What do you think?
What does your personal experience in your own game tell you?
Click here to read article - What's the best club off the tee?
Thursday, April 30, 2015
Are you playing smart off the tee?
When I read this article, I have to say that my experience differs from what they are saying. Perhaps I am a statistical anomaly, or I'm deceiving myself.
What do you think?
What does your personal experience in your own game tell you?
Click here to read article - What's the best club off the tee?
What do you think?
What does your personal experience in your own game tell you?
Click here to read article - What's the best club off the tee?
Saturday, April 11, 2015
Tuesday, April 07, 2015
Masters Talk
OK. It's Masters week. In my eyes, the official start of spring. I love this week. The Masters is my favourite tournament of the year. The course is stunning, the tension is high, and the competition is just a bit more compelling. Each shot seems to matter just a little bit more...even on Thursday.
Predictions will be plentiful, and there will no doubt be some surprises at the top of the leaderboard. It never fails; on Thursday and Friday, there always seems to be someone at the top, that you wouldn't have expected, and I find myself rooting for them. Once in a while, that player will come out on top in the end, but not often.
My prediction for the week is Jordan Spieth will come out on top and take the #1 player in the world ranking away from Rory McIlroy. I would be just as happy to see Rory win, but I think there is so much pressure on him, and he hasn't been in top form so far this year, he might come up just a bit short. Spieth has been playing extremely well so far this season. The one thing that could prevent him from putting on the green jacket, is his temper. He's very hard on himself, and he seems to hold on to his frustration a little too long (king of like most of us). He's a player we can all relate to, and get behind, because he seems more human, and is still at the top of the world rankings.
And of course, because Tiger is playing, 99% of the coverage will be about him. This can be quite annoying. It seems like all they want to talk about it Tiger, and no matter how he plays, they will have him on camera, more than anyone else. There are a lot of Tiger haters out there, which I don't think if fair, but it is easy to see why people get sick of hearing about him. There are 100+ other guys out there, with some great back stories. How about we give some of them a little more air time?
Don't get me wrong; I am a Tiger fan. I have been since he started. I love watching him play (when he's playing like Tiger). I want him to win. I'd love to see him get to 100 wins, and beat Jack's record 18 majors. I'm not sure either of those will happen now. In 2008, after winning the U.S. Open with a broken leg, it looked like a no brainer, but not anymore.
No matter what, I will be glued to the TV, watching every shot with great anticipation. I'll be rooting for my favourites (Rory, Tiger, Jordan, Ricky, Phil, Sergio), but I'll be happy for whoever comes out on top. Sunday afternoon of The Masters is better than Christmas for me. It just has a different feel, that can't be put into words.
Cut yourself some slack with your wedges
I liked this article because it talks about something that we all need to realize. Each week on TV, we only get to see the players that are playing the best. We rarely get to see that ones that are hitting bad shots, just like we do. They do happen, and more often than we think. These pros are human too, and they make mistakes. They'll even hit chunkers, skulls, and shanks...just like us.
Aside from that, this is a great article on wedge play.
Get Real With Your Wedges
Aside from that, this is a great article on wedge play.
Get Real With Your Wedges
Monday, March 30, 2015
Do you hit the ball first?
Hitting the ball first is something that has always been a problem for me. This drill looks like it might help, as I am a visual learner. Let's hope...
http://www.golfchannel.com/media/golf-fix-learn-take-divot-after-ball/?cid=Email_MondayNL_20150330
http://www.golfchannel.com/media/golf-fix-learn-take-divot-after-ball/?cid=Email_MondayNL_20150330
Monday, March 09, 2015
Watching bombers is bad for regular golfers
So, this past weekend at Doral, the bombers tamed the course. Dustin Johnson came out on top, ahead of fellow bombers; Bubba Watson and J.B. Holmes. Their power helped them to hit to places where us mere mortals can only dream of, and stay out of trouble, for the most part.
I don't feel that this helps the regular golfer, however. All this does is feed into the propaganda that is put out there by the equipment manufacturers, internet instruction programs and their respective marketing teams. They all want us trying to hit the ball farther. They do everything to make us want to hit the ball as far as they do... and why not? It looks awesome, and like a lot of fun, right?
The trouble is; when we try to do that, we over swing, causing us to lose balance and control, which leads to the ball flying anywhere but where we intend. It all sounds and looks good, but the truth is, unless you're out on the range smacking 1000 balls a day, you'll never have the consistency to hit the ball that long, and stay out of trouble. Sure those guys find trouble too, but since they are out on the range smacking 1000 balls a day, they also practice getting out of that trouble. Those guys can hit from the rough and still manage to salvage a decent shot, most of the time. We are lucky to advance it to a place where we might have a decent lie and have a chance to make good contact on the next shot. More often than not, when we find the deep stuff, we'll hack at it and advance it half way to where we were hoping, if we're lucky. The odd time that we make decent contact, the clubface will open or shut dramatically, sending the ball who knows where.
