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Ric Flair

Golf

By Ric Flair, in General Football and Sport

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Nod.E

Nod.E

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Season ended at the wrong time for me!

 

Struggled for much of summer to put in scores to match expectations, then even as I felt I was playing better I wasn't able to put anything really low in.

 

My course is a par 71 with a course rating of 72.7 (meaning effectively 73 is 'par' for a scratch golfer.) Even so, I've posted one or two in the 83/84/85 region the last couple of years. Through the summer the 95s became 90s before eventually I was regularly shooting in the late 80s. 

 

Ended up shooting my best score of the season in our 'Masters' event, played between Major winners. Last qualifying round of the season. Was only an 86, but the wind was a farce that day, which meant it was enough to win it. Pured a 5 iron about 110 into the teeth of the wind at one point! 

 

Me and my mate won the Summer Pairs Match Play a week beforehand to qualify. Not to blow my own trumpet but I played shots I didn't know I had in me that day. Nice to get on a board.

 

I was away for much of October but every time I've played since I've picked up where I left off. My ball striking with irons is usually what lets me down. Play like a bit of an old man usually. Fairly accurate but somewhat short with driver, feather an iron down there then short game saves me. Since about September though my iron play has this better tempo, slower backswing, and my confidence is through the roof. 

 

This time last year I was really struggling to enjoy the game. Every single iron shot was a slap. Just no fun when you feel like you're not really striking the ball so much as gathering it up.

 

Things that helped for anyone that finds themselves in the hole I was in last year -

 

1 - Start of August I switched from 120g shaft irons to 105g. Never knew it made such a big difference. Arguably more important than stiffness. 

 

2 - I've had so many lessons down the years and never really felt like I advanced leaps and bounds following any of them. I've stuck with the general idea from my most recent batch of lessons in April and trust that it's right for me and those changes have become second nature. But a guy I've played with a few times, who isn't a coach but knows his stuff, literally just told me I wasn't moving my chest away from target in my backswing (transitioning my weight), and that it was all too quick. Sometimes it just takes a small change for everything to fall into place! It's worth getting fresh eyes on your swing and just trying small changes rather than reinventing the wheel.

 

3 - I lost my Pitching Wedge. Mate gave me a spare Ping Glide that he had and it's a cheat code. Annoyingly it doesn't go the distance my p790 pw went, but around the greens it's ridiculous. I'm disappointed not to have a tap in with any chip around the green at this point, and pitches feel easy. I'm probably going to do away with my gap wedge and have two PWs in the bag. I never realised how simple a high bounce, low loft wedge could make chips and pitches.

 

4 - I bought a secondhand sim set up. Net, SkyTrak, mat. This isn't what turned the corner for me as I've only started using it this month, but I'm finding that having a solid session or two each week just keeps the confidence levels topped up. Nothing groundbreaking here, turns out practice does help. Do use TopTracer or similar for a simulated round though. Mindlessly hitting balls is boring and as a result I always end up playing badly and damaging confidence. The moment it becomes a game I start to play well.

 

Long story short, April needs to hurry up. It'd just be golf for everything to start falling apart in March wouldn't it? Started the season off 14, went up to 15.7 and ended off 13. Had the season carried on another month or so I'd like to think I'd get down another couple shots.

 

Being more positive, the next thing I need to work on is finding distance with driver. It's probably mostly technique, but I want to get stronger as well. I don't think I carry my drive much further than 220 in summer. I know total distance with roll is around 250 as I have a watch. Will make a huge difference if I can add 20/30 yards. Any tips welcomed!

Edited by Nod.E
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Izzy

Izzy

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4 hours ago, Nod.E said:

Being more positive, the next thing I need to work on is finding distance with driver. It's probably mostly technique, but I want to get stronger as well. I don't think I carry my drive much further than 220 in summer. I know total distance with roll is around 250 as I have a watch. Will make a huge difference if I can add 20/30 yards. Any tips welcomed!

I play off a 9 h'cap and drive the ball a similar distance to you.

 

Last week I played with three lads who are all off scratch (one of them is an assistant pro at Woburn and a massive Chelsea fan. He spent all round telling us about meeting JT recently who was at Woburn having a short game lesson :rolleyes:). 

 

It was quite soul destroying seeing all three of them hitting it 50 yards further than me off the tee. While I'm going into par 4's with a hybrid, they're hitting wedge, so it's no surprise their GIR were so much higher than mine. I miss so many greens in reg that I've had to learn to scramble my arse off over the years and luckily I got up and down more often than not. I'd actually say I putted the best out of the four of us.

 

BDC just released a video on YT saying 'Drive for show putt for dough' is the wrong way round. I would love another 20/30 yards off the tee but I'm 50 years old, weak as piss, and my technique is flawed. No new driver or fancy shaft is going to give me the silver bullet. Good luck in your quest for more distance. Without doubt it will make a difference IMO.

 

But I've resigned myself to knowing my limitations and just trying to play my own game and within myself. 

