I've been working hard on my golf game and also using some connections to work harder and smarter (I hope) than every before to really become better at golf.
A few months ago I became friends with a golfer named Mike Padilla who I started playing golf with in long beach. Mike is a 23 year old head coach of a college golf team (Marymount of California, that is in the NAIA conference). In addition to coaching, Mike is looking to become a professional golfer. He is a really good driver of the golf ball with great consistent distance and probably puts up ball speeds around the high 170s.
Mike's team plays golf out at Trump National in Los Angeles and I started helped mike out with the team when they play. All that entails is playing golf with the team, giving a few general pointers and kind of hanging back. Right now I am just kind of observing their games. But it is a win / win because I have gotten to play a lot more golf.
Today I got up at 5:50 am and drove 30 minutes from Long Beach out to Palos Verdes and played Trump national with 2 of the team members, Owen (a solid play from Canada with a great game and on a really impressive improvement arc) and Caleb (a very athletic player from Georgia that hits the ball very far , probably ball speed low 180s, and is looking to turn pro as well soon).
I've been working on my swing a ton recently by myself and with my new swing coach for the last 4 months called Paul Young, PGA. Paul played a long while ago on the European Tour and teaches my friend Harold Calubid and also Nick Cantlay who is Patrick Cantlay's Brother. I really like Paul because he has a great passion and is taking a long term improvement approach to my swing. We are working hard on changing my backswing to be a lot more straight back and up rather than in and low and tight across my chest. We are doing this to get the transition loop in the correct pattern. It is very hard to change.
It was EXTREMELY windy for more of the round and the 3 of us teed off at 7:30 am. Trump National is a VERY difficult course witch tight fairways and environmental hazards left and right of almost every hole.
I hit the ball really well on the range the day before and again hit it great on the range. On the first hole I hit a good drive and solid 2nd shot and made par. After that I started hitting big solid pulls with the driver. I really need to get a new driver with a stiffer and heavier shaft. I hit some really good shots and a lot of really poor shots that were just depressing. In the windy conditions at that tight course I lost probably 10 balls. the highlight of my first round some solid pitching and then finally hitting a good drive on 18 level with one of the college kids and putting myself in a good position.
Owen and Caleb had a great match that went up and down all day. To show how difficult the consitions were I think Caleb shot 79 and Owen Birdied the 18th hole (amazing second shot) to shoot 82. I didn't keep score but it would have been in the 90s.
After that I left the course, got lunch and turned around and went right back to the course and played again with my Friend and airline pilot Chris who had booked a 1:30 tee time.
In this round I used Chris' driver ( a SIM max with a slightly old Diamana 'ahina x flex shaft) and hit it SO much better. Tight low fades with very low spin and nice and straight. It was a crazy difference. One hole was really downwind and I really centered it and the cart said it went 377. Based on what I have recently measured I'd say it was probably low 160s ball speed. Chris and I played the blues which makes the course a lot more do-able but stick on and around the greens is really tough because the greens were probably running at a 13 stimp with big undulations and lots of wind.) The lowlight of the second round was deciding to hit a "safe hybrid off a short par 4 and then pulling it left into a march. The highlight was hitting some very very solid drives and then on my last shot, a lob wedge from 80 yards. I hoisted it way up in the air, landed it in a perfect shot and watched it roll like a putt 30 feet to settle about 2 feet from the stick to save my par).
After those 2 rounds (we got to 16 on the 2nd round) I drove quickly back to Long Beach were I had a lesson at Recreation Park with Paul Young who has been giving me a lesson out there ever Wednesday night (on his day off) from the last 4-5 months or so.
in the lesson we worked REALLY hard on the first part of the backswing and I was having a very tough time hitting the ball from that better backswing (p2 and p3) position. We kept training the proper backswing then proper transition loop and I would finish it off funny and I hit a lot of PULLS (the shot I hate the most) and shanks. I got it going a little better at the end but the lesson was only about 40 minutes. Paul said he really wants me to block of about 3 to 4 hours this week to do a serious, in depth lesson where we really try to groove the correct pattern.
