Snow Golf for a while

Ahhh, just when things were feeling and looking good with my PPGS along comes the dreaded snow. Lovely to look at but horrendous to play golf in. We turned up at the course very optimistically hoping for cleared greens and some laying snow on the fairways but to our disappointment all was very white. The fact that my playing partner had driven roughly 20 miles to get there we decided (for no other reason than to keep our arms swinging and general practice from the tees and fairways) to play 9 holes (crazy I know, but damn I love this game). Obviously the week 4 comp had been postponed, which meant that I could spend another week at the top of the leader board and another week of putting practice.

     For those who have never experienced snow golf (obviously sensible golfers ha ha) I took a few snaps of the greens and fairways, see if you can spot the yellow ball on the green.

Putting Confidence & Winter comp week 3

FOG was the order for the day in week 3. Luckily it wasn't too bad once I reached the course and we could tee off on our time slot. Before talking about the round I just want to mention where the "Putting confidence" in the title came from.
      Last week was the Children's Miracle Network Classic in Florida in which DJ Trahan was taking part. On the PPGS blog that week, Don managed to get some time with DJ in front of the camera to discuss how his tournament was going. At the time DJ was 6 under and was playing some really good golf which he said was in a big part down to his putting. Now anyone who follows the PPGS and DJ on tour will know that putting has been a bit of an issue this season and he was spending most of his time trying to build confidence with the flat stick. In this particular video he mentions that, when playing alongside Steve Stricker, he was watching his putting stroke, (albeit unorthodox by the industry standard) he noticed that Steve, once in position, pressed forward with his grip till his putter heel was off the ground. This, DJ said gave you more of a feeling that your putting stroke was a pendulum motion across the shoulders rather than too handsy.
          Well with my putting being anything but consistent I decided to give this new approach a go in the living room before the comp. Without using a ball, straight away I could feel what DJ said about the pendulum in the shoulders and this made the stroke very controlled, therefore my body was really still throughout. After rolling a few balls into my little putting machine I felt really confident with my new stroke and what I did find was that I didn't need to lift the heel off the ground very much at all to get that feeling which is a good thing. Now I couldn't wait to get out on the course and see if there was any improvement on the greens.
        Back to the comp. Despite a bogey on the first due to a lost ball in the hazard my whole attitude seems to have changed. I don't know whether it was from my new putting stroke or just a love of the game but I really have this optimistic, confident feel about my PPGS. So Par, Bogey, Par and on to the first par 3. I just missed the green to the left and a pitch and not much run left me with a 6 footer for par. My putts had been great up till now but they were all within 4 feet this was the first real tester. Middle of the cup and that great sound of ball meeting plastic made me smile. A bogey later due to a poor approach (not enough club in the conditions) then on to back to back birdies one of which was a 20 foot putt for 2, I was over the moon. A lost ball on 9 resulted in a double and a bunker on 10 producing the same I still felt really pleased with my round. I finished on 11 with a par and strolled off the course with a glow safe in the knowledge that Don and DJ's tutoring, with plenty of good practice, was finally bearing fruit........... Bring on week for and hope for no snow.

Results:Week 3

Another PPGS attempt (a work in progress)

Winter comp weeks 1&2

Well, the words winter and golf, together don't normally leave my mouth with much enthusiasm but as we come to the end of the season and since I have experienced nearly a full years membership at my club, things have changed. I found it (if the weather is kind) quite a fun challenge, taking into consideration

• Cold dense air, the ball doesn't travel as far
• Wet soggy fairways, the ball doesn't roll
• Winter greens having been spiked, makes putting even more tricky
• Strong gusty winds
• More clothing, restricting your swing

 With all the above, the course owners have devised a format which really suits everyone not least the actual course itself. The comp is played over 10 weeks with your best 6 stableford scores over the first 11 holes. Each week there is also an individual prize for the best score and also a 2's sweep. I feel as though I am strking the ball fairly well although I have had to switch from using my usual srixon balls to titleists as they are that bit harder and I get that extra distance. One major issue, which I am practicing to get rid of, is allowing my legs to become a little loose, therefore I seem to be chunking alot of shots as I hit down into the wet ground before the ball. This is mostly evident on my short pitches and chips. FUS, FUS, FUS as Don would say (thats forward UPswing) its all about basic PPGS fundementals. I will be spending my practice time on study this winter, studying my swing using video and studying the PPGS which I do every day.

Below are the results of weeks 1 & 2. . . . .  things can only get better with PPGS.

Week 1 results     Week 2 results

An up and down season

Well since my last blog entry my golf has been anything but an enjoyable journey. My handicap has now crept up to 12.4 this is mostly down to so many inconsistent rounds and the total lack of practice, (going from weekend to weekend without any practice but still playing in comps). On a lighter note over the last couple of weeks I have managed to see some improvement in my game and this has been down to studying the PPGS more thoroughly and also relaxing on the course and enjoying the game again.

