Time flies sometimes. I didn’t realize it’s been almost a month since I last updated the blog.
As mentioned in my last post, earlier this month I competed in a qualifier for the state amateur championship. I shot an 83 and didn’t qualify, but I left the tournament feeling confident about my game. Despite a quadruple bogey on the 6th hole, I was only 4-over after the first 9 holes and was otherwise playing well. Unfortunately, my putting fell apart on the back 9 and I had a bogey on 7 of the last 9 holes to finish with my 83. It wasn’t necessarily the result I was looking for, but it’s a lesson learned. I decided to take the positives with me to the next tournament and focus on strengthening my weaknesses.
Apparently that strategy worked pretty well because I just shot my best tournament score yet – a 1-over 74. I was actually 2-under and tied for 1st place heading into the 18th hole when I had difficulty making a club decision off the tee. Even though I hadn’t committed to my tee shot, I still swung and ended up topping the ball into a hazard. I tripley-bogeyed the hole to take 2nd place. Again, lesson learned. I left the place very excited and confident about my game. In fact, that may be the first time in my life I’ve been so happy about getting 2nd place. Finally, the results of hard work are starting to show. Perhaps the best part is that I didn’t even feel like I played close to my best – I felt like I played well, but I could have played much better.
This past week I’ve really been focused on keeping my arms and shoulders connected through my takeaway. Lately I’ve been getting more snap-hooks and strong draws, neither of which is my natural shot path. Also, my driver has been either a serious draw, snap-hook, or straight and low – none of which is particularly desirable off the tee. So, obviously, something has been off with my swing.
A friend of mine noticed that I was hinging my wrists early, leading to my hands “manipulating the clubface”, as he called it. It only took one swing on video to confirm it. To correct the issue I’m focusing on the feel of only turning my shoulders, leaving my lower body quiet, while also keeping my hands in the same position as they were at address up until the club is parallel to the ground. Note that this is only feeling – what actually happens may be slightly different.
Also, I’ve incorporated a grip tension count in my pre-shot routine. Basically I start with a tension of 1 in my hands on the club, increase tension with each count up to 7, then decrease tension back to 2 or 3 before addressing the ball. This helps me reduce tension in my hands and wrists, allowing the club to move freely and build lag in the swing.
The end result is my shots are more straight, dispersion has been reduced, and I’ve gained the distance I had lost the last few months, especially with my drives. When I execute this properly, my drives reach the 290 yard range with little to no effort. In this past tournament, I even had drives over 300 yards and came within 10 yards of driving the green on a 340 yard par 4. Wedges and short-irons are also more consistent, and I’m able to translate the same swing thoughts to the other clubs. It’s good stuff.
I’m still deciding on my next tournament. I may play in one next weekend. If not, I’ll be taking a short vacation before I play in another one in about 3-4 weeks. This week I plan to (re)start my strength training program for golf to help in injury-prevention as well as to build strength for distance and consistency. For the golf game, I’m going to continue working on the “connectedness” in my swing and spend more time working on green-side bunkers and pitch shots less than 100 yards – both are areas that I struggled with the other day.