If you have spent any time on this blog, you will have noticed that a time-honored tradition is for players to post "after-action" reports of their round that day. They almost always draw responses from other Surgites who offer up advice, accolades or condolences, if that's what is called for. I find these exchanges interesting and if you pay attention to them, and don't dismiss them out of hand, you can learn a lot about the game. Today's post comes from just such an after-action report. It was posted a while back by Keith Kent, a frequent commentator on these pages and someone who is dedicated to playing better golf. [You'll note that when I read his comment on camera, I left out his opening line as there's no way I could duplicate the sound correctly!]
"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrhhhhhggggggg..............
Wow, one of those days on the course today! I went on the range this morning and my driving was the best it has been, so I was well confident. Got to the course and the irons killed me! I don't know what happened, whether my swing went loosey-goosey or what. I noticed I made lots of divots and hit the ground, hit some really bad iron shots that I thought I wasn't capable of. I think I am getting more movement with a bump but think maybe my upper body is going forward. I guess it is another progression that I have to go to. It made me so mad though and I actually hit out at one point and gave the hole up! What I can take away is my drives were OK, apart from one bad one, and I didn't do any damage, in fact on the range it got boring as most were good.
See what the next outing brings."
If you're like most people, you'll have had days where your warm up on the practice tee seemed to go quite well. Shot after shot launched down range with satisfying trajectories and distance. Then once you get out on the course you start mishitting ball after ball and feel like you left all of your "good" shots on the range. When one of my students tells me this, I ask them if, before every shot they hit on the range, they picked out a target, walked in to the ball using their normal approach and setup routines. Invariably, they answer in the negative. They just stood there and hit ball after ball and were pleased that they were able to launch them nicely and that they landed somewhere in front of them. Are you getting the picture on what's the problem here? I'll give you a hint: it is the #1 reason amateurs hit poor shots. That's right--it's the Big A again. Alignment. If you are not practicing your alignment when you are on the range, then you are really wasting your time. So when you get on the course and start hitting poor shots it should come as no surprise because you haven't properly practiced your setup technique.
In Keith's case, he doesn't specifically mention what he did to warm up before the round, but +35 years of teaching tells me that he probably didn't groove his setup before the round. When he got into his match, there was a "gap" between his Intended Alignment and his Actual Alignment. If this happens, your brain can sense that something is off as you begin your swing and it makes subtle adjustments to get you back closer to your Intended Alignment path. This throws off your timing and your tempo and a whole bunch of other bad things cascade from there.
If you hit a good, solid shot and it doesn't go where you intended it to go, don't move your feet and immediately place your club across your toes. Then step back and check your alignment. Chances are you'll see that you weren't lined up correctly, parallel left. And if you hit a poor shot, do the same. I stress the importance of doing this to all of my students and yet, for some reason, most never do it. They just keep on going hole after hole, making the same kind of swing mistakes. So the next time this happens to you, do check your alignment and then invoke Secret #5 Who cares? Make sure you have your setup nailed on the next shot and make a good swing.
Keep it vertical!
The Surge
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Comments
I always thought I had a
I always thought I had a pretty good eye and for the most part I do. I was out on the course a couple of days ago and was hitting some shots way off target, so,ÃÂ I deceided to give the alignmentÃÂ test a try and Lo and behold I could'nt believe my eyes, I was way off. Looks like I will be carrying a stick with me until I can get it straight.ÃÂ
Excellent Raymond. This is a
Excellent Raymond. This is a way to take our range game to the course. Super idea.
Involves imagination, memory and creativity. All this will develope our visualzation and feel. Ultimately what seperates the mechanics from the magicians like the Tiger of old.
Developing the minds eye.................love it, thanks.
Lynn, I'm sure you've
Lynn, I'm sure you've mentioned it but where do you live? I heard they had 2 inches of snow in Centeral Park, NY. Yes, winter has arrived in many parts of the north/northeast. You better buy orange balls that glow in that white stuff!! lol !
Interesting subject
Interesting subject concerning taking our range game to the course. Surge mentioned how he encourages us to check our alignment and go through our normal set up routine on the range, picking out targets and then doing the same on the golf course. I have been doing my best to follow this advice. What I have been doing is hitting a variety of shots to various targets and working the ball too on the range. In other words not allowing myself to just get into what is called "range rythym". It is easy after a while to hit our target if we just keep pounding the same 9 iron to the same target, ball after ball. The reality is that it is NEVER that way on the golf course. We have 5-15 minutes between shots and then 1-2 minutes of focused concentration on ONE shot and one swing or stroke before we wait another 5-15 minutes to hit our next shot.
