For the love of this damn game.
There is terrible affliction that robs the golfer of all knowledge of how to hit and the physical coordination to strike a golf ball purely. It robs them of years of technique, practice, and most importantly confidence. There are no tells of its approach and the only sign of its infection is a confused look on the face or repeated staring at your club after each terrible shot. It is the Voldemort of golf and we dare to speak its name….the y!ps.
The USGA rule book is one of the most quoted and feared books in the game of golf. We all want to play by the rules but we don’t always want to know if we are breaking any rules that result in stroke and distance. (Damn you OB and white stakes). There are however unwritten rules of golf that are not written down but rather passed down. These are the unwritten rules of golf my dad taught me.
There are merits to each but here is why the correct answer is SHORT GAME. Let’s first define short game as anything within 50 yards of the green and this includes green side bunkers. You work your hardest to cover 300+ yards in was few strokes as possible an then hope for the best? Short game takes touch, finesse, strategy, and foresight.
Recently, I played at Heron Glen Golf Club with my dad. It was the first round that we had played together this summer. I enjoy playing with my dad now that I can hit consistently and don’t lose a dozen balls on the Front 9 or my temper on a regular basis. This round was special to me for another reason, I played probably my best golf score despite imploding on the last 3 holes of the day. And I didn’t lose my sh!t.
Ready Golf is defined by the small steps taken by all players to not waste time. Some traditional protocols are ignored but not completely forgotten. It is not a free for all but rather an organized group effort. Golf courses like it because they cannot more foursomes through the course in a day. I want to review what makes for good ready golf.
The concept behind the Perfect Swing Trainer is the looping path of the ball after being struck will illustrate the path of the ball in free flight. The best result is a vertical swinging ball. If the ball is looping a side, you hit a slice or hook. Since the ball is on a string, you can hit the ball for hours and save money on driving range buckets of balls (in theory).
Now that we understand the math (Don’t worry no quiz today), what does a slope of 69.0 mean for the white tees at your local golf course? It means that a scratch golfer should shoot a 69.0 at your golf course playing from the white tees. So what? So buttons. The lower the golf course rating compared to 72 to “easier” the golf course is.
On a recent round of golf, a player in my foursome and I ended up in a conversation admiring pro golfers for their shot making abilities but more for their … Continue Reading My Top 5 Mental Golf Errors
Statistics is a bit of a draw to golf for me. I like looking for trends and see how my game improves or degrades. At one time, I considered building a spreadsheet to track scores and compute handicap. I found an app to track scores and compute handicap but I wanted more. While playing at Scotland Run, my cart mate showed me the app he used to score his round and track his progress: The Grint.
The key to moving from being a hacker to a golfer who can hold your own is the lot art of scramble golf. Scrambling is part special swings that of almost trick shots and mental fortitude to play your game. If your drives end under tree more often than in the short grass of the fairway, a good scramble golf game can keep your scores from entering triple digits.
I did a review a little while ago on the Callaway Swing-Easy and I will admit that I copy and pasted most of that review here for the Callaway Connect-Easy. … Continue Reading Callaway Connect-Easy Locks You Into A Good Swing
After reading Mastering Golf’s Mental Game, I was eager to try out the Mental Scorecard to see how consistently my mental game is during a round. I usually debrief myself after a round by talking to myself in the car running through each hole. I usually focus on the holes that ate my lunch and costed my penalty strokes. Using Dr. Lardon’s process, I wanted to see where my mental game falls short of maintaining a constant mental approach the game. It was a learning experience.
The physical aspect of golf is relatively simple and takes 1.2 seconds. The rest of the 4.5 hour round is waiting for your turn to swing. During this time, each golfer must work to maintain their concentration and re-engage before stepping up to their next shot. Dr. Michael Lardon wrote Mastering Golf’s Mental Game to help each of us build a stronger mental golf game.
This past week, I played White Clay Creek and experienced the greatest up and down of my golf game in a long time. Unfortunately, the down was a big down on the back 9. I shot a 101 which was the worst round in a long time and what made it more painful was my front 9 was a 44 including coming back from an 8 on the par 4 first hole. So what happened to cause a massive self destruction on the back 9 and why did I need heed my own advice I posted on this blog? (besides being an idiot?)
Many golfers will allow their right elbow (left if you are a leftie) to chicken wing out at the top of the backswing. This break in swing structure results in most golfers to swing out to in resulting in a fade or slice. The Swing-Easy keeps your elbows close and helps to swing in to out.
I started playing with this style some time last year. I found myself not hitting my irons very well and getting frustrated. I was chopping my irons into the ground or hitting behind the ball when I was trying to hit too hard. At that time, I had a 4 TaylorMade Rocketballz hybrid and just picked up a 5 of the same brand to replace my 4 and 5 irons. I started to use the 5 hybrid to hit a 150 yard shot instead of my 7 iron. And it worked!