Drive, He Said

I was reminded of this Jack Nicholson 1971 picture after I finished an exhausting and fruitless day of hitting at Yorktown Baseball and Golf in Yorktown, NY. I have blisters on my fingers (as John Lennon complained out loud, too, on The White Album) with not much to show for my exertions.

My practice started out well. I put on the club shaft and bunji cord and started hitting, thinking that this would be the answer to whatever was missing in my swing. Not!

When I really relaxed, I could hit the 3-metal with a satisfying "Click!" sound, but, in general, I'd have to say that "Tension" is my middle name. I feel as though I'm hitting my wedges great ( though sometimes I pull them left or something else is missing, and I get a less than perfect shot), and if I could play golf with just those 4 clubs, I'd be very happy.

I'm still pretty happy with the 9-iron and even the other irons, down to my two hybrids. And I'm happy with the 3-metal, some of the time. I feel as though I can hit that. It doesn't go huge distances, topping out at, maybe, 190 carry, uphill, but I take the satisfying sound that the head makes on impact as a good sign.

The driver, in contrast, is a disaster. I have the idea that I should be swinging this club the same as I swing my gap wedge, but it's not happening. Either that bit of golf wisdom is mistaken or else I just am not making the same swing.

I am not easily deterred, however. I continued to hit with the shaft and bunji cord wrapped around my upper arms. And I hit without that training aid. It didn't make any difference.

Then I started swinging more slowly, trying to concentrate on turning my hips and letting the release just happen. The results were less than stupendous. Some drives went 150 yards, some 175, some 190. Balls were not flying over the fence out there at the 250-yard mark. Most results looked like what a beginner could do.

Self-pity -- let's not go there!

Instead, let's think about tomorrow's practice.

Obviously, I'm missing something obvious in the driver swing. And I'd really have to argue with someone who tells me that it's the same swing as my gap wedge swing, even though, when I watch the ladies on the LPGA, it seems that they make the same swing every time, no matter what the situation. I guess I just don't get it. Or I'm not making that hip turn.

Tomorrow, I think I'm going to think about Iron Byron. Somehow, I'm not getting the clubhead to release and swing through. I have no follow-through, and, most of the time, when I hit the ball solidly, I push it right.

My pros tell me, "Turn, Sean, turn!" If only it were that easy!

After hitting at the range, I went to Mohansic to practice the short game. Much more gratifying. I love my putting, although I need to do some more practice on super-long putts (like 90' or so), but when I extend my arms and lead with the left, the ball rolls beautifully.

I did some chipping with a 9-iron and worked on that from various distances and learned a lot about how that shot reacts and how to hit it.

I finished up with some pitches, short ones, from relatively thick rough, and, for the most part, I was happy with the results. It was 6:30 or so, ninety-something degrees and high humidity, and I was ready to go home and have a Corona.

Tomorrow, I'll be fresh, and we'll see about "Drive, He Said."