The Golfchick

That chick blabbing about anything golf related.

Tag: Breaking 80 (page 1 of 2)

Golf is a Man. He Abuses Me, But I’m Staying With Him.

July 12, 2012 / / 9 Comments

Golf must be a man, because he’s so frustrating! He pleases and punishes. Can’t live with him, can’t kill him. Just when I think we have one issue sorted out, another one arises. If golf wasn’t hard challenging, I wouldn’t be interested. As far as I know, there’s no shelter for abused golfers and besides, the way I’ve been playing, it seems more like I’m the abuser – but golf had it coming!

In my open letter to golf, I declared my love for him and many of the reasons I feel the way I do. It has been a torrid love affair since then. We’ve had our differences for sure, but there are few conditions that will keep me away from golf. I even appreciate a sloppy, wet round. When conditions aren’t ideal for going out, I always want them to be. I can’t think of a time I haven’t wanted to play golf or wished I could when I couldn’t! I recently experienced a new level of that obsession. Last weekend, I actually dreaded going out to play golf.  It wasn’t the weather, which couldn’t have been more perfect, and it wasn’t a personal distraction or some kind of illness or injury. It wasn’t a mandatory business round with some kind of douchebag, it was with friends whose company I really enjoy. No, the whole reason I was sour for the entire 24 hours leading up to my tee time was because I was incredibly disheartened due to my own ineptitude. Yet there was no way I wasn’t going. I was still absolutely compelled to get out there, like the true sadomasochist golf has made me.

flagellator

My newest golf training aid

State of the Union

For about a year now, I’ve been struggling with “The Process.” You know, the one when you make a swing change and nothing will ever be the same? I want to get better. The goal is to break 80. My scores ballooned and now I don’t remember the last time I even broke 90, and it’s a “good” day when I break 100. At first, I was okay with that – it was somewhat expected, though aggravating all the same. I had breakthroughs and saw improvement. I had hope. Even when I sucked or regressed, I was convinced I could power through and it would all be worth it. Then it became embarrassing. And infuriating. And counter-productive.  Bad thoughts didn’t just creep in, they infested my brain.

I’m keenly aware of the mental aspect of golf and understand these thoughts are debilitating and feed on themselves. Like any golfer, I have plenty of reasons/excuses why this is happening, like my focus being challenged with stresses and my patience being sapped by other aspects of my life. But I know that’s bullshit. I know what I’m capable of and I take pride in my ability to adjust my mindset and change my mind with authority. But this was brutal. I was in a golfer’s shame spiral.

The last few times I’ve played, I’ve managed to hit a few shots that were decent enough to allow me to cling to hope. On the range, it’s been a different story. Perhaps it’s because the good shots don’t really show results, but they became fewer and fewer until I could barely hit a ball at all. Topping it, shanking it, yanking it, worm burning it, spraying it every which way — everything but even the hint of good contact with my irons. After all that work! I went to the course on Saturday with the intention of playing 18 if I could hit a few good shots on the range. I couldn’t. It was a complete nightmare. It finally came crashing down to destroy me mentally.

I have never felt less athletic or more uncoordinated in my life. Humiliated, defeated, and utterly disheartened, I was actually a little nervous at the thought of lifting my bag and carrying it to my car, in case this palsy would affect my ability to walk as well. I managed to make the walk of shame without falling or freezing up and drove home holding back tears. I know – there’s no crying in golf! But that’s how much it means to me.

Thank You, Sir, May I Have Another?

This is where the dread comes in. I had agreed to join my friends the next day for a Sunday Funday round. Though we never mentioned it, we all knew we would also be practicing for our club matches at the same course the following weekend. After feeling like I hit rock bottom (that better be the lowest!), I planned to arrive early enough to give myself a nice, unrushed hour of time on the range, with highest hopes of sucking less, and lowest pathetic goal of just making solid contact a few times to boost my spirits so I could be a fun golfer for my friends. I left home with enough time to carry out that plan, but an overturned semi on the freeway shutting down all lanes had a better idea for me.

Best Laid… Plans

After taking a back way through a winding canyon, I made it to the course right at tee time, checked in & raced to the tee just as my friends finished their drives. So, with nothing but the practice swing of my drive routine, I started my round. Decent drive, just off the fairway to the right, about 150 uphill left to the flag. With an easy swing I made the green with my next shot and two putted for par. What. The. Fuck. It was as though I forgot that I couldn’t play golf. The rest of the round had its ups and downs, much like a normal golf round, not a disastrous one. I made some really good shots, several hard pulls (which had been my primary miss until I started not making contact), and some irritating short game shots including at least 4 3-putts, but was more than pleased with my round of 92.

