Conference 7.286::golf

    
       How was my season?
    
          Dismal,
            Pathetic,
               Frustrating,
                  Infuriating,
                     Disgusting,
                        Lousy,
                           Terrible,
                              Rotten,
                                Sickening,
                                   Feeble,
                                      Humbling,
    
           Of course......
    
          I can't wait for next Spring and another go at it!!   ;^)
        Have a good off-season everyone!
    
    -rick           
    

    	I am very pleased with this year's golf.  Out here in Phoenix 
    	there is still two more months of good golf so the year is not 
    	quite complete.  The handicap went down from 13 to 10 which is the
    	big plus.  Maybe single digits next year.  Found out why it took
    	me almost two years to learn to hit my driver.  (Just a head case.)
    
    	My wife gave me a membership in the local course's men's club
    	for Xmas.  Only missed one of the monthly tournaments (my son had
    	no sense of timing when to gert married).  Didn't win any of 
    	those tournaments butr have met a good bunch of new people
    	and have had many hours of enjoyment.
    
    	Played a few different courses for the first time.  Try to do this
    	every year just for the variety.
    
    	All in all, a very satisfying time.  Some good, some bad, but
    	it's still golf.

    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    Season extension tip;
    
    	Glow in the dark golf balls?? Who me??? Never.
    
    	Till the drive home from the Challenge Cup tourny... my partner
    and I decided to settle a little side bet. Stopped by NEw England Golf
    Supply and picked up a couple glow in the dark balls. Went directly to
    a local 9 hole course, and proceeded to SMASH some tracers. Funny
    seeing the ball, looks just like a shooting star! The thing barely
    travels 200 yards. Which helps keep it in finding range. The key is to
    let your opponent putt-out, ... then before he can reach into the hole
    and get the well lit ball, hit your putt! Then you can see where the 
    hole is... sneaky.  
    
    	What a fun season! Had a chance to play alot this year... and
    what a year to play alot. Course conditions were perfect all season.
    My finacee' dropped from a 24 (9) to a 15 (9)... which makes for a
    more enjoyable relationship ;) . CHallenge cup was a great tourny,
    my partner and I played Bill Fagerberg and Mike Gryglik, we all had
    a fun time. Mike and Bill had a bad start, but once they got going
    were making some great shots.
    
      Any tips on snow golf? (ponder) .... golf balls with little skiis??
    Yeah that's it...  like K2's. 
    
    	Walt
    

    It's still not quite over (played off ice last Saturday morning,
    but the course was *very* open...finished 18 in under 3 hours).
    
    Best thing that happened? Curing a terminal case of yips, with the
    pitching wedge, which had gotten so bad I was contemplating giving
    up the game, which had become no fun at all, especially from 100
    yards in. Worst thing? Phew, too many to recount, but since I don't
    much care about handicaps, scoring goals, etc I'm happy if I've
    hit a good percentage of decent shots (defined as "airborne, in
    the right general direction, and close to the nominal distance for
    the club"). Now if I could only cut down on those 3-putt greens...
    
    Can't wait till next year, so I can try out my soon-to-be-acquired
    graphite shafted driver!
    

    Though I really havn't lowered my 'cap much over the last 3
    years, and still have trouble with eratic play to keep
    from busting 80, it was an enjoyable year. The DEC league
    was a lot of fun, of course we have the best division,
    THU 4:00(b) Div 6, . Watched my partner hit guided missiles
    all year,(LENEHAN::WALTA), my "offspring", was told last week
    that he won complete honors for the summer at STOW for most improved,
    (field of 425), went broke on STOW greens fees, and in general
    had a good "golf summer".
    
    Mastering the driver is something I need and better sand/bunker
    play for next year. Would like to average 255 instead of 235-245
    . I believe birdies come from the driver/tee shot, not the putter.
    The putter just completes the mission started from an up
    feeling of hitting the green in regulation." Drive for show
    putt for dough" is a built in disclaimer that makes good
    putters/
     bad drivers feel good when they salvage par or bogey.    
    I ought to know.
    Looking forward to 1990, and I must say this file has been
    a big help to me. Thanks, Angelo
    
    
                  
    
    

       Sadly, I put my clubs away for season on Saturday. 1989 was not a
    good year. The most troubling part of my game was putting. Way too many
    three putts, at least half a dozen four putts and missing some easy
    ones, too. I was short, long, left and right. Hopefully, the winter
    rest and some practice drills on the living room rug will put me in
    good shape for next year.
     On the brighter side, I increased my length off the tee and was more
    accurate with the driver. Also, became very consistent with the 3 wood
    from the fairway. I feel that I improved my course management this year
    as well.
    
