lord it's been some time

Alright so not the constant posting that I had been hoping for but isn't that how a blog works?  It's not like good golf isn't a goal but it also isn't easy.  The game is 95% mental and 5% non sucking swing and if you've got that you've got yourself a pretty good golf game.  This spring and summer were not easy or fun and it had a serious effect on my game.  Quick summary without too many unnecessary details:
- Started to see John and coaching was going just okay.  In the end I found out he wasn't the right fit for me as his style wasn't my thing and he didn't explain things in a way that clicked for me.  I think he is an excellent coach and I am a much better golfer when I use the set up that he taught me.  I will for sure have this set up into the absolute indefinite future.  While every coach  I have from now forward will have their own idea of the right setup I really like John's and I think that it's really sold and build for swinging from the lower body.
- Not that it matters.  John moved to China to teach golf there to Olympic hopefuls.
- Emotionally this summer hasn't been easy.  A rough life carries straight out onto the course and I actually left the course in one instance where I couldn't pull my shit together emotionally enough to even play.  No wonder Tiger fell off the scene when his wife chased after him with a golf club.

Last week though I decided I've had enough bad golf games and called my friend Jeff.  He isn't exactly a PGA swing coach but he is good at reminding me of the things I'm doing wrong.  He calls me out all the stuff that John called out and the most important thing?  He doesn't use gimmicks.  None of this oh well if you hold your club like this you will fix your swing cause it's so closed at impact that you can't possibly slice the ball.  No.  Jeff says something and it must be how he says it or how he explains things but they click with me right away and it's easy for me to fix things on the spot.  He also gets me motivated to play well and that's what it's all about... motivation to  play well and motivation to practice.  I'm telling you, practice is key.  You've got to practice... and not just like once a month, once a week, twice a week.... but like at least one round a week and practice a couple times a week.  Clubs in hand three times a week to maintain playing the same way you play every week.  Add a swing coach, time on the putting green with drills and sticks, working out, yoga, range time and chipping.  Hours of chipping... then... then watch your handicap drop.  Simple as that right?  Who has all this time???

Lunch Monday:  Putting... After work Monday:  Meet with Jeff and work on swing.
Tuesday:  Yoga at lunch, swim after work
Wednesday: Yoga at lunch, range after work with chipping
Thursday: Yoga at lunch, curling at night
Friday:  Swim at lunch if lucky or yoga, short game or practice after work.
Saturday:  Yoga or 18 holes.
Sunday:  Comedy Golf

So... the time exists.  But... it is really hard to get that practice in.  Kevin is gone all week working on the east coast and I have no kids and by looking at my calendar you probably think no social life either :)  I used to curl as much as I play golf and I got really pretty good at it.  Curling isn't accessible here so I've replaced the obsession with golf.  Love it.  Shot one of my best rounds this weekend and now I cannot wait to get back out and play again.  More goodies to come!  Thanks for sticking with me, it's onward and upward from here!

1+1+1+1+1+1+1 = a golf swing

I'm supposed to practice these little swings and every time I add something else I'm supposed to do I forget something else.  Good back swing, why have I lost my posture?  Good contact, why is your wrist opening the club face?  Time to practice... how?  I've just come up with a good way to do this.  Same as rowing!  Focus tens.

Ten 1.25 swings....

Ten for back swing position at the hinge. 

Ten for grounded feet. 

Ten for hips swinging the club. 

Ten for only a 1.25 finish club butt pointed at my hip. 

Ten for wrist position. 

Ten for feeling the club change direction.  

Ten for good posture. 

Gonna see how this works for me.  It worked with rowing after all.  Quick hands away, sitting up, slow up the side... with any highly technical sport with repetitive movement I think this might be key!  For sure without a doubt when I keep my good posture and swing with my hips the rest becomes much easier.  Duh Amanda.

In other news I realized golf is 95% mental, 3% style and 2% knowing what you're doing.  Also, no thanks to the PGA store my clubs are the right length and the grips are the jam.  Alright, off to practice.  Ten for grounded feet in two.  

practice makes perfect

Unsolicited advice.  I dish it out all the time... can't lie.  Random stuff, what roads to take after 5 PM, what curling shoes are best, how to pass the 8th grade, why you need Amazon prime.  When it comes to the golf course it's like men can't stop with the advice.  Choke down, choke up, feet wider, feet more narrow, stand closer, stand back a bit, arms loser, firmer grip, loosen the grip... rapid fire, unsolicited, I'm gonna punch you if you don't stop talking, advice.  So how's a girl to deal?  Here is some... uh, unsolicited advice on how to deal with it on the range and more importantly, in the middle of a round. :)

This week has been tough.  I'm trying to really working on making good contact, leading with the left wrist but not breaking the hinge, and finishing with weight transfer to make the ball go straight with good loft.  That's a lot of stuff to work on.  However, because I practice and practiced and practiced my set up I'm fining it easier to work on what I want.  That's been my deal all week - everything is off to the right though.  Shank freaking central.  Shaw Shank Redemption.  It's bad news.  Brad and I went to the driving range and he was determined to make this work for me.  So he starts talking, moving me around, do this, do that.  Bla bla bla.  This is why I have a pro.  The best thing to do is remember what your coach told you.  If the person you are with tells you something your pro told you take it as a good reminder.  If they say something that helps you understand something your pro already told you... great, it will only help to hear it in another way and maybe it will help make it stick.  If they start saying something that contradicts something your pro told you just gently tell the advice giving man, no.  Case in point.  I need to keep my feet shoulder distance - even a touch more.  My shoulders are really wide - wider than my hips for sure.  It looks funny to have my feet that far apart but I need to have them that way at this point because it helps with my hip rotation.  Brad didn't like it.  I just said, hey Brad, it's something I'm working on with John because bla bla bla.  He says okay and we move on.  In the end he helped remind me of some things I needed to be working on and I'm not hitting balls off to the right nearly as much.  It's good to get out and practice with different people.  It makes practice more fun and it helps me get used to golfing with more people so I'm less nervous in the tee box.  

Story two...  we had our tournament of champions yesterday at Bixby.  We still drew names and I got Brad's friend Brandon.  He and I have played together before and I could tell he was a bit disappointed that we drew the same number.  I knew he thought he had a good chance of winning with the right partner and that partner probably wasn't me.  We were one of the first groups to tee off.  I did my set up, took a deep breath, tried to calm my nerves and gave it a sold hit.  Right.  Right into the trees.  I pulled my tee, and walked back to my bag, tossed in the stupid six iron, threw my bag on my back and started down the fairway.  This was not how I wanted to start my round.  I could feel my body was tense, my heart was beating fast and I even felt a little numb and shaky.  CRAP.  I wanted a good first shot and I wanted to impress my partner.  I know Brandon is super competitive and I knew he wanted a chance to win.  Right away he started giving me advice, how to play, what the strategy was, not to let the other pair with us get in our heads.  Important to have fun... all this bull.  I walked up to my bad shot, picked my ball up and said, "Listen.  Take some of your own advice.  Just be cool and let's have a good game."  We did and he had nothing else to say to me about my swing  I shaped up after that and didn't have too many bad shots.  In fact, I golfed really well and we had a solid ham and egg game finishing -1.   Be firm about what you're working on and don't let anyone work you up or get in your business.