Within 21 hours, I experienced my worst and my best golf on the same course. In my Tuesday night 9-hole men's league, I continued a slide in performance over the past 2 weeks with a whopping score of 51 to loose my match! 21 hours later, I shot 34 on the same front nine, followed by a 37 on the back to tie my career best 71 at Monarch Dunes Golf Club (70.7/135).


Monarch Dunes 13th by Aidan Bradley

After a run of scores in the 70's in 11 out of 13 rounds, I'd failed to break 80 in my past 7 rounds! In a few of these rounds I was flairing my drives out of bounds to the right. In other rounds I'd shank or scald my wedges. Failure to get out of sand traps with any success and my common 3-putts plagued me in most of these rounds.

I then decided I needed some practice. I'd gotten back in the habit of playing instead of practicing when some time opened up to head to the course.

On the range, I made some minor adjustments to my posture - butt out and chin up. I had recently purchased a book on golf fitness and got the impression from browsing it's photos that I needed to make this adjustment. It seemed to work on the range, however, I learned after my round of 51 on Tuesday night, that lifting my chin up was probably responsible for all my scalded wedge shots. In yesterday's career round, I kept my butt out, but let my head return to its more comfortable position, more in line with my spine angle. That worked!

More importantly, I made a rather obvious discovery when I was practicing my putting last Sunday. It's something most golfers already do, but I never tried it. I've always tried to keep an image in my mind of the desired path the ball will travel when I putt. I'm a path putter and go by feel once I'm over the ball. But with the hole as the eventual target, I think I unconsciously start the ball on a line more towards the hole instead of the path's apex.

Instead, after reading a putt, I'm now picking a very specific spot on the green or blade of grass that is located in line with the apex and is just before or past the hole based on slope or speed. Now when I putt, I let go entirely of where the hole is and simply maintain an image of that spot in my mind and commit to it when I take the putter back. I then succeed in starting the ball on the correct line, and assuming I read the break correctly, the ball just drops in the hole!

I know what you're thinking, "duh, you could have figured that out a long time ago if you'd just take a lesson!" I guess I'm just stubborn and like to experiment and figure it out the hard way!

Anyway, I really concentrated yesterday on just trusting my ability to putt to a very specific spot on the green and to let go of any attachment to making the putt. On all 18 greens, I putted exactly where I intended to, I just happened to misread a few breaks by a small amount.

I finished each nine with only 12 putts!

This is quite a breakthrough for me since I rarely come in with less than 34 putts. I'm the only 4 handicapper I know who putts more like a beginner! I depend entirely on hitting fairways and greens. If I miss a green, I nearly always 2-putt for bogie. If I hit a green, I usually 2-putt for par, but often 3-putt for bogie. An occasional lucky birdie is required to keep my score under control.

Yesterday, I only hit 6 fairways and 8 greens in regulation and managed 3 birdies with my 24 putts! The last time I shot 71 on this course - nearly 8 months ago - I hit 15 greens and 12 fairways with 4 birdies and a whopping 34 putts!

It was simply an amazing round. I had four quality birdie opportunities inside 10 feet and only missed one. I only failed to get up and down for par on 2 holes. I hit 2 extraordinary lob shots to within tap-in distance. One was a blind shot over a mound to the upper tier of a downhill sloping green. I heard others in my foursome sigh after my ball reached the green. I thought their reaction was because I'd almost succeeded in keeping the ball on the upper tier - a nearly impossible outcome - but that it barely rolled down to the bottom tier, 4 feet below. When I walked towards the green, I learned I'd nearly holed the shot, finding the ball inches from the hole!

After birdies on 5, 6, and 11 and a single bogie on 9, I walked up to the 16th tee only 2-under. One of the guys in my foursome - a major league baseball pitcher who recently retired after returning too quickly to play after elbow surgery - asked me if I knew I was currently 2-under. I did of course know, but had succeeded in paying little attention to my score up to this point. His comment inadvertantly removed me from the "zone" I was in and I double-bogied the easy 16th. I immediately realized what had happened and got back to my detached shot-at-a-time routine and nearly birdied 17, barely misreading the putt. Then on 18 I came up a little short on my approach, but nearly holed my chip. Pars on 17 and 18 gave me my career tying round of 71!

I was seriously close to putting the clubs away for a month or two after Tuesday night, but had already committed to playing the next day. As a friend shared after the round, "the Golf Gods suckered me back in big time."

Labels: Monarch Dunes, Putting, Rounds, Self Coaching