Daydreaming

I have been so busy this week that there's been no time with which to swing a club.  In your ultimate quest for 71, though, constant practice is vital.  But how do you do it when you are too busy?  Daydream.

I'm sure you have a local course that you favor.  You most likely know every patch of crab grass and every golf cart tire track on that course.  If you don't, keep your scorecard next time (or grab a blank one to keep).  When you have 5 or 10 free minutes, visualize playing a hole.  What are the wind conditions?  How fast are the greens?  Walk through the entire hole, shot for shot, in your head.  Imagine each shot from the shot planning and club selection, to the swing, to the follow-through.  Watch the ball fly, just as planned, and roll down the center of the fairway or land softly on the green.

Don't fall into the "Tin Cup" trap, though.  Don't imagine the perfect shot on the 72nd hole of the Masters.  Just keep it simple.  You want to visualize a par round.  You should play each hole in your head the way you want to work toward playing it in real life.  Imagine pars on the hard holes and maybe a birdie on a short par 3.

You will also want to imagine recoveries.  While you are (in fantasy) standing in the fairway, picture your shot landing perfectly 10 or 15 feet from the hole.  But after you finish a hole, or before you hit your putt, think about recovering from a sand trap.  You ultimately want to achieve complete mental preparedness by the time you get on the course next time.  Then you can focus on the physical swing instead of worrying about the things that the pros have caddies to worry about.

Wedges

Wedges are my most important clubs.  Being accurate with your wedges is an easy way to knock strokes off.  If I am within 125 yards of the hole, I'm almost guaranteed to be within 3 strokes of finishing.  To be good with your wedges, though, you need good wedges.

Most iron sets come with a pitching wedge and a sand wedge.  The pitching wedge is usually perfectly adequate.  It matches the weight and feel of your other irons, so you'll be comfortable with it.  Also, the distance will be consistent with your other irons, so it will be more predictable.  The sand wedge, however, is usually not great.

I would invest the $75-$150 in a Cleveland sand wedge.  They are so perfectly weighted and durable that it becomes hard to hit a poor shot.  As long as you keep the grooves clean, you can control spin from the sand better.  I'd estimate that a good sand wedge can knock off 4-5 strokes per round for the average hack.

Once you have the club, though, the trick is learning to use it.  Practice practice practice!  When I'm playing by myself, I usually play 2 or 3 balls from each spot.  I treat solo rounds like the pros treat a practice round.  Just use it to try things.  During these rounds is where you hit 4 or 5 balls out of the sand.  Try pressing the ball in with your foot, or finding damp and hard sand to hit from.

Also, most people find that they hit their sand wedge around 60-75 yards for a 56 degree sand wedge with a full swing.  Nobody ever does though.  Try hitting your sand wedge with a full swing at the driving range.  Remember to keep the club more upright than you would in the sand, since it can't sink into the ground like it would the sand.  Also, make a steeper downswing.  If you hit the ball clean, it's virtually impossible not to get some backspin, which will impress your friends.

Golf: Breaking 90 / Breaking 80

I've established this blog to babble about my ventures onto the golf course and the frustration and joy that comes with it.  I'm but a humble hacker fighting my way up the ladder of amateur golfers.

In the game of golf, goals are king.  There are three goals that every golfer has at some point in the evolution of their game.  Those are: breaking 100, breaking 90, and breaking 80.  Breaking 100 is just about learning your swing and gaining some comfort from different areas of a hole.  Breaking 90 and breaking 80 are different animals, though.

Here is the secret to achieving both.  That's right.  There is one secret, which consists of ten smaller parts.  I'll lay it out here.

Putting, Putting, Putting, Approach, Putting, Putting, Equipment, Tee Box, Putting, Putting


There.  I think I got them all.

For every ball you hit on a driving range this season, you should putt two on the practice green.  This will carry you under 90 by itself.  If you get your putts per green average between one and two, 90 will happen easily.  It is impossible to break 80 with your PPG average near or over two, though, so it is very important for that as well.

Smart approaches set up easy putts.  Don't try to hold a green from 215 on a dry day.  You're going to be much wiser to lay up to a full wedge out and put it close from there.  Going for a par five's green in two is for the scratch golfers.  How many of us have hooked one into the woods with a fairway wood trying to catch a green this way?  Double bogey or worse, right?  Just lay up.

Don't try to hit forged irons if your swing isn't airtight.  The upside to forged irons is fantastic, but the sweet spots are so small that you have to be absolutely precise with every swing to use them well.  Use cavity backed irons.  The weight of these irons is distributed around the outside of the face, which opens up the entire inside as the sweet spot.  They are so much more forgiving.  You will find your distance is so much easier to gage.  Chances are, they will add distance to the average player's clubs, since you are most likely hitting your forged irons fat or thin and leaking distance in that way.

Lastly is the tee box.  Put your golf ball in position to reach the green in the easiest way.  You might be tempted to swing a driver on an open and straight 300 yard par 4 and go for the green.  If you hit the drive of your life, you may be able to do it.  If not, what happens?  You can end up wide left or right and in trouble.  That is the worst scenario.  You can also end up hitting a very good drive, 260 yards down the center.  Then what?  You have a 40-50 yard pitch to the green.  Even the pros dread that shot.  It's much better to swing a 5 wood or even an iron and leave yourself a good solid shot into the green.

Think of it in this order:  I want to hit an pitching wedge into the green.  I hit my pitching wedge 125 yards.  The green is 300 yards away, so 300 - 125 is 175 yards.  So which club should I use to hit the ball 175 yards from the tee?

Your buddies will whip out their big sticks and spray golf balls all over the hole, and they will most likely make fun of you for using a 6 or 7 iron.  But, when you get to the end of the hole and write down the scores, your 3 or 4 will look a lot better than their 5s, or more likely 6s.

Get these things down, and you'll be under 90 without even realizing it.  Perfect them and you will be able to break 80 on a regular basis.  Getting into the scratch range is your next goal, and for that it is time hire a professional coach.  You will need to learn spin control, sand play, shot shaping, and a whole litany of other techniques in order to milk the most out of every shot.

For now, though, I hope I have been able to help.