So all in all 34 hole of golf in usually brutal wind. @ range sessions and then a 40 minute lesson in a day. IT is crazy to me that some people (not mentioned here) are trying to become pro golfers and NOT working this hard. Making this change has been frustrating but I'm going to keep at it.
I got to say bless my wife and kids for letting me put this kind of time into it.
Mike's team plays golf out at Trump National in Los Angeles and I started helped mike out with the team when they play. All that entails is playing golf with the team, giving a few general pointers and kind of hanging back. Right now I am just kind of observing their games. But it is a win / win because I have gotten to play a lot more golf.
Today I got up at 5:50 am and drove 30 minutes from Long Beach out to Palos Verdes and played Trump national with 2 of the team members, Owen (a solid play from Canada with a great game and on a really impressive improvement arc) and Caleb (a very athletic player from Georgia that hits the ball very far , probably ball speed low 180s, and is looking to turn pro as well soon).
I've been working on my swing a ton recently by myself and with my new swing coach for the last 4 months called Paul Young, PGA. Paul played a long while ago on the European Tour and teaches my friend Harold Calubid and also Nick Cantlay who is Patrick Cantlay's Brother. I really like Paul because he has a great passion and is taking a long term improvement approach to my swing. We are working hard on changing my backswing to be a lot more straight back and up rather than in and low and tight across my chest. We are doing this to get the transition loop in the correct pattern. It is very hard to change.
It was EXTREMELY windy for more of the round and the 3 of us teed off at 7:30 am. Trump National is a VERY difficult course witch tight fairways and environmental hazards left and right of almost every hole.
I hit the ball really well on the range the day before and again hit it great on the range. On the first hole I hit a good drive and solid 2nd shot and made par. After that I started hitting big solid pulls with the driver. I really need to get a new driver with a stiffer and heavier shaft. I hit some really good shots and a lot of really poor shots that were just depressing. In the windy conditions at that tight course I lost probably 10 balls. the highlight of my first round some solid pitching and then finally hitting a good drive on 18 level with one of the college kids and putting myself in a good position.
Owen and Caleb had a great match that went up and down all day. To show how difficult the consitions were I think Caleb shot 79 and Owen Birdied the 18th hole (amazing second shot) to shoot 82. I didn't keep score but it would have been in the 90s.
After that I left the course, got lunch and turned around and went right back to the course and played again with my Friend and airline pilot Chris who had booked a 1:30 tee time.
In this round I used Chris' driver ( a SIM max with a slightly old Diamana 'ahina x flex shaft) and hit it SO much better. Tight low fades with very low spin and nice and straight. It was a crazy difference. One hole was really downwind and I really centered it and the cart said it went 377. Based on what I have recently measured I'd say it was probably low 160s ball speed. Chris and I played the blues which makes the course a lot more do-able but stick on and around the greens is really tough because the greens were probably running at a 13 stimp with big undulations and lots of wind.) The lowlight of the second round was deciding to hit a "safe hybrid off a short par 4 and then pulling it left into a march. The highlight was hitting some very very solid drives and then on my last shot, a lob wedge from 80 yards. I hoisted it way up in the air, landed it in a perfect shot and watched it roll like a putt 30 feet to settle about 2 feet from the stick to save my par).
After those 2 rounds (we got to 16 on the 2nd round) I drove quickly back to Long Beach were I had a lesson at Recreation Park with Paul Young who has been giving me a lesson out there ever Wednesday night (on his day off) from the last 4-5 months or so.
in the lesson we worked REALLY hard on the first part of the backswing and I was having a very tough time hitting the ball from that better backswing (p2 and p3) position. We kept training the proper backswing then proper transition loop and I would finish it off funny and I hit a lot of PULLS (the shot I hate the most) and shanks. I got it going a little better at the end but the lesson was only about 40 minutes. Paul said he really wants me to block of about 3 to 4 hours this week to do a serious, in depth lesson where we really try to groove the correct pattern.
So all in all 34 hole of golf in usually brutal wind. @ range sessions and then a 40 minute lesson in a day. IT is crazy to me that some people (not mentioned here) are trying to become pro golfers and NOT working this hard. Making this change has been frustrating but I'm going to keep at it.
I got to say bless my wife and kids for letting me put this kind of time into it.
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