Last month I finally achieved my goal of breaking through a 3.0 index after getting stuck here several times before. I'm now down to 2.5! This progress continues a trend of cutting my index by about one half in each of my three years playing. I got down under 9 my first year, 4 my second year, and am now approaching 2. The key has been getting up and down more frequently and making more 4-8 foot putts. I'm now averaging slightly more than 2 birdies per round. But what continues to plague me are 2-3 footers!


Career Handicap Index, March 2005 to June 2008

In the last 5 weeks I've played 15 rounds, breaking 75 in nearly half of those rounds and failing to break 80 only twice. Amazingly, I missed 4 putts within 2-3 feet in 4 of these rounds - and still shot 74 each time! Perhaps I need to copy Phil and sink 100 3-footers on the practice green before each round. I probably won't do that, but I do need to find a way to overcome this ongoing challenge.

On longer putts, I've gotten much better at reading the break and committing to the line I've chosen, then trusting my ability to stroke the ball down that line. There is very little tension in my grip or in my putting stroke. In fact, I feel like I'm barely holding on to the putter. But on short putts, I can't seem to commit. Sometimes I can't decide whether to be bold and ram the ball into the back of the hole or finesse it in with a gentle stroke. Other times I just can't decide where to aim. When I stand over those short putts, I can't seem to see the line like I can on longer putts. Perhaps I miss most of my short putts simply due to peeking early to see if it went in. Whatever the reason, I could use some help.

As I was writing this post, I made my way over to The Wedge Guy blog, and as I expected, I found some great advice on Avoiding Three Putts. Terry suggests the following 3 steps to avoid missing short second putts. I'll certainly give these a try later this week!

1. Lighten your grip - We tend to squeeze the putter too tightly when faced with a short putt. Particularly lighten the pressure in your thumbs and forefingers, as that is where tension sets in first. Feel the putter in the last three fingers of each hand.

2. Slow down - Make your practice strokes very s-l-o-w-l-y. This sets up a good tempo – it’s a stroke, not a hit ! I see golfers make these quick back and forth practice strokes – what kind of tempo is that setting up ?

3. Stare down the hole - Your eyes are the key to putting, so pick a small target at the back of the hole (for a straight putt) or on either side (if a little break is to be allowed) and focus intently on that spot.


Rainbow by adrians_art at flickr

If anyone has some additional advice on how to sink those short ones - which for me would be a little like finding a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow - please leave me a comment and enlighten me! I'm pretty confident that I can get down to 2 and finally break through that elusive score of 70 when I start making the 'gimmes'.

Labels: About, Progress, Putting

As 2007 winds down, it's time to reflect back on the year, and make plans for a new one.

Last January, I posted my goals for 2007, along with a review of my 2006 accomplishments. 2006 was a big year for me. In my second year of playing, I cut my handicap by more than half, recorded my first sub-par round, hit my first hole-in-one, and competed in my first club championship and took 1st place net. Entering this year, I was hopeful about continuing this progress. I shared that I intended to play more new courses, stretch daily, continue my improvement by reducing my index to 2.0, consistently shoot rounds in the 70's, and shoot my first round of golf under 70!


Golf Course Winter Shadows by Steve at flickr.com

Well, I came close. I took 3 golf trips and played 7 new golf courses. I spent time with a golf conditioning coach, and even visited a chiropractor, and am now stretching every morning. My back still gets sore, but the chronic pain is gone! Although I didn't cut my handicap in half again as planned, I did get down to a low index of 3.3 and will be closing the year near 4.0. I did manage to come in under 80 in more than half my rounds, but breaking 70 eluded me.

I flirted with a round in the 60's on a few occasions, but the usual bad hole or a couple 3-putts stopped me. My last round was a 75, even with an OB, a lost ball, and 2 3-putts! I had a quadruple bogie during a round of 73 and a triple bogie during a round of 72. My best opportunity came during my recent round of 71. I was 2-under after 15, but double bogied 16 after someone in my foursome made a point to tell me my score.

Even though my progress slowed, it didn't stop. My putting and chipping have improved the most. That recent par round included only 24 putts! And even though I had a couple 3-putts in my last round of 75, I sunk a number of long putts and didn't miss anything close - and rarely do anymore. I'm finally confident with my putter! My chipping is improving too. This week while practiced getting up and down from different locations around the practice green using chips, pitches and lobs, I did so 23 out of 25 times, with 20 in a row!

My scores haven't come down in proportion to my improved short game mostly because my ball striking has gotten worse thanks to a shoulder injury. But even though I'm hitting less fairways and greens temporarily, I'm getting much more consistent about getting up and down to save par. I'm pretty confident that once my ball striking returns early next year, I'll see some extraordinary results.

