The End is Nigh

The end of the year is indeed nigh. This was the year that I discovered the one-plane swing and the split handed putting stroke. The former is working well; the latter is a work in progress.

The last couple of rounds have been good, at least when I've played sensibly. The biggest improvement has been with irons, although I do have to 'let the club do the work'; that is, don't try to hit the ball hard. My driver is OK, now that I'm hitting a gentle draw again, but it is variable.

The other area I feel more comfortable with is putting. Unfortunately, I'm still having the odd three putt and not taking the chances I should take. Last round I had 36 putts, which is fairly typical at the moment. The greens ain't good, so at least I have that excuse.

More to follow.

Rhythm

It's a beautiful word 'rhythm', six letters with no vowels. A bit like my swing: lots of hit with no rhythm.

That has to be my focus in coming rounds. Find a way to swing with sufficient force, but with better rhythm. I've been losing too many drives to the right - straight pushes - mainly, I believe, because of attempting to hit the ball too hard.

With my one-plane swing, I need to make sure I rotate everything at once (hips, torso, shoulders) and do it quickly but without hurry. It's a balancing act and I haven't quite got it right yet.

On the short game scene, I was pleased to chip and putt a bit better last round. I had 33 putts and didn't make too many short game errors - compensating for my poor ball striking otherwise.

Anyway, rhythm is the key for the next week or so. Gotta have it.

Can't chip, can't putt

The post title was actually a reference to someone who plays golf at a much higher standard than me, and who is actually somewhat better at chipping and putting than the average joe. My recent failings in this department of the short game do, however, confirm that I have lost a lot of my chipping and putting prowess while I've concentrated on the full swing.

I had 36 putts in the last round, which is not good enough. It wasn't just that I missed a couple of short putts, nor that I holed nothing, it was poor chipping. As close to the green as I was on maybe twelve holes, I should have been able to get up and down say six times. But no, I think the score was about one out of twelve, combined with a couple of three-putts, just to rub it in.

I think I need a better strategy for my short game. I've had reasonable results chipping and pitching with a gap wedge, but that's on a good day. Mostly, I just don't get the ball close enough to the hole. Putting brilliantly you could get away with it, but putting poorly, it results in a litany of missed opportunities and frustratingly wasted shots.

One good thing, however, is that I have re-discovered my one-plane swing and I'm hitting the ball much better. Even there, there are mistakes that I generally fail to recover from or poor course management decisions. It doesn't take much to wipe out the good with some poor decisions.

I am convinced that the one-plane swing is for me. I still marvel at the power a short flat swing can create when body turn is introduced. I am also impressed by how easy it is to hit a draw on command. Not so sure about hitting a fade; those attempts usually result in the double-cross or at best a straight shot. It is important, of course, to let the clubs do the work - not to try to force - that means convincing oneself that the swing will generate sufficient power and distance.

It's time for me to consolidate my one-plane swing, basically by trusting it. It's also time for me to get to work on my short game. That is an area any serious golfer needs to work on 'seriously' and not just fiddle while Rome burns. Who says I can't chip and can't putt? Not me.

Weird

I don't know if it's the new handicapping system or some sort of weird alien force-field interference, but my handicap keeps going down and staying down, yet I don't feel like I'm playing good golf.

Perhaps what happens is you reach a certain level of competence and you become dissatisfied with anything you do at a standard below your best. I know it gets harder and requires more concentration to play to a lower handicap. Mistakes are amplified and harder to compensate for because nothing short of a string of solid pars and the odd birdie will do the job.

So, I'm still convinced that a single plane swing is my best option. I went away from it in my last round and disaster after disaster struck. Luck was not on my side, but that was only part of the story - I did not trust my revised swing - it was mainly just really poor ball striking.

Ironically, my putting was not the problem, and I'm extremely happy with my split hand grip. I have about one hand-with between my hands, right hand low (right-handed). This grip allows my right hand to dominate and I think that makes sense for a right hander. Your feel like you are throwing the ball to the hole and somehow that helps with distance control. The left hand just supports and acts like a pivot point, not anchored, just there to keep the top of the grip under control. I like it a lot. And my short putting is unaffected, I just need to keep my backswing short and attuned to the length of the putt.

But back to the full game. I need to re-commit to the one-plane swing. Perhaps I need to remind myself of the Adam Scott advice - start everything down together - it seems to help take some of the other complicated swing thoughts out of the picture (as I've said before). I just need to overcome the feeling that I have less power with the shorter, more compact, one-plane swing, because it actually isn't the case - the increased, faster body turn takes care of clubhead speed.

It's actually surprising how far a ball will go with a shorter swing, somehow better contact, including compression with iron shots, is very effective. And the side-benefit is greater accuracy, which is so critical with fairway and approach shots in particular.

I'm looking forward to playing some half decent golf in the coming weeks - but the reality is that neither good nor bad golf will see my handicap changing - weird!