u/DGOkko

I had a weird thing happen this weekend during a tournament I played, which is that an improvement in putting confidence (and actual percentages) resulted in taking more strokes. It’s given me something to think about going forward, but here’s the long and short:

Over the past year I’ve finally developed a putting stroke I really like. It’s nose-neutral, baby hyzer with pace but not so much that I end up with long (farther than 20-feet) comebackers. In my first tournament this year, I putted lights out, draining most of my C1 putts and a few big C2 ones including a death putt from 50. My drives cost me the most that tournament, ended up taking 2nd (MA1) and was happy with my performance.

Fast forward to this weekend and I’ve been sticking with putting practice, feeling good about my putt and have been working hard to improve my driving accuracy and distance, labbing specific shots I knew would give me trouble. In tournament I ended up taking no fewer than 7 strokes by running a putt with danger behind it, thinking I would at least hit metal and drop only to commit high and either skip off the top or just airball high and enter jail.

Additionally, because I’m confident in my putts, I’m not laying up anything off the tee, figuring that even if I go OB by the basket I’ll have a good shot to save par, and give myself birdie looks I wouldn’t otherwise be able to access. Well, that resulted in me throwing not fewer than 3 complete shanks as I ignored the risk and went for the reward. That kind of play cost me another 6-7 strokes in OB’s requiring a retee or scramble from a tough area admittedly closer to the pin than a lap, but in deeper rough.

So going forward I’ll have to take these results into the calculus of my game. I had truly not given much thought to this effect, but hindsight is 20/20 and I’m hoping to be the wiser going forward.

Yes, I’m one of the doubters. I have excitedly watched coverage this year and been entertained by the young guns who have proven themselves basically unbeatable. Gannon going no worse than 2nd at the first several events, Niklas hitting all the lines and making his putts, the old guard (Ricky) showing that they still have what it takes to win, and other guys hungry to win having hot rounds and lighting up the scene.

So when Jomez was highlighting Uli as a Chase card highlight, I wrote it off entirely. He’s been on tour so long, has been irrelevant for so long despite the grind (which I do respect him for), he just lacks the natural talent exhibited by AB, Gannon, Hammes, Klein or the dozen other guys who are always hungry to make a lead card or a win.

So here I am, foot firmly in mouth, and I apologize for the doubts. A guy with that much confidence not being kept down, making up for lack of big shots with impeccable mental game and a winners attitude, and capitalizing on getting hot by staying hot is a result I simply can’t argue with.

Kudos to that guy for sticking with the grind, for keeping in a wildly optimistic headspace and for using that to pull out the win against the odds. You’re an inspiration to me, a guy with all the opportunity and none of the mentality that makes a winner. Congratulations Uli!

One question I’ve had since I started playing (around 10 years ago) is what practice-to-play ratio optimizes performance. I think I’ve found it, and it’s basically 90% practice to 10% play (competitive or otherwise). This may not be welcome news, but it does align with what folks say about some other hobbies (woodworking, for example, which is 10% woodworking to 90% sanding).

Anecdotally, I’ve had the following driving me to this conclusion:

I’ve been traveling a lot for business lately and have not been able to play much with my usual friend group. As a result, I’ve been doing a lot more field work (3-4 times per week) and putting practice in whatever space I can find while on the road. Courses are not always available so I’m out throwing a lot more than playing 18 or even 9.

Last week I played a two-round one-day tournament and played quite well (shot 40 points above my rating, placed 2nd MA1). In general, in the few rounds I’ve played I have been performing better than expected and have felt confident on tees and have been running every putt.

I’ve also noticed myself feeling throws and preceding runup matching my field throw form and being much more cognizant of the variables affecting my throws. I’m able to commit to my lines and have actually seen results in improved consistency.

Just a thought.