Range Range

On the road, the daily ritual searching for a practice rockpile. Tuscon. Las Cruces. San Antonio. Austin. Luckily, most have grassy areas to hit from, with the widest variation in the quality of range balls. Public range-only operations unfortunately have the worst, where the balls fly in all kinds of aerodynamic maneuvers you'd have difficulty even programming a drone to perform. Ranges associated with golf courses speak for the intention of the course itself, whether to just let folks warm up prior to the round, or, is a place crafted with passion for those working on the game.

Posh Barton Creek Golf Club had lousy old balls you hit out into a range where the targets were way down below you into some canyon. The municipal courses of Austin, TX carry the legacy of Harvey Penick and strong community support of golf with sweet practice facilities.

50 bucks a month for all the balls you can eat, plus deals on rounds on the Jimmy Clay course, which, for a public track, has sweet greens and an awesome place to learn how to play bump and run off of Texas-style hard pan.

Maybe I'll hang out here for a while in the fall.

World Famous

Somewhere in the outback way west of El Paso, TX where you still pump gas then pay cash. Jerky's good, but apparently the big seller is wasabi peanuts from Japan. Go figure.
(via Jiro on iPhone)

Road Taco

Pink slime and trans fat crack. Permitted only on bad days or on road trips 8 hours or more.
(via Jiro on iPhone)

Moving On

End of February. It's sunny, warm and gorgeous. As outdoor place to work on the rock pile, love this place.

More fun today playing with the big boys including lessons hidden in the grain.

Slo-mo smash at the Raven, thanks to Steve Tarkon.

Thanks also to chef for an awesome farewell feed at Hiro Sushi.  Now time to head east. Texas.

It's not forever. Promise to return :-)

Q-School

It started as another typical Saturday. Raw Meal breakfast. Cup of joe to go. Run errands, then down south to the Raven for the day's rock pile session. Ran into Martin Chuck. Had a nice lunch.

By chance, there was an opening to squeeze in right when the rates dropped at 2 PM. Weather was perfect. Felt good. Why not?

Got paired up with some Q-School dudes gunning for spots on the tour. They played from way back, made it hard on themselves, and just smashed the ball around for fun. Was a great experience playing with them and watching how good their short game was, which gave them the confidence to attack the stick knowing that if they missed, having to get up and down was no big deal. I'm only guessing, but it seemed like they weren't playing for score. Rather they were letting random stuff happen to practice how to get out of, or capitalize on, this situation or that.

On the wow front, their ball flight off the tee is indelibly inked in my brain as something to envy, and figure out how to achieve. Wedge distances are about the same, but they're a club longer around the 7 iron, and two clubs longer with the long irons. I've more work to do. Watching the ball flights, I think it has to do with the amount of de-lofting at strike and just more head speed.

Mentally, it was heaps of on-the-spot spot performance pressure training to hit my drive with my two day old driver after watching theirs get smoked down the fairway 320 yards or more. As with other sports, just dove in and played from the same tees they did all day. Recipe for becoming really good is accepting you're not, and don't quit. It was sweet.

It was good session, and after all rock pile work so far, getting feedback on how wee bit legit my game is (I'm not anywhere near their calibre) in their eyes, as the old guy among youngathletes chasing whatever 20 somethings chase. Golf's a nice job if you're one of the best 125 on the planet. If not, you still have incredible talent, and need to figure out how to monetize the value of that as enabler of something else more lucrative. Listening to their plans and dreams as they were trying to figure out the concept of value and how economic slave ship earth works was a journey back to a time when I did the same.

Practically speaking, at my age, leverage will come from the mental side of things. So today was more Dalai Lama time that was fresh, and fun.
(via Jiro on iPhone)

Jitters are Good

Bonus Friday.

I'm loving being a range mule. Problem is that you really can't gauge distance when the ball goes much beyond 200 yards. With the new R15s, I was curious to try them on the course where getting data on distance performance was a lot easier.

Today, had the good fortune to be paired with Tom, a head PGA pro from the midwest, and his wife Cathy. Tom was playing from the gold tees, so it was a good opportunity to dive in and see what happens from back there with the new R15s.

