Golf Fitness - The Journey To 100 - The Reboot - Week 4

Welcome back to another week of my journey to lose 100 pounds. Coming off of a very hard week 3, week 4 seemed to calm down a bit more. No emergency trips anywhere and a much more 'normal' schedule helped keep things on track. I began the week at 296.8 and had two small losses right off the bat. It was good to keep things moving downward early in the week given all the craziness that life was tossing at us. I was actually above average in the step department this week as well. One of our production workers was out on vacation, so I was able to step back down onto the floor and get some easy steps in while I was there. It was a great feeling and nice to be back on the floor for a bit. I managed to come in at 293.0 this week, a loss of 3.8 pounds. This takes me to 25.4 pounds since

The food journal this week was also a bit easier. We tried some new Keto Foods like an eggy pancake thing and a cut version of what they call "crack-slaw" which is really just a fatty version of one of my favorites. Overall, the food hasn’t been hard to adjust to at all. I’m still hitting right around 1400 calories a day and averaging about a half pound a day in loss. I’m a bit off in the macro department as I should be running a 75/20/5 ratio of fat to protein to carbs, but I’m coming in closer to 68/27/5, but it’s not a huge issue at this point. Continuing down the Keto style path here, I’ll keep on doing what I’m doing and try to make the best of it. Hey, there are worse ways to start the day than with bacon and eggs, right? Well, that’s a wrap for week 4, so I’ll see you next week after we get back from a short vacation to Seaside, Oregon, where Gearhart Golf Links awaits me. Say hello to The Stones people!

It’s Always A Good Time To Regrip

As the end of summer approaches, it’s always nice to get the clubs in shape for the lower-cost winter golf season. Besides polishing up the heads and getting any muck and grime off them, cleaning the grips, or maybe even replacing them is one of the cheapest things you can do to your older set to give it a like new feel. Many people worry that regripping a set is either too hard or too expensive to do, so they never bother with having it done. While it’s true that getting your grips done at a shop can cost upwards of $200 a set, there are much better, and cheaper ways to do it. Let’s take a quick look at how cheap and easy it can be to make those old sticks, new again.

First off, I have one source for grips and that source is The GolfWorks. The reason for this is that they often run their “Buy 6 Get 6 Free” deals and for the longest time, they had my Lamkin wrap grips on that special. Even when they don’t have the deal going on those, their grip pricing is about as good as it gets. GolfWorks is a clubmaker site, with all the goodies and tools that professional clubmakers need to outfit their shops. They realize that it shouldn’t cost $10-15 a grip to get a customer outfitted with a new piece of rubber and they offer quality options for every budget for just that reason. For my current winter play, I picked up the Super Stroke TX1 grip. It’s a half-cord model that features a setup very similar to the Golf Pride MCC grips that I fell in love with last year. They lack a bit of polish compared to the $10+ offering, but they felt great as soon as I got them on the shafts. The half-cord section of the grip runs through the red coloring before yielding to a softer compound in the white section at the bottom for the grip.

Now, there are far more options available to you than MCC (Multi-Cord Compound) style grips out there at great prices. Many of what you will see are “discounted” or “discontinued” models, which is fine for the average player that regrips once a year. You will also see some deals on some off brands, which can be a blessing or a curse. My advice is to look up the grip online and see if there are any reviews or first-looks at them before you buy. A good example of this is the Grip One line at GolfWorks. Companies like Grip One don’t pay tour stars to play their grips and they don’t have giant research facilities to pay for, so they are able to offer a lower cost, high quality grip. The Grip One Tour X grip is a ridiculous $1.99 at Golf Works, which would basically make the cost about $35 for a complete set of them and the tools needed to put them on. The good news is  a roll of tape and solvent will be enough for two or three sets, so you only have to buy that one time and then the cost would be under $30 a set after the first.

The also have the Royal Grip X-Treme V grip at $2.99, the Avon Chamois for $3.99. the Lamkin Crossline at $4.19 or the Golf Pride Tour Velvet for $5.19. All of these will breathe new life into those older clubs for not much more than a cheap round of golf. When you consider the cost of new clubs, a grip is pretty easy to justify. Of course, the next step is learning how to put the grip on, which I will be happy to share with you on the Golfing For Less YouTube Channel. In the mean time, check out www.golfworks.com and see how inexpensive it can be to regrip those old sticks. Just don’t forget to give them a bath while you’re at it.

