Somers Golf

  Following on from my last post, I decided that this week I was going to alternate my stack and playing sessions, as I felt like even though I scored well I wasn't doing my body any favours in the long run. It also helps to keep my grit score at 100% as I hadn't planned to play today. Today's stack session was the seventh session in the foundation program and included 4 sets, the first of which was 8x 205g which I averaged 87 at and was consistent in the set. Next up it was 8x 120g which was a bit more up and down in terms of consistency but did result in a PB of 108 early in the set. Set 3 was 8x 65g which I've got to say felt extremely lightweight after the first two sets. Anyway, this was the first time at this weight so was happy to see me get into the 100's and have an average of 103 and a max of 105. Final set was a 4x 195g at max intent, as it has been the last few sessions and I was hovering in and around 90 throughout. Overall this means no speed gain from...

Yesterday I opted to pair my stack training with a round of golf, with the stack session done before heading out for 18. Now, this is something I'm probably going to have to evaluate that going forward as it does put my body under a lot of stress heading into the round, meaning I'll likely do it the other way around next time out to see the cause and effect. In terms of the stack session it was another good one and another where I found another 1mph, taking me up to 12mph overall in the first six sessions of the foundation program. I know I'm moving the needle too as I feel like I'm stretching various muscles in my body I'd never previously considered as a factor. The great thing about the stack app is the motivation it provides during the session too as you look to swing harder and faster with every backswing and follow through. The notification and auditory message you receive when beating a record, such as the set record, shown in the bottom left, just makes you ...

Another day and it's time for another stack session, session #5 in the foundation program no less, which featured four sets - 1 with 240g, 1 with 135g, 1 with 100g and finally a set with 195g. The first three sets were 8 reps with full intent (the maximum intent with which you'd swing it on the course), the final set was four reps at max intent (just swing it as fast as you can). 86 was my best on the first set with an 83 average (a PB), set two had two at 94mph with a set average of 93, set three had a 101mph in there, with a set average of 99 and set four had three 90's which was also the average (another PB). All-in-all that equates to another 1mph gain overall and pushes my distance potential to 262. Now, we must have a quick chat about the distance potential at this point, as this, along with the eSpeed is extrapolated from the Stack Speed. The extrapolation is due to the Stack being around the length of a hybrid, so some quick maths by the app later and it works out t...

  In terms of today's blog post, it’s actually focused on yesterdays stack session (didn’t have time to post yesterday) it was a four set routine, with 8 reps at 220g, 8 reps at 125g, 8 reps at 95g, all of which were full swing effort (the most effort you’d put in on course), followed by a 4 rep set at 195g swinging with max effort (swinging out of my boots). Once again I had PB’s in the first three sets, with 87 and an 88 in the first, 98 in the second set and 102 in the third. It was the first time swinging at max and I was feeling a little slower at this point if I’m honest but did manage to have a 90 and three 89’s... Overall it means I’ve gained one more 1mph too, taking me up to 94mph eSpeed, whilst giving me a distance potential of 259 yards. I’m seeing the speed gains translate into my actual swing too, as I completed this stack session as part of a range session. I’ve also finally acquired a shaft for the Cobra Radspeed XB head I bought some time ago (a Fujikura Ventus 6S ...

Today's stack session was conducted ahead of a ten hole match / competition and, whilst there's no overall speed bump today there were some PB's... Starting with the comp, it was affected by the weather, as the ground frost means we're currently on temporary greens. This is a very unusual situation for our course and was compounded by the lower section of the course being closed entirely (holes 14-16), with these holes usually part of the ten hole loop we'd play. In lieu of the missing holes we played 17 and 18 first and then back to 1 through 7, across to 13 and then back down 18 to finish but off a forward tee. I played really well and scored 20 stableford points, with one blob on SI.1 having hooked a couple OB left off the tee I wrote off the hole. I had five pars, the most satisfying of which was on 18 the first time round, as I chipped in from 30 yards. 21 points won the competition, so not far off (if only I hadn't had that blob on 6...), although there wa...

Today's stack session was the second in the foundation program and I knew, having gained 8mph in the first session from the baseline, this one was going to be a bitter pill to swallow. Turns out it wasn't, with the reason being that I expected to be in a holding pattern and maybe struggle to beat my previous session.  However, at each of the 3 weights I was tasked with in this session, I hit PB's, with a 90mph on the 205g, 90mph on the 195g and 95mph on the 140g.  You'll note the average for each set was pretty closely matched to those numbers too, 87mph, 89mph and 93mph so I'm definitely moving more quickly. My notes also reveal I had a slight twinge in my lower back too, so I was having to work for it, whilst I was doing the stack session in the middle of a range session too (110 balls hit, mainly focused on the longer clubs in the bag, including the Cobra Radspeed XB driver which I've finally got a shaft for (a blue Fujikura Ventus 6S - 45.5" length). Ju...

Today's post comes courtesy of an email notification I got this morning which let me know that the latest general play card I entered had resulted in a handicap drop. I carded an 81 in that round, which has knocked off an 86, meaning I’m now off 14.0, rather than 14.6 I was already playing as if I didn’t have a shot on stroke index 15 anyway, as whilst I technically should have had a shot there, playing off the winter mats means we only have 90% handicap anyway. Current scores that make up my best 8 are as follows: 83, 85, 80, 82, 80, 84, 83 and an 81. These are representative of my current game so I don’t see any large jumps happening now until the main season starts. Let’s keep this trend going!

We all know that we’re slowing down as we’re getting older but as someone who took up golf again in their 40’s I already knew I wasn’t swinging as quickly as I could. Of course many accept this decline in speed and resultant loss in yardage in their stride but I’m not as accepting, I’m competitive, I always want to see improvement, even if it’s slow. If you’ve read the main post on the site you’ll know that I caused my own problem with the driver at the backend of last season in many ways. However, I’m prepared to put in the work to get back what I’ve lost and add more speed to my arsenal. Afterall, speed training, which is what I’m undertaking, is essentially about raising your ceiling so that you can cruise at a higher level on course. In order to achieve this I’ve invested in The Stack System. Now, I didn’t do this on a whim, when I’m buying something, I make sure it’s going to perform how I’d expect and the results others have seen convinced me this is the route to take. The thing ...

Welcome to my blog, a place that I'll use to collect all of my thoughts and explain my golfing journey. So, let's start at the beginning - I'm Matt and I'm a golfaholic BUT whilst I'm hooked this time around (excuse the pun), the same can't be said for when I played golf in my formative years. And, to that end I believe I picked up my first golf club around the age of 7, when my Dad took the family to the driving range so he could practice his own game. I don't remember much about my golf in between then and my teenage years but I do know that I took lessons when I was around 12 and began playing a little too. The problem was, I liked it but I didn't love it. There were other things in my life that I felt deserved my time, including football and school and so I can't say that I ever really gave it my all. I can also confirm that club technology has improved dramatically in the twenty or so years since I last played, which was late in my teens, as bac...