I find it very frustrating that the industry as a whole, including the TV announcers, TV and online instructors, and the equipment manufacturers are always telling us we need to hit the ball farther. It's no wonder the average handicap hasn't come down over the past 50+ years. I really wish someone who has influence would come out and speak the truth, that what we (the amateur, recreational golfer) really needs to focus on is keeping the ball in play. Stay in the fairway. Stay out of trouble. Avoid penalty strokes and strokes taken punching out of trouble, and watch your scores drop.
In my opinion, the root of higher scores than are within our true potential, and much frustration, is this desire that seems to be forced upon us to hit the ball 300 + yards. Sure that would be great, if we could do it regularly and with consistent accuracy, but we can't. The real truth is we don't really need to hit the ball much more than 200 yards.
Examples:
An average par 5 for us mortals might be about 525 yards. If we hit:
Tee shot - Driver - 220 yards
2nd shot - Fairway wood - 200 yards
Approach shot - Wedge/Short iron - 100 yards
= 520 yards
2 putts yields a par.
A really long par 4 might be 430 yards. If we hit:
Tee shot - Driver - 220 yards
2nd shot - Fairway wood - 200 yards
= 420 yards
From here, we are either putting or chipping. If we 2 putt or get up and down, we have a par.
If we play with this approach all the time, without gearing up and trying to crush the ball 300 + yards, and focus on just making good contact and keeping the ball in play, we can avoid the double and triple bogeys that kill our rounds. If we all did this, the average handicap would soon begin to drop, but we are all victims of marketing and ego, making us think that the key to lowering our scores is crushing the ball.
So, I believe that while is is a lot of fun watching DJ, Bubba, JB, Rory, Adam, and the other bombers hit the ball a long way, we should not try to emulate them. We need to play within our own capabilities, keeping the ball in play and be satisfied scoring in the low 80's and maybe in the 70's once in a while when the short game comes around. It's not that far fetched. We just need to buy in.
I don't feel that this helps the regular golfer, however. All this does is feed into the propaganda that is put out there by the equipment manufacturers, internet instruction programs and their respective marketing teams. They all want us trying to hit the ball farther. They do everything to make us want to hit the ball as far as they do... and why not? It looks awesome, and like a lot of fun, right?
The trouble is; when we try to do that, we over swing, causing us to lose balance and control, which leads to the ball flying anywhere but where we intend. It all sounds and looks good, but the truth is, unless you're out on the range smacking 1000 balls a day, you'll never have the consistency to hit the ball that long, and stay out of trouble. Sure those guys find trouble too, but since they are out on the range smacking 1000 balls a day, they also practice getting out of that trouble. Those guys can hit from the rough and still manage to salvage a decent shot, most of the time. We are lucky to advance it to a place where we might have a decent lie and have a chance to make good contact on the next shot. More often than not, when we find the deep stuff, we'll hack at it and advance it half way to where we were hoping, if we're lucky. The odd time that we make decent contact, the clubface will open or shut dramatically, sending the ball who knows where.
I find it very frustrating that the industry as a whole, including the TV announcers, TV and online instructors, and the equipment manufacturers are always telling us we need to hit the ball farther. It's no wonder the average handicap hasn't come down over the past 50+ years. I really wish someone who has influence would come out and speak the truth, that what we (the amateur, recreational golfer) really needs to focus on is keeping the ball in play. Stay in the fairway. Stay out of trouble. Avoid penalty strokes and strokes taken punching out of trouble, and watch your scores drop.
In my opinion, the root of higher scores than are within our true potential, and much frustration, is this desire that seems to be forced upon us to hit the ball 300 + yards. Sure that would be great, if we could do it regularly and with consistent accuracy, but we can't. The real truth is we don't really need to hit the ball much more than 200 yards.
Examples:
An average par 5 for us mortals might be about 525 yards. If we hit:
Tee shot - Driver - 220 yards
2nd shot - Fairway wood - 200 yards
Approach shot - Wedge/Short iron - 100 yards
= 520 yards
2 putts yields a par.
A really long par 4 might be 430 yards. If we hit:
Tee shot - Driver - 220 yards
2nd shot - Fairway wood - 200 yards
= 420 yards
From here, we are either putting or chipping. If we 2 putt or get up and down, we have a par.
