With the Ontario Open Hickory Golf Championship at Whirlpool Golf Course on Saturday, September 20 and Sunday, September 21, 2025 it is time to hone my skills with my hickory sticks. In order to achieve this lofty goal, I am taking more time to practice. Specifically, I am writing my yardages down on my mismatched clubs in order to understand when to hit what club. Due to the manufacturers and age of the clubs, what might seem like a no-brainer 7 iron shot, is actually a challenge because of the different reactions to hitting a ball. Regardless, I have started my journey and I am excited to see what happens this year at the hickory event. Back to how I am approaching my practice times with my wooden shafted golf clubs.
Continue readingAuthor: The Grateful Golfer
Hitting The Ball Well With Poor Results
Yesterday I played in a two person scramble with my friend Len. On paper we looked very strong, but the results did not live up to the hype. We were matched with Blair and Fernando as per last year and overall we had a great time. There were lots of laughs and jokes shared by all. As I played my round, it became evident that something was wrong with my game as I would hit the ball very well with poor results. I was coming up short even though I had plenty of club to reach my target distance. My line for the most part was very good, but distance control was way off. I think I know why and will rectify this issue moving forward.
Continue readingA New Club Champion At The Mattawa Golf And Ski Resort
For the second year in a row, there is a new club champion at the Mattawa Golf and Ski Resort. Congratulations to Len Gushe for winning the final leg of the match play club champion event. He is thrilled to have the coveted parking spot for the 2026 season. Len beat me in the final leg of this tournament, but it had a bit of a twist to the ending. Regardless of the result, we had a great round, loads of fun and a perfect day for golf. Of course I am a bit disappointed to lose again in the final, but alas I lost to a great champion. Interestingly, there is more to this story.
Continue readingHow Fragile Is Your Golf Game?
Golf is a peculiar game. It is one built on confidence and understanding of your overall game. You do not have to be the best player and your success varies from day to day. Over he years, I have decreased the fragility of my golf game through three simple steps. They are not complicated and every player has the ability to adopt and implement these techniques without any change to their golf swing. Yup, I am confident that your game will improve if you even adopt one of my ways to lower your golf score.
Continue readingHow Quickly Our Golf Game Rusts!
Taking two weeks off definitely created the perfect conditions for rust to accumulate on my golf game. Surprisingly, my swing was okay but my shots after the tee box needed a great deal of work. All of this rust was a result of not swinging a club on my vacation, however I did accomplish my main goal of having fun with my playing partners at Men’s Night yesterday. I realize that I had very little touch around the green when I was practicing before our round. But alas, I did see an improvement as the round continued.
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