21 March 2014 - Will we get a round in tomorrow at Queenstown?

It's possible... It's possible.  Might get out with my former co-worker who is also a golf nut.  He's  my polar opposite - taller, stronger, younger and hits it a ton further.  Should be a good test of my putting that I've worked hard on.  

I used to have to give strokes but with his improvement and my time off from the game we are close enough for heads up competition.  Matter of fact he took a first win in a long time off me at the end of last season (Hogs Neck golf course) where he shot a 79 and my rusty old ass shot a 80.  He putted well and I missed too many routine shots.

Tomorrow will be about fairways and greens... maybe even using my 2 hybrid more to get position in the fairway and accepting longer shots into the green.  Depends on how the driver feels with this new setup.  Of course, putting could save me like it did him last year.  I'm excited, this will be the 2nd round of the year before next weeks http://www.tgaatour.com event at Pendleton golf course.  I won't take any bad throughts away from however I play tomorrow, just focused on getting into the tournament mindset and seeing if my putting will help me take advantage of scoring opportunities.

20 March 2014 - Inside Drills

Thursday at 7:30pm I finally finish dinner and cleanup for my son and get a few minutes of 'me' time.  Passing the my golf club in my bedroom I always pick it up and do a few reps of the latest drill I'm working on.  Today its more of the light grip pressure, stepping into my golf setup/posture and getting good arm extension.  After a quick check in the dressor mirror I simulate a slow backswing to about hip height with both arms still fully extended... back to the ball and then a full backswing to the top.  I repeat this for about 5 reps.  I do that every time I pass the club... more reps more engrained.

Good night...

17 March 2014 - More Snow? More indoor drills...

Great!  More snow.  I was hopeful but not optimistic that the weather would improve, dry up the ground a bit and maybe I could go the the 22 March event at The Federal Club... nope.  More snow means even if it melts the ground will be soggy.  Now hoping we can get a warm-up to improve playing conditions for the 29 March tournament at The Pendleton golf course.

Sooo.... more drills.  Fundamentals is where it's at so I'm working on consistent setup.  Standing really tall with good relaxed arm extension at address and then a nice slow takeaway on my backswing with good balance at the top.  I'm just doing the backswing without a downswing.  See if I can get that permanent and ready for getting on the course.

Also will figure out how to create some 'gates' to place next to the ball and putt through on the basement putting green.  The recent golf digest article on Tiger at the Masters describes this as a part of Tiger's regular routine. I do have some inconsistency of strike on the face of the putter I'd like to improve.

10-March-2014 Family time

Pick up my son from school, homework at the park and time on the swings then head to the house for home made for empanadas.  Watched a bad Jason Statham movie "Chaos".  Just before bed go to the basement and roll 4 or 5 putts from 5 feet, do some swing drills and turn in.

8-March-2014 - 1st official practice session of the year

08 March 2014 - 1st official practice session of the  year....

Finally starting to practice in 2014 after too much snow, when is it going to end?  I found a couple hours to go over to the University of Maryland range.  I had planned to go the the Laurel Golf Center on Route 198 and get the all you can hit deal with one condition... if they had raised the price to $24 I would boycott their establishment unless they were the last range on the planet. I figured with the weather breaking and their prices have been creeping up steadily over the years that they'd push it even further... sure enough the prices was $24 for all you can hit.... RIP OFF. I've watched that price creep up from what was once $12, then $14 and later $20 it had reached the point where it would take hitting 4 large buckets to make it worth it and by then my back would seize up.

Finally at the University of Maryland, I stretched ... hamstrings, back, shoulders and some swings with two clubs. Then I started up through the bag with a 52 degree wedge and up through my 7 iron. With my putting success centered around a VERY relaxed grip to lag the putter during the stroke and keep my hands out of the release I wondered if the same feel would help my full swing.

I hit 1/3 of the bucket feeling like I was hitting everything heavy.  Quick analysis I realize at setup my arms are slack or even slightly bent but I'm probably extending them through the downswing... fat shot. Standing taller and hovering the club with extended arms had an immediate difference. Tying in the relaxed grip and slower back swing had me striping the ball with all of my clubs up through the driver. I hit the rest of the bucket with those three keys...

Based on these tests proving to be successful I'll do drills for the next few weeks each day and night for about 10 minutes getting used to/comfortable with this part of the setup and backswing

• PROBLEM:  hitting chunky shots where my arms are slightly relaxed/bent at address and coming back to the ball extended

• FIX: Taller posture and getting arms fully extended when addressing the ball. Don't rest the club, moving toward hovering instead of grounding the blade on irons.

• PROBLEM: Tension in hands and arms leads to hands control of back swing

• FIX: Very light grip pressure... like a 4 or 5 helps set the club on transition to create lag

• PROBLEM: Back swing and transition are too quick. The club isn't getting set, I'm not getting all the way into my right side before I move down to the ball.  I'm pulling shots WAY left.
• FIX: Slow the tempo of the back swing and transition down.  Ridiculously slow off the ball to feel set into right side.

