The Big Easy

UK Handicap; 3.8 USGA Handicap; 2.3

I’ve managed to get back into the practice routine over the last week, having 4 practice sessions and a lesson, which is more practice than I’ve had in the full month preceding.

The lesson went quite well, I’ve picked up a few things that I need to change, but as with any lessons the key part is what I do afterwards. What often happens is that muscle memory builds up, but the thought still remains of what needs changed. So if, for example, one of the outputs of the lesson is to take the club away more on the inside, the muscle memory may have built that up after a couple of practice sessions, but in the next practice session the mind is still thinking that the club needs to be taken away more on the inside, which has the overall result of overcompensating.

I’ve also decided to put less effort in to swinging a golf club. I was practising tonight, and having hit a few shots heavy and a few thin, decided to slow everything down dramatically, and just let the club hit the ball, instead of putting every sinew of energy into it. The end result was that everything was more balanced, the clubhead was meeting the ball at the right place, and after building up the effort a little bit more, but still only about 60% of my previous swings, the ball was going just as far.

What I now have to do is to remember all of this when I’m playing a proper round on the course. All the extra effort in a golf shot gets the combined extra distance of zero yards. I need to make my swing less like Bubba Watson (who, incidentally, I admire in huge amounts) and more like Ernie Els.

I have played one competition round since my last post, a rather uninspiring 79 around my home course, resulting in yet another 0.1 increase to my UK handicap. The damage was all done on my first 9 holes, I turned in 7 over par with two 6s and a 7 on my card. I managed to play the second 9 in one over par, but as so often this season, the damage was already done.

I’m still confident I can reduce my handicap considerably by the end of the season, but I have to take everything easy; both physically with my golf swing, and mentally with the amount of pressure I put on myself before a competition round. There are two chances to put this into action, on Friday and Sunday, hopefully there will be some good news to report by the end of the weekend.