It’s been a full golf weekend – and really a full golf week. So much golf that I’ve had trouble keeping up with it on this blog.
To start, the 9-hole Tuesday round went fairly well as I shot a 43. It could have been, or really should have been, less than 40. I’m still in the process of applying what I learned at the Tour Academy, and sometimes that application doesn’t go so well. On Tuesday it was the chipping and short pitch shots. I can count at least 4 shots I screwed up on pretty bad (the ball went anywhere from a few inches to 2 feet), but right after the screw up I would try it again and get awesome results. So, take away those 4 shots and I’m at 39. Good stuff.
I was happy with the round on Tuesday and felt that I played better than my score indicated. I’m happy with the progress. On the negative side, Tuesday was the day I realized that with the new swing my club distances are all messed up, and I need to re-evaluate/learn them. For instance, I hit a PW (pitching wedge) 150 yards out of the rough on a downhill lie to land over the green and in bushes on one particular hole (another shot that shouldn’t have been added to the score). My PW used to be 125-ish yards. Now I use it for shots between 140 and 150 yards – at least, that’s what I’m learning to do now.
On Saturday a couple of us went to LPGA International to play on the Champions course. A few weeks ago we played on the Legends course, but until Saturday I had never played on Champions. From what we hear, Champions is the easier of the two. I can agree with that. I think it’s the links-style, which makes it more difficult to lose your ball unless you hit it in the water or really screw up on your swing.
I had a few saucy shots at LPGA International, and perhaps the one I’m most proud of from that day is the 6-iron out of a fairway bunker (something I learned how to do at the Tour Academy). I know it doesn’t sound like much, but hitting out of a fairway bunker is a difficult thing to do and I’m proud that I was able to do it – it’s progress, and I’m all about progress in the forward direction right now. I shot an 84 at LPGA, which I’m very happy about. It’s a challenging course with fast greens.
And Sunday I decided to play another round at Cypress Head, a course a few minutes down the road from me. Despite the rain and horrible practice at the range beforehand, I played my best round yet with a 6-over par 78. Very happy about that. I’m finally starting to swing my 3-wood more consistently, and my driver started to show some promise. Of course, now that I’m hitting my 3-wood 270-ish yards, I almost feel like I don’t need my driver right now.
The short game is keeping my score lower than it probably should be right now. I attribute that success to what I learned at the Tour Academy. Because I’m struggling with my club distances, I tend to hit the ball either short of the green or over the green, which keeps my GIR percentage low. So I’m often hitting a little chip or short pitch, but with the techniques I can get myself to a makeable putt distance easily. And with what I learned about putting, that makeable putt distance has increased to about 6 feet. I’m not missing any putts less than 6 feet often anymore, and my scores are starting to reflect it.
You can view the scorecards for my two rounds this weekend at oobgolf:
- Cypress Head – http://www.oobgolf.com/golfers/score.php?id=669731
- LPGA International Champions – http://www.oobgolf.com/golfers/score.php?id=665708
In addition to the rounds, I practiced every day this week. For that reason I’m going to take Monday night off and let my body soak in the hard work of the past week. I’ve found that sometimes my body’s muscle memory really kicks in after heavy use if I take a day or two off from physical activity. And if that isn’t enough reason, then the excuse that I just need to rest will have to do.
Probably the best thing in my golf game right now is my confidence. Before the Tour Academy experience, I would run into situations on the course where I wasn’t sure what I should do or how to execute the shot I was trying to make. For instance, pitching. I didn’t have a framework for how to control my distance, so I just thought I needed a lot of practice hitting at different distances until I “got it”.
Since the Tour Academy, I know what to do in every situation, or at a minimum I know my options and can pick one. I’m not afraid to be 50 yards from the green, or buried in the bunker, or in deep rough. I know what to do now, so instead of trying to figure out what to do I can focus on execution. With this kind of confidence I’ve already noticed a difference in my attitude and abilities on the course. It’s exciting, and I am starting to believe that these last couple weeks may be the true beginning of my journey toward playing par golf (and better).