odom730’s Journey to a 10

[odom730]

This is my year. This is the year I play solid and smart golf. I’m currently a 20.7. That number is soft. My goal is a 10 handicap by the end of the year. I've been a high handicapper for as long as I've been playing. The best I've ever been is a 16. I’m going to do better. Being selected by THP for the Srixon Experience has me excited beyond all belief. But it also has me nervous. I want to play well and get the most out of the experience.

I took my first lesson in October, and it was an eye opener. I’ve had 4 so far and it has made a huge difference. My biggest swing faults were an OTT swing and an open club face. This led to poor contact and inconsistency. My instructor has completely changed my swing. I’m still working on lots of things, but I’m happy with where I'm headed and where I am. The scores just haven’t shown up yet.

Health and fitness are going to be a priority. I’ve started working out and losing weight. I bought a carry bag and plan to use it anytime I play 9. I have a pushcart for 18. I do stretches daily and switch off running and doing a simple dumbbell workout every other day. I plan on this evolving as needed and with time and knowledge. And being selected by THP to test and review the SuperSpeed system has me motivated to maximize its benefits.

There is a chance I join a golf club this year. It has a pool for the family and has been discussed as a possibility. Family can swim and I can play 9. If not, I have a decent selection of quality courses and some reasonably priced options near me that will allow me to play lots of rounds.

I’ll post some swing videos at some point, scores, handicap updates, and some other stuff. It's going to be a great year!

 

[ryang13]

Looking forward to following along .

 

[camden_kid]

Good luck.

 

[Steve2100]

NO doubt you will nail this Adam. Can't wait to see the new and improved in November!

 

[Bernoulli]

It looks like you have goals and a plan. Best of luck to you this season.

 

[Hawk]

Good luck @odom730

As far as November goes, we're going to have the time of our lives, regardless of what we score. Enjoy your summer improving and working with the new gear.

 

[odom730]

First weekend playing after setting my goal was not a spectacular success. But it did have some positives that have me looking up.

Negatives (Just to get them out of the way):
Too many penalty strokes.
Too many bad pitches and chips.
Missed 3 straight 5' or less for par.

Positives:
Birdied 2 holes in a round for the first time ever! A par 5 after getting on in 2 and a short par 4 after getting up and down from greenside bunker.
My driver is working well at the moment. Played 9 on Friday and only had 1 unusable drive. 18 today wasn't as good, but still had many quality drives.
Feeling confident in most clubs in the bag. I keep telling myself every club is a weapon and I have the ability to attack.

My driver is working at the moment and my irons need some work. So the next time I play 9, I'm moving up a tee box and only using irons. Just to get them more game reps.
I'm very happy where my swing is headed and I know I have the ability to get to 10. Just need to clean things up develop better routines.

 

[odom730]

Lots of positives this week.
I didn't just use irons, But that's still on the table if the course is empty. Did use the 4 iron off the tee many times. I like it.
Got to check off 1 of my goals for the year. Broke 40 on 9 holes. Shot a 39. Had 2 birdies and nothing worse than a bogey. Pitching was on point today. No penalty strokes.
SuperSpeed training is working. Driving distance is up. Driving accuracy is improving. I highly recommend them.
Other 9 holes was a 45. Not great, but I was happy with how I played. A couple doubles, a couple pars, the rest bogeys. But I drove the ball well. Hit some lengthy putts. Had some solid pitches.
Handicap dropped to 18 rom 20.7. I need to keep up the solid rounds.

Needs Improvement:
Approach game needs work at the moment. Distance is good. Just keep missing left and right. Need to work on accuracy. It's leaving me in a spot where I have to get up-and-down for par. I can't keep leaving myself in that position for the majority of the holes. I need some GIR's.
Still having some brain farts during my rounds. Just not committed thru the swing and end up topping or fatting. Need to focus.
Not making enough putts from 5-10'. Need some practice.

I'm setting up a lesson in the next couple weeks. Hopefully can help with tightening up some drives and help with approach accuracy. I'm still looking forward to my new clubs coming in. I don't expect them to fix everything, but new is nice.

