Author: vet4golfing51

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The Goofy Game of Golf Searching for the Answer

Another disappointing week with just average play. The rounds went like this: 82 at Lindenwood, 76 Indian Run, 78 South Park and 78 at Rolling Acre today. Nothing new to report on the mental game, only that I’m mental. I thought I would talk about the one thing that I have been doing with some success, and that is the system I devised for choosing the right club. We all know the drill that you should know how far you hit each club but how do you go about that and then how do you apply it to the course. The thing that you read most of the time is to hit about 10 or 20 shots with a particular iron and take the average. But how many times in play do you hit your “average” iron shot. So here is what I have devised and so far it has worked out pretty well. I want to know the distance that my iron goes when I hit my best shot. In other words, what I call my max distance with that club.  Here are my max distances with each club in the bag

3 wood 240     5 w00d 225   7 wood 210     5 iron  195    6 irons  180    7 iron   165

8 iron 150   9  iron  135    PW   120    GW  105    SW  90    LW 75

Now whatever my yardage is to the middle of the green even if it is just one yard beyond my max distance I drop down to the lower club.  Example if I have 151 to the middle of the green I will hit 7 iron. Now naturally if this is a big green and the pin is way in the front and to  the front is 133 then I will hit 8 iron. There will be other factors like wind, elevation and lie but rather than think whether this is one or two clubs different I try to add and subtract yardage and then select the club.  In Western Pa. there are lots of changes in elevation and this has really helped me in choosing the right club. When you try to calculate an average distance with your clubs it is always hard to judge just how bad you miss hit a shot. But when you groove a 7 iron everybody knows that feeling. That is a much more reliable distance to play off of. If choosing the right club has been a problem at times try this method and see if you don’t start getting more shots pin high. This is what I call my small victory buried under a quagmire of defeats. The year is passing fast and I am not getting any closer to the answer. It looks like it should be another big week of golf with Labor Day on the horizon. Labor and golf, Labor and golf the perfect combination.

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The Goofy Game of Golf Searching for the Answer

This was a busy but a very blah week.  Played four rounds this week and not any closer to the answer. Started the week by shooting 80 at St. Clair, 74 at Indian Run, 80 at South Park and 81 today at Pittsburgh North. The week was typical of what it has been all year. I had a good day at Indian Run, where I thought I had some good mental progress and ideas, only to have a very bad weekend where these same thought processes turn to rubble. This whole thing brings back memories or should I say nightmares, of when I was trying to find a swing. What I have found frustrating is the search for some kind of mental key or process has affected my ability to execute the shoulder swing. Today was a very bad brain day as I was yippy on most of my putts and even though I hit a lot of good shots , my bad shots were really bad due to a combination of bad swings and bad planning. The only good thing that has happened in the last week or so is that I have come up with a way of selecting the right club that is a little bit unique. If this continues to work well the next week of two I will give out that information. In the meantime I will continue to wander in the deep crevices of my pathetic brain trying to figure out this goofy game. The answer could be just a synapse away. This week looks good weather wise and hopefully I can get in another 4 rounds. Does it rain in bowling alleys?

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The Goofy Game of Golf Searching for the Answer

This was a busy week and that is why the blog is a day late. The best way to write about this week is to take it in chronological order. On Wednesday added course number 88 by going to St Jude golf course in Chicora Pa. which was about a 70 minute drive. This was an interesting course but difficult to play for the first time. The course played to a Par of 70 and played about 6500 yards from the back tees. The greens were smooth and ran about a 6 on the stimp. There were many blind shots and doglegs, and to get from one green to the next tee was sometimes a great challenge. Little did I know how well this prepared me for the golf course I would play later in the week in the Poccono’s. On one hole, I even went to the wrong tee box and hit my drive before I realized I had played the wrong hole. At time the holes were very tight and hilly and overall not a very enjoyable course to play. I shot an 82 with most of the time putting myself in some real bad positions due to lack of course knowledge. There was no hot dog and this course was not worth the trip. I was going to play another new course but map quest gave me the wrong directions and then the skies started looking threatening and decided to go home. Then I let the dog out and the skies were better so I went over to South Park and shot a lackluster 75 and just beat the rain.  On Thursday I headed to Indian Run and shot one of my better rounds of the year a 2 over 73. I hit the ball really well and seemed to have my swing down, and short game and putting under control. So on Friday off to the Pocconos I go to play in the United States Golf Teachers Northeast Regional tournament. I had a good nights sleep, got to the course in plenty of time, despite getting bad map quest directions AGAIN, and then had a complete meltdown and shot 92. I could make all kind of excuses for this score. First time playing the course, many blind shots and doglegs, and many in course out of bounds stakes, where I knocked it out of bounds on three holes. But the bottom line I stunk. Unfortunately I was only staying on the second floor of the motel and I figured if I jumped out the window I would probably just break my legs and I would still be alive and in pain. There really isn’t any more to write about this, and today I found out the nine hole course I go to about 1pm to work out issues is closed till about 3 for highschool try outs. My next round is going to be at St Clair which is one tough golf course but at least I know it.   They say there is a reason for everything and maybe a day like I had will help me out in the long run. I have had these days before and it hasn’t helped. But another week has started I have 88 courses down and only 12 to go. See you Sunday.

