So, I got out and played Torrey Pines the other day. I’ve been going through some swing changes, so I chose to play the North Course instead of letting the South get the better of me while I’m in such a delicate state. Probably was a good choice as I had a mix of good and bad (and some ugly).
I’ll start with ugly and work my way back to good, since it helps me feel less demoralized as I continue to write:
Ugly: Pitching/chipping distance control. Yikes. Ridiculous rough around the greens didn’t help, but I don’t want to use that as an excuse. I simply didn’t finish a single swing on my pitches and chips, and left everything short. There has to be some type of mental practice that helps you swing fully and not worry about sculling it or airmailing the green, right? If so, let me know.
Bad: Consistent miss on my drives. Straight push. This is a bit of a symptom of the swing change. Using my core to hit through a lot more, but I’m actually coming a little too inside-out right now. They say that it’s a mistake of better players, so I have to consider it a backhanded compliment.
Good: Absolutely hammering my drives. I’m getting far more distance than I ever have before. I think it’s a combination of the swing changes and using this training club called the Gyro Swing. It’s kind of crazy... It has a gyroscope in it that creates all this force to keep it perfectly on plane. So now I understand the feel of a technically correct swing. The thing that really makes the difference is that it forces a good weight shift (my Achilles' heel) and club lag, so I’m whipping through the ball more with my big muscles. It also helps you learn to turn your hands over, which will straighten me out, but that’s taking a little longer to work into the swing. If I can just straighten it out a couple of degrees, I’ll be golden.
Also good is my putting. Pretty much saved my round. Actually changed my setup to get more centered (instead of on the balls of my feet), which has really made a difference. Drained a long par putt on the #1 handicap hole, which was pretty gratifying.
As always, a work in progress. But I sure did enjoy Torrey.
I’ll start with ugly and work my way back to good, since it helps me feel less demoralized as I continue to write:
Ugly: Pitching/chipping distance control. Yikes. Ridiculous rough around the greens didn’t help, but I don’t want to use that as an excuse. I simply didn’t finish a single swing on my pitches and chips, and left everything short. There has to be some type of mental practice that helps you swing fully and not worry about sculling it or airmailing the green, right? If so, let me know.
Bad: Consistent miss on my drives. Straight push. This is a bit of a symptom of the swing change. Using my core to hit through a lot more, but I’m actually coming a little too inside-out right now. They say that it’s a mistake of better players, so I have to consider it a backhanded compliment.
Good: Absolutely hammering my drives. I’m getting far more distance than I ever have before. I think it’s a combination of the swing changes and using this training club called the Gyro Swing. It’s kind of crazy... It has a gyroscope in it that creates all this force to keep it perfectly on plane. So now I understand the feel of a technically correct swing. The thing that really makes the difference is that it forces a good weight shift (my Achilles' heel) and club lag, so I’m whipping through the ball more with my big muscles. It also helps you learn to turn your hands over, which will straighten me out, but that’s taking a little longer to work into the swing. If I can just straighten it out a couple of degrees, I’ll be golden.
Also good is my putting. Pretty much saved my round. Actually changed my setup to get more centered (instead of on the balls of my feet), which has really made a difference. Drained a long par putt on the #1 handicap hole, which was pretty gratifying.
As always, a work in progress. But I sure did enjoy Torrey.