On the last four holes, I hit three great drives up the middle and 4 solid shots onto the greens. I really felt like I had something figured out on those iron shots. When the round was over, all I wanted to do was go hit another golf ball, and another one after that, but Sir Vito was waiting for me.

We Can Work It Out

I am encouraged, and am holding onto these positive feelings! In case I’m stupid enough to start thinking again, I hope that the simple swing thought I used on those last four holes continues to be effective. Sometimes I can successfully fake my brain out like I’m too naive to the game to understand what’s happening but I think it’s time I give up that tactic. I’m not falling for my own shit anymore. Golf is a man. He tries to act like he doesn’t care about me but I know he doesn’t want me to leave him. Now we’re both mature enough to know that if we want it to be, and I’m patient enough, this partnership will be amazing. If we can get through this, we can get through anything.

Golf can be an asshole, but I’m in love. And I’m not going anywhere.

Next post.

There’s Nothing Average About Par

November 1, 2011 / / 14 Comments

I have been thinking about how hard golf is and how most people never break 80, let alone shoot par, and remembered this article I wrote that originally published over at World Golf. It has been so long now since I wrote it I thought I’d share it with you here now. Would love to hear your thoughts on the subject of par!

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What is par? The American Heritage Dictionary defines par as “an amount or level considered to be average” or in sports usage “the number of golf strokes considered necessary to complete a hole or course in expert play.”

How — or more to the point, why — did a word meaning average get morphed into expert when it pertains to golf? Experts in golf are a tiny fraction of the golfing population. The rest of us are left struggling to achieve such a high standard which is, perhaps, one of golf’s addictive properties. But does it even have any relevance?

Why do golf holes and golf courses have numbers set for par? Whether par on a hole is 3, 4 or 5, if you shoot 5, your score is still 5. And if your total score for 18 holes is 85, does it really matter if par is 70 or 72? You know if 85 is a good score for you or not. Aren’t personal goals more relevant than par? I guess par can be a good reference point when setting your own goals. For example, if you’re playing a long or tricky “par 4” hole, you might be happy to make a 5 or 6 there. I know some people set their own personal pars that might be equal to an “official” bogey or double bogey on any given hole. So what difference does par make to the average (not par) golfer?

According to the USGA, any hole measuring 400 yards or longer is a par 5 for women, regardless of what the scorecard states. If the scorecard lists a hole at 425 yards as a par 4 and a male and a female both shoot a 4, she gets to feel better about it and consider it a birdie? Yawn. At the end of a round, my score is still what it is so who cares? Handicap calculations are based on the USGA course and slope ratings for both genders from a given set of tees and the formula doesn’t consider par. In fact, the USGA offers a formula for determining the Bogey Rating of a course and recommends that “every golfer worse than a scratch” use it as a “truer yardstick of the challenge.”

I recently played a course with my boyfriend and we both played from the same set of tees at 6575 yards. Here is an example of the Bogey Rating in action:
Him: Slope Rating (121) divided by 5.381 (set value for men), plus the Course Rating (69.0) = Target score of 91.48. Actual score: 88
Me: Slope Rating (138) divided by 4.24 (set value for women), plus the Course Rating (75.2) = Target score of 107.74. Actual score: 100

*Interesting side note: if I use the men’s ratings with the women’s set value or the women’s ratings with the men’s set value, the result is much closer to my actual score.

I have my own, more precise calculator that uses my actual handicap index rather than just a standard bogey golfer index and it gave me a target score of 94, so the 100 I shot was 6 over. Greg’s target would have been 83 so his 88 was 5 over.

On the scorecard, par is 72, but there are 4 “par 4” holes from these tees longer than 400 yards which adds four more strokes to par for women for a 76. If we compared our scores to par instead of our targets, I would have been 24 over and Greg would have been 16 over. Like many golfers of our skill levels (our indices only differ by 2.3), he actually does compare his score to par. I just don’t see the point.

Considering that most golfers aren’t experts, if we’re going to put par on a card, shouldn’t we also list some kind of a bogey golfer par? Since par is synonymous with average, Par could be the higher number for the average player target score and the lower number that is currently called par could be called Expert Target Score (ETS).

In golf, there is nothing average about par.

Next post.

Breaking 80 Golf Game Progress Report – Getting Closer!

