Grinding

Short Game

This entire time since my last post, I've been working hard on my short game. So many things I've been trying to get back my short game, and it's definitely been a frustrating challenge. I've tried slowing down my rhythm so I'm not so quick, then the next day I worked on rotating my clubface open on the backswing and holding it through impact so I wouldn't release it as much, then I worked on keeping my right shoulder higher and even more weight on my left side so I wouldn't chunk it, then I tried to make sure I was rotating my chest through to the target, etc. It's one of those things where I try something new for the day, think I've found it, then the next day I try it out, and it doesn't work. Then I'm forced to try something new.

Currently, I've widened my stance a little more, & I'm standing more square to the target. The idea behind this is so I wouldn't rotate around my body so much and make my chipping swing more like my full swing where even though it's still on an arc, it's a little more linear. I noticed a couple days ago when I recorded my swing on my camera, that my backswing was too far in the inside and then I would swing out after impact. I don't mind the shallow impact, but I felt that if I'm not on plane on my backswing, I lose the club on the downswing. I strengthened my left hand grip with advice by Dong for my full swing, so I decided to do that as well for my short game so that would help me feel "cupped" and keep the club more on plane rather than sucking back inside. As of yesterday, I feel like these changes of keeping it more simple and linear are working, and I will continue to explore it today.

Full Swing

My full swing is getting really good. I think the last post I mentioned that I was trying to feel steep going back to keep the club from getting laid off, then a "stomping" feeling in the ball of my left foot to feel the lateral transfer of weight to my left side so then I could drop the club in the inside. Well as I mentioned briefly in the previous paragraph, Dong has me strengthening my left hand grip so I would be able to cup my left wrist easier. My left hand grip was super weak from the previous year of me not wanting the ball to go left. But now, as I continue to work on cupping my wrist, that would have caused me to fight shots from going right with the weak grip. Now, not only is it easier to feel that cupped feeling, my swing, and my shots are right on target. I was looking at my swing with my friend's high speed Casio cameras (up to 1000fps) and my swing is looking great. More on plane going back and more shallow coming down.

Putting

I've been working hard on the putting, and out on the course, I'm making putts again. I haven't shot over par since playing with Chris from the proshop and the two Cactus Tour girls, Kyla & Allie. Honestly, nothing was going right for me that day.

But recently, I was with the usual crew of Dong, Michael, and Dirk and we were all hitting putts with a ball that has the line all around the circumference of the golf ball. If the ball is struck any less than pure, the ball's line doesn't roll tight or it oscillates. I found out by using Dong's putter which has grooves and about 1-2* of loft, the ball's line would roll tighter than my Scotty Cameron.

What ended up happening was that Dong took my Cameron to the golf ball washer and bent it down a few degrees. It was the coolest thing ever. He said that you can also do lie angles too. After he bent it, my putts were rolling tighter. He also suggested that I probably could get a better roll from my putts if I stopped "popping" my stroke. I experimented with that yesterday, and I feel like he may be right, but I had trouble releasing the putter with a slower feeling stroke like that. I'll continue to mess around with it.

Equipment

I've been using Mike's Taylormade R9 driver now, and I'm striping it way past all of the guys by at least 15 yards on the average. It's such a ridiculous driver. I did buy a Nike Victory Red 9.5 Driver and had my Diamana Whiteboard 83g X reshafted into the head. Unfortunately, I don't feel that it's as good of a set up so I ended up purchasing a Fujikura Motore F1 shaft (the same shaft that is in the R9) and the driver should be ready by today. So I can't wait to try that and see if the Nike works for me.

I also ordered a 58* wedge with 12* bounce and then had the bounce grinded down. I ordered that because Titleist is backordered on the 58* with 8* bounce until May 14th. The new wedge & new grooves is pretty sick. Honestly, the old 58* I was using was beat up to the point where it performed just like my new wedge with grooves that are less sharp & a smaller pitch and depth. I feel like I'm able to spin it still versus the complaints by Dong & Mike (I feel like they just chunk it sort of rather than having clean contact and that's why they're not spinning the ball as much as they would like).

Tournaments

I have my first one next week! I really hope to peak at the right time because it has been a few months since my last event. This is what really sucks by having no sponsor; I don't get into any playing rhythm and if a person plays poorly, then it will be a while for them to play again.

