Gen. Applewhite

I prefer Supper and Cured over Southerleigh.

Titleist 913D3 driver and 913Fd 3W Titleist 818H1 23* TaylorMade P790 4-PW Vokey 48/52/58 Ping Scottsdale Shea H

I ate an edible before a round one time and I ended up spending 45 minutes inside one of the comfort stations on the back 9 eating candy.

I played tennis growing up and used midplus rackets based on 90s era tech. I quit for several years during college (when I started playing golf), but when I picked the game back up I switched to smaller Prince Original Graphite that was quite literally older than I was. Yet I was a substantially better player at 28 than I was at 18, despite being significantly fatter. It was all about how the different racket shaped my game. Golf has been the opposite experience. My brother and dad were scratch golfers, so I only ever played hand-me-down blades. The most "game improvement" I ever got was a set of Titleist 690 CBs, and was until recently playing a set of Mizuno T-zoids from the 90s. But that was just irons. I always had the not-quite-latest tech in drivers, like my current 913D. I should have known better, and made the switch a couple months ago to a new set of P790s. It's unbelievable. I used to think the "feel" of a crisply struck blade was the best, but I now think that was because it was such a rare experience. Now that I know what it feels like to stand over the ball knowing its most likely going to pop off the face (like a flushed shot with a blade) and fly straight (unlike my typical shot with the old clubs), I will take that any day. Of course, the equipment switch has coincided with my radical swing changes discussed previously, but add the two together and I have never been more confident with my irons than I am right now. I have been gradually working my way up through the bag and as soon as I think I can keep my tee shots in play on the course, I think I will be breaking 80 regularly (i.e., when the putts drop).

I just googled that and after poking around the site for a minute I see videos about what to do with your left toe on the downswing and all sorts of insane shit like that. I couldn't close out of that window fast enough. I am trying to simplify things here. Part of the reason I never committed to a lesson is because I think I have terrible body awareness, but decent natural athleticism. I'll take all the grip, alignment and posture tips, but when it's time to swing I just want to grip it (correctly) and rip it.

So I have fought a pretty extreme over the top motion for my entire golfing life, which no amount of swing thought standing over the ball could seemingly cure. In the best of times, it was just a reliable fade that would get me around the course, hitting fairways and throwing the occasional dart into a green. As I started to play more this last year and got my short game back in shape, my scores kept dropping. But even though I was consistently hitting fairways, I was bleeding distance with every club but my driver, which is an absolute killer on my home course where I end up hitting woods or laying up on long par 4s, and rarely have less than a 7 iron into even the shortest ones. I am only 39. I am big, strong, coordinated, and powerful at pretty much everything else I do (e.g., tennis, throwing). I get decent distance off the tee, but should probably hit it even farther. Moving up to the senior tees might put a bandaid over the fact that I was only hitting my 7 iron ~125 yards, but I didn't really like that option, especially since my 67 year old father (and most likely playing partner) is still going from the men's tees. When the shanks showed up a month ago, and persisted, even if less severe, for a few weeks, I decided it was time for a complete swing overhaul. I have never been able to fix my over the top action with any amount of practice. I probably should have gotten a lesson years ago, but I like the fact that I am "self taught." Anyways, after hacking my way around the course last Saturday, I watched some internet videos that clicked with my mind. I knew my grip was too weak, but it never occurred to me that my over the top swing was my subliminal correction for an open club face, which coupled together could produce a relatively straight ball flight if synced perfectly, but was robbing me of distance and consistency. What clicked was the advice in one such video to simply strengthen the grip as much as possible, so that you could not physically have an open club face at impact. Then just realize that you're going to be hitting horrible pull hooks that dart off the left edge of the practice range until your mind and body naturally bring your club path back in line with, and eventually to the right of, the target. I put this plan into motion on Sunday, and the initial grip adjustment felt like such a severe change from what I had been doing that I could barely take the club back. Once I did get it back, my wrists were only flexible enough to get the club vertical, much less horizontal, and I'm sure both the swing and the results looked like somebody swinging a club for the first time. That first bucket was so weird, I imagine I would have felt more comfortable trying to swing left handed. But each disgusting rope hook was actually reassuring in its own way. I stuck with it and just started hitting little quarter swing shots, trying like hell to push the ball to the right of my line. Since I'm afraid there is no going back, I am totally fucked if I don't fully commit to this, so I have left the office to go hit a bucket of balls at lunch each day this week. Starting with my gap wedge, and adding the 9 iron and 7 iron the last couple days, today felt like a massive breakthrough in that I know feel comfortable at address. Although I am only giving it half swings because of my inflexibility, five range sessions in and I am already hitting shots just beyond my old full swing distances for those clubs. Despite hitting into a wind that is quartering from left to right (previously a worst case scenario for me), I don't recall a single shot that moved right since making the change, save for the early shanks or dribblers off the toe when I could barely make contact. About 10% of my shots the last couple days were legit misses to the left (although I've moved past the rope hooks), but the vast majority are now starting online, and falling off a few yards left at the end. No doubt that this stronger grip is going to temporarily wreak havoc on my close in pitching game, but I will get to that in due time. I am interested to see what happens when I start working in my driver and longer clubs. But for now, watching those balls work right to left feels like I've unlocked a super power.