     While my handicap went up by a couple of strokes, I didn't play as
    much as 1988 and feel that this lack of playing time played a role in
    my performance for the year. However, there were some good things that
    happened and some memorable rounds and shots which will keep me going
    during the snowy season ahead ( and being a part of this notes file).
    
    
    
    
                           Ken--
    

This year my goal was to hit more greens in regulation.  Like
Gene, I made a new set of irons for myself, Golfworks blade
(similiar to the Taylor Made Tour blade) with TT Dynamic stiff
shafts.  Sure enough I started to hit more greens.  The 
problem became the short game (normally my strong suit).
3 putting and failing to get it up and down drove me absolutly
crazy.  Half way through the year I reasoned that the putter
probblems were caused by a new putter grip.  ( I had put a
wrapped leather grip on for practice)  I cut that sucker off
and the putter got better but not very good.  I also noticed 
that the new wedges had different specs than my old ones, and 
I just never got used to them.  (next year for sure)

All in all it was a good year, I played over 30 rounds this
year (which is more that twice the number I played in 86 & 87
COMBINED and more than 88)  I wanted to be consistantly under
75 but that was not to be.  Next year for sure!

This winter I'm going to take 2 swingweights out of the irons
to increase clubhead speed, do a new set of woods (1,3,5) and
think good thoughts about my short game.


					KO

    My year went pretty well, considering I was building a house and didn't
    have much time to play. I went from a usga 9.7 to a 6.6. I won three
    tourneys, the most covenented being the dec challenge cup which I have
    prouldly displayed on my fireplace mantle, beautiful cup rick. 
    
    The worst thing that happened to me which still sticks in my mind is
    during my club championship where I went triple, double on 16 and 17
    both days, it still hurts because otherwise I would have been right
    there. But I've been having that problem all year, I could not seem to
    finish strong, many many times I'd be 1 or 2 over going into the 16th
    and I'd just bearly break 80. I still have yet to figure it out, any
    suggestions out there?
    
    If you look at my pratice vs. my weaknesses I can see where I have work
    to do on my game:
    
    Pratice time in %:
    
    Driving           10%
    Fairway woods     0%
    Long irons (1-4)  5%
    Mid irons (5-7)   60%
    Short irons       10%
    Chipping          10%
    Putting           5%
    
    The worst part of my game is my putting, the best being my mid irons of
    course, followed by my long irons, driver, short irons, chipping, short
    irons and finally putting. But I can't seem to get myself to pratice
    putting, it's just so boring to pratice putting.  But that's how you
    score. I might add that this year I have praticed more than I've played.
    
    But the best part of this year is that I discovered that I can score
    and put some low numbers on the board, and I think I've found out, by
    playing with better players against whom I can hit the ball as good or 
    better, that the most important part of the game is chipping and putting.
    
    Peter

    Well I had a very good year. I went from a usga 8.6 to a 5.6 and
    learned alot in doing so. I learned how to keep the driver straight
    and became a much better lag putter. I used to have alot of trouble
    with the long putts but this year I was rolling them right up there.
    The most important thing I learned this year though is that a couple of
    bad holes don't make the round. I realized I am capable of making
    birdies and they make up for the bad holes. I did hurt my back this
    year but came back real strong. I think that's were i became a better
    putter. I spent alot of time on the greens while I couldn't play. I
    also really learned to relax over the ball and swing slow.It is so
    mental. I could go on forever but in a nut shell " great season great
    game."
    
    Pete

    How was it? GREAT !!!!!
    
    Even if I finished my regular league season with the same handicap as
    last year, 9 for  9  holes,  at the end my game was much more rounded
    that when I started.
    
    My game was terrible at the beginning  of the season, but  through  a
    lot of time spent at the range, I got my rythm  back  and  now I feel
    more  confortable in what I am  doing,  my drives now seldom slice as
    they always use to last year  and  I  am  hitting my irons longer and
    more consistently.
    
    I expect next year to knock down at least a  couple  of  points in my
    handicap.
    
    But  there  is  no  snow in the ground, so the season isn't over yet!
    Unfortunately my  new  job  leaves  me  with very little free time to
    play, or even to note, oh well, can't have everything...
    
    Tavo

      OK, OK, a serious reply to the question posed by this topic.
   My handicap went from an 8 no, not USGA  ;^)  to a 12  . Considering
   the year before that I was at a 4 , you get an idea that the old
   game is falling apart.  What is the problem?  The short game and only
   the short game. 
 
