putting, practice these shots.

But it reads as if Bruce is using it as I was indicating earlier, where a lofted wedge isn't required.
Handy club. Keep an eye out at your local Cashies club bin bag.

[Bruce Gonsalves]

The wildlife around our course also is amazing. Last Monday as I was teeing off, out of the corner of my eye there was a bit of movement. Stopped my swing and an echidna was digging away at the base of tree. Kangaroos descend on the course late afternoons. Kookaburras laughing away, Magpies being crazy but one issue is with crows. These pricks, at certain times of the year will swoop down and take your ball. At least the local rule is it can be replaced without penalty! The rough can be a bit dangerous as Tiger and Brown snakes are sighted occasionally.