 

[odom730]

It's been a bit since my last post, but no worries. Because my handicap is exactly where it was last time. 18. It's still a massive challenge to get to 10, but I'm on the path. April was busy with long vacation and other stuff, but I've managed to sneak in a few 9's.

Positives from past 2 months.

• My Srixon Experience clubs came in along with a new stand bag. I ordered a new Srixon hat too, so it looks like I'm sponsored. Clubs are fantastic.
• I'm making more birdies this year. Not every time out. But with more frequency.
• New putter is solid. Changed my putting grip to a claw grip. Seems to keep me online. Not as shaky. Getting a feel for it.
• Driver accuracy is still high for me.

Needs improvement.

• Still accuracy with approach shots. Distance with new irons is great. I just keep going left or right.
• Less than driver off the tee. I need to find a 200-225 yards club off the tee that I trust. Most of the courses I play have a few short, tight par 4's.

I have a lesson scheduled for next week. A few question to ask and things to work on. Drives are leaking right. Downswing sequencing and arm extension through contact.

 

[odom730]

Monthly update.

Things are moving in the right direction. SwingU had the hcp at 17.5. Not a big drop, but it's going down.

Positives.

• Bought a 3 month golf pass for the city muni courses. As much golf as I can walk. Finding time for 18 is not always possible, so it'll be a lot of twilight 9 hole rounds. Also comes with range tokens for ever round played. Very, very happy about this..
• Read a suggestion for driving range practice. It was always switch up your shots so you're not just grooving a single club. Try to move the ball and aim at different targets. This has me trying to move the ball in different directions. I've tried it on the course with a little bit of success.
• Purchased the SKLZ Flex swing trainer to work on tempo and sequencing. Easier warmup when range time isn't possible before a round.
• Purchased the Shot Scope Golf Pro LX+. The Data Experience with Shot Scope had me inspired. I LOVE IT!! I needed a rangefinder and I think the website I bought it from had it priced incorrectly for a few days and I got lucky. Got it for the same price as the standard LX version. Still learning how to navigate, but the data breakdowns are amazing.
• A few Shot Scope data breakdowns below:
  • I'm very happy with distances of my clubs. The 282 for D is high because of a few dry fairway run-outs. That's not my normal. It's closer to 265-270. I'm very happy with that number.
  • Data shows I'm right on target for strokes gained for tee shots.
  • I never would have guessed approach would be that close to a 10 hcp. I felt I always missed greens and always messed up approach opportunities. What it seems to be showing is I'm hitting the ball close enough, or leaving myself in a position to make par. I need to hit 19% more greens to equal a 10 hcp. With 52% of my shots coming up short, I see that as an achievable goal.
  • Averaging only 1 3-putt per 15 holes. Not bad.

Needs Improvement.

• Lesson confirmed my issue was sequencing. Left hip was sliding forward and making my hands play from behind. Led to pulls and fat shots if I wasn't timing everything right. So in other words, inconsistent golf. Working on dropping hands down and turning with hands as one.
• Shot Scope shows what's killing my game and scoring opportunities right now. It's my short game. -3.44 strokes worse than a 10 hcp. Average proximity to the hole of short games is 21ft. That needs to improve immediately for any future success. I thought I was doing ok, but the last few rounds have shown differently.
• I'm leaving WAY too many putts short. 81%. That's so bad.

Overall I feel I'm on the right track. I'm not expecting to be a 10 tomorrow, but I feel I have ability to do so. I'm looking forward to collecting more data with Shot Scope. I see it as being a very helpful tool in helping me meet my goal. Hit 'em straight!

 

[odom730]

Monthly update.

Handicap has dropped to 16.2.

Positives.

• Handicap is still dropping.
• Really feel like my new Srixon clubs are my clubs. Getting used to the distances and feel. Still get a few flyers on perfectly struck shots, but there are worse things.
• Shot Scope is really breaking my game down for me. Loving the data it provides.
• My new normal round is getting better. Feel like with my game/ability, I could shoot close to 80 without being surprised. Last 18 shot 42/44 for an 86. Didn't feel like I played great. Just played well with no severe mistakes. No penalties and only 2 doubles.
• Getting to play a lot recently. I walk 9 holes at least twice a week and usually get a full 18 in on the weekends. I'm making the most of my 3 month golf pass.
• Contact is improving.