Where To Spend The Last Of Your Budget

Happy “almost-end-of-season point” everyone! As we begin to close in on the final portion of the golfing season, it’s nice to look back and see where we made mistakes in our budgeting (or expectations), where we did really well and most of all, how can we get the most of what we have left in reserve. It’s about this time of year those thoughts of better clubs, spinnier balls, or even a new putter begin to sink in and make us truly consider blowing that budget for yet another year. As tempting as that is, it’s not the right way to go about things if you truly want to be a budget minded golfer. Instead, it’s a better time to look at what has been spent thus far and what you need to do to make next season more memorable – and last even longer.
While shopping for new sticks is always a hoot, the budget minded player only shops for holes in their bag during the season – and even at that, should probably be looking at the clearance rack instead of the custom fit shelf at the local store. For example, during the 4th of July week, Budget Golf featured the Wilson FG Tour F5 hybrids that I carry in my bag for $39.99 each but with the 20% off coupon, the price came down to $31.96 each. Now, I was tempted to pick up a backup, but I bailed on the deal because I truly didn’t need one. By the time I do, I’ll probably want something a bit different, so why grab a spare. A wedge can also be a good mid-season grab as new ones come out at the start of the year and retailers begin to move the old ones at record prices. Another great deal that Budget has running is the Gun Blue Wilson PMP wedges in 56° or 60° for just $49.96 (about 60% off) and when stacked with a 15% off coupon, they come down to $42.47 each. Still, if your golfing budget was in the hundreds instead of the thousands, even adding a clearance hybrid or wedge can seem like quite a splurge. This brings me to the point of this post… Where should the budget minded golfer spend their money?
#1 – Avoid All Things Tech

Yes, the tech guy himself is telling you to avoid spending any cash on anything tech during your golf season. When there are free Apps out there for just about any phone that will do the job of a $100+ hand held GPS (and most of us have some sort of old phone laying around that could use them) it makes zero sense to go that route. The worst part about buying golf tech during the season is that the new stuff is almost out and what you buy right now at full price will be on clearance in a few weeks for quite a bit less money. That said, use the free stuff if you’re on a budget.

#2 – If You Lose Balls, Stop Spending More Than $25 A Dozen

Ah, let the complaining begin… Yes, I am coming right out and saying this – if you lose more than 2 balls a round, STOP buying Pro-V’s and TP5’s right now. At $25 for a twilight round of golf, simply losing 5 Pro-V’s will cost you an an extra round of golf. If you still want to play them, you can get gently used or near mint practice balls for a fraction of the cost. For example, you can grab 36 (that’s three dozen) AAA Grade Pro-V’s for $27.95 and only lose $5 a round instead of $25. That’s a deal that makes sense. If you aren’t hooked on playing the latest and greatest, shop the clearance aisles to find a good ball that is under $10 a dozen.

#3 – Here’s A Freebie – Do A Game Assessment

The next step in deciding where to spend money is another freebie – assess your game. A game assessment is something that every golf should do but few ever accomplish. During an assessment, you won’t keep score. What you will do is track your good, bad and ugly shots on a score card and then color it later. For example, I start on the first hole with a pulled drive into the trees. It still has plenty of distance on it, but it’s left and I don’t have a great shot at the green. I mark this as a yellow shot. Not bad, but not great. I then chunk a 7 iron out of the trees, which gets marked as a red shot. That’s followed with a very good wedge to the green – a green shot. I finish the hole with a 3 putt from 20 feet – a red performance. By charting a round, you will see what clubs are great, what clubs need to get worked on and what clubs need to just get left at home. It’s a harsh reality when it happens, much like my beloved 3 and 4 irons last year. Still if you want to get better without spending any money, it’s a great place to start.

#4 – Buy A Range Card

Yes, this is one place where you can spend the second half of that budget freely. We’re getting into the time of year that the range is open late and you can hit that full bucket after work. Not only does it help you unwind and destress, it also helps your game immensely to get out there and just swing as much as you can. My local range charges about $8 for a large bucket, but the 10 pack card is only $64. That’s two extra days of practice for free. Some range cards are an even better deal as you get discounted buckets all year long or any other number of deals with them. Shop your local range and see what the best practice deal is that works with your schedule. Also, make sure to ask if there is a discount on them AFTER the season. You may save even more if you wait until October to get in on a card.

#5 – Stock Up On Essentials On Sale

While I don’t wear a glove on the course, I know plenty of people that spend a fortune on them every year. Instead of blowing $20 a glove at the course, stock pile them during your local store’s summer sidewalk sales. They usually rollout a no-name brand leather glove for under $10 and synthetics gloves for even less. I’ve seen the top notch Wilson Conform Glove for under $10 a pop and their soft grip model for under $5 each when you buy more than a few at a time. Gloves, tees, towels, replacement shoe laces, etc… They are all on sale during the summer months and it’s a great time to stock up.

