2015 Season Wrap Up

Alas, it’s supposed to be 72 degrees the day after Christmas in the DMV and no doubt the season could be extended another week, but I’ll be in New England for the holidays.  Let’s call it a wrap on the 2015 golf season and analyze performance.

Usually, not much changes with my game from year to year but 2015 had a notable exception.  This was the year where I made great strides on the greens.  Late in 2014 I had made a change to my pre-shot putting routine that allowed for better speed judgment.  I leveraged that into nearly a full stroke less in putts per round.  The benefit was fully reflected in a lower scoring average and better relation to par stats.  The discovery was exciting and I’ll continue with this in 2016.

My ball striking with the driver also improved as I worked to simplify my mechanics by focusing on making a full shoulder turn.  Unfortunately, I couldn’t parlay better driving into more GIRs and the stats were virtually identical to the previous year.  In fact, every year I’m somewhere between eight and nine greens per round and can’t seem to get over that hump.  No doubt ingrained swing habits and my reluctance to try wholesale changes are playing a part, and while I’d like to ultimately get to an average of 10 GIRs, that’s a stretch goal.

The bad news was short game.  I wasn’t a basket case like Tiger before The Masters, but struggled mentally all year, and played defensively from the fringe and primary rough.  Oddly, my sand game was good since I made a technique change early in the season, but I’ve committed to taking short game lessons in the spring to refresh my approach.

On a positive note, last Saturday I spent a couple of hours at the short game area trying to work the problem and think I may have stumbled into an “ah-ha” moment.  It’s been my hypothesis all along that I have the shots but just cannot decide what to execute and then cannot perform them for whatever reason.  In addition to playing defensively, I feel defensive when thinking of what shot to play.  So I stopped and thought about the problem and realized for the first time that my short game pre-shot routine was different from my full swing pre-shot routine.  I can’t believe that it had not occurred to me in all this time, but I started to use my full swing routine around the green and the simplicity and clarity provided immediate positive feedback.  Then I made a minor mechanical change and stood a little closer to the ball for all shots (picture Raymond Floyd) and voila!  Contact and confidence were back.

I was excited to battle test these changes the next day and went out for my final round of the year in a great mental state.  As is sometimes the case, the confidence yielded a very good ball striking day and a round of 3-over par.  I drove the ball better than I had all year and hit 12 greens.  Five of the six misses were on the fringe and every one was close enough to putt, so I never got to try out my new technique, but the change has left me with a positive mindset going into the off season.  I will set up my driving mat on the patio in the winter and will work on some light chipping technique as well as the pre-shot routine to get ready for 2016.

How did you evaluate your performance this year?  Here’s my final metrics from this year vs. last.

Year	Score	To Par	GIR	Putts
2015	78.83	7.40	8.54	31.26
2014	79.97	8.47	8.47	32.25

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Serious Improvement for 2016

Today I should have been out cutting down a Christmas tree but the weather was too good to waste so I called my wife’s friend and scheduled the third installment of her beginner’s golf instruction.  Last time out, we covered putting and etiquette and today we hit the range at Little Bennett to work some full swing and short game.  The practice area was predictably packed but we got in a full two hours.

As is sometimes the case, when you teach or demonstrate a skill to someone else, you sometimes gain clarity on how you can better employ the same skill for yourself.  Have you found that to be the case?  I had the epiphany about my own improvement for 2016 while showing my pupil how to chip.   I NEED TO TAKE SHORT GAME LESSONS.  Actually the thought was percolating in my subconscious after my round last weekend.  I had been tinkering with the thought of implementing an early wrist hinge in hopes of improving my ball striking but abandoned that WOOD band-aid and just went out and played.  My ball striking was good but my short game was terrible.  I usually find during slow periods when I’ve had a layoff or am not actively working on my game, my full swing sustains but the short game touch is fleeting.  Sound familiar?

Anyway, I realized that my issue around the greens is always that I’m playing too defensively.  I think it’s because I don’t have confidence in my technique and as a result am indecisive on which shot to play.  Admittedly, my first thought before hitting a short shot is to “not miss it too badly” instead of “sink it,” like Phil would.  I believe I have the shots but need a pro to reinforce the proper mechanics, especially with my wedges.  Perhaps that will turn my short game into the aggressive weapon that I need.

On the full swing, I’ve come to realize that my move has been grooved over a 40-year period, and it has been extremely hard to change anything other than grip and ball position.  You truly do revert to your learned habits over such an extended duration and I’ve tried to change my swing so many times with adverse effects that it just doesn’t make sense.

So here’s hoping the good weather holds in the DMV and with luck we’ll be playing through New Years.  I’m off to find a short game guru . . . and buy a Christmas tree.

Play well!