For any golfer who wants to play great golf
Posts tagged Dr. Joseph Parent
Hit more pure putts
Sep 8th
There’s no reason that you can’t become a great putter. It’s the part off the game that requires the least amount of physical strength and it has the shortest swing of the club head.
Lately my putting has been very good. I’ve been sinking a lot of putts in the 10-15 foot range. It’s a range that I struggled with most of the season but I’ve figured out some things that work for me.
Speed
I work on speed with a few simple speed drills. The first drill is from Zen Golf by Dr. Joseph Parent. It involves putting to the fringe. I pick a spot where I’m between 10-15 feet from the fringe and putt to it. As the putt is rolling to the fringe I try to feel whether it’s going to be short, long or right on. Is amazing how much this begins to tune your sense of speed. I do this for a few minutes then move on to the next drill. Read the rest of this entry »
Gain more confidence by challenging your fears and doubts
May 9th
A sure way to ruin a golf shot is to step up to it and hit without being fully committed to the shot. There are a number of reasons that can cause us to not commit to the shot.
Sometimes it’s our equipment. There’s a 4 wood in my bag that doesn’t fit my swing anymore. My irons and driver have an x-stiff shaft and this 4w has a stiff voodoo SVS7. It just seems and feels out of place now. I feel like I need to make too much of an adjustment to my swing to hit it well. So when I have a 235 yard show where it would be appropriate I hesitate. This happened recently and I’ve decided not to repeat the mistake.
The hesitation is, I believe, my body telling me not to use the club. Even on the practice tee it feels strange now and it really doesn’t feel like it belongs in my bag now. I used to love hitting this club but as my swing has evolved, my equipment changes with it, and that’s what has happened with my irons and driver.
Not being comfortable with the equipment can cause hesitation. The result of this is usually a less than committed swing that tries to compensate for the discomfort. And this often leads to bad shots. It’s what Doc Joseph Parent calls an “anyway.” A shot that you hit “anyway” even though you feel uncomfortable about it.
Use your natural autopilot to play your best golf
Jan 3rd
“Competitive golf is played mainly on a five-and-a-half-inch course…the space between your ears.”
Bobby Jones
Ah, the mental game of golf. Have you ever noticed that some of your best rounds occur when you can just get out of your own way?
Are practice swings unnecessary?
Sep 26th
It’s amazing how I keep learning so much at the practice range. Today I had another mind blowing experience.
I always thought that the reason I came over the top was because I was trying to hit the ball hard. Which, intellectually, makes sense. Practice swings feel loose and easy, the goal being to feel what you want to do. Put the ball in front of me and I want to hit it as hard as I can. Right? So an OTT move is caused by overswinging.
I don’t believe that is the cause for me. I believe the cause is somewhat more elusive.
I did an experiment and recorded three practice swings with the driver, a slow one, a medium speed one, and a 100%, pedal to the metal swing. The results shocked me.
How to Make More Putts
Sep 18th
In “Zen Putting: Mastering the Mental Game on the Greens”, Dr. Joseph Parent redefines making a putt. He putts it this way, if you started your putt on the line you intended, at the speed you intended, then you made your putt. This is important becuase it takes pressure away from holing the putt, and paradoxically leads to holing more putts.
Two rounds ago I took about 34 putts. For comparison the average PGA tour player will take about 30 putts per round. In my latest round, I only needed 27 putts. That’s a big difference. So how did that happen?
I have found that applying Dr. Parent’s definition of making putts is very helpful. It gets you focusing on the quality of your process. Getting comfortable with this method should help especially in higher pressure situations. If you become accustomed to focusing on the process it will release some of the pressure. Once I have picked out my line, I find that the most important thing is to get the speed right. This comes from trusting your feel.
In my putting practice lately I have focused on feeling the right speed on the practice stroke, and repeating my practice stroke when actually putting a ball. It has lessened the need to hit it harder, or to ease up on it. And has made it much easier to putt consistently. As you begin to trust your ability to fel the right speed, you begin to feel less pressure. Here is why.