Additionaly we never face the same shot twice in a row. Point is if we really want to take our "range game" to the course we need to get it to mimic our course realities more closely. Again hit a few draws,ÃÂ some fades, some low and some high while constantly switching clubs and targets. Try visualizing our shots and "seeing" trees and obsticles on the practice area. And as Don says we need to ALWAYS have a target and always set up before each shot otherwise we're wasting our time or just "hitting balls".
On the practice greens try playing just one ball to each hole, again just like real golf. Make it a game and see if you can average 2 or less putts per hole as "make up" a mini putting course. We won't have a second or third chance on the actual course to get the break and the speed right. Challenge yourself and your practice (playing partners ) at some of these 'games' and you may have fun and be course ready too.
PMG (weather permiting!)
I recall going into Chicago
I recall going into Chicago several years ago when there was about 8 inches of snow on the ground.ÃÂ We passed what obviously was a golf course and there were three guys in heavy coats and woolen hats playing golf -- with orange tennis balls that would not sink in the snow!!ÃÂ That was dedication.
LOL..Thanks for the
LOL..Thanks for the suggestion.ÃÂ Followthrough on skis could be tricky.
IÃÂ drove to PA tuesday to play with my son-in-law's Dad and played in shorts in kinda windy conditions in the low 60s.ÃÂ It was just my contrary nature refusing to admit that summer is over. ;0)ÃÂ Weather channe said this is the first time we've had snow here in NJ since 1952 and I'm taking full blame for tempting mother nature by wearing shorts.
Didn't score very well.ÃÂ ÃÂ My putter was a disaster...lol.ÃÂ Driver was good off the tee, missed one fairway.ÃÂ Thanks ,Doc.ÃÂ I stayed away from my 3 wood, hitting my 3 and 4 hybridsÃÂ ÃÂ off the fairway instead and hit them the best I've hit all year.ÃÂ They were solid and long.ÃÂ As Surge said, the only time I got in trouble with them was the big "A".ÃÂ I dropped the club at my feet each time and sure enough it was alignment.ÃÂ
I have my fingers crossed for some warm weather to melt this white stuff.ÃÂ I'm not ready to put the clubs away til next spring.
Very true Robert.I hardly
Very true Robert.
I hardly ever get to practice on a range, since there isn't one close, but I do practice shots up to 150 yards in the yard.
I have gotten into a bad habit this year of hitting off of a fairly level lie most of the time when I practice. I have noticed when out on the course that I am not nearly as good off of very sloped lies as I used to be when my "practice" consisted of playing actual rounds of golf from daylight to dark with many, many "extra" shots from all kinds of lies.
Now I am trying to find different slopes in the yard to hit off of to try to get some of that ability back.
I remember watching a show on the Golf Channel a few years back where different people had golf inventions and it was a contest to see who had the best invention. One had a hitting mat mounted on a circular base that could be rotated to simulate sloped lies from above the feet, below the feet, downhill and uphill. Their invention didn't win but I remember thinking it was pretty neat.
Was it cold and windy up
Was it cold and windy up there today?
It was 38 degrees when we started the round and very windy. It warmed up a little as the day went by but the wind also got stronger. Very tough to score well today. I felt like I may have had more skill than ever but only made one birdie.
The weird thing was that I probably putted at least as well as I ever have overall but I missed a 5 foot birdie putt on hole 1 and a 2 foot birdie putt on hole 14.
Except for those 2 inexplicable misses I knocked down almost everything else I had a chance at making.
I may have nightmares about the 2 footer. I was starting to bend over to get it out of the hole and it slid by on the right. (I thought it was dead center).;-)
The wind was so strong that on one hole I hit my 180 yard club on a 132 yard shot and hit it perfectly solid and by the time the wind got done with it I was 5 yards short and 5 yards left of the green.
We played that "shamble" thing again after the round and I drained a 25 footer on the last hole to win the money by one stroke. (Whew!)
P.S. My "warm up" consisted of crouching down behind the building out of the wind, putting the clubs on the cart, riding to the first tee, taking two practice swings, and hitting my first tee shot.
