Silver's "Golf Progression" thread

[DaveE]

Originally Posted by Silver

Dave, based largely on your recommendation, as well as that I have heard this book recommended elsewhere, I picked it up yesterday. Haven't had a chance to even open it up yet, but I will keep it handy for when a free moment pops up. I've always been really interested in the "serenity" of zen and Buddhism in general, and while I'm not seeking to "find a new way of life", I think that appreciating certain aspects of the teachings could be very helpful in golf, and in life.

And GB, I'm going to give that a read through right now. While I don't think that I have an "awful" mental game, there are always detractors. Thanks!

Hope you enloy it. I found it to be helpful even yesterday when I was playing awful. Being able to forget about bad shots and not take myself too seriously is nice when playing like crap.

Let me know what you think after you've had time to read it.

[Silver]

Alright, a few updates.

First, I'm still reading Zen Golf. It's become my bathroom reader because I'm too f'in tired to read at night. Seems good so far but I'll definitely have to reread it to really get the full effects, I think.

Second, as of today, I've signed up for the new Coaching Program at Urban Links (my indoor place I go to). Right now, if I were to pay for a year of practice, I would pay $600. If I were to tack a lesson per month onto that year, I believe I would pay an additional $50/lesson. So basically, $100/month to do a 45 minute lesson once per month and have unlimited practice. Alternatively, if I sign up for the coaching program, it's $1500 for the year or $125/month. What I have done, for now, is just sign up for one month, which is $200 - I can then subsequently upgrade ($525/3 months, $900/6 months, $1500/year), so I have signed up for 1 month to see how it is and will, in all likelihood, incrementally upgrade to a full year, depending on how this month goes.

Basically, the coaching program involves unlimited (for now - if it gets busy it'll be capped at two hours per week) supervised practice. Essentially, the head pro and his apprentice will set me up with drills and specific things they want to work on with me and for an hour, they'll supervise my practice. I think this is ideal, because I sometimes feel silly in a lesson having him watch me for 45 minutes do some inane thing that I could work on on my own (he currently doesn't do that, but I could see how lessons could degenerate to that as I've had other lessons from other pros go that way in the past). Also, there will be discounts provided on playing lessons with the pro, which I hope to be of extreme value. It also includes all of my solo practice time that I currently use the facility for. The program starts off with setting specific goals and taking videos and notes of my current swing (doing this tomorrow night). It then goes into a long term training program that will see those goals realized (hopefully). I feel that this is going to be a great asset to my game, which gives me a lot of confidence. Only time will tell how it will work out though.

Also, I played an interesting round on Sunday where I shot a 53 front and a 43 back, where the 53 on the front stemmed from hitting two tee shots OB on one hole. In talking with a member from the same course while down at Urban Links today, he told me that that's not OB, but rather red staked and should have been dropped at point of entry. As the POE was roughly around where my third drive ultimately landed, it seems likely that that score would have been lower than an 11 (at least an 8 and quite possibly better due to not having the extreme mental frustration from sending two drives OB, but we'll say 8 for now). That also gave me some confidence about my game and the state that it's currently in. Who knows...maybe had it gone that way, I could potentially have broken 90...I won't consider it too deeply though, the past is the past and the only shot that matters is the next one.

Look for some goals to be reached in the very near future.

[JasonMacIsaac]

I heard a couple years ago that 90% of the golfers never break 100% consistantly and 98% of the golfers play a fade.

[Silver]

Yeah, well-known stats. I'm glad I'm now a part of the upper echelons (top 10% of golfers) by consistently breaking 100. Step 1. I am, however, part of the 98% who play a fade. Sometimes I play it really well, sometimes it needs some work. Usually it's okay though.

Learning to play it is helping me tremendously, actually.

[Loop]

When I go to the driving range, I always bring my digital camera with a tripod. It can take video footage, so that's really cool. I film side and front. I look at my swing, and know what's bad about it. Usually, I stick with simple fundamentals, as the swing shouldn't be a complicated movement.
First, look at how your body swings.
After you correct this, look at how the club swings.

[IrishGolfer]

Silver

I guess there are 2 approaches to the mental side of the game. The technical aspect "pre-shot stuff" and the "before, during and after your round" aspect. There's plenty of stuff on the former, but here's my view of the latter.