Like skiing with the really good guys from the movies, got 18 holes of watching Tom play. How his ball flighted. How he hit approaches, short and long. Spun and stopped the ball. Played the short game around the green. And putted. All with this beautiful consistency. It was a great experience, and learning lesson of how things could be.

He was also kind enough to give me a tip about the takeaway and proper rotation, which is something I'm very keen on to protect my back from further injury. As I can't see myself, that one tip he gave me, will make a big difference for me going forward. So many thanks for that, Tom.

It was also awesome experiencing the nervousness of the pro watching, and hitting from where he's hitting, and how my ball will fare compared to his, etc, with these new R15s modded the day before that I don't yet trust. All that ego stuff. So it was four hours of good Dalai Lama time as well.

Weather was perfect. They were great fun. Learned about the GolfNow app. And the R15s tested out just fine for now.

Tomorrow, back to the rock pile. Now three dominas to deal with. The work continues...

Deeper into Hard

Apparent success with the R15 driver mod propelled me to do the same the 3 wood, another club I'd dreaded. Set the goal at reach of up to 260 (with roll) and tune for accuracy over distance as needed. That'll be an option off the tee into tight fairways, and something I can also snuggle onto the green on long par 5s, or when I mess up something shorter and need length to try and recover.

In Golf Disneyland, wishes are granted immediately, so straight onto the net via the phone at the range and then off to the shop.

No reason not to go with the R15. Double check with Shiels and Finch. Find an almost new 15 degree X-shafted one at Second Swing. Trade in my "tink" driver (just learned about that), back weight (lead tape is in my bag), dash to Vans to cut to 42.5" and grip with Winn wrap medium, stretched.

Had to think a bit about the back weighting, and did a variable gap wrap of the lead to reduce the amount of back weight. You smear the lead down so it's all smooth before it gets taped and gripped.

Off to the range. I block it a bit, but it flies solid and it feels great. Needs a bit of work to hit off the deck and get the 260, but occasionally do that already, so it's a good starting point.

We'll see how the incumbent Mizuno hybrid 19 and 22 degrees settle out once I can hit the 4 iron solid and reasonably master the 3 wood. Bit suspicious of the Mizuno's cuz they flew good when my swing wasn't sound. So as the swing improves, not sure what'll happen there. What's clear is that rockpile work is now focued on MB and the new (used and hacked) driver and 3 wood, and work towards the rest from there.

Iron Byron, Not

Next, driver theory. I just can't seem to be able to swing my driver. Feels awkward. Have to try too hard to get it around. Spray it all over the place. Launches weak rainbow drives that don't go very far. The tink sound completes the unsatisfactory experience.

Learned enough to not depend completely on golf companies to solve the problem of my golf game. I've a bit more confidence now how to go about thinking through my problems, and taking a crack at the solution.

First checked what Shiels and Finch have to say about drivers. They like the Taylor Made R15. I'm not good enough for the M1.

Off to Second Swing. There's a couple dozen R15s. I'm not Bubba Watson so 10.5 degrees to start. I can adjust downward as needed, and if the resultant closed face becomes uncomfortable, get another less lofted one. Get the X-Shaft. Force my skills towards being able to hit that. Have to consider that if the pros are playing this driver, then it's tuned to be hit 115 mph or more on an X-Stiff shaft.

I'm not Iron Byron (or his cousin Ping Man, above). So cut the shaft down to 44.5 inches. That'll also drive the swing weight down from D6. I can live with reduction in theoretical head speed, and get on with swinging the head the way it was designed to be.

Until I get stronger, back weight the shaft. David Lee taught me how to do this, and why.

Dash to Vans to get all that done (I do the back weight, they have rest of the kit) for $2, instead of me futzing about without the right tools. They're out of Winn wrap grips, so go midsize from my stash with minimal tape and pull and stretch the grip to make up for the lead tape.

Off to the range. Hit it awesome. Sounds sweet.