It was way too cold and windy to even hit any acorns into the lake, which was our normal warmup lately. ;-)
Thanks T, the laptop I am on
Thanks T, the laptop I am on now interestingly doesn't do it and is on firefox, just got to see what I was using in my other laptop which I think I am primarily having the issue on.
Cheers Keith
I'm still looking for
I'm still looking for something a little closer to perfection with the driver myself. I am hitting it fairly well but I'm not hitting very many fairways. I just don't trust what I'm doing enough to aim down the middle and even though I am trying to hit the fairway I am trying to hit it as far away from the side with the most trouble (usually OB) as I possibly can. On several holes I just aim at the adjacent fairway. That "philosophy" is actually working much better than throwing away holes with OB shots but it's not what I really want. There are some courses that I occasionally play that don't afford that option and both sides are in the swamp.
It's probably never going to get to where I trust what I am doing unless I can either start playing a whole lot or get to a driving range.
Everything else in my game is probably about as good as I can ever expect to play.
When in your back yard range
When in your back yard range hittig balls it looks like you are placing the ball off your right heel. Need a new camera angle.
Hey Surge,I have been using
Hey Surge,
I have been using the PPGS for about two years now and I have been playing the best golf I have played for some time. Lately here in the northe east we have had rain, rain, rain and today we had snow. My question is this, "What kind of adjustments should be made for hit the ball off of very wet ground. I mean casual water on the entire fairway. I have found lately I have either chunked the ball, miss it or skull it when the graound is very wet, I want to know does ball placement in the stance radically effect the shot on very wet ground?
Joel Wilcher a.k.a. barneyg4ÃÂ
Tom,Lol, never thought of
Tom,
Lol, never thought of that.ÃÂ A number of years ago when I first took up the game I went out on cold day in Feb, no snow on the ground and frozen fairways.ÃÂ Played in a wool hat and winter gloves and reached a par 5 in 2 (lol, only time that ever happened).ÃÂ Getting about aÃÂ 100 yards of roll/skid is great for my ego. ;0)ÃÂ ÃÂ I did split a ball in half on the second tee.ÃÂ I'm sure there's a rule that covers that, but I gave myself a mulligan and NO, I did not take a penalty stroke. ;0))ÃÂ
Snow is pretty much melted here so I'm thinking I may just give it a shot today.ÃÂ
Keith,
Keith,
Next time you go to the range before your game, I find that if I have a minds eye picture of the holes on the course I am to play, the holes that have ever caused me grief, I play that hole on the range until I get it right! driver five iron wedge, and I keep at them until I know they are the right flight and aim etc.
Worth a try
Regards
Raymond
Sydney Aust.
Click on this link, read the
Click on this link, read the comment, and pay special attention to number 2.
http://www.swingsurgeon.com/Da...
My best advice to you in that
My best advice to you in that case would be to go back to bed.ÃÂ You ain't gonna have much fun.
you don't count the strokes
you don't count the strokes on the range
Surely we will have some more
Surely we will have some more warm weather before winter sets in for good.
(I sure hope so anyway). ;-)
hey guys, in Charlotte I can
hey guys, in Charlotte I can play most of the year and have usually worn the 'old fashioned' clothes. Silk under shirt, wool, etc. I like the lightweight of the new fabrics but don't know about the usability. Do I get a longsleeve performance shirt to wear under my regular golf shirt? Can I wear a poly t-shirt under a poly longsleeve shirt or am I canceling something out?
ÃÂ ÃÂ ÃÂ ÃÂ Looking to improve my fashion sense, thanks.
I don't have any really great
I don't have any really great answers to the course conditions you are talking about but there are some things I do that help me on those days.
I take an extra club and use an even more shallow path to the ball than I normally use (which is very shallow anyway).
I use a slightly slower tempo and try to "pick" the ball cleanly with that shallow path. (ABSOLUTELY NO DIVOTS).
Stay away from chip shots with wedges if at all possible. My other irons are much less likely to have the leading edge dig in behind the ball if I make a slight mistake and hit the ball a little fat. Even a bump and run with a fairway wood or a hybrid is sometimes the safest play on chips.
My wife has all hybrids in her bag and she is absolutely great on those shots. I told my son only half jokingly that she may be the best in the world on those shots. Ha ha!
Probably as important as anything else: Know that the scoring conditions are not good and other players are likely having many of the same problems I'm having. Just keep plugging away with the game under control and not give away strokes by taking unnecessary chances, especially around the greens.
