The Road to 40: Week 4 update

What a week! I’m especially grateful for the time change — and one of the perks of living in Arizona is that we don’t have to adjust our schedules. Being three hours behind Eastern Time this time of year means longer daylight in the evenings, which translates to more practice time. I’m loving it.

This week, I continued working on dialing in my distances from 100 yards and in. Monday’s practice was focused on wedge control and understanding my swing lengths — quarter, half, three-quarter, and full swings. I’m definitely seeing progress, though I’m not quite where I want to be yet. The firm Arizona greens don’t make things any easier; while I’m seeing solid spin numbers on the launch monitor, they don’t always translate the same way on the course.

I also spent about 45 minutes on the putting green. Putts in the 4–6 foot range haven’t always been a strength for me, so I dedicated time there, along with some focused work on lag putting. Since I don’t always hit shots close, lag putting is an important part of my game — and one I’m committed to improving.

I finally pulled the trigger on a golf journal I’ve had my eye on for a while: the Journal18 Track Pad Pro. It’s been a great tool for preparing for rounds, tracking performance during play, and reviewing afterward. When you’re working to improve, being able to reflect on what went well (and what didn’t) is incredibly valuable. They also offer a practice journal, which helps structure practice sessions and review them afterward — something I’m finding really useful.

Tuesday was my weekly league night, and I saw a noticeable improvement. The last time I played, I shot 8 over — not ideal. This week, I came in at 3 over, which felt like a big step forward. I did have one rough hole with a tee shot out of bounds that led to a double bogey, but the positive takeaway was how well I reset. I hit a solid re-tee shot, avoided compounding mistakes, and stayed composed. I bogeyed the next hole but made par the rest of the way in. The lag putting work from Monday absolutely carried over — I had several putts over 20 feet and managed to two-putt each one, which I was really happy about.

Wednesday’s practice started off rough, but it led to an important realization. I noticed I’d been letting the club get too far behind me in my swing. Unfortunately, I didn’t identify it until I was almost done for the day, but I made a note in my journal to focus on it the next time out.

Thursday was a much better session. I worked on correcting that swing issue and immediately saw improvements in both strike quality and distance control.

I also spent some time Thursday talking with AI about my irons. I’ve been noticing a lot of draw spin lately, which I’m not a huge fan of. I asked whether the clubs I play — Mizuno Pro 245s — could contribute to that, and the answer was yes. Because they’re more forgiving and built a half-inch shorter than standard, I’m likely seeing more draw spin than I would with a players iron. A friend let me hit his TaylorMade P770 8-iron, and I could immediately tell the difference — less draw spin and tighter proximity to the hole. It also felt incredible to hit. Unfortunately, new irons aren’t in the budget right now, but maybe someday.

Next week kicks off Phase 2: continuing to dial in my distances and refine my swing, with the goal of getting closer to an even-par round.

Until next week.

Fairways and greens, y’all.