August 2, 2011 / / 20 Comments

After I posted that last video of my swing when I thought I had a real breakthrough, my swing coach, Jay Lim, left me some notes in the comments for things to work on. At first glance it seemed like a whole lot to think about and change and I felt a little overwhelmed. But when I started to implement it I realized it was pretty much all the same thing – setup. Nothing to feel deflated about. In fact, as soon as I took those ideas to the range and called Jay to clarify his meaning about tilt, it started working right away. In fact, it made the other things I was doing even easier to repeat. Brilliant. I continued practicing it throughout the week and, once again, was eager to go try it on a golf course.

On Friday afternoon I rushed to a local course and since I wanted a good chance of finishing my round before dark, I skipped my warm up. As a result, my first few holes were disastrous and it took a few more to really get the feel of my new swing anywhere near comfortable. (I also had some trouble holding onto the club – details at end of post if you’re interested – but as this is something I’m just going to have to deal with, it is not something that I will allow to account for a poor swing or score.) I played alone for the first 5 holes until another single jumped a foursome and joined me. My swing improved a bit but never really got in the groove. My new walking buddy was impressed but I felt down and frustrated as I posted my 102! (White tees, 6000 yards, ratings 75.6/132.) It’s the identical score to the last two times I played there earlier in the month. Where’s the improvement? Can’t even break 100? How long until 80 now???

Then I soothed my mind and body with a nice relaxing bubble bath and a couple giant martinis. I got my head right, found my smile and shook off any discouragement. I would play the next day and try again, but this time with the right kind of warm up for my swing and mental game. I decided to try the little executive course where I played my first 18 hole round when I took up golf. I figured it was a great place for me when I was just starting out and since I’m essentially doing that again, maybe I can recapture some of that mojo. I hadn’t been there in years. I was excited!

golf chick warhol

Getting Closer!

I stretched, hit a small bucket of balls and my swing was feeling good. Did a little chipping and some ninja putting drills and hit the course. I played the back tees, which are only 4961 yards (par 67, 68.4 CR/112 slope). I went to the first tee alone and could see the foursome approaching the green up ahead on this 293 yard par 4. My tee shot went straight up the middle and I waited in the fairway 70 yards from the flag while the 4 guys finished. I stuck the green and two putted from about 8 feet for a ho-hum par. That was the only green I hit on the front nine, but with 15 putts I salvaged a 41*, making me 6 over at the turn. A twosome joined me on the second hole and we ended up playing through those guys in front of us and joining another single on the back nine. On the back I had two doubles, 3 bogeys and finished with 4 pars, which felt great and totaled 40. I posted an 81. *After I got home I realized I had forgotten to give myself a penalty stroke for moving my ball off a tree root in an effort to save my wrist. I should have posted an 82.

If I had broken 80 that day, I would not have counted it as achieving my goal (though I would have awarded a prize to Billy D, who chose that date in my Break 80 pool). I want to achieve it from the white tees at a regular “grown up” course. However, my personal best score is an 82, the same I shot on Saturday, and it occurred to me  to look up the length and ratings on that course, since we played the red tees. Turns out it was only 4799 yards, par 71, 66.5/111 rating. I count that as my previous personal best! Should I? Should I reconsider allowing myself to feel like I accomplished this goal if I break 80 from the red tees? Does it matter? In golf, everything matters mentally, and you know I believe I can do whatever I think I can. The really good news is, I felt like I easily should have broken 80 on this course and shot my 82 with relative ease. Friday’s disaster and realization was merely the stumbling block I needed to make mental adjustments and try a different route. I am beyond encouraged. Nice try, Friday! (c:

Video Update

The video here includes a couple of my honey badger practice swings on the range on Thursday as well as my tee shots on the last two holes of this round (two of my pars – the par 3 17th (pitching wedge) and the par 4 18th). Sorry – it had a cool tune with it but was disabled for copyright snags. Maybe I can get Big Head Todd to approve it. Meanwhile, hope you enjoy the silent movie.

The details I promised about my grip

I think I have mentioned the aggravating pain in my hands and wrists that hasn’t really bothered me since I was a kid but has returned. It’s actually not always painful per se. Sometimes it’s just more of a discomfort with irritating spasms, locking up certain fingers and joints in odd positions and making it difficult to hold onto things. After the week of practice, my right hand was really getting frisky on Friday (in previous weeks it was more my left). My buddy Jay over at Jaysgolf.com has a better understanding of such challenges than I do and we joked together about the “death grip” we subsequently put on our golf clubs, tearing through gloves and creating callouses faster than rolling O’s.

