Buying a New Putter

February 14, 2017February 12, 2017 / The Grateful Golfer / 7 Comments

My 20-year-old putter.

Buying a new putter is something I have thought about for some time. My current putter is about 20 years old and I think the inset face is starting to break down. I was feeling an inconsistency off the face that I will have to look at this spring.

I like this putter because it is a toe-balanced blade with a center shaft mount. It is heavier than most putters and has served me well through the years. Additionally, and more importantly, it fits my eye very well.

I have tried all types of putters at the golf store, but none pop out at me when making contact. I seem to put the same with all types and weights, however this controlled environment is not really a great place to test a new club. I wish I could take a demo putter out on the course, but unfortunately my course does not have such a service. Continue reading →

Carrying Your Clubs – Lighten the Load

February 13, 2017February 12, 2017 / The Grateful Golfer / 3 Comments

20160921_181530_hdr I like to carry my golf clubs for the first and last two months of my golfing season. I have accepted that as I age, carrying my clubs in the heat of summer is not any fun. I can physically do it, but there is less incentive to work that hard.

Carrying my clubs 4 to 5 times a week is great exercise. My bag weighs about 20 – 25 pounds and only holds the essentials to play golf. Over the years, I have realized that carrying extra stuff, is not the smartest thing to do and it does affect my game down the stretch. Therefore, I make sure I lighten the load before I play. Continue reading →

Golf Terms: Bounce

February 6, 2017February 5, 2017 / The Grateful Golfer / Leave a comment

What is bounce? It is defined as “Bounce helps ensure solid contact between the club face and the ball by preventing the front bottom edge of the club head from digging into the ground.”

I have explained this before in an article, but I thought it would also help to show you in an infographic. Continue reading →

Focusing on the Right Fix in Your Golf Swing

February 1, 2017January 31, 2017 / The Grateful Golfer / 8 Comments

14th Hole Roundel Glen

“Can’t see the forest for the trees!”

Most golfers are fixers or at least we think we are. We have a tendency to tinker with all parts of golf swing because we think that a tweak here and a tweak there is exactly what we need. Unfortunately, as the above quote suggests that many of us are too involved in the details of a problem to look at the entire situation.

Not focusing on the right fix, adjusting our golf swing can cause a domino effect of challenges. Most of us like to jump in and change something because it lets us think we are making progress and improving. However, I would suggest steaming ahead without looking at the whole process is folly. The holistic approach is critical to identifying the ‘root cause’ to any swing challenges Continue reading →

Qualifying to Play Golf

January 29, 2017January 29, 2017 / The Grateful Golfer / 4 Comments

second-place One of the things I like about golf is the requirement of a few players to qualify to play in a professional golf tournament. It is very stressful for these ‘up and comers’ (and some times players past their prime), but it is a necessary path to play on the PGA and LPGA Tours.

For years, I had to qualify to play golf on our Base team. I have mentioned military competitions before and part of the right of passage is that there are no free rides. Over the years, I have worked my way up the standings such that making the team was expected, but that is where things get challenging sometimes.

Continue reading →