Posted by Dexter Francois
| Posted in
Golf Courses,
Happy Gilmore Swing,
Mental Game,
My Rounds,
putting,
Video Instruction,
wedges
| Posted on Saturday, February 12, 2011
I paid another visit to Arizona Biltmore Country Club yesterday. I was joined by The Doctor, Bryse, and T-Mose. I was eager to play the Links Course again because I felt that I could shoot better than the 91 that I put up on Monday. This was only my second time playing this course, but I figured that since I had seen the course once before, I would easily better my previous effort.
Well...I didn't. Shot a 92. The front 9 was a bit of a roller coaster ride. I bogeyed the first four holes, which is fine. I'm a bogey golfer right now. If I mix in a few pars, I'm in the 80's for the round. I then preceded to double the next two holes which hurt, especially after the drive on the par 4, 6th.
I hit a nice drive about 250 yards (see my video below) down the left hand side of the fairway. I was in perfect position for my second shot into the green. Unfortunately, that's when I came down with a case of the "pushes". I had a straight forward shot of 91 yards to the front of the green and I put it in the bunker right of the green.
From there, I had a downhill lie out of the bunker, with no green to work with. I sculled it and put the ball into the bunker on the opposite side of the green. I could feel my blood starting to boil. I got out and then two putted from there for a six. Perfect drive. Nothing to show for it.
The "pushes" plagued me for much of the round. I ended up in bunker after bunker. My sand game was really tested today. The fellas joked that maybe subconsciously, I was wishing I was still on the shores of South Beach.
I did have a personal victory on the par 4, 12th. The last time I played this hole, I hit a perfect hybrid right down the center of the fairway. Unfortunately, there is a lake that splits the fairway and green about 200 yards from the tee, and my ball ended up on the drink.
I decided to go with 7-iron this time. I just wanted to get it out there to leave my self with a wedge in hand for my second shot. Bryce jokingly asked me, "Is that your hybrid?" Not this time. I learned my lesson. I hit a great tee shot, put my next shot on the green, and two-putted from there for an easy par.
Now from the sublime to the ridiculous. I bogeyed the next for holes before coming to the par 4, 17th. I was on pace for a score in the 80's. The fairway slopes severely from right to left off the tee. I aimed down the right side of the fairway and let one rip and then I heard, "That's out bounds." "Ha Ha Ha!!!"
There was a foursome of ladies behind us and one of them thought it was the funniest thing in the world that I had hit it O.B. It wouldn't have been bad if she had left it that, but she kept on. "I saw it." "It rolled way down in the ditch." " Your ball is gone." Okay, I get it. Bad shot.
I don't know why I let it bother me so much, but that hole was pretty much done after that. I hit my next shot off a tree and out of bounds again. The following shot sailed over the green and I was left with an uphill chip that I left about 40 feet short of the hole. After a gruesome 3-putt, I walked off the green with a round killing 9.
If I am ever to break 80, I have to learn how to eliminate these careless mistakes. Instead of going for the green after I had hit it O.B., I should have chipped back into the fairway, and given myself a chance at bogey.
Good course management, in my opinion, is more important here in Arizona than it was in Florida. The courses are flat in Florida, and one can still have a flat lie after an errant shot. There are many more elevation changes and undulations here in Arizona. Even when laying up, you have to be precise with your yardage. You might be in the fairway, but may be stuck with a downhill lie with the ball below your feet.
This week I'll be working on straighten out my wedges and irons as well as spending some time on the putting green. I missed a couple of shorties today that would have again, had me in the mid-80's. Ahhh...those testy little 4-footers. Have a great round and always hit your target.
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| Posted: 2/12/2011 • Share on Facebook | |||
| Arizona Biltmore Golf & Country Club (Links) | Tees: Regular, Slope: 117, Rating: 67.0 | ||
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Just a guess at why you had the "pushes," Dex...
You know you're still twisting your forearms on your backswing. (Stop the video when your hands are shoulder high, and you'll see where the club's pointing.) You'll just have to work on the drills Michael Hunt and I gave you to overcome that.
But I suspect you pulled down on the club a bit more on your downswing, hoping to stop that little helicopter move at the top. If you did, you probably got a bit more inside than normal on your downswing. It's hard to tell from the video, but that's my guess.
Michael Hunt and I have both given you drills to help that problem, and none of them require you to go to a range and hit balls. You can do them in your backyard -- just try to do them for 5 minutes or so each day. Once you stop twisting your forearms, I think some of these other problems are going to vanish. It's hard to just swing the club when you're worried about positions during your swing.
Gotcha. I will continue to practice the drills. The good thing about it is, it was the same miss over and over. So like you said, if I correct that one thing, hopefully everything else will fall into place.
"The same miss over and over"? Tiger is jealous right now. ;-)
Jealous of me? The only thing that Tiger has to be jealous of is that I can spit on the golf course, and nobody really cares. Must be tough to be under the microscope 24/7.