Author Archives: Grant Varner

       This was one of the best projects I have ever done in school. I really did stick to my original plan to just go to the range as much as I could and try to get better. I also used all my resources as over Thanksgiving break I got a couple of lessons from my cousin who used to be a pro. Even though two lessons doesn’t sound like a lot, it completely changed how I play golf. He helped me fix the two biggest challenges I had with my swing, one being to keep my arms fully extended, and the other was fixing my slice. My slice was definitely the biggest problem I had because it basically made me play one stroke behind as I wasn’t getting enough distance. All my cousin told me to do was put my right foot far back behind me and that basically fixed it completely. 

          I learned a lot while playing golf. Of course I learned what contributes to a good swing, how to putt, and chip, but most importantly I found a new sport that I love. I always used to think golf was so boring, and now I would actually play everyday if I could. The best part is I can play golf for the rest of my life, so I really found a new hobby to enjoy forever. I think it’s important that I recognize this because it’s possible that golf might not be the only thing like this for me, I could find another hobby that I thoroughly enjoy. 

I liked how we got to present our project because people could actually see our swings from start to finish, and even they noticed how much Noah and I had improved. I had a lot of fun getting to show off my newly learned golf skills on the putting green, and it was even better when parents who played golf complimented my shots. Overall I’m really happy with my decision to choose golf. I don’t think that I would’ve gotten into anything else near as much as I did for golf. I’m proud of myself to sticking to it and getting better, and I can’t wait to see how far I come.

For this last week of three pound I wanted to see how much progress I really made, so Evan and I went golfing and played 18 holes the real way. We each kept our own score and we didn’t give ourselves any extra shots like normal. This made it a lot more challenging because when I messed up and hit one into the trees, I had to hit it out of the trees. I ended up playing really well just scoring over 105. I know that’s not exactly good, but for me it shows that I have made a lot of progress as I hadn’t even played a round of golf before this project.

I’m proud of myself for actually sticking with golf and playing every weekend and sometimes multiple times a weekend. I’ve made huge improvements since the time I went to the range with Noah for the first week. Then I couldn’t even hit the ball solid every single time, and now I’m actually putting up an okay score playing a full 18 holes. I’m definitely going to continue golf as I have found a new passion for something. Every weekend I look forward to going golfing and now, even though that three pound is over, I’m still gonna go every time I can. I can’t wait to get even better and I’m excited to see what else golf brings for me.

            On Sunday Noah and I played 12 holes at a course with multiple short par threes. For most of the holes I was using just my irons because the holes were so short. This was really good practice for chipping and putting because there were so many short opportunities. I was hitting my irons well all day, but when it came to chipping, I was struggling. On the last few holes I definitely improved and I even almost chipped one straight into the hole from the rough. There were only 4 holes where I could use my driver, and I ended up having two good drives and two bad ones. My first two drives were great and ended up in the middle of the fairway, but then I tried to make an adjustment to fix the slice and I ended up just messing everything up. 

Overall I definitely played well, I ended up making par three legitimate times with 7 bogies as well. I was really happy with the way I played but I want to learn how to hit the ball straight with a driver. If I could do this then it would take my game to the next level and I would make par more often. Besides this I am hitting all my other clubs really well right now and I am very impressed with myself because I never thought I would progress so fast.

           This weekend I got the chance to golf in Ocala. I was there to tour Santa Fe and after my dad and I golfed at a country club. This was the first time I played and actually felt like I was playing real golf. Obviously I have played real games, but this time I didn’t have near as many shanks and I was putting up real scores. The front nine holes I played okay because I was still warming up as we didn’t get to hit on the range before. However on the back nine holes I played the best golf of my life. I bogeyed seven of the nine holes, and I even made par on one of them too. I just need to fix my swing with my driver and my scores would improve greatly. I lose a lot of distance when I slice it and it basically puts me one shot behind, and that is why I bogey instead of making par. 

I also got the chance to go to the range with Noah at the start of the week. I mainly focused on using the driver so I could get rid of the slice, but I also used the rest of my clubs to stay in the flow of things. I think the only way I will be able to fix my slice is if I get professional help. I tried to fix it by myself almost the entire time we were at the range, and I still had no success. My next goal is to get professional help or help from someone who knows more than I do, because no matter how much I try, I still can’t fix it myself.

             This weekend I didn’t get to golf much, but I did go to the range for just half an hour one day. I mainly worked on using my hybrid clubs because I’ve never been able to hit them well when I’m playing on a course. Any of the times I’ve played a round of golf and tried using my 4 or 5 hybrid, I either hit it three feet in front of me or a hundred feet into the woods. They have the smallest club face so they are the most difficult ones to use, but I still need to work on them.

At first when I got to the range, the same thing was happening. I was hitting the top of the ball and it would bounce three to ten feet in front of me. Then when I tried fixing it by swinging lower, I would make good contact but the ball would slice so far to the right. This continued for probably thirty minutes until I started to turn my club head before I would swing. This way it would hit the ball more square and eliminate some of the slice. I know that isn’t the right way to fix my swing, but for now it was working okay. By the end of my time at the range I was hitting them good every time but there was still the slice. Eventually I got my swing to where I could basically aim left and the ball would end up straight in front of me. I definitely need to continue working on these clubs because once I get them down it will make a big difference on the course.

