Author: The Grateful Golfer

Become A Better Putter!

/ The Grateful Golfer / 3 Comments

We are fooling ourselves if we think putting is not the great equalizer in golf. This simple stroke can make or break you score. Since most of our shots of any round happen on or near the green, it only make sense that we spend a large portion of our practice time on our short game. Putting is by far the most important area of play if you are planning on lowering your golf score. I have talked about putting a great deal at The Grateful Golfer and today, I will provide three putting drills that could improve your game.

Over the years, I have offered many putting drills. The ones today fall into new, old and I am not sure with respect to usefulness. Regardless, I think it is important to see different drills as some may resonate home better than others. For now, here are the three drills:

The new drill for me is placing two elastic bands on the putter head. This is a very simple drill and I can see the value of ensuring we hit the ball on the center of the club face. It is adjustable, sustainable, and repeatable; talk about a great drill. I definitely recommend this drill. If we combine the elastics with two tees as gates, then something special might happen improving the consistency of our putting.

The right handed putting drill is not new. It is something I have talked about before and provides a stable connection between the club and our body through our right (or left) hand. I figure if Tiger Woods uses this drill it has to have value. I have used this drill in the past and found that it helped me control the putter head to ensure square faced contact between the club and the ball. Overall, this is a great drill.

The coin on the back on the putter. To be fair, I have never used this drill and I will have to give it more research before assessing its value. In principle, I see the value. However, during execution I am not so sure. Again, I will not assess this drills value without experimenting more. If you have used this drill, please drop me a line and tell me how it worked for you.

There you have it. Three new drills to help improve your putting. Improving our flat stick results will definitely lower our golf scores. You may not like all the drills presented, however I am sure there are a few that will help your game. It is up to you to pick and choose. Regardless of which drill is good for your game, practicing your putting is a sure fire way to lower you golf scores.

I am a grateful golfer! See you on the links!

Thinking Through Tough Golf Shots

/ The Grateful Golfer / 3 Comments

Every golf shot requires a certain amount of thought before execution. Sometimes it is a straight forward process, however more often than not, it takes a bit of brain bites to hit the appropriate golf shot. There are many different stressors on each shot that should be evaluated, however most of those challenges can be mitigated through one thought on tough golf shots. Yup, I have narrowed the multiple influences down to one thing can control to help make challenging shots.

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How Important Are Grooves On A Golf Club?

/ The Grateful Golfer / 1 Comment

For years I wondered if grooves on a golf club play any significant role. I wondered if it impacts spin because I was always told to keep my clubface and by default grooves clean of dirt. After a fair bit of research, I found the real reasons for grooves. However, the reasons to keep them clear during play is not what I thought at all!

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Northern Hickory Tour (2024) 

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GHSC News Item: August 30, 2024 – Northern Hickory Tour (2024)  (This article is a copy and paste from the Golf Historical Society of Canada’s website.)

Reported by: George Supol, GHSC Hickory Ambassador

The 5th annual Northern Hickory Tour was conducted over three days, Thursday, August 22 to Saturday, August  24, 2024.

Day #1: Couchiching Golf Course

On Thursday, eight GHSC ambassadors from Southern Ontario returned to Orillia to once again play hickory golf at Couchiching Golf Club (“Cooch”) in Orillia. This Stanley Thompson-designed, 9-hole parkland-style course was formally opened on June 3, 1915. It is often referred to as Orillia’s “hidden jewel.” Here is a link to the Club’s website where Cooch’s history is discussed.

The first 9-hole cycle was played from the yellow tees while the second was from the red tees, about 300 yards shorter overall. This day is a warm-up for our ambassadors before they head to North Bay for day #2 with the local hickory players. The golf was preceded by a lunch at Bogey’s, Cooch’s restaurant, in a private dining area. Afterwards, we gathered for dinner on the right upper deck.