I have an incredibly busy schedule these days with work, family, DIY etc. I use golf as a way to relax. I only get one shot at it each week (during the Winter anyway) so I try and make the most of it, rain, hail or shine. That means preparation.

I've found a few things that "get to me" in golf. Running late, trying to find clubs, tees, etc. Having to run the kids to a club, 2 mins before my tee time etc. It always ends in disaster, usually even before I hit my opening tee shot.

What I have found to work is giving myself some preparation time. So on Saturday night, I get the clubs sorted out, clean shoes etc. On Sunday I get up 30 mins earlier and get down to the club to try and warm up, even if it is only on the putting green. I try and stretch and start thinking about the round. I look to see where the pins are, what way the wind is blowing etc. It all starts getting fed into "the computer". This all sounds anal but if I have all these things sorted out mentally I have less reason to collapse on the course and I don't have to think about it. I can just focus on the shot.

I also try and leave any mental baggage in the car park. If I'm having a bad time at work, at home etc. it has to stay there. Bringing it on the course implodes my game. I may as well just go for a long walk with the wife and kids otherwise. Hangovers are somewhat of an issue, but if the preparation is done, then it makes it easier just to swing a club.

But probably the biggest thing I have been able to do is to enjoy my game and not "beat myself up" too much. I am not a tour player, so I am going to hit a lot of bad shots. The fact that I do not practice 6 hours a day means I can accept this a lot easier. Why am I out playing? I enjoy the game, I love hitting a shot that comes off, I love competing and posting a score, but it is not my livelihood. So what if I hit a shank, yes, I get frustrated, but it's not the end of the world. This may sound defeatist but I have found that by "staying happy" it is amazing what a positive affect it will have on my game.

I no longer throw clubs, or get pissed off. I just accept it and move on. If I hitting the ball well, I can make back that shot, if I'm playing like crap, there's always another day. If it is the latter, I tend to try and hit various shots that are higher risk, just to try them out. I'm already practising for the next round.

So here's your goal for your next round. Set 90 as your score target but also give yourself a score out of 10 for preparation and a similar score for how much you enjoyed the game (regardless of score).

Track these scores along with your actual score and note the correlation. I'll bet that when you start breaking 90, both prep and enjoyment will be sky high.

Anyway, all this stuff is hurting my head.
Good luck.

[DaveE]

Originally Posted by Silver

First, I'm still reading Zen Golf. It's become my bathroom reader because I'm too f'in tired to read at night. Seems good so far but I'll definitely have to reread it to really get the full effects, I think.

I'm going through it for the third time. I've actually decided to approach it the way I would a class if I were still in school.

For me it's a book to be studied more than read. Everytime I play something from the book comes to mind. "Anyways shots" or my favorite, "be more curious than afraid", come up the most often.

It's great you've even had time to look at it with the other reading you have.

[Silver]

Awesome IG, that's a great idea. I'll definitely try to score myself on both prep and enjoyment and hope that I can make some progress that way.

And Dave, I'll be spending more time with the book after my exams next month. It's good stuff though.

[caddyshackgolf]

Originally Posted by Bravo

Great job of self examination!

You have plenty to work on and stay with the issues you outlined. They are all good ones...

May I make a suggestion?

Go out and play your next two rounds of golf with a single goal: to bogey every hole. As you stand on the tee - say to yourself: "OK I am playing for bogey here"...

You would be surprised how this can relax you mentally and change your frame of mind as you approach a shot.

I learned this the hard way by playing in multi-club tournament using a format similar to the Ryder Cup. We have two man teams whose handicap must total to ten. As you can imagine, the Captain will put a golfer with a 0 handicap with a 10 or someone with a +1 with a nine...

The first time I played in it - I played lousy. I was trying to birdie all the holes - trying to play like a hero...I pressed too hard and did not play well. Also I noticed that scratch golfers bogey many more holes than I thought.

So the next time I played in it - I said to myself, "Just par the hole, somehow. Keep yourself in play so that you can somehow get a par and if he (partner) bogey's - your a hero".

