Wednesday, June 24th — 9 Holes at South Suburban
Started on the range and was struggling early — shanking and chunking my irons and not really knowing what I was doing wrong. Pulled out the driver to reset the feel, and that actually helped. Been hitting the driver really well lately, finding the fairway consistently. Got the irons figured out after that. Went to the range early to work on some of my lesson plan. Only real thoughts I’m working these days, no sway, turn the hips, come thru the ball and finish on the front foot.
Hole 1 (Par 4) — Drive went left into the trees. Second shot was blocked out under a branch, which put me in trouble from the jump. Walked away with a triple bogey. Rough start.
Hole 2 (Par 5) — Bounced back nicely. Good drive through the fairway, followed by a really solid iron shot onto the green in regulation. Two-putted for par.
One thing I want to make a note of. I’m much better at shaking off the bad shots and just moving on to the next one. A bad shot used to really derail my round the rest of the holes. Now I can recover and move on. Very happy about that, hope I don’t jinx it, haha.
Hole 3 — Another decent drive. Hit a good second shot but overclubed — not sure what I was thinking there — and flew the green. Still managed to two-putt for par. Felt like a bit of a gift.
The overclub is a good sign I guess, with hitting the ball more consistent its nice to see the shots go too far and not always end up short.
Hole 4 (Long Par 3) — Missed the green left, chipped short, then three-putted. Double bogey. The putter continues to be a question mark. Still getting used to the Scotty — it feels short for my height at 35 inches, and I just haven’t found a comfortable feel with it yet.
How long do I continue to use my current putter before its time to try something else? Got a gift card for fathers day, may need to go try a couple of different ones just for feel.
Hole 5 (Par 5)– Nice drive, decent second shot, very nice 3rd on to the green. Another green in regulation, definitely seeing more of those these days.
Hole 6 (Par 4)— Pushed the drive right but got past the trees, so no real damage. Didn’t strike the second shot clean, but it still found its way near the green. Chipped above the hole — which is the wrong place to be on these greens.
Big reminder: this course plays heavily front-to-back uphill, and anything past the hole leaves a brutally fast downhill putt. Need to remember to play to the front half.
Hole 7 (Long Par 3) — I hit a nice shot right at the green. Its elevated so its hard to see where the shot ends up until you get to the green. Ended up above the hole again. Need to club down on these long par 3s and keep the ball below the hole. Once again, seeing better distance.
Hole 8 — Decent drive, that found the sand. Second shot short of the green. Got up and down with a solid chip to tap-in range. Bogey.
Hole 9 — Decent drive to set it up, then hit the shot of the day. 175 yards out, flushed a 6-iron — best strike of the round. Ball landed just right of the green and fed down to 3 feet. Rolled it in for birdie. Nearly an eagle. Great way to close.
Takeaway: Still not scoring great, but there’s real improvement showing up since the last lesson — ball contact is noticeably better and that’s the foundation. Some holes are still frustrating, especially the par 3s and the putter situation. Probably hitting the simulator a few times this weekend, and next lesson is Wednesday, July 1st.