A Hacker's Positive Memory of the last round thread

[Ravenous Bugblatter Beast]

I'm nearly utterly convinced that almost every hacker has at least one good shot every round, and something I've been trying to do is remember what thoughts I was having at the time of that good shot.

Wednesday evening at Loch Nairn, the 8th hole, a long dogleg left par-4 of around 440 yards. I had teed off with a 3I, which had left me about 230 yards from the pin. There was a group in front of my group, and I went to play a 4I to get the ball up in range of a wedge. I fatted it, hitting way behind and only advanced the ball around 60 yards.

I took that 60 yards of walk to calm myself, and focus on what I wanted to do. Make sure to transfer weight back to right, take club back and keep right elbow tucked in, watch the ball and swing through. So when the group in front cleared the green, I setup with those thoughts and a 6I, figuring even if short it would have a chance to run onto the green since it was open in front.

I pulled the trigger on the swing, and got the ball clean, then took a divot from the turf in front of the ball which streaked off into the deepening twilight. Oh it felt good, but about halfway there, the ball got lost in the low light. But I knew it had been straight, so it was just a matter of walking a straight line towards the pin.

Ended up 10 feet from the pin, after the ball had trickled forward about 5 feet from the mark it had spun into the green.

Probably the best 6 iron I've ever hit in my life.

[DaveE]

We all need those shots.

After every round I try to think back to the good ones or good one which ever it is that day. Then I try to carry those thoughts with me when I go to play the next time.

Of course it can shake your confidence a bit when you think back and you see a blank screen.

[youngduffer]

Last week at school practice was one of my best. Hole 14 at Pleasant Valley Golf Course. Semi-slice a drive into the rough, and have roughly 240 in. 5 wood to 3 feet, easy birdie.

And thats what keeps me coming back

[Ravenous Bugblatter Beast]

Originally Posted by DaveE

Of course it can shake your confidence a bit when you think back and you see a blank screen.

That somewhat describes my round from Saturday. Man, it was awful.

I went to try a course I had never played before, enticed largely because I got a coupon which gave me a discount, and a free cart. Bloody heck, I should have just walked it anyway, I feel so disconnected from the shot routine when I'm not walking the course.

But I do have one good shot. On the par-4 11th hole, I had pulled an 8I and put it left of the green, on a hillside above the green, and I was about 20 yards from the pin. I looked at it, and felt that if I pitched the ball to the point just before where the slope would dive down sharply towards the green, the ball should bounce on and roll well towards the hole.

Pitched it cleanly to where I was imagining it should go, and it finished rolling to a stop about 4 feet left of the hole. I putted for my one par of the day.

[Ravenous Bugblatter Beast]

I haven't swung a club since Saturday. Still have been thinking about it, trying to understand why my iron striking was rather poor. You know, though, a funny thing is that I shot 106 at a course I had never played before, because for the most part I was still playing smart even with my irons going every which way but straight.

I think I realized what may have been happening today.

For the first time, I saw something which helped explain the differences between the one-plane and two-plane swing.

I'm a two-planer, but was beginning to try to introduce a one-plane swing thought into my backswing. Ugh.

How many planes is Jim Furyk's swing though?

[DaveE]

Originally Posted by Ravenous Bugblatter Beast

I haven't swung a club since Saturday. Still have been thinking about it, trying to understand why my iron striking was rather poor. You know, though, a funny thing is that I shot 106 at a course I had never played before, because for the most part I was still playing smart even with my irons going every which way but straight.

I think I realized what may have been happening today.

For the first time, I saw something which helped explain the differences between the one-plane and two-plane swing.

I'm a two-planer, but was beginning to try to introduce a one-plane swing thought into my backswing. Ugh.

How many planes is Jim Furyk's swing though?

Furyk is more of a bi-plane with a little loop-d-loop.

[Ravenous Bugblatter Beast]

I've got a fair number of them with this last round, where I shot a best ever 91, 19 over par. But the best was the finishing hole, a par-5 of 504 yards. I had just come off of 17 having made a par, and realized that I was easily on the way to the best round of my life. Time to choke, lose the swing, shank everything, right?

Wrong. I whacked my 3W straight down the left-center of the fairway, out to around 220 yards. If you get about 30 more yards past that, the hole dips down until 150 yards from the green where it begins a steep ascension up the hill.