We won our match 4 and 3 and after 15 holes my scorecard showed that I had parred 10! I also had 2 doubles and three bogeys so I was seven over (about a normal round). But this experience CURED me of the "hero shot" complex.

Try this Silver. Of everything you are working on now - tee off thinking bogey. You will keep your drives in play better and you will start thinking of a mentality of getting it close to the green in regulation. "Just want to get it close on this par 4 in two...If I am close to the green in two - I am OK and can go from there".....

Two rounds and let me know how it works. I'll bet your scores will drop....

Wow. Thanks for that advice. I always go out there and I try to birdie everything and I usually end up getting like a double. I will deffently try that. If my seasong every starts. Hopefully sometime in april. We have about 1 foot of snow on the ground right now. That was some very good advice.

[Augster]

The book I'd recommend is Tour Tempo.

Tempo is a fundamental. Novosel has finally devised a way to teach it. He also gives a "beginner" a simple move, in time with the "music", to work on and simplify the swing.

I have been reworking my swing, and tempo, over the winter with this book. I went to Texas and played 2 rounds. My short irons are better NOW than all last season, and I haven't hit a ball since November. Just worked on that move and the tempo. My driver was a bit off, due to not swinging it since November and not working with it with the Tempo CD.

The "move" he teaches is perfect for what you are describing, the "hands getting ahead of the lower body." That's what I used to do, and a LOT of pulls. Frustrating from 100 yards for sure.

Pick up Tour Tempo. It's a quick read, a couple of hours tops. Then work with the CD.

[Silver]

Alright, an update - just for fun

Played Fraserview again (there's a thread in the Pictures forum about it - nice course, 6281 and 118/70, so not the hardest, but fun regardless). I played a really "solid" game today, for me. It wasn't magical and I didn't light it up or anything, but it was a good round.

I shot a 91 with a 46/45, 15 putts per 9 (total 30), 2 penalty strokes (shanked a 7I into the red staked woods and sliced a 7W into the red staked woods where I probably could have found it, but there was a group waiting, so I didn't use my five minutes and dropped after a cursory glance), hit 6 fairways on the front and hit 1 on the back, although I was usually only "just off" on the back except for a few that were a little wild. The real problem came in hitting greens in regulation, with only 3 total (2 front and 1 back). All in all, I can't be too upset with hitting two triples and two doubles on the whole round. Both of the triples came on the holes with lost balls and one of the doubles was an awesome recovery from the bottom of a big ditch that was red staked (might have been better off just to take the drop, quite frankly). The other double was a nice drive with a duffed approach and a 3 putt on a tough green. I think that both of the triples were a result of fumbling on the mental game after losing balls.

A couple of highlights from the round were 3 putting on the par 3 3rd when I should have had a birdie (10 feet, straight up a mild incline, no break, pushed it just right and 6 feet past and then just missed the putt coming back down).

The next was the par 3 7th - this was the hole of the day. It's a long'ish par 3 at playing about 189 and a slight downhill, so I figure it was playing about 180, with the pin in the middle depthwise but about 2 yards off the right edge. I grabbed my 5I (usually a 190 club if on the screws, but if I smooth it out and 3/4 it, it's a good 175-180) and just came out of it a bit early and thinned it with a pull into the bunker that surrounds the whole left/front of the green. I landed probably just at the left front corner of the green. From the bunker, I had a pretty good lie and a good chance for an up and down, with the pin sort of the far side of a fairly wide green. Just as I was about to swing, I noticed a rock about 4 inches back from the ball but swung "anyways", figuring I'd just be going into the sand just in front of the rock. Well, I didn't. I hit what would have been a perfect 60* wedge shot off the turf and caught the ball clean, sending it clear over the green, over the cart path, and just about 2 feet from going into the forest. I'm sitting 20 yards off and about 10 - 12 feet higher than the green now with the pin on my side of the green. So I grabbed my 52* and went for a nice pitch/chip over the cart path, hoping to land it on the fringe and roll down towards the hole. Well, did it ever. I hadn't really visualized where the ball would go from there, but apparently in the cup was as good a place as any. It landed, rolled, took the break perfectly, and just toppled in - perfect speed any everything. I was shocked, amazed, and thrilled. Toby, my regular playing partner said it was probably one of the nicest shots of that type he'd ever seen, the path the ball took was perfect. That shot alone made my whole day.

