Gettin' Better . . .

[8cork]

After talking to my pal Bucket on the phone today, I thought this would be a great thread to get involved in. Along with beer and wings, Bucket and I have alot in common. I am 37 and truely believe I can be a scratch golfer, I love the machine and know it is the path to playing great golf. I was an 9 handicap for about 14 years, then I went to the Falcons Fire Academy and began the decent. I currently carry a 6.5 index and progression has slowed. I need a plan to get my game to the next level. The geometry and physics of my swing are more sound than ever, but how do you get out of your own way? I practice like a scratch golfer, my driving range game is tight, but I am not the same person on the course. How do good players take their range game to the course, Why does my rhythm and tempo change once I get on the first tee, Is there a secret to scoring, not just ball striking???
Looking forward to devulging into the answers to these questions and more.

[Hennybogan]

After talking to my pal Bucket on the phone today, I thought this would be a great thread to get involved in. Along with beer and wings, Bucket and I have alot in common. I am 37 and truely believe I can be a scratch golfer, I love the machine and know it is the path to playing great golf. I was an 9 handicap for about 14 years, then I went to the Falcons Fire Academy and began the decent. I currently carry a 6.5 index and progression has slowed. I need a plan to get my game to the next level. The geometry and physics of my swing are more sound than ever, but how do you get out of your own way? I practice like a scratch golfer, my driving range game is tight, but I am not the same person on the course. How do good players take their range game to the course, Why does my rhythm and tempo change once I get on the first tee, Is there a secret to scoring, not just ball striking???
Looking forward to devulging into the answers to these questions and more.

8cork,

Sounds like you have a good base to work from. Much like a person training for a marathon would need a base of mileage before ramping up the effort.

I need some definition.

"I practice like a scratch golfer" Describe

"I am not the same person on the course" Who are you in each setting?

There are many secrets to scoring. This forum is designed to expose some of these. Your ballstriking will define your range of possible scores. Your management and short game will define your score.

HB

[8cork]

8cork,

Sounds like you have a good base to work from. Much like a person training for a marathon would need a base of mileage before ramping up the effort.

I need some definition.

"I practice like a scratch golfer" Describe

"I am not the same person on the course" Who are you in each setting?

There are many secrets to scoring. This forum is designed to expose some of these. Your ballstriking will define your range of possible scores. Your management and short game will define your score.

HB

Thanks HB,
What I think I am trying to say is that, My swing on the range is much better than the swing I take to the course. If my handicap was based on the way I hit the ball on the range I might be a 2 or 3. For some reason my ball striking drops off once I start playing. My putting is the strongest part of my game, I almost always make alot of putts, sadly they are rarely for birdie. I play spurts of great golf, but I can never keep it going. Usually not even for nine holes. Just the other day I was 5 under after 7 holes and barely broke 80 for the round.

[Hennybogan]

Thanks HB,
What I think I am trying to say is that, My swing on the range is much better than the swing I take to the course. If my handicap was based on the way I hit the ball on the range I might be a 2 or 3. For some reason my ball striking drops off once I start playing. My putting is the strongest part of my game, I almost always make alot of putts, sadly they are rarely for birdie. I play spurts of great golf, but I can never keep it going. Usually not even for nine holes. Just the other day I was 5 under after 7 holes and barely broke 80 for the round.

8cork,

Thanks for getting involved with this. I'm not trying to give you a hard time, regardless of how it might sound (Bucket, on the other hand, may get some grief). You did not answer my questions, but you did shed some light. I'll comment on your post and ask the questions again.

Except for the "Gamer," everyone hits it better on the range. Do you hit it better on range because you hit the same club over and over at the same target? Do you make little adjustments between shots to improve result? Do you feel more relaxed because you can just drag another one over? Are you more comfortable because you know where it will land? Better because you aren't keeping score? I'm not making assessments or recommendations yet, I need more info. Describe your practice routine.

As for spurts of great golf. Excellent, it shows you have the ability. Take heart. Top level golf is allowing those streaks to happen and managing the rest of the round for the lowest score. What causes these runs to stop? Do you keep score in your head or notice your relationship to par while you play? Do you hit a bad shot and try to figure out the cause instead of wiping it from memory? Do you get nervous / excited when you get it going? Do you start thinking about telling your buddies about your great round?

Do you get overconfident and try shots beyond your ability or aim at pins you should not. Do you fail to get up and down from a relatively easy spot? Again, I'm not saying you should or should not do any of these things. I'm merely describing some things people do to interrupt great scoring rounds. When you say you act different on the range and the course, is that more a description of the results or the process?


HB

[8cork]

8cork,

Thanks for getting involved with this. I'm not trying to give you a hard time, regardless of how it might sound (Bucket, on the other hand, may get some grief). You did not answer my questions, but you did shed some light. I'll comment on your post and ask the questions again.

Except for the "Gamer," everyone hits it better on the range. Do you hit it better on range because you hit the same club over and over at the same target? Do you make little adjustments between shots to improve result? Do you feel more relaxed because you can just drag another one over? Are you more comfortable because you know where it will land? Better because you aren't keeping score? I'm not making assessments or recommendations yet, I need more info. Describe your practice routine.

As for spurts of great golf. Excellent, it shows you have the ability. Take heart. Top level golf is allowing those streaks to happen and managing the rest of the round for the lowest score. What causes these runs to stop? Do you keep score in your head or notice your relationship to par while you play? Do you hit a bad shot and try to figure out the cause instead of wiping it from memory? Do you get nervous / excited when you get it going? Do you start thinking about telling your buddies about your great round?

