The Total Collapse of Your Game!

December 10, 2012 / The Grateful Golfer / 5 Comments

Image from: http://www.golfchannel.com/news/golftalkcentral/top-10-photo-galleries-meltdowns/

Adam Scott at the 2012 British Open

Playing golf is tough! Anyone who says that golf is easy has never really experienced the total collapse of their game. I mean a the complete inability to make any stroke; you have a case of the yips; or you are not sure where the ball is going!

I am sure everyone reading this right now is saying, yup been there done that. I was playing in a tournament last year and was even par after 13 holes. I was hitting the ball extremely well, the hole looked like a garbage can lid, and my focus was razor-sharp. Then walking down 13 something changed. I have no idea what it was, but it was something. What started my downfall was a pulled 6 iron into a green side bunker. Lying two, I thought up and down and away we go. After a smooth double bogey and six more over par, I finished my round with round with an 80. Needless to say I started to second guess everything about my swing and finished sixth in the tournament and struggled for 2 weeks after.

After the tournament I thought about what went wrong with my swing. And I finally came to the conclusion that nothing happened. It was all mental. I realized that I had convinced myself that something was wrong. Once I figured that out, my game went back to normal, but what a lesson.

After reading the top 10 collapses of 2012 from the Golf Channel, my little collapse is paltry at best! You can read them all, but I bet you can guess which were the top two were. At number two – Adam Scott at the British Open and at number one – The US Team at the Ryder Cup.

My point of all this is that golf games collapse, golf games thrive and golf games….well you can add your own statement here. Golf is a tough game and it does take quite a bit of skill to be successful, however a positive mental attitude is just as important as physical prowess. Having confident in yourself will bring rich rewards on and off the course. I am a grateful golfer. See you on the links.

Seeing Past a Hazard

November 19, 2012 / The Grateful Golfer / 1 Comment

I was watching The Legend of Baggar Vance last night. It is a good golf movie about a war veteran who lost his game, control of his life and the desire to change anything. As he slowly gained back his golf game with the help of an odd caddy, he became empowered to gain control over his demons. Overall, it was a good movie and I enjoyed watching it.

In one scene, Rannulph Junuh was in the woods and was playing very poorly. He was struggling with his game and his grip on reality. He was going to reach down and move the ball when Baggar Vance started talking to him about how the game of golf was particularly odd. Baggar Vance was discussing how changing ones thoughts could change the outcome of events. Through this discussion, Rannulph Junuh changed his focus and concentrated on the shot at hand. Originally the hole through the trees looked like a baseball, but it slowly turned into an opening that he could drive a bus through. Junuh hit an amazing shot and turned his game around.

This story is an all too familiar one. We have all been in situations where we had to hit out the trees, hit over a pond or sand trap, not push the ball out-of-bounds, not hook the ball into a hazard or duff the ball off the tee because thought we needed a booming drive to be successful. Each one of these events has one thing in common – the player was focusing on the wrong thing. They focused on what not to do and what was in the way; instead of what to do and where they want the ball to land.

Positive Mental imagery of the entire shot is how a player sees past a hazard! Focusing on clearing the hazard and landing the ball safely does ensure success. Joan King has devoted a website to the power of positive mental imagery that may be worth a visit. As well, Mark Wright’s article “You Probably Already Know Golf Mental Imagery is the Key to Improving Your Golf” is another excellent article on golf imagery that will help anyone see past the hazard. Lastly, hititLonger.com has embedded video on this very important topic that is worth watching.

What you conceive and believe you can achieve! – Napoleon Hill

This famous quote applies was not intended for golf specifically, but it sure does apply. Seeing past a hazard is more than hitting and hoping. It starts with a positive mental image and ends with intended results. Golf is more than just a physical game!

See you on the links!

Power, Push or Carry

November 17, 2012 / The Grateful Golfer / 1 Comment

How do you enjoy your round of golf? Using a power cart, push cart or carrying your clubs? The great thing about golf is that any player, at anytime, can decide on how they want to enjoy their round. But, are there really any benefits to choosing the right mode of transportation when enjoying this awesome game.

As everyone knows, 18 holes of golf is about 4 miles. A carry back weights about 10 kg or 20 pounds depending on the size of your lunch and the number of golf balls in your bag. A cart back will weight more to the tune of about 20 kg or 40 pounds. This seems quite a bit of weight to be moving around for each round of golf. However, experience tells most golfers that it really is not that big of a deal.

I believe that walking is the best way to go. The Walking Golfer talks about the benefits of walking and has started a database on rating the walkability of courses. About.com has an article on the benefits of golf. The Harvard Medical School says that golfing is very good for your overall health. Livestrong.com (quoting the Washington Post) says that walking 1 mile burns 322 calories; more if you carry or push your clubs. Needless to say, there are many benefits to walking and I believe that is the best way to enjoy a round of golf.

