Information Overload

[psheehan]

Stags....
I find this an interesting question, one that haunts me. Over the past 4 yrs (since retirement)the lowest my index has ever been is .8, probably the highest was mid 4's... I started TGM instruction in 2/05 with Ted Fort. When I started with Ted I was 3.2 and disappointed in my scoring consistency and my inability to control and repeat my swing. I could shoot 70-72 and then 82, and to be honest there were more than a few "newspaper" 85-86 rounds. I often went 4 or 5 rounds without solid ballstriking and then followed up with a couple of very good rounds. More practice didn't seem to equal more improvement for ANY part of my game, it was almost as if my scores were determined by some random force I didn't understand and I sure as heck didn't control.

I've seen Ted twice, a total of 4 hrs. each time. The first 4 hrs. were a bear... they included a general overview of TGM (thankfully I had spent some time with the book and on the various forums)AND a conversion from swinging to hitting. I returned home and played very well immediately and my index went down to 1.6. I was very straight and consistent with irons, more consistent off the tee but still had a tendency to hit a left shoot now and then... but it left me almost as quickly. I went back to see Ted again in December 05, my index was back up to 3.6 and I was frustrated. Oddly enough, my ballstriking still was better than it was pre-TGM but nowhere as good as when I first returned from Marietta. Ted actually determined what my problem was without even having me hit a ball.... the hitting only confirmed that he was correct. I was switting not hitting and I had not made as much progress as I thought. Since returning from Marietta this last time, I am much more aware of what I do wrong and what I do right. My index went down to 1.9 and back up to 2.8. The weather this winter was warm but very windy and some days it was very hard to control the golf ball. Since TGM, I've had a 68, lowest ever in my life, 69 which tied my previous low made in 1966 or 67. I hit the ball straighter now than ever before and my gir are up almost 2 per round.

That is background, Sunday I played well and was -2, 70. But what made me really think was I made 4 birdies...inside a foot, 3 ft, 3f, 5 ft. But I had 6 putts on the back nine inside of 10 feet and only made the 8 inch putt. And it started me thinking.... I KNOW I hit the ball better now, than I ever have in my life (potential distance hasn't changed much if you were curious, but avg. is much more predictable) YET I don't know if I'll ever be a plus hc (one of my goals). Golf is a funny game, it is a game of inches and feet, and while I have improved alot, it doesn't show up significantly in handicaps per se..(although I do win more of the weekly bets because I'm more consistent than almost anyone I play with). I think my average score is much better, since I've eliminated the very bad rounds that the hc system throws out anyway. I can still go out and have a very good ball striking round and hit maybe 15greens and still walk away with a 75. For me to go from a 2-ish kinda golfer to a plus, I either have to make a lot more putts of 10-15 ft. or hit a lot more balls inside of 10 ft. AND not just inside of 10 ft. but on the correct side of the hole. I don't know if I have the talent to make a much larger improvement. So.... I'm not sure how much anyone can improve when measured by hc.

I can tell you that TGM is not as complex as the book first appears (I'm familiar with about 20% of the book) it is CONSISTENT, it is TRUE, it is CHANGELESS and it allows you to do a pretty good job of analyzing what is going on when your swing goes off. It eliminates the need for membership in the swing theory of the month club ... if I never get much better it has been worth it, because it will allow me to be as good as I can be. Beside...my friends used to say "you shot 73????, wow it looked like 80" now they say "you shot 73 .. it looked like 69, or how did you shot 75?, you didn't hit one bad shot."