Do you get overconfident and try shots beyond your ability or aim at pins you should not. Do you fail to get up and down from a relatively easy spot? Again, I'm not saying you should or should not do any of these things. I'm merely describing some things people do to interrupt great scoring rounds. When you say you act different on the range and the course, is that more a description of the results or the process?


HB

I am not really certain why I hit it better on the range. I usually go through a large and small bucket of balls starting with my wedges and moving through the bag. Usually hit 10 to 12 drivers and then finish off with my wedges. Because of past swing flaws, (overplane) I really concentrate on hitting the inside quadrant of the ball and driving out to right field. I hit nice soft draws with the occasional pull thrown in. I can go through 100 balls on the range and never hit a hook. But, when I play its fore left!! On a typical round I may hook 10 out of 14 tee shots, 2 or 3 of those will be completely off the golf course. I play like Seve, always scrambling, getting up and down from everywhere, making 4 or 5 par putts per round between 6 and 10 feet. It's truely madness, drives me stir crazy. Generally in a round I may have only about 4 two putt pars. I play high stress golf.
I am a very mechanical player, always trying to fix my swing on the course. I think I need to become more of a feel player. Also, I have a completely different tempo on the course. I can feel my swing getting shorter and faster as I play.
Bucket, when we get together for a round, maybe we should play captains choice.

[Hennybogan]

I am not really certain why I hit it better on the range. I usually go through a large and small bucket of balls starting with my wedges and moving through the bag. Usually hit 10 to 12 drivers and then finish off with my wedges. Because of past swing flaws, (overplane) I really concentrate on hitting the inside quadrant of the ball and driving out to right field. I hit nice soft draws with the occasional pull thrown in. I can go through 100 balls on the range and never hit a hook. But, when I play its fore left!! On a typical round I may hook 10 out of 14 tee shots, 2 or 3 of those will be completely off the golf course. I play like Seve, always scrambling, getting up and down from everywhere, making 4 or 5 par putts per round between 6 and 10 feet. It's truely madness, drives me stir crazy. Generally in a round I may have only about 4 two putt pars. I play high stress golf.
I am a very mechanical player, always trying to fix my swing on the course. I think I need to become more of a feel player. Also, I have a completely different tempo on the course. I can feel my swing getting shorter and faster as I play.
Bucket, when we get together for a round, maybe we should play captains choice.

8cork,

It sounds, on one hand, like you don't need my advice. It sounds like you get the most out of your ballstriking.

Maybe I can help. I always knew that I was not the calm, causual type. I swing more like Nick Price than Bob Murphy. So my goal was always to build a swing that would work at that speed. I'm more relaxed than I was early on, but I'm still on the quick side. When I practice, contary to some common advice, I try to get my swing ramped up to on course speed. I think you want to swing at a pace that fits your personality.

Trying to fix your swing on the course just does not work, as a rule. If you are mechanical on the course, it can interrupt the flow of your swing and cause steering and other problems. You might have one tendency you can think of and have a few practice swings with some special feel before you start your routine. Once you walk in, if you take practice swings, they should be directed towards the shot at hand and not away from the current miss.

If you are more calm and casual in normal life, you need to look at what causes you to speed up. Are you clear about what causes the left shots? Can you take some video while you play and compare it to the range? Have you taken the whole bottle of pills with regard to being overplane? Understanding the cause of your left shots may go a long way towards solving your problem with getting it to the course.

HB

[8cork]

8cork,

It sounds, on one hand, like you don't need my advice. It sounds like you get the most out of your ballstriking.

Maybe I can help. I always knew that I was not the calm, causual type. I swing more like Nick Price than Bob Murphy. So my goal was always to build a swing that would work at that speed. I'm more relaxed than I was early on, but I'm still on the quick side. When I practice, contary to some common advice, I try to get my swing ramped up to on course speed. I think you want to swing at a pace that fits your personality.

Trying to fix your swing on the course just does not work, as a rule. If you are mechanical on the course, it can interrupt the flow of your swing and cause steering and other problems. You might have one tendency you can think of and have a few practice swings with some special feel before you start your routine. Once you walk in, if you take practice swings, they should be directed towards the shot at hand and not away from the current miss.

If you are more calm and casual in normal life, you need to look at what causes you to speed up. Are you clear about what causes the left shots? Can you take some video while you play and compare it to the range? Have you taken the whole bottle of pills with regard to being overplane? Understanding the cause of your left shots may go a long way towards solving your problem with getting it to the course.

HB

HB,
I think you have it the nail on the head. I think I have not gotten over my overplane swing issues enough to be comfortable on the course. It seems I always revert back to bad habits. I need to keep grinding and working on what Lynn, Ted, and Jeff taught me at Falcons fire and learn to trust it on the course. I also think I could greatly help myself if I could learn to carry the same mentality on my full swing as I do my putter. When I am on the greens I have no swing thoughts, I am very much a feel putter. I just make the putt in my mind, then let my body execute. Of course, a putting stroke is much easier to execute than a full swing. I need tips on how to play and think on the course like a good feel player does. When I am hitting full shots on the course I am so wrapped up in the mechanics and my own swing thoughts I rarely think much about the target or visualizing the shot.
Bucket and I are going to get together for a day at the course in the next couple of weeks. I think it will be eye-opening to have him evaluate me on the range, and then see what happens on the course.