I understand the more I keep exercising the joints in the manner that aggravates them, the less they will hurt over time. Kind of hard to believe the morning after I’ve played golf and I can’t even grip my toothbrush but golf is certainly better than no golf so you know I will find out if it’s true! Meanwhile, I’m primarily treating the pain by deciding not to feel it or care, along with over the counter and over the bar medicine, and trying to control the spasms with my ninja mind. I don’t have insurance.

Next post.

When Will The Golf Chick Break 80? Pool Announcement and Progress Report

July 21, 2011 / / 8 Comments

As my golf swing continues to progress, I started the pool about when I will break 80 over on my Golf Chick Facebook page last week and people are getting their votes in. There is an over/under for the less adventuresome but some people are also naming specific dates. I’ll tell you something – there will likely be a prize or two and it will be a lot harder to choose a winner from people who only picked over or under. Just saying. Wagering amongst one another is up to you and the laws that govern you (does that cover my ass?).

People who read this blog regularly will have an advantage because you’ll know the progress I’m making. Scores I’m shooting, how practice is going, how dedicated I am (or not) day to day, week to week, how I’m feeling about it all, etc. Some people are choosing the “over” in the pool, which I perceive as an underestimation of me – one I look forward to proving wrong. Perhaps they’re doing it on purpose to motivate me, but if you haven’t voted and are considering the same – here’s another clue: I’m plenty motivated now. That grenade has been jumped on. Pick a more winning date.

Golf Chick Break 80 pool

A couple people have chosen their own birthdays as my break 80 date, which I think is fantastic. I wish I could give that birthday gift – the first one is next week though! Zoinks! Plus, I should tell you potential pool participants that while I do manage to play during the week at times, I’m much more likely to play on weekends. By the way, if you don’t use Facebook, feel free to make your pick here in the comments of this post. If you are dropping by my FB page to make your pick, I’d love it if you would click its “like” button if you haven’t yet!

Quick answers and summary of progress: People have asked me on Facebook and Twitter about my progress. All my golf and swing progress is documented here on my blog. Quick review to date – best score before swing change: 82. Best score since swing change: 86, however that was too soon and I don’t feel it was my authentic new swing. I played 5 rounds with a flawed new swing and am now back to only practicing to get it more ingrained and it’s feeling better already (details below). I’m playing a scramble charity event this Friday (July 22) and plan to continue to grind away at the range after that. I will throw in a round from time to time to keep practice interesting. As I mentioned earlier, weekends are far more likely for such rounds to occur but some weekdays are possible.

Golf Swing Progress Update:

I had three amazing practice sessions the last three nights. I focused only on my irons and really had them working well. Getting back to the fundamentals after so many days on the course really made a difference and I was able to focus on how what I should be doing and feeling rather than the outcome of each shot on a course. I was striking the ball very well and more consistently than ever. Not just since I got my new swing but EVER. Which, according to Jay Lim, my swing coach, (and perhaps every other instructor) is precisely the objective. Consistent repeat-ability. I’m getting there and it feels amazing.

Golf Tip – From the Horse’s Mouth – Am to Am Translation

I’m sure it has been spoken and written countless times but something occurred to me on the range the past couple days that really made a difference for me and felt like a breakthrough. One of my weaknesses Jay has been coaching me on is how I lead with the hands or arms instead of the shoulders on the backswing. He keeps telling me the shoulders need to start the swing. If he explained why I don’t recall but the reason I just figured out on my own is that it makes it 10 times easier to keep my left arm straight(er) and control the steepness of my swing plane. Jay usually speaks my language very well, which is important in a student/swing coach relationship, but whatever he said or I read about consistency and leading with the shoulders did not really click for me until I came to this revelation two days ago and reinforced last night and tonight. I share it with you now in the hopes it might do the same for someone else. To put it the way it made sense in MY head: lead, almost push back, with the front shoulder to keep the arm “connected” in the swing. If I lead with my hands or club, the shoulders have a hard time keeping up and it’s almost impossible not to bend my left elbow. If I turn my shoulders first, it practically keeps itself straight! Then if I keep my plane (which I’m doing better by keeping my right knee bent), it’s much easier to contact the ball consistently because my arm doesn’t have to “figure out” where to go. It has already been there.

Romance in the Air

I am falling in love with my new golf swing so I need to name it now more than ever. You know, before I start calling it some cutesy name like “Cupcake” instead of a fierce name like a honey badger deserves. I’m considering Chuck, or Norris (not both – I can’t see myself loving Chuck Norris but he could be my swing’s namesake). I am so excited. I seriously cannot stop thinking about my swing and when I’ll be able to spend more time with it. It feels like new love. For a golf nerd. If you read this far, I bet you know just how I feel. Admit it.

