Somers Golf

  So, I had to take another break from Stacking as I was away for a few days and decided to use the return to form option once again, just to ease back into things. The thing with the return to form session compared with the current phase of the full speed spectrum program is that the swings are full speed, rather than max, meaning they're going to come off as a little slower and that's ok with me. Dipping just below 100mph out the gates, essentially at on course speed is fine with me, as it still gives me a distance potential north of 260 yards. Anyway, a couple of days later and it was time to get back into the swing of things, fully and it wasn't a bad session by any means, I just didn't feel like I was ever going to reach out and touch the absolute top numbers and again, that's fine, sometimes you just aren't going to be at your best. Two more days followed and it was time for session 8 in the program - same drill, five sets all at max, with the exception of...

It's been a while since I've posted on my YouTube channel, given the challenges posed by filming in windy conditions on a links style course. However, a few weeks ago I armed myself with the camera's and did just that, whilst also trying my arm at some on course commentary too.  Let me know what you think of this style of video, as I'm thinking it might be the way forward and already have a lapel style mic setup for future efforts, rather than having to talk into the phone off camera. It's also worth bearing in mind that since my last video I've taken nearly 3 shots off my handicap 14.6 > 11.9 which bodes well for when the weather improves...

  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 d...

My thirteenth stack session and the penultimate in phase 3 of the foundation program led to further gains and yet another 1mph in stack speed / eSpeed. I averaged 86mph on the 255g weight in set 1, with a couple of 87mph swings thrown in there. Then it was onto the 95g sets, first of those sets saw me average 100mph with a couple of 103’s in the mix, whilst the second set saw me average 103 (a new set record) with a 105mph swing amongst the batch. As I got onto the 195g set it felt like I could maybe be a little quicker, as proved to be the case with two at 95mph and an average of 94mph. This puts my gain over the course of the foundation program to 15mph and a potential distance increase of 45 yards. I followed the stack session up with eighteen holes and shot another great round of 80, albeit without the clearer cut birdie and par shouts I've had of late. We had an easterly wind and this clearly made life tougher on the way out, as it was into our faces all the way. It was a good...

  Stack session 12 was a similar session to #11, albeit with the weights in each of the first three sets a little different when compared with last time out. And, whilst I was a few mph off my best in the final set there were some glimpses of extra speed shown throughout the course of the first three sets. Set 1 saw a PB on the 235g with an 85, which is also the new set record for that weight. Meanwhile, I hit 103 on the 80g twice in the second set. I followed the session up with another eighteen hole round and have finally broken 80 whilst in company of another member, which also means that card has gone in for handicap and will likely see me drop pretty close to a 12.0 It was a great round with a 79 carded, with 2 birdies and 5 pars BUT with a lost ball off the tee on 16 and two 3 putts, let alone two duff chips that I can recall and a topped 3 wood on 8, I know there's still plenty left in the tank. There's lots more to come!..

The latest stack session was the first in phase 3 of the foundation program, which sees me having to swing at max intent (swinging as quickly as possible, not an on course swing) for all four sets. The first set was with 280g on the stack and boy could I tell that it was only just shy of being on the max weight setting (300g). My max during that set was 83mph and I averaged 81mph which I don’t think was too bad to be honest. Next up we had two sets at 75g with a max of 104mph and average of 101 in the second set, followed by a max 106mph and 103mph average in set three. Finally it was back onto the 195g weight for the final set with four swings at max intent. This set is what’s used to calculate the stack, eSpeed and distance potentials and I managed a new PB of 95mph and a set average of 93mph, which was also a PB and results in another 1mph gain overall. That now puts me at 14mph gained with a distance potential gain of 42 yards! I’ve said it before but it’s worth mentioning again th...

I'm going to admit it, even though I was still having fun with the stack, I was a little irked that over the last few sessions my performance had dropped off somewhat. However, I knew I wasn't alone in this battle as others had seen similar results over the course of their programs too. Another day, another session then and to be fair it's probably the most amped I've been in a number of sessions heading into this latest one, with it also being the last in this phase of the foundation program before moving onto a different set type. I was faced with 8 reps at 205g, 8 reps at 135g and 8 reps at 105g all with full intent (your on course max swing), followed by 4 reps at 195g with max intent (swinging your absolute maximum swing). I started out with a new set record on the 205g at 88mph, then followed that up with a PB of 97mph on the 135g (x3) which also led to a new set record of 95mph. Set 3 saw me hit 100 twice for a PB and nudged the needle on the set record to 99mph ...

No, I'm not talking about the clubs in my bag, I'm talking about the results both on and off the course this week. Let's start with the stack training, which for one reason or another seems to have stalled out when it comes to the all important max intent swings with the 195g weight. Wednesday's session saw that set average out at 89mph meaning my eSpeed and Distance Potential took a hit as a consequence. However, I did break a new set record on the 125g weight with a 95, besting my 94 that had previously sat as the tide line. I proceeded to card an 81 with 1 birdie and 4 pars on my next 18 hole round, hitting 58% of the fairways, a measly 22% of greens in regulation, whilst taking 32 putts. It was a back-to-back day for the next stack session with a round to follow, which I know I said I wasn't going to do this week but, needs must when you're trying to speed train and improve on the course too.  The problem with doing this is I think I don't fully commit t...

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...

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!