A welcome and a thank you!
Welcome to 22 new subscribers! Feel free to add questions to the comments section and share away with friends and playing partners!
Thank you to the 3 individuals who bought me a coffee this week! That will keep me going for a couple of weeks! I am enjoying one as i write this! :-)
Big Question
Do you have a destination in mind for your golf improvement?
Feels
My feeling this week is one of momentum building.
I am building positive habits across the board. My gym work is regular and progressing. The quality of my range work is improving. My clubface control is improving, reducing my disperson across the bag. I feel I am building momentum. Finally, I am loving the challenge and as keen as ever to learn and improve!
Practice and Lessons
Another challenging but enjoyable practice session this week. The technical element in the video is from a combination of Lesson 8 and 9. Lesson 8 was where i was working on getting my hands down to my trail leg while holding onto some of the angles in my wrists. Lesson 9 added the ‘pivot’ in my uppoer body to enable me to improve path and face direction.
You’ll see from the video that I manage to get the ball flight I am looking for, mixed in with some ‘over the top', pulls! If you compare my warm up shots to the ones where i am actively ‘practicing’ the movement, they’re very different.
Pracrtce Session 1
Warm up plus 5 balls
Technical
Arms down to trail leg with angle exaggerations x 3-5 per ball
Pivot with upper body x 3-5 per ball
x10 balls total
Wedge play 50-110y
Laser random yardages between 50y and 110y
Full routine and practrice swing feel
x 20 ball total
My immediate reflections on the session were positive. I made some progress with strike, shaft lean and start direction. I still hit a couple of pulls but out of 30 balls, they were few and far between.
I added the challenge of a few driver swings in between the wedge shots, to add break up the rhythm and timing, adding further realism to the practice.
Play
A 4 man Texas Scramble round this week. More good driving, solid pitching and solid putting. My approach play from inside 150 was shabby with several heavy strikes. My feeling after a poor strike is that I am still trying to ‘control’ the shot instead of letting it go, anyway 2 things occurred to me;
I need to get in some practice on different lies, above and below my feet. My low point control was very poor in both situations.
I must work on strategies to work around my tendencies on the course (without getting overly technical)
Adam Young's 3D Aim Point is super useful. It is a concept that I should call upon when I hit some heavy or heely shots. It's not too technical and I can include it in my preshot routine (think box) and assess from there.
As time progresses and I become more confident and proficient with my technique, I hope to be able to make tweaks and have a stock swing to call on. For now, ingraining the feels on course is my priority.
The work I have done on my technique and wedges lately, showed on the course. Several pitch shots (51y, 47y and 78y) resulted in 1 putts from knocking it close (4-6 feet). If i missed the putt, one of my playing partners would have made it.
Finally, the main reason I am feeling that I am building some momentum is my driving. Distance and accuracy was solid the entire round (we could only take 3 drives each plus a par 3 for the competition). Long drives on the 1st, 3rd, 4th, 8th, 10th, 14th, 16th and 18th all left inviting iron shots into the greens. Other than the 6th where I would have had to play a recovery shot, I was satisified.
Reflective questions
How do you practice your recovery shots?
How do you practice different lies/balls above and below your feet?
What is building in your game?
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