UPDATE: I DID IT! July 11, 2015.

Took me long enough, but I finally broke 80! I shot 78 at Falcon Ridge golf course from the maroon tees (4440 yards). I normally play the gold tees there but we played with another couple and I decided to step up and play the forward tees since the woman was playing there and the guys were split, so rather than stop at four sets of tees… you know how that goes. Anyway, even though it’s exceptionally short, it’s still a challenging course and you have to make the shots. So it counts! 😛

78 scorecard

 

Then, less than a week later we went back and I played the gold tees (5279 – still short, but with a 124 slope that’s my spot). After breaking 80 from the forward tees, breaking 80 from here was my next goal. Guess what? NAILED IT! Shot a smooth 77 for a new personal best!

77 scorecard

Haven’t seen the 70’s again since, but my new goal is to break 80 at any other golf course. Then just try to keep it in the 70’s.

I’ve always been pretty chill on the golf course because, well, I’m “not good enough to get mad.” But now that I’ve seen and felt the 70’s, I find myself feeling more frustrated out there when I don’t play well. Maybe I need to look into meditation.

~May they all roll true.

Honey Badger Don’t Care – But My Golf Swing Needs More Progress!

July 18, 2011 / / 3 Comments

Rather than practice like a good girl this weekend, I went out and played golf. Why? Because I’m a honey badger and I don’t care! I may be a ninja on the greens (stealthy, smooth and fierce) but when my swing is ready, it’s going to be badass honey badger all the way. If you’re a honey badger you won’t care but the hilarious video below contains language that may be inappropriate for sensitive ears & environments.

I can pull off honey badger attitude today, however, the swing portion still needs some training. After some seriously mediocre play on Friday and Saturday, the only golf I did on Sunday was to watch Darren Clarke win the British Open and spend some time smacking balls at the range with my irons. My execution was less than stellar and I found myself having to access databanks in my brain to basically re-learn some of the aspects of my new swing. Which means, I was not doing it right on the course. Not at all.

So my practice session was actually quite valuable. I was reminded of The Almighty Process and that I need to get back to it. The swing just is not ingrained in me yet and without the time and thought process that goes along with practicing, it seems I’m mostly reverting to my old swing with maybe a couple new aspects thrown in. Not effective. I am determined to do this right. I have a charity tourney on Friday but other than that it’s going to be mostly practice for me for awhile. Sure, I’ll have to thrown in a round here and there but strictly as practice – where I don’t care about the outcome of the swing (no competition) and just try to put the correct new swing to use on course. Have to keep practice fun or it becomes a chore, right?

Saturday was a club tournament and I played with my friend Cristen. She’s awesome and you will be seeing/hearing more about her in the future here on TGC. She suggested the name “Minx” for my swing. It may become bold and impudent but does my swing seem flirtatious or of low morals to you? Haha I kind of like the name though. Think it may have to be more along the honey badger lines though. Any more ideas?

Speaking of honey badger (again), I want to give a shout out to my friend Brad Schott, whom I know through twitter, for turning me onto this honey badger thing. I am now an official member of the Honey Badger Golf Club, which is something Brad is developing for a potential launch this fall. I can’t really share any details with you for now but I think it’s going to be a lot of fun! If you’re interested, you can follow him on Twitter for now until he gets a website up for it. He’s @GolfSchott and @HoneyBadgerGolf. Are you a honey badger?

Cute statue at home on Sterling Hills Golf Club, where we played Saturday.

Next post.

Breaking 80 Progress: Golf’s Little Victories

July 13, 2011 / / 2 Comments

Not every day can be a huge leap forward in progress when you’re working on overhauling your golf swing and improving your game. In fact, many say “it will get worse before it gets better.” I haven’t had many days like that, but I have had my frustrations. This past weekend I planned on practicing, not playing, since I played three days the weekend before and struggled to find time to practice much in the week since. On Friday, I had a last minute request for a meeting the next day for a nine-hole par-3 round. I could not turn it down.

Saturday Shenanigans

Since I’m still not even comfortable with my new swing, my routine when I play lately is to be sure to stretch well and warm up sufficiently so that I have last minute reminders of how it’s supposed to feel. That didn’t happen Saturday as I met with this client in advance and arrived at the course at the same time – so I followed his lead: Car, shoes, check in, first tee. Okay then. That used to be my way as well.

