I played at The Country Club Of Miami yesterday and for the first time finally finished a complete round. On my two previous visits I was rained out. Once on the 8th tee of the East Course and once on the 10th fairway of the West Course.
We were scheduled to play at 1:07 pm on the West Course. When we got to the tee the starter told us to wait for a minute and that he would try to do something for us. My biddies and I looked at each other and I said to Marc, "that's sounds like 27 to me."
He came back about three minutes later and told us that the greens on the West Course were being aerated. There was a tournament happening on the East Course but if we played the front nine of the West, the tournament would be done and we could come back around and play eighteen on the East Course. Our lucky day. I played well, shooting my lowest score to date. An 81. The difference was my ability to get out of trouble. As you can see from my pictures I did find some problems, but I was was able to keep the damage to a minimum.
Hitting more than 50 percent of my fairways made a huge difference. Unlike my last round when I only hit two fairways the entire round, I was able to attack the greens and not have to scramble from the woods. I putted a lot better as well, needing only 29 for the round. Another personal best for me.
The highlight of the day came on the par five 16th. We were the last group on the course and the ranger was following us collecting the flags. We offered to bring in the rest of the flags so from then on we had the course to ourselves. With no one behind us we decided to film ourselves doing our best Happy Gilmore swings. It was the first time I had ever tried it with a driver. I've done it with my wedges a few times just goofing around. I gave the ball a nice little ride. In the fairway and long. I was actually surprised that I hit it so well.
Maybe I should hit all my drives like this. But I don't think that would be an advantage. Padraig Harrington was featured on an episode of Sports Science. It turned out that he did gain 30 yards on average more distance but he said that he would be giving up accuracy for distance. When they did a video analysis of the two swings they were almost identical in regards to his swing mechanics. The Happy Gilmore Swing however makes it hard to be precise on a consistent basis. A fraction of an inch can be the difference between a good drive or one that ends up on the neighboring fairway.
Whenever you get a chance, and you are not holding up the group in back of you, give it a try and be sure to capture it on camera. It will be a memory that you can laugh and talk about for years to come. Have a good one and always hit your target.
I'm just trying to get better at the game I love. This blog is kind of a journal of my progress. I will share all the tips, drills, exercises, and experiences that I am using to improve. Hopefully they will help you too.
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