“So What?” many of you are asking. I have not really passed on anything new or unique. Well let’s think about this topic a bit deeper. I want to remove the discussion on the benefits of health and focus on the practicality of using a power cart, push cart or to carry your clubs. As I previously stated, I love to carry my clubs, however I do use all three modes of transport while playing golf.

Carrying clubs is faster and allows a player the opportunity acquire a better feel for the round they are playing. There are no restrictions on where you can walk and your clubs are always with you if you want to change your club selection. I carry my clubs early in the morning, on cool days and non-competitive rounds. This is the majority of the time I spend on the links and thus I carry my clubs more often than not.

Push carts offer some of the same benefits as carrying and allows you to carry more stuff. For example, when it may rain, I like to pull my clubs. I can carry my rain suit and umbrella, extra towel, etc. This is extra weight that I can carry if required, but would prefer not to. In addition, on really hot sunny days (generally in the middle of the afternoon) I like to push my clubs because of the heat and I can carry lots of water! I also use my push cart during tournaments. I have found that most amateur golfers think they are pros during tournaments and normal 4-hour rounds turn into 5 or 6 hour rounds. Additionally, I can carry food and water to get me through the long rounds. Lastly, I conserve my energy for when I need it by using a push cart.

Power carts are best during fun tournaments like 4 person scrambles. We can pick up balls from all over the fairway and return to one location to hit our next shot. It enables us to spend a bit more time together talking, joking and laughing about something. Also, I believe power carts are great for players how cannot physically walk 18 holes, but still want to play this awesome game.

Different modes of transporting your clubs during a round of golf has different benefits to each player. There is no wrong answer; it really depends on what you want to experience while on the links. Power, push, or carry really does not matter, what matters is that you are doing it. I am a grateful golfer.

Which mode of transporting your clubs do you prefer?

Buying New Equipment

November 10, 2012 / The Grateful Golfer / Leave a comment

My New Golf Bag!

Buying new golf equipment is very difficult depending on where you live, what you want, the quality of equipment required, and the amount of money you want to spend. You will notice I said want vice need. Most of the time, we golfers want to change instead of need to change our equipment, but that is a discussion for another day.

Most golfers are very particular on what type of equipment they want to buy. Should you purchase a R11, volkey wedges, ping putter, callaway iron, foot joy shoes….it goes on and on. I understand the desire to have very good equipment and for the most part follow the same practice as most golfers. Overall many of the decisions are made based on what is perceived as a positive step towards improving our game.

Here are a couple of tips that may help….well actually only one tip….never, never, never, pay full price! I know, it sounds difficult, but actually, with very little effort this can be achieved. So here is my strategy.

Step 1: Figure out what you want/need. In this case I have looked for a new carry bay since the beginning of the season.

Step 2: Research, research, and research. I read the hype of manufactures to see what they say, however I actually pay attention to the consumer reviews. This is the most important piece of information you will find. People are more than willing to tell you what they think.

Step 3: Wait for it to come on sale. Check Ebay. Check Kijiji. Check Golftown (or other large franchise stores), check the local pro shop (you would be surprised).

Step 4: If possible haggle over the price. The local pro shop will lower their price if you make them a reasonable deal.

Step 5: Purchase the piece of equipment. In my case, I was very happy with my recent purchase. I went into Golf Town yesterday. They were having a demo sale for clubs. Also, they had 10 carry bags hidden in the back. I pick up my back for 60% off. I was very happy.

Step 6: Probably the most important step – be happy with your purchase. This is very important!

My process of purchasing golf equipment ensures that you end up with what you want. It saves money and reduces impulse buying! I realize it may not be the best way, but it has saved me money over the years and enabled me to purchase move of the things I need! I am a grateful golfer.

Do you have any special tricks to save money buying clubs?

Hunting for the Pin!

October 30, 2012October 30, 2012 / The Grateful Golfer / Leave a comment

Golfing is an interesting sport. On any given day, you can go through a roller coaster of emotions that keeps you coming back for more. I have several ways of minimizing these crazy feelings, but my favorite is hunting for the pin!

Normally, this approach is frustrating and ill-advised. Most people would say that hunting for the pin will add stokes to your game, but I say – NO WAY! It is the only way to go.

On those days when we feel that we need a change from our normal game and want to challenge ourselves, hunting for the pin is the way to go. So, no matter where the pin is located, try firing darts. You will be surprised on how much fun you will have.

Usually I will only hit the ball close one in five, but that one shot usually makes my day. Sometimes a surprising thing happens…my first shot is golden and the rest of my game is like it is from a dream. I just cannot miss!

Hunting for the pins is a way to have fun and challenge ourselves while strolling around the links. Trying different things allows us to step out of the norm and see what you can really accomplish!