Tips

Playing Golf With One Club

/ The Grateful Golfer / 13 Comments

This morning I was fortunate to wake up early and see that the forecast for rain did not materialize. After hopping out of bed, in the dark, I decided to hit the links for a quick round. I did not play all week, so I took this opportunity to get out and play some golf.

Arriving at the course, I quickly unpacked my clubs and anticipated being the only player on the course for quite a while. As I set up my push cart, my friend Geary pulled up and we quickly agreed to play together. As we walked towards the first tee, I noticed that Geary only had one club in his hand; his 9-iron! And then our conversation started! Continue reading →

Golfing in a 3 Man Scramble

/ The Grateful Golfer / 6 Comments

Tomorrow I will be playing in a 3 man scramble at my home course of Osprey Links Golf Course. It is going to be very interesting because I have played in other events with Blair, but never with Geary. It will be fun to see how we play together because we all have different philosophies on how to play golf.

I am not suggesting that either is right or wrong, however I think we will have to modify our approaches to make sure we shoot our lowest possible score. I think to have a chance at winning, we will have to shoot a 9 under par 62. This score is easily attainable with 4 par 5s, 9 par 4s and 5 par 3s. All the par 5s are reachable and many of the par 4s are under 400 yards. Overall, Osprey Links is a great scoring course for a scramble tournament. Continue reading →

Saving Strokes in Golf

/ The Grateful Golfer / 8 Comments

Everyone wants to know how to save strokes in golf. Of course, the easiest way is to hit a hole in one like Ernie Els at the Travellers Championship at the TPC River Highlands, Cromwell, Connecticut, on the weekend. But, unfortunately his feat is extremely rare! There are, however, other ways to save strokes on the course; just ask Jim Furyk who shot a 58 on the final day!

We all hit errant shots while playing golf. Some end up in the woods, the pond or in the dreaded sand trap. My friend Geary has a solid game, but hates playing out of the sand!  Who can blame him right?

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Update: Using a Lob Wedge With Success

/ The Grateful Golfer / 6 Comments

This is an update to yesterdays post. Brian from All About Golf asked if I could include a picture (below) showing my feet during set up.

Therefore, I tried to demonstrate using my clubs how my feet and ball position line up. Remember that 60% of my weight will be on my left foot during contact. I hope this helps Brian.

I closed my stance so that my big toe on my back foot aligns 3 inches behind my heel of my front foot. The toes of each foot draw a line to my landing area.

If anyone has any other questions or needs qualification on my ramblings, please do not hesitate to drop me a line!

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

 

Using a Lob Wedge With Success

/ The Grateful Golfer / 6 Comments

Using a 60 degree lob wedge with success is sometimes very difficult. Many amateurs like the idea of using this club, but find it difficult execute these delicate shots. It does not help watching players like Phil Mickelson use their lob wedge like scalpels on the golf course as if it was a natural extension of his body. But, I would suggest that his skill was rooted in hours of repetitive practice.
Recently, I came across a learning opportunity (I call them teaching moments so I remember them for future use) for successfully using your 60 degree wedge. The lob wedge (see infographics on wedges) is used near the green to quickly elevate your ball over difficult terrain to stop the ball quickly near the hole. This is easy to say, however there is a bit more to it.

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