Around the time I started writing this blog, I hit a recent low handicap of 4.9. As of today, I am soft capped at a 9.0 handicap. I thought it would be worth taking a step back and looking at the state of my game, and look to the future of where I should be spending my time and how I can continue to improve. I am disappointed in my handicap, but it’s just one look at my golf game. The whole is nowhere where I want it to be, but let's look at the pieces of my game.
To start, I believe my best game is better than it has ever been. My average good drive is longer, my average good approach is closer and my average putt is more likely to go in. I am happy with the work I put in over the winter, and truly believe my ceiling is higher than it has ever been. Despite my best rounds thus far being in the mid 80s, I am confident I am a few small adjustments away from playing better golf.
Blind optimism aside, let’s get into it.
Driver: This is the area where my mental focus has been the best. I am hitting the ball squarely, and my most hated miss (a swipey fade from an uncommitted swing) is mostly gone. Unfortunately, it’s been replaced by a hot pull left that tends to end up out of play. I have not played a round recently where I kept the ball in bounds for 18 holes. This is problematic.
I took video of my driver swing, and managed to hit 3 balls perfectly. I sent the video to Jayson and he said everything looked fine. I’ll take more video soon, and see if I can catch the left pull, but my driver swing is fundamentally sound. It’s not perfect, but it’s good enough. The left pull seems to be more of a mental issue than a physical one. Honestly, I am confident that if I keep hitting the driver off the tee, I will sort it out. Shock therapy at $4 a ball.
I think my hatred of the right miss is the biggest issue. I am overcompensating on my actual swing to not lose the ball right, and thus I’m losing it left. It is less of an issue on the range, as I am just swinging free. One of my best drives yesterday was when I intentionally faded the golf ball.
Overall, I am getting severely punished despite not hitting the ball that poorly. I play a neighborhood course with no adjacent fairways. If I were on a different course, I’d have lots of good looks at greens from neighboring fairways. That said, my home course is my home course. I need to make my swing work for the place I play the most rounds. I have some more thoughts, but want to explore them on the range and the course first.
150+ Approach: I’m actually really happy with this part of my game. My approach shots on committed swings have been consistently good. My Strokes Gained data has me at a 0 handicap for these shots. I’m not worrying about the apex of my ball flight, I’m just trying to make good swings. My par 3 scoring this season has been better than it has ever been, especially on the longer par 3s.
Under 150 Approach: This is the main area I feel lost in the woods. Between a Titleist wedge fitting and a round with Alex Fortey from the Art of Simple Golf, I see my path forward. This mostly focuses on ball position and a good temp, consistent swing that I need to practice more. This is going to be the next area of focus once my driver is staying in play. It should be the majority of my approach shots. I know what I need to do, I just need to start doing it.
The basic idea is to move away from a full swing, and hit good tempo 75% shots with a lower trajectory and higher spin. I spent the winter working on this shot with wedges. I’ve upped the distance I use this shot now. My last round, I hit a 9 iron at a 150 yard pin and hit the fan 160 yards behind the green. I am still adjusting to the distances and the lower trajectory definitely goes farther.
Around The Greens: When I played with Alex the other day, he mentioned my chipping. I was basically all arms, which prevented bad shots but also reduced my ability to hit good shots. After spending some time with Mike, my Vokey fitter, I got back into using the bounce of my wedge to help me and started approaching my wedge shots more athletically.
My overall around the green game was killing me. My wedge game was not good enough to get me to tap in distance, and my putting was not good enough to carry a weak wedge game. I made a lot of bogeys from around the green. I am hoping improvements on both sides of this equation will lead to outsized gains.
Putting: The constant thorn in my side. I have been actively working on my drills, and running a test every monday on my putting. I can always spend more time here, but I am still not sure where the time is used the most effectively. It’s a work in progress, but I have a number of drills that I like and have committed to.
On the course, I’ve seen a ton of improvement. Mostly in confidence. I do not dread 30+ foot putts anymore, and have had much more success in getting the ball into the hole. My misses are closer, and my average putts are trending downwards. There is still plenty of work to be done, but I am moving in the right direction.
Conclusion: That’s a lot of confidence for someone who hasn’t played well the past few weeks. I have multiple qualifying rounds coming up, and I am a little terrified that I will embarrass myself, but I am hoping that added pressure keeps me focused. Overall, my swing feels good and my biggest issue is simply big mistakes on the tee box.
To go the other way, if I was panicking about my game, I would take video of my driver swing and send it to Jayson (done), get fit for new wedges (done) and plan to practice more. I got excited that golf season was here, and I have played a number of rounds and spent little time on the range. Moving forward I am going to dedicate more time to practice, and see if I can grind out the biggest flaws in my game.
Importantly, I am having fun on the course, and staying focused on my shots. My biggest area of improvement is my mental game. There is still a lot of work to be done on the mental side of the equation, but I have made leaps forward. The work has not shown up on the scorecard yet, but I am confident it will. Regardless, the only thing I can do about my previous mistakes is learn from them. I am excited to continue my journey and improve at golf.
Richie - 6 Handicap, out from a low of 4.8 last year
Will - very interesting stuff. I see some similarities (Driver and 150 in) and some differences (My short game is the duct tape holding my game together at the moment).
If it's of interest, I have developed a practice routine with my chipping that I feel has helped significantly. I do it a few times a week, and doesn't have to be done in a proper practice facility. I do it down at a local soccer pitch (field) near me, as it's much closer than my club or any range.
I chip 3/4 balls on each of these exercises, mixed in with hitting 3/4 standard chips in between each. I try to vary distance, but not playing close attention to a particular target.
-Left hand only
-Right hand only
- Chipping with the ball ahead of front foot (left of left foot for RH)
- The classic towel under arms
- chipping on left foot only (right foot behind off the ground)
I then drop my bag of balls down at about 12 yards away from a target (soccer post). I'll chip a ball. Move 5 yards forward, chip. 10 yards back, chip. Back to middle, chip. And repeat with different wedges. I'll do another bag, repeating same, from say, 25 yards. I'll also try to vary lies.
I feel this has been a great help to my chipping as it works on both my fundamentals, and also my feel. Also handy as it can be done anywhere you can get a stretch of grass. The drills can be done indoors as well, which I sometimes do.