Had some great range sessions on Thursday and Friday. Sticking to the 60 ball limit each visit. I much prefer hitting this number of balls as it certainly doesn't feel like such a chore. I use around 20 balls to warm up, 20 balls for working on something technical, and then 20 balls for 'playing' practise. The playing practise is either going for a different target with each shot or visualising holes and playing them as you would in real life - either way requires going through the full pre-shot routine before hitting the shot. I'm leaving the range really looking forward to the next day now when I can go back again.
I went to the gym on Thursday. I ran for 30 minutes this time - longest time so far. Most of the running was done at 11km/h which is also 1 step up. After the run I headed to the weights room to do squats, weights for my arms and core work. Slowly starting to get a little more strength in my arms and able to do more reps. Keeping the actual weights really low and focussing on the number of reps and speed.
I played 18 holes yesterday and 18 holes again at Theale! All the snow has gone, and although the ground is quite soggy Theale golf course has stood up to the snow and rain quite well. Still there are a lot of really muddy areas and the greens are very bobbly. On both rounds I managed 32 stableford points which I am quite happy with. I hit some truly awesome shots, and some real stinkers. Saturday was certainly the better day - today I felt a little tired due to playing yesterday and going to the gym in the evening. It also seemed slightly colder as well as I really struggled to get any warmth into my hands. I think the gym work is helping as some of the drives I caught properly definitely had more penetration and distance.
Tomorrow is my day off golf and gym. Going to sit back and reflect on the 36 holes played this weekend and plan what to practise next week.
Best shot of the weekend
Hole 8 - hit my drive leaving 140 to the front of the green, around 150 to the flag. The wind was behind so I took my 7 iron and focussed on giving a strong 3/4 swing. Made a beautiful swing and great contact. Ball flew with a slight draw landing around 4 feet from the pin. Made the putt for birdie!
24th Jan 2010
Holes played : 88
Range balls hit : 1,020
Time spent in gym : 9.5