Well, it’s July. Month 7
This is the month that over the last few seasons my scoring has been the best of any month during the season.
So with that in mind I would just like to make a note that my HCI has crept up from the 10.8 I reached last month to 12.6.
This is due to the fact that I had a couple of really good scores dropping off. However, this hasn’t disheartened me, because I expected this to happen.
In the first few weeks of July I found it difficult to put the same effort into my game that I have been doing the last few months. It’s not like burnout or that I’m getting fed up or impatient, it’s just the way life has been. But I have some space now to get the reps in. Range sessions, on course practice and of course the physical stuff.
Keep it consistent, keep turning up
I have still maintained my reading through this time. The majority of the things I am still reading all lean towards mindset. I personally think it’s the most overlooked aspect of the game for many golfers, but it can be the most powerful. There’s not many (if any) golfers I speak with that even remotely touch this subject. At this point I’m now wondering why as I’ve seen really good golfers unable to achieve the things they set out to achieve because of mindset and attitude.
I’m not saying my swing is perfect, because it’s not, and I won’t ever give up trying to improve it, but I am happy with where it is right now. I’m still looking for that little bit of distance and consistency that I know will help, but im not chasing it like a wild dog. I have come to the conclusion that I need to trust the process and let it happen. This is a long term investment in my game and I know it won’t happen overnight.
They call it golf because all the other four-letter words were taken.
Does July mean Gym??
So the first few weeks of July were pretty uneventful really. I have a few ties coming up in the club doubles comp and the 2nd class club championship, otherwise known as the Alan Munro Trophy. Hopefully the game stays strong, because I feel good when I’m on the course. It’s mad how calm I feel all the time, really relaxed. I like feeling like this. Like I can get up and down from anywhere or hole more than my fair share of putts. Two things that opponents absolutely hate in matchplay, and it absolutely helps when trying to shoot a good score. Although I have noticed that this sometimes leads to a tiny split second lapse in concentration. This is something Paul and I have discussed and I’m trying to work on it with every shot I hit, even at the range, or any other practice session.
Like I said in a previous blog, every medal comp is “My Club Championship”. The pursuit of a single figure index is the only thing I’m playing for this season. I’m playing against myself. And I’m enjoying the challenge, and the process of improvement.
At the time of writing this next part we are covering the last two weeks in July. I’ve made a few changes to my process, ones that will hopefully reap the long term benefit.
I have brought forward my physical work in the gym. I started and then stopped a few months back. I was feeling sore going into medal rounds and some ties, and it was affecting my game. I had the idea of getting right back into it when the season stops in October, and giving myself the whole winter to work on physicality, but one look in the mirror and an overall poor glucose reading for the last 3 months gave me a kick up the arse.
I have created a programme of exercises that are all golf specific. Power, flexibility and stability are the key areas I’m looking at. I took the exercises from watching a few tour pros gym videos, sent them to my son, who practically lives in the gym, and off we went.
The first couple of sessions were an absolute nightmare. The delayed muscle fatigue is unbearable, however…no pain no gain right? Would love to meet the person who first uttered this statement!
Gear change...may as well (this should go really well)
The second change I have made is replacing my current driver shaft with something a little heavier. Currently I play with a regular 55g shaft, so I decided to upgrade to 65g regular shaft to allow me to swing with more speed and hopefully gain the confidence that I’m not going to whip one left, which seems to be the case when I really go after one.
I know that this is a technical thing as well as a gear thing, however through the flexibility sessions with Paul Moultrie, and my body holding up against the arthritic pain I know I’m swinging with a lot more natural speed. The key here is to swing with what I feel is now my natural swing, work on the key principles of the driver swing through my pilates and gym work, and hopefully see the benefits. The main thing I’m looking for is a tighter dispersion pattern. Fingers crossed.
Index move, move muthaf****r!
In terms of my HCI, it hasn’t moved. There hasn’t been any scoring medal comps in the last few weeks due to some other events on the club calendar (Charity Days etc) So im still sitting on 12.9 (0.4 down from where i started the season, but 2.1 up from where i was a few weeks ago) I need to look at this as progress, although as most golfers looking to improve will know…it doesn’t feel like it!
In our doubles tie we lost to the winners from two years ago. We were giving away too many strokes to contend with two wiley matchplayers who used their strokes brilliantly. Granted, we never had our best stuff on the day, but I’m not sure it would have mattered. We were beaten fair and square in my book.
So now all that’s left is a semi final in the Alan Munro Trophy (second class comp) to play for. Well that and the single figure index. It would be nice to get to the final, its a competition I haven’t won before, having been beat in the final quite a few years ago when it was a handicapped comp (gave away too many strokes to my opponent on the day) but now the competition is off scratch so no strokes are being given away. Makes it fairer to me, but not my opponents.
So there we are. July is over. Index at 12.9 and a semi final of a “Club Major” on the cards. I started back at the gym and changed my driver shaft. Let’s see what August 2025 brings!