#6 – Play Some Golf

Remember why you’re out here. The whole reason to play golf is to play. Even if you have a vinyl bag from 1978 with clubs to match, the entire point of golf is to play the game. Don’t worry if you are trapped on the course for 7 hours on a Saturday afternoon. Don’t stress the fact that you can’t hit your driver 300 yards. Most of all, laugh at yourself a bit when you miss that tap in and have another three putt. It’s just a game and it’s supposed to be fun.

Golf Fitness: The Journey To 100 - The Reboot - Week 3

What a week it has been. I was barely able to keep life functioning this week as it was a very rough one for our family. I won't go too far into the personal stuff, but let's just say it was a trying week at best. That said, I came into the week at an even 300 pounds. I so wanted to clear that magical hurdle last week, but I knew with a bit more effort, I would easily make it this week. Unfortunately, that effort was tested over the Friday to Tuesday run, but somehow I still managed to drop some weight this week. As of today, I hit the scales at 296.8. That's a loss of 3.2 pounds and a pretty remarkable loss given the week that was.

I continued to stick to the program with an average daily intake of about 1560 calories and nailing my numbers with a higher fat and lower carbohydrate diet. My fat content was up to 70% last week and my carbs were only at 4%. Overall, for having to depend on so many on the road meals, it was a fantastic week. My go to meal has become the burger patty - with some sort of cheese and bacon where available. It's a solid fat/protein filler that seems to stick with me for a long time. Someone asked me about the side effects of more cholesterol and sodium, but honestly, without the fried foods like french fries and tater tots, I think this may be healthier than the other options.

Well, that's about the wrap for week 3 on this reboot. So far I'm down 21.4 pounds and ready to keep marching. I'm right on pace for a pound a day this first month, which would be amazing to accomplish. The other part of this plan that has me excited is the fact that I'm not dieting. I'm eating great food, with great flavors and not watching calories as much as I just eliminated the extra carbs from what I eat. I'm still new to this whole "Keto" thing, and I'm sure I still have more to learn, but for now, cutting out those useless carbs is working for me and I'll keep plugging away. Until next week, have a great one!

Five Lessons To Learn For Better Scoring

Lesson #1 - It's Not About Learning To Hit The Ball Better
Yes, this may sound stupid, but the secret to playing better golf and having more fun doing it isn't hitting better shots. No, this isn't a trick or some crazy thought. The secret to playing better golf and having more fun while you do it is missing shots better. What I mean by this is that anyone can hit 20 great shots a round, but how many bad ones happened around them? You see, you will need to hit 36 good shots and 36 good putts to shoot even par, but chances are, you will hit at least 10 bad ones that could ruin a good round. By minimizing those missed opportunities, and missing shots better, you will bring yourself back to hitting those 36 good ones faster.

Lesson #2 - It's Not About Swinging Harder
When most people think this though, that scene in Tin Cup, where Roy challenges David to a 7 iron distance contest pops into their heads. You know, giving the ball the old 'steroid jerk' as he says in that famous scene. Well, Simms proceeds to follow up a long 7 iron from Roy by flipping around and hitting the ball down the road with a nice, easy swing. It's pretty simple to get caught up in hitting the ball as hard as you can, when really, you'll usually have plenty of distance if you just relax and make good, clean contact with the ball. Swing smoother, not harder. The clubhead will come through the zone with plenty of speed to get the ball there - and if it's too far, grab a longer club or lay up.

Lesson #3 - It's Not About What Your Partner Hits
"What did you hit there?" That question is muttered on tee boxes all over the world on a daily basis. First off, it's technically illegal to ask this of a playing partner, but more importantly, it's not something that even matters unless you know about 10 other pieces of information. Sure, they hit a 8 iron to the par three, but... Did they catch it clean? Did they hit a fade or a draw? Did they close the face at impact? Did they hit it where they were aiming? How far do they hit their 8 iron? etc... Without knowing everything about their shot, asking what they hit is pretty useless. Instead, look at the hole, analyze your own swing and game - even how that game is going that particular day - and make the best choice for your shot. You'll be much happier if you hit a great shot with your own information instead of hitting a bad shot with information from someone else.

Lesson #4 - It's Not About Equipment
While having all the gadgets and gizmos is great, or even having a new driver is inspiring, it really doesn't matter what you have in your bag as long as you know how to use it. You see, it's completely possible to shoot even par with a 150 yard club and a putter at most courses. 300 yard par 4's are reachable in two and 450 yard par 5's are just as easy. Instead of worrying about having the right club for circumstances that you will see once in a blue moon, or spending $500 on a putter or driver, take the time to learn what you already have, then find the holes that you need to plug later. Now, I'm not saying you should skimp too much on your gear, but there's no need to fall in love with a Scotty Cameron putter that you will use to putt out for a 102. 

