The Dark Horse of 2015

October 26, 2014 / The Grateful Golfer / 7 Comments

I could not see the first for the trees!

The strength of field in professional golf continues to grow. Each year a new player appears to separate themselves from the pack in a flash of brilliance. Last year two players seemed to take the golfing world by storm. These players would not have been chosen prior to the start of the season, but at the end of 2014, they we standing beside the world’s best as players to beat.

These two dark horses are now household names, but only time will tell if they will remain in the spotlight. Jimmy Walker and Billy Horschel proved that at any time, anyone can emerge from the forest.

The focus on the world’s best often overshadows players who continuously compete to be crowned champion of a professional golfing tournament. The ability to compete day in and day out with the best golf has to offer is a goal of all golfers. It is not ego, but desire. And for those who follow sports, you will immediately understand the difference!

So this year, while the golfing world focuses on Rory McIlroy, the possible return of Tiger Woods, and the stellar play of players like Justin Rose, Jordan Spieth, Rickie Fowler and Sergio Garcia, one or two players will pop out of the shadows. They will be considered rising stars and will create the media hype normally reserved for the elite players of golf.

As the season slowly unfolds, I thought it would be interesting to predict my dark horses of 2015 and hopefully hear who you would choose as a player to beat. My intent is to write them down and compare our crystal ball gazing later in the season.

My dark horse for 2015 is Graham DeLaet. He is slowly making his way back from injury a few ago and is poised to break through to the top of the golfing world!

I am laying down the gauntlet! Who is your dark horse of 2015?

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

Golf Strategy: 2-Man Scramble

September 16, 2014 / The Grateful Golfer / 11 Comments

Helping Align Putts in a 2-Man Scramble is legal!

Golf is a great game for strategy, gamesmanship, and psyching out your opponent! One of my favorite tournament formats is the 2-man scramble. The format places just enough pressure on players to perform, but offers that little glimmer of hope if your game comes off the rails for a hole or two. This weekend I am playing in a 2-man scramble tournament with my friend Jean.

Roundel Glen Golf Course is closing this year’s golf season with a series of fun tournaments. This is the first of several that will help reduce the anxiety of golf season slowly coming to an end. The rules for this tournament are pretty simple. The handicap of the two players is added together, divided by two and multiplied by 75%.

What this means is: my handicap is 3.1, Jean’s handicap is 10.4, combined 13.5, divided by 2 is 6.75, multiplied by 75% is 5. Therefore, our handicap for this tournament is 5. For those non golfers, this means we are awarded one stroke on the 5 toughest holes on the course. So if we shoot a 4 on the toughest hole, we would record a 3 on our scorecard. This method of using your handicap is golf’s way of leveling the playing field. If everyone is honest, the system works very well.

This Sunday Jean and I tee it up at 9 am. This tournament will be very interesting because Jean and I have complimenting games. We both hit the ball well off the tee. He hits his long irons better than me. I hit my short irons better than him and we both chip and putt well.

Unlike the strategy in a 4-man scramble where the more novice players shoots first all the time, Jean and I are of relatively equal skill. The strategy is a bit different and depending on how we decide to play the round, the difference could be a couple of strokes. In a 2-man scramble, those two strokes could be the difference between winning and losing. So here is what I am proposing as our strategy for the tournament:

Jean tees off first on all par 5s and short par 3s.
Jim tees off first on all par 4s and long par 3s.
Jean is first to hit our second shot inside 175 yards.
Jim is first to hit our second shot outside of 175 yards.
Jean chips first by all green.
Jean putts first on all greens.

My logic is simple: the first player always ensures he is in play and by doing so leverages the stronger skills of the other player!

I do not believe that our strategy needs to be any more complicated than that. I am, however, looking for comments if any of you golfing fanatics see a flaw in my logic. If you do, I am all ears! Feedback is always welcome!

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

Picking a Golf Club to Improve Your Game

August 21, 2014 / The Grateful Golfer / 9 Comments

Recently, Josh from Golf is Mental commented on my blog called “Golf Technology – Helping or Hurting”; his statement really hit home for me! I have not stopped thinking about it and thought it would be a great topic to talk about.