Needs Improvement.

• Shot Scope has my strokes gained at -5.36 to a 10 hdcp. I would say it's gotten worse, but it really just has more data to accurately show my ability.
  • 
• All the aspects of my game, besides Tee Shots, just need to be slightly better. Get rid of one 3-putt, get rid of one bad pitch, and get rid of one short approach shot. That's 3 shots that I can gain towards my goal. That can be achieved with a little more focus.
• Missed way too many 3-6 ft putts the past few rounds. Mostly pulling them. just boneheaded mistakes.

Still feel happy with where my game is going. 10 seems like a far way off at the moment, but I'm hitting better shots than I ever have. Just need to score better.

 

[odom730]

Today was a record breaker for me.

The good:

• Shot my best score ever. 82.
• Putter was on. Only 1 3 putt.
• Only 1 lost ball
• Only 1 blow up hole.
• Had a birdie.
• Handicap dropped to 14.4!! Going I'm the right direction
• Slowed down every swing and didn't try to kill the ball. Shocking, but it worked.

The bad:

• The blow up hole was 18
• I had a quad on 18. A bogey would have broken 80 for the first time ever. AAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!

There are worse things. But it stings.

 

[Steve2100]

Today was a record breaker for me.

The good:

• Shot my best score ever. 82.
• Putter was on. Only 1 3 putt.
• Only 1 lost ball
• Only 1 blow up hole.
• Had a birdie.
• Handicap dropped to 14.4!! Going I'm the right direction
• Slowed down every swing and didn't try to kill the ball. Shocking, but it worked.

The bad:

• The blow up hole was 18
• I had a quad on 18. A bogey would have broken 80 for the first time ever. AAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!

There are worse things. But it stings.

That is awesome! Congrats!

 

[ryang13]

Today was a record breaker for me.

The good:

• Shot my best score ever. 82.
• Putter was on. Only 1 3 putt.
• Only 1 lost ball
• Only 1 blow up hole.
• Had a birdie.
• Handicap dropped to 14.4!! Going I'm the right direction
• Slowed down every swing and didn't try to kill the ball. Shocking, but it worked.

The bad:

• The blow up hole was 18
• I had a quad on 18. A bogey would have broken 80 for the first time ever. AAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!

There are worse things. But it stings.

Great round! Your cruising

 

[odom730]

It's been a bit since my last update, so here it is.

It's close to the same as last time. Except I haven't gotten to play as much as I wanted to due to work and it being 100+ degrees. So I'm planning on playing a lot over the next few months. Handicap is still dropping. 14.1 now. Down from 20.7 in the spring. (This is according to SwingU.) My biggest improvement is my bad score is now equal to my previous good scores. I used to shoot 90 and feel good about my day. Now I shoot 90 and see all the strokes I left on the course. Putting is hurting my scores at the moment. Below is my strokes gained to a 10 hdcp over the last 10 rounds. It's strange to see my tee shot as the best area of my game. That's hardly ever been the case.



Had a lesson tonight and once again my sequencing is off. The last time it was due to my hands not dropping and my hips getting out in front. That forced my hands to play catch up and made for open faced pushes or closed faced pulls on a decent percentage of shots. Now my sequencing is off with my hips and body. I did well learning to drop my hands, but at the cost of not rotating my shoulders and hips. So my goal over the next few weeks is to get my hips and shoulders involved in my golf swing. I was given some drills to work on at the range and at home.

We'll see how it goes, but I'm still happy with my progress. When my swing is on, I feel I can par any hole. When it's off, I wonder why I'm holding such a useless stick in my hands. Such is golf.

 

[odom730]

This rotational move that my instructor has me working on has proven to be the most difficult swing change that I've worked on this year. But I think it has the ability to be the most game-changing if I can make it happen. It's working ok on wedges and shorter irons, but anything above an 8i has me spraying the ball everywhere and tensing up my back. Actually a little bit sore from the range last night. When everything falls into place and I get the rotation and dropped hands, the ball explodes off the face with a sound I don't usually make. I think it's going to add distance to each club as well. My instructor also said I'd need to look into flattening my irons a bit if I can make this happen to possibly avoid over drawing my clubs. I'm in search of the baby draw.

