Video of New Swing

This swing got me an 84 today! I had 29 putts with the newly fitted putter. Still trying to shorten the swing. One thing I see that I don't like is my head movement. I think if I can limit it, that might help with my over-swinging.

New Swing and Putter Fitting

I was on the range all weekend doing drills. Lots of video this weekend of the golf swing. I have a list of things I'm changing in my swing. I will no longer be going with Hank Haney's swing theories. I'm now leaning toward a Stack and Tilt swing. Things are coming along slowly, but I can already see and feel a difference.

Thing I'm working on:

1. Steeper shoulder turn
2. In to out swing
3. Squat on the down swing then hips go up and around

I will post some video of the new swing tomorrow.

I got my putter back on Sunday. Woohoo! Man, what a difference. Best $36 I've spent in awhile. I would recommend a putter fitting to everyone, especially since we use the putter on every hole. I can't wait to play a whole round with the putter and see how I do. The ball rolls off the putter face so smooth. =)

Putter Talk

I went shopping for a putter last night at Golf Galaxy. I spent a little more than an hour trying out new putters. I even took my putter in to see how much they would give me for trade-in. I was looking at getting the Taylormade Rossa Sebring. I was in the process of getting fitted for the new putter when it crossed my mind that maybe my putter isn't fitted to me correctly. I found out that the putter was an inch too long and that the toe was sitting too high. While hitting some putts, the club maker noticed the putter head and shaft were loose, causing the putter not to be aligned correctly. I left my putter there to be worked on and won't get it back until Sunday. So instead of spending over $100 I only spent $36. I really love my two ball putter and don't think I can ever get rid of it. Hopefully this fitting will bring my putting stroke back to normal and I'll be sinking putts again.

My Match with Doug

It was a battle of the blue shirts today. So after 3 holes, I'm down 3. After 6 holes, I'm down 1. After 9 holes, we're even. We ended up shooting 44 on the front. Once again while playing Doug I hit it OB on 12 off the tee and took an 8! I really don't like this hole! So Doug is up by 1 after 12. I was able to get it back to even after 15. After a poorly played 16th and a par on 17 I was down 1 heading to the 18th tee. My tee shot was about 7 yards from the fairway with a good lie. Doug was about 15 yards behind me a little further left of the fairway. I'm feeling like I have a chance to at least tie. Then Doug hit the shot of the round leaving himself a 10 foot putt for birdie. My second shot ended up flying the green, which resulted in a bogey. Doug made his birdie putt, slamming the door shut on my hopes and dreams of beating him. Doug shot a 89, while I shot a pathetic 92 with 32 putts. I never felt comfortable with my swing. I was really disappointed with the putter once again. I might have to go shopping for a new putter this week. I've decided to work on my swing for the next week. I will not be playing at all next week. I'll be spending all my time at the range doing drills and honing my swing. I will be posting a lot of video of my swing changes in the coming week. I'm hoping to play against Ron in early September and hopefully will get a rematch with Doug in late September.

My Match With Mike

The match that everyone at work has been waiting for finally happened. I knew my match with Mike was going to be close. Every time Mike hasn't played in a while he always does really well. Once again he started off HOT! He took the first hole with a par, then on the second hole he stuck a 200 yard shot within 10 feet of the hole! I got up and down to tie the hole, and took the 3rd hole with a par. We tied the 4th hole. Then I took the next two holes, putting me up by 2 with 3 to play. Mike took the 7th hole with a bogey, I got a bad bounce and went OB. I had a chance to end it on 8 with a 4 foot putt and pulled the putt. I don't think I'll be using the Claw against Doug tomorrow. So Mike and I head to the 9th hole, a par 3, 110 yards over water to a shallow green. Mike ended up hitting his tee shot into the pond, leaving me a golden opportunity to win the match. My tee shot ended up just off the green and that was enough to win the hole and the match. After my match I went to the putting green to figure out which putting stroke I'm going to use in my match against Doug. I spent about 25 minutes trying to get a feel for my putting stroke. I'm leaving a lot of putts short, especially on lag putts. I'm just hoping that my putter shows up tomorrow against Doug. I hit the ball well today and feel my game is right where I need it to be for tomorrow. I think if I have less than 30 putts I will win tomorrow. I guess I better sleep with my putter tonight and let Danelle have the couch (good thing she's so understanding). =)


Doug, just so you know, we'll be taking another photo tomorrow. =)

Practice 9 Holes with Doug

Today I was able to catch Doug on the back 9. I guess you could say we were spying on each other. I have a feeling that the match is going to come down to the last hole again on Wednesday. We both played about the same, a couple of pars here and a few bogeys there. I feel good about my swing going into my match. After playing, I went to the putting green for about 20 minutes. My putting stroke is so bad right now, I'm thinking about going to the Claw. I hit about 20 putts with the Claw and think I might play with it tomorrow. I picked a good time to change putting strokes with my matches this week.

