Year One: Complete

It's late August 2012 and that means I've reached the one year mark since I first took up this game.  I'm looking forward to playing this weekend.  Looks like Salman, Soks, Naumann, and I will be playing Saturday morning (and hopefully we don't get rained out again).  Been an awesome year with way more highs than lows.  There were several walls that I hit where I thought about putting the clubs away but I kept at it and worked my way here.  My goal for next year is single digit handicap.  Let's get it!  But first!  Gotta fix the driver.

I've been struggling off the tee my last three rounds and I couldn't figure out why until my conversation with Salman about what's been going through my head lately with driving.  Ignoring my last three, the last 10 rounds have actually been really good.  After breaking 90 I shot mid to high 80s every time I stepped foot on a course and felt like I was getting closer and closer to shooting in the low-80s/high-70s, but three rounds ago my driver just fell apart and hasn't recovered.  Out of 64 holes played, I remember only one good drive.  

At first I thought it was just a mental thing; maybe I was trying too hard.  I realize now that the problem was after shooting in the 80s consistently I somehow convinced myself that I needed 300+ yard draws to bring my game to the next level.  I started working out more, started trying to swing in-to-out more, moved my ball position farther back in my stance, stood a little farther away from the ball, started swinging at 90-100% off the tee, and kept thinking draw, draw, draw, when everyone knows my natural shot with the driver has always been a fade.  

Less Like This Guy

Being seduced by the feeling of blasting a drive into outer space has been my Achilles heel this whole year.  I wanted the long ball so badly because I felt like it would earn me more street cred than a beastly short game.  My practice sessions turned into mostly driving exhibitions and sure enough my scores would stall out and ultimately start climbing.  Thinking back to the walls I hit this past year, I made the biggest progress when I toned the driver down and focused on putting, pitching, and chipping.  Improving my short game boosted my confidence and I started driving the ball better and better which then shifted my attention from the short game to those sick drives that split the fairway in half.  Then thoughts like "What if I hit it even farther?" started clouding my judgment.  Before you know it, my drives are ending up 60+ yards shorter than usual and pulled far right into the trees or duck-hooked over onto adjacent fairway and I'm calling friends complaining about the newest wall I've run into.  On the upside, my saves out of the jungle have improved but going low under branches on my way to the green isn't how I want to play the game.  

More Like This Guy

I really want to start shooting in the low 80s consistently.  Long ball isn't gonna get me there.  This weekend I'm going to go back to worrying about my accuracy from 150 yards & in, and hit my driver the way I feel most comfortable hitting it with my ball position back to where it was when I was shooting my lowest scores. 

70% Power, Middle of the Fairway.  

Grip It, and Rip It, Relax the Grip, Relax the Mind, and Swing Smoothly Through the Ball

Practice Your Putting,
-Juno