One Step Up.......

Hit the range a couple of times this week focusing on the two things I took from last weekends lesson - getting more width in the backswing and unhinging the elbow as the first move of the downswing.
For the most part I seemed to be hitting it pretty good so I was looking forward to playing in the Tradition today. Started well - level par after 5 on Creekside (which was playing notoriously difficult). Fell to pieces after that. It all started when I hit a pitch fat on number 5 (after two great shots to get to the edge in 2). I totally lost confidence from there on - every time I was faced with a pitch I was somewhat terrorized - the club felt like a hose or a snake or something to that effect. This is not that much of a surprise - pitching is not something I have addressed with Tim and I have never been comfortable with anything less than a full shot.
In any case, I ended up shooting 89 - our best ball was 78. Thats my worst score in quite some time - years. Putting was a real issue but the greens were so fast on Creekside that I won't focus too much on that.
Got to start working on pitching with Tim as soon as I can get a lesson scheduled.
As for ballstriking - well, there were some positives - hit a few great drives. I would say I'm just not comfortable with the changes I am making yet when out on the course.
Has a feeling right now that its always (to quote Springsteen) 'one step up and two steps back'.

Width = Speed

Had the next installment in my lesson series with Tim on Saturday. My initial reaction was disappointment in myself when I saw my swing on video. I hadn't made the progress I had expected in terms of some of the flaws I am working on.
The two things I left with to focus on this week are increasing the width in the backswing and to continue to focus on starting the downswing by letting the club fall/unhinging the right elbow instead of starting with an entire body move.
I intend to get to the range 3/4 times this week so lets see if I can do a bit better this time round....

Good Riddance Winter

Hope I'm not tempting fate but it was glorious here today and I finally got to do some practice over the last couple of days. Found myself hitting balls beside Edoardo Molinari on the range. Seems like a very likeable chap so I hope he does well at Augusta. In any case, I wasn't sure whether to be inspired or realize how inadequate my game is. I'll opt for inspiration :) It truly is phenomenal how well these guys hit it. Interestingly, some of the Georgia Tech guys (who practice at the club too) seem to hit it just as purely. But I digress!

I myself seem to be making a little progress. I'm focusing mostly on ball striking at this time. To this end, I worked on a few things this evening:

• Maintaining the brace in my right knee/not turing my hips until they are called upon in the backswing. This helps me to keep the club in front of me and not take it too much to the inside.
• Keeping the right elbow in front of the torso as it hinges on the backswing (again to prevent the club moving too much to the inside/behind me)
• Starting the downswing by 'letting the club fall', basically unhinging that right elbow.

I actually seemed to be hitting it quite well. Have a lesson in the morning so we will see if I am heading in the right direction with those changes.

Specific Weaknesses

Golf Digest has been promoting some tools (see the latest at www.golfdigest.com/makemebetter) over the last few years that track your stats based on the notion that each player has two handicaps - a long game handicap and a short game handicap. I tried it for a while last year, entering some basic stats about each round that I played (greens in regulation, fairways hit, total putts etc). According to GD I have a long game handicap of 2 and a short game handicap of 8. I'd have to say the 8 might be a little generous.
First and foremost, my chipping is brutal!! I probably get up and down about 1 out of every 6 or 7 attempts. In order to get to scratch I will need to get this stat to 70%. I can't even describe what the basic technique for a chip (or pitch) shot is. Shameful!!
Probably the next biggest area of concern are pitch shots from 60 yards and in. As often as not, I will skull or blade it to the point where I will lay up to 100 yards rather than be faced with anything closer.
The third focus area would be driving distance. I'm guessing that I average about 240 (yards) off the tee. Admittedly, I do hit a lot of fairways but I really need to get that extra 30 yards or so in order to challenge scratch. I'm hoping that general swing improvements as well as optimizing my equipment (that's right I'm going to get fit for a new driver).
On a recent visit to the PGA Superstore in Roswell my driving specs were 18 degree launch angle with 4000 rpm initial spin. I've been doing some research on this and clearly these figures need to change. That launch angle should be more like 14 degrees and a spin rate of 3000 rpm would be more than acceptable. (Incidentally my club head speed was between 95 and 100 mph) . While acceptable, I'm hoping to get that a little closer to 105 by the summer.