• FEEL: Feel the right foot push off into the instep to start the transition and bump into left side... feel my chest turning like I'm rotating the buttons on my shirt to turn them toward the target.  This feels like I've got my hips beginning to clear and I link up my rotation of my chest after that to really cover the ball... my right elbow is getting back to my side through that phase and I'm primed to hit from the inside.  I feel free - not stuck - to hit the ball from a balanced position

2-March-2014 - First round of the year at Pendleton

2-March-2014

1^st round of the year... Pendleton Golf Course in Virginia off of 95 south at the Ladysmith. The temperature in Laurel, MD was a high of 51 degrees but Richmond would be 62. After covering someone's midnight shift and getting off at 6am I turned south on 395. The plan was to play either The Federal Club or Pendleton... Whichever would take me as both of will host a www.tgaatour.com tournament in March. The Federal Club is private and was booked solid through 4:30pm so Pendleton was meant to be. I considered hitting some balls first but I was dying to play and even considered getting in 36 holes before the rain came... The gentleman at the counter had 2 guys going out as I got there and he said I could join or play behind them.

As fate would have it the twosome went out ahead of me and I didn't see them the rest of the day – they were fast! The round was a great start to a season. I've been putting in my basement for 3 months so I was excited to see how it worked on the course. I had worked on my visual acuity, my stroke and making enough five to ten foot putts until they felt like kick-in's.

The first hole is a par 5. After a tee shot in the fairway I had less than 225 yards but poor contact with my 2-hybrid left me 60 yards short right of the green. A good swing with my 58 degree wedge put me at 12 feet from the hole and feeling good about birdie. I took a couple practice rolls to get the green speed and then lined up my 12 footer and sank it. Rolled it in center cut! As I'd hoped, even with poor contact with my irons I could save myself with a money putting stroke. On the first three holes I would roll the ball on the line I read and go birdie bogey birdie with that one bogey being a good stroke none the less. The rest of the day went that way... solid drives, inconsistent irons and great putts... I shot a 79.

I decided to forgo another 18 holes in favor of range time considering I won't get out much after the big rain and snow storm hits. Turns out I had about three hours before the rain started. In that time I didn't figure out anything on the range. I think coming off a midnight shift and little sleep was playing a big part in the poor range session.

The best part of the day came on the practice green. The green sloped four feet from top to bottom, lots of undulation and maybe 24 feet wide. I simulated long putts from end to end to put myself in five footer situations and was impressed that I was consistently inside that. The few times I had a five to ten footer I made almost all of the putts. Speed and feel were excellent. On one tough read from six feet I missed it a couple times but once I had the line I was able to drain five in a row. Really showing me I had a accurate stroke and green reading is going to be the key to my success. With my final five putts of the day as rain was really starting to come down I knocked it to under a yard from 74 feet away with three of the five.

Great way to end a practice session on a high!

A little about me...

I'm a 47 year old resident of Laurel Md.  My handicap has been in the single digits for years, even +1 once and I've been under par during the round but never posting the official score with a minus sign.  I've played in some money leagues (www.tgaatour.com) and made more money than I spent entering the events.  I've qualified and played in two Maryland State Opens although I didn't make the cut in either one.  I also competed in two US Open qualifiers; one at Towson Country Club and one at Worthington Manor but didn't make it to the sectionals.  I played professionally, officially, and earned close to $10,000 in total earnings spread over about 6 years.  Basically I wrote expenses off my taxes and played free golf.

Towson was a learning experience on a tough course and I didn't score well at all.  However, at Worthington Manor I was in the hunt at even par with 8 holes to play, even par on the card and standing over a 2 1/2 foot putt for Birdie with two par 5's left to play.  I had a discussion with my caddy on the line of the putt and then hit it too firmly for the line I picked and missed.  The resulting 4 putt rattled me and I ended up playing the last 6 holes at +3 ... I shot a 75.  Encouraging but it still doesn't get me to sectionals. It's been fun but like any golfer who plays pretty well I'd love to play professionally and make money at it.

I have taken two years off from competitive golf to raise my son (he's turning 8 in March) but this year I'm gonna get back to competing.  In 2011 I submitted application to the USGA to gain my amateur status back. When I submitted that application I lost the itch to compete and rounds over 80 were frustrating. However,   two years later, as my reinstatement date approached I felt that familiar desire to hit shots under pressure. SSSSOOOOOoooo! I paid for a handicap at a local course, started playing rounds and entered scores to get a handicap established (hadn't done that in 10 years because professionals don't need handicaps).

I have a long term plan now.  I'm going to get my scores (yes scores) below par this year.  In the tournaments I've planned I want to make the cut and be competitive under pressure on the final day.  Next year I'm going to win USGA and Maryland state amateur events and when I turn 50 I will be prepared for Senior PGA Tour Q School and maybe even the Web.com tour.

Dream Big!