Silver's "Golf Progression" thread

[Silver]

Originally Posted by 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.

Alright, just a bit more detail on "the round"...because I know you're all so much more interested in my golf game that your own.

Started off well...kept the first ball in the fairway and had a great 54* approach shot for a birdie on the opening par 5. 3rd hole...long par 3 playing to about 195, I hit my 23* hybrid...if you can call hitting it....straight off the top of the toe into the junk to the right, chipped out, had to go under some trees to the green, didn't make it, chipped on, two putted....ended up with a 7, that felt great. Then I bogied a bunch of the rest of the front for a 44 on the par 35.

Back started off pretty crappy, but lipped out for a birdie on the par 5 11th and then doubled several more holes and then realized after 15 that if I par'd out, I'd shoot 89, so I hit a thin 6 iron to about 12 feet on the par 3 16th, played a perfect par 4 17th (fairway, green to 20 feet, two putt par) and then a crazy par 4 18th. I sliced a 3 wood into the trees to the right and had about 100 left over a large mound and under trees to the green...hit a punch 6 iron into a far front bunker (a good 50 yards from the green)...nailed out of there to about two off the front from where I made the putt mentioned above.

It was a bit of a weird round where I didn't play well but didn't score badly, I guess that's how it happens.

The start of a new era.

[IrishGolfer]

Congrats Silver. The big target has now been smashed. Now you've gotta aim for several rounds in the 80s before the end of the season.

[Silver]

yes, the goal is to be there consistently....and to shoot for a round in the 70s, but that's a goal, not an expectation

[Silver]

Well, just a brief update.

Since the fateful day above, I've actually maintained a bit of "consistency" in that I've had a few rounds of 88 and several low 90s rounds...all interspersed with the occasional 104 (tournaments at hard courses).

Yesterday, playing the same par 71 course that I shot the 89 on, I played pretty well and ended up with an 85. I had two triples (resulting from stupid errors) and 3 penalty strokes AND I missed my chance at my third birdie of the day on 18 after being distracted by a wayward ball from another fairway that came closer to us than we would have liked. It was a great (and HOT) day with some awesome shots. Two posts up I described the 89 round where I had a 7 on the long par 3 3rd...well, this time, there was a heavy wind into us and I hit a punch 3 hybrid to about 5 feet and drained it for a birdie. Ah, sweet vindication.

I guess part of the difference is that I played the Whites instead of the Blues this time. Changes from 130/69.8 to 121/67.4. It's still pretty tough though.

That's my news of the day.

[Morris Men]

I'm new to the forum but already getting drawn in!

Sub 90 was always a barrier until I started scoring differently and I don't mean putting down 6 when I'd scored 7. I imagined every hole as a par 5 and played as such. A 5 on a par 4 was a good result and a 6 on a par 5 was not a disaster. The odd 3 on the short holes was a triumph. Soon I started feeling good during the round and mentally was up for scoring well. It made a difference. If I could get to the turn one or two shots under 5's, then the back nine usually followed suit. It worked for me as I was setting achieveable targets. If you convince youself something's achieveable, it usually is.

[Silver]

It's excellent here Morris, welcome.

That's basically the way I play...I play to "5s" on every hole. I count my 9s by how many I am over or under 5s. I feel I should be able to par most par 5s and if I don't, I should be able to catch some strokes on the 3s that are playing as 5s. It's been working well, and I like it.

[Bravo]

Originally Posted by Silver

Well, just a brief update.

Since the fateful day above, I've actually maintained a bit of "consistency" in that I've had a few rounds of 88 and several low 90s rounds...all interspersed with the occasional 104 (tournaments at hard courses).

Yesterday, playing the same par 71 course that I shot the 89 on, I played pretty well and ended up with an 85. I had two triples (resulting from stupid errors) and 3 penalty strokes AND I missed my chance at my third birdie of the day on 18 after being distracted by a wayward ball from another fairway that came closer to us than we would have liked. It was a great (and HOT) day with some awesome shots. Two posts up I described the 89 round where I had a 7 on the long par 3 3rd...well, this time, there was a heavy wind into us and I hit a punch 3 hybrid to about 5 feet and drained it for a birdie. Ah, sweet vindication.

I guess part of the difference is that I played the Whites instead of the Blues this time. Changes from 130/69.8 to 121/67.4. It's still pretty tough though.

That's my news of the day.

Good job on the birdies...two is very good. You are getting more consistent...I'll bet you can get an 82-83 in the next few weeks.

[Silver]

Thanks B...just one of those days where things came together. It's funny because I still didn't feel like I was playing as well as I could. Still more than a few stupid mistakes.

It'll come!

[Silver]

Another brief update...because in a way it feels like my season's over, even if I'll still play for the rest of the year:

As many of you know, I've been taking part in a tournament series over the course of this season with a local sports radio station - Team1040 AM (www.team1040.ca). Basically, they have a series of events where scores are divided by gross scores and then people are "flighted" by their handicaps. Indexes are assigned based only on your performance in the series, as opposed to "official" indexes, I guess because so many people don't have those and it's easy to lie about it, so they base it on your scores at the tourneys. They flight things two ways - for the individual tournaments (variable flights dependent upon number and split of entries) and for the overall series (constant throughout the series - although you can move up or down through the flights based on your scores). The overall series flight is important because points are handed out for the Order of Merit (standings) based on how you scored for the "constant" flights (independent of the individual tournament scores).

