2015 Preview: Luke Donald

December 14, 2014 / The Grateful Golfer / Leave a comment

I have always liked Luke Donald. He has had a tough time over the past few years. I hope he does return to form and climb back up on the world rankings. A quick win will do wonders for his confidence in 2015. Thanks to Adam Sarson for the overview of Luke Donald.

AdamSarson.com

Luke “Money” Donald”.

Welcome to the 2015 Golf Preview, where I’ll take a look at selected golfers and examine what to expect over the next twelve months. Today, we look at Luke Donald.

The History

It’s hard to believe that 2015 will be the fourteenth year that Luke Donald has been a professional. Donald moved from England as a teenager to attend Northwestern University in Chicago, where he quickly became a player destined for life on the PGA Tour. He won the NCAA D1 men’s title in 1999, breaking the scoring record held by Tiger Woods and grabbed the Haskins Award that year as well, given out annually to the most outstanding collegiate golfer in the country. It was at Northwestern where he joined up with coach Pat Goss, who Donald stayed with after leaving Northwestern to turn pro in 2001.

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The Golf Swing Basics

December 11, 2014 / The Grateful Golfer / 4 Comments

The golf swing basics….the golf swing basics….hmmm….. I was thinking and thinking about what this statement actually means. A quick search on the internet produced 7,340,000 hits!!! I could not believe it myself. Feeling like I was hit by a truck carrying a whole library of information, I decided to not look at any of the search results and to think about the answers myself.

The basic golf swing is the key to low scores in golf. If you really think about it, if you could repeat a basic golf swing again and again, your scores would drop dramatically. Through the years it has become very clear to me that as soon as I try to complicate my basic golf swing, my game gets worse! My experience tells me that keeping my approach to golf as basic as possible is when good things happen.

Recently, I read an article at The Goofy Game of Golf Searching for the Answer where the author, Vet, provided an answer to many difficult questions. It is very interesting and well worth further research. His answer definitely fits into my approach of trying to use a basic golf swing! This is what he has to say:

THE ANSWER TO PLAYING THE BEST GOLF THAT YOU CAN POSSIBLY PLAY, IS TO FIND YOUR “THAT DAY GOLF SWING, YOUR THAT DAY SHORT GAME METHOD, AND YOUR THAT DAY PUTTING STROKE” AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE.

What is a basic golf swing? I would define it as the natural motion of your body swinging a golf club. It is completely different for everyone. There are aspects of a good basic golf swing that players try to emulate, but they can only copy these movements within the confines of their physical limitations. However, these limitations can be adjusted, changed, and improved.

The most important point of my article, is that a basic golf swing is both innate and modifiable. There is always a natural aspect to everyone’s golf swing and this tenant never changes. However, with a slow determined approach of making improvements will improve any players basic golf swing.

Personally, I used a four pronged approach to improve my basic golf swing because it has proved to be 100% effective. It is pretty straight forward, I use my idea, planning,. execution, and maintenance. This process has never let me down! The one thing that has not really changed is my basic golf swing. Is this making sense?

The basic golf swing is ever-evolving. As I practice and make minor adjustments, a new basic golf swing emerges! The trick is to duplicate my new swing on the course. When I can, I score very low. I have confidence. I have focused course management! When my overall game is so in tune; my swing is simple, basic, and something I can easily repeat on the course.

Do you have a basic golf swing?

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

Driving the Golf Ball Under Pressure

December 8, 2014 / The Grateful Golfer / 6 Comments

“Let the big dog eat!” or “Grip it and Rip it!” How many times have we said that. It usually happens when trying to express the importance of our next tee shot. The driver is the most difficult club to hit in any golfer’s bag. Sometimes it has a mind of its own; other times it is just possessed! Through the years, my fickle driver and I have fought to decide who was the boss on the golf course and I am not afraid to say that I have not always won that battle. The most challenging time for players with an inconsistent driver is when they need to hit the fairway. The pressure grows and grows to a point where negative thoughts control their mind.