Tomorrow I finally get to play the match with Mike my boss in our work tournament. I'm hoping to continue to successfully defend my title.

Video of Swing

I really don't like how long the swing is, but it works for now.


Thanks to my wife for coming to the range and video taping. =)

My Round at Morgan Creek

I got to play Morgan Creek Golf Club in Roseville for the first time yesterday with Bud. It's a very nice course and it made my Top 10 Courses Played list. I didn't hit one snap hook durning the round, instead I was fighting a slice and a faulty putter. I have no idea where the hook went! I shot an 88 with 36 putts. Really? 36 putts!? I think I had four or five 3-putts. I even had an eagle attempt, which was about 20 feet, and I 3-putted for par. I was so mad because I can't even remember the last time I had an eagle putt. I had a lot of looks at par but just couldn't make a putt to save my life.

Hopefully the putter will be ready for my match with Doug. We now have an official date for our rematch: next Wednesday, August 25. I plan to start preparing this weekend, Monday and Tuesday. I'll be posting video of my swing tomorrow. I'm dragging Danelle to the range with me and having her videotape the swing (hehehe).

Hook it Good

I started my round on the second hole today so I could play with Gran, who's a member at the course. My first tee shot of the day was a snap hook OB. Then off the 4th tee box, snapped one OB again. Wait, I'm not done yet...5th hole snap hooked another one. I was pretty much done after that tee shot.

So I finished playing 9 with Gran and we decided to play the whisky run, which is holes 10, 11, 17 and 18. We decided to play for a gatorade, and I was a little thirsty at the time too. Gran is a very good player...all you need to know is that his handicap is lower than mine. No snap hook on 10 and we both ended up paring the hole. Then after the biggest slice in my life, which is a result of fearing to go left, I managed to get a bogey and so did Gran.

Something crazy happened on 17. I hit a smokin' drive right down the middle with a little less than 150 yards. Why can't I do that all the time? Gran hit his tee ball to the right and got stuck behind a tree. I made par and Gran took a bogey. So I'm up one with one to play. I know we can all guess what happened with my tee shot on 18. FORE left toward the home owners!! I hit another one OB! The door is WIDE open for Gran! He goes off to the right on his tee shot and has a bad lie for his next shot. So I hit my 3 shot off the tee and hit this nice high draw just off the fairway. I stick my next shot on the green about 25 feet from the hole and Gran gets to the green in four with about a 15 foot putt, leaving us to a putt off. Good thing for my new putting stroke, which lead me to victory! After our little match we went to the clubhouse where I collected my ice cold red gatorade.

Another Round in the 80's

Yesterday I had a really good round at Sunset Whitney going until the 12th hole. I had just played 11 holes and was only +5. Then the shot I've been fighting the most happened. I snap hooked my tee shot OB on 12 and ended up taking an 8. I finished my round with an 85 and 27 putts. The putter was so much better. I changed my putting stroke before the round and it really payed off out there. I decided to shorten my back stroke with the putter and really make sure I hit through the ball. I even had a 15 foot birdie on the 7th. Man it finally felt good to make a birdie after 3 rounds. I hit the ball really well on the front and okay on the back. I'm really excited that I didn't have to go and buy a new putter, and I think Danelle is too! =)

I've been talking with Doug this week and I think we're going to try and play our rematch this month, either on the 25th or 27th. I'm looking forward to the challenge.

A Practice Round at Sunset Whitney

I was at it again today playing at Sunset Whitney. I played with Keith and his buddy Steve. Once again I hit the ball well, just didn't score. The putter couldn't find the cup if it was right next to it, but it did save itself with its clutch performance on the last 3 holes. I challenged Keith on the last 3 holes for a gatorade, best score won. What do you know, my putter actually came up big! I made a 15 footer on the first hole and then made a 4 footer for a tie on the last hole. After we finished Keith still bought me a gatorade. The one shot I am fighting is a snap hook every once in awhile off the tee. Not sure what's happening there.

