Big Question
Do your handicap and skills travel well?
Feels
My feeling this week is one of realisation.
Two rounds this week and an additional week to reflect on my lessons have led to a further realisation. A realisation of where I am in my journey. The beginning! My current skill levels are lacking when the environment is challenging. It doesn’t mean it is time to change everything. My skills have largely been built on a mat at the driving range. Time to work hard and double down on the ‘lag’ pivot work!
Practice and Lessons
Several followers have requested that I post an entire practice session. I have posted Session 2 from last week and have sped up the ‘in-between’ shot time, so you don’t have to endure it. The total time for the session below was 1 hour and 10 minutes, including the Decade wedge game (not recorded).
Practice sessions this week have been done at home with no ball. Lead wrist work and holding the angles in my wrists in the downswing. I would estimate I have completed 75 swings per day (Wed-Fri) then played 2 rounds and had Sunday off.
I am hoping to add an extra practice session now the lighter nights are returning, with some short game and putting work. I can’t wait! I will record some games and upload them to the channel.
Play
2 contrasting rounds this week. The first in the Matchplay Semi-Final at South Shields GC and the other in the Shotgun Start 4BBB competition at my home club.
Round 1 @ South Shields GC
South Shields is a links course. It measures 6000y, is a par 71 and has a slope rating of 121. Going into the round and going through the hole guide made me feel confident about a good round. On arriving, I felt the strength of the wind and immediately realised the size of the task at hand.
My partner and I were below average and went down 2/1 on the 17th hole. My disappointment soon turned to several realisations and planning. If you have been following my journey for a while, you'll be aware I have been working with my coach to improve several elements of my game. Early release/casting and a stronger club face are key themes throughout lessons. They really showed here!
Playing links golf and in strong winds highlighted the need to develop my technique and skill in several areas. Being able to launch the ball lower, hitting a punch shot, judging the conditions and clubbing, are all shown to be lacking on the day. On the course, I did not want to start messing around with ball positions and technical thoughts. Playing some practice rounds on challenging courses and in strong winds is a great way to test this skill, in the absence of a launch monitor.
Round 2 @ Durham City GC 4BBB Shotgun Start
The round started on the 11th for me, a skinny 9 iron into the bunker, a thinned bunker shot into the opposite bunker, out and 2 putts. Not my favourite start! I went on to play the next 9 holes in 1 over par. The 4th holed played some tricks with me again! Following an average tee shot, I was left with a relatively straightforward chip forward towards the green. I got a little greedy and put it into the greenside bunker. Incredibly, it took me 4 to get it down from there. (Second shot below)
My driving was excellent, with the image above being the most offline I was in the 18 holes. I had another good eagle look on the downhill first hole after a long drive and 6 iron to 20 feet. I am loose and confident over the ball.
The opposite can be said for my approach play, where I still feel a little tentative. My realisation here is that I am still so early in the process and other than set-up, the other minor changes don’t feel as natural. It showed with several high, short balls and 2 irons on the heavy side.
The poor approach play adds pressure to the putting too as I 3-putted twice but from a distance on the green where it was more likely than a 2-putt, for my current skill level. (But every shot counts!)
I know I will play worse than this in the future. The positive spin I put on the round after reflecting on it, was that this felt like a ‘mid 80’s’ round from the past, now I am sneaking into the 70s. This is mainly the result of making my ‘bad’ shots slightly better and avoiding penalty strokes. It also comes from having more awareness of my clubface and my tendency to have it open. The takeaway tweak and wrist work have narrowed my iron dispersion.
Reflective questions
Will your practice sessions change as the weather improves?
Do you have an armoury of shots for different conditions?
What would you tell yourself if you could go back 1 year and discuss your golf improvement?
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