      From tee to green my game was very solid.  It completely deserted
   me for only 4 holes during the year but I was able to remedy it 
   fairly quickly.  I was able to get on in regulation or be within 20
   yards of the green in regulation about 90% of the time.  Practice
   time devoted to this aspect of the game was 0% . Never went to the
   practice range this year.  I don't recommend this for everybody, it's
   just that my philosophy is,  if it ain't broke, don't fix it.

      Wedge play.  Had my best year ever with the sand wedge, however,
   I made relatively few sand saves due to missing a truckload of short
   putts.  Strongest part of my game is the 50-90 yard shot. Had real 
   problems with the chip shots early in the year but started to get the 
   touch back late in the season. Practice time devoted to the wedges was 
   about 35%.

      Putting.  What can I say. It was Pretty bad for most of the year. 
   Anything over 8 inches was an adventure.  Showed signs of coming out of a
   two-year coma at the end of the season but I still wasn't feeling as 
   comfortable as I wanted to be.  Practice time   60% .  Obviously, I
   practiced too much.  Never allowed myself a chance to feel comfortable 
   with one particular setup and grip.

      For those that have read this far, you must be really desperate to 
   read anything about golf, eh?   Anyway, the end of the year brought a
   little encouragement. Next spring, I've promised myself to see a 
   hypnotist to hopefully solve some of my putting problems.  They are
   in the yellow pages and they even advertise help with the golf game,
   believe it or not! I'm determined to get the handicap back to where it 
   belongs. Two years of nonsense is enough.

      For all the problems though, I had a lot of fun this year on the
   course, enjoying the best game in the world and getting a chance to
   meet some really great people. Sure beats mowing the lawn!

-rick

    	First off, I wanted to say, even though I live in western Mass.,
    wheree we do get an average amount os snow every year, I *NEVER*
    hang up the clubs!  One year, I played on New Years day, when the
    temps got up to about 48 degrees, and it was sunny.  I certainly
    don't play to often from late October thru mid March, but am always
    looking for a good weekend day to play.
    	Now the bad news.  Once again, for the 2nd straight year, my
    handicap slipped, close to half a stroke.  Three years ago, I was
    an 11 handicap and now am up to a 13.  My biggest problem this year
    was my iron play.  I used to have my biggest problems off the tee,
    but, even though that's not where I would like it, I hit the ball
    better off the tee this year, than the last 2.  Shorter, but more
    accurately.  My putting was okay.  I seem to putt well from 20 feet
    and in, but have a tough time with long putts.  And my chipping
    this season was very inconsistent.  Seemed at times, I just couldn't
    miss around the green.  One round, where I shot 38, I holed one
    chip, and hit the flag 3 other times with the ball not ending up
    more than 3 feet away in each case.  But other times, I couldn't
    buy myself a 5 or 6 footer for par.
    	I spent quite a bit of time at the driving range this year,
    and it really helped my tee game, but seemed to hurt my iron game.
    I think, more than anything else, it was because of hitting irons
    off those soft matts, with artificial turf over a thick rubber base.
    What I think was happening, is every time I hit behind the ball
    on these matts, because of the way they were structured, they almost
    guided the club into the ball in a decent hittinh position, giving
    a false sense of a good swing.  When in fact, on the course, I was
    just taking large divots, starting behind the ball, and either hitting
    the ball high and short, or turning the club face and forcing an
    off line shot.  This coming year, I'm going to concentrate more
    on my iron play, and not hit them off of matts at the range.  Also,
    on more consistant chipping and lag putting.
    
    Beak

    I live in Atlanta, and I ain't NEVER gonna hang 'em up!
    
    BUT......I have made progress on all my goals for this year
    I have been dorking around with golf for over 20 years. You know the
    type, Owns a half set of clubs, Goes to the range to kill an hour on a 
    slow monday nite, plays on vacation and about 4 other times a year. 
    
    I decided to get serious about the game two years ago, so I took a
    series of lessons. The Pro was in awe; he told me that in 30 years of
    teaching he had never met anyone with poorer hand/eye coordination. 
    Because of me he had to develop a whole new way to teach the
    fundamentals, but eventually I began to make a little progress.
    
    This year my goals wereas follows;
    
    o Learn to hit woods (especially the driver) consistantly.
    o Cut the number of 3 putt greens per round in half.
      (!15 on average last year)
    o Improve my pitching and chipping.
    o Break 90 on a consistant basis- play bogey golf, in essence.
    
