For about a month now, my left knee's been bothering me. Even today, the worst it's been since it started hurting, there is no sharp or shooting pain, just a continuous soreness that I am always aware of. If it were a sharp pain, I would not be able to play golf, but since it's just soreness I've still been playing some, and playing pretty poorly.
Of course, my putter's been at least 50% of the problem. I played a round about two weeks ago where I started off by three putting holes 6 7 and 8, a pretty terrible performance with the flat stick. My stroke is not grooved, I'm unsure of the right grip, posture, alignment, pretty much every skill you need to putt well I have been lacking lately.
But also, my long game, usually the most consistent and best part of my game, has been lacking as well. Realizing my knee has been hurting but not ready to make important changes in my game, I've been using the same iron distances as I do when I am healthy, and have not been consistent. My inability to make a complete weight shift on the downswing without feeling some pain and soreness leads after hundreds of swings to learning to hold back a little. I will finish with let's say 60% of my weight on my left side when it should be 80-90%. The result is fewer solid strikes of the ball and more weakly hit shots that drift off to the right, short of the green.
The most apparent difference besides the irons is with the driver. I'm not the most powerful player, but when I'm healthy, an ideal drive will travel 265-280 yards. Lately though, my best drives have traveled no more then 260 on the absolute best ones, maybe even shorter. It all adds up to higher scores. Shorter drives, inconsistent and poorly struck irons, and bad putting leads me to shoot in the 80s about as frequently as I shoot in the 70s, which is not where I want to be with my game in mid August.
I did have a good round this past Friday though. Fresh with a new putter and a new plan, I putted a little better (of course a new putter doesn't solve the whole problem) and wound up with a 75, my best score in a while.
This time I decided not to hit a full shot all day. I played a craftier style, hooking and slicing my drives into the fairways and hitting 1 2 or 3 extra clubs on the approach shots. I would hit an easy PW from 105 when I would usually hit a SW. The longer the shot, the more club I took. The best example is on our 7th hole a 420 yard par 4. I hit a poor drive and had to chip out to 190 yards in. When healthy this is a 5 iron arguably a 4 iron depending on the wind. That day, the choice was a 3-wood. When healthy, the 3w should carry 230-240. The shot was struck nicely, about 20 feet left of the pin, made a serious gash in the green exactly pin high, and just trickled off the back. I made 5.
Overall, I need to rest my knee, ice it, etc., and if it doesn't get better soon, I'll be making an appointment with the doctor to see what is really up. I'm not making any promises, but I'm going to try my best to avoid golf for at least two weeks (I'm on day 2) to try to heal whatever it is that is wrong.
In other news, I am driving my wonderful girlfriend to New Orleans in a little over a week. I am excited for the road trip and I am thrilled for the opportunity to spend her 21st birthday with her. It will be a special day. :)
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