Legit Flight

Another couple of thousand balls, these sessions with domina MB. Today, finally got one to fly properly. Kinda flew out and up and maintained that trajectory, neither ballooning up or dropping back down like a rainbow. Got to that 30 meter or so height way down there, and then softly (seemingly) dropped back to earth.

I've now achieved that flight (once, but hey), and have experienced the feel of that strike. Now to make it repeatable. The unexpected side-effect is that all of a sudden, having to hit it 190 or more isn't intimidating anymore. The fear of long par 3s and 4s has morphed into a challenge. Excited to try them now, instead of worrying about how long the par 3s are.

Still, there's lots more work with MB on consistency and directional control. Probably also need to get stronger as well to bring all that mass around and through the strike properly, without that cheating slide learned as a kid.

Did do a quick downshift test of the Ping 4 iron, and yes, what I've learned with the MB translates to the shorter clubs. Theory is working :-)

Time to maybe fiddle with the driver now.

Hostile Cactus

Was warned today about the dreaded jumping cholla, a hostile species that apparently waits patiently and then jumps and snags onto ambulatory life forms passing nearby for transportation. Nice strategy for getting around. Scary, like the odd critters in the Aussie outback trying to kill you.

Checking on the web, they don't quite have the ability to jump at you, but they do have tenacious micro spines that embed into virtually anything.

Photo By Nebarnix, CCSA 3.0

Add to that a wobbly stem structure, you get a an ouch when the first one digs in, a pull back reaction which bends the whole plant like a golf shaft and lofts more of these hostile balls of microspines at you. Ouch. Process repeats, and repeats. Before you know it, the legend of the attacking jumping cholla is perpetuated (Golf Fan Attacked by Jumping Cactus on the Tube here).

They're nasty and painful, and best to avoid them, but leave 'em alone untouched, and you'll be fine. And if you do get pricked, don't react, scream and hop around cuz they will "jump" on you :-)
(via Jiro on iPhone)

Sunset Magic

Sunset on the Sonoran Desert should be on everyone's bucket list. The light is absolutely magic. Amidst all the golf-related scramble, a little breather and a walk to take in the amazing desert nature here.

The little guy in the front doesn't fit the composition, but el patrón sahuaros have a beginning too.
(via Jiro on iPhone)

Submission

At Second Swing there's a special section they call the Vault. Racks of one off vintage clubs from which could reconstruct the history of the clubs made promising you'll play better, or be like someone on the Wheaties box you're not.

There, found the old 3 iron section, of forged blade clubs from the last century, and there an old washed up Titleist muscle back called out to me "I'm still the bad ass hardest one to hit of the bunch". Sold.

My new domina. If going for punishment, then go all the way. Charlie Bukowski would nod and smile.

Hard, just got harder.

Harder is Better

Slowly making daily progress with the 4 iron. Today, with dilated eyes, feeling of distance between brain and ball is wobbly so it's like swinging weirdly drunk. Just one drop of stuff in each eye will do it. Secret agent kit for the MI6-KGB Match Play Championship.

Thought then occurs to me that maybe range sessions should be made purposely difficult. Choose small targets. Windy conditions. Hard to hit irons. Bad lies. Lousy balls. Master that, then a nice warm day on a perfectly groomed course has to seem like shooting ducks in a barrel.

Could move to Scotland. Or, wonder if there's a club harder to hit than my 4?
(via Jiro on iPhone)

Fluids Check

PVD progress inspection on the docket for today. The eye exams are really starting to wear on me. Show up on time. Wait. Get asked the same questions each time. Wait. Get eyeballs numbed. Be told some safe-esque story about a blue light looking at my eye when I know it's a probe and it's gonna prod my eyeball. Wait. Dilation drops. Wait. Etc. Just want it to be all over.

Good news is that nature is progressing without drama. Wontons still floating around in there and kinda there to stay. They can be lasered but require hundreds of pulses (that actually hit the wontons) before they start to pulverize. Or, the vitreous humor can be removed, but that's not a simple oil change.

Bad news is dilated eyes for the rest of the day, which means yet another blurry, sunglasses mandatory post-exam afternoon.
(via Jiro on iPhone)

Dear Mr. Bezos

Aaargh. The United States Postal Service. Avoid like the plague, but they've discovered yet another crack in the wall through which to gain access to my life.

