Back on the course

Spent part of a day off on the UF golf course with a friend, which was a blast, and played another 9 holes today at a small course on the western side of Gainesville.  Both outings held a lot of promise for the future. I've been working on a more consistent, more accurate and much more comfortable swing plane which goes hand in hand with my stretching routine. Aside from not setting foot inside the gym this year for lifting and dynamic weighted exercises, distance hasn't suffered and has, in some cases, increased over the past year. For example, most of my clubs have been changed. My driver, the newer Taylor Made R11, is dialed in to a nice slight fade off the tee. I love the setup since if I need to turn the ball over from right to left instead of the more comfortable left to right I can without worrying about a massive hook. Consistency is the goal this year. More fairways, more greens. Distance is great, and I'll gladly give up a few fairways here and there for more yards, but I can't be all over the course like I was up until the past year or two.

On that note, Taylor Made is promising a new line of fairway woods and, from the YouTube videos I watch on the wife's iPad, they live up to the "RocketBallz" name. Only a few more weeks until their release!

Highlights from the UF round:
- Shaped shots well from the tee and from the fairway.
- Used 3 wood more off the tee, including carrying a bunker 265 out with a fade, and one 275 out with a draw (downwind). Not bad, and I wasn't swinging for the fences, which is nice to know I don't have to feel like I need to crank it or depend on a driver at all times.
- Short game - First round with the new Vokey SM4 wedges. I had forgotten how many shots I could play since sticking with the old, worn out wedges in favor of saving a couple of bucks. It's more wasteful to play old wedges than pony up the cash for new ones!

Highlights from West End:
- Drove the first green, laser showed the distance was 323 yards. Not bad!
- 2 birdies on par 3's plus one on the first hole = 3 under par. The course sucks, but under par is under par.
- 3 wood, sand wedge to a 433 yard par 4. Yeah, it had a cross, helping wind, but make it a pitching wedge instead of a sand wedge and it's still damn good.

All in all, I'm having a lot more confidence than I had before off the tee.  Maybe it's getting older and smarter regarding my swing, but I'm longer and more accurate now than I've ever been. Hopefully it's putting me in a great position for Q School going forward!