It's not going to be easy on those days and clean contact ball striking are at a premium. All I can say is that the better I get with my ball striking the "easier" those conditions are to play.
Lynn, about 7 years or so ago
Lynn, about 7 years or so ago, My oldest & a couple of his friends were playing a round in late December on the valley course of the RTJ trail in Birmingham. Ironically,also on a par 5, when I hit my 2nd from the first cut with a 3 wood. The ball took off dead on line for the green and about 150 yards down range it started acting like an aerobatic airplane. It looped and cut to the right and dropping from that maneuver rose slightly and rolled to the left and just fell from the sky. It had split at the equator and then up towards the north pole and that quadrant was barely attached to the rest of the ball. That wilson staff now resides in my ball rack on the wall behind me.
I live in central NJ.ÃÂ
I live in central NJ.ÃÂ West of me they got about 10 inches of snow and there were 250,00 customers without power tonight.ÃÂ The governor has declared a state of emergency to keep cars off the road.ÃÂ Temps should be in the mid 40s tomorrowÃÂ so hopefully some of this will melt.ÃÂ The course I played in PA, Green Pond near Bethlehem, was supposed to get around 10 inches.
Funny that you and Steve mention orange golf balls as the guy I played with thought he had some in his bag, but left them home.ÃÂ We did have some fun looking for balls in the leaves and orange may have helped.ÃÂ The sun gets low this time of year and it can be tough if you're not in the fairway.ÃÂ The course did a good job of keeping the fairways clear, but with the wind it was tough.
Steve:
Steve:
ÃÂ I remember seeing that too. Wonder why they cancelled that program series. I thought it was rather interesting to watch. Anyway you made me curious as to whether they ever started production on the device.
http://www.practicerange.com/H...
ÃÂ A bit expensive for the average home user.
PMG
Lol, Steve.ÃÂ From your
Lol, Steve.ÃÂ From your keyboard to mother nature's ears.
Thanks for picking me up
Thanks for picking me up Surge, That day you mention was very frustrating as my range practice left me full of confidence so to go straight on the course after and play badly was a killer and left me very confused.
You are probably very right about alignment and I do pay attention to alignment before and after the shot so this got me thinking.
On the range alignment is made loads easier due to square mats and the repitition of the shots, on a course every shot is so different and varied that it almost makes alignment impossible!
ÃÂ I did drop the club to my feet on one shot and it was good so I know I have many other issues to conquer as well as alignment. I by a long shot haven't got the swing down yet but I am determined to stick with it and hopefully be still contributing to the blog in years to come.
Cheers Keith Kent
Keith:
Keith:
I have and have had the same problem for a year or more, but only in Internet Explorer OS. I run three different systems on my desk top, IE, Google Chrome, and Firefox. Of the three operating systems, Firefox is by far the best and has the least problems. I recommend you download Firefox, it's a free download and also has a much better RSS Feed page of Latest Comments.
Firefox Download:
http://www.getfirefox.net/
Firefox RSS Feed Page:
http://www.google.com/reader/v...
Hey, Steve, maybe you can
Hey, Steve, maybe you can help me out with this situation as well.ÃÂ About 5 inches of snow on the ground and 40 MPH wind gusts here today.ÃÂ Assuming I can find a dog sled to get me to the course, should I tee off with snowshoe or crosscountry ski?ÃÂ ÃÂ lol
Off the tee, instead of using
Off the tee, instead of using snow shoes or skis, how about a snow board. With the forward foot at 45degs[or more like DJ] and the rear foot 30deg. With a quick release on the rear foot.That would allow you to make a perfect PPGS swing-choke, chortle, chuckle!
hahaha. Then you could be towed to your ball ; - ]ÃÂ Sun on the way, the Golf Gods have spoken.
Keith, A timely reminder for
Keith, A timely reminder for all of us, me included. Will go to the course today and play a few holes, paying particular attention to alignment. On the back deck a few minutes ago and swung the club up in the BUS, noting in the shadow [certainly is my friend today] that I was going back into the SBG, da*n it! After yesterday's holes, that thought had crossed my mind on reflecting later. Just sat and re-adjusted the weights on my old r7 Quad, to see if it makes any difference at all.Hit it yesterday 3finger widths down the shaft [as recommmended] and had straight to a very, very slight fades on the shots that went well.
On the alignment issue. Bought some thin garden stakes, they reside in the back of the car.They will be heading back into the bag today, no arguments there.