Constant Experimentation

Short Game

It seems like a constant battle for me in terms of knowing exactly what works for me and what doesn't. I go through phases of an amazing short game and then the opposite. In the past, mostly when I got "yippy" with my chipping or pitching, it was because of my rhythm. I wouldn't take a long enough backswing, get quick, and then I would jab at the ball. A few months ago, I wasn't turning my chest towards the target, and I could have been a little too steep into the ball. So recently, I've been working on sort of dragging the club lower on my takeaway so that would encourage a shallow angle of descent on the downswing. I've also been working on keeping my rhythm from being too quick.

Putting

I'm in need of working on my putting more than I have been. I had a good practice session yesterday, but it needs to be more consistent. It's tough to ration the hours in the day when I'm working on some things in my full swing.

Full Swing

Right now, I'm working on making the club steep during the last 1/4 of my backswing to keep from the club getting laid off and then keeping my swing short because when my arms continue to swing as my shoulders stop, I believe that also contributes to it being laid off and loose at the top of the swing. So that's what I'm working on in the backswing, then on the downswing I want to have a lateral shift first so my arms can drop and shallow out the club on the backswing. Dong wants me to feel as if I'm stomping my left foot (ball of the foot) on the ground to initiate the downswing and then feel as though my hips are closed. It seems to be helping, but today, I decided to feel the clubhead on the downswing as if it's looping way shallow and from the inside of the swing. This seemed to work pretty well so we shall see how it works tomorrow. It's a different sensation trying to feel the clubhead rather than concentrating on an arm position or the shaft angle.

I finally got my new set of irons (Titleist AP2 3-PW) and then my wedges. The only exception is that they didn't send me my 58* wedge that I ordered and so I had to call Titleist up for them to tell me that the club is most likely on backorder.

WTF

So I have been playing pretty solid golf lately without shooting over par for the longest time. I know the things I'm working on are making me better, but the last couple times I have gone out to play have been awful. It is absolutely one of the most confusing things. My theory is possibly a loss of focus or maybe it's just plain complacency. Today, I played, and it was much better; but those two rounds prior are just making me scratch my head.

I recently ordered business cards in the event I find a potential sponsor or for networking purposes.

I contacted a couple of private golf clubs here to see if they had some caddying positions available in hopes to network and find sponsors. Whisper Rock contacted me back, and I may get to caddy for a tournament in mid-April. Hopefully, I can meet the right people.

Full Swing

I'm still working on ingraining that left & right shoulder move, and now I'm working on keeping my backswing shorter.

Short Game

It's been yippy lately. I'm just so indecisive and lack confidence right now. I need to work on getting better at seeing the shot & committing to it. Rather than worrying about hitting it bad.

Putting

I'm pretty sure my lag putts today sucked because I was decelerating. I'll have to work on that. Mid-range and short putts were solid.

Haha it's getting good . . .

I finally purchased a brand new set of clubs through Titleist's Tour Department's purchasing program. The clubs are about 50% off the price of retail so I placed the order for a 3-PW set of the AP2's with KBS tour golf shafts. I had them 2* flat so it should all be tailored to my specs. I decided to switch to KBS golf shafts after trying Dong's and feeling how great they felt. The shafts also launch the ball a little higher so that would help with my long irons versus the Project X Rifle Flighted irons I currently use. I then purchased a 52* & 58* wedge, both with 8* bounce, & the conforming grooves. When they arrive, I'll probably give the 58* a c-grind.

In other news, Ai Miyazato won the last two events on the LPGA Tour! I texted her after both wins, but I don't believe that I can text internationally. When she comes back into the states, I'll need to get her email so I can stay in contact. Her last win paid for our kids' playroom & the guest house . . . haha

Full Swing

I've been working on the same shoulders feeling for quite some time now, and my swing is looking really good. I now incorporated a cupped feeling in my left wrist to help get the club on plane at the top of my swing and keep it from getting laid off. My swing is more shallow on its descent into the ball, and I'm happy at how it's progressing.

Short Game & Putting

I took a lesson with Penny Pultz recently and we looked at the putting alignment with the laser and realized that I don't need a different hosel for my putter because I am aligned very square to my target (due to the assistance of the ruler drill).