Josh stated:

If companies started to market equipment that will help them hit “insanely” buttery chips and splashing out “ridiculous” sand shots, if they practice, I bet the average handicap might start to come down.

His point is very profound. The current trend in golf is to add distance to every club. Particularly, the driver and its many variations is catching the most attention in the media. Hitting the ball further is definitely an asset, but clubs that make “buttery chips” would possibly sell more than the driver. Or would it?

I have talked about hitting the ball further off the tee several times in the past, but all the articles were about technique not technology. There is no question that hitting the ball further is a tremendous asset! Watching players like Bubba Watson, Rory McIlroy, and Phil Mickelson smash the ball 270 yards with a three wood and land just off the green is amazing….not because they missed the green, but the confidence in their short game. Most of the time, they coolly walk to their ball and hit a “buttery chip” for the up and down! Is that not worth a few extra dollars if we could buy a club that could do that more often than not?

Or, is there more interest in being able to hit your 5 iron 190 yards for an approach shot? Or, hitting a 9 iron 160 yards as you go pin hunting? Or hitting the 3-hybrid 240 yards to the center of the green? Or…..I think you get my point!

Personally, I would pay extra for a wedge that would guarantee an up and down from 15 yards 6 times out of 10. If a club could be invented that would guarantee 25 yards on my irons…I would buy them! If the golf companies could offer a guarantee such that their irons would never slice….they would be in my bag. Of course we know that it would be impossible for companies to make these claims, however it is good to dream.

So here is my question, if a golf company could create that one club and guarantee its success, which club would you choose and why?

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

Too Focused on Stats!

May 29, 2014May 29, 2014 / The Grateful Golfer / 12 Comments

Which is the Most Important Stat?

Golf stats are an interesting thing. They provide information about virtually every topic and many players, analysts, and pundits rely on stats to make their point! This is all good for the viewing public who may need to be entertained between golf shots on TV or while reading their favourite article, but do stats have any real value to the average hacker trying to improve their score?

Recently, I received a random email (not from the author) from that someone suggesting that stats could be used to break 80. Ever the skeptic, I read through the paragraph and wondered what others thought. Here is the what the author Mike Tappett from mikeplaysgolf said:

“All golfers I’ve coached do this one thing and do it religiously. Keep track of how many fairways hit, greens hit in regulation and putts you take per round. This exercise alone will tell you the weaker part of your game. The average player who shoots in the mid and high 70’s consistently will average about 8-12 fairways, 9-11 greens in regulation and between 27-30 putts per round.”

On the surface, I can see the value of keeping stats, however without an action play, keeping stats is well – meaningless. personally, I have never kept stats. I have never felt the need or requirement, but this year is different. I am trying new things and keeping an open mind to anything that will improve my game. As I drive towards being a scratch golfer, I do not want to overlook anything!

So my question are: Do keep stats? If so, do you use them to focus you practice? If not, why? I am all ears!

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

Chipping or Putting From the Fringe

May 7, 2014 / The Grateful Golfer / 23 Comments

A while back, the commentators of the The Masters caught my attention. This may not seem that odd, but it actually made the stop and think about the answer. The whole premise was about putting or chipping from the fringe. I have discussed this before and personally I prefer to chip, but that does not seem to be the case any more.

Image 1 – 2 feet to green

The commentator said younger players prefer to putt and older players prefer to chip. He never really suggested that either was better, but did indicate a change in way fringe play was being conducted. He said that if the ball is 5 yards off the green younger players are putting if they are on the fringe or in the fairway.

Image 2 – 6 feet from green

I would suggest that the courses are manicured better than our local course and this may attribute to the change. However, 5 yards off the green would be extremely difficult to judge the speed and how the ball will exit the fringe grass. Personally, chipping would be the safer shot from 5 yards, but the young pros do not see it that way.

I really do not have an answer to this question – anyone want to weigh in? Would you putt or chip Images 1 or 2?

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