 

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The Year Of The Fox

The Year Of The Fox

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57 minutes ago, Izzy said:

I play off a 9 h'cap and drive the ball a similar distance to you.

 

Last week I played with three lads who are all off scratch (one of them is an assistant pro at Woburn and a massive Chelsea fan. He spent all round telling us about meeting JT recently who was at Woburn having a short game lesson :rolleyes:). 

 

It was quite soul destroying seeing all three of them hitting it 50 yards further than me off the tee. While I'm going into par 4's with a hybrid, they're hitting wedge, so it's no surprise their GIR were so much higher than mine. I miss so many greens in reg that I've had to learn to scramble my arse off over the years and luckily I got up and down more often than not. I'd actually say I putted the best out of the four of us.

 

BDC just released a video on YT saying 'Drive for show putt for dough' is the wrong way round. I would love another 20/30 yards off the tee but I'm 50 years old, weak as piss, and my technique is flawed. No new driver or fancy shaft is going to give me the silver bullet. Good luck in your quest for more distance. Without doubt it will make a difference IMO.

 

But I've resigned myself to knowing my limitations and just trying to play my own game and within myself. 

 

With Dan Grieve? I’ve bought his 3 Releases book

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Izzy

Izzy

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16 minutes ago, The Year Of The Fox said:

With Dan Grieve? I’ve bought his 3 Releases book

Yep, that's him. Apparently loads of footballers and celebs go to see him at Woburn for short game lessons. Absolute guru.

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Nod.E

Nod.E

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1 hour ago, Izzy said:

Yep, that's him. Apparently loads of footballers and celebs go to see him at Woburn for short game lessons. Absolute guru.

I thought my short game was pretty smart until I started watching his videos talking about shot shape from 20 yards lol

 

2 hours ago, Izzy said:

I play off a 9 h'cap and drive the ball a similar distance to you.

 

Last week I played with three lads who are all off scratch (one of them is an assistant pro at Woburn and a massive Chelsea fan. He spent all round telling us about meeting JT recently who was at Woburn having a short game lesson :rolleyes:). 

 

It was quite soul destroying seeing all three of them hitting it 50 yards further than me off the tee. While I'm going into par 4's with a hybrid, they're hitting wedge, so it's no surprise their GIR were so much higher than mine. I miss so many greens in reg that I've had to learn to scramble my arse off over the years and luckily I got up and down more often than not. I'd actually say I putted the best out of the four of us.

 

BDC just released a video on YT saying 'Drive for show putt for dough' is the wrong way round. I would love another 20/30 yards off the tee but I'm 50 years old, weak as piss, and my technique is flawed. No new driver or fancy shaft is going to give me the silver bullet. Good luck in your quest for more distance. Without doubt it will make a difference IMO.

 

But I've resigned myself to knowing my limitations and just trying to play my own game and within myself. 

 

Yeah very much sounds like my life on the course. The two lads I joined my course with are always well in front. Wouldn't mind as much but one of them started golf at the same time as me 5 or 6 years ago and his ball speed on the range with Driver is in the 160s. I'm happy with anything in the 140s!

 

I'm 31 and 6ft 2 so don't really have an excuse. I think the issue is a combination of collapsing my lead knee through impact and 'standing up' slightly at the top of my backswing. When I've tried to change either I just get so wayward though. It's a difficult one to address because the last thing you want is to be OB off the tee. 

 

I'm wondering how much distance I can add with purely strength improvements. Core, legs etc. I'd rather do that than try to change my driver swing!

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Izzy

Izzy

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1 hour ago, Nod.E said:

I thought my short game was pretty smart until I started watching his videos talking about shot shape from 20 yards lol

 

Yeah very much sounds like my life on the course. The two lads I joined my course with are always well in front. Wouldn't mind as much but one of them started golf at the same time as me 5 or 6 years ago and his ball speed on the range with Driver is in the 160s. I'm happy with anything in the 140s!

 

I'm 31 and 6ft 2 so don't really have an excuse. I think the issue is a combination of collapsing my lead knee through impact and 'standing up' slightly at the top of my backswing. When I've tried to change either I just get so wayward though. It's a difficult one to address because the last thing you want is to be OB off the tee. 

 

I'm wondering how much distance I can add with purely strength improvements. Core, legs etc. I'd rather do that than try to change my driver swing!

It's no coincidence that when you see clips of the tour pros in the gym, they're often doing core and leg work.

 

There's so much instructional content on YT these days about 'using the ground' to generate power, so there's definitely some value in improving leg strength I'd have thought.

 

But no one likes doing 'leg day' at the gym do they! :unsure:

 

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tom27111

tom27111

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1 hour ago, Izzy said:

Good to see TW back and all that but the commentators are so far up his arse I have to watch it on mute. 

 

Just take solace in the fact you'd beat him in a putt off :D

 

Reckon he'd need to have a bag full of tampons if you pair had a round together though :ph34r:

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tom27111

tom27111

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What's everyone thinking the rule changes will be that are to be announced imminently by the R&A?