On the square mats etc at the range? In China, I deliberately aimed at targets at 45*degrees or even more from my bay. Find a time when there are fewer folk there and alternate your targets.Play a round on the range,ie, hit a drive, FW or long iron next and then an approach shot. Mix it up and play the course you play, in reverse. Play a PW then a mid or long iron, and driver and so on. Makes it muchÃÂ more interesting than just hitting balls. Just a thought.
Keep them long and straight and GBSAPS ad nauseum heh heh heh
Hey T.That is a little
Hey T.
That is a little expensive.
I may have to do what I usually do and make my own. I probably have enough material out in the barn to make one that would work just as well as theirs does.
I do think it would be handy to practice off of.
I noticed that site had 0 in stock. That's weird if they are trying to sell them.
Better go with the snowshoes.
Better go with the snowshoes. You can keep a much more stable base with them. You will have to adjust your stance to wider than shoulder width to keep the snowshoes separated. Nothing is worse than a tee finish with one snowshoe on top of the other. ;-)
Orange golf balls are a must in the snow.
Dragonhead, I do alternate
Dragonhead, I do alternate between shots and different targets off the mat, but then due to the different angles visuallyÃÂ from the not being square on the mat and other lines in view seems to put me off a little as it isn't real like on the course.
To be honest though as I have been working primarily on my swing, I have been focusing on consistent straight shots off a square mat and when they aren't going straight I know something else is wrong.
I am going to the range soon so am going to do 25 ball warm up then play the course in my minds eye. One of the big other issues is because I have only been playing the sport for 13 months there is lots to work on so my expectations are probably set too high.ÃÂ
Regards KeithÃÂ ÃÂ
Off to put alignment aids in
Off to put alignment aids in the bag, and choose the clubs of the day PMG and SUCCEED. Surge gives us the wherewithal, it is up to us to make the most of it.
ÃÂ Yea, I have a 4x4
ÃÂ Yea, I have a 4x4 professional quality mat. All I'd have to do is mount it on a sturdy piece of 4x4 3/4ply and use about anything under either end to elevate it to a desired height. I may in fact give that a try next spring, if I still remember it.
Steve
Steve
Yesterday they said 53 and wind gust to 25mph. I waited until 10:30 was not bad out maybe a 5-10 mph wind. actually felt nice out played in 3 hrs. Supposed to be 58 tomorrow and will play again. I'm going to start looking seriously into shorting my driver. I've got the grip marked at 43 and 42 to try tomorrow and see how it works out I only hit 6 fairways today and 5 were on the back nine. The irons I am really hitting well had 10 or 11 greens in reg which is a major improvement. I would like to get the fairways to 60 % are better. Next year I would like to only spend about 15 % of my practice time on full shots and the rest at 100 yards and in.
Hi folks, very off topic this
Hi folks, very off topic this but it is driving me nuts!!!
When I reply to a post and put the pointer over the comment area or try and type the cursor vanishes so I cannot type. The only way then to get it back is to tap in the bottom left corner of the comment box which take some time to get back.
I don't have this problem how ever when I just add new comment!
Help.
My preround warm of consists
My preround warm of consists of stretching maybe hitting 20 - 30 shots. I use alignment sticks 90 % of the time for warm up and practice. I will hit some half wedges 10 or so and then hit some full pw's , 7irons and some drivers and then putt for 10-15 minutes.
Today's after round report 6 bogies, 2 birdies and left 1 bird on the course and the rest pars for a 74ÃÂ 38 - 36 . I did not hit driver real well on the front nine. Hit it a lot better on the back nine.
ÃÂ
You can lead a horse to water
You can lead a horse to water.........
It is a funny feeling when
It is a funny feeling when you are looking around for a place dry enough to take relief from the "casual water" and realize that there isn't one. Ha ha!
When I was a club member and it didn't cost me anything extra to play on those flooded days I always went down to play. They were great days to find many golf balls in the creeks that would wash loose from the banks in the flooding.
(I miss those days).;-)
Yesterday would have been one of those days and I spent most of the day sitting on the couch. If I was a still a member down there I would have rather been playing.
Wow, snow you have Lynn, 10
Wow, snow you have Lynn, 10 inches?!! The last few months I have been playing those yellow and orange Brigestone E 6 balls. I recently baught the Precept "Laddies" rtecommended by Surge and T. Medley recently. Any how I hope things get unburried there. Stay warm and safe.