The world of golf has shifted its focus to distance over accuracy. With the arrival of Tiger Woods, distance is king at the demise of some other skills. I fully understand this shift and embrace younger players learning how to hit the ball farther, then focusing on other skills such as accuracy. As young players, this approach is solid and should benefit their play in the long run. However, I am not convinced that the distance above all is the proper approach for all players. In my case, my distance (no matter how hard I try to increase) is capped at about 250 yards off the tee. I can poke a drive out a bit farther from time to time, but more often than not that is my final distance. So, where does that leave me if I want to lower my golf scores?
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Adding Strokes To My Score By Mistake!
My goal during every round is to shoot the least amount of strokes after 18 holes. I realize this is not an earth shattering revelation. Yet, I felt it needed to be stated at the beginning of today’s discussion. Every thought, decision, and swing are focused on maximizing the chances for the best outcome for each shot. Sounds daunting for sure, however if you take time to think about it I am right. Unfortunately, this focused goal can be a challenge sometimes when my ego, due to frustration, decides to rear its ugly head. When this happens the key to success is to beat back the ego beast. So, how can I do this you may ask! Well…..
Continue readingAccepting The State Of Your Golf Game
For many years I discussed the state of my golf game. The ups and downs, the goods and bads, and the highs and lows. Many times, I was asked why I do not just accept my game as is and play golf for the enjoyment. This is a valid question, however I would suggest that the benchmark for happiness on the golf course is relative to the experiences of each player. I believe this is the situation for all golfers regardless of their skill level. Let me explain.
Continue readingMy Chipping Woes Is Very Frustrating!
My 2024 golf season is well underway. I have played a few times, but the weather is not cooperating so hitting the links more often is in my future. After 10 rounds I can say that my chipping is the worse it has been in years. I truly am struggling around the green. My chipping woes has created several high scores and I am now on a track to fix my challenges. It is a frustrating journey, but one that needs to be addressed immediately!
My challenges are rooted in contact with the ground before the ball. For some reason, I am not in the proper body position or at my ball is not in the right spot in my stance. Or, Or, Or……I could go on! The point is that I am currently experiencing a very low point in my short game. Unfortunately, my poor ball striking is also affecting me mentally. I am starting to second guess my club selection regardless of where the ball is located. This approach to chipping has failure written all over it!
The question now is: what to do about my chipping woes. Before I lay out my roadmap, here is a quick refresher video that might help you (and me) focus on the basics of chipping:
My path forward is pretty simple or at least I think it is 😉 Actually, nothing is simple in golf, right! My challenges started early in the year when I was miss hit a few chips. During my first rounds, poor contact is expected as I have not practiced all that much. Unfortunately, a few poor hits turned into a few more and now I am in my head. I second guess my shot selection and even choose what I think is an easier shot, but will not produce the results I expect. Well, all of that stops now!
I have a three step plan that I think will reset my short game and allow me to focus on hitting great chips. It is simple, focused and easy to implement. Sounds perfect in my head as I am writing this article.
First, stop overthinking about how to chip. I already know how to execute this simple shot. I have proven that my stance, ball location and landing area skills are honed. Currently, I am overthinking everything because of my mental approach of focusing on not making mistakes. I know how to chip and thinking about all the steps only makes it worse. Therefore, stop overthinking is the first step.
Second, slow my tempo and clubhead speed of my chipping stroke down. As my woes grew (at least in my head), I changed many things about my swing. I am fast, choppy, and inconsistent when swinging my clubs. I am hitting behind the ball more than ever before and I am negating the bounce on my wedges. All of these issues are a result of a poor tempo and clubhead speed. Thus, I need to reset my swing and rely on what I already know what to do.
Lastly, I need to mentally reset. This is different than overthinking because I am mentally in a negative spot. I need to focus on the positive aspects of my chipping. Mostly within the process, not in the results. I have to stop thinking I am going to chip poorly before I even get to the ball. This negative thinking is as much to blame for my poor performance as anything else. It really is time to mentally reset.
My chipping woes need to stop. I am heading the course shortly after I publish this article to take the first steps towards changing my current short game challenges. I am confident that I can make the appropriate changes to be successful, it is a matter of doing it. I will update this article after today’s adventure.
I am a grateful golfer! See you on the links!
How To Improve Our Golf Swing Tempo
Finding the proper tempo for our game is a bit of a challenge. After researching this topic for a bit, many instructors offer tips on how to develop a tempo to improve our overall golf sing. There are many ways to acquire a mantra to create tempo, but it is important to understand that this skill is unique to each player. What I am gleaning is that a saying or mantra helps to remove any jerky movements associated with a poor tempo. Each player should take the time to work on finding their tempo while on the range or in their backyard. Keep reading if you want a bit of assistance on finding your tempo.
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The Grateful Golfer 