             I am actually surprised with the progress I have been making while playing golf. I have had a lot of good help and I know that is really making a difference, but I am by no means a good golf player yet. There are still many changes I could make to my swing to help not slice the ball. Being able to hit the ball straight without any curve has proved to be my main challenge so far. I have fixed many of my other problems like keeping my left arm straight throughout my entire swing and limiting other movements that aren’t necessary. These have helped me make solid contact more consistently. The best thing I was taught was to think of my swing as a big pendulum and to just let my arms swing and not try and do too much. Another main part of my golf game that I have improved on is chipping and putting. The first couple of rounds I played were pretty rough, but I really improved after I was taught to not break my wrist and to try and always get under the ball.

I wasn’t really sure what my end goal with golf was when I started this project, I was just eager to try out a new sport and see how good I was. The exciting thing I learned was that this project started my passion for golf and I’ll get to play it the rest of my life. By the end of this project I definitely won’t be a professional golf player, or even a good one for that matter, but it’s something that I enjoy and that I can do for the rest of my life.

             This weekend I did more shopping for golf than actually playing. I got a pair of golf shoes and a couple more clubs that I was missing. My dad and I had scheduled to play 18 holes with Ty and his Dad, so he wanted to make sure I had all the right gear. We went to Dicks Sporting Goods to pick out a pair of shoes so that I wouldn’t slip when playing. Then my dad noticed that I was missing two important clubs, the four and five irons. So next we picked out two clubs that fit my size and made sure they were comfortable to swing. 

Then on Sunday we played a full match with Ty and his Dad. This was more of a learning game than competitive because my Dad wanted to teach me as we played throughout the day. One of the main things that I needed to work on was minimizing movements throughout my swing, because the more you move around the less likely you are to hit the ball square every time. I also had to work on keeping my left arm completely straight through my entire swing. Sometimes I would bend my arm and then it would lead to me breaking my wrist and I would lose a lot of power. I didn’t play super well because I was trying to make so many adjustments to my swing. I was ok with not playing my best because I could just focus on making my swing better.

This weekend I went golfing Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Friday I went to the USF gold course and played a round of golf with three of my friends. This was just a practice round between all of us, as we all wanted to see where our skills were. To still make it a competition we played a game called scramble. It’s a 2v2 game where you always play whoever’s ball is hit better. For example if I shank my first shot three feet in front of me, but my teammate hits one perfectly on the fairway, we would then take our next shot from his ball since it was closer to the hole. Then whoever’s team makes it in the least shots wins the hole. I played pretty good with only a few shots shanked here and there, and my teammates played well also. We ended up winning the match by only one hole. On Saturday and Sunday I went to the driving range to continue to work on my swing. This time I used the tips from my dad to fix my swing and make it more balanced. I worked on not swinging so hard and not moving my feet so I finish more balanced. Fixing these things made me hit the ball more consistently and also more straight. I took more videos including slow motion so we could really break down my swing and make any improvements we need to. Next week I’ll work on any tips that my dad gives me or our cousin who used to golf professionally.

This week Noah and I went to the driving range to work on our golf stances and to just get a general sense of where our golf skills are. I started off using my driver and seeing how good I was with that. My first few swings were pretty rough but after that I was making good contact and hitting the ball a lot further then I thought I would. Most of my drives would curve drastically to the right, which I later learned is called a slice. Next time we go out I’m going to really focus on trying to fix the slice and hit the ball more straight. After using the driver for a little while I started to use different clubs like irons and woods. The next club I swung was a seven iron. When using the iron I noticed that the slice I have with the driver kinda just goes away and the ball goes much straighter. Even though the balls travel much straighter with the iron, I also tend to miss the ball more or shank it to the left or right. I think I’m best using irons I just need to work on being more consistent. The last club I swung with was a three wood. Now this was the most challenging club for me to use because it has such a small club head. I either completely missed or I hit it almost straight left or right. Even when I did square it up the slice was worse than when I was using the driver. Finally after using it for a while I got a couple good swings, but even on my good ones the slice was still pretty bad. My dad has done quite a bit of golfing in his day so he offered to go with me next time and show me how to fix that. Next week I’m probably going to go to the range again just to get some more work before playing a real round of golf.

For my first week of our 3# I was sick, so here is what I would’ve done. My first plan was to make sure I have all the clubs necessary, as I am using my brother’s old set and I didn’t know if I was missing any or not. Then I was going to go to a driving range and start from there, this way I can see where I’m starting at when it comes to how accurate and far I can hit each club. I was going to start off using the diver, and then move from club to club seeing which ones I was good with and which ones I needed to work on the most. I planned to take videos of my swing as well because that way I could maybe see what I was doing wrong and begin to work on fixing it the next time I went.