A lesson a day and a new club

You really do learn something every day. For better or worse, it’s next to impossible to go through a day without picking up at least some new piece of knowledge.

Today was no different. I learned a few things. First off: I realized half way through the front nine that when you introduce a new club to your game it is probably better to test it on the range rather than on the course itself. I was so excited to hit an 8-iron for the first time that I gave it about three whacks on the range and then headed out to play 18-holes from the red tees. And, just to remember what it looked like all new and clean, I took a picture:

That shine’s not going to last long out there

For the technical people in the audience, it’s a Nike Pro Combo forged blade style 8-iron. Those are the irons that I am learning to hit with.

I got a bit overambitious and went out to play 18. I was actually doing fairly well at first, (well not exactly right off the bat, my first tee shot was a bit thin) but then started hitting a bit left, and then more left, and then a bit more left until I was up against a tree on the fourth hole. I figured I could fade a shot around the trunk and went for it, but the ball shot out, ricochet off the tree 5 yards in front of me and my reflexes kicked, snagging the ball with my left had before it did a bit of free dental work on me.

For some reason, this really cracked me up.. And even though I got a two stroke penalty for catching the ball and then proceeded to hit it in the water for a 7 over on the par 5, my round started to look up from that moment. Sometimes you just need a bit of self awareness to remind you of where you are and what you are doing. Today, that came in the form of a golfball in the face.

Seven over on the fourth hole and 14 over for the front nine, but once I got the club tuned in a bit the back was better. Shot 6 over on that side for a 92 total. Not my best round, but then again it’s just my second round and first with an 8-iron.

Not sure if it needs mentioning, but the second thing I learned was that survival instincts are stronger than the urge to save two strokes. I could have ducked, but that arm just shot up and caught the ball..

what a great day! Ok, back out to the range with me.

21 Responses to "A lesson a day and a new club"

Gerry says:

May 17, 2011 at 3:24 pm

Dan,
Why on earth are you playing a forged blade? The game is hard enough as it is, especially if you’re just beginning. Get yourself some cavity backs. The deeper the better.
dan says:

May 17, 2011 at 3:35 pm

Hi Gerry,
long story short, we decided it’s better to learn with a more difficult club, and one that you will eventually play with, rather than learn with an easier club and then have to step it up. Forged blades give you a better feel for when solid contact is made and my goal is to always make solid contact, so forged are the way to go
Alex Humphrey says:

May 17, 2011 at 3:38 pm

Hahaha. I am glad your ball-in-the-face instincts are stronger than your penalty-aversion instincts.
dan says:

May 17, 2011 at 3:40 pm

Yeah, this time they were, not sure what will happen when the competitive rounds start up..
Dan Locke says:

May 17, 2011 at 4:01 pm

92 for your first time playing a full length/18 hole course is pretty amazing!! How long was the course? How many mulligans?
dan says:

May 17, 2011 at 4:28 pm

Thanks, from the reds the course plays out at about 5,250 yards. It’s short enough to make it with the 8-iron but long enough to still be a challenge. It’s handicap rating is a 69.1 with a slope of 122.
bpmarck says:

May 17, 2011 at 6:04 pm

How far do you figure you were hittin the 8 off the tee, and off the fairway today?
dan says:

May 17, 2011 at 6:43 pm

How far? well, depends on how good the contact was, of course.. Looking at my numbers for the day, I hit the 8 anywhere from a shank of 70 yards to a long of 145. I’m not trying to go for distance, rather for solid contact, but averaging around 140 would be nice.
Tony says:

May 17, 2011 at 7:45 pm

Well, clearly you also have those instincts to ‘play’ rather than ‘practice’ – like you mentioned you suspected in an earlier post. How exciting to hear about your first round! A 92 is a great score. And, if you were keeping a handicap, it would only calculate a maximum of 3 over for your blow-up hole, so it would record as an 88, so probably one of your better rounds!
Tony says:

May 17, 2011 at 7:45 pm

(first round with an 8 iron that is)
dan says:

May 17, 2011 at 8:20 pm

Good to know Tony, about the blowup hole that is. I’m excited about the chance to play in the future. For now, back to the practice areas and to playing from 100 and within, but will try it again from the red tees once I get the hang of the new club
Sean says:

May 17, 2011 at 9:21 pm

The excitement of new equipment! Sometimes the little things help with keeping it fresh and motivating. I love your understanding that there are gems in each practice. I wonder if you have a separate diary for tips or are they primarily place here? If I don’t learn at least 1 or 2 new things then the practice doesn’t count.
dan says:

May 17, 2011 at 9:35 pm

Hi again Sean,

Yes, new equipment can keep it fresh! I do have a separate journal/notebook that I keep all my thoughts in. I try and share some, but there’s a lot of daily thoughts in there and it would be hard to post them all..