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Heso, your game and goals sound similar to mine. What makes or breaks my rounds is about 20% whether or not I get lucky and find a couple greens with the woods I am hitting into longer holes, and 80% about how many 6-8 foot putts I am able to sink after a serviceable chip. I assume that simply practicing more will hone my short game, so my primary goal is to get more consistent with irons (mostly w/r/t distance). I probably should have signed up for a series of lessons, but I took the fun route instead and bought some new game improvement irons.

I wouldn't call my handicap "low" but I know it won't stay there if I tried to play a round right now.

I didn't know something like this really existed. I hit a bucket of gap wedges on New Years Eve and was feeling great. Went back to the range 24 hours later and there they were. No exaggeration, 75% of balls were straight right off the hosel. Same story this Thursday, Friday was about 50/50, and today was only a few, but it has completely wrecked my confidence standing over the ball, not knowing if I was going to even make contact. All the while, I'm smoking the driver, and my short game is still in good shape, but I wouldn't break 100 hitting everything else like this.

Went from 6.4 to a 6.3. Still have a serious case of the shanks. I can’t fathom trying to get around a course right now so it’s a good thing I don’t have time for anything but practice.

After getting the bug again for the first time since college I started turning in scores, splitting the fairway (always my weakness), and played 15 rounds in the second half of 2019. Ended the year at a 6.4 and had grand plans and lofty goals for 2020. Hit the range on New Year’s Day and while the driver was solid, about 75% of my swings with the 7i and 52* were full on shanks. I was putting others on the range in danger. Moving all my loose change from one pocket to the other didn’t help so I said fuck that and went to work on chipping. I was hopeful to get to get back out there with the beautiful weather this weekend, but I woke up Friday with what feels like a strain in the back of my right hand. It hurts to grip and take the club back, so I’m not even going to risk finding out what it would feel like at impact. Hopefully some of those early 2020 goals won’t have to be scrapped, and I’ll still be in a groove when I do get to play again. I’m looking to break 80 for the first time in a decade. I’d also like to figure out and fix why I’ve been bleeding distance with my irons. Other than that I just want to play more.

You are correct.

You're not supposed to actually pick the ball up when you're out on the course. The "max score" is just for handicapping purposes. If you're a 12 and I am a 6, and we want to play a round for a dollar a stroke, you're going to get 6 shots. At that point, the handicapping rules are no longer relevant. You're going to have to hole out on every hole. None of this "just give me a double" shenanigans. On Tuesday I shot 81, but since I had two triples, the ESC score I posted was a 79. I'm not walking around saying I broke 80.

You could play a provisional before leaving the box, so as not to have to go back to the tee if you end up incurring a stroke+distance penalty. Or you could play it under the new rule where you take a drop in the fairway adjacent to where it went OB, and then play your fourth from there (thus approximating a provisional that reached the fairway). If you're going to count your strokes, much less post a score for your handicap, then one should play by the "actual rules."

Walked yesterday with a half bag and hit 12/13 fairways with a 5W off every tee. Took the full bag out to play the front nine this afternoon and hit 7/7 with driver. I need to work on my chipping because I had way too may 12-15 footers for par, many of which were dicey 2 putts since the greens were rolling 13+. Amazing weather.

I played 36 at the San Pedro pitch and putt yesterday. 27/33 from the tips and then 28/30 from the reds. I think that's going to be my new go-to for practice. The grass at the Quarry's chipping green is way too fluffy. You get nothing but primo lies that you'd rarely see on even the best manicured courses. San Pedro's greens are healthy, but much slower and grainier than I am used to. I am looking forward to "working late" and getting in some weeknight loops under the lights.

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145 yards with a creek in front. I got over with a 7 but yanked it 15 feet left of the green into some deep rough. Never found it. Back to the drop area and couldn't get up and down.

I get choked up every time I think about Cedric's last carry as a Horn. We needed to get to the left hash and couldn't lose yardage. He got hit in the backfield and dragged the entire Michigan defense five yards forward. It was just enough.

Yesterday I completely botched a golden chance to break 80 for the first time in at least 15 years. Was 6 over through 15 and smoked my drive right down the fairway, but ended up with a double on 16 followed by another double on the short par 3 17th. Could have saved an 80 with a birdie on the par 5 18th (par 71 course), but three-jacked it from 20 feet for an 82. I haven't hit the ball this well since I was playing every day in undergrad. I have been trending steadily down through the 80s in my dozen or so rounds this year, and I definitely have the bug again after years of being indifferent towards the game. I actually want to go to the range and hit a bucket of practice balls, which is a foreign concept to me.

That's the thing. If show up 20 minutes before a round I'll spend 15 of it on the green. I usually stretch, hit 3-4 wedge shots, a couple 7-irons and a couple drivers then head over to putt. My problem lately with putting has been leaving it short so I said to myself none of that on Sunday. I probably should have known that meant I'd knock every lag 10 feet past the hole.

I probably had my best ever round driving the ball on Sunday. Only hit one bad one all day. Missed two more fairways by a few feet. Everything else was splitting the middle. I also chipped decently and hit a few irons close on the back 9. But aside from making two four footers for birdie, my putting was absolutely atrocious. 39 total on my way to an 47/40. It's maddening cause Thursday's round was the exact opposite scenario (in a two-man scramble with my dad I couldn't find a fairway but was sinking putts). Shit like that makes me want to go out and actually practice.

Yep. At address I like to reassure myself that I have plenty of club and just need to swing easy. When I step up to the tee with the swing thought of "I am going to murder this ball" it doesn't always work out that way.