I'm going to try and play a new course this week along with playing at Sunset Whitney. Hopefully my putter will improve and I can shoot a good score this week.

My Round at The Ridge

My round at the Ridge was fun! I didn't score well but hit the ball really well; I can't remember the last time I hit that well for the whole round. The Ridge is a nice test for any golfer. It's definitely a target golf course and if you miss the green you're asking for trouble. Lots of valleys and hills around the green, really easy to get a bad bounce. I was hitting the ball so pure I was hitting it over the green. I can't even remember how many greens I flew, I was shocked every time. Usually I'm short if anything. However, I was hitting so well that my putter forgot how to make putts. I ended up with a 93 and 36 putts. I was really happy with my play, just not my scoring. I guess that's golf. I would definitely recommend playing The Ridge if you ever get the chance to. My putter is in the dog house as of now, and if things don't turn around soon it may be time for a change. I still need to get video of my swing, so I'll try this week. The Ridge has made it into my Top 10 Courses Played list, number 4.

The Last Two Days

My game has been struggling the last two days. It always starts off the same. The first 3 or 4 hole are really good, then a double bogey happens and it's downhill from there. So after nine holes today I went to the range and hit balls for hour and a half in the baking sun, and still didn't quite get it figured out. After the range I saw Keith, and he wanted to play a couple of holes since we haven't played since I returned from Kauai. I snap-hooked three straight tee shots out of bounds. The next hole did the same thing but it stayed in bounds. I ended up bogeying the hole and was done for the day. Woohoo!!

I will be playing The Ridge in Auburn, CA on Saturday. It has a rating and slope of 73/137. The course is 6700 yards. Hopefully I'll have some kind of golf swing when I play.

My Top 10 Courses Played

FAVORITE GOLF COURSES PLAYED

1.Torrey Pines (South Course), La Jolla, CA
2.Makai Golf Club, Princeville, HI
3.Steele Canyon (Canyon/Ranch), Jamul, Ca
4.Granite Bay Golf Club, Roseville, CA
5.Sunset Whitney Country Club, Rocklin, CA
6.Encinitas Ranch Golf Course, Encinitas, CA
7.Torrey Pines (North Course), La Jolla, CA
8.Wildhorse Golf Club, Davis, CA
9.Balboa Golf Course, San Diego, CA
10.Chula Vista Golf Course, Bonita, CA

My Round at the Makai in Kauai

The Honeymoon is over and now I can get back to playing golf! I got to play the Makai in Princeville on the island of Kauai. The course was AMAZING! It could be best course I've ever played besides Torrey Pines South course. I played the Blue tees and shot a 87 with 31 putts. I could've had a really good round but shot myself in the foot on the first 6 holes. I was + 9 after those 6 holes! =( I think I was so happy to be playing in Kauai, that I forgot how to swing the club. Then I had a birdie on the 7th hole which is a par 3, 173 yards over the ocean into the wind. The tee shot ended up about 6 feet from the cup. The shot definitely ranks in my top 3 best ever! I finished the front +11. The back 9 was a totally different story. I birdied number 10 which was also the hole in front of the house we were staying at. I finished the back +4. I also hit my best fairway bunker shot on 17, I was out 190 yards and had to carry the the water in front of the green to a narrow green. =)

I definitely enjoyed my golf experience on Kauai and would totally recommend this golf course to every golfer out there. I would like to thank my wife for letting me play golf on our honeymoon. I now know I married the right woman!!

Pictures from the Makai in Kauai

Some pictures from my round in Kauai.

Golf Travel Bag

The golf clubs are safely in and ready to go to Kauai.

Ready for Kauai

I finally made it out to the course yesterday after being sick for a week. I played 4 holes with a couple of members. Felt a little bad cause my game was a little rusty. After playing I went to the range to work off some more of the rust before I play in Kauai. I hit range balls for 20 minutes and decided I was ready for Kauai! There will be lots of photos and video to post when I get back. I'll be playing the Makai in Princeville. Thank you Walter!

Sent from my AMAZING iPhone