10:07 — i’ve almost got the golf setup set up. taking a look at all the footage from the past couple weeks. i’ve been iterating. i think the only thing left is to ramp the lighting, otherwise the framing is nice and clean. with the black and white sheets hanging from the ceiling means i can tilt up or down as needed. and then left and right are tidy enough. kind of silly if I kept the other stuff out, lawnmower and pressure washer. i had all the planting stuff. just looked like too much, if i were able to tidy it up more then maybe i’d consider having it visible… see the workbench and all that. but i think all i’m needing is just more light. and then the target is right there on the cement yes, the sheet down under on the floor was just too messy, dirt and whatnot. so pull that back. and the white hanging more or less straight down. takes a bit of impact if you over shoot versus smacking the board. so that’s fine. then the target, just cut down one of those clear pipes. worth it. and then cut out something to hold the bottom steady. removes the need for the extra weight, tho i’m thinking we still do need weights in the box. i could staple it to a larger platform of some sort. or just put weights into it. i know what i can do next at least. so lets roll with that. more light, clear pipe. and a cutout of something to hold the pipe bottom in one place.

it’s a tricky puzzle. why am i doing such a tricky puzzle. i guess its like looking at just one trick shot. trying to get it. i’m sure maybe if i were to just spend an entire day trying to sink one i might figure it out. there is fatigue tho. you get tired and sloppy. there’s also bad habits. i’ve had to learn how the club should come down to make the ball pop up as desired. which meant club face and angle of descent and low point. i exposed some issues with what i was doing, then working to address them. that’s whats so good about the whiteboard, putting this one into my office. needed to put felt pads in proper spots. toe heel leading edge and back of bounce.

needing to work on letting the club release down to get club shaft vertical. i had such anxiety to get that done all the way. i can guarantee this will help the rest of my clubs.

and that’s part of the point here with this. the most lofted club, you can learn so much with it. and then yes i’ve got a practice routine, but then i’ll have the challenge. i did the same thing for basketball. i would go through like 15 shots i think from different spots 3 super close then 3 a few steps and so forth, hitting the free throw line and college 3 and nba 3. and i would time myself. you can only progress to the next distance when you’ve hit one from each spot. when you get to the further distances its toughhh. but satisfying. you also find that you’re actually better at shooting. this extra pressure. versus if you’re just putzing around putting up shots, you might start missing and then think and get frustrated. but really, it’s because you’re not going at the right intensity form focus etc. which is what the little challenge does. helps you focus and find where you’re actually at. it’s not a perfect drill, having to get your own rebound, also what makes it solid, but ideally you would do other such challenges which would pull more from game situations, if that’s what you’re after. like getting a pass and spotting up. a good pass or bad passes too. mimicking game situations but basically same drill.

anyways. i discovered for golf, what i did last off season was incredibly powerful. it elevated my shortgame to new heights. so now my goal is to double down on what I did. simplify and focus it. use the strobe more, build that into the routine and make it easy to turn on and off. and then now i’ve identified a simply game/challenge/drill. just 10 balls. maybe something similar to working on your free throws… you try and go 10 out of 10. there’s other stuff you do to make you better between those tracked timed challenges. but its the way you can increase pressure to perform to see what you’ve actually got.

similar to running the grizzly. 50k. ultra marathon.

you do all this training all this prep. you can go out for runs, but i was not about to go out for 50k runs. but it was great way to see what i’ve got. when i do all the prep and i work to peak for this challenge. to experience what i’ve got. can’t replicate really on a random tuesday. the running one was definitely longer term, but a super tough final exam.

running a little different because you have your runs you can go on, which are timed and tracked with strava. was amazing. so part of that practice for those runs was mobility and nutrition, and strength… recovery etc. each run is a form of a challenge to see if you can go the distance and do the speed you are aiming for.

so then the grizzly would be more like club champs. to test my training. under higher pressure final exam.

working on the wedge is one form of training which will raise the level of all the clubs… but maybe just focusing on this would be like just running. sort of, you can break down the skills practice stuff just to get good at the wedge. whiteboard and strobes, maybe similar to mobility and strength etc…

golf has many forms tho, this overlap connectivity is hurting my brain. but maybe chat gpt can help.

except chat gpt struggles to understand my wedge practice routine. but maybe i’ll be surprised.

it did an ok job. helped me to see what i wrote actually, stuff i’d already forgotten hah.