         As well as religiously following the PPGS blog I have also made some slight improvements to this blog which will hopefully attract some interest. This was down to exploring the options the blog design has to offer but as you can see its still pretty basic but I'm working on it. Please feel free to comment on anything you see here or just about your golf experiences I would really like to hear from you. (above is a video of my pre PPGS swing) my next post will have my Winter league week 1 scorecard and my new swing for scrutinising

The Club Championship

Well where do I start. The biggest event on the Priors Hall calendar took place on Saturday and I was fortunate enough to be taking part (taking part used very loosely). All players were grouped in 4's and were teeing off in handicap order lowest to highest. I was in the 0-13 handicap group which meant I was playing 36 holes in one day stopping only for lunch. This was a new experience for me and I was hoping my trolley battery had enough juice to get me round.
On the first tee and I was feeling surprisingly relaxed and a tad confident considering how I played in practice during the week. Took the driver as the white tees were as far back as I'd ever saw them and watched the ball draw to the left and flirt with OB, provisional needed, not a great start. I managed to find my first which was in the OB so just as well my provisional was dead center of the fairway, pitched on about 15 feet away, scrambled a bogey. I would like to go on and say all about great shots and monstrous putts but unfortunately that wasn't the case. The first 18 holes were really all about posting a reasonable score to keep me in the hunt in the afternoon but Golf being Golf I really struggled with my putting (loads of 3 putts) and only managed a hard fought 89 which I knew in my heart of hearts was not good enough.
After a good plate of ham, egg and chips it was time to play my second 18. With my morning rounds putting still playing on my mind I decided to use this next 18 as an improvement round and any score below 89 was what I was aiming for. On the first green and another 3 putt cost me a much needed par and for the majority of the front 9, 3 putts were on the menu. Fortunately only 1 double but 6 bogeys and only 2 pars on the front 9 kind of summed up my day (22 putts going out). The back 9 was a slight improvement carded 4 pars, 4 bogeys and 1 double but all in all not a great championship. In summary I knew that my putting, although it was killing me all day wasn't my only problem. I found myself, in the pursuit of the championship trophy, trying to hit the ball to the target. Now I know that hitting the ball is the name of the game but there really is a big difference between hitting a ball and swinging through with a nice tempo. When hitting a ball (referring to PPGS) I seem to forget all about the fundamentals of the PPGS and try to squeeze as much out of the shot as I can. This results in bad posture, bad balance and all sorts of varied bad outcomes.
I know where the majority of my bad shots (including putts) came from and to carry on improving I must religiously practice the PPGS fundamentals and have more faith in my 3/4 swing. I shall not be defeated.

Practice makes perfect

With the Club Championship nearing I thought I'd better put in a couple of shifts at the practice range. After trawling through the archives on the PPGS blog trying to find a solution to my hook/blocked left shots, I came across a couple of posts that really hit home. The Peak Performance Golf swing is all about the 3/4 limited turn, this means only turning to the toe line then lifting the club vertically up. What I found I was doing was overturning (crossing into the sacred burial ground, PPGSers know what I mean), this was causing my over the top swing and the results were a mixture of blocks, draws to power draws (I don't like to say hook ha ha). Getting back to basics and only turning to the toe line felt much better, I just didn't realise that I was trying to get more from my shots by more turn which goes against all the PPGS is about. Another habit I noticed I had was to grip the club in far to strong a grip, this means my left/forward hand was turned too much to the right which when my club was coming into impact was forcing me to overturn/over release and as a result the big power draw. I have been practicing the swing and grip at home in the garden and it all feels good.
I'll be down to the range tonight to get to grips (pun intended) with the basics of the PPGS and stop being sloppy. Hopefully I should have some video footage of my swing and report on how the session went.

La Marquesa par 5

Scorecard from the Monthly Medal with a rundown of the round stats courtesy of Golfshot GPS, (will try to improve size on the next card).

Priors Hall Golf Club

Priors Hall Golf Club: "Priors Hall Golf Club
Monthly Medal
Printed: 31 May 2010
Result of the Competition played on 29 May 2010 at Priors Hall


Result (Nett Scores):


Stb AdjstNett DiffHcap ChgNew HcapOverall Position Score PlacingCountBack
Division 1
0-6-1.210.91James Thomson 78 - 12 = 66 Division 1 Winner32.22.11.4.33
0-5-1.011.12Lee M Martin 79 - 12 = 67 Division 1 Runner-Up32.24.13.4.33
-1-5-1.07.53Les Beattie 77 - 09 = 68 34.524.14.54.5
0-4-0.911.64Michael Craddock 81 - 13 = 68 35.522.6711.834.28

This clip was filmed on location in Alicante Spain at the La Marquesa Golf Course http://www.sandygolfers.com/golf_courses/la_marquesa_golf_course.htm. No camera trickery involved (although a steady hand would've helped Ben).