Apparently Amazon has contracted them to do the local deliveries, and the USPS tries to deliver on Sundays (to a known closed on Sundays address), documents it as closed, and the package which would normally arrive by Fedex or UPS on Monday then goes into the black hole of the postal service.

Of course the USPS knows the UPS Store is closed on Sundays. But do an inquiry and you'll get the response a form hasn't been filed declaring that or some other typical nonsense.

I can't opt out of Sunday deliveries, so only way to fix it is to write the boss.

Gsus. With the UPS Store, Fedex and Amazon, thought I'd managed to escape the gelatinous slower than tectonic plate shift tentacles of the USPS. Sigh.
(via Jiro on iPhone)

Read My Mind

Stopped by Whole Foods to reload on parmesan crisps. Found a new variant, with garlic, onion and yummy seeds. No need anymore for Parmesan in the oven experiments :-)

At least someone is reading the blog. ha ha.
(via Jiro on iPhone)

Starting Over

How do I improve my 8, 7, 6, 5 and 4 irons?

The obvious answer is to do same as with the short clubs: hit them on the range, warming up with short irons and working up to the long ones. Thinking about it, when it's time for the 4 iron, I'm short on balls, strength, patience and whatever else on the menu that day. Then there's practice needed for the driver as well. What to do?

Data so far says that learning shorter clubs doesn't translate much to longer clubs. Also looked on the net and what the teaching pros marketing themselves say. That made the decision easier: take the other path and decided to learn to hit my 4 iron. That's it. When I'm good with that, not in a range session but after however many thousands of balls it takes to consistently smash the 4, I'll move down to the 5. It's not like I came up with this theory in a vacuum by me little self. I remember videos of Elk's workouts in the off season - two big bags of 3 irons a day. David Lee did the same to get his game back.

Dashed to the range with new plan and only 4 iron in hand (Ping doesn't make a 3 iron G30). 3 bags please. Brain dashes ahead on getting it worked out and maybe sneaking in another nine. Another gorg day in the desert. Wrong.

I can't hit it. Skulls. Shanks. Fatties. Limp hits. The 4 doesn't fly much further than my 9 iron and barely gets off the ground (all irons should fly about 30 meters high, says TrackMan). Worse, the sound and feel of the hit is awful. It hurts. The harder I try to make it work, the worse it gets, and the worse it gets the swing mechanics I've worked on so far go out the window. Finally give up and crawl back to the hovel, regressing a few Jack-in-the-Box monster tacos on the way back loaded with carbs, trans-fats and savoury pink slime to deaden the anguish.

Icing hands and reflecting that it's just one day later and I suck again. That was fast. Like being at Caesars. Chug the rest of Oi Ocha.

OK. Do the Dalai Lama. Start over. In Scottsdale, not Bangladesh. It's snow free sunny 80 degrees. It's raining in Portland. Focus. Grip. Feet. 4 iron. Punch. Rotate. Extend. Already been through the Joy of Sucking masterclass, so no worries :-)

If I was a self-promoting teaching pro needing a good first client experience and positive movement in each session to drive repeat business and positive client feedback on social media, I'd never recommend this path. Hmmm. Feet feels interesting nuggets underneath.

Crenshaw

Time today to retire the Ping putter.

Watched the Ben Crenshaw interviews on the Tube. He uses a 8802 putter, it seems. Poke around a bit, and they're expensive, which also makes for a lot of knock offs being peddled around E-Bay. But that's a lesser problem. I listened to Ben, and other than he putts by feel through the ball, didn't pick up any insights. Then I realized it's not Ben. It's the guy asking the questions. Ben's just politely answering. It's like asking Baryshnikov how he manages to perform as he does, like doing same is gonna enable me to be a ballet genius.