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The Goofy Game of Golf Searching for the Answer

This week I was only able to get 2 rounds in because of getting a re check on my orat surgery and an outing on Friday at South Park, that closed the course. The rounds were not that great an 80 at Madison Club and a 76 at Riverview today. This will mark the third anniversary of starting the blog. I have played 87 courses, found what I consider the key to the golf swing and now in search of trying to figure out the mental side of this game. Along the way I have walked off a golf course after the 12th hole, hurled a sandwedge into the woods never to be found, battled the chip yips and shot a 4 under 69. I have read other golfing and non-golfing blogs and have marveled how everyone struggles at this game but continues to enjoy and love the game. The blog and fellow bloggers have kept me going, at a time when I had really thought I was through with this goofy game. This year has been an odd year so far, in more ways than one. The search for some mental answers has brought my game down a notch, just like the search for a key to the golf swing did. Believe me some of the things I have done trying to find the mental keys have been just bizzare as some of the things I tried with the golf swing. Getting a flu cold bug and having to have a tooth root removed has also slowed some progress. But progress has been  made. Right now I am in the process of losing the chip yips. My new putting technique, more mental than physical is starting to show so slow but steady improvement. My swing has suffered some, from the mental challenges. But today I got back to the shoulders controling the swing. Hopefully I may be on to something that can make this game just a little easier for all of us diehards. At the end of this week I will be playing in a tournament in the Pocconos so the blog may be a day late. Meanwhile keep on swinging, the ball will wind up somewhere.

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The Goofy Game of Golf: The Courses

This week I thought I would index the golf courses that I have done over the last 3 years. After each course will be a number 1 through 5, with 1 being a very poor, 2 poor, 3average, 4 good, and 5 excellent. The ratings are based on what I call the overall experience not just the golf course. This includes, the course, the condition, the facility, the staff, the hot dog, and the price we paid to play.  Later I will rate just the golf courses. The month and year was when the full review was done.

August 2010  Copeland Hills 4   Firestone Farms 3    Reserve Run 3  Kennsington 1 Castle Hills  4   Tam O’ Shanter 3

September 2010  Riverview  4      South Park  3

October 2010   7 Springs 3

November 2010   Cedarbrooke Red 3   Westwood 2

March 2011 Grandview   3

April 2011   Butlers Lakeside 3  Scenic Valley  4  Meadowink 3   Murraysville 2

May 2011  Rolling Green 3  Chippawa 3  Oak Lake 3   Moon 2   Linden Hall 4

June 2011 Cedarbrooke Gold 3    Cloverleaf 3    Madison Club 3  Manor Valley 2   Fort Cherry 3   Pheasant Ridge 3  Rittswood 3

July 2011   Village Green  3   Hartmans 3  Strawberry Ridge 2   Highland Springs 4  Millcreek North 5 Millcreek South 5   Ponderosa 4   Blackhawk 2   Rolling Acre 4  Beaver Creek Meadow 4  Turkana 4

August 2011 Mannitto 4    Quicksilver 4  Lake Arthur 4    Indian Run 3   Oak Tree 3   Yankee Run 5   Castle Shannon 3    Blackmoor 3  Foxwood Acres 1

Sept 2011   Lindenwood 2  Rolling Fields 3  Hickory Heights  2    Fairway Riverlinks 3  Becwood Hills 3  Krendale   3

October 2011 Red Oaks 3   Spring Hill 4   Stonecrest 3  Foxrun 4   3 Lakes 2

November 2011 Timber Ridge 3  Links at Spring Church 2

March 2012 Cranberry Highlands 3   Beaver Valley  3

April 2012  Suncrest 3

May 2012  North Park 3   Birdsfoot 3  Champion Lakes 3  Buffalo 4    Old Stonewall 3

June 2012 Donnegal Highlands 4     Pine Lakes  4   Knoll Run 4

July 2012  Lake Vue North 3  Rose Ridge 1   Lenape Heights 2   Totteridge 4

August 2012 Pittsburgh North 4   Spring Valley 3  Green Meadow 4    Dubbs Dread 3

September 2012  Pittsburgh National 3  Saxon 3   Phoenix at Buffalo Valley 1  Stoughton Acres 4

October 2012 Norvelt 4     May 2013 Conleys 3

As far as the rest of my week went, my mouth was more interesting than my golf game, as on Thursday, I had to have a cracked root removed and a bone graft put in, OOUCHH! Since then I have played 63 holes. I am one tough hombre. Of course drugs help too. My scores for the week were 79, 76, 76, and today a big fat 81. The philosphy of golf was what I was afraid it was, bullshit. However because of it’s failure I feel I made have made some progress on the mental side. My short game is improving some and the scores will come. Hopefully we can hit some new courses this week. See you next Sunday.

