🎯 Focus: Pre-Match Sharpening — Damien (Home) Tomorrow

Context: Home match vs. Damien tomorrow (Mar 17) at San Dimas Canyon. This is NOT a day for swing overhauls. The goal is to arrive tomorrow with every player confident, aligned, and carrying 1–2 specific cues for their round.

Team-Wide Priorities (from Grooves data):

1. Putting speed — Matthew Hao, Ben Madanski, Peter Dai all had 3+ three-putts in recent matches. Lag putting is a team-wide leak.
2. Tee shot alignment — Peter Dai, Michael Albornoz, Miles Park, Ethan Hao all missing off the tee in the same direction. Pre-shot alignment routine is the fix.
3. Double bogeys — Michael Albornoz (7, 6 in last two matches) and Peter Dai (4, 3) are hemorrhaging. The team double bogey count is still too high.

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📋 Practice Plan — Station Rotations

Station 1: Putting Green (Lag & Pressure)

Rotate through both drills. 20 minutes total.

Drill A — Speed Ladder (Everyone)

• 3 balls from 30 feet, 3 balls from 40 feet, 3 balls from 50 feet
• Goal: every putt finishes between 1–3 feet of the hole (no 3-putts)
• No one leaves the putting green until they've 2-putted every station

Drill B — Pressure 4-Footer (Jayden Kuo priority)

• 12 balls placed in a circle around the hole at 4 feet ("Around the Clock")
• Must make all 12 consecutively to move on
• Simulates the 4-foot lipout situations costing strokes in matches

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Station 2: Short Game Area (Chipping + Up-and-Down)

20 minutes. Coach stationed here.

Standard Challenge (all players)

• Chip from 3 different lies (fairway, rough, tight lie) to a single hole
• Goal: 1-putt or 2-putt from every chip (up-and-down in 3 total)
• Score yourself: 3 = par, 4 = bogey, 5+ = double. Bogeys acceptable. No doubles.

Michael Albornoz — Priority Coaching

• Continue Mar 13 lesson: bounce, hit down, check for spin
• 20 chip shots from varied lies; call out whether you felt the bounce engage
• No chipping from tight lies yet — build confidence first

Gabriel Gui — Pre-match confidence

• 15 chips to a specific spot (not the hole) — develop landing zone awareness
• Where would you miss from each position? Identify it before chipping.

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Station 3: Range (Alignment + Contact)

20 minutes. Rotate with coach check-ins.

Alignment Check (all players)

• Before every shot: lay club down on ground pointing at target; check feet, hips, shoulders
• This is the pre-shot routine. Repeat it until it is automatic.

Individual Range Assignments (see below)

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👤 Individual Player Plans

Matthew Hao '27 — Consistency anchor

• Range: 15 balls — 7-iron to a specific target. Don't think about distance; think about solid contact and landing zone.
• Putting: Speed Ladder drill (priority). You've had 3–4 three-putts per match; today is about calibrating pace before you get to a new green tomorrow.
• Cue for tomorrow: Trust the short game. It's your best weapon. When in doubt, chip to a spot, not the hole.

Gus Hebert '29 — Distance re-mapping

• Range: 10 balls each with 7-iron, 5-iron, hybrid, 3-wood. Write down carry distances for each. You've gained club speed — your old yardages aren't reliable anymore.
• Putting: Speed Ladder. You've had 2-putt issues from distance on multiple rounds.
• Pre-shot checklist for tomorrow: (1) Tee in the ground within the teeing area — check before every drive. (2) Pick a specific target, not just "the fairway."

Jayden Kuo '26 — Pressure putting + mental game

• Putting: Around the Clock drill from 4 feet. This is the most important thing you do today. The lipouts are costing you entire holes.
• Range: 20 iron shots — follow-through and balance only. You've been striking it well; don't overthink it today.
• Mental cue for tomorrow: When something goes wrong, say it out loud ("that was bad, next shot") and move on. Name it and drop it.