Before driving to North Bay, this writer visited the home of David Burgess, a past President of GHSC who also played with us at Cooch. David has an amazing historical golf collection – one of the best in Canada. I purchased a few hickory clubs for me and my friends. If you ever have the opportunity to visit David, you’ll enjoy seeing his collection.

Day #2: Osprey Links Golf Course

On Friday, our ambassadors played their hickories at Osprey Links Golf Course, located in Callander Ontario, just outside the City of North Bay. They were joined by a dozen local golfers, including both seasoned hickory players and some first-timers who it was easy to see enjoyed the new experience. The weather was great and the course was once again in fine shape. Some excellent hickory golf was played on Saturday, especially by Hugh Cameron (from Renfrew GC).

A pleasant surprise for us at Osprey Links was the return of our favourite food and beverage cart driver, Ally, who demonstrated for us her fine lefty golf swing with a hickory club, for the second straight year. See our pics below. Ally will be moving to Australia with her boyfriend, and we send her our best wishes!

A couple of hours after the round was completed, we gathered together for dinner at the well-known Greco’s Pizzeria in North Bay. A feast of pizza, spaghetti and meatballs, shrimp and wonderful tomato bisque soup and salads was well enjoyed by our players.

Day #3: Laurentide Golf Course

On Saturday, our players journeyed to Laurentide Golf Course in Sturgeon Falls about 30 minutes west of North Bay. This was a new course for the Northern Hickory Tour, which had upward-sloping bowl-shaped greens which ran off on all sides. Approach shots, chipping and putting were especially challenging. The front nine was tight but the back nine was open. Laurentide is owned by the Mantha family.

Moe Mantha Sr. was a Canadian ice hockey player and a politician. Moe Mantha Jr., is an American former professional ice hockey defenseman who played twelve seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Winnipeg Jets, Pittsburgh Penguins, Edmonton Oilers, Minnesota North Stars, and Philadelphia Flyers. Moe Jr. also has represented the United States in international hockey; he was a member of the U.S. team in the 1981, 1985, and 1991 Ice Hockey World Championships as well as the 1992 Winter Olympics. (courtesy of Wikipedia).

During our round, we met Moe Jr. and his wife, Kathy, who were moving around the course in a golf cart, talking to the golfers and personally adjusting cart posts near the greens. Moe and Kathy were accompanied by their beautiful and friendly dog, Annie, whom you can see in our pics below.

Some excellent hickory golf was played on Saturday by Hugh Cameron, Chris Cade and Ron Wiens. This writer also enjoyed making 7 pars, 1 bogey and 1 double-bogey on the back nine, after a dismal front nine (except for a 9th hole birdie!). My improvement was mainly due to a light lunch snack accompanied by minor tweaks to my hickory swing and chipping technique.

After Saturday’s round, four of us went to nearby Jocko Point, a well-known local gas bar, with “the best fish and chips in Sturgeon Falls.” We had tasty pickerel and chips and also enjoyed the ice cream and souvenir shops. The souvenir shop had gorgeous cowhide leather products such as purses, moccasins and tobacco pouches, handmade by members of the Nipissing First Nation.

To quote Bill Vossen, GHSC Event Coordinator for the North Bay and Sturgeon Falls events,

“Both clubs appreciated our business but they really found the fact that we continue to play with hickory-shafted clubs to be cool and interesting.”

I am a grateful golfer! See you on the links!

A Perfect Golf Swing Is Impossible To Attain

/ The Grateful Golfer / 2 Comments

If you have played golf for any length of time, making a perfect golf swing is impossible. Science tells us that there is such a swing, but as an amateur player I have given up all hope that I will ever achieve perfect harmony in every aspects of my golf swing. I will admit from time to time I can hit the ball very well, but perfection I will leave to players with far greater skill than I. This does not mean I will stop trying to improve my game, but it does mean that I understand my limitations and try to maximize my efforts to improve. Once I stop trying to improve my golf game or other aspects of my life, then it might be time to move on to other things. Let me explain.

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