Running 2024 golf thread

I can get up and down from 40 FT off the green with putter better than chipping. It’s in my head.

 

A few summers ago I played a round with Gregg "Bountygate" Williams. He told me he played with Roger Clemens, who would NEVER chip. He'd putt from 50 yards if he could.

 

Go to the range, focus on smooth 3/4 swings and see if you can start flushing it. Ball position is often an issue.

I’ve never done well with hybrids, hitting my 4 iron more reliably than a 3 hybrid. Inconsistent contact and some truly epic snap hooks.

 

It don't mean a thing if you ain't got that swing.

 

Have played three straight days, taking today off and playing three more in a row starting tomorrow morning. My front nine was awful yesterday because I all of a sudden couldn't figure out my 3-wood, which is really the most important club in my bag for some of the distances that I often find myself. Was blasting it off the tee only to chunk an approach and turn a potential four into a six. Turns out that I was playing the ball far too up in my stance, so I played the ball closer to my back foot, and I started hitting the club well again. Even my misses were "good misses," still in play and usually up the middle. Was six shots better on the back than the front yesterday, so that was encouraging. I've finally started consistently hitting good shots from 100 yards and in, so it was disheartening that I was struggling to get it to that number.

 

I'm relatively tall and have a very steep swing, so I'm prone to casting and digging my irons into the ground especially if I start to rush and mess up my timing.

I'm a real proponent of the "low and slow" takeaway. When I jerk the club up and back is when I get in the most trouble. And the harder I try to swing the worse it gets. It seems to keep my swing on plane a little better and usually corrects my swing rythym. Because my arc is long, I need that extra millisecond to get the face back to square before my hands come through.

Again, I'm no teaching pro. And standing on any range in the country, there are some very unique ways of getting a little white ball to go straight and long.

Muscle memory unfortunately also creates bad habits. If I don't play for a long stretch, I'm actually more relaxed and hit the ball better for the first few holes before my flaws return. The worst thing there is a complete lack of feel for my short game, which was really strong this past winter in Florida.

 

So the town dump, er, transfer station is closed on Wednesday, so I just made my usual Tuesday afternoon run. Leaning up against one of the portals where one tosses one's bags of garbage was a golf club. Naturally it was a putter, and a relatively new one, too. There's a story behind that putter, not a happy one from its previous owner's point of view. I'd wager. Something about going one missed four-footer over the sanity line. But he/she wasn't mad enough to chuck in with the refuse. Rather, they abandoned it like a baby on the doorstep of the orphanage. Perhaps some town golfer (not me) will give it a new home.

 

These posts are why I took up the single plane swing three years ago. It's biomechanically sound and eliminates a lot of variables. The only changes between clubs are ball position and stance width. If things wander I make sure I am "hitting my positions" -- the technical links in the swing -- and I'm back in sync. Also applies to putting.
Check out Todd Graves on YT, he's my guru.

 

The dreaded “chopping” motion is one of my problems, too, especially when I try to hit irons too hard.

I try to focus on pulling through with the left hand to fix it, but take my advice with a huge grain of salt: I usually shoot in the 95 to 110 range.

 

I got to play Olympic Lake Course today and I’m happy to report I found my swing again (finally), I could hit legitimate iron approaches and even hit a 7 iron to 10’ (made putt for the birdie too!). Man what a load off my mind. (If you’re interested, I was swinging all with my top, arms and hands, and using zero legs, don’t know how I got to that place, just glad I’m out of the darkness now). Happy with the 84, considering the course.

 

I envy you for multiple reasons.

For all its faults, San Francisco is still a world-class destination -- and I miss being able to hop on BART and spend the day at the ballpark, the Presidio, Golden Gate Park or find little hidden treasures (like outstanding Asian restaurants) along all the alphabet streets between the ocean and Twin Peaks. There was a great one at 19th and Noriega, if I recall but that's been close to 40 years ago. If I could afford to live there, that'd be my first choice.

When my good friend lived in the dorms at San Francisco State, I'd visit and wonder what it would be like to play a round there. And not only that, but to shoot in the 80s? I bow in your general direction sir!

And the only way I keep my shots straight is use 100 percent of my upper body. I have just the slightest amount of hip pivot. Otherwise, my swing goes all sideways in a hurry. Good thing I'm still relatively strong above the beltline!

 

My mom lives near there on Moraga now and I’m there every week! You should see Noriega now, it’s another little Chinatown, 19th to Sunset.

Golf is so different to different people, I’m the exact opposite of you. At least you know how to fix yourself.

(Pssst, humblebrag admission, I’m playing Torrey South Saturday at annual conf)