    Ok how did I do?  Well I'm not doing bad with the Driver, last weekend
    in Florida, I was hitting the fairway 12 holes out of 16 (two par 3's
    on the course I played.  My fairway woods, with the exception of my good
    ol' cleek 7 are still atrocious. Big slice 9 out of 10 times.  My long
    and mid irons remain the strength of my game......I can hit a 3 or 2
    iron off the fairway farther than I can hit my driver most days. 
    
    Biggest improvement is with the short irons and with chipping and
    pitching. I have learned to accelerate thru the ball and to not quit
    on those short shots. Hell, as short a hitter as I am, I certainly am
    not going to hit it past the green! So, now if I'm within about 135
    yards, (where I hit my 7 with a slow easy swing) I'm gonna get up and
    down in 2 or 3. Putting has also improved. This summer I worked on
    getting a good "feel" for the distance to the hole, so I now usually 
    leave the ball inside that good ol' 3 foot circle. Still ain't much on
    accuracy outside of 12 feet....but I'm improving.
    
    I am breaking 90 very consistantly now, though I still have bad days.
    I used to think I'd be the happiest gut on earth if I could shoot bogey
    golf. Well, now I can, and I'm not. I have a new list to work on for
    1990, and I'm going to get it down to the low 80's or die trying!

    
    
    	My goals for the year were to make the playoffs in my DEC league
    and play more than the previous year. The first goal I made only to
    bow out in the first round. As for the second goal, it probably was
    about the same as the previous year.
    
    	My DEC league average remained close to the same as the previous
    year, although I achieved 'career best rounds' for nine holes (1 under)
    and 18 holes (even par). My 18 hole best is even preserved on video
    tape so I can analyze it during the cold months.
    
    	As far as spending time on different parts of my game, 90% was
    spent putting on or chipping to the green. This helped both areas of my
    short game in that I was confident and consistent throughout the entire
    year. I follow the school of thought that Rick B. follows; 'If it isn't
    broken don't fix it'. That explains so little time spent on the other
    parts of my game.
    
    	The biggest improvement in my game over the preceeding year was the
    mental part of my game. Very often during decent rounds I would finish
    out the last few holes playing conservative (or 'hey, I'm playing too
    good') golf. This would mean bogey or worse over these holes. I now can
    weed out 'those' thoughts and finish out rounds in a stonger fashion.
    
    	Can't wait until next year.
    
    Gary

    Although the season started out very slowly for me, by mid-season
    things picked up. 
    
    I started hitting woods this year, and how. It still amazes me how
    that little ball flies when you hit it just right. I still giggle
    a little when I hit a really good shot. Don't know why I'm able
    to hit woods now, when for the longest time hitting a wood was
    so foreign to me.
    
    My handicap dropped 4 strokes since the beginning of the year, and
    I'm sure I can get it lower. I didn't really consciously set any goals
    for 1989, but for NEXT year... 
    
    Patti

    gee, with everyone's handicap droping so much, we should all be scratch
    golfers in under 5 years

    It has been a year of extremes for my golf game. I bought new
    clubs at the start of the year and my game turned to s***!!
    For three months I struggled with the long irons and finaly
    gave up. I use a 7-wood from 170-195 yds and never reach for
    my 2-5 irons. I have used 3 diffrent putters and am carrying
    different wedges than I started the year with also. I use my
    woods to get within range of my short irons which have played
    exceptionally well all year and then get the ball in the hole
    using whatever means is necessary (including foot-wedge!!!)
      Through all of this, I have taken 12 strokes from my NCGA
    handicap (20 now). In league play, I won 2 tournaments (handicap
    flight), had 3 second place finishes, and a couple of thirds so
    it was a pretty good year as league went. Also, I shot under 90
    half a dozen times but still haven't cracked the 85 barrier.
    Shot several 41's and then a 40 (lowest 9 ever) but haven't
    broke 40 for 9 either. 
         My goals for next year are to break 85 for 18 holes and 
    to break 40 for 9 holes. Would like to be able to hit my long
    irons once again also!!!!!
    
    THE MAD HACKER

    .8
    
     I'm a demagog on putting, the best putter IN THE STATE is a guy
    at Meadowbrook called TOM CONNORS. I played with him for 5-7 yrs.
    
                 One tip is to cut the putt in half and imagine
    accelerating speed to that point and decelerating past that
    point. Also the distance of your backswing in putting determines
    distance forward.
    
                     Practise on your rug these two principles
    just to get the feel.
                                          Angelo