It took me several swings to find the proper impact position, and since every hole was a par 3 (and there were only nine of them), you can imagine how that effected my score. Luckily, it did not effect the business relationship. He understands about swing changes and trying to improve. Probably even appreciated it more than he let on. My chipping was decent and my putting was fair (though business talk and unnecessary amounts of chatter in general hindered that as well). Overall, I never really got warmed up and feeling the golf and I shot 38 on the par 27 course. I thought we were finished with the business and planned to stick around and smack about 100 balls on the range. I got tempted away with more business talk and, more importantly, the promise of a cold adult beverage. Over the course of the rest of the meeting, I agreed to the extra 20 hours/week I mentioned in my last post. It’s an excellent move for my income and spark but it’s adding to the challenge of improving my golf game due to the time constraints. I’m still convinced I can do it all. Like this hawk, who evidently tee’d off just before we arrived, then grabbed dinner and flew away.

Sunday, Not So Funday

After the afternoon cold one and the summer heat, I found myself having an uncharacteristically Kristen Saturday night. I guess I figured that night and the next day might be my last chance to really relax for awhile. I caught up with some friends, phone calls, emails, texts and Facebook, and think I went into overload. I shut down. I even shut down my twitter. Yup, someone get a thermometer. I decided to make Sunday a day of what I consider luxury. No work, no practice. Just decadence and things I enjoy:

1. Sleep late as possible. 2. Play with and take care of Vito’s needs. 3. Brunch (must include bacon, potatoes & bloody mary). 4. Golf (round, not practice) 4. More quality Vito time. 5. Bubble bath (must include adult beverages, candlelight and wonderful music) 6. More sleep.

Well, put up the mission accomplished banner because I did all those things. Yet somehow I was not fulfilled. I even threw in a bonus – in light of the previous day’s meeting and seeing some irresistible shoes in the pro shop, I purchased them on the spot and wore them on the course. That, alone, would usually give me permagrin for the day. The last time I was at this course, a guy I played with said I “brought the giddy.” Saturday? I couldn’t find a single authentic smile to pose for my trademark Golfchick self portrait for you. It was sad.

My mind was in so many places and so distracted, I was anything but a ninja on the greens. I had five 3-putts. Yes, FIVE. 38 total putts. I played the white tees and shot a 102. It felt awful, scoring wise. Probably because of the putting. But I also had some terrible iron shots despite a successful stretch and warm up before the round. I wasn’t too bad off the tee until a few holes on the back nine after I started feeling demoralized. It was a strangely sad day despite all my best efforts to make it delightful.

Of course I had to share the harsh truth with you.

HOWEVER… If you know anything about my mental game on and off the course, you must have figured I’d come up with a silver lining to use moving forward. (Not to mention the title of this blog post might have given you a clue.) And, naturally, the one I found relates to my swing. Well, aside from having some kickass new shoes. (See The Golf Chick shoe album on Facebook for that update if you missed it.) That silver lining is my chipping. It was spot on. I was almost Seve-like. Had a couple decidedly Phil shots as well. Chipped one in like a ninja. The guys I played with repeatedly commented positively on my short game skills and they sure as hell weren’t talking about my putting.

So that felt really good. And I’m sure my score would have been a lot higher without it. Especially with five three putts and no iron game to speak of. In fact, a couple months ago, I might have killed for a 102 from the whites. It did post with a differential below my index! I am far from discouraged. Now I’m just busy as hell and even more hell bent on finding time to practice, play, improve and break 80!

Still looking for a way to set up an online pool so people can choose a date for me to break 80. Any ideas? I have been looking at baby pool templates since they use dates but nothing seems to work just right. My friend Meg has me down in her calendar for Oct 29 and suggests an over under. Anyone else have any ideas?

Best golf and human interaction to you all. May they all roll true!

xoxo – Kristen

Next post.

Is Time Running Out For The Golf Chick’s Golf?

July 11, 2011 / / 1 Comment

I had a meeting yesterday (which started on a golf course but ended in a living room) during which I basically committed to yet another 20 hours a week on a project. With pesky sleep, household & single (with shared custody) dog mom duties, I’m running out of hours in the day. I’m afraid that my current bill paying projects may take away from my golf practice & progress toward breaking 80, not to mention my blogging, tweeting and facebooking about it all. However, I will do all I can to do all the above and continue to pretend to be remain sane. If I tweet, FB or blog less, feel free to smack me around a bit. Beware, I may smack back – heehee. This mad pace should be temporary, but may fluctuate up until November 2012.

My personal golf improvement goal remains as well as my desire to bring you tons of TGC material in text, merchandise, events and fun over the coming seasons. This is kind of starting to sound like a non-announcement announcement or just a vague Tiger presser. I’m just trying to keep you all informed on my situation! If you’ve been here long, you know I’m painfully honest and probably overshare at times, but hey, at least you know what you’re getting! Best of golf to you all, may they all roll true, and I hope to “see” you back here a couple times a week!

