Feels
I am feeling positive and confident! Not necessarily in my technical ability or skill level, but in my ability to keep going, move on and accept the ups and downs of this journey! I trust myself to keep taking steps in the right direction.
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
I have added an extra round to my week so practice has been more limited than usual. When I have practised I have followed the same structure as in previous weeks;
Technical - From lesson drills (mainly takeaway and lead wrist/footwork)
Random/differential - Lots of skill-based practices such as moving strike (heel and toe), low point (towel drill) and changing ball flights (draws and fades, high and low)
Game/Competitive - Using the Decade App to generate random yardages and monitoring distances and total points
Lessons
I am currently on a break from my online lesson package with Ryan Mouque currently, as June was a busy month, with holidays and trips away. Having access to the back catalogue (linked below) is a bonus. The 4 or 5 drills Ryan prescribed for me are the backbone of any technical work I do. This helps keep me from jumping from one drill to another or going off script into the random rabbit holes of golf improvement content.
Play
I have managed lots of rounds over the last month, including Silloth GC, Richmond GC and my home course at Durham GC.
Silloth GC
Silloth is definitely my favourite course that I have played! It's so tough for someone with my skill level and a real challenge but I love the layout, the blind shots and the views! 8 of us made the trip and played 3 rounds in 2 days. I won round 1 with 39 points (80) and played it pretty well. As winner in round 1, I was deducted 3 shots and 1 additional shot for being 1 over the average, taking me to an 8hc.
Round 2 felt very similar, ball striking wise, to round 1 but I didn't hole out as well and finished with 32 points. This was good enough for second place and a further deduction of 2 shots, taking me to a 6hc.
The final round after a late night and 2 rounds the previous day, was very different. Ball striking was off, a couple of lost balls in the heather and a poor short game day finished me with 27 points.
The 3 rounds combined (97 Stableford points) was enough to win overall (£££).
Golf aside, what a golf course and the food in the clubhouse was restaurant standard! I would highly recommend a round or two there, if you get the chance!
Durham GC
I had my best ever scoring and ball striking round 3 weeks ago! I played in the 3rd round of the matchplay competition at my home club. The score isn't a true or traditional one, as I was given 3 tap-in putts and won the 8th hole by hitting green in 2 with 20 feet to go, however, my round went like this;
Par (0)
Par (0)
Par (0)
Par (0)
Bogey (+1)
Bogey (+2)
Birdie (+1)
Par (+1)
Par (+1)
Birdie (0)
Par (0)
Par (0)
Bogey (this was the match won on the 13th) (+1)
My buddies were playing in the group behind and knowing I was 1 over, I decided to finish the round off! This followed:
Par (+1)
Birdie (0)
Par (0)
Par (0)
Birdie (-1)
The last 5 holes I finished every putt! Other than the 8th hole, where I was given the par from 20ft, I may have holed it for a 3 or 3 putted for a 5, it felt like a real 70.
My iron play was excellent! On the green, longer putts were knocked close and shorter ones were holed out. Weirdly, my driving wasn't as solid as usual! I went to a slightly gripped down ‘fairway finder' but gave up a few yards in the process!
It has given me some insight into my potential and the confidence that my approach play is improving. For context, I hadn't shot a round in the 70s before I started on this journey! I was very proud of myself!
Golf being golf however, that weekend, I played in a Medal and shot a 91……. 9……1…….
I was a little off with the driver, lost low point completely with my irons and was very poor on the greens! It was sobering and clear picture of the work required! I couldn't think my way out of it and nothing I tried helped dig it out! Amazing really given the round before (4 days earlier).
Stats Check In
General improvement across the game in the last 6 rounds. Other than driving which has dropped by 0.5 of a shot. I am most pleased with the improvement in Approach play, which 12 rounds ago, stood at -3.6 on a 7hc. I previously discussed the importance of covering 90% of the distance with my approach play, e.g. If a shot is 150y, making sure the shot covers more than 135y (10% of 150y = 15y). Over the last few weeks, this has been true, maybe covering closer to 95% of the distance. This has positively impacted my GIR %, enabling me to hit 2 or 3 more greens per round.
Another huge positive has been my putting. After committing to some work on the greens, my speed control has been solid. The +0.4 above includes 2 shocking putting rounds, which I marked down as anomalies. My putting practice, all from Ross MacLeod's putting group, have helped provide lots of engaging games, mainly around speed control and holing out drills!
Reflective Questions
Do you believe you can improve beyond your current skill level?
Are you confident in the direction you're heading?
How do you balance the ups and downs of golf?