Blog archives for July, 2007

Hitting balls from mats doesn’t give the same feel or results as hitting from grass.  Most driving ranges use mats since there’s less maintenance.  At Pin High in Alviso, CA, you can choose to hit from grass, and I did just that today.  Even though the grass was not in perfect condition, it felt a [...]

I’ve heard it said that the best time to practice is after a round, since you know what you need to work on.  Of course, you could just make some notes and work on it later.  Anyway, I put in a practice session after my round this morning.

 Despite being tired, it went well.  Direction of [...]

Only 9 holes, but very long compared to the exec course.  Played the back nine at Spring Valley, early morning. 

Warmed up for half an hour.  Shots were just OK.  Some fading/slicing.
Shot 60, with 1 bogey and 3 double bogeys.  So assuming the front nine is equally “easy”, that would be 120 for 18 holes.  So [...]

At Spring Valley.
-Pitching was fine.
-Bunker shots OK.  A few were ball-first instead of sand-first, sending them over the fence…
-Iron shots (PW through 6I) were near perfect: contact, distance and direction.
-Keyed on “seeing” the clubhead and ball moving under my chin towards the target.
-Distance:
PW 80  9I 90  8I 100  7I 110  6I 120  4H 130-150  (added 10yds [...]

Hitting from a perfectly level surface on the driving range is one thing, playing on an uneven golf course is another.  I found some really embarrasing shots happening in some real world cases.  Here’s what info I could find on uneven lies. This is very consistent from article to article with different authors.
1) Ball above [...]

Practice at Santa Clara Golf and Tennis.
-Pitch Shots fine.
-Iron shots: 99% solid contact. Good height.  Direction: some left to right especially 7 iron and longer clubs.
-4 Hybrid: 99% solid contact.  Height, distance and direction were all good.

Practice at Sunnyvale Golf and Tennis Club.  Not a bad place to practice if you work in the area.  It’s a bit windy and planes fly over frequently.  Bring an extra layer and your MP3 player.
 My results:
-Iron shots:  good height and distance.  Direction OK; 80% of the shots had slight left-to-right curve.
-Distances (in yds):
PW 70   9I 80   [...]

Been practising these as well. 
 Here’s what works for me:
-Ball position in line with left instep.
-Settle shoes into the sand.
-Focus on spot 1 to 2 inches behind the ball.
-Think about hitting that spot, not the ball.
-Swing smoothly.
-Make a vertical arm swing, lower body relatively still.
-Slap the spot in the sand.
-Make sure to follow through to a [...]

Spring Valley is a scenic course in the hills of Milpitas, CA.  Their practic facility has a driving range, putting green, chipping area and two bunkers.
 Today I practiced:
-Pitching.  Felt great, lots of solid contact.
-PW-9-8-7 irons.  Distance was OK, direction control marginal.
-Hit some good 4 Hybrid shots of the practice mat.  Key was to maintain constant spine angle, [...]

I learnt this technique for Pitch shots from a magazine, works for me:
1) Take the club back, by sliding right elbow along/around your right side.
2) Make your follow-through longer than your backswing.  The club will be accelerating at impact and solid contact is more likely.
3) Keep more weight on your left side, maybe 60-40.
4) Ball [...]