Backslide at The Battleground...

Out With It...

Forget the foreshadowing, I need to get this out... I shot 106 yesterday. I was all set to best my record (98) after firing a 48 on the front in wet, windy, cart path only conditions. And then I fell apart.

I had a chat with a friend the night before. I was trying to convince him to join me for the round. He didn't want anything to do with it (it was pouring rain while we talked). He said it would be a miserable round and described to me what his experiences were in these conditions. However, I knew it would be sunny, I figured "so what" on the cart path only thing, and what's a little wind?

And I held that attitude up until the 11th where I hit the ball straight into the 15-20 mph wind (gusting to your ball flies backwards). What would normally have been a 220 - 230 yard drive to carry a creek ended up being a lay-up shot. It had landed on the left side about 10 feet off of the fairway in an area where there are some trees and mounds. Now the problem here is that the cart path is on the right side of the fairway and I could not see my ball. I considered how far I was from the hole and selected the STRONG 5W (hoping for a nice lie) and my hybrid (for a not-so-nice lie). I found my ball on the front slope of one of these mounds and there were trees blocking my approach. What I needed was a PW or 9i to get across the creek and in position to hit an approach shot.

The Wrong Choice...

I was playing well and brimming with confidence and figured I could hit an easy swing with the hybrid that would get me where I needed to be.

I don't know what I was thinking. How could I have thought that a ball hit with a 21* hybrid lying on a 30* slope pointing at the water would go anywhere other than the water?

I simply fell apart after that. I shagged my tee shot on the following hole (a par three) and then 3-putted. I hit two into the water on 14 for a 9 (par 5). Another shagged tee shot on a par 3... I'll spare you the rest... In the end, 58 on the back for a 106 round at The Battleground.

The Cause...

After the round I decided to hit a few balls on the range. After a few shot (shags) I realized that I was not keeping my head down and not keeping my eye on the ball. I struggled with this for some time and it required focus to overcome. Why is it that old habits come back in golf? Once I figured this out, I was hitting the ball beautifully.

Daddy Needs a New Pair of Shoes...

Another thing I did at the range was to waggle my stance until I felt I had a good grip on the ground with my feet. I don't wear golf shoes and I have been aware that I slip and come off balance especially with the driver. When I concentrated on "digging in" with my feet, I could really swing better and harder with more control and feel. This has convinced me that golf shoes will make a difference in my game. I have a sneaking suspicion that Santa has a Golf Galaxy gift card with my name on it so I'll wait until after the holidays to make the purchase.

One Last Thing...

I've mentioned the 1st at The Battleground several times and this time I took a photo with the W-10. The quality is pretty poor, but it's better than nothing.



There's always next time,
-Greg