Feels
I have had a curious and meandering week in terms of how I feel about my recent rounds. I have asked and answered some difficult questions about my performance and framing of my development. All of which have provided me with clarity!
I am entitled to nothing.
My return on investment (time wise) is standard for this pursuit.
I am making progress even it feels like I am not!
I am either winning or learning!
By the way, I've added a "Buy Me a Coffee" link if you feel generous and want to support my writing endeavours. I love sipping coffee while penning down my thoughts, whether at cosy coffee shops or just pondering over a cup at home.
Practice
One practice session this week mainly focusing on strike with the driver.
After a good physical warm up and a few balls, I spent some time exploring my strike tendencies with the driver!
The evidence suggested a resounding heely strike!
I then had 20 balls playing around with my ball position. Starting from inside my lead heel and working back half a ball until I was 2 balls inside my lead heel!
For me, my start line and strike was better when the ball was further back. The ball started further right with less fade spin. This will be a starting point for me to take to the course and monitor its performance there!
I used the remaining 22 balls moving strike around the face, alternating between heel and toe.
More work required on the toe side of things but this is something I will repeat regularly.
Finally, I hit the short game area and worked through my wedge on a variety of tight lies, ball above/below my feet and some short sided work. 2 balls and I putted the worst of the 2 for score.
Sidenote: I love putting and short game work more than full swing. :-)
Play
Part of my clarity this week came 1 day after playing my round. I had struck the ball OK overall, driver aside, but still managed 4 3-putts. This got me thinking about my proximity to the hole on my approach play. Not only did I struggle with the speed of my putts but statistically, I was very likely to 3-putt given the distance of the first putt. Some of this is clearly down to quality of strike, but not always.
However, I feel I could be overly cautious at times and aiming away from the flag, regularly. Having followed Lou Stagner and Jon Sherman for so long, I often hear the ‘aim away from the flag’ or ‘middle of the green’ reverberate around my mind when selecting my targets and clubs. This certainly is not a bad thing as I fully accept that the data clearly shows the benefits to this, on average. My concern is that I am not always finding the right balance in this area and may have taken it too far.
My suggestion is to think of my approach play target as a sliding scale from 1 (conservative) to 5 (aggressive). I can reflect upon the data and my choices after the round, in an attempt to find a more optimal target given the variety of distances. 100y and middle flag could be a 5, 170y and left, tight flag could be a 1.
Overall, reflections on the round remain on the negative side, particularly after a 38 front 9. We move on and go again! Current handicap 9.8.
Statistics
This chart shows my combined SG stats across my last 10 rounds. I am so pleased with my approach play improvement despite knowing there is still lots more to come. You may recall my approach play was a major weakness in my game, at the start of this journey.
Practice at the range over the next 6 weeks is going to have a focus on driving, including set up consistencies and strike. Off the course, I can commit more time to working on my speed again, with a focus on power exercises and max swings at home.
(Q - Is it time for the Stack?)
Reflective Questions
What is the limiting factor in your golf development?
What is your current return in investment - in the green or in the red?
Do you have a ‘green light/red light’ system for approach shots?
Lou Stagner and Jon Sherman are great resources. Here's the thing with not aiming for the flag; it depends on your aim point. I draw the ball, and my miss tends to be left. My aim point is right center. It also seems to me you need more work on lag putting as three putts are costing you needlessly.
Hey Kevin, I appreciate what you are doing with your newsletter. Good on you, for sharing your progress in public. As I read your challenge around balancing conservative and aggressive with iron play, I realized that you may not be aware of the Decade System created by Scott Fawcett, it is designed to solve this exact problem. Check it out here: https://decade.golf/
Best of luck on your journey