Two other areas spring to mind, putting and sand play. I'm a half decent putter but I simply haven't practiced this element enough over the last few years. Also, I think I have become lazy in terms of executing a repeatable routine.
As for sand play, pretty average but I feel confident that once I address this with Tim, I will see a huge improvement.

To summarize, chipping and pitching are going to be the key criteria to me getting to scratch. I need to get another 20 yards off the tee and dedicate a couple of hours a week to putting and sand play. R

Roll on the warm weather!!

Lesson time.....

As mentioned in my last post, getting lessons from a really good pro was one of the tasks I identified.

One thing I have learned over the years of struggling with the golf swing is that I certainly am not going to teach myself. I got the opportunity of playing with a couple of European tour pros a couple of years back and was totally blown away by their ball flight and their swings. I promised myself at the time to come back and truly learn how to play this game properly. In the pursuit of this I have taken lessons from two of the top 50 teachers in the US as rated by Golf Digest and Golf Magazine. I stuck with both for at least 12 lessons. However, I saw relatively little progress in truth (despite the $150 a pop I was parting with). Now, I'm not saying that those pros were not excellent at their craft. I think finding the right pro is not just a matter of finding someone highly rated - it's more of finding a good match. I came away from those two experiences very frustrated believing that perhaps I would never get much better than a 5 or 6.

I had a go at trying to figure it out on my own for a while since then. I gave Jim Hardy's 'one plane' methodology a twist for one season with some moderate success but it seemed to desert me after a little while. Again, I think the problem is not with the methodology so much as it not being right for me. A season later I happened upon 'Stack and Tilt' and thought why not. For about 3 weeks I struck it so pure that I started getting some silly ideas but yet again it seemed to leave me after a short while.

So, last summer I found myself back to square one - unhappy with my game but not sure what to do about it. So, I set about finding a pro I could work with for the long haul. A friend suggested I talk to Tim Weinhart. I met with Tim and discussed his teaching philosophy and my goals.

At this point it seems like a really good match. I'm totally convinced by his teaching philosophy. (He teaches the swing by focusing on five key fundamentals - NOT to be confused with Hogans book). His manner is another huge bonus for me - easy going, not at all arrogant. (I'm sometimes a little intimidated by people who are leaders in their field :)) A very good communicator with a nice utilization of modern tools (video cam etc) without being totally reliant on them. I think it also helps the I have great respect for his playing accomplishments - numerous PGA championship appearances, PGA tour appearances etc. I do think it helps that I am totally open minded and prepared to literally forget everything I thought I knew about the golf swing.

We've had 6/7 lessons at this point. Still very much a work in progress. To summarize the major points we have worked upon so far:

• My grip was way off (club was in the palm of my left hand for a start)
• Stance was very closed
• Took the club way inside on the backswing (not surprisingly way across the line at the top)
• Way too much lateral movement

I think that's enough for this post. I will expand on some of the details of what I have worked on with Tim in the coming months. I think the key point is that finding the right pro is a process. Explain what you are hoping to achieve, ask questions about how they will help you get there and most of all once you pick a pro, give them the time to succeed - even with the best teacher results will not be immediate.

Intro

I've always (or at least since I first got hooked) dreamed of being a scratch golfer. Right now, I'm a 5.1 index. I have flirted with something in the region of 1.5 a couple of years back but truthfully that was more a factor of a couple of freak good rounds in succession than a a true reflection on the quality of my game. This year I have decided to give it one concerted 'lash' to achieve that long held dream. "Why blog about this?" you may say! Well I figure that it will help me be true to the goal AND also, who knows, perhaps someone else out there may benefit from my experiences. In the days and months ahead, I will describe my efforts and share anything worthwhile learned along the way.
Truth be told, I began planning this journey a couple of months back. The initial task was to come up with high level plan. I have arrived at the following approach in no particular order:

• Get lessons (from a really good pro)
• Get into proper physical shape
• Develop a practice plan
• Find some playing partners I can learn from
• Identify my specific weaknesses
• Join a club with a challenging course and great practice facilities
• Get the right equipment for me
  

I will expand on each of these in more detail in the next few days.