Written on 1-18-2020.
I’ve got some updates after reading and posting my last entry. First, the PED visit got cancelled for Project Alpine. They chose not to risk the trip with the snowy weather, so I didn’t have to go to work yesterday. I got a chance to sleep in, do a workout, and get some stuff done instead.
Second, Em is still sick. We spoke with James yesterday, and he was away on a road trip with some friends, but he let us know that she was still feeling puny after her trip back to her home in the UK. I am betting she will be back to work next week, though.
Third, I didn’t play golf on Tuesday after I set that tee time at 10:10. I got an opportunity to go see the dermatologist on Tuesday (a cancelled appointment opened up a spot), so I played on Monday instead. I didn’t tell the others, though, because I thought I might just go practice with my new putter, and the weather wasn’t predicted to be as nice as Tuesday. I love that new putter even more now, and here’s why…
On to golf…
Before I chose to go play, I tried my new putter on the practice green, and I had some real success with it. With five golf balls, I dropped them in a line starting from four feet away, and then three feet or so in between all the way back to around fifteen feet. During one round of five balls, I actually made...
all five! I know that I was seeing the line and getting a read from that first ball, but I still had to figure out a line from where the next ball ended up. They weren’t all lined up perfectly, so they were kind of different reads. I would line up the ball with the new putter, and then I would trust it and let it go. Five in a row! Talk about a confidence builder.
It wasn’t all perfection, though. When the wind blew, the putter did fall over, so I couldn’t use the “stand-up” feature if it was windy. Also, I still have to match the speed with the line. If I was aiming above the hole due to the break, for instance, I could still stroke the golf ball too hard and have it go past the hole on the top side. On longer putts, I could get a general read with the alignment feature, but if I didn’t make a big enough stroke, it could still easily end up short, or vice-versa.
It’s a process, but I will continue to work with it. On shorter putts, though, it feels just wonderful knowing the alignment is right, so I can step up to the putter with confidence, and that is great for putting. Heck, that is great for golf in every area! All I need to do is try to put a consistent stroke with it after I have lined it up. Simple.
Now, did it help my score? No. I had some great success with it on the course, too, but overall, I still shot a high score. I did earn my first birdie of 2020 with it on the third hole, though.
Pinon Hills-Hole #3-Birdie #1 of 2020
I had the longest drive I have ever had on this long hole, and I know that helped. I only had 125 yards to the front of the green, and that was where the flag was located. I put a smooth move over my golf ball with my pitching wedge, but I hit it thin, so it scurried along the frozen ground and made its way onto the front of the green just twenty feet from the hole.
I lined up my new S7K putter left of the hole by a foot, and I made a stroke that felt like it would get my golf ball past the hole, and it stopped when it clicked against the flagstick for a three! Hooray! The first bird of 2020! Hopefully, I will have more than the eleven I made last year.
Until next time…
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