Putting My Way to a 93
Monday, May 3, 2010 at 9:19PM I shot a modest 93 over the weekend on a 6,614-yard course, but the round had potential for so much more.
Surprisingly, my putting was uncharacteristically off and failed me mostly on the back nine. I'm usually pretty stable with the flat club—strategically playing for two-putts at the most—but this round couldn't have been more up and down. On two of the first four holes I gently rolled in a 20-foot, right-to-left downhill putt with a six-foot break in for birdie on No. 2. Then I preceded to watch a 35-foot right-to-left with a 10-foot break sink in for an up-and-down par on No. 4.
After that, it was downhill.
The round consisted of 37 putts total, including three three-putts and a four-putt on No. 9 which completely blew up my front nine. With a par I would have made the turn at 41, but instead skulled a three-iron off the cart path and over the green. From there, with water staring me in the face, and a 40 degree downhill green tensing my muscles, it took me two to get on, and four putts to get in. (I rushed my final two-foot putt and agonized over it until I teed off on No. 11.)
On the back it was nothing but poorly rolled putts and a duff that is still bothering me. On No. 16 I nailed my driver (which I hit well all day) about 280 and straight. (For the record I was trying to hit a draw into a dogleg left.) From there I had to hit my second with an oncoming twosome patiently waiting for me to stand and deliver with my four-iron.
As of late I've taken pride in overcoming any fear in this moment. But my nerves got the best of me on this occasion. I hit an anyway, as Dr. Joseph Parent would like to say (an anyway is when you get that uncomfortable feeling over the ball but hit it anyway) and stood in frustration as my ball dribbled 30 feet. It was at this point that I knew my stamina was becoming an issue.
My 18-hole stamina is definitely one aspect that I took away from this round as "needing work." Of course my putting was another, but everyone has bad putting days. My energy level, though, cannot disintegrate like it did, causing me to lose my cool a few times.
For the round overall, I hit three greens in regulation, five fairways, had 10 shots inside 75 yards and 17 chips from just off the green. Of the 17, only one translated into an up-and-down. Ouch! (An up-and-down is a short shot off the green—either in a surrounding sandtrap, rough or fringe—that requires two shots to get in the hole. The up, which is the pitch onto the green, and the down, which is the next shot into the hole.)
Regarding this last one, I used to rely on my seven-iron around the greens to bump and run my chips, but lately I've been working on soft pitches with my PW. This reliance, and my unsuccessful round, goes to show you that you must have multiple shots around the green in your bag. You shouldn't become comfortable with one over the other, but rather have the capability to pull any one from your bag according to the circumstances.
I think I'm going to work on a few things before my next round (which is this Saturday): getting accustomed to a bump and run nine-iron as well as a seven-iron, get back to fading more (the draw I've been working on was actually successful twice this weekend), and learn to release my chips more with my PW better.
I was finding that most would bite way too early and not roll as much as I had hoped. It was obvious I was coming down on them too much and getting the ball to hit the green with backspin.
Aside from these areas, because my driver was cranking on all cylinders, my long irons didn't get much work, which means I should concentrate on them some as well.
And of course there's the putting.
Hours of practice: 389
Reader Comments (1)
Sounds like a pretty solid round - what course?
Putting can be something that tails off now and then especially due to playing on different courses
and especially in the early season when the greens grow fast from all the rain.
It can be especially hard to judge speed and break.
Not getting enough roll out on your chips can just be a matter of having ball to far back and your hands not in front enough Chipping is where most of us are very undisciplined and on a good day it can mean 4 footers as opposed to 10-20 footers for par/birdie.
Just one word of advice - I would not try to develop a draw or fade I learned to get a consistent natural shot and then learn to draw or fade of of that. Once you have a consistent natural shot a draw or fade can be induced much easier.
Then again it all sounds good on paper.