Lesson #5 - It's Not About One Hole
One of the hardest things in golf is recovering from a really bad hole. That hole where a drive sails out of bounds or a 3 putt turns a par into a double bogey. Maybe it's a tree that just seems to be a bit too much tree and not enough air to get through. It's a very easy thing to allow that one hole to derail a round. Imagine trudging along through your round at one or two over par and then hitting a drive out of play. You then hit a decent driver to recover, but then skull your fourth shot over the green. A duffed chip leads to a long putt for 6 and a miss there makes you card a 7. It's going to happen some day, and all you can hope is that you are prepared to recover from it when it does. Put the last hole out of your mind before you hit the next tee box - whether it was good or bad - and get ready for the next hole.

When Is It Ok To Ask For Less Distance?

One of the modern marvels in club making is everyone wants to hit the ball farther than ever before. While that's an awesome thought, the reality is, not many of us "should" hit the ball further. It was a hard lesson for me to learn this off-season, but it was one that has really helped my game more than I could have ever imagined. I no longer want to hit the ball "longer" - I want to hit it better. I think this should be the key focus of everyone that steps on to the course, and here's why.

Starting out with the distance issue, or the issues that distance creates, is the key to understanding why you should never want to get longer than you already are. I'll use a normal sized golf hole as an example here, so bare with me as I set up the scenario. A long 420 yard par 4 awaits you. You stare down the driving lane, hitting your new blah-blah-blah driver 240 yards. You then have 180 yards to the green, over a bunker and water behind. You need a 180 yard shot, so you pull out the 3 hybrid that you hit high and straight that will land softly at 175 yards. You then have a 40 foot putt from the front of the green to the back location of the hole. A great first putt comes up just short of the hole and a tap in finishes out the par. It's how the game is played.

In contrast, you buy some extra distance with a new driver setup and those fancy new delofted irons. You swing a bit harder, giving the ball that old "steroid jerk" that was made so famous by the movie Tin Cup. Your drive heads off down the left side of the fairway like a screaming eagle. It rips into the branches of the pine tree 270 yards off the tee. It fights it's way through and lands in the rough just inside the tree line leaving you 150 yards in. You pull an 8 iron from the bag and hit a spectacular shot into the green that plops down from the sky and lands 20 feet from the hole. Again, you line up your putt and just miss it by inches. It's a tap in par.

It's the tale of two holes, played exactly the opposite way, but it really sums up golf in a nutshell. There isn't just one way to play this game and there is no right or wrong way to do it. Custom fitting isn't about getting the clubs that will help you hit the ball farther. Instead, custom fitting is about finding the clubs you need to score well. I watch the bags of the people I play with: driver, 3 wood, 5 wood, the usual smattering of irons and a few wedges. I wonder if they know how far they hit everything in that bag? I wonder if they've ever hit everything in that bag? Maybe they should take that 90% swing that "always works" and use it all the time? So many maybe's, so little actual work.

Let's just take my own game for a minute, with my 305 yard drives and my 90 yard 60° wedges. What does all that distance gain me when I'm not 100% accurate with any of those shots? Where do I sit for scoring when I hit 305 into the trees instead of 280 dead center of the fairway? How many birdies can I make when I muscle up on my wedge and hit it to 45 feet? Isn't it better to relax and hit the ball to an area that makes scoring easier? Ultimately, golf is all about scoring, not how far you (or I) hit the ball. Consistency is the key to scoring well and there is no way to be consistent if you aren't dialed in at every level. Sure, I could go pound my driver and wedge at the range for days on end to get my consistency down, but that first uneven lie or drive that finds the trees is going to complicate things quite badly. Then it's about scrambling.

What I am finding as my game goes from good to better is that my scores are a direct reflection of how much trouble I get in during a round. Driver in the fairway leads to closer approach shots. Closer approach shots lead to more birdie putts. More birdie putts lead to lower scores. It's a pretty simple deal and pretty much backwards from what I've always played. In seeing this, I've given up on hitting a 250 yard 3 iron from the fairway. I've decided I don't need to hit a driver on every hole. I've started pulling my grip back to a weaker setting and I've started to become a more consistent shot maker at every level of the game. Cleaner play means lower scores.

