Golf Update
I got back down to bogey golf this last week. I played the Millilani Golf Course in Hawaii and shot 45 and 45. It wasn’t the greatest round of golf as I only had 2 pars and hit 2 greens in regulation. What did improve was my short game. At worst I two putted and my pitching and chipping around the greens has gotten a lot better. Partly because I began focusing on it and partly because I began thinking through my short shots before just pulling out a club and taking them.
Around the green when there is no obstacles in my way and if I am within 5-10 yards of the fringe I use my 7 or 8 iron. I choke up on the club and use mostly arms. I try to keep my left arm stiff throughout the swing. The key thing that I have figured out is to make sure to turn over our wrists and finish the same way you finish you swing, pointing the club face perpendicular to the ground and at the target. This keeps the club face from opening up and push the ball to the right. Of course if there is an obstacle in my way, like heavy rough or a sand trap I take out my sand wedge, 55 degrees. The is a little harder to control the distance and being so close getting a lot of spin is tough as well. I try to aim for a spot just short of the hole allowing the ball to roll after landing. If I manage to eliminate spin from the ball I am still just a short putt home.
The poorest part of my golf game right now is my irons play. This last time out everything was going wrong that could. Slice, hook, duff, push, top, everything. This was mainly due to my not committing to my swing. I was trying to control the ball with my arms rather than hit the ball with my swing. I was under rotating on my back swing and using mostly my arms to swing through the ball. What I have to do is try and keep my legs and knees still, building the torque in my back. Then when I begin my downswing, rotate with my hips and let my wrists hinge freely just swinging at the ball.
I imagine this will come with more practice and I hope to get out a lot more this coming year.