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Crafting stories from the ideas that tumble from my mind.
Just over two weeks ago I hopped on my bicycle for my neighborhood fitness ride. During the ride I attempted to dodge around a speed bump but misjudged the angle and speed and crashed breaking my collarbone into five pieces when I caught myself on my forearm. Ouch! Last week I underwent surgery to pin all the pieces together with a steel plate as seen in the image above. In my first followup doctor visit I asked the following critical questions – when can I restart woodworking (my retirement source of income – 8 weeks), when can I start putting, (2-3 weeks), when can I start chipping (4-5 weeks), when can I make full swings (8 weeks) and when can I drive my vehicle (3 weeks). I learned he was a golfer because he replicated a very good putting stroke at the 2nd question, and he said on chipping that a fat shot would induce too much shock to the fusing bones as to why I needed to wait the 4-5 weeks for chipping.
I already assumed that I can begin working my way back to golf in stages because as long as I have some mobility I should be able to handle putting long before I can handle full swings while recuperating. This blog outlines my plan to keep my game sharp and allow me to hopefully restart golf without loosing too much of what I had gained in the last year of focused practice and games.
The recovery from this injury forces me to work on phases of golf in order of putting up to full swing. Often I’ve read that this is the order that naturally fits getting children prepared for golf. I don’t know at my age and experience if a ground-up strategy will improve my golf but I will approach each and every phase with intensity and focus to try to get better as I climb back into game shape. These are the phases I plan to work on in order and I will explain the practice plan for each with an emphasis on measurable improvement in each area by defined metrics as described.
I believe I am a capable putter and Game Golf shows I average 34 putts per round (1.89 per hole). According to a Golf Digest article on statistics Lucius Riccio states that an amateur who shoots 95 typically has 37 putts per round. At my current putting level I should expect to break 90 according to the article. I haven’t broke 90 in my second golf life in over four years but I know once I develop a go-to club and get my short game straightened out I should break 90 not too long after I can start playing again.
I will write a detailed blog about the approach I will take to improve putting over the next few weeks. It will be divided into carpet putting early on since I won’t be able to drive. After I regain the ability to drive to my home course I will work on multiple tests and drills to push my accuracy out to 10 ft and as I gain strength I will work on lag putting drills and tests as well. Both short and lag putting will be approached separately initially, after which I will play 9-hole rounds of putting while keeping score. Except for some multi-ball drills, such as ladders, I always putt with one ball for tests and always vary the holes and locations within the test parameters to induce pressure. Successfully putting under pressure in practice eases putting under tournament pressure.
My chipping stroke is very similar to a putting stroke and I should be able to start chipping ahead of pitching because I can work on short physically stress free shots within 4 weeks of surgery. Over the years I noticed that I would frequently fat or chilli-dip my wedges some 30% of the time during a round. However, I played two rounds with an Austin Golf Association member in tournaments who played with a “chipper” who was extremely accurate with it. I decided to give a chipper a try and after much research purchased the “Cleveland Smart Sole 3C Wedge“. After three months of use, I have greatly improved my chipping abilities. I seldom leave chips short and almost never fat a chip with that wedge. I do get comments from my friends about having a “cheater club” but as long as I can get as deadly with it as the AGA member, I don’t care what they think. The main shortcoming with the smart sole is I tend to overshoot the hole. So my main goal in this wedge practice is to get within 8 ft of the hole more than 50% of the time from various distances. I will write a separate article about the benefits of using a dedicated chipping wedge.
I’m a believer in the short game theory that one should choose to putt first, chip second, and pitch third depending on the situation. After my week of chipping I will work on short pitches from off the green at distances ranges of 15 to 30 yards. The goal for improving these shots is to get more than 50% of them within 10 ft of the pin. With Scoring Method approach, the intent is to get down in three from the scoring zone. I want to get these short pitches into position to make the two putt almost automatic and with ample opportunity to get the one putt up & down par. I will work for a couple of days on specific drills with multiple balls then switch to playing 9-hole rounds with the goal of increasing my up & down percentage from my current 15% rate up to 30 to 50%. Choosing these one-ball up & down graded games also allows me to keep my putting skills sharp.