Cheers!
Dylan says:

May 18, 2011 at 7:46 am

Dan,

How did you (and your coach) decide it was time to start swinging the 8 iron? Were you scheduled to do so at this time or did you reach a certain level of ability with your pitching wedge (if so how did you measure it)? Also, what about the 9 iron?

Dylan
dan says:

May 18, 2011 at 7:52 am

Hi Dylan,
We are basing it on proficiency of the previous club. I have had the pitching wedge for some time now and looking at the past 12 rounds of 9-hole golf, I hit the green well in the success zone we had established. This, by no means, means that I am at a Touring Pro level with the wedges, but just that it was time to move on in clubs. I still will have the next five years to hone those skills, but the base level is now there. We skipped the 9-iron because of it’s similarity to the PW, they are very close. The next club will be the 6-iron for similar reasons. Later on we will add the 9 and 7 as needed.

Thanks! Dan
Steve says:

May 18, 2011 at 12:03 pm

Good to see you had a fun time with the 8 iron. Not a bad score with that as well. As long as your having fun go for it.
Clayton says:

May 18, 2011 at 5:51 pm

Hey Dan!
I love what you are doing and I hope it works out for the best! I am an avid golfer my self, and know quite a bit about it. I was wondering why you are playing a blade style iron (usually for great ball strikers, much harder to hit) versus a cavity back iron, which is waaaaay easier to hit.
dan says:

May 18, 2011 at 11:40 pm

Thanks Steve, definitely having fun with it

Hello Clayton, I’m learning to strike the ball with blades just for that very reason, that they are harder to control. The theory is that you will learn to be a better ball striker if you have to be that precise from the very beginning. If I learned on cavity backs, then I would still have to move up to blades at some point and would have another learning curve ahead of me. This way, I can learn how to manipulate the ball well while learning solid contact. Seems to make sense and if all I know is hitting blades than I could always switch to cavity backs later on for an easier game. The harder you make practice, the easier the game is..
ben says:

May 24, 2011 at 12:58 pm

hey dan!

I’ve been enjoying your blog immensely, especially since I came across it after making a resolution not to spend more money on golf until I had improved my short game. I’ve been working on my three and four footers, as well as my lag putting. I use some of the drills you mention. I’ve also been working on my chipping when the chipping green isn’t as busy.

In any case, on those weeks when I feel like just staying inside, I think about what you’re doing and it helps me get back out there!

By the way, I’m really impressed with your 92. I think that it says that you’ve got the right approach. I’ve been playing on and off for many years, and I still haven’t broken 100 due to my habit of three and four putting, as well as my complete lack of feel for chipping (we can talk about the skulled 5 irons later) Your 92 is an inspiration that one doesn’t need to blast their driver 300 yards to get a respectable score!
dan says:

May 24, 2011 at 2:44 pm

Hi Ben.

Glad you are getting some enjoyment out of the blog, and some inspiration that’s why I’m doing this endeavor, to try and encourage people to follow their hearts!

Rain or shine, you always feel better having gotten out and stuck to your guns. Thanks for the encouragement about my rounds and have fun with your game!

Cheers,
Dan
Geoff says:

June 9, 2011 at 4:51 pm

Well done Dan 92 off the beater in your 2nd round is a good effort. When i began to play again in 2009 (after a 20 year break from competative golf) I only used Irons and not only played well but won a Club Championship. Results are the proof of any attempt and in Golf the bemused comments and queries of “Why not use Drivers?” were met with the same reply of “Why use something that is not going to be a consistent club for my game.” I like to win and that was my total logic in that season of success. In fact now I do carry drivers and hybrids and use all of my clubs to suit and with no favorites at all. The Driver chosen in my case was not a large 460cc bomber I use a 380cc for accuraccy and control lose about 10-20 m on a 460cc Driver but have lost 5 strokes on my handicap since going to the smaller driver.

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