Feels
An enjoyable week all around! An interesting Putting and Pitching Lesson returned from Ryan, a steady round and a fun scramble at the weekend, have left me feeling refreshed.
I have added a Buy Me a Coffee link if you care to support my writing (mostly done in a coffee shop or while thinking about coffee).
Practice
2 practice sessions this week, 1 putting and one approach play based.
Putting
4ft, 5ft, 6ft, 3m, 4m, 5m Drill
I marked out 6 different putts and the aim is to hole out from all 6 stations in as few putts as possible. Rules are as follows;
If you miss 5/6ft you move back 1 station
If you miss a 3/4/5m putt, you retake it until you hole it
record total number
My results looked like this;
4ft holed
5ft holed
6ft missed
5ft holed
6ft holed
3m missed
3m holed
4m missed
4m holed
5m missed
5m missed
5m missed
5m holed
Total: 13 Putts
The session took me a total of 25 minutes and I followed my 2-2-2 pre-shot routine on each putt.
(Side note: I love practising putting and seem to be able to hold my concentration much more consistently, compared to full swing practice.)
Approach Play
I continued with the drill from my previous lesson for the technical element of my practice session; placing a bottle on the outside of my trail foot to encourage me to shift laterally in the downswing. The aim is to get more of my weight/pressure across to the lead side before turning around the corner.
Technical
Bottle on trail heel drill x 15
Random
Random yardages with 3 clubs (12 Balls) e.g.
115y with GW, PW, 9i
155y with 7i, 6i, 5i
180y with 5i, 4i, 3hy
70y with SW, GW, PW
This was a repeated practice from Week 31, looking at tendencies around hitting a fuller/max shot, a smoother stock shot and a lower shot.
Game/Competitive
Decade Combine 135-185y (20 Balls)
Lessons
Lessons have been returned this week for Pitching and Putting. You can watch the Pitching one below;
My pitching motion suffers from a similar issue to my full swing, a stepper downswing to the backswing. This may cause some of the issues I experience at times but I will be feeling the trail arm drill every day at home.
All other lessons can be found on the link below.
Play
2 interesting rounds this week. The first one was in a Midweek Stableford, clocking an 84 (35 points), incredibly, my 3rd in a row. Off the white tees, it gave me a differential of 11 and therefore was counted in my 8 out of 20 scores. It replaced a 12.8 differential from a previous round. I hit 8 greens and, with some more solid putting from previous weeks, may have been in the 70s. My SG below shows more weak approach play but I am very happy with how the driving and short game is shaping up at present.
My second round was played with fun in mind. I didn’t track any stats or keep any specific scoring. The round was a 2-man Texas Scramble, taking the best shot out of the pair and playing the next shot from there. My partner and I had 6 birdies and 1 bogey but overall, enjoyed the round and the amazing weather we presented with on the first tee. I drove it great and had a nice chip-in for Birdie on the 10th.
Having had a few days to reflect on the round, I will be planning some random ‘full fun mode’ golf each month. Tracking stats and attempting to embed learning can feel like a serious pursuit at times and this was just what the doctor ordered.
Reflective Questions
Do you plan in ‘circuit breaker’ rounds/sessions?
Do you revisit practice sessions to monitor progress?
Do you have any putting practice sessions you could share, as a comment?
I like to incorporate my launch monitor with my putting practice. I randomly generate 9 numbers between 35 - 195 and okay then as holes. For example, first "hole" is 152 yards. I try and hit as close to that number and use the difference in yards, as my next putt in feet. So let's say I hit it 148 on the 152, now my putt is a 4 footer for birdie. Miss by over 10, then you're putting for bogey from 7 ft. Miss by more than 25yds, you're putting for a double from 7 ft.
I quite like doing various distance putts north, south, east and west the hole and hit the same putt at dying speed, medium/normal and firm. Gives you an idea of how much break at different pace. I’m also working on helping my green reading by trying to find the straight uphill putt and imagining it’s 6 o’clock. Experimenting with how much the ball breaks right to left going to the right of this point back towards 3 o’clock and round to 12 o’clock which should theoretically be a straight downhill putt.