As for chipping, I have to better develop my holistic approach towards practicing, analyzing, and executing an equilibrium during my shots. What can happen is people become narrow focused and concentrate too hard on one specific aspect, such as thinking solely about the line of a putt or the backswing of my chipping and that causes the person to have the other aspects of executing the shot suffer. For this reason, we hit bad shots or they don't come out the way we intended. In other words, don't become narrow focused and give more attention to any aspect of the shot than others.

Technically, I have added more pressure or weight on my target-side foot and have become more conscious of the bottom of my swing arc as I take practice swings. Impact contact has seemed to have improved and combining the teachings of Penny, I'm feeling pretty good. I'm starting to make more putts again and the last time that I went out and played with Mike, he was saying how solid everything appears to be coming.

Clicking?

Full Swing
The past couple of days I have been working on this new feeling that Dong wants me to do. A couple of days ago, I asked him to take a look at my swing and see what he thought of me shifting my hips & then dropping my arms. He said it looked good, but he wanted me to try something. First, on the backswing, I was to feel as though my left shoulder would dip towards the ball. Secondly, on my downswing, I was to mirror that feeling in my right shoulder. At first I hit a few shots, and it was kind of achieving what he wanted me to accomplish but I could tell that he knew I needed more understanding of what exactly I was to be doing. He put a club across my chest and dissecting my shoulders. I then took my backswing, the club represented where my left shoulder was pointing, and it was to be pointed at the ball. As I started my downswing and approached the ball he showed me that I need to have the other end of the club, which represented my right shoulder, pointed at the ball.

Immediately the next few balls after knowing this sensation were amazing. The swing looked amazing. Both Dong & the onlooking Grant & Martin were impressed. I was no longer laid off at the top because having that sensation in my left shoulder kept my shoulders from leveling out the little bit that they did to get my club laid off. Then, on my downswing, I no longer came out of the shot. I also was able to release the club properly rather than my old compensation of holding it off.

I worked on it today in the AZ rain, and it looks like it's achieving what I've been trying to get to all these years. So many things I was trying to fix (laid off, steep downswing, open shoulders at impact, coming out of the shot, holding off my release, etc.) seem to be corrected all in sensations that I grasped immediately. The keys I was trying to work on before (shifting hips & then dropping my arms) were the right things, but there was a disconnect & to get used to all those moves would have taken days, weeks, or who knows how long. On the other hand, understanding what my shoulders were doing and what I have to do now, seems to have just clicked, & I'm very excited!

Short Game
Interesting thing was that I incorporated all the same sensations in the full swing into my short game because I felt that I used to come over the top & would skull the shot from time to time. So far, it has the same amazing results! Can't wait to keep working on it and see how good I can get.

Getting flattened
Since my swing is now properly more shallow than before, I no longer need the 2* upright lie angle on my clubs. So Grant, Michael, and I went to Dong's place to have all our clubs' lofts & lies adjusted, clubs cut down, & other club repair work done. I changed all my clubs to Dong's specs (2* down) which essentially were 4* difference from what I had before.

So far, I'm loving how the sole goes through the turf now. Especially with my wedges on chips & pitches. This is all really, really exciting.

Ugh, ok . . .

Full Swing

So I was hitting balls on the range today and then I decided to take some shots at the ball picker. It was interesting because this is what started everything today. My friends Michael & Grant were watching me and as soon as I flighted my low, piercing stinger shots at the ball picker they both were like "whoa, your right arm position was awesome". Eventually, I tried to do it again, had them video tape it, and then they went on to talk about how with my real swing, my shoulders and my hips both rotate together rather than the hips leading first. This was something that I knew I did, but I thought I've improved on. I guess not.

So they showed me that I needed to create separation between my hips and my shoulders. I would have to clear my hips first, then drop my arms in the inside while staying covered over the ball. As soon as I had an understanding of what they wanted from me (and remembering what Mike Malaska showed me a long time ago) I was starting my shots right of my target and stopped coming over the top. I really had to feel as though my hips would shift laterally, fire, and at the same time, keep my shoulders closed as I dropped my arms down into the ball. A couple of weeks ago, Martin White & Jessi Gebhardt pointed out that I should try to keep my back to the target as long as possible. Well today, Michael wanted me to accomplish the same thing, but I believe I learn better when I understand the positions that I'm supposed to be in. Rather than being told certain sensations I should feel to achieve a position; to me, that's backwards to how I learn.