My first tournaments in this series were shite. I had a few 100+ scores to kick things off and then had a bit of success as the series progressed (I won my flight twice) and, gradually, my handicap basically got down to where it actually is (around 19). I had a couple more shitty rounds, but the last three weren't so bad (came in second, played well but was bumped up a flight so didn't win, and won today).

The final tournament was today, it was actually sort of yesterday and today...they did a weekend away at Whistler (home of the 2010 Olympics) at the Whistler Golf Club (www.whistlergolf.com). I couldn't afford to go for both days, so I just went today, because by this point, I was firmly in 5th place in the Order of Merit, and there were to be decent prizes for the top 10. I played well today under the pressure...basically, I just played my game the way I know how to play it, and while I made some mistakes, I think I played alright. I putted like shit and made a few bad decisions, but came out with an 88. This was good enough to win my individual flight for the day (17-25), for which I won a Maxfli BlueMax driver, as well as the Order of Merit flight for the day (19-25), which actually bumped me up to 4th place overall. I was proud that I scored well enough that, regardless of how good I could have scored, I got the score that I needed to win.

For coming in 4th overall for the season, I took home a g/c for a free pair of Maui Jim sunglasses valued at up to $500 CAD (shouldn't be hard, I think the most expensive ones I've seen are about $260 USD).

The real kicker though...?

We started on the 16th hole which is a good par 5, although it was playing short today, only about 450 yards, but there is severe trouble left (water) and that basically runs right up to the green. There's no room to run it up to the green because the water basically covers the front, and what's not covered by water is blocked by a large trap (here's the hole: http://www.whistlergolf.com/coursegu...ils.asp?hid=16 )

Anyhow, I got a 6 the firs time around, but after we finished on 15, we decided to play the 16th again. I decided to hit driver this time (only the second time all day) and sliced it just past that large fir on the right side, leaving myself about 230 in. I figured "what the hell, why not give it a go?" as I hadn't lost my ball all round, so I figured I'd take a shot I wouldn't normally take, given the nature of the possibilities...and hit 3W off the deck. It went basically dead straight, right over the bunker and rolled to about 5 feet, where I drained the putt for my first eagle ever! (not counting my pitch and putt hole in one)

If only it had counted...

[DaveE]

Being a part of regular competition has obviously helped your game. Several years ago I played in a weekly comp enjoyed it. It was a friendly atmosphere but playing for a win every week sharpens your skills more than just playing for a score.

Congrats on your first eagle.

[Silver]

Yeah Dave, I think it's helped a lot, actually. At the beginning, I was always nervous over putts and what not...now, I'm just able to stay more focused while playing.

I think this has helped and I'm glad I took part in it.

[Silver]

Sooooo, I know I haven't been around much, but I thought I'd throw a little update in my little "golf journal".

I haven't been playing a lot because:

a) two of my main playing partners from last year now live in Toronto for the summer for their summer articling jobs;
b) some of my friends finally got real jobs and can't just go play whenever anymore; and
c) I've been so focused on fitness and fat loss that I haven't had as much time to play/practice.

Anyhow, we still try to get a game (at least a twilight round) about once a week. I've had a few PURE SHIT rounds. PURE SHIT. Like...I stopped scoring once when I was in the high 70s by the 14th hole, and I shot a 99 on the shittiest course around. I shot over 100 on most of the rounds, including the first tournament round. Ugly.

My last round was a bit better, one of my favourite locals, a municipal called McCleery (I'll eventually put the gallery pics back up). I had some good holes on the front...as well as one or two stinkers and ended up with a 53. Nothing to write home about, for sure.

Par, Quad, Bogey, Bogey, Double, Triple, Triple, Triple, Bogey

Then came the back. Back was a bit different. Okay, a lot different. My best 9 every - 39! Things just clicked and I didn't really make many mistakes. I didn't exactly play lights out golf, but I just stopped f'in up. This made me happy.

Bogey, Par, Par, Bogey, Par, Par, Par, Bogey, Par.

Total of 35 putts, 6 fairways, 6 greens, one penalty stroke, no sand all day...couldn't have been much better for a finish.

Hopefully this season picks up where that round left off. I just have to remember to keep swinging easy and being confident with my putting. Those two things helped work it all out.

I'd like to see it continue, for sure!

[Bravo]

Hi Silver:

It's a really tough game to be away from.

What is your current professional status? Are you licensed now and practicing?

[Big Brother Dunk]

Congrats on the milestone!

Your putting seems to have been very consistent and that's a big part of scoring well. This has been a very interesting thread and I'm looking forward to the updates.

[Silver]

Originally Posted by Bravo

Hi Silver:

It's a really tough game to be away from.

What is your current professional status? Are you licensed now and practicing?

B, the worst part about it is that I love the game and would play all the time if I could. I miss it a lot, even though I've made some pretty good progress in other areas, I wish I could play as much golf as I was before. Then again, if I was playing that much golf, I'd probably still be verging on obese (was upwards of 260 around Christmas this year).

As for status, I have one year of school remaining and will have what are referred to as "temporary articles" for the summer where I can do lawyerly things under the guidance of my employer. Basically, I'll be using my previous experience from when I worked at an immigration/criminal firm now be work for another immigration lawyer (who I know from my previous employment). It's funny, because I'm not even sure if immigration is necessarily what I want to do, but I know that I'm "content" doing it...for now, anyhow.


BBD, thanks, I think I might keep the thread up as more of a journal this year - remarking on interesting comments. I have a fitness journal on another site and that kind of helps keep me motivated and helps me remember things that I have goals about and what not, so it won't be a bad idea to do the same here, I think.