Yesterday was a travel day for work, so I scheduled some calls in the morning, then planned to hit the range before heading to the airport. I took an unexpected call on my drive to the range, and the 90 minutes that I set aside quickly turned into 30. I opted for a small bucket as opposed to my usual large, and admittedly rushed through my shots. The surprising result? I had my best day yet from an on-target perspective, hitting 21 of 35 on target, missing left or right 23% of the time, and shanking just 17%, the first time that number has been below 20% of my shots.
SW (+1): I hit 4 of 5 on target, only missing one that drifted right (+1). I was hitting the ball with good trajectory and consistent distance, something I sometimes struggle with when using the SW. It seems the additional practice recently is beginning to pay dividends in terms of my comfort with the club.
7-iron (+6): I had a much better day with the 7-iron, hitting 6 of 10 on target, pulling two to the left (+2), and blading two (+4). This was the first time that I exceeded 50% on-target with my 7-iron, so it was a welcome improvement after days of struggling. That said, it will remain a club of focus in the future.
6-iron (+7): my 6-iron took a bit of a step back today, only hitting 5 of 10 on target, missing left twice, right once (+3), and blading two (+4). I’ve seen a general increase in consistency with my 6-iron over the past few days, and will feel more confident using it on the course. That said, when there are hazards on the left, will keep in mind a tendency to pull it a bit and adjust accordingly.
5-iron (+6): I hit my 5-iron fairly well again today, getting 6 of 10 on target, missing one left, one right (+2), and blading two (+4). I am focusing on my irons for the first half of the season, which means my 5-iron is generally the club of choice off the tee. With that in mind, I will continue to practice this club regularly, implementing tees in next weeks sessions.
Admittedly it was a smaller sample size, however I was very happy with how I was hitting the ball. As potential takeaways, I may be more focused with less time between shots, I may benefit by hitting fewer shots, or it may be helpful to hit balls for six consecutive days (I’m betting on that one). Whatever the cause, it will be interesting to see how it translates as I head off for a work trip and go four days without swinging a club.
Breaking Ninety 