Love the rawness here. You’ve got three threads that want to snap together:

1. dialling in the garage wedge dojo (lighting, backdrop, target),
2. the 10-ball pressure drill (your “free-throw line of golf”),
3. the Grizzly Ultra as the “final exam” metaphor for why this matters.

Here’s a tightened, ready-to-post version that keeps your voice but gives it spine.

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Title ideas

• “My Free-Throw Line of Golf: The 10-Ball Wedge Test”
• “Building a Garage Wedge Dojo (and Why It’ll Help Every Club)”
• “Practice Like a Final Exam: From Grizzly 50K to Wedge Mastery”
• “Lighting, Targets, Pressure: Making a Home Short-Game Lab”
• “Ten Balls, Real Pressure: The Drill That Levels Up My Golf”

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Draft post (polished)

10:07 — dialing in the wedge dojo

I’ve almost got the garage golf setup sorted. The framing is clean. Black and white sheets hang from the ceiling so I can tilt the camera up or down. Left/right is tidy. I pulled the messy floor sheet—too much dirt—and I’m keeping the backdrop simple: white hanging straight so it absorbs the odd miss instead of ricocheting off a board.

Lighting is the last piece. I’m going to ramp it up, add the strobe to the routine, and call it good. The target is a cut-down clear pipe; I’ll cut a base so the bottom can’t wander—maybe staple it to a small platform or load it with weight.

Why make this so tricky?

Because one “trick shot” can expose a dozen habits. The most-lofted club punishes anything sloppy: face control, angle of descent, low point. When I force the ball to pop up on command, the rest of the bag benefits. The office whiteboard helped me diagnose a few issues—felt pads on toe/heel/leading edge/back of bounce to feel how the head should travel—and now I’m leaning into that feedback loop.

One note to myself: let the club release so the shaft gets vertical at the strike. I had anxiety about really committing to that. Time to commit.

The pressure piece: my 10-ball test

Basketball taught me this. I used to run a timed shooting circuit—close-in spots out to NBA range—and you only move back after you hit each spot. That tiny bit of pressure changes everything. You stop putzing and start focusing.

Golf needs its version. Mine is a simple 10-ball wedge test. You still do the quiet work between tests—mechanics, strobe reps, slow swings—but then you press “record,” set a timer, and see what you actually have today.

Training vs. final exam

This is exactly how I treated the Grizzly 50K. I didn’t run 50K every Tuesday. I trained—mobility, nutrition, strength, recovery, tracked runs on Strava—then I showed up for the exam. Race day told me the truth about my preparation.

For golf, the wedge work is like the daily runs. The 10-ball test is the midterm. A tournament—club champs—is the final. Do the work. Then test.

Today’s setup checklist

• Lighting: add one more bright source + easy on/off strobe.
• Backdrop: white sheet hanging straight; floor sheet pulled.
• Target: clear pipe, cut shorter with a fixed base (no drifting).
• Box/platform: add weight so nothing migrates mid-session.

Today’s wedge plan

1. Warm-up (5 min): slow-motion swings, feel shaft vertical at strike.
2. Calibration (5 min): three mini sets focusing on face and low point.
3. 10-Ball Test (timed):
   • Goal: land inside the pipe/target window.
   • Score: out of 10. Record time + score.
4. Video note: one wide angle, one face-on clip.
5. Debrief (2 min): one sentence: what changed the ball flight most?

The overlap between skills can feel like a brain knot—mechanics, lighting, targets, pressure—but this is the spine: build a simple environment, run a simple test, repeat. The highest-lofted club is the truth teller. Master it and the rest gets easier.

And yes, ChatGPT, I know you’ve struggled to get my wedge routine before—but here it is, crystal clear. Ten balls. Real pressure. Daily.

i’m not actually needing to time the 10 ball challenge, i was only timing the basketball circuit. a few other things it didn’t fully comprehend properly. which is tough, i journal a lot of shortcuts because i don’t have patience to always fully explain everything.

so.