I have so many swing thoughts at the moment that it's hard to just swing.

• Start backswing with right hip
• Takeaway shallow and deep into backswing
• Keep wrist cupped
• Keep club face closed
• Don't go too high or over swing
• Start downswing with left hip
• But don't let the hip move forward
• Keep head still and behind the ball
• Twist around spine, don't lunge
• Drop hands and let the body bring them around
• Push through the ball with the right hand
• Hit the ball

Some of the moves are coming more naturally and some make the others happen. But there's a lot going on in my head when I'm standing over the ball at the moment.

I have 2 rounds scheduled for the weekend and my last lesson of the package scheduled in a week. I might invest in another package, but it's up in the air at the moment. My golf pass expires on Saturday and I'm thinking of purchasing 3 more months. It's too convenient not to use and the temps are lowering. I have just over 2 months until November. November includes the Srixon Experience as well as a golf trip to Palm Springs. I want to be in good form when I get there.

 

[odom730]

I've been playing golf for about 30 years now. Was always an over-the-top, weak fade/slice player. Had broken 90 once or twice. Struggled with consistency and ball striking. As my original post stated, this is the year I gave it my all. I told my instructor that my goals were consistency, accuracy, lower scores and handicap, and maybe some added distance. I believe I've accomplished many of those goals so far, but I still have a long way to go. I still need to drop 4 strokes to meet my goal of 10. My instructor was kind enough to give me a breakdown of my original swing vs where it is now. This is after a swing evaluation and 5 other lessons over a one year period. I'm not very keen on having videos or pictures of myself out there, but I figured why not share what lessons, and a lot of practice, can do.



As you can see my original swing had MANY faults. Listed in no particular order:

• Too inside & open face takeaway, over-the-top & open face downswing, hip sway/lunge, pulling arms hard left, flippy hands, chicken wing follow through, lack of rotation of hips and shoulders, poor sequencing, etc, etc

Below is a quick breakdown on what each lesson tried to accomplish and fix (Leaving out tons of tips and teachings that took place in each lesson):

• My first lesson focused on a closed-face, outside takeaway and starting the downswing with my hips.
• Then we focused on arm extension and swinging to the right.
• Next was adding rotation and a bowed wrist during the backswing.
• That led to sequencing issues and we worked on pulling down to start the backswing. That led to lack of rotation again.
• The next lesson was getting hips and shoulders involved again.
• My last lesson was back to takeaway. Keep it high but not at the ceiling. (I try to remember to aim my hands at the crown molding.)
• My current drill is set wrist, rotate, downswing.

I wanted to share what lessons have done for me over the past year. I was lucky to have an instructor right around the corner from my house that I work well with. He has changed my game for the better in almost all areas. My really good rounds used to be low 90's. Now a round where I'm not happy with how I played is in the low to mid 90's. I've shot 82 twice. I feel like I understand my swing and why the ball does what it does more than I ever have. I still have lots more to work on. Putting, short game, and approach accuracy. Some of that accuracy is due to having a draw for the first time in my life. I feel like a round in the 70's can happen at any time for me. Hit GIR's, avoid the blowup holes, and minimize 3 putts. That's my focus at the moment.

 

[Steve2100]

Wow such great work you’ve done this year! Really happy you are so close to your goals! Just think how much better you’ll be in 54 days! Congrats!

 

[ryang13]

Swing is looking good my man! Keep grinding, that round in the 70’s will happen .

 

[odom730]

Wow such great work you’ve done this year! Really happy you are so close to your goals! Just think how much better you’ll be in 54 days! Congrats!

I'm counting the days. Put it on the calendar at work. Keeping the expectations to a reasonable level. Just want 1 birdie, some well played pars, and a round in the 80's.

 

[bogolfs]

1

• Start backswing with right hip
• Takeaway shallow and deep into backswing
• Keep wrist cupped
• Keep club face closed
• Don't go too high or over swing
• Start downswing with left hip
• But don't let the hip move forward
• Keep head still and behind the ball
• Twist around spine, don't lunge
• Drop hands and let the body bring them around
• Push through the ball with the right hand
• Hit the ball

This list is insanely long. Love the progress you're making but thinking about all this would lock me up trying to hit a ball.

