commentary

Predictions for 2013

Leave a comment

In this morning’s sports page there was an article containing ten things to watch for in golf in 2013. By golf, they meant professional golf, which includes about .01% of all golfers. They aren’t golf. You are. I am.

So here are my predictions for golf in 2013.

1. I will play more golf that I did last year (which isn’t saying much, because getting over spine surgery (twice) means you don’t play at all).

2. I will practice more intelligently.* That means every ball hit has to have a purpose.

3. I will take more lessons to learn the finer points of maneuvering the ball around the course. One of those lessons will be nine holes with the pro who will pick the shot and put the club in my hand, for every shot, and tell me why.

4. I will watch less golf on TV.

5. I will play five courses I haven’t played before (which is saying a lot, because I play all over).

But enough about me.

6. The USGA will lose membership if it adopts a ban on the anchored putting stroke.

7. The golfing press will get Tiger Woods’s name into every article, and have a picture of him, even when he does squat. Which he will do. Often.

8. Golf equipment manufacturers will tell you that the clubs you bought two years ago, which you had to get because the clubs you bought two years before that were seriously out of date, are now seriously out of date and you have to buy this year’s model even though a few lessons would be a much better investment for half the price.

9. The U.S. Open at Merion will demonstrate that the old courses are old. We love them, but the modern game has passed them by. It’s time to play golf’s majors on courses designed to test the modern game.

There. That’s nine predictions, not ten, because golf is a game of nines, not tens. Happy New Year.

*I made a New Year’s resolution to go to the range often. This morning I modified that to, but only if its over 40 degrees outside. That’s intelligent practice, too.

Visit www.therecreationalgolfer.com

golf swing

The Perfect Golf Shot

Leave a comment

Every day I hit plastic balls in my backyard. About once a week I have a flash of insight while I’m doing that.

Every so often, your swing falls into place and you hit an absolutely perfect shot.

This week’s Backyard Epiphany is: Do not start chasing that shot. Enjoy it, then keep hitting with your normal swing. After all, that’s what you were doing when you hit the perfecto.

The more you try to recreate that perfect shot the harder it is to let yourself do it. Actually you can make your swing worse in the effort.

You don’t need perfect shots to score well. All you need are playable shots. Hit bunches of those and let the great ones come when they may.

fundamentals, golf swing, short game

The Recreational Golfers’ Best Posts of 2012

Leave a comment

In only five more days 2012 passes into history. The blog posts I’ve written, however, remain current. All you have to do is know what you’re looking for. To make that easier for you, I’ll show you where the best posts of the year can be found. A few of them might not make the most popular list, but all of them will make a big difference in how well you play.

Good golf begins in the mind. So does your golf shot. The True Beginning of a Golf Stroke. January 8.

Your elbows, left arm, and right leg build a good swing if they are managed correctly. This video lesson shows you how. The Golf Swing – Elbows, Left Arm, Right Leg. March 1.

The best golfing advice you ever got. If you can do this, you are on your way to low scores. Not better ones, low ones. Ball First, Ground Second. March 28.

Instead of trying to fix your golf swing, start over. Same for your short game and putting. Maybe You Should Start Golf Over. April 10.

A positive mind is the best tonic for better golf. Always Be Positive. April 30.

Many recreational golfers try to flip the ball in the air with their right hand. Death move. Here’s how to stop. The Golf Swing Move That Changes Everything. May 28.

Short game technique needs to have a plan. Here’s one. A Short Game Framework. June 25.

Your best shots will be wasted if your swing isn’t pointed in the right direction. It’s simple. Align Your Golf Swing This Easy Way. July 9.

Still can’t get out of bunkers? Let fix that right now. Getting Out of a Greenside Bunker. August 8.

A little detail, ball position, can make all the difference regardless of what else you do. Why Ball Position is Important. September 13.

Never be too proud to take a golf lesson. I know a few golfers who are. When Do You Need a Golf Lesson? October 22.

O.K., distance. Here’s how to get more, and it couldn’t be simpler. Two Simple Ways to Get More Distance. December 17.

I can’t wait for the 2013 season. It’s going to be my best yet. And you?

Visit www.therecreationalgolfer.com

equipment

Your Playing Set of Golf Clubs

Leave a comment

When I began playing, a set of clubs was four woods (1, 2, 3, 4), nine irons (2-9), a pitching wedge and a putter. Most people swapped out their 2-wood for a sand wedge. A few people traded their 2-iron for a 5-wood. That was about it.

A half-set for beginners was sold, consisting of a 1- and 3-wood, the odd-numbered irons, and a putter. I don’t think half-sets are sold anymore, though they should be, to make it less expensive for beginners to get into the game. As far as the composition goes, you could trade the 3-iron from a modern set for a 21-degree hybrid and you would have it.

Whatever clubs you have in your bag, make sure there is a reason for every one of them to be here. You’re allowed fourteen clubs, but you don’t have to carry fourteen. Also, every club except maybe the driver should be able to multi-task. If not, either learn how or get rid of it.

Visit www.therecreationalgolfer.com

ball first ground second, practice

A Winter Improvement Plan – Ball First, Ground Second

Leave a comment

Nine months ago, I posted what might be the most valuable advice I have ever given you about the golf swing. It is to hit the ball first, and the ground second. If you would like to read that post again before going on, here it is.

