What began as a simple and terrible (by my standards) round of golf on 3/27/18 (https://steemit.com/golf/@weirdgoose/went-golfing-yesterday-lol) ended up with me taking on a 12 week rehab program designed to improve my golf game, with the ultimate goal of me getting from 92 to 72 in 12 weeks. I never achieved the elusive 72, only a 76. But 92 to 76 is a marked improvement in just a short amount of time. So while I failed to reach my ultimate goal, I learned alot about my golf game and a few things about myself over the past 12 week. And you best believe I won't be giving up on trying to improve my game. I'll continue to work hard and play hard. I'll continue to work on my swing mechanics, by ball striking, putting, chipping and approach game. And I'll continue to work on my conditioning with the goal of improving my swing speed. Just because the 12 weeks is over, doesn't mean the improvement stops.
Here are a couple observations/lessons learned from the past 12 weeks:
Observation #1: You need the right tools to improve your golf game.
I started the journey playing my older clubs from 2004 and beyond. I ended up with "new" irons and a "new" driver...from around 2014/2015 time frame. I upgraded to the Ping G20 driver and bought Mizuno MP-5. These clubs helped me with areas of the game I was hoping to improve on...tee to green and specifically my approach shots.
I also purchased a Game Golf device (at the advice of a follower :)). This device tracks your club distances, accuracy, GIRs, score, etc... It provides valuable insights into your game and helps you 1, understand your strengths and weaknesses and where you need to focus your attention to improve the most in your game. I was able to use it to focus on my approach game.
Observation #2: You are the most important tool in the bag.
You can't score low consistently unless you are ready to score low. You have to be both physically and mentally ready to play golf. It's not a game that you can let up your focus on for one shot without being punished. I found that when I lost focus on say a simple chip or assumed it was a given putt, I'd mess up. I found out that if I had of just tried a little harder, took a little more time to read a putt, or just wind speed and direction before a drive, the shot outcome would have been a lot better.
And physically, walking 18 holes of golf can be demanding. Carrying your bags adds to that. If you aren't physically fit enough to walk and play, your game is going to suffer by the back nine. Obviously, you can always ride in a cart. But for me, this journey was about getting back into shape and I found I played better as my conditioning improved over the 12 weeks. So being ready to play is your most important weapon.
With that, thank you to all who have come with me over the past 12 weeks and followed me on this journey. As I mentioned above, I'll continue to work on my game and hope to provide you all with updates from time to time. Who knows, perhaps we'll get to scratch by the end of the season.
Good luck out there and stay safe.
With love,
Chris