8802. Burke says start with a blade. Roger.

Second Swing is a great retailer, both online and brick and mortar. Here in Golf Disneyland, of course there's a store nearby. All the used clubs you can eat under one roof. Instead of the 8802, found a used minty 8813 at a deal price that felt good in my hands. 8813 is the same as the 8802 except for alignment markings from the top view and fortunately isn't a collectible so market prices are good (The GolfWRX nitpickers will tell me why I'm a dumb ass but they don't know I know that already).

Feel. Stroke. Through the ball. Kinda like a proper iron hit. Thanks Ben. Now back to sifting through Jackie Burke's unadulterated slurry of tidbits to look for the nuggets.

Dilemma of Distance 2

87 yards from the green, pop in a lob cozy to the pin. Walk up 10 yards or so,  and try again, this time a bit softer. Ball still flies almost the same distance as the first.

So reducing the flight distance of short irons is a trickier problem than it seems. So must be yet another secret lurking about for doing that.

Time to start digging again.
(via Jiro on iPhone)

Cheating

Yes, I cheated. Instead of hitting balls today, snuck out onto the course. That's the third tee at the Raven, on a perfect late Saturday afternoon with nobody on the course (do the dalai lama and give up playing the 18 holes you are entitled to, late afternoons on the weekend are awesome times to play). Did assert a little moral compensation by promising to myself: "just nine holes". Learned a lot today playing hookie from the range.

Didn't play from the back. That's probably not fun yet. So played the silver tees one notch down. Addressing the ball on the first tee, the first thing I noticed was my feet noticing how bumpy the ground was. Sweet. I'm getting feet sense and connected to earth :-)

Today, I was lucky, like being rewarded for the thousand swats of discipline and the long days of patience waiting for Mr. Ping. The course is easy on you on the right, as there's usually a another fairway there. So spraying the driver, usually right, wasn't disaster. Played a lot off the neighboring fairways today.

The range work with the short irons paid off. The 9 through lob all hit the green (which seemed huge compared to the range targets) and made up for the other not so good shots. Was really happy. Only one fattie today. When I had to hit a 4 or 5 iron, things weren't so wonderful. So the work with short irons isn't helping much on the longer irons, or on the driver. The utility clubs, however, flew the distance but aim was kinda random.

What I learned:
- Can't hit a driver
- Short iron practice doesn't transfer much to long irons or driver
- I hate my putter (old Ping Anser from Ebay)
- I feel the ground under my feet. Bumps on tees, gradients on greens.
- Can't hit bunker shots
- The heads on tees are now very small. Ball kept falling off. Maybe age.
- Suck at longer irons
- Hybrids fly good, so need directional work there next
- For now, 220 for my 19 degree and 200 for my 22 deg
- Short game around green: contact is ok, distances bad
- Non-full swing short iron distances are hard
- Mental screw ups are unbelievably unconscious and appear stupid

A little digression into the destructive power of the subconscious heroic ego. On the ninth hole, the driver flew good, but into the right rough. Standing at the ball, I had a clear line to the whole green and could make it with the 19 degree hybrid. Lie was good. No wind issues. Pin way back left and easy to dribble in on a right to left. Crack. Then crack, again. I literally didn't see nor think about the tree near me that would come into play if the shot started beyond the right edge of the green. Now I'm in the trees, punch out with a 7, have a long iron to the green, and three putt from about as far as I could be. The brain spirals into the Woulda-Couldas. Smart sister Shoulda, however, says shoulda hit whatever confident to get into short iron range (which I'm striking good all day). What shoulda been a 5, now is a 7. Didn't hit the green in two. Didn't get an eagle. Just stuck my head up my backside on this one. In reflection, however, I never saw the tree nor even thought I'd hit it. It's fascinating. It's not stupid. It's worse. It's unconscious.

On the bright side, as a bonus, with nobody in front or behind me, worked on way to record audit data for the round in real time. The score is just the symptom. I'm interested in drilling down to the root cause, for which you need data. With root cause, you can then shape the daily practice routine and surf time on the Tube. Hmmm. Maybe an app...

So, I've some pondering to do and weave that into this week's work.

BTW, it's funny that I found a few balls on the course today. All good almost new if not new Callaways. Hmmm. A sweet way to PR a ball.
(via Jiro on iPhone)