The days are getting shorter, the mornings cooler (first light jacket day, today) and the changing seasons means no more iced coffee in the mornings, working later hours and competing in sports other than golf for the next six months.
First, 2014 golf season in review. I had lots of high moments, firsts and personal bests, but also had disappointments. The high point of the season was in the third round of the Westchester Open, where I finished the tournament with a hole-out eagle and three pars to finish respectably among a field of professionals.
The low point was in the club championship where I lost in the finals after some poor play was exacerbated by an injury. I was in the right trees on the 14th hole, with a significant root in front of me, trees to go under about 40 yards in front and a clump of grass behind my ball. My shot struck the root and came back and hit the top of my right hand which necessitated an x-ray and still bothers me five weeks later. I still need to figure out how to play the golf I know I can play in match play.
2014 Highlights
-First hole in one: a 6 iron on the 9th hole at Metropolis.
-New low tournament score: 70
-New low 9 hole score: 31 (-5)
-New low handicap index to date: +1.6
-Birdie streak: 4 (15-18)
-Tournament hole-outs: 1 - 6th hole from 132 for eagle
-Made the cut in the Westchester Open, finished 28th (76-76-70)
-Finished runner-up in both the golf and tennis club championships.
I also learned about a new golf stat tracking tool, Shots to Hole, where you enter each of your shots as yards to the hole when off the green and feet from the hole when on the green. After a dozen or so rounds, you start to gain real insights into your game and how to improve it. If I make 20% of my putts from 9-15 feet instead of my current 10%, how many strokes can I expect that to save me? Which is the better ticket to improving my score - driving it 10 yards longer or hitting it 3 feet closer? How does my game differ from the average player with the same handicap as me? These kind of questions can be answered using the simple tools on the site. The screenshot below is telling me (i) how many times per round I have a shot from the distances below (i.e. 4.2 times from 140-160), (ii) how my dispersion (distance to the hole after hitting the shot) compares to other Elite Amateurs (mostly better from 40-200, mostly worse on the green), (iii) what my game is sensitive to improvements in (the dark green - better chipping and better putting). For a data junkie like me, I say COOL!
Now that there's only another 4 weeks in this golf season, I'm starting to look forward to my Tuesday night 4.5 tennis league, which starts next week.
First, 2014 golf season in review. I had lots of high moments, firsts and personal bests, but also had disappointments. The high point of the season was in the third round of the Westchester Open, where I finished the tournament with a hole-out eagle and three pars to finish respectably among a field of professionals.
The low point was in the club championship where I lost in the finals after some poor play was exacerbated by an injury. I was in the right trees on the 14th hole, with a significant root in front of me, trees to go under about 40 yards in front and a clump of grass behind my ball. My shot struck the root and came back and hit the top of my right hand which necessitated an x-ray and still bothers me five weeks later. I still need to figure out how to play the golf I know I can play in match play.
2014 Highlights
-First hole in one: a 6 iron on the 9th hole at Metropolis.
-New low tournament score: 70
-New low 9 hole score: 31 (-5)
-New low handicap index to date: +1.6
-Birdie streak: 4 (15-18)
-Tournament hole-outs: 1 - 6th hole from 132 for eagle
-Made the cut in the Westchester Open, finished 28th (76-76-70)
-Finished runner-up in both the golf and tennis club championships.
I also learned about a new golf stat tracking tool, Shots to Hole, where you enter each of your shots as yards to the hole when off the green and feet from the hole when on the green. After a dozen or so rounds, you start to gain real insights into your game and how to improve it. If I make 20% of my putts from 9-15 feet instead of my current 10%, how many strokes can I expect that to save me? Which is the better ticket to improving my score - driving it 10 yards longer or hitting it 3 feet closer? How does my game differ from the average player with the same handicap as me? These kind of questions can be answered using the simple tools on the site. The screenshot below is telling me (i) how many times per round I have a shot from the distances below (i.e. 4.2 times from 140-160), (ii) how my dispersion (distance to the hole after hitting the shot) compares to other Elite Amateurs (mostly better from 40-200, mostly worse on the green), (iii) what my game is sensitive to improvements in (the dark green - better chipping and better putting). For a data junkie like me, I say COOL!
Now that there's only another 4 weeks in this golf season, I'm starting to look forward to my Tuesday night 4.5 tennis league, which starts next week.
