Update from the Road

I've been on the road four days this week, but unfortunately not for golf. However, the work league starts this Friday (it was supposed to start last week, but was rained out) and my first tournament for this season is in two weeks. The work league is an eight-week league with two-person teams. The format is best-ball match play. We're rotating between three courses in the area and have 12 players in the league. There will be another eight-week league later in the year, probably in the fall. The tournament is at a local muni that really isn't a tournament-level course, in my opinion. It should make for interesting results.

I haven't played very much lately, and haven't been to the range much, either. But I have been using the Momentus swing trainer my parents got for me for my birthday. I spend about 10 minutes swinging it each day, and warm up with it whenever I go to play or to the range. I think it has been very beneficial to my swing, but I can't say exactly how. What I do know is that my misses generally land at the edge of the fairway or in the first cut of rough rather than in the woods somewhere or on the next fairway over, like they used to. I think it was Bobby Jones who said that for every day you don't practice, you're a day farther from greatness. Although swinging the Momentus isn't the same has hitting balls or playing, grooving the swing with feedback (swing it correctly and it doesn't seem to be as heavy as it is; swing it wrong and it feels heavy and clumsy) is practice of a sort. I've found that my swing is more on-plane and less upright than before practicing with the Momentus, and I also am able to consistently drop my right arm into the slot and shift my weight at the right time.

I won't by playing in the first league match this week, but I will be there next week, so I should have something to say when it's over.

What's the Dill'yo?

This post isn't so much for me as it is for anyone who reads this. Rock Bottom Golf has a great deal on La Jolla Knife woods: $29!

I gave a La Jolla seven wood to my dad last year for Father's Day and he loves it. He wishes he had a whole bag of La Jollas, and with prices like this, he just might, come this Father's Day. He's out driven me a few times using it (granted, I didn't catch my shots perfectly when it happened, but I let the old guy dream) and even drove a few greens at the local par three muni. I've borrowed it a few times at the range and it's a nice club. I like the weight of the club and the feel of the graphite shaft. Who knows, maybe I'll pick up one for myself and solve my three wood problem with an equipment change.

I've bought from Rock Bottom before and they're on the up-and-up as far as I'm concerned. When you're shopping for gear, always check them first to see if they have a deal on what you need.
each!

It's a Draw

I've been back to the sheds twice since my last post and can confirm that I am now the proud owner of a draw. It's regular and controllable and understood, so I'm not worried. Just have to get used to playing with it, like new equipment or a new pair of shoes. I can straighten it out some when I want to, but it seems to be natural if I don't think about it.

I brought my driver, three wood, and five and nine irons today. I hit the driver very well. I played a game with myself, trying to hit it between some of the target flags, imagining that they're rows of trees on either side of the fairway. I kept the majority of shots "in play" while keeping them down with good distance. The three wood, though, continues to vex me. I hit it very well at the beginning of last year, but by the end of the season I just couldn't trust myself with it. I think it's a mental problem; I've noticed I get a funny feeling at address when I look down at the club and ball. It's like there's something wrong with the picture, like the shaft is too long and I can't figure out how to swing it. I have time to figure it out, but I'm just not confident with it.

After I finished the balls out of my buckets, I looked around to make sure the range was empty (it was, as it was getting dark on an already overcast day) and snuck out to hit some of the balls just outside the sheds. It was nice to hit off of the grass, even it was only a few balls. Mats are nice when there's no alternative, but nothing beats the real thing.

First Range Day of 2006

Spent about an hour-and-a-half in the shack yesterday. The temperature was in the mid-40s with a right-to-left wind. I brought my driver, 21-degree utility iron, and five and nine irons and hit two large buckets. I was expecting the worst since I haven't swung a club for two months, but I was very surprised by the lack of rust in the old golf machine. I hit very well right off the bat, but I had a rather pronounced right-to-left draw. It was repeatable and consistent in the amount of movement, so I was able to take it into account when hitting to the flags on the range. Since I was hitting from the shack, I didn't really notice any wind (I guess I was happy to be at the range and didn't even think to check the flags) until I was walking out to the car afterwards. There was a fairly strong right-to-left wind out there, so that may have been the reason for the draw. However, because the movement was very regular, I feel that it was my swing rather than the wind. I guess we'll see next time I'm there.

Speaking of going to the range, my wife just told me that if I can live without a trip to Starbucks of the best coffeehouse in the world every week, I can go to the range two or three times a week. I don't know if I can keep away from the breves that often, but I think the golf addiction is stronger. I've often told myself that the best help for my game would be more practice, so now I can see if I'm right.

