Practice Makes Progress

Well it's been exactly 2 weeks since I arrived and only a good week that I have been working through an effective practice routine day to day. Over the weekend the weather wasn't all that great; windy and somewhat cold which made it even tougher to execute my shots. Feeling like I had done a lot of work I gave my body a rest on Sunday and worked through a few visualization techniques hoping to bring a positive week ... scores to prove. Today I made it to the club at 9 am and worked through a progression of short game drills, worked on being quiet through my swing on the range and followed that with another good putting drill before teeing up around 12 pm. I guess the rest, along with solid practice has me on the right track because today I was finally able to finish a round under par. Here is a look at how I did it at Cypresswood Tradition Course.

Hole 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18
Par 4 4 3 4 5 4 5 3 4 4 3 5 4 3 4 4 4 5 72
Score 3 3 3 6 5 4 4 4 4 4 3 5 4 3 4 4 4 4 71
Grn Y Y Y NW Y Y Y N Y Y Y N N Y Y N N Y2 11
Putts 1 1 2 2 2 2 1 2 2 2 2 1 1 2 2 1 1 2 28

Today's weather was close to 70F partly cloudy, wind was prominent around 25 mph throughout the day. I felt that I was beginning to strike the ball solidly and on line which was great. My driver was hit well accept for the 4th hole where a pulled it left and was forced to hit a draw into a strong wind coming from left ... pushing my ball into the water. Either way, I feel like I was rolling the ball better on the greens and playing well with the grain. More importantly my shots around the green were far better than I have seen to date. Even my misses seemed to be within a reasonable range where I would have a fair enough chance of making a save (which did happen on 10, 13 & 16).

So ... there is some proof. The practice is working and I'm feeling confident in the fact that I am hitting better and better shots. Perhaps by next week I'll be well under par.


Don't hold your breath.

Sorry for scorecard it's the best I could do.

JS

Scratching @ The Rust

Today I seem to be making progress on the rust that comes from a couple months away from swinging the club. Not to mention the adjustment it takes to play the bermuda grass. At the moment the weather has been great but with the dormant grass it's tough to make solid contact with the ball around the greens. There isn't much grass around them and the soil underneath is soft, so you end up with a lot of tight lies with no substance underneath to hit a solid shot. It plays with your head when you are left with a pitch shot inside 20 yrds. The only option in that situation is to hit it crisp with an accelerated motion at the ball. So this truly needs practice. I've been working on my short game (those shots especially) a good three hours to start my day. Then I will continue with shots on the range to groove the swing and get on target. From there I will jump on the tee and play a full 18 to work on game situations. It's also a good way to learn what really needs work.
Today has been the best for seeing progress; I feel the red numbers are upon us. With about two months to go until Q school I feel like I am making the right strides in being ready to earn my card and play a full schedule. I have also been working on my short term goal setting for a little extra clarity on my short game progress.

JS

The Beginning

Well it seems I have finally got myself situated down here in Houston. I arrived Last week and have made a few strides in getting myself comfortable. The past few days have been absolutely amazing golf weather and I have found myself out at the golf course just enjoying the weather and having a few fun rounds with my old teammates. My practice will be done predominantly at the Cypresswood Golf Club in Humble TX. It's a great facility with 3 courses. The Director here has allowed me to play and practice as much as I would like.
Sunday I played at the Redstone Tournament Course (which is where the Shell Houston open is held) and will be speaking with the Head pro there to see what kind of coaching he might be able to provide. However, Today I was introduced to a guy who is living here with a family near that course and is playing in the Adams Tight Lies Tour and intends on going to Q school for the Canadian Tour. He is a strong player from Ireland and it seems he and I will be practicing a lot together in the next couple months. In my mind this will be a great thing for me as I will have someone in the exact same mind set as I am. This will for sure increase my practice productivity and makes the decision of finding a "pro" to be with me for practice sessions a little difficult as this new "teammate" in a sense may be exactly wwhat I'm looking for.
I've been seeing some good things in my game already although there is definetly a bunch of rust to wear off. This next week I will be spending a lot of time on the range and will be developing a strong schedule that I will be able to follow throughout the year.
The next few days look very promising with weather being sunny and in the 70's right till next week. Sorry to rub it in for those of you shovelling the driveway each day. Look forward to more posts, the drive to Q School has begun and I will keep you posted all along the way.

JS