I looked at the drive, and decided to hit the 5W, the lie was a bit thin, and I felt more confident about hitting the 5W solid. Pushed it a tiny fraction, but solid, resulting my ball being 110 yards, on the right side of the fairway.

Hit the 9I, beautiful, a little right to the center of the green for which I was aiming. Saw it come down, looking to be on the green. Once up there, it was revealed I had put the ball pin high to the flag. 2 putts, and a par. Sweet. Nice way to come in at 44 for the back-9, an under bogey back-9.

[Silver]

I think the best part of that last hole is that it's a par 15.

But seriously RBB, that's when it all starts to come together, you'll start having more and more rounds that get to be consistent, and then you'll start having more rounds where you'll have one half closer to 40 and one half still higher up and eventually, it'll just keep going down and soon you'll be breaking 80 (my next barrier).

[Ravenous Bugblatter Beast]

Originally Posted by Silver

I think the best part of that last hole is that it's a par 15.

But seriously RBB, that's when it all starts to come together, you'll start having more and more rounds that get to be consistent, and then you'll start having more rounds where you'll have one half closer to 40 and one half still higher up and eventually, it'll just keep going down and soon you'll be breaking 80 (my next barrier).

Heh, fixed that par-15 into a par-5.

It was nice yesterday. Definitely my best round hitting the irons and putting, with 6 pars and 6 bogeys.

[Tiger Who?]

I had been playing decently all day and I came to a Par 4 about 400 yards. I hit my 5-Wood off of the tee straight to about 150. I had to clear water in front of the green and opted to go a little bit left and cut it. I hit it and it just went perfectly straight on that left line. It went in to a bunker with like a 7 foot lip. I as right up against the lip so I knew that this had to get up. I put a good swing on it and knocked it on the green to about 10 feet. I stepped up and drained the putt. I walked off the green a new hacker.

[Ravenous Bugblatter Beast]

I just want to make note of the 7I I hit on Saturday, that got in the hole for an eagle on the par-5 second hole. First time ever I've holed a ball on a full swing shot from off the green. It was a good hit, too. Too bad the green was elevated and I couldn't see it going for the pin.

[P_102]

We have a hole on one of our courses that gets me every time....only 390 but you have to lay up to a creek at 190ish or carry 260. Always lay up and last week was the same, layed up w/ a 4 iron but followed w/ a great 3 iron (slightly uphill) to about 12-14 ft. Best long iron in a looooong time!
Dropped the anchor the rest of the round but left feeling good.

P_102

[Adam Pettman]

It went in to a bunker with like a 7 foot lip. I as right up against the lip so I knew that this had to get up. I put a good swing on it and knocked it on the green to about 10 feet. I stepped up and drained the putt. I walked off the green a new hacker

theres nothing more satisfying than knocking it out a bunker then holing it you feel like youve just beaten the course at its own game

[Wheelerm]

Originally Posted by DaveE

Furyk is more of a bi-plane with a little loop-d-loop.

Lol! good one

[Ravenous Bugblatter Beast]

I had a strange day on the course yesterday. The temperature climbed into the 70's and there were golfers on the course wearing shorts. And lots of golfers, the round I played took almost 4.5 hours! Ugh.

And it started badly for me. Hole 2, the hole I eagled last week got its karmic revenge on me when I ended up picking up my 3rd ball and walking up with the other 3 in our ad hoc group as I got a case of the top-it-and-drop-it.

All of a sudden I was wondering if I would even be able to hit a golf ball.

But from hole 3 on, I would play bogey golf. Holes 3-8 would be bogeys, although 2 of those were from awful 3-putts. Hole 4 was a nice 1-putt, though, a downhill rightt-to-left that dropped in on its last turn of the ball.

Hole 9, double bogey with another 3-putt. Hole 10, bogey on a 1-putt. Hole 11, par with a 2-putt. Bad 2-putt since it was from 2-feet. Augh. Back to the bogey train for holes 12, 13, 14, 15, then a double on 16 when I 3-putted. 17, got a par. 18, a double-bogey as darkness made it almost impossible to see the ball even at your feet.

So, a good recovery after the psychological nightmare on hole 2. Was never comfortable putting the whole day, though. Too many topped shots, but I recovered well on those following hole 2.