Week 21

2023 - The Year of Showing Up

A Quick Thank You!

A warm welcome to 68 new subscribers. Thank you for joining me on this journey! It is a privilege to be sharing it with you. I’d love you to support my work by sharing it with friends, family and your social networks! Share using the green button below!

Big Question?

What are your golf plans for 2023 and WHY?

Feels 

My feeling this week is one of excitement.

I have had 4 attempts to play a round of golf all halted by the weather and course closures. This has given me time to reflect on my golf and plan for the next month. It has also given me time away from social media and the driving range. This mini break has only served to build excitement to be back practicing and learning. I am going to take smart opportunities to grow my game. I am eager to learn more from Ryan and build more skills. I am excited to improve more areas of the game, including wedge play and the driver.

Goals

As the first post of 2023, it didn’t feel right not to start with some lofty goals. However, I’m looking at them a little differently. I set myself goals 21 weeks ago and those haven’t changed, they’re just more specific. They were;

• A minimum of 1 practice session per week

• Engage with a coach for expert guidance and intervention

• Engage with a golf fitness programme

• Share my journey with a weekly post

Rather than ‘New Year’s’ resolutions, I find ‘New Month’ goals to be more realistic, more actionable and more present. This extra boost of motivation you’re currently feeling at the start of the year could be felt at the start of each month. (Think of that as 12x more beneficial than a New Year’s resolution :-)

My goals for January are;

• A minimum of 1 practice session per week

• Share 2-4 sessions with Ryan Mouque as part of ongoing lessons

• A minimum of 8 gym sessions (Power Plan from Fit For Golf’s Mike Carroll)

• Share my journey with a weekly blog post

I will take some time to review these goals over the month. I will plan February based on my success and review. They’re present and process driven.

Practice

I have re-established my movement patterns through regular practice at home, with no ball. I have completed daily reps since the 28th on the following focus areas;

• My set-up positions

• Pointing the clubface more toward the ground on my takeaway

• Flexing the lead wrist at the top of the backswing

• Banking the trail foot (and trying to have my knees kiss in the follow-through)

I see huge value in performing these reps and always ensure they are performed with intent and concentration. On average, I spend 20 minutes per day doing some or all of the above. One advantage of doing these reps at home is I can hit the ground running when hitting balls at the range. Things do change when there is a ball present but the positives far outway that fact for me!

I have had one range session this week. the session follows my practice plan from Ryan and has a similar structure to previous weeks. This is how it looked;

Warm-up (basic but should done more!)

Technical

• No ball exaggerations on foot banking

• 5 x half swings/three-quarter swing/full swing same feeling of foot banking (15 balls total)

Variable

• Picked 4 different targets and hit 3 balls at each (PW 120y, 8i 145y, 6i 160y, 4i 180y) going through my full pre shot routine each time

Competitive

• Played first 6 holes of home course (no putting 11 shots total)

38 practice balls (55 mins total)

I recorded wedge and driver swings to send to Ryan too! The next step phase of my lessons is the driver. Another reason why I am excited this week!!!

I will be posting future lessons on YouTube, including the upcoming Driver series. You can view last month’s lessons and subscribe on the button below.

Here is my most recent review of my iron and driver swings.

Putting and the Devil Ball

As my Xmas present stance has developed over the years, my thirst for experiences rather than products has heightened. My wife kindly scoped out some ‘experiences’ and purchased a 6-month membership to Ross Macloed’s putting group (£30 by the way). Check Ross out on Twitter here @rossmacleodputt for more information.

The putting group has several sections including, set-up, technical practice, speed drills and green reading. I’m yet to dig into it fully but I am excited to get stuck in and begin getting some of the basics nailed before the full greens at my home club are ready to practice on.

I did take an opportunity to practice with the Devil Ball from PuttOut (a product-based Xmas present :-). I’m a little sceptical about its transference to my game but enjoyed practicing with it. If you haven’t seen it yet, the Devil Ball is a golf ball that has a number of features including a flat edge. This exaggerates the face angle at impact. The features and drills are here - Devil Ball Drills if you’re interested in taking a look.

I will be incorporating it in my indoor putting practice as a way of focusing on face strike. I found it challenging to get it to roll straight. It ensured I was concentrating and gave me immediate feedback. I blended it with a real ball and a gate, placed 1 foot away from the ball. 5 minutes each time I practice at home is not going to hurt.

Reflective questions

What is your key focus for the next month?

What have you learned about your game in 2022?

How do you intend to set your goals for 2023?