I recorded 125 rounds this year, about 15-20 less than last year. I shot rounds of 75 or below in 1 out of 5 rounds (consistent with my handicap) and broke 80 in well over half of those rounds - leaving plenty of bad rounds for my handicap calculator to throw out. I shot 8 rounds of 73 or less, including 2 rounds of par, and only shot in the high 80's in 5 rounds. Plotting my scores for 2007 made for a perfect bell curve with an average score around 79.

This year I participated in 3 competitive leagues. I finished 3 points out of first place in my men's league that plays monthly tournaments at a local course. After leading in the standings all year, I slipped out of 1st place when I decided to take a trip to Bandon Dunes instead of competing in the club championship. I took third place in a weekly 9-hole team league where points are earned for both stroke and match play. Our team took 2nd place. The third league was a travel league where we play a different course each month. I've learned to score as well under the pressure of competition as I do recreationally.

I'll probably join these leagues again next year, along with a new men's club and travel league getting started at my home course. In the travel league our team will compete against 3 other local SGCA member courses in home and away matches during January and February. Somehow, I'll find the time to keep playing in the roller hockey league I just joined, continue donating my $20 to our local youth in our weekly skins game, and keep up with my work too. Now what was that I said recently about balance?

I truly enjoyed all the competitive golf, but it was my golf trips that highlighted the year.

My wife and I traded our timeshares twice this year to travel to Arizona and Hawaii. I played 3 rounds of golf in Arizona at the Sedona Golf Resort and 3 rounds at The Prince Course in Princeville, Kauai. Instead of playing more courses during these trips, I decided to play the same course a few times to see if I could improve on my prior round - since I struggled in both of my 1st rounds. I managed to shoot rounds of 76 and 77 on my second attempts at these courses. Good play or not, it was a pleasure playing golf in the incredible settings offered by these courses!

The biggest highlight of the year came during my trip to Bandon Dunes, with Fred Shoemaker and the Shivas Irons Society. I had recently attended my first event with the Shivas Irons Society, playing with its founder Steve Cohen at the Alisal Ranch Course in Solvang. When I then learned they offered a trip to Bandon Dunes, co-hosted by Fred Shoemaker and Jo Hardy, I jumped at the opportunity!

I didn't shoot any low scores at Bandon, but did have a few stretches of good play. I played a sequence of at least 9 holes at each course in only 1-over and succeeded in driving a short par 4 at each course. I was simply awestruck by the beauty of this place and the natural setting and links-style designs of these courses along the windswept dunes of the Pacific Ocean - golf as it was meant to be! The best part of the trip however was meeting and playing golf with Fred and Jo, along with all the other participants. It was a great group of people! If time and money permit, I think I'll repeat this trip next year!

One other golf-related event that I really enjoyed this year was watching our local golfer, Josh Warthen, compete in Big Break Mesquite on the Golf Channel. He demonstrated the exemplary character and attitude we all know him for, along with some great golf. Congratulations Josh on making it all the way to the finals!

2007 will undoubtedly be memorable, but I'm eagerly awaiting 2008.

Next year will be my last year before turning 50 and is the year both of my children graduate college! As they finally get started in their careers (fingers crossed), I will finally focus on fitness (out of necessity). I'm really motivated to improve my strength and flexibility so I can continue to play golf and hockey - into my old age. In my golf game, I'll make it a goal again to lower my index to 2.0, but my main goal is to continue to play for the love of the game, and look to its opportunities for community, discovery and transformation.

Wishing you all an Artful Holiday and New Year!

Labels: About, Goals, Progress

It appears I'm nearing the end of 2007 pretty much where I started the year. My index still hovers around 4.0 and only half my rounds continue to come in under 80. I made great progress during my first year in 2005, getting my index down to 10 and breaking 80, then again last year, knocking my index all the way down to 4 and shooting par. This year, I set a goal to get down to 2 and break 70, but so far have failed to do either.


12-Month Handicap Index

Although I've reached a short-term plateau, probably due to spending much less time practicing this year, I shot 2 even-par rounds at Monarch Dunes (70.7/135) and shot rounds at or near par three times at Cypress Ridge in tournament play. I've made a lot of progress playing completively. I played in 3 men's leagues this year and finished in the top three in overall standings in each league.


12-Month #Rounds Per Score

I'm flirting with lower scores and indexes and have had several rounds lately where breaking 70 was within easy reach. I'm starting to hit more than 10 fairways and 10 greens in regulation per round much more frequently. Even my putting is starting to show signs of improvement and my putts per round is trending downwards.

I've learned to finish off good rounds, I rarely have blow-up holes anymore and am finishing many more rounds with no double bogies. I'm also making critical putts to save par and bogie more often. I'm giving myself more quality birdie opportunities too, and hope to start taking more advantage of those close approach shots.

There's a little more time before the year end. I'm still hoping for a little miracle!

Labels: Progress, Statistics