Best round ever (77) at Poston Butte in Florence, AZ

Jimmy and I played Poston Butte way out in Florence, AZ the other day. I had my best round ever! Golf is a funny sport...as excited as I am about scoring the 77, I can't help but think of the triple bogey that I got and how if I had only got a bogey I would have scored a 75!!! :) Can't I just be happy?

But then, I think of several good putts I made or chips where I got a par instead of a bogey...a bogey instead of a double. Those are better thoughts.

3 rounds in a row under 80

For the first time in my life I have not only shot 2 rounds under 80, but now 3 rounds! My 3rd round being a 77 at Falcon Ridge in Mesquite, NV on 31 July 2009.

On August 1, I played Wolf Creek in Mesquite, NV which has amazing views! I will post a slide show of this beautiful course!

Back to Back 78's

I shot a 78 at Logan River while playing with my brother Anthony and then last weekend I followed it up with a 78 at Whirlwind Cattail. That's going to help the handicap!

88, 88, 87 and 79 at Branson

Last week I was in Branson, MO with my in-laws and my wife. We had a great time! I played 4 rounds of golf.

2 rounds at Branson Creek at a score of 88 a piece.

1 round at Payne Stewart with an 87.

and my best round of 79 at Ledgestone.

We had a great time...when I get a chance I will post some photos!

36 holes on Saturday

Saturday, I played 36 holes at the Troon golf course, Whirlwind. They have a special with a Troon Card you can play a second round for only $10 and I finally took advantage of it.

The first round was at the Cattail course at 8:24 am and the second was at Devil's Claw. I shot an 84 on the first round and an 83 on the second....not too shabby for me! I have been trying to apply the new swing thoughts that Mark showed me in my previous lesson. I felt like I did just ok and could have done much better if I hadn't gotten myself into trouble off the tee and if I could have hit some more greens. I would have to say that my most common miss was a pull. I think I still tend to be quick instead of being fluid throughout the swing.

One highlight was when I made about a 70 yard shot for a birdie. It was a par 4 and I had hit into the desert on the first shot and just punched it out into the fairway with my rock wedge to about 70 yards. I took out my 60 deg wedge and hit a nice shot right at the pin. The ball hit the flag and rode it all the way down into the hole! That's one way to get a birdie! :)

Golf Lesson with Mark

Mark is a teaching pro at Whirlwind Golf Course in Chandler, Arizona. I frequently practice at the driving range at Whirlwind, and he was also the head instructor at the clinic from my last post. Since it was my first lesson with Mark, I was unsure what to expect, but what I learned was invaluable to my golf swing.

Using some video equipment, Mark was able to capture great, clear video of my swing from "down the line" and saw that as I hit the ball, I was coming out of my posture. He gave me some great drills and swing thoughts and by the end of the lesson my swing looked ten times better on the monitor.

One of the best swing thoughts was to picture that my hips are in a doorway. On the back swing, the right side of my rear end extends into the doorway and then on the downswing the left side extends into the doorway. For a drill at home, I could stand with my back toward the wall placing my rear end on the wall. Throughout the swing, I should be in contact with the wall at all times...especially, in my case, on the downswing and at impact.

What I've noticed with this change is that my ball flight is more consistent and therefore my misses are less dramatic. I've also noticed that I pick the ball more often, which lately I have been taking huge divots so this is a welcomed change. Tomorrow I will be taking this to the course, so we will see if it improves my score. I definitely have seen an improvement on the range!

Whirlwind Clinic

Last Saturday I attended a golf clinic at Whirlwind. It was two hours and cost a mere $25 so it was a no-brainer. There were 3 stations: full swing, chipping, and sand trap.

Here's what I learned from each station:

1) full swing

• Drill - place a ball a little to the right of my target line and a few feet in front of me and swing out towards this ball. This stops me from pulling my irons.
• Stand Taller - I tend to hunch over the ball
• Wider Stance - With a narrow stance, my weight gets over the right side of my right foot a little too much.
• The Barkley Drill - Charles Barkley does a drill with Hank Haney on the Golf Channel show "The Haney Project" that the instructor said would work for me as well.

2) Chipping

• Put feet close together
• Left foot a few inches back
• Open left foot a little
• Ball position on back foot
• Putting stroke
• Drill - This drill helps your feel. Chip the first ball a short distance on the green. Chip the second a little further than the first...the third a little further and so on. Try to keep chipping a little further each time and see how many you can do before going off the back of the green.

3) Sand

• Place ball in middle of stance.
• Open to the target
• Club face at the target
• Swing along body
• Drill - Make a footprint in the sand. Swing in the sand and take out only the footprint. Not more...not less.
• For a short, high shot (ball in front of bunker near the green) place the ball back in stance to force a steeper swing.