Week 4 Update

[d0n]

Here's week 4's update. For the record, here's a link to the previous weeks progress...

Week 4 was not a GREAT week on the course. I only got to play on Friday. I was only able to get in 3 range sessions for the week because of rain.

This week's round was a horrid 88 that started out on a bad foot Double-Double-Double. The main thing that killed me this week was putting. I missed 8 putts inside of 6' even a couple of 3' putts. More on putting in a bit. I think I have the driver back under control though I didn't get a chance to swing it during the week. I hit some nice straight drives (hit a couple of bad one's too.) Irons were okay to good. Wedges were okay. Considering the start, and the fact that I missed quite a few putts, I was pretty pleased with the days outcome.

On the double-double-double start, the first hole is a short 270yd par 4 with a big lake in the middle. I hit a perfect 9i off the tee but when I wedged it across I hit the front of the green and the ball sucked back into the lake. It looked like a beautiful shot but it just came up short. No biggie I thought, just bad luck because I hit the shot exactly as I wanted. The next hole I duffed my 5w trying to hit a big cut shot (advanced for my stage but I can occasionally pull it off and I was feeling good.) I'm 220 out hitting 23* hybrid. I knew it was to much club but there was a slight wind and I didn't think I needed to take any medicine. I smoke the ball past the green and the ball bounces through the chain link fence - some horrid putting and put down another double on the score card. Next hole (another double) was similar - just stupid mistakes and bad putting...

After those first three holes, I was doing pars and bogeys - more bogeys than pars.

I couldn't believe how BAD I was putting. I hit several greens in regulation but couldn't putt and a couple of them led to 3putt bogeys. In my defense, I really didn't put much work into putting so I am totally to blame for this. I got my backyard green completed this weekend. It is now 6x15 with two chipping stations and the slower turf. I' spent some time last night and this morning on the green and I believe I'm finding a groove with the putter. I've committed to do 30min a night of putting practice this week on the green. We'll see how that goes.

Something else to think about, when I came home from New Orleans (last weekend of June) I was 259lbs. I started working out again (HIIT Cardio, Crossfit, Mtn. Biking, and minor weight lifting.) The goal was to drop 20lbs by Aug 1st. Today I'm 5lbs away from the that goal at 244lbs. Not sure if it matters but my training could also be playing a part in my erratic play; though, I would think it would mess more with my swing than my putter... Who knows...

I've got to say again, while my scores are NOT necessarily impressive to most, I'm totally shocked that I can start out with 3 doubles and still shoot an 88. If I did this in the past I'd easily shot a 100 (though I would have probably quit keeping score after the third straight double.) Also it's amazing to me that even putting bad I can still salvage a par. This is the 4th week I shot in the 80's with parts of my game not very in tune. It's VERY cool to go from having a bad game in the 100's to having a bad game in the 80's. I'll take it!

One month after seeing Brian, I'm not going on the PGA Tour let alone a mini tour but I am definitely on to something here. While my scores haven't been off the charts, the bad games I've been having are as good or better than the good scores I was posting before seeing Brian. No buyer remorse here and I'll be going back to see Brian in Aug or Sept... After 4 or 5 different instructors it seems I found one that works for me! THANK YOU BRIAN!

 

[curtisj76]

Keep it going d0n. Things will fall in place the more you keep practicing/playing. The more you get used to your new swing the less you will have to think about it. Good job on the weight loss. Are you gonna keep going or are you "right" for your frame?

If you like the updates keep them going, trust me, we are reading them. Always nice to hear about our "family" playing better and getting over their struggles and how.

 

[d0n]

Thanks Curtis!

I'm 6'3 with a big frame. My goal is to get to 225 by the end of August and stay there. I used to be into bodybuilding 10 years ago until I had a bad motocross wreck and had to have my right arm reconstructed (broke in 4 places including the ball in the shoulder socket.) This reconstruction and a lot of pins limited my range of motion (even to this day) and it gave me a good excuse NOT to workout anymore. That's all behind me. Last summer I was 280lbs. I figure 225 is good for me. Next month I'll start doing more weights and less aerobic activity. Most of the workouts I currently do are simply to create high intensity calorie burning activity (most are variants of MMA workouts.) I'll cut it back some next month when I get back to the weights. Not looking to throw on slabs of muscle again, just want to look and feel healthy. The real key is food, and that's my true weakness. I'm getting a lot better about what and how much I eat. Actually, a couple of my MMA buddies are coming to train with me this week because they are now VERY interested in what I'm doing since I'm loosing weight, gaining strength, and I'm doing it without the help of anabolics.