 

Changes to balls looks to be the general consensus, limiting the technology, or altering the size.

 

Also the possibility of driver head sizes being limited to something smaller than the current 460cc.

 

Personally, I think its a bit shite. 

 

If someone hits big now, however the equipment is restricted, they'll still hit bigger than the players who aren't hitting big now.

 

The PGA Tour thinks fans just want to see the ball bombed 380 yards, but rule makers are adamant on stopping that, so why not just grow out rough and make accuracy more important?

 

It's particularly annoying, as hackers like most of us will also be affected with equipment we can use.

 

The multi-millionaire pros don't have to pay for their gear, we do. And I really can't afford to lose 10/20 yards off the tee because professional athletes are rather unsurprisingly a lot better than me.

 

And my Mrs will go fvcking mental if my driver is outlawed and I need another! 

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Izzy

Izzy

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23 hours ago, Zear0 said:

Bit confused with the LIV Rahm stuff. Didn't LIV basically get PGA to bend over for them and combine it all? 

You're not the only one who's confused by it all, the whole thing is a shit show.

 

The surprise 'merger' announcement back in the summer said they'd have the framework agreed by year end but my guess is they can't find a compromise so the whole thing is stalling. 

 

In the mean time, I reckon LIV are threatening to keep poaching the PGA Tours best players (e.g. Rahm) unless the Tour accept LIV's merger proposal.

 

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Master_Tactician

Master_Tactician

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Im on Keegan Bradley and Rickie Fowler's side of the fence with this one. For many, many reasons.

 

1) Limiting the ball as a concept.....ok...... how exactly do you propose that to reflect golf as a whole? within the tours and recreational players youve got players who generate tons of ball speed and LOW spin. youve got players who generate tons of ball speed and HIGH spin. Youve got recreational players who generate hardly any ball speed and high spin. youve got recreational players who generate hardly any ball speed and generate low spin. Theres not some arbitray number in play here that "swing at X speed you lose this....." it really depends on your launch conditions, so its not really going to have the linear effect the governing bodies think.

 

2) The whole argument is centred around the premise its not sustainable to make golf courses longer to make them harder. Which is a completely bogus argument in the first place. Let me give you some examples of courses that are not super long, yet play super hard on the tours:

 

  • Spyglass Hill for the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-AM. Measures 7,026 yards
  • Pebble Beach for the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. Measures 6,802 yards
  • PGA National for the Honda Classic. Measures 7,081 yards
  • Harbour Town Golf Links for the Heritage. Measures 7,191 yards
  • Merion. A major venue when selected for US Opens. Measures 6,946 yards

Theres some examples. None of those courses are long. But they all play hard, because theyve got tiny little firm greens, deep rough, water hazards, and quirky design where you cant just pummel it anywhere you like.

 

So if you want to actually make the course HARD, grow the rough so it puts a premium on being accurate, dry the greens out, and there you go.

 

3) Costs.....this is the bit that really annoys me. Manufacturers will have to change their entire manufacturing process to manufacture a new ball, and in doing so theyll probably also launch whole new lines of clubs to combat the effects of the reduced ball, ones that move CG into different locations to manipulate launch or raise/cut spin, so avid golfers will probably feel they have to buy new tech to offset the effect of the ball.

 

4) Fun.... If someone wants to bang it 320, bang it 320. If you can swing a driver at 125mph, more power to your elbow, thats a SKILL that you have, just the same as being able to run fast, jump high etc. What does it matter what the winning scores are in tour events? or monthly medals? its still everyone competing against each other and best player wins whether its -5, -15, -25 winning score. Some people like to see intricate shot making, some people love the wow factor of the sound of a monstered drive or visual of the ball flight live, whats wrong with that?

 

I could go on, but theres 4 reasons.....theres many more

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Master_Tactician

Master_Tactician

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46 minutes ago, Super_horns said:

Jon Rahm to join LIV.

 

https://www.golfdigest.com/story/jon-rahm-liv-golf-signs-pga-tour-2023/amp

 

Be a massive blow for European golf although though they were all merging anyway ?

The LIV "tour" has completely killed the PGA tour and i hate it.

 

Youve basically as i see it now got a two tier tour on the PGA tour. Youve got the designated events (which is kind of PGA Tours answer to LIV....get all the big players together for a big pot) and the everyone else events that the other players who arent exempt are playing for.

 

So basically if youre playing the designated events, and youve already got exemptions into all the majors anyway.... then you might as well just play the LIV which is basically the same concept with guaranteed higher purses.

 

Its shit really. I hate it.

 

Ultimately if the two tours dont combine both will die. One is built on a sportswashing model and has no commercial appeal, tv or fans, the other is built on 4 day cut events with 150+ player fields and top players wont be filling the field.

 

Everyone SHOULD be playing PGA Tour but its under existential threat

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