Next post.

Breaking 80 Progress – Golf Chick Update

July 7, 2011 / / 3 Comments

I played three rounds of golf over the long Independence Day weekend, taking my new swing out to the course after strictly range practice the past couple weeks and was excited to see how it would work. I looked at the rounds just like practice, but more fun than banging balls on the range.

On Friday, I just walked on at a local course I’m familiar with and was paired up with three other singles. All nice guys and we had a good time. In fact, I kinda fell a little in love with the nerdy married one because he had such a pretty swing. My swooning may have distracted my own game a bit but they all said they were impressed with my swing, new or not. My short game and putting really let me down. However, when I posted my score (96) – the system actually warned me “your score is lower than usual.” No bells, whistles or confetti… maybe that happens when you break 80. We will see.

The next day my hands and wrists were really hurting (I may need to figure out a good pain remedy for this new swing & my arthritis that hasn’t bothered me much since childhood) so I didn’t play or even practice my full swing. I did, however, hit the practice facility for a long overdue short game session of chipping and putting. It paid off the next day.

Making New Friends

Someone I have connected with on Twitter – Kent (a.k.a. @Voxjazz) came to town and we were able to hook up for a couple rounds the following two days. On Sunday, we met out at Ojai Valley Inn & Spa, where there is a gorgeous golf course I had previously only heard about – and heard great things. By the same designer as Riviera, the course did not let me down. It was amazing. If you go for the first time I recommend arranging ahead of time for the optional caddie service. We did not and were met with some difficult decisions.

Kent is a good golfer with aspirations of playing – and winning – on the Champions Tour and I think he will do it. He had mentioned before we met that he’d be happy to give me advice on my swing progress. He then saw a tweet of mine to my swing coach, Orange County golf instructor Jay Lim, that I would try not to let any other influences effect our progress, and Kent was completely respectful of that and didn’t make a single suggestion. In fact, he said he wouldn’t change a thing. As for my putting? He said my putting stroke reminded him of Steve Stricker! Umm… isn’t he one of the best putters on the PGA Tour? Hello, ninja!

That first day with Kent in Ojai, I actually shot an 86. Yes, 10 strokes better than the day before on an unfamiliar, more difficult course. The company you keep? I think so. Thanks, Kent. The system didn’t warn me about my score when I posted it that day. I think I’m going to start carrying my own confetti for when the day comes I post lower than 80. Maybe some noisemakers, too.

I have a lot of work to do yet on my swing. The third day my hands were in pain again and I proceeded to shoot a 99 – also on a difficult course. And yes, all three rounds were from the white tees. I can tell that I’m not executing my new swing every shot. It’s not ingrained in me enough yet and I will continue to practice practice practice to get it there so I don’t fall back on old habits when I don’t concentrate enough.

I think I should start a pool on when I’ll break 80. Place your bets. Anyone want to volunteer to run it? Not sure how to set it up on here… but I think it would be fun!

Meanwhile, here is a compilation of some swing videos and photos from over the weekend. I hope you enjoy it! May they all roll true!

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Swing Progress Report – Golf Chick Hub

June 27, 2011 / / 13 Comments

I still haven’t named my new swing but I am getting more familiar with it. After posting my swing video and getting feedback from my swing coach Jay in the comments and on the phone, I went ahead and started practicing with my driver rather than just my irons.

Here are some of the changes I’ve made that I worked on with my irons every day leading up to driver practice:

Posture/stance: stick out butt more, chin up, ball farther from feet

Swing: weight more on heels, weight shift before club passes, more descending blow, more rotation of wrists/arms, more extension at and after impact, flatter swing overall including finish.

Yes, I was pretty much doing everything wrong. And this was just with irons off the ground. Hadn’t even really discussed hybrids, woods, drivers and tees with coach yet.

Feeling It!

In my last progress update I mentioned feeling soreness in new and exciting places. Some aren’t as exciting as others. I have had arthritis since I was young, mostly in my wrists and shoulders but it’s been pretty manageable over the years. I knew the descending blow was going to be a blow in this area and I was not wrong. I mostly practice on mats, which hurts. I did take a few swings on the grass (against the rules – what a rebel) and found I was actually taking proper divots, which was exciting. It’s not so much painful while I’m doing it as it is later that night and especially the next morning, but I can handle it.