My next doctor followup will be at 6 weeks. I expect an x-ray and examination and should be able to ask the doctor again what type of shots I can make. I am hopeful that the examination will show at 6 weeks that I can start easy 3/4 wedge shots. I currently know with reasonable accuracy that my 3/4 GW is a 75 yard club. I’m not quite as confident that my 3/4 SW is a 60 yard club. I honestly don’t know what distance I hit my 3/4 PW. My goal for the 6th (or 7th) week is to specifically find what distance I hit easy, stress free 3/4 wedge shots for each wedge. Once I determine the distance for each I will work to score better than 8 of 10 shot tests trying to get within 30 ft of the pin at the given 3/4 wedge distance.
After 7 weeks of recovery I believe I should be able to hit full clubs but with the “L to L” swing. This shorter swing limits the impact to my shoulder repair, which should be fused by then, but gives me the opportunity to work on several things that will improve my full swing. One book I’ve read that influenced my thought on improving golf is “The Practice Manual” by Adam Young. He emphasizes that the sole determinate of a good golf shot is what occurs at impact. Many pros have a wide variety of swing styles but they all consistently strike the ball in the club’s sweet spot and strike the ball before the ground. Rather than try to change a swing to meet various checkpoints, he emphasizes concentrating on improving correct sweet spot contact and the ball-ground interaction through drills and tests.
Since I can’t chance re-injury with full shots I will work on L to L swings specifically with drills to improve several areas of my swing – first sequencing – making sure I’m starting the downswing with the lower body and not arms and shoulders. Second, I will work on hitting the ball before hitting the ground. And finally I will work on hitting the sweet spot with drills. I will start with a 7-iron until I can pass tests like 8 or 9 of 10 sweet, ball-then-turf contact shots. I will then add my 3-hybrid into the L to L mix with the same sequencing and contact drills and tests. After that, if I still have time I will also add working to shape shots with the L to L swing.
The Scoring Method emphasizes that golfers need to develop 9 of 9 reliable go-to clubs. Currently, I can usually hit the 7-iron at 8 of 9 accuracy to 130 yards. I have evaluated my home course and if I played mostly 7-iron off tee and grass I should be able to easily get a low 90’s round in if I maintained 8 of 9 acceptable shot rate with the iron and my wedges, assuming I maintain my 34 putts per round average. However, if I can get my 3-hybrid up to the 8 of 9 reliability off the tee in conjunction with achieving 8 of 9 reliable shots with the 7-iron, I should be able to start breaking 90 for courses in the 6000 yards length range. I have played several four club rounds where I played with 3-hybrid, 6 or 7-iron, PW or GW, and putter with good results. When I come back from surgery, I plan to play limited set games. Therefore, my practice will emphasize developing the 3-hybrid for off the tee and the 7-iron and down for approach shots and second shots on par 5’s.
As usual, all shots on the range will have a target and purpose and the practice will encompass graded results to see if I will get to the 8 of 9 acceptable shot goal.
For my first post-op round I will play Austin’s Handcock Municipal 9-hole course. It’s a simple 35 par course with only a couple of slightly tougher holes and plenty of room to not loose a ball on errant shots. The greens are a bit hairy so I know I’ll need a more aggressive putting stroke not to leave them short. I will either play 7-iron off tee or 3-hybrid off tee depending on which one I dial in best in my practice sessions. My goal for this first round is to keep the ball in play and to try to keep each hole to double bogey or less. My best round on this course was a 42 scored with 7 bogeys and two pars so I know I’m capable of bogey golf or better. I would be very pleased to come back from surgery and score under 50. But I have to remember to use my pre-shot routine and intense focus on every shot possible to get there.
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