“Ball first, ground second.” You would not be undone by making this a mantra. On every shot except the ones you hit with a driver and a putter, this is the basis of a good shot. You cannot get too good at this.

The post has a drill you can use to teach yourself this move. There are training aids that help you learn it. You might even take a lesson, which would be the best way to go about it.

There isn’t more that I can say about it, except that if you want to be a different golfer by the time the 2013 season opens, learn how to do this. It might take that long, but your effort will be worth it. It truly turns golf into a different game.

Visit www.therecreationalgolfer.com

equipment

Yes, Bob, There is a Santa Claus

Leave a comment

A few weeks before Christmas, Santa said, “Bob, I’m going to bring you a Leupold GX-1* rangefinder for Christmas, but I’m pretty busy right now. Can take care of that for me? Wrap it, put my name on it? Thanks a bunch.”

Thank you, Santa.

If you’re looking for a distance-measuring device, this is the one to get.

*No longer manufactured. Click link to see current models.

Visit www.therecreationalgolfer.com

golf swing

One Club at a Time

Leave a comment

I’m slowly getting back into my swing after my surgeries earlier this year. My pro and I have developed a healthier swing, which I spent a few months learning. Now I am putting it into my game, one club at a time.

I started with a 9-iron and worked with it exclusively for about three weeks until I got consistent (-ly good) results with it. Then I started easing in the 8-iron. It has taken about ten days for that club to come up to speed, so later this week I will introduce my 7-iron to the practice plan.

I might help you to try the same thing in the next few months. Start with your 9-iron and keep at it until at least three out of five shots are exactly like you want them to be. Then keep hitting the 9, but hit a few balls here and there with the 8 — just one or two, then go back to the 9. Ease the 8 into your practice until it is performing like the 9, then you can introduce the 7.

By getting reacquainted with the clubs in your bag this way, one club at a time, slowly, and only when you’re ready, you’ll improve your swing by quite a bit.

What we normally do during the golf season is spend time at the range hitting the clubs we want to hit, or trying to fix problems. Do yourself a favor by starting over. Learn to hit an easy one well. Then take the one next to it and learn to hit that one well. And so on.

It wouldn’t hurt to suspend playing until this exercise is over. It night take a few weeks with each club at first, but once you get the hang of how to make transitions, it will proceed more quickly.

Visit www.therecreationalgolfer.com

distance

Two Simple Ways to Hit a Golf Ball Farther

Leave a comment

Everyone wants more distance, and there’s no reason they shouldn’t get it. Here are two simple ways to add a few more yards to every full shot.

1. Get your rhythm right. Last week’s post on the subject tells you how to do that.

2. Lighten up your grip pressure. There’s no need to squeeze the club. How hard do you hold when you shake hands with a child? Or how tightly would you hold a pretty woman?*

That’s how hard you should hold the club, and try to keep it that light all the way through the swing. Holding too tightly makes your muscles work against you, slowing down the swing.

*My wife says I hold her like a golf club.

practice, rhythm and tempo

A Winter Improvement Program – Tempo

Leave a comment

A few days ago, I found this comment on an Internet golf forum: Slow down your swing and learn to live with the extra distance you get.

Exactly.

Whenever I’m at the range and I get into a patch of poor ball-striking, the first thing I do is slow down my swing. Most of the time that is all it takes to get back on track. I do the same thing after a couple of bad shots in a row on the course, too.

I hit straight again, and the ball jumps off the clubface and flies out to the full distance I expect from that club, with what seems like no effort at all.

Now I grant you that clubhead speed contributes to distance. You can’t chip the ball with a 7-iron as far as you hit it when you swing. But. . .

What is far more important to getting the distance you want, and the accuracy, is square, centered, in-line contact. You might be surprised how far you can hit the ball with just a half swing when all those factors are lined up.

Or let’s look at it from the other end. I was at the range with my son a few years ago, trying to show him why he needn’t swing so hard. I took out a mid-iron and swung as fast as I could without falling down.

Then I hit another ball using my usual swing speed. The second ball landed less than five yards short of the first ball. All that effort for just a few extra yards and the risk of a poorer shot.

There is just no percentage in swinging hard. You do want to hit hard, but that happens when you have the clubface all lined up at impact. You give yourself a much greater chance of that happening when you swing smoothly, which means slower.

Here’s one way to figure that out. When you’re on the range, assume that your task it hit one thousand golf balls without taking any big breaks. You would having to be saving your energy on every swing in order to get that done.

On the course, same thing. Assume you’re going to play 72 holes today. If you swing for the fences every time, you’ll never make it. You need to figure out how relaxed you can be when you swing the club.

Many people think that to be relaxed is to be out of power, lacking in strength. This is not true. What it means is to be using only the necessary amount of muscle power to get the job done. Just like cracking a whip, or casting a fly rod, the center must stay relaxed in order for speed to multiply outwards along the full radius of motion.

I am finding lately that the best way to monitor and keep your tempo under control is by the speed at which you rotate your hips. It should be the same speed going back and swinging through. You absolutely cannot control your tempo with your hands and arms.

Take a lot of swings without a ball, just to build up a sensitivity for the right tempo. When you do put a ball in front of you, be careful, because that by itself makes us swing faster. We don’t clobber the ball, we just swing the club.

Visit www.therecreationalgolfer.com

Little Differences That Make a Big Difference in How Well You Play