When hitting the ball well with my driver, there are some things that I do with boring repetition. It is not rocket science, but I know if I do these fundamental things, pressure is never a factor in my golf swing. Here is what I must do to make sure I hit my driver consistently and accurately under pressure:

Proper pre-shot routine. Sometimes I rush my pre-shot routine because I have played my home course over and over. I know exactly which club I need at which tee. When I choose my driver, I sometimes walk to the tee box, tee up my ball and hit. I do not take time to align anything! As a result, I sometimes pull the ball into the rough or push the ball into the woods. Actually, by not following my pre-shot routine, anything can happen!
Keep my head down. After I make contact with the ball, I count to one, before I raise my head. This slight delay allows my right shoulder to force my chin up and helps keep my swing sequence correct. Keeping my head down helps me extend my arms along my intended swing path. Lastly, it prevents me from over rotating my hips, thus I generate more power and control.
Keeping a positive mindset. Staying confident and focused so that I can hit my driver well (or any club for that matter) is key to playing under pressure. Keeping a positive mindset helps me stay focused on the things I must do to execute a good swing. Additionally, being positive helps guide my mind to using proper course management. If I am positive, I rarely feel any pressure on the golf course.

Here is what Phil Mickelson has to say about driving the ball under pressure:

Hitting the driver while under pressure can be challenging. Try some of my tips and you may be surprised at how little you notice that dreaded pressure. If you have any favorite techniques, please share. We are always looking for new ideas on how to lower our score!

I am grateful golfer! See you on the links.

UK Golfing Adventure – Part 2

December 6, 2014December 6, 2014 / The Grateful Golfer / 5 Comments

On the bridge at Northwood Golf Club

My golfing adventure in the UK was very exciting. As stated earlier, I had a fantastic time and was treated like royalty by my best friend. While my stay was short, we did pack plenty of golf in the four days. We spent three days trying to conquer the Northwood Golf Club, my friend’s home course.

I thoroughly enjoyed playing the Northwood Course! Besides the historic aspect of this fun track, the course itself was in fantastic shape. Despite the torrent of rain it received leading up to my arrival, the course was extremely well maintained, the greens were in great shape, and the staff were first-rate. Overall, I would rate my experience as a 4.5 out of 5!

Northwood Golf Course does not play extremely long (6473 yds). Most of the par 4s were easily reachable and the par 5s on a dry day were in play as well. But, do not let the aspect of being a shorter course lull you into a false sense of confidence. The fairway bunkers were strategically placed, the green side bunkers were deep, and the elevation change between holes ensured that course management was vital to scoring low.

Approach shot to a Par 3.

Most of the greens were elevated, protected by bunkers, or the has a patch of rough to play over. Most of the hazards were fair and provided that touch of excitement to every shot. More importantly, choosing the correct club off the tee cannot be overstressed. Choose poorly and the complexity of the approach shot increased.

As you can see, there is nothing easy about the approach shots. The Par 3 was a 7 or 8 iron depending on the day and the pin was always up front. The slope of the green was from back to front making all putts from the back of the green very difficult. Also, the elevation change of 50 feet added to the difficulty of the tee shot.

Approach shot on Number 10.

The number ten green was the most challenging. What you cannot see is the green. It is kidney-shaped and that bends from right to left. The green narrows towards the back and the 15 feet of elevation on the approach shot was just enough to affect your club selection. Of course, we cannot forget the two deep bunkers on the left side. Anything short and left easily added an extra stroke to your score. The bail out area appears to be to the right, which was the correct play, but the rough was deep and wet. Overall, this was one of the most difficult approach shots on the course!

My Northwood Golf Club experience was excellent. I could go on describing the intricate aspects of the course, but I think you have gained an understanding of just how fun this course is to play. I looking forward to the opportunity to play Northwood once or twice more! If you want to see more pictures, I loaded them on my Facebook page: The Grateful Golfer.

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

Can You Imagine? I Could Use Some Help!

December 4, 2014 / The Grateful Golfer / 9 Comments

Every time I look at this picture I try to think of a quote or a title to fit its mystique. I took it on the golf course on 15 Jun 14 one early morning. It captures my imagination every time I look at it.