Short Game

I worked more on what I learned in the past few days with the tee drill, but I still felt the over the top skull shot from time to time and felt as though I was trying to pull my shots. Sure enough, I have been aiming right of my target and pulling my shots. I worked on my aim, and it seems to be working towards a better, more consistent impact.

Putting

I've been working on the same things for the past few weeks on alignment and producing a more consistent stroke with the putting plane, but I still feel as though my alignment with a different putter would make things easier. I feel as though I can putt well with the Scotty Cameron Newport 2 model that I have, but I feel like I would be even better with a putter that fit my eye better. I will need to take a lesson with Penny Pultz again soon to get fitted on the fit-to-aim putter system. At the time when she showed me a brief demo of the concept, I really didn't believe it too much. But now, I've been working hard, and I've looked at different putters with different necks and feel that there is some weight to the whole theory.

Progress

Full Swing

I've been working on the same things of keeping my arms in front of my body to help lay down the club on a flatter plane. My ball striking is slowly getting back to where it used to be, and I know that soon enough it will be even better with my misses being smaller.

I'm hitting more balls than I was before I started working on this in efforts to learn the moves more quickly. I also noticed and started working on shortening my backswing because I was overswinging before which I feel leads to some inconsistency. I've been working a little with the baseball drill to give me the feeling of hand rotation, freeing up my arms by keeping them in front of me, and a flatter plane. It's a good drill for the things that I need to work on because my club was slightly shut, I dipped a little on the downswing, and my plane was steep.

Short Game

I started doing this drill that I did a couple years ago where I would place three tees on the green and chip to the front one, middle, the back, and then in between the three tees. After accomplishing that, I would chip to the tees, but instead of rolling the ball to the tees, I work on carrying the ball to the tee.

It helped me notice for one, that I was not as sharp as I should be, and that a lot of my skulled shots was caused by me coming in with the leading edge causing me to come out of the shot for fear of digging into the ground. Also, I had trouble controlling the shots as they were rolling too far and appeared to have draw spin on them. A few days ago I was working on rotating the face open on my backswing and it seemed to work because it allowed for a little more bounce to come into play, but that was only half of the equation. What I realized yesterday was that my mechanics were slightly off: I wasn't using the bounce properly, and I was releasing the club too much. Therefore, I worked on keeping the bounce consistent through the shot and not releasing the club as much.

Putting

I noticed a slight trickle down from the lack of confidence in my ball-striking influencing what was my spectacular putting. I've been working on trying to not let that happen, but it's difficult. I've still been working on the same ruler drill, the putting plane, and making at least a third of my putts around a hole. I reminded myself to stay relaxed, exude a confident setup, and I believe those things help make putting easier.

Titleist Purchasing Program

I've been emailing Cindy Hogge of Titleist with my scheduling information and proof of membership on legitimate mini-tours. I recently had Will, from the All-American Tour, send me a letter that I forwarded to Cindy which showed that I will be a full-time member of the All-American Tour in 2010. I then revamped my schedule to reach the minimum requirement of 15 events of 36 holes or more. I'm hoping to hear back from her tomorrow and hopefully it satisfies all their requirements so I can start purchasing some clubs at PUD prices.

Nike Driver

I sent my old, cracked-faced Nike driver back to the factory and hopefully it's still under warranty & they'll replace it with the new Nike Victory Red Driver. I'll probably then talk to Richard Lee & see if I can swap that factory driver with a Tour version. Currently, my Nike Dymo driver is optimum with really low spin & a great launch. I get compliments about my driver's ball flight all the time.

Events

I wanted to play in the WM Phoenix Open, but I didn't end up signing up due to the fact that I need to purchase a brand new set of clubs. Once I decided I wouldn't play, I then started to work on shallowing out my downswing. Yesterday, though, I did sign up for the Scottsdale Healthcare Charity Pro-Am which is in April. It's a great event with the entry being $50 more this year at $350, but the winner takes $15,000. Amateurs pay around $900 I believe for an entry so it's great to be a pro

Taxes

I will need to file for my taxes soon and my friends Grant & Michael Schnegelberger told me that I need keep track of all my golf expenses (training aids I purchase, clubs, event entry fees, gas used for every event, etc.) because it is a job, and I can get money back from it. For this reason, I'm probably going to opt for the more traditional route of tax filing rather than online like last year.