2005-10-12

Productive Trip to the Driving Range

Hit the range yesterday to test out my new driver and am very pleased with it. The range I was at has a target green at the downhill 200-220 yard marker and anything longer than that you cannot see the ball land. So I'm not sure if the driver is longer than my old one but seemed to be as accurate. I had a couple pushes draw back in and a couple pushes fade further right. That is a good sign. That means the club is doing what I am telling it to do (although unintentional with the pushing). The ball flight was very nice as well - high but flat high not upward high. No plans to play until Friday so I won't know how much farther it goes until then.. Even though that driver is new and the reason I went to the range I still only hit about 10 balls with it, the rest were with my irons.

I haven't gone to the range hardly at all this year. Last year I was a range rat and really got good at hitting balls. This year I tried to just play and get really good at golfing. Learning to adjust my swing and find my groove on the course where I needed it. I don't even warm up anymore on the driving range - nothing. I once played in a local pro am where I watched all the pros practice for an hour and the pro in my group didn't show up until the very last minute. He shook our hands, changed his shoes on the first tee, and then bombed a drive right down the middle and won the tournament. I thought to myself I want a swing where I can just get to the course and play, no more of this need 30 minutes first stuff. I've pretty much learned how to play without warming up but on the bad days I hear my grandfather's voice in the back of my head saying something along the lines of "if it takes you twenty swings to figure out what you are doing wrong for that day - you can use those strokes on the course or use them on the range. Either way you'll use them". Good point. Burn through those bad swings for free on the range. Strengthen or weaken your grip a fraction for the day depending.. I guess I still always planned on warming up for the important golf days; I just haven?t had many lately.

Since I was at the range though, I thought I'd clean up my iron play. The last few times I've played I didn't feel like I was all that sharp with my irons so I started with my nine iron and focused on getting a real solid rising trajectory. When you hit a nine iron nice, you can tell there is cheese on it and it will land with tons of backspin. That is what I like - the cheese keeps it online. Once I got the nine going, I went to my four iron but had troubles. After a handful of balls I got the 4 iron under control and went back to the nine iron - but then had trouble with the nine.

I realized today that for me, to hit irons pure, short irons have a slightly different swing than the long irons. I have heard stuff like that a million times before and even mentioned here on Eat Golf somewhere about constantly switching clubs on the range to better simulate playing. The theory that I've read about is that you can adjust for the differences in the swing in your set up. I just can't seem to find where the adjustments should be made for me (other than the obvious ones).

However, I found that I can switch from the nine to the four and back again if I take a couple practice swings after the switch. I know the range is not a place for practice swings but I found that by taking one or two swings I can really get a feel for how far in front of the ball my hands should be at impact.

So that was a real breakthrough for me. I'm thinking that on the course, instead of just taking a practice swing to see where the divot might start, focusing on feeling the club going through impact correctly. Wow that sounds obvious but it is something I've never thought of. It doesn't even take a full practice swing, just feeling of being in the slot with the hands leading.

I was hitting the alternating 4 and 9 irons so well by the end of the bucket I decided to leave 5 balls and take a break to see if I still had it 10 minutes later. I was sitting on a bench reading a flyer about how the teaching pro at this range (Paul Holtby) was or is a current Big Break contestant when a friend showed up from my normal Friday foursome. I watched him hit most of a bucket while chatting it up and trying not to offer advice unless asked.

When I went back to my 5 balls I took out my four iron and noticed as I addressed the ball that the guy behind me stopped to watch me hit it. I absolutely smoked one pure to that green out in the distance right at the flag. I then took my nine iron and hit it real solid to the closer target flag. I then grabbed my new driver and could tell the guy behind me was still watching (he probably thought I was a teaching pro giving a half hour lesson). I spanked that driver way out there and just perfectly straight! That is as good as I can hit a ball. I put that away and took out my wedge and lined up way left towards this little box of sand they have propped up as a teaser target.

Took one swing and it hits that thing and echoes BOOM all across the range. Everyone there paused for an instant and my buddy who was a few stalls away turns around and says whoa was that you? I say yeah, but I don't want to try it again, that thing is too hard to hit. Pulled out my 4 iron and smoked another right to that flag in the distance, grabbed my bag and walked away. That guy watching in the stall behind me still hadn?t hit a shot since I started cleaning up my remaining five balls and he watched me hit all five balls on target and sweet. He must have really thought I was that good! Pfft ;)

My buddy finishes his bucket about the same time as I did and we decide on a nine hole putting match. So it's off to the practice putting green. He generally putts much better than I do but today I keep up, two putting everything. We both three putted a ridiculously long hole. Next hole I pull a Daly and miss a short one to go one down. I announce on the next that I am going to make it in one just to catch up, and he mumbles so am I and then curls in a 35 footer. As his ball was approaching the hole on line, I say hey, I was only kidding about actually making one... two down. I two putt the next and he three putts. One down and now it is my choice on which hole to aim at. I pick a 12 foot straight uphill putt and make it! As I step away I tell him that there is no break (true) and he makes his as well. Close but no cigar for me but I was putting better than normal - even mentioned to him that I always putt lights out on the practice green, just have trouble bringing it to the course. Today, I felt like I had more control than ever before on the putts and I know why:

NOTE TO SELF: Set up with the ball, shaft, hands, everything a little ahead of center and maintain that right hand wrist angle (I putt left hand low). Eyes above the hosel not the center of the putter. Use the right hand/arm for power and feel the shaft being vertical at impact as well as a little beyond. Rock with the shoulders and don't be afraid to let the putter come up off the ground a little on the takeaway. Short back swing so you accelerate through it. Follow through to the target. Feel the grip in the pad of your right hand on the takeaway...

We ended up tied and the putting green was getting crowded so we decided to bring it to the chipping / pitching area. After a few chips I said, OK one ball bring your putter and wedge. To start we'll go to that flag it is a par 2 from here. We started trying to get up and down from all over the place. Flops to short sided downhill pins.

Found out a little secret BTW, if you are uphill and the pin is close to the edge with the green running downhill - instinctively you would think flop shot but that is wrong. If it lands on the green it still has too much and will run well past. If you flop it to the edge of the rough, it will stay in the rough because the ball is dropping almost straight down and gets stuck. What you need is a medium low shot that will be able to bounce / roll through the rough with some forward momentum that will get through the top of the rough losing speed as it trickles onto the green. A high flopper just won't do it (unless there is not rough only fringe). With practice you can get a standard chip to slow up and just dribble onto the edge of the green more often than a flop. Try it for yourself with 10 balls and see which ones end up closer.

Man that was good practice though. I think as close to real as you can get. Time consuming but well worth it. One ball, chip it, and try and make that putt. Just like the 4 iron to 9 iron switch, I learned that I have a tough time switching from wedge to putter. Not sure what the secret to switching clubs is here yet, probably something to do with a practice putting stroke to get stuff lined up. Over all, we did 18 chips and I was 6 over. That is very good for me up and down 2 out of 3 times. That means that if I can just land near the 18 greens in regulation, I should be able to finish the round 6 over - and shoot a 78. I hope I can hit some of the greens though so that number should only decrease. I think that was some great practice though and recommend anyone who wants to improve on the scoring part of golf to try it. One ball, 18 par 2's. I bet the pros would do it in a couple under because they can chip better than we putt...

To sum it up - I like my new driver, learned the importance and what to do on the practice swing, found a great way to practice the short game, remembered how fun and productive it is to practice, and really like to type a lot - sorry for such a long post with no pictures or humor ;)

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