I'm going to keep playing golf and in time I'm going to put a lot more time into getting better at it. Unfortunately it's simply not my top priority right now. With as much time as I'm putting into it now, I'm happy with the results. Obviously I want to play better and score lower BUT all things considered, I'm VERY pleased with the progress. With that said, I can EASILY drop 5 strokes off my score card just by putting better. With a backyard green, there is NO excuse for putting as bad as I am. I'll fix that this week - that is VERY high on the priority list...

 

[curtisj76]

With as much time as I'm putting into it now, I'm happy with the results.

Time, time, time. I just told my wife that I spend tons of time and money on something that frustrates me beyond belief. I've thought about just fishing from now on. I can fish all day, not catch a fish and still enjoy myself. Oh well, I'll never leave this stinking game!!

 

[softconsult]

Don, I find your journal interesting. It would frame the situation better for me if I knew your approximate age and number of years playing golf. In other words, and maybe I just missed it, but are you a beginner or an experienced golfer on a mission to get much, much better? It's not that I have an profound ideas for you but rather just to help me see the picture.

 

[d0n]

I'm 34 years old and started playing golf in June of 2006. I use the word "play" loosly. Basically I was bored one day and my buddy invited me to the range with him. I went with him and started hitting the driver. I was crushing it. He then invited me to start playing in scrambles with him because of the driver. After a couple of scrambles I decided golf might actually be fun and I should start learning to hit all the clubs. That was about September'ish. Started working with instructors, lost the baseball grip, lost my ability to smash the driver, but have been addicted every since.... I guess you can say I've been playing a little over 3years. Before June of 06, I had NEVER played golf nor did the idea of playing golf EVER interest me in. I will say this is the ONLY sport/hobby that I have ever got involved with that I was not above average in short period of time, that's probably one of the reason I find this game so interesting.

Over the last 3 years I have tried on multiple occasions to "buy" a golf game. This has at best given me a band aid for a month but looking back it was just money throw out the window. I've probably had 5 sets of irons, AT LEAST 30 drivers, uncountable custom shafts, a dozen putters, a dozen different wedges, a couple different golf bags, every ball you can think of - none of this did much to improve my game... I've purchased just about every video and book out there. Training aids - name it, I probably had it. I've worked with 4 or 5 different instructors including Houston's "Matt Swanson Golf School" with little to no real long-term improvement. Late in 2007 through mid 2008 I was spending 6+ hours a week at the range and playing 2-3 rounds per week. I was definitely willing to put in the time to get better.

The best I previously played was to a 15 handicap but my scores were erratic 80-98. None the less it all came out to a 15. That was last summer and then I lost 30lbs and I lost my swing (what swing I had.) I went from playing mostly in the mid to upper 80's to playing in the upper 90's. We got Hurricane Ike last September and that pretty much closed the courses around here for a month or two. I just never had a chance to refind my groove. It was so frustrating I just took a break from January of this year to June - a couple weeks before I went to see Brian. The rest is covered is covered in my last 3 posts.

Looking back now, I'm glad I never found my groove late last year. I'm much better off now. No BS, Brian doesn't pay me anything nor does he give me any discounts or anything else. If my lesson sucked, I wouldn't be posting here now. Out of my 3 years of playing and working with various instructors as well as all the self learning and everything else, 6 hours of personal instruction taught me more about MY golf swing and has lead to more usable information than everything combined prior to my June lesson. I followed this forum since 07 and I've come and gone from this forum choosing to follow other people/styles. Every time I leave, I eventually come back here. It was stupid I waited 2+ years to come see Brian in person. Oh well lesson learned... Hopefully if there are people out there struggling with their swing and are on the fence about going to see Brian, my "journal" will help shed some light on what to expect. It is expensive (especially when you factor in travel) but well worth every penny and then some. It's pretty expensive spending several thousand dollars on bad to mediocre local instructors and coming away with nothing more than a lighter wallet. My only regret with the whole experience is that Golf is NOT my top priority right now.

 

[dbl]

d0n what are your expectations? Do you think you will be shooting in the 70's soon?

 

[softconsult]

Thanks, nice description. I would tell you to be a little less hard on yourself. This game will humble you, and frustrate you. Of course that is why it is so addicting. I would say that the younger you are when you take it up, the better off you are as the years go by, but early 30's sure beats 40's or 50's. I would also say that you should focus on learning course strategy, shots from 100 yards in, on how to get up and down from off the green, and on putting as you are doing.

