Weekend Recap: Highs, Lows, and Lessons Learned

Friday: Went to the practice range and could not hit the ball to save my life. Every single shot sliced 90 degrees right, and I was so frustrated I couldn’t even think about what I was doing wrong. After a couple dozen balls, I left. It was cold, and I never got into drilling anything because I wanted to “hit a few first” to warm up. That backfired—my mood was shot, and so was my swing.

Saturday: The weather was better, so I went back to the range. I actually managed to make contact, which let me get out my Golf Fix app and do some drills (reverse spine angle, shoulder turn, etc.). I did most of them pretty well. My husband suggested we play 9, so we did. I didn’t keep score, and when my ball went somewhere I didn’t like, I just tossed it where I wanted it to be and played from there. It’s so much more enjoyable that way. My drives were surprisingly good (fairly straight, decent distance—for me), but my short game is totally in the gutter. I need to start focusing on that again.

That evening we went to a party and chatted with one of our favorite neighbors, Chris, who gave me a couple of golf tips:

• I’m taking my arms way too far behind me when trying to get my shoulder under my chin. He said to keep my arms more in front of my body, with my lead arm parallel to the ground and the club almost straight up in the air. Apparently, this removes some margin for error.
• For balance, Chris said you shouldn’t be able to lift both toes at the same time in your setup. If you can, you’re too far back on your heels. Good to know.

Sunday: Game day—18 holes with our neighbors Mark and Annie. Same strategy: no score, hit from wherever I felt like, and tried to keep it fun. I hit some good shots, hit some bad ones, but overall, I hit well… for me. On the back nine, I could feel my reverse spine tilt creeping back in, and my husband confirmed it. It’s definitely worse when I’m tired. I think I forget to engage my core (as much as I can), and my brain thinks reverse tilt equals power. Spoiler: it doesn’t. I tried telling myself to keep my chest down, but by then, my back was killing me.

Today: Taking the day off to rest my back. I’m on the tee sheet to play with some of the women’s groups this week, and I’m hoping to get in some good drill and practice time, too. Watching videos is great, but I need to build muscle memory, and I can’t do that on the course.

Takeaways:

• My swing is improving!
• My short game needs attention
• When I get tired, my swing falls apart. Engaging my core and avoiding reverse tilt has to be a focus.
• Chris’s tips about arm position and balance are things to remember
• When I chunk, top, whatever, ask myself why, then focus on the answer.
• Keep Drilling!