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The Goofy Game of Golf Searching for the Answer

It was nice to see Phil Mickelson win the British Open with some great play down the stretch and fantastic putting the whole day. My week was not near as exciting as I got three rounds in this week. I shot 80, 77, and 76. The 76 today was particularly boring with 14 pars and 4 bogies. The short game blues came back today, but the week was different than planned, because in about the middle of the second round I discovered a major swing flaw, which was a little surprising, considering how simple I have made the golf swing. However the arms just refuse to die. My arms were causing my swing to get out of whack and then with today’s round, trying to get back the swing, I lost my new philosophy of golf. This new “philosophy” may never be told because it could turn out to be a bunch of bullshit. It still goes back to the problem, which comes first the the technique flaw or does some mental flaw cause the physical flaw. I admit I am at a loss to explain the issue or come up with the answer. What was happening was that my arms were starting the swing which caused my plane to get too flat. Once a I made sure that  turning my left shoulder down and around to start the swing, I started hitting the ball much better. I have been doing this, I fear for at least the last 6 weeks without even knowing it. I think I have been experimenting with the mental side of the game so much, that I let myself develope this swing flaw. Anyway this has been a weird year,  with weather, getting a flu bug and some of the guys I play with have had injuries or for some other reason have not played a lot of golf. We have about 3 solid months of the golf season left. Hopefully I will make more progress with all this than I did in the first 4 months. The answer seems to be drifting away into the dark recesses of God knows what.

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The Goofy Game of Golf Searching for the Answer

With the grand kids in town and a big morning storm on Wednesday, only played 2 rounds this week. Shot a 75 at South Park and a 78 today at Rolling Acre. I totally psyche myself out today on having a good round. I don’t want to get into how I did this, but believe me I did. I continued my new golf philosphy and it worked out pretty well. Even though neither score was anything to shout about I continued to hit more quality shots than the score indicated. As I stated last week anytime you are doing something new with your game even a new mental thing you should expect some ups and downs with more downs than ups. Today I also missed some short putts that hurt and again this new philosphy is even being applied to putting which at times has caused some bad putts. I think for the higher handicap player this is the number one reason he does not improve his game. They just can not develope the attitude that in order to get better you sometimes have to get worse. Any time you change something in your game particularly if you have been playing the game for any number of years, it is not going to feel right and it will lead to some poor shots and higher scores. But if you know what you are doing is sound golf fundementals, then you must gut it out for a period of 4 or 5 rounds, depending on how much you play, and eventually you will be rewarded with lower scores. I have often criticized pros for changing their swings, but even those, where it seems  to work out, there is always that period of adjustment, where their overall game suffers. To me it is a simple fact. In order to get better you are going to be worse for a certain period of time. If you can not accept this then you going to have to accept the fact that your handicap will always be double digits. This is why I like what I am doing now. It does feel akward. Even though I hit many quality shots I have hit some really bad ones. This has helped me with the chip yips but not completely. I made some great up and downs today, but also messed up some routine chips. Next week will be back to normal if the weather co-operates and I have some real challenges coming up. We will see what the new philosphy brings.

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The Goofy Game of Golf Searching for the Answer

Still a little bronchial this week, with a persistant cough but felt well enough to get in four rounds of golf this week. Unfortunately the rounds of 79, 81, 81, and 80 were mediocre at best. The 80 was at South Park where just a couple of weeks ago I shot even par 72. However I see some light at the end of the tunnel. No, it is not from looking at the sun to long. The round at South Park introduced a brand new philosophical approach to the game. Everytime I hit a bad shot or miss a short putt, I go up to the closest person I can find, even if they are not in our group, and spew a slew of profanities right in their face. Even though this makes me feel a lot better, I have been having trouble getting a foursome together. I really didn’t do this, but wouldn’t you just want to do this just once. But I do have a brand new approach to the total golf game. Even though my score did not show any improvement, I hit some of the most quality shots I have hit in a long time, espescially with the irons. Like any new thing you are going to do with your game, there are going to be some ups and downs. Toward the end of the round I made some tactical blunders trying to “save” the round and the wind was tricky changing directions often which I failed to pay attention, which cost me some shots. This approach will be in all facets of the game including putting. On one side of the coin this approach is nothing new, but the way to go about accomplishing this will be a little different let’s say. Naturallly the next few weeks will determine if this approach is something that is worth writing about, or just dust in the wind. Because of this approach I will not play in a couple of tournaments that I had planned to play, because I do think I am on to something here, that will help with every facet of the game. This is all a mental process and has nothing to about any technical part of the game.  At least for now I don’t want the added pressure of tournament golf to affect how I am going about doing this. Depending how things are going I may play in something the end of the month. Hopefully my health continues to improve and we will see how this works out. The grandkids are in town this week, so the golf will be somewhat limited this week but I think I will manage about 3 rounds this week. The game has a little energized feeling and the next few weeks should be interesting as the search gets real serious.

