My playing season has gotten off to a slow start this year as family and work obligations have conspired to keep me off the course. As a result, I am feeling quite anxious. I got out for eighteen on a particularly warm day in March, and since then have played just two nines—both in my Friday golf league.
In spite of the crippling lack of playing time, however, I managed to shoot a 45 in league competition last night. My partner and I had to give 15 shots to the opposing team, but still managed to beat them 7 to 2 (My partner shot a 52 overall, but our opponents both shot in the 60s).
Without any time to practice or play, I’ve tried to keep my swing thoughts to a minimum: shorten the backswing and follow through.
It’s working so far. I hit six of nine fairways and six greens in regulation. My two massive failures—and where my score went up to 45—came on the par threes. I mishit both off the tee, and paid a heavy toll. My putting also is letting me down. I never, ever, three putt and yet last night, it seemed the rule. In my defense, though, my partner commented several times that the greenskeeper must have been hung over and constipated when he choose the day’s pin positions. It seemed as though each was cut on a ridge line—and in the worst possible corners of the green. Everyone was three- and sometimes four-putting. One of our opponents four putted from six feet—and I’m not sure I could have done better from his position.
Unfortunately, this next week doesn’t look any better than the last several. I’m hoping that I can get out for a quick nine after work on Thursday—or if things break extraordinarily well, on Monday. Barring that, I think I’ll try to spend some time at my local pro shop’s green with the putter.
Discover more from GolfBlogger Golf Blog
Subscribe to get the latest posts to your email.
For me, putting and my short game take some time to get on track each Spring. Driving and iron play are usually more steady even after a layoff.
Don’t loss confidence, the putting will come around. I was putting terribly until Friday, when I had a 28-putt round with several birdies. It just takes time to get the feel back.
Have you found that the lessons you took a year ago made a difference in your game? Did you actually incorporate any changes into your swing?
The upshot of the lessons I took at Black Lake and later at Fox Hills was that I need to shorten my backswing and concentrate on following through completely. I was also told I needed to work on my alignment.
I had mixed results last summer, but upon reflection over the winter, I think that was the result of adding too many other thoughts into the mix. So now, its just line up, short backswing, follow through.
The short backswing feels incredibly awkward, truth be told—as though I couldn’t possibly build up enough speed to propel the ball a decent distance. That’s not true, of course, but I’m still trying to get over the feeling.