April Update...

Ramblings…

I’ve been struggling for the past few weeks. What initially seemed like a simple swing change from very flat to somewhat steep has proved more difficult than it initially appeared. It has turned into a bad case of the shanks where my wrists lock up when I come down. The result is shanked shots way right.

Scramble at Green Caye...

What complicated things were that I played in a scramble on Friday and the days leading up to it were spent battling these shanks. It seemed I had it licked, but we decided to play a few holes before the tournament and on number two I shanked it. To make matters worse, our starting hole ended up being number two – a return to the scene of the crime with fairly predictable results. I shanked several tee shot during the tournament, but my chipping and putting were solid. The conditions were extremely windy and we came in at +4 where E won the event. We were +1 till nine where we both hit our tee shots OB on the right and we carded a triple for the hole.

The tournament was four-man scramble with each team split into pairs. Each pair would play scramble format and then you would use best ball score between the two two-man teams.

My trouble with the shanks was just the beginning of my mental breakdown at the tournament. We were paired with a couple of younger guys (early twenties) and I sort of got off on the wrong foot with them. I’m normally pretty fun to play with, even in a tournament format, but these guys would think of me as a jerk by the end of our first hole.

I hit short, my teammate hit the green, one of the guys hit right, and the other hit long. They decided to go with the shot that went right yet the guy who hit long was taking practice swings at his ball. I asked to clarify which ball they were playing and they said the one to the right. When the one guy addressed the ball that was long, I again asked. He said they were taking the ball that was right but he was just going to play his out anyway. I told him he couldn’t do that because this was a tournament and you can’t hit extra practice or fun shots.

So, now I’m a bit of a jerk. We get to putting and the same guy makes his team’s first attempt at a bogey putt and comes up a foot short. Then he taps it in. I tell him that they were done with a double because he tapped in. They felt the other guy should have a shot at the bogey putt, but I countered that because he tapped in, it counts as a shot. And now I’m a big jerk as far as their concerned. To make matters worse, my playing partner felt I was being a little harsh as well, so it really weighed on my mind throughout the round.

Working out the Kinks…

In the last few days I’ve hit fewer shanks (with tremendous recovery shots) and my confidence is returning. My swing is pretty solid and about as steep as I want it to be. I’m taking nice divots, ball contact is solid, and distance is as good as it’s ever been even with the old set. My putting is better after a bad bout of three putts. It has been 39 holes since my last three putt. I hope I can extend that considerably to bring that stat back down.

I Likey My New Stuff...

In other news, I’ve made a few purchases since the beginning of the year:

Bridgestone J33 2 iron ($42 shipped)
Bridgestone J33 52* wedge ($44 shipped)
Bridgestone J33R 10.5* driver w/UST Proforce V2 ultralight 57g stiff shaft 45.5 in ($153 shipped)
Adidas golf shoes ($31 shipped)
The Inner Game of Golf by Timothy Gallwey ($8 shipped)

All of these items were purchased on eBay.

I’ve really been enjoying the www.masters.org online coverage. The Interesting to see some of the training aids these guys use on the range.

These ramblings have now reached their conclusion…

For now anyways.
-Greg