Michael Albornoz '26 — Swing reset + chipping continuation

• Range: Fundamentals only. Grip check → setup check → slow takeaway → don't think about the target. 30 balls with 7-iron. This is not a power session.
• Chipping: Continue Mar 13 work with coach. 20 chips using bounce. You felt the spin last time — chase that feeling.
• Tone: No scorekeeping today. Zero pressure. Just find the feel you had at Catalina.

Peter Dai '28 — Alignment + hook management

• Range: Every single shot starts with the alignment club on the ground. Use Coach Hebert's alignment technique on every ball. Make it non-negotiable.
• Grip check: Strong grip = hooks. Check that your grip isn't rotating too far under the club before you hit anything.
• Putting: Speed Ladder. You had 4 three-putts at San Dimas — tomorrow's greens will be fast again.
• Cue for tomorrow: Aim more right than feels comfortable. Your miss is left. Plan for it.

Miles Park '28 — Tee shot direction

• Range: 15 driver shots. Before each one: set alignment club down and verify your feet are aimed at target. Your tee shots are going right — check that you aren't inadvertently aligned right at address.
• Putting: Pull check — are your shoulders open or closed at address? Close them slightly and see if the pull disappears.
• Cue for tomorrow: When in doubt, take one less club and make a full swing. You compress it well when you're not forcing.

Ethan Hao '27 — Driver setup + mental routine

• Range: 10 driver shots with the setup fix from Mar 13 — check that you're not set up closed. Check ball position and shoulder alignment before each swing.
• Putting: 20 putts with the new grip. Build confidence in it before the match.
• Mental homework: Write down one sentence — what you will say to yourself after a bad hole tomorrow. Not after a bad shot. After a bad hole. Have it ready before you tee off.

Ben Madanski '26 — Lag putting + conservative game plan

• Putting: Speed Ladder is mandatory. You're 5 three-putts in two matches. All from distance control, not direction.
• Range: 10 driver shots — accuracy target only, not distance. Conservative is working; stay with it.
• Game plan for tomorrow: Map out which holes you'll use driver vs. hybrid. Decide before you get there.

Princeton Ong '29 — New grip grooming

• Range: 50 mid-iron shots (6i, 7i, 8i) with the new grip. Nothing else. You changed your grip because shots were going left — groove it before tomorrow, not during.
• Pre-round routine: What do you do at the first tee? Practice your exact tee-box routine 3 times today — deep breath, target visualization, setup, swing. The first hole has been costing you.

Gabriel Gui '28 — Pre-match mental tune-up

• Range: 15 balls — driver and P-wedge only (your two best clubs right now). Build on the 5/5 session from Mar 12.
• Mental walkthrough: Before practice ends, walk through each hole at Western Christian in your head. For each hole: alignment → where to miss → what club. Say it out loud.
• Cue for tomorrow: Body rotation, not arms. You found it — trust it.

Jaeho Lee '28 — Tempo anchor

• Range: 30 balls with 9-iron and 7-iron. One cue only: smooth swing speed. Do not think about impact. The ball gets in the way.
• No tee-behind-ball drill today. You go thin when you use it. Trust the tempo instead.
• Chipping: 20 chips — keep them simple and low-stakes.

Evan Chang '26 — Hip turn + iron contact

• Range: Tee drill for irons — put a ball on a low tee and hit it. Forces ball-first contact. 20 reps.
• Hip cue: Right hip back on the backswing. You know this works. Use it.
• Putting: Speed Ladder. Structured only — no aimless putting.

Jayden Li '29 — Direction + trajectory

• Range: 20 shots — check alignment (club on ground) before each one. Your miss is right; make sure you're not aimed right at address.
• Trajectory: Hit 10 shots trying to fly the ball higher (tee it up slightly higher, swing up on the ball). You've reported low ball flight; let's see if we can fix launch angle.
• Putting: 20 putts from 6 feet — make 15 out of 20 before leaving.

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💭 Reflection