Range Practice - Sweeping the dust off
Back at the range!
Haven’t had a golf post in a long time (not since my 94 at Queenfield I believe). When I left for Idaho I didn’t take my clubs, figuring I needed to focus on the hunt. That strategy paid off, as I drilled my bull and got a year’s worth of meat heading my way.
Now that we are back in Virginia, it’s back to breaking 80.
Breaking 80: Progress Check-In
Our original goal for breaking 80 had us shooting 89 by the end of August, and then 87 by the end of December. It’s October 9, and our lowest score was the 94 we shot at Queenfield in July.
Looking at our scores from the year, we are seeing an okay trend:
| Date | Course | To par (18 holes, or *adjusted from 9) |
|---|---|---|
| 03-21-2020 | Queenfield | +23 |
| 03-27-2020 | The Hollows | +26 |
| 04-03-2020 | Hunting Hawk | +18* |
| 05-02-2020 | Hunting Hawk | +26 |
| 05-22-2020 | Sycamore Creek | +28* |
| 07-03-2020 | The Crossings | +20* |
| 07-08-2020 | Queenfield | +22 |
Before June, I was averaging probably around 24-26 to par. My last two outings have actually been pretty solid at 20 and 22 to par.
Another thing that stands out is the lack of play. This year I have only totaled four full rounds of 18 holes (over 7.5 months). My practice has been a little shaky as well.
To par? What about shooting 89?
One large oversight I had in my original goal was measing a score and not my score relative to par. When I said I wanted to break 80, that was assuming par was 72, or shooting +7 to par (79 on par 72).
So when we talk about shooting 89 or 87, we really are talking about shooting +17 and +15 to par.
Range Practice
Today’s range practice was mostly focused on two things: tempo and driver.
Driver: working on a draw
Well, more straightening out my driver than working on a draw.
I played in a best ball tournament with some co-workers recently, and my driver was a bit sporadic. I played a fade most the day, but occassionally would lose my ball on either a hard pull or a bad push-slice.
I’m starting to really struggle with confidence in my driver. I notice now that if I hit it slightly off-center my velocity off the club head reduces dramatically. I’m also noticing a slight cracking noise which I am worried is the base of the shaft near the clubhead. That driver is getting pretty old (RocketBallz Stage 2), and it sure feels like it.
I got a couple decent draws, but mostly they were flying straight with an occassional push-slice. I’m feeling a bit better, but it would be nice to understand how I can force a draw if necessary. Not having that shot in my driver is really annoying.
Tempo
I’m always swinging too hard, and I decided this last week to work on that. A 24-handicap doesn’t need to swing as hard as I do.
Today, I practiced pausing at the top of my swing to give me lower body time to transition. In reality, I probably wasn’t pausing, but I noticed my body loading up behind the ball much better than I usually do.
I’m learning that the coordination of my legs, hips, arms, wrists, and hands at ball contact impact speed way more than how fast I am getting up and down through the string.
Yes, Bryson Dechambeau is showing us how a fast swing up and down can add velocity.
But Bryson is playing on tour and I’m barely playing at the crappy municipals in Richmond. I can afford to slow things down a bit.
Next practice
I think I’ll benefit best from focusing on tempo, with irons and driver. With a smoother and slower tempo will come more consistency, which in turn will lower my scores.
I’m playing another best-ball tournament with my dad in about 10 days. Hopefully I’ll be able to get out for a round between now and then - I need to play more!