More fun and exciting are the places that I know will just get stronger and stop being sore once I work them out more. Like some of the muscles I’m using in the rotation that have been… shall we say – seldom used – until now. More on strengthening and fitness in upcoming blogs.

Another pain in the neither new nor exciting column is lower back. If you’ve read this blog for awhile, you’ll know I’ve had troubles in this area before. I haven’t had back pain in awhile and got complacent with my stretches. That’s going to change. I wasn’t playing much and when I did even when I’d score 100 or more, most of those strokes were short game or putts. When I practice, I hit at least 100 full swing, full effort shots with new technique. Every day. My back is feeling it.

Torque Hurts

After Jay saw my video and I started practicing driver, I really started to feel it. Why? Torque. He told me to keep my right leg bent, among other reasons, to better control my position at top of back swing. When I do that, I obviously twist more with my shoulder turn. My hips are more in charge of starting my swing and unwinding my body and there’s just a whole lot more activity in my lower back. Perhaps this is where I lost distance and control in the first place – maybe I tried to correct my swing to ease my back woes. Whatever. Sorry, back. We’re going to have to work this out with a better fitness routine for you because I’ll throw you out before my new swing if I have to.

I’m really trying to shorten my swing and keep my left arm straight. As you can see in my version of the Konica Minolta Biz Hub, which I’ll call GolfChick Hub or just ChickHub, I don’t do a good job of that yet. I am keeping my knee bent more now though. Perhaps that explains why I’m nearly hobbling around today, babying my tender back that keeps having mini spasms. More torque with the same Daly-esque turn cannot be good for it. And yes, a bit more rotation with a lower ball flight and flatter finish is evident. Of course I will keep working on it and keep you posted.

Setup through pre-impact

Chick Hub set 1

Impact, release & ball flight

Chick hub set 2

Follow through

chick hub set 3

Finish and hold pose

chick hub set 4

By the way, I welcome your suggestions for names for my new swing. My last swing was called Stella.

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Golf Goal – Breaking 80 Update – Demons and Angels

June 20, 2011 / / 3 Comments

I first met my new swing coach, Jay Lim, a week ago yesterday. I have have been practicing my new swing dutifully since then, with mixed results. I was told it will get worse before it gets better and that certainly has proven true so far. However, yesterday I tweeted this to him from the range: “Hey coach! Last week my 7iron was my 135 club. Now it seems to be my 155! (c: This is so fun! @jaylimgolf” Yes, it seems I have picked up an extra 20 yards with my new swing. That is, when I hit it.  It’s not all puppy dogs and rainbows, unicorns and glitter.

So far I have had one beautiful day when something clicked and I was executing every shot well, striking the ball like never before and drove home with tears of joy in my eyes. It was magical. That was two days ago. Yesterday I had some of that and noticed the gain in yardage but then something unraveled and I could no longer make good contact.

My practice sessions have been quite up and down like that. I have had terribly frustrating days when I think I’m never going to get it and just feel like crying. Those are the times I really have to be mentally strong in this process. I have to stick with the commitment to this swing and not give in to the temptation of reverting to my old one just to make some decent contact and assure myself (and anyone watching) that I can.

Jay and I are still working out how best to approach this long distance method. Well, he knows how he wants me to do it – he’s a professional. I’m making things difficult – I’m somewhat professional at that. His process and manual takes 13 weeks. Granted, not starting completely from scratch so that can probably be accelerated a bit, but when I called Jay in my frustrated misery he said I shouldn’t even really be swinging yet and told me to stop. Of course I hadn’t been following his instructions because I wanted my swing to be at least somewhat course-ready by Monday – yes, tomorrow. My friend Peacha (you may remember me mentioning her in Mesquite) belongs to a country club in Burbank and invited me out to play there and I couldn’t say no. I may literally tear up the course with my swing the way it is but I will definitely be out there. And my old swing – Stella – will NOT be making an appearance no matter how ugly it gets.

It just may end up with us like this… again.

Anyway, after tomorrow I’ll be able to crack down and do things more the “proper” way according to Jay. Not exactly, I’m sure, because I’m a rebel like that, but I do trust him and want to succeed so I won’t be foolish about it.

Also, people are asking what I am changing – specifically – and of course I will get into that. Plenty of information to come! Meanwhile, just know I’m already sore in new and exciting places, and the hard work has only just begun. And now that the US Open is over and I have been extremely inspired by Rory McIlroy, I’m off to the range for tonight’s practice session. Hoping it’s a good tune up for tomorrow’s round!

Happy Father’s Day to all the dads out there, especially the best one I know – my daddy. (c:

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