Nine Holes at Chamberlain Park

“Skills are cheap, Passion is Priceless.” - Gary Vayner

If you don’t know by now, for some unfathomable reason golf is my passion. Like most passions, you live, breathe, and drink it. My diary is full of golf entries. I think about golf often; I practice it in the kitchen, in the lounge, and outside when I remember to mow the lawns. I visit the driving range once or twice a week to try out the YouTube tips from clips I find difficult to ignore. Now I blog about it.

Since I blog about it, the driving range is now a necessity. I need to test elements that I think may improve my swing, especially if I share. Today, I decided to go and apply some of that driving range practice at Chamberlain Park. In winter months, I prefer the driving range to going to the golf course. The forecast is for a clear day without rain. A day without rain, wind, or cloud with a blue sky is a day for the golf course. It’s still cold, I expect frost on the ground and a low sun that will make some fairways glisten as it warms. There is a downside to playing early morning golf on a winter's day, at times even in summer. If you don’t have weatherproof golf shoes, expect soaked socks and wet feet.

Apologies to Chamberlain Park management for ignoring the sign. I played from the 10th hole, a par four. There are a lot fewer golfers out in winter even on a good weather day. The numbers are even lower for an early morning start. I and others reason that the later holes of the front nine are clear, therefore teeing off the tenth will not hinder anyone. I paid a nine-hole fee which is permitted at Chamberlain Park.

The morning is cold in semi-darkness. I warm up taking a few practice swings, trying to get my rhythm. The fairway is clear, I check my grip and address the ball, then swing. I spray the ball, it flies straight but it's to the right side of the fairway, a long way from the green. My second shot is encouraging, using a hybrid, it lands close but in a hollow. So now I'm looking at a short pitch to the pin. I get a little nervous, the thought of a shank enters my head, they have plagued me too much in recent years. I'm trusting that my practice at the driving range will pay off. I take two practice swings keeping relaxed, remembering to use the bounce of the club. I chip it and I'm amazed, the ball goes straight toward the pin, it has good flight but lands short. I'm excited, except for the judgment of distance, to me the chip is successful. Even better, my putts don't have the rigidity of old, the ball rolls nicely to the hole leaving me a tap-in bogey.

The 11th hole is a par three. Having no confidence in my swing, I would normally use my hybrid just to get close to the green. Today I feel confident in my rebuilt swing, I choose a five iron. Again, I spray it right towards shrubs. I've got a longer pitch to the pin. I remember my drill and try to keep the same rhythm in my practice swings and the pitch. It’s good in length but pulled to the left. I finish with a bogey. I'm encouraged again, my short game shows promise.

The 12th hole, a par five. The tee has been moved forward to allow for winter conditions. I'm looking into a low sun; the fairway glistens with dew. The drive is long, but I lose sight of it. I use a hybrid for the second shot, it lands wedging distance short of the green. My short game is better this morning, although the pitch lands some distance from the pin. I three-putt for a bogey on the temporary green.

The next hole is a little par three. I use my pitching wedge; it’s pin high, again I pull it left off the green. My short game saves me, I chip it close for a tap-in par. The following three holes include two of the most difficult on the course. The par five now has an out of bounds on the right and a creek before the green that catches many, including me this morning.

Two dogleg par fours follow, causing all sorts of trouble for everyone at times. I struggled on the first difficult dogleg. If you are a long driver, you can drive it across the creek taking the dogleg out of play, you then must deal with a sharp incline to the green protected by trees on the right of the fairway. I double bogey the hole and I was lucky to get that score. A bogey for me on the second dogleg, the result of the flop shot needing to be high over the hump and land soft. It was a mixed bag for me those three holes. Old habits crept back in but importantly no shanks. I played a flop shot that was high and soft, a shot I used to take for granted when I didn’t know much about the intricacies of the short game. My drives, however, need more work.

Par three, the seventeenth, is where an element of the swing I practiced on the range, proved successful. Using an eight iron, the shot was good, it was high with a slight draw, landing just short of the green’s edge. The pin is placed on the low side of the green in a bowl. I must take it into consideration the slope of the bowl to get close to the pin. The chip was good and I'm about 3 feet from the pin, but the break is significant. I played the break, missed the putt, walking off with a bogey.

The last hole, a par four, has trees left and right of the fairway and a plateau for the green. My drive shoots right, into the trees. I chip out to get to the fairway and then use the utility to the base of the plateau. I chip up to the back of the green for a two-putt bogey.

What did I learn? I learned several things today about my swing, the most important is how I grip the club. I can position the club handle correctly in my fingers but if I grip it in the palm, I have less flexibility, less natural speed through impact. The clubhead contact with the ball will not be square.

I find that a softer grip helps with the rhythm of the swing, while being able to engage the important elements of it. A soft, relaxed grip helped with the short game including putting.

I try to hold the club enough to not let it slip. If I feel more tension in the grip is needed I apply a bit more pressure through the three last fingers of the trailing hand. Have fun out there. I’m looking forward to my next round of golf at Chamberlain Park.

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