Blogging from Q-School

Well, not exactly. Actually, it's blogging while watching Q-School on TGC. Since in a few years I will be spending some time in late fall in a warm, sunny locale playing a lot of golf and developing an ulcer, I decided to tune in and makes some notes on this year's "class." None of this is in an effort to be hard on the players, as they're on the course doing it while I'm armchairing it from the couch, but rather to record some of my thoughts on the infamous tournament.

Play:

• Approach shots are not very accurate. Many players have 10+ feet on their first go with the flatstick Some are rolling it right off the green with their short irons and wedges.
• Trouble with lag putts. Most that I've seen that miss are going 3+ feet past the hole.
• Right now, many of the players are wrapping up their rounds and the pressure is starting to show. Swing paces are quickening and there are a lot of cringes in reaction shots after the ball is in the air.

Course:

• The greens look a little closely-cropped, "bikini-waxed" as they were once described at Augusta, Georgia.
• Lots of pitch marks on the greens.
• Seem nicely kept overall, but more like a nice local course rather than what we see on most Sundays on the Tour.
  

More later.

Looking Forward, Looking Back

Although it's still fall, snow is on the ground here and the golf season has come to an end. It will soon be time for indoor and semi-indoor practice until March or so. To prepare for both offseason practice and the beginning of next season, I making some notes here to keep me focused over the next three to four months.

Looking back at my 2005 golf season, the one word to describe it is anticlimactic. I began the year planning to play in at least five tournaments, of which I only managed to play in one, and performed horriblyat that (more on that in a different entry). As my wife is fond of saying, "Life is what happens when you make plans," and that's exactly what happened to my tournament aspirations this year -- family needs and events took precedence over competitive long walks spoiled. That's not to say I didn't play plenty of casual golf, but something always seemed to come up on tournament dates and spoil my plans, like a hidden hazard where you would least expect it. I'm sure there will be similar occurances next season, but there's nothing I can really do to change those outcomes. While I am commited to the goal of making it to the Tour one day, my priority has to be on my family right now.

I plan (there's that word again) to follow the same practice schedule over this winter as I did last year: About two hours of practice every-other-weekend either indoors at a local domed practice facility or at an outdoor facility that has a sheltered practice area with seven three-sided "sheds" that face out onto a regular driving range. Speaking of shedding, I will also maintain a more-regular gym schedule focusing on overall fitness, streangth, and flexibility with the goal of being 20 pounds lighter come tournament time next year. Starting on that goal in January, it is reasonable that I can loose about five pounds a month (January-April) and meet my goal by May. I've done it before, so I know I can do it again.

At the Local Muni

Played 9 at the local muni with my Dad yesteday. Sky was cloudless, temp in the 60s, slight breeze, perfect weather for golf. I shot...um, a little above par. The putting was on though; only three-putted once. Kept topping the ball off the tee and just not making good contact in general. Kind of worried me for Saturday, but I figured I worked the demons out there and they won't haunt me when it counts. Dad drained a 20-foot putt from the edge of the green like Jack, though. Impressive for the old guy who has only played twice in the last 15 years or so.

The FWGA did me a solid. Since I couldn't make it to their tournament last week, they called me up to see if I wanted a refund or if they should apply it to another tournament. That was pretty cool; with the strict verbage about refunds and such on their site, I thought I had paid my money and not taken my chance. So I told the guy that called to apply it to the one at the end of May, so I'm all set for that. Right on.

The pairings for Saturday are on the tournament site. I've got 12:39; there are 42 players entered. They spelled my name wrong, but that's okay. Tomorrow I'm going to get some fresh Callaways on the way home from work, then mark them and chill for the night. On Saturday, I'm going to get there early and take advantage of the "all-you-can-eat" range balls before the tournament (but not too many, don't want to stiffen up on the fourth hole). I'll post again after the tournament.

It's been a while...

..since my last post, but I've been busy finishing my master's degree. I graduate next week. The only school that's in my future now is Q-School, but that's not for a few years (at least). Since the last post:

• I've played once at the course where the next tournament will be held (did okay, can't find the scorecard right now).
• Been to the range a few times. The short game and putting are looking really good.
• It snowed here (in April), postponing a tournament until this weekend.
• I missed a tournament because of a final paper assignment for school and was disheartened to look at the results and see that a guy who shot 106 on Saturday made the cut. Yipes.
• Played once with my dad at the local muni. Playing again with him there tomorrow.

More this weekend after the tournament.

First Tournament in 29 Days

29 days from today is the first tournament I'm participating in (or have ever participated in, for that matter). I'm going to play 18 at the tournament site tomorrow to get some experience. I'll also play there at least once more before the tournament. Although it's another local muni, it's more like a real course (~6400 yards) and I'll get to use more of my clubs and get a better feel for my distances.