For any golfer who wants to play great golf
ball striking
Bomb and Gouge, or Fairways and Greens
Aug 20th
Interesting discussion between the announcers on Golf Channel today during the Wyndham Championship. Faldo and Oosterhuis were saying how back in their days it was all about hitting the fairway because of the equipment. Persimmon clubs and balata balls that required more shot making. The other comment was that in those days they really did swing at 75-80% but that now players swing closer to 100% with the driver, just trying to get it down as far as they can.
It is amazing by how much Tour Pros are missing the fairway, but it doesn’t seem to cost them that many shots even with the new grooves.
The equipment may be more forgiving, but given the club head speeds these guys are generating, they require even more precision to hit them straight, or as Faldo said “the ball comes off sideways.”
How do you play? Do you play bomb and gouge, or fairways and greens?
Stuck in a slump? It may be the best thing for you.
Jun 28th
Golf is a game full of up and downs, and I’m not just talking about saving par.
What I mean is that everyone’s “career” with golf, whether playing professionally or playing on the weekend with buddies goes though periods of highs and lows. Whether it’s missing 5 or 10 cuts in row, or shooting 10 strokes above normal for your last 5 or 10 rounds, we all go through tough times trying to get that little white ball into the cup. We all get into occasional slumps.
I’ve been on a bit of a slump myself. After shooting some of my best rounds of the year several weeks ago, I have fallen into a deep fog, where it seems like I had lost all control of my golf ball. We’ll at least until today, although the seeds of the discovery were sown a while back, but I’ll get to that shortly.
The slump seems to have come out of nowhere. My last round before the slump was a 77. I’m not yet a scratch golfer so 77 on a tough par 72 course from the back tees is just fine with me. However when the slump started it began a downward slide in scores. Before I knew it I had several 88s, a 90, and the dagger in my heart was 97 in the member member tournament yesterday.
Although I wasn’t sure how I would fix it, I firmly believe that I will. I also know that I’m not the only golfer to have gone through slumps either. Jack Nicklaus, Steve Stricker, David Duval, Davis Love III, Ian Baker-Finch and many more have gone through their share of slumps. Steve Stricker came back from “no man’s land” to world #3.
Control distance with trajectory
Mar 30th
There are many excellent reasons to learn to control your distance with trajectory. Here are some of my favorites:
- Not every shot is a full shot. The more you can learn to master partial shots, the more control you’ll have approaching greens.
- Dealing with the wind. Lower trajectory shots fly better in the wind and are less likely to be taken off line. Have a short shot and it’s a windy day? Take more club and use a partial shot to take the wind out of play.
- Helps your short game. Partial shots are all about feel, control and imagination, learn to do this and it will make your wedge game and short irons so much more effectively. It will also open up more of the green enabling you to play safer shots to tucked pins and still get the ball close.
- Learn solid contact. Partial shots require you to stay within yourself. The more you practice these the more you’ll learn to feel how a solid shot feels. Trust me, it transfers to your long game and full shots and makes you a better ball striker with every club.
