Necessary evil...

So last night I was compelled to return to the driving range to keep the swing ticking over and see if I can finally resolve my issues with the hybrid and 3 wood. If I was judging my session on ability to hit those troublesome longer clubs then I'd have to say I suffered an abject defeat. However, that was not the principle purpose of my visit and my irons and wedges were very solid and this makes me happy. While the driving range is a necessary evil for now I yearn to practice on the course/practice hole at the club. When I do my focus will be heavily focussed on how I perform with the shorter clubs.

 Jeremy Ellwood writes an interesting article in this month's Golf Monthly on the inherent differences between long hitters and short hitters on tour. His findings re-enforce the assertions of Pelz and Rotella that they key to success is a razor sharp short game. I think I am slightly longer than average but obviously this is inhibited by the fact that I struggle to hit anything 'bigger' than a 4 iron with any consistency. That said I am now super confident hitting 4 iron from the fairway and I am absolutely skint. Now you may wonder what these two unrelated facts have in common. Well my iron striking can now keep me out of trouble and give me a maximum of about 380-400 yards from my first two shots from any tee. That is just enough distance for my course. Also with barely a few pennies to scratch together it means I can invest a smaller amount in more lessons, work harder to improve my striking with my 3 wood and hold back on buying a driver.

The Golf Monthly article has inspired me to return to my first principles: learn the game from green to tee. Putting is much improved, chipping and pitching are next on the agenda. The allure of the 910D2 is still strong but as finances dictate I must resist, I can at least be committed to plan B. Not only does this include using the current weapons at my disposal but it also means attempting to boost my short game and putting practice time to 20 minutes per day. The clocks going forward on March 27th will certainly make that easier to achieve!