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The Goofy Game of Golf Searching for the Answer

Doing a Saturday blog because yours truly has been felled by a cold flu virus, and there was no golf this week. I am feeling better and Sunday golf will be played, but rather than just write about one round, I thought I would take this unexpected time off to breeze through a few unrelated subjects that have caught my interest lately.

First off with a little more time on my hands I decided to check in on the Golf Channel, which I don’t watch much anymore, and holy shitballs do they have the good looking women on there, now. Who cares about the quality of instruction when you get to watch that from the mid thigh down. That may sound chauvinistic, but I didn’t make them put on those skirts and shorts.   I saw the  playing with pros with Graeme McDowell and I don’t even know how he could have hit one good shot. I would have died after she took 2 swings. I would have been carted off the course with that frozen smile on my face.

Then there’s the NFL. Even though this week’s arrest for murder is by far the worst, since the Super Bowl, there have been over 2 dozen players arrested, as reported by the Post Gazette. Just think, if they ever decide to do a third version of The Longest Yard it could be based on a true story. If a franchise ever gets into trouble they could move the team to San Quentin. I can see it now the San Quentin Seagulls.

The only good thing about this virus was, it gave me time to research some courses and I found some in Ohio within the 90 minute time frame, so now I have more choices to round out the 100. I guess another good thing about the virus is, it might help explain my horrible round on Sunday. By body and mind was being ravaged and destroyed by this horrible minute creature. See, I knew it wasn’t me.  I always said the yips were caused by a virus.

Finally I would be remiss if I didn’t talk about my beloved and up to now at least, pathetic Pittsburgh Pirates. As of June 29th 2013 they have the best record in all of baseball. However with 20 consecutive losing seasons under their belt, I for one do not think that the 82ond win is a given. I have nightmares about them being 80 and 75 and losing their last 7 in a row to sew up season number 21. Right now the city has got baseball fever and I am loving every minute of it. Last year the Pirates were the first team in baseball to be 16 games over 500 in  August and still did not finish over 500 and really weren’t even close. We will see if this will be collapse no 3.

Looking forward to playing tomorrow and continuing the search. This break has given me a lot of new ideas.  I am sure many of them will find the toilet, but it is sure fun trying them. This week, with July 4th I should be able to play 4 very nice rounds of golf.

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The Goofy Game of Golf Searching for the Answer

This was one of the goofiest weeks I have had since I started doing the blog. We went to Millcreek this week which is golf heaven. The course did not disappoint and was in beautiful shape. We played 36 holes for 35 dollars with a cart and the weather was perfect. The next day was the 36 hole South Park mens championship. When I was finished, later that evening I went over to Mt. Lebanon and played 13 holes. In two days I had played 85 holes and still did not feel golfed out. As you noticed I have not mentioned any scores yet. I also played Saturday and today. Now here comes the scores with the exception of the 13 holes at Mt. Lebo. 82, 83, 83, 77, 72, and 84. I am at a loss for words here. The 72 is an even par round at South Park from the white tees but it was a very consistant round. I did not take advantage of some of the easier par 5’s but I had 16 pars, a birdie on the tough 235 par 3 13th where I put a 3 wood within 4 ft. of the cup for a 2. I made one bogey on the 6th hole and shot the even par. I made every 4 to 6 ft putt I looked at except one for a birdie on 17. Then today I ballooned to an 84 and was yippy all day on chips and putts. But this doesn’t bother me as much as the fact, this was one of the worst ball striking days off the tee I have had in almost 2 years. I have no explanation for what happened today and for the generally bad play for most of the week. I had worked on some addrees position things and when I shot 37, 38, and 39, for the 27 holes of the South Park event and to follow that up with an even par 72 I thought I might be getting a little closer to the answer. But today shot that out the water. Going to do a new course next week and we will see what happens. The search continues.