There were a few other decent shots, including an oh-so-close chip on the par 3 13th which was only playing about 155 and downhill (8I) and I came up about 5 yards short of the green. I hit a perfect 60* chip that just careened off the pin to about 3 inches for par.

My pitching/chipping was a real strong point today...I guess it's a result of all that practice (at least a bucket of just straight pitches/half/three quarter wedges at the range every couple of days). That was what led to only having 15 putts per nine.

As for the other scores IG wanted me to record - I'd say a 7/10 for prep at best because I spent a good portion of my time at the range beforehand helping a friend who was joining us learn the fundamentals, as it was only his second round of golf in about 5 years. Normally my range time is spent in a very focused and introverted fashion, which I like as it helps me prepare mentally for the round. My mental prep while playing was almost always grade A and the only times I hit bad shots were when I wasn't 100% focused on the ball during the swing. As for enjoyment? I'd give it a 8 or 9/10. I hit a few bad shots that I kinda let get to me, but overall, I had an awesome time with great people, including a guy from our law school who recently just won the Canadian Debate Championships or something, who I'd never played with before. I just went out and had a great time and I think it was reflected in my quality of play.

Things are coming along and I'm looking forward to the next round.

[Bravo]

Silver:

The long term coaching program you signed up for is one of the very few posts I have read about on any golf board that makes great sense.

People are always looking for a quick fix or trying to buy a game with equipment. IN reality - its a long term grind, especially if you are going to get your game down below 85 consistently.

I love everything about it, the drills, the lesson options. If you do what you indicate - you will be solidly down into the 80's within months and I predict you will stay there.

Good job and thanks for the continuing posts....

[Silver]

Thanks for the support B, I think things will be coming along nicely over time.

[Silver]

Well, with today being the Ides of March, I thought an update would be fitting because I played today for probably the last time for about 5 or 6 weeks until Finals are over (April 22).

Short version: did not succeed in my goal of breaking 90 by March 15.

Long version:

I played a foreign course (to me) today with the apprentice from the coaching program, another of the guy's that works at Urban Links, and the guy that does the IT work for the facilities. I was a little nervous teeing off because they are substantially better golfers than me, particularly the first two (IT guy plays to about a 10, apprentice to about +2 and worker to about scratch). Also, I knew the apprentice would be watching my swing and play carefully to go over later for the coaching program.

I must say that it was a really interesting round and a lot of fun (probably a 7/10 for prep because I didn't hit balls before the round, but did do a lot of putting which really paid off and about a 7 or 8/10 for enjoyment because the back half really got to me and I was less focused on enjoyment and more on results because the apprentice was there). We played Pitt Meadows Golf & CC in Pitt Meadows, BC which plays to 6516, 125, and 71.3 from the Golds. It's a semi-private that is about 65 years old and is fairly well maintained. With the age of the course, it has good tree growth, although the terrain is pretty flat (Pitt Meadows is basically just that - a giant meadow). Some of the par 4s are quite long, as are 3 of the par 3s (including a 220 yarder) and par 5s are mid to long.

I played pretty well on the front, other than one triple from going OB off the tee. I ended up with a 45 with only 14 putts. The back...oh lord the back. The back isn't particularly hard, but for some reason...I made it seem that way. I went 54 with 19 putts. I duffed chips, sliced drives, hit fat, hit thin, 3 putted twice, and just generally stank. It wasn't pretty. I'm not sure what happened but it wasn't good.

Oh well, on that note, it's time for me to take a break from golf and get focused on exams. I'm paying more for school and as much as I hate to admit it, it'll do more for me in the future than golf will.

[Silver]

Well, a day deserving of an update.

March 15/June 28...who's counting when it comes to me breaking 90? A little off pace, but I succeeded last night.

I'm at work so I don't really have time to pound out a long thread, but the quick version is:

McCleery Public Golf Course
6311 yards
Par 71
Slope 130 Rating 69.8
I shot 44/45 with 14/16 putts and hit 5 fairways and 6 greens.

Shot of the day - 2 feet off the 18th green on the front fringe to a pin 20 feet away. Pounded the ball right into the flagstick for par and 89.