Engage

Well it’s the 16th of February and the come back has officially started.

Went out for my 1st 9 hole lesson with Ian Bratton at http://www.newburghgolfclub.co.uk/  this afternoon.

To be quite honest it went a lot better than I thought, but and it’s a big but, I need to learn to listen.

With all the golf we watch on TV, all the magazines we read and of course the internet, we have all become experts, or think we are.

Would you take your own teeth out ? Well I can think of one or two that might, but if you have sore teeth you go to a dentist, because they are trained and qualified. So why when we are struggling with our golf do we try to self diagnose or take advice from other armatures?

PGA golf professionals are there to help you, they are trained to help and the vast majority want to help you.

Now Ian is not my home club pro, several years ago I was struggling and Ian got me going again. When I fell out of love with playing there was only one person I was ever going to see.

Tell you what I like about Ian, a spade is a spade, not a manual operated device for the removal of ground soil. I would rather be called on my errors as opposed to have it all sugar coated. The other thing is Ian builds a lesson round me, not what the text book says. The previous pro I went to see had his lesson plan, everyone is taught in the same thing in the same way. Age, size, height never came into it. I am 5ft 8 and fat, you could have been 6ft 4 and skinny and would have been taught the same swing!

I have to say that an on course lesson seems to have a lot more benefits to a normal range lesson. It lets the pro see your approach and set up as well as your swing.

The grip needs work, but then again I knew that, but Ian gave me something to work on with it, I went from a double & a bogey to 5 pars by simply changing the grip. Now remember this was a shortened winter course before you all think I am suddenly gunning for scratch.

But it’s a start.

The thing that I took away with me today was my pre shot routine, I never had one!

I now have a set routine to work on before every shot, this should aid my grip, set up and attitude.

But there is one downside, my clubs.

I love my Wilson FG tours, they are just gorgeous and I love the feeling of forged irons. The cold hard truth is that since the knee operation 2 years ago I have struggled to follow through and my swing has really, and I mean really, slowed down.

The project X shafts I have in them at the moment are just too stiff for me theses days. So do I just replace the shafts?

Ian thinks I should try graphite, he also thinks a more forgiving club could bolster my confidence.

 In my heart I disagree, in my head I think he may be right.

I need to learn to listen and not second guess everything.

So next week I will go out and hit some graphite clubs to see how I get on, I really really really do not want to give up on forged heads, BUT, its not about what I want its about what lets me enjoy my golf again.

Here we go

Well a day off and it didn’t rain! May have only been 1 degree but I had no excuses not to go to the range.

Well the theory seemed good at least.

Been over 14 weeks since I picked up a club so anything in a forward direction would have been a bonus!

So with 3 layers on I ventured forth to the pit of evil, sorry, range.

I started off swinging 3 clubs, why? Well honestly I have no idea!
Think I saw Freddie Couples do it once on a tee box and it kind of stuck.

Oh to swing the club the club like Freddie, if only once, but oh the thought.

So after getting to my version of loose I drew out my pitching wedge, this was problem number 1!

I genuinely forgot how to grip the club, I was basically holding it like a putter, a slight panic ensued.

Right I thought, closish so lets give it a wee bash, then problem number 2, address position! In cricket terms I had it right, but this was golf! Yes the batsman in me was still there but where the bloomin heck was the golfer!

“Don’t worry” I said to myself, went to take a swing and dually shanked it! A full 90 degree shank!  Oops

A few balls later I started to remember the Vee’s in my grip, as soon as it felt uncomfortable I thought that must be right.

Sure enough they started going straightish, well forward at least.

Now the beauty of forged clubs is once you get into some form of rhythm you get instant feedback, so that was a major help.

So with a wee adjustment here and there I started to get a bit more feel.

So 150 balls done and I was kind of getting there.

On the plus side I am pretty sure I have almost got the grip right but swing is nowhere even close.

Follow through is non existent if I am being honest.

Towards the end I was getting most out the middle BUT my 5 iron was going the distance that my 7 should, my 7 was equivalent to my 9 and my 9 was like a 56 degree wedge.

But as they say it’s a start.

I think my total lack of fitness and obesity is a major drawback.

So a trip through to Aberdeen this afternoon and I purchased a Wii fit. May not be perfect but it’s a start ?

Tomorrow morning I will call Ian Bratton and book lessons, so if you are religious then please say a prayer for him, he is a 1st class guy and PGA coach but boy has he got his work cut out with me.

What comes next ? Well your guess is as good as mine!

But tonight I have sore muscles where I forgot I had muscles.

Let There Be Light

So here we go, a new start.

I love golf, I love everything about golf but I fell out of love with playing the game.

I had major surgery on my knee in 2009 so basically missed the whole of that year.

Thankfully I got a medical exemption from my club so managed to keep my handicap for 2010, but playing to 14 was a major issue. To be honest I did not really enjoy playing.

I honestly did not realise how much I used my left knee until then. Even though I had received the medical all clear, my sub conscious was simply not allowing me to commit to a full follow through.  I developed not so much a slice but a straight right block. 2010 just became hugely frustrating.

So to 2011, which just became a huge catalogue of errors.

Error 1 was changing my irons. I had a brilliant set of Mizuno’s with project X 5.5 shafts, I genuinely loved these clubs. But after a couple of pre season rounds with friends everyone thought my block had come from having shifts that where too stiff.
So like a fool I put my beloved Mizuno’s on e bay.

Then came error 2. After a week of hitting various irons I settled on a set of Callaway Razr X irons. Now with money being tight I thought I would trawl the internet for a set.

Yes I can see you all shaking your heads!

What a set of duds! These where as much the genuine articles as I am a Gerrard Butler look alike! I could not hit a cows arse with a banjo! Ernie Els could have not used these bloody things.

This was now June, I had no medal rounds done and now had no irons.

It became a case of beg steal or borrow just to get playing.

But I found a set of traded in Taylor Made burners, cheap, but it would get me going, well so I thought. I was struggling to shoot under 90!

Confidence was at an all time low.

Convinced it was the shafts or the lie I ordered another set!

I wanted the project X shaft but with forged heads, so went for the Wilson FG Tours, in the exact same set up as my beloved Mizuno’s.

By now I was hitting my 4 & 7 irons the same distance!

Playing became a major chore, so I just quit and lapsed my handicap.

So hence the creation of this blog.

The plan is a simple one.

I have 4 lessons booked with Iain Bratton at Newburgh Upon Ythan, after he gets me back into a swing the plan is to go and get properly custom fitted for a set of irons and then get my handicap back.

I will blog every step of the way, the good, the bad and the ugly.

This is not going to be one of these “get to scratch” blog’s, its going to be a simple journey to get back, and enjoying, playing.

Hopefully every week any of you will be able to recognise or get help, from what I am going through.

Lets hope we have an interesting journey.