2016 - Round 5 - Eisenhower Park Red

Course - Eisenhower Park

Playing Partners - Richie, Peter, and Tim

Weather - Chillier that it should be at this time of year!!

After last week's fiasco, I looked at my opening rounds from the past few years.  The first few weeks of the season, no matter how I train in the off-season, SUCK!

I have had a few in the 100 range, many in the 90's and those rare 80's.

I guess this means I shouldn't throw my clubs in the Great South Bay, just yet.


Right now, the biggest issue I have is not being able to practice mid week.  The weather has been so shitty, that you can't head out to the range or putting greens.  This week I had a 30 minute practice session at the PGA Superstore.

It's quite OK to hit in a simulator, but it's not like a range (and especially not like a GRASS range).  The "sim" is really good to see what your numbers are.  Swing Speed, Launch speed, launch angle, spin rate, etc.

However, most of us don't know what the fuck any of that means - so we just hit.

I hit, and then look at the simulated ball flight on the PC monitor.  Almost like playing "Tiger Woods Golf" on XBox.

At least I got to swing a club.

Our tee time was 9:08.  Vak was in Myrtle Beach (THE BASTARD!), so they hooked us up with a single - Tim.

The weather was cold and dreary.

It remained that way until around the 13th hole, when the sun came out.  At that point, we were able to play in short sleeves!!

Tim had one of the oddest swings I've seen - and I've seen plenty.  He had one of the strongest grips you could imagine.  His right palm was basically facing the sky.
AND - his ball position was just inside of his back foot, and he leaned forward.  He had the wild hook you might expect. So bad he'd aim 30 yards right of the fairway and (if it didn't hit a tree) would scoot across the fairway, right to left.
It was painful to watch.

As for me - I was better than last week.  After all, it wasn't hard to beat that 105.

My drives were OK - mostly in play, and some good ones. Especially the last few holes when I realized my problem.

My ball flight was a fade/slice for most of th day.   Very unlike me.  I realized that my turn contained a sway.  My guess is that my back problems are either physically (or mentally) preventing me from my normal turn, so I'm swaying to get my club back.
BAD BAD BAD!!!

So the last few holes I focused on having my left knee bend straight out to the ball, rather than turn back towards my right knee.  This prevented me from swaying.
It seemed to work.

The front 9 was on/off, and I shot a 47.  Acceptable for this time of year.
I was pretty much on track for the same type score on the back 9.  I had a 36 through 16.
My drive on 17 was great, and I lay in the first cut off the fairway on the right side.  I wanted to lay up to 60 yards, so I hit my hybrid.  And, pulled that sucker across the fairway to 100 yards out, and behind a tree.  I had to chip out, which I did miserably, forcing me to attempt a hard draw with m gap wedge.

Well, no draw - and I missed the green to the right. Chip and a 2-putt - Double bogey.

The 18th hole was pretty much the same thing. Great drive, fucked up hybrid, bad chip.
Triple bogey - ending with a 50 - total of 97.

So, what worked this week, and what didn't.

Let's start with the bunker play, since that accounted for much of last week's issues.
This was also one of the more consistent parts of my game today.    Long bunker shots, short shots, spin, roll out.  It was damn nice to see actual sand in the traps.

The driver was OK.  Can't call it good, but not terrible.
Woods?  Probably the best shots of the day were with my woods.
Hybrids?  Poor.  Well, make that VERY POOR.  (It's supposed to be an easy club to hit!!!)
Irons - good,  Made some solid contacts on the irons.
Pitching - very good.  All pitches were on target and roughly the right distance.
Chipping - mostly good.  I was able to chip to within 6-8 feet, usually.
Putting - SHIT SHIT SHIT!!  I missed so many of those 4-8 footers!!!  And, it's not like I was lipping out.  I WAS MISSING BY 2-3 FEET!!!

So, where does this leave me?  As I look at the weather report for this week, it shows rain all week - so no outdoor range.
AND NO PUTTING PRACTICE.

