Bringing up the rear

It's been a couple of days since my last stack session as I reflect on what has been just over a months worth of speed training. I've put the last two sessions together in this blog, because I'm busy with work and didn't have time to focus on them individually.

And, whilst neither really offered the level of performance I've become accustomed to, I do think that the performance in these sessions broadly speaks to something close to the speed I'm currently gaming, rather than my outright max.

It is altogether frustrating that I didn't break the 100mph barrier come the end of the program too but that just means I have a very achievable short term goal as I move into the next stage of my speed training, which we'll see what I'm given once I complete the progress check.

Now, whilst I've been able to keep my grit score high during the foundation program, my next issue comes with the progress check, as it's asking me to complete that today (two days after my final foundation session).

However, due to work commitments this won't happen until the 26th which might not be such a bad thing, as I played a lot of golf last week and my body is still recovering. This is almost certainly the reason why I was slow in the last two stack sessions too but you can't dwell on it, I still put the work in..

As part of an update on my on course progress, I'm continuing to see the fruits of the speed training labour and whilst my driving distances aren't yet going to trouble any of the really long hitters, even at our course, I've definitely nudged the needle. This has come with a side effect I hadn't really considered, which is that I'm having to rethink target lines, as I'm finding myself in very different positions on the course, even if my accuracy is also improving as a consequence of the added speed.

As you can see from my last two score cards I'm now starting to creep into the sub 80's on a regular basis, not only due to the extra distance I have in reserve but also because I've been continuing my work on both my mental and strategic game. This is being helped no end by the fact that I have access to DECADE, I'll cover this in its own post soon, as I want to give it the attention it deserves but it's fair to say I'm seeing things through a slightly different lens now.

I also have another handicap update, as whilst the last time I think I posted about this I'd been dropped to 13.0 I have posted a few more cards since, which dropped me to 12.6, 12.0 and now 11.9.

This is mega progress seeing as I started the year at 14.6 and we haven't even closed out the second month!

There's much more to come though!

Comments

Hanging in there...

Not quite up there with the big ole 97mph that I recorded a few sessions ago but I'm still hanging on in there with the 195g with a 95mph average which equates to 290 yard distance potential. However, once again, perhaps it's not all about that driver equivalent number, rather it's about improving on the other weights too, which is precisely what I did in session 15. There was also a couple of other things to consider for this session too, as I started the day with a migraine, which is never good and when I got to the course, the bay I use was sopping wet, as we've had a lot of rain over the last few days. Anyway, I had my grippier wet weather shoes on so I tried to act like it wasn't going to bother me. Over to the records for the session and the first came with the 65g with the step movement and it was a huge gain on the previous best, which I set in session 12, with a 7mph improvement from 101mph to 107mph. The average has also jumped significantly, with a set ...

A steady ship

Third session in the full speed spectrum program and the last portion of this phase (which I hadn't realised was so short), meaning we'll be faced with a new challenge in the next session, which we'll get to shortly. I was enjoying the full, full, max, max scenario but, it's clear to see that whilst I've maintained well over those last three sessions I haven't really pushed on either. I've averaged 90mph on the 195g weight in all three sessions which as I've noted before is a good few mph quicker than my full (on course) swing. The good thing, whilst not gaining any ground, is that I feel as if I I'd be able to maintain that swing consistency throughout a round, rather than maybe having peaks and troughs throughout. As mentioned already, the next session see's me moving into a new phase and what appears to be a very interesting one (lower right, above). As not only is it a five set routine, the first three sets have plenty of reps at weight on...

Progress Check

I'm 6 or so weeks into speed training with the Stack System and as we know I have made gains with driver, both in the stack sessions and out on the course. But, it was time to validate that with some data and so I performed the progress check, which is the same program as the original baseline. I've put those two sessions side-by-side in the images above and we can see the results speak for themselves across the board - 5mph quicker with driver, 9mph quicker with the 195kg, 5mph up on the 280kg, 4mph up on the 145g, 6mph on the 95g, 2mph on the trail arm and 5mph on the lead arm. These are all averages set with full swings, which whilst you all know I've gained much more (15mph) those swings were based on max intent, so are not really a far comparison, they're just there as a means to help increase my ceiling. As we can see 5mph out on course has the potential to increase distance by 29 yards, which is not only a healthy gain, it's something I think I'm actual...

Somers Golf

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