I play in a Seniors league. I am one of the young guys and can hit it much farther than most of the contestants. However, when you add it up at the end of the round the good ones are competitive. It's because the good players get it up and down from everywhere. I am constantly amazed at how they pull this off because it's often with some seemingly terrible technique.

I look forward to following your journey.

 

[d0n]

d0n what are your expectations? Do you think you will be shooting in the 70's soon?

I think I could shoot in the upper 70's soon (maybe a month???) IF I were more committed to practicing. I've had one round in the 70's since I got back from my lesson with Brian. Like softconsult mentioned, I need to work on course management. Part of my course management issue is that I don't have this new swing totally ingrained into my game yet. When I do get it ingrained and I don't have to think about the swing, I can then think about where I want to put the ball. This will take my game to a new level.

For right now, it will greatly help if I pick up the putter and practiced.... There's no reason to 3 putt from 20' out. Putting alone will drop 5 strokes off my round if not more... Each week my putting gets worse but that ends this week. Looking at my score card yesterday, I had 44 putts... NOBODY can play a good round of golf with 44 putts.

As for my goal, I have a full time career that is fairly demanding and a couple of other things going on. My goal with golf (at least for now) is to be a solid 9 handicap. If I can get lower, that's great but my goal for now is to be a solid 9. I'm realistic in knowing I will never make a living playing golf and I simply don't have the time to put in and maintain a lower handicap.

 

[Walt]

working at it

So, you are saying that you do not become immediately better after a lesson with Brian. It takes work and practice?

 

[d0n]

So, you are saying that you do not become immediately better after a lesson with Brian. It takes work and practice?

That definitely is NOT what I am saying. I went from playing in the upper 90's to 100's prior to working with Brian to playing in the 80's currently. A bad game now is 87/88 where it was in the 100's.

What I'm saying is that IF I committed more time to practicing I could easily be in the low 80's probably the high 70's.

With that being said, Brian is good (I'll go so far as to say REAL GOOD) but I doubt any instructor (including him) is so good that a student could see them for a day and a half and instantly be cured of all their golfing ails. You HAVE to put in some work and practice to make the changes you learn become ingrained. In a day and a half you will discover where things are going wrong and how to fix them. It's up to you to put in the hours needed to correct YOUR own issues.

 

[d0n]

On a sidenote,

Spent 30 minutes putting Saturday, spent 45 minutes last night putting. Interesting I found a couple of issues.

- I am stopping my stroke at the ball. I believe this to be because the former green I was hitting on was so fast I could get away with stopping at the ball. After working on this I'm seeing an immediate improvement in speed as well as keeping the ball on line.

- The second kind of goes along with the first, I'm not getting my shoulders involved with the stroke. They are working but because I was stopping at the ball they were getting jammed up and I was having to manipulate my hands and arms to hit the ball. If I keep them going through the stroke all is well.

- Lastly, my hands were turning and doing all kinds of stuff which in turn led to the putter face doing all kinds of stuff. Best I can guess I started getting a little fast on the transition and in doing so the putter was shifting in my hands. I slowed down the transition and made it more pendulum like and my hands were not getting all jacked up.

None the less, I was feeling quite confident in my stroke after last nights practice...

 

[d0n]

Got another hour of putting in Monday and yesterday. Not as much as I wanted but with all the recent rain we've received the mosquito are out in droves. None the less, I'm happy with the putting progress as I'm actually hitting the ball and taking the putter through the ball at impact. I'd like to get a little more speed as I am currently stopping the ball dead at the cup or at most 2" past but at least the speed is getting consistent.

Last night I started adding a little (I forget the word Brian used and I'm definitely going to say the wrong thing) but basically a little cupping/wrist/hinge action in the putt. I'm a stand over the ball, rock the shoulders straight back and straight through putting style - 6'3 with a 33" putter. The wrist action isn't turning the face (isn't suppose to turn the face) it just makes the putter head swing back and through a little further - making a bigger arch without moving my shoulders/arms any further back. Anyhow, I started adding that back into the stroke last night and it was getting a putting more speed on the ball. Going to have to relearn distance as I get this incorporated into the stroke.

I'm confident I will have no more than 36 putts this week which should hopefully bring my scores down nicely. I definitely feel a lot more comfortable standing over the ball now.

Went to the range yesterday and hit some wedges but didn't stay long because of the wind 15-20mph constant. Not sure why but it seems I forgot how to do the midsole pitch... Time to pull out the "friends" video and "over and out" and then get back to the range tonight. It seems golf is still like a game of whack-a-mole for me!!!