If we play with this approach all the time, without gearing up and trying to crush the ball 300 + yards, and focus on just making good contact and keeping the ball in play, we can avoid the double and triple bogeys that kill our rounds. If we all did this, the average handicap would soon begin to drop, but we are all victims of marketing and ego, making us think that the key to lowering our scores is crushing the ball.
So, I believe that while is is a lot of fun watching DJ, Bubba, JB, Rory, Adam, and the other bombers hit the ball a long way, we should not try to emulate them. We need to play within our own capabilities, keeping the ball in play and be satisfied scoring in the low 80's and maybe in the 70's once in a while when the short game comes around. It's not that far fetched. We just need to buy in.
Tuesday, February 24, 2015
Pace of play vs time to play
There is a lot of talk lately about pace of play and the length of time it takes to play a round of golf. To me, these are two different things.
Pace of play - This is how the round moves along. Are you stopping a lot to wait for the group in front of you, while they search for lost balls, take 45 practice swings, wait to hit their 2nd shots to a par 5 green until the group in front of them have left the green, or take 2 - 3 minutes to line up their putts? No one likes to stand around during a round of golf, waiting to hit their next shot. This gets extremely frustrating. However, in my opinion, this is different from how long it takes to play.
Length of time it takes to play is a whole different animal. There seems to be some opinions lately that golf takes too long to play as a whole. On a good day, 18 holes can take as little as 3 1/2 hours. Most average days are at least 4 - 4 1/2 hours to play 18. On those days when the course is busy and the pace of play is on the slower side, it can take 5 hours or more to play. These are the days where pace of play and the length of time to play cross paths.
Personally, when I decide to play a round of golf, I have usually blocked off at least 6 hours, factoring in drive time. I know that a round of golf is going to take up a good chunk of time and frankly, I truly enjoy the time spent in the course. I am in no rush to leave the course; so for me the length of time to play a round is not really an issue.
So, when I hear people complaining about pace of play, I am always puzzled when they refer to how long it takes to play. If you aren't planning on more than 4 hours, then you should only play 9 holes. If you want to play 18, then plan on at least 4 - 4 1/2 hours, and enjoy a nice walk in a beautiful setting.
Having said that, I completely understand the frustration of having to stand around waiting throughout the whole round. That's where pace of play comes in. I feel that even if a round took 6 hours to play, but there was no waiting along the way, then that would be OK. If a round only takes 4 hours, but I have to stand and wait all the time, not playing continuously, that is an issue.
So, I guess for me, it can be summed up like this. I enjoy golf. I enjoy the time spent on the course. I am not in a rush to leave the course, but I don't like to stand around. So, keep the pace steady and enjoy the day.
Pace of play - This is how the round moves along. Are you stopping a lot to wait for the group in front of you, while they search for lost balls, take 45 practice swings, wait to hit their 2nd shots to a par 5 green until the group in front of them have left the green, or take 2 - 3 minutes to line up their putts? No one likes to stand around during a round of golf, waiting to hit their next shot. This gets extremely frustrating. However, in my opinion, this is different from how long it takes to play.
Length of time it takes to play is a whole different animal. There seems to be some opinions lately that golf takes too long to play as a whole. On a good day, 18 holes can take as little as 3 1/2 hours. Most average days are at least 4 - 4 1/2 hours to play 18. On those days when the course is busy and the pace of play is on the slower side, it can take 5 hours or more to play. These are the days where pace of play and the length of time to play cross paths.
Personally, when I decide to play a round of golf, I have usually blocked off at least 6 hours, factoring in drive time. I know that a round of golf is going to take up a good chunk of time and frankly, I truly enjoy the time spent in the course. I am in no rush to leave the course; so for me the length of time to play a round is not really an issue.
So, when I hear people complaining about pace of play, I am always puzzled when they refer to how long it takes to play. If you aren't planning on more than 4 hours, then you should only play 9 holes. If you want to play 18, then plan on at least 4 - 4 1/2 hours, and enjoy a nice walk in a beautiful setting.
Having said that, I completely understand the frustration of having to stand around waiting throughout the whole round. That's where pace of play comes in. I feel that even if a round took 6 hours to play, but there was no waiting along the way, then that would be OK. If a round only takes 4 hours, but I have to stand and wait all the time, not playing continuously, that is an issue.
So, I guess for me, it can be summed up like this. I enjoy golf. I enjoy the time spent on the course. I am not in a rush to leave the course, but I don't like to stand around. So, keep the pace steady and enjoy the day.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)