Now, this does not mean that you shouldn't invest in a quality set of clubs. It means when you do, decide what your goal for the new gear is. For me, I want feel, with minimal offset and a high ball flight. For you, it may be more distance and a bit more forgiving head. No matter how you do it, find the piece that your game is missing and start building from there.

2018 Competition Season: Well, That Didn’t Go As Planned

On this cold, soon to be really stinking not, Monday morning, I’m forced to look back on the summer of 2018 and think, “What could have been?” This year started off with such promise, such expectation, yet it turned out to be just another summer of nothing going as planned. This weekend was probably the biggest eye opener of the bunch as I missed out on the last two big shots of tournament play for the year. My first gaff was missing the deadline (maybe subconsciously on purpose?) for the WSGA Mid-Amateur (have to work as someone else rescheduled their vacation on me) and I missed the Riverbend Open (my home away from home course.) I have to admit that while this didn’t go as planned, I’m not horribly devastated by it. My game is not ready to compete with the big boys at a scratch level, nor is my conditioning. Sure, I’m making strides in both right now, but both are still quite a ways off from being ready to roll. Anyways, that’s more of a story for another day. This post is far more about the entire season and why I’m not really disappointed in my game at this time. Without much more gabbing, let’s talk about my game and where it’s at…

Over the weekend I finally took in a full range session. I was hoping to get on the Trackman, but it was in use, so no luck there. What I can say though is that my wedges were pretty sharp, though I did have a bit of a pull left on a few of them. Inside 50 yards, I was pretty well locked in. That is a huge plus for not having worked them properly over the last few months. Moving out of the shorter clubs into my FG 100’s, the wedge, 9 and 8 iron all seemed spot on. Good distance and control. The 7, 6 and 5 irons also behaved very well, though the range didn’t have great targets set up for those distances, so it was a bit of a guess. Still, they felt good and the ball travelled very well. Moving up to the longer irons, I actually took the 3 and 4 with me this time and I am happy I did. I was rifling off some of the best 3 irons that I have hit in quite some time at this session. Moving on to the hybrids, this had to be my best session ever with them. Smooth shots from all three, though the 17 degree didn’t behave quite as well as normal. I’ll chalk that one up to fatigue since it was so late in the session before I got to it.

Finally, I made out out to the driver end. This is where things got really exciting. Friday, my new Wilson Staff Triton arrived. Equipped with the Aldila Rogue Black 95msi 60 shaft in an extra stiff flex, I quickly plopped it into the bag for a few hits that evening. I started off with the obvious fit of the titanium plate and a 3g (shaft side), 6g (middle) and 6g (toe) weighting to help open the club up a bit to make up for the slightly closed alignment. The Triton was obviously designed to help most players with that light fade to slice shot, so making ta change over to open it up a bit was very helpful right out of the box. The Triton is louder than most driver’s I’ve ever swung, but the pop off the face was pretty solid. What’s funny is many of the reviews of the club kept pointing to the “ping” that it makes verse the “thwack” that some other drivers do. I was in a stall next to a guy with the Mizuno GT-180 driver that I supposed to be all the rage and it was just as loud, with almost the same “ping” sound as the Triton. I sort of like the satisfying “bing!” every time I strike the ball well, but I could see how some would get annoyed by it. That’s a story for another day as well. For now, it looks like the almost dialed in Triton got me about 15 yards. I’ll try and get numbers on it soon as the Trackman at the range was in use, so I couldn’t get much out of line of sight measuring except that it was longer, by quite a bit.

That probably will signal a change in my WITB for September, but there’s a few other pretty major changes possibly coming on the horizon as well. After the session that I had Friday night, I’m strongly considering plopping the 3 and 4 irons back in the bag as well. I was hitting pure 3 after pure 3 with full control throughout my session. This hasn’t been the case in over the last year or so, but it makes it sound tempting to plop it back in the bag. For now, I’ll keep the hybrids in, mainly due to their consistency, and keep the 3/4 irons in the garage. Maybe by next year they will have proven their worth again, but in reality, I still think the hybrids are a better fit for what my game needs at the moment.

To wrap this all up, 2018 isn’t what I expected or wanted out of this season at all. I planned on hitting so many tournaments and range sessions that I would be back into golf almost full time this year. Unfortunately, getting sidelined early with my leg surgery, then missing a few deadlines and not polishing up my game soon enough has left this to be a lost summer. Perhaps I’ll get lucky and get into a few winter tournaments and sneak in a few more rounds of dry golf this summer. If not, then it’s just going to be a nice break before the next season starts. Stay tuned as I get my post season wrap up completed and get some goals set for the 2019 Competition Season! It’s definitely going to be a good year.