 

[odom730]

Switched to using my GHIN handicap to track my goal. It's higher than the SwingU handicap by 1.4 strokes, but I believe it's more accurate. Currently a 15. Doesn't change how I feel about my game, just means I have some more work to do.

Played twice over the weekend.

Friday was 18 at the muni and was close to a disaster. Shot 92. 45/47 and there was a triple on #9. Only 1 par on the back. The round sucked in a lot of ways. Super packed course, very slow players in front of me, and a player giving unsolicited swing advice. The swing advice got in my head. I tried to explain I'm seeing an instructor and working on things, but he just kept going. He was an older gentleman and was being polite, but I would have preferred if he didn't say anything.

Saturday was a scramble at a local course. I was last minute fill-in for a group that doesn't play that much. It was a max par event and we shot 68. We had an eagle on my least favorite par 5 on the course when I knocked my 7w on in 2 and I almost drove the 2 shorter par 4's. Ended up on the fringe, so I guess that should/maybe counts? Overall I felt great about my play. It was nice to just be able to hit some golf shots and not worry about the score. I really focused on eliminating sway and keeping my head behind the ball. It worked for a lot of good golf shots.

The most surprising aspect of my play this weekend was the distances I'm getting from each club. During my last lesson, my instructor told me to watch for added distance as I get my swing dialed in. He had to check the calibration on the sim to make sure it was accurate because I was hitting each club at least 15 yards further than normal. This added distance never translated to the course. My main miss is a fat shot and I always attributed the increases during lessons to hitting from mats. Well, the distance has started to show up on course. I hit multiple 5i's over 200 yards. Hit my 7i 180 over the back of a par 3. Hit my 9i 150. This is good news, but it'll take a few more times out to smooth out club selection.

The swing thoughts are simplifying. Certain moves are becoming more natural. The set wrists, turn, fire drill has helped the most recently. My next issues to work on are easy choices. Putting and short game. I have way too many strokes near the green. Lots of 3 putts and not nearly enough up-and-downs. Over the last 10 rounds, Shot Scope is showing me -2.2 strokes in short game and putting combined against a 15 hdcp. Against a 10 hdcp it's -4.1. Still lots of room for improvement on all aspects of the game. I have some wonderful golf to look forward to in November, especially the Srixon Experience, so I need to make the next month count.

 

[odom730]

My game is improving. This is the best golf I've ever played over the past 2-3 weeks. My last 3 times out I shot 84-84-38 (9 holes). The 38 was bittersweet. Was +1 going into 9 and needed a birdie to shoot even for the first time ever. Had a great drive, but skulled my wedge into the water. Took the drop in the same spot because I had to know what could have been and hit it to 15 feet. Made the putt for a bogey. A great 9 holes and I'm very happy. 9.02 Strokes gained against a 10 hdcp!!

The positives in my game at the moment.

• Off the tee is still the best part of my game. I'll still lose one right occasionally, but most are playable. Distance is solid.
• I'm getting a better pre shot routine and I'm more relaxed at setup.
• Putting is slowly improving.
• The distance increases are still there and I'm working on club selection with the new numbers. Everything from 4h down has added 10-15 yards.
• My last 5 rounds strokes gained has me very pleased. Almost a whole stroke positive compared to a 10 hdcp.
• 

Needs improvement:

• Short game. Need more up and downs. Whether though getting closer to the hole or sinking longer putts.
• Approaches need to be closer. GIR's would be great, but I'll take missing close and with lots of green to work with.
• Drawing the ball a bit too much with everything other than driver. Hooking it with some clubs. My instructor told me I should possibly look at flattening the lie angle on my irons. I was fit into 2* upright by him, but he said my swing has improved a lot and to the point it could be worth a look.
• Mental game. It's not hurting me as bad as it used too. I'm able to move past a bad shot more easily as I try to minimize damage on a hole. The hero shot attempt will still get me from time to time.

I have just under a month until the Srixon Experience and I feel I'm heading in the right direction. Still need to fit in practice and as many rounds as I can.

 

[ryang13]

Keep it going my man! Tons of improvements coming recently in your game

 

[bigbov]

Just bumping this thread because I saw you play and I need to be alerted to the "under 10" post. It's happening.