I'll have to book at time at the simulator again.  I'll work on my hybrids, and of course my driver.

Can't wait for the weather to finally get nice so I can take advantage of working across from Eisenhower park!!!

In any event, next week is another day.

Until then,

Keep it in the Short Hairs

July 5 - Round 14

Eisenhower Park - Blue

Playing partners - Rich, Dave, Brad

Sometimes I have to be reminded that I'm 58 years old.  Sometimes, that reminder comes from my own body.  

I played my third round in four days today. And, to think I tried to get out on Friday!

I drove with Rich today.  Dave and Brad are Rich's sons in law, and we let the kids drive together.
As I've stated before, I prefer to walk. But, I was grateful that I decided to take the cart today.

Both Dave and Brad are novice golfers.  Both are athletic, but need a bit of instruction on both technique and etiquette.  Rich and I were more than happy to oblige, and they were more than happy to listen.

The weather was great.  Mid-80's and sunny. Not too humid.  

My mindset today was to continue where I left off yesterday - tempo, tempo, tempo.

We played the same course as yesterday.  Being that I neglected to review the course yesterday, I will here.  

The Blue course is the easiest of the 3 Eisenhower courses.  It's the least popular and also the worst maintained. (and thus, the easiest to get a tee time on)

More than a few of the greens still showed the effects of the bad winter.  Some were in HORRIBLE shape.  In a few cases we allowed a player to move his ball to an area outside a bad area (no closer to the hole, of course). 

The fairways were in good shape, but the bunkers were mostly horrible. 

Some were just dirt. 

Some had nice sand, but the grass was growing into the bunker.  

But, it's more than playable.  And, it has character.  Each hole is different, and makes you think about your shot.

Now to my game.  

I shot a respectable 87 today.

87 today vs an 84 yesterday.  If you asked me what was the difference, I'd say my short approach shots.  Today I was very inconsistent.  

Also - I got tired.  Around the 13th hole, I felt the effects of the heat and several days of golf.

And, I was unprepared. I normally carry a few power chews, and bars - as well as some extra water.  

Today I didn't have any of that.

On the front nine, I shot a non-spectacular 44.  My chipping saved me on more than one occasion.

The exhaustion started to hit me on the back 9.  

  

On the first par thee of the back 9, I hit a beautiful 9 iron which looked as if it was inches from the cup. 

As we pulled up, we saw it was a 4 footer. 

There's something about these shots where the juxtaposition fakes you out.  To the point where I missed the birdie putt - leaving it short.  ON A FOUR FOOT PUTT!!!  

Ugh!

After that, I started to feel the heat and exhaustion.  For the next two holes I was pushing myself.  I couldn't imagine what would have happened if I had walked! And, my back stiffened up a bit.
Not a lot, but just enough so that it said "DOPE - YOU'RE 58 - TAKE A REST".
(This is also why I prefer to walk - it tends to loosen my back muscles).

During these holes, I messed up some chips, putts, and even a drive.  But, I gathered my wits about me, and just kept saying "tempo" "tempo".

I was also trying to help Dave play better. Dave's swing is good, but he doesn't transfer his weight to his forward leg on his downswing and follow through.  So what would happen is he would slice the ball.  I had him put his feet closer together and it seemed to help.  

Another comparison to yesterday's round - today's round was 5 hours. A full hour longer than yesterday's round.  

Doubly ugh!

Which was probably why I felt so exhausted.

So, what will I work on in the 5 days until my next round?

1 - chipping.  I need to get more consistent on the short game around the green.
2 - woods.  I hit some nice 4 and 7 woods today, but I want to ensure that I am consistent with these clubs.
3 - supplies.  I'll be sure to pick up some power bars, and also get some more fluids to carry.

I'll hit the range one morning before work.  I find that if I don't hit a ball for 5-6 days, I won't maintain my level of play.

And, of course - I'll continue my workout regimen.

So, the Independence Day weekend comes to an end.  Three rounds of golf, and some major improvement.

So, until next week

Keep it in the Short Hairs