The ultimate goal of every golfer is to shoot as low a score as possible. When playing stroke play, the responsibility to play our best golf relies solely on our shoulders. This is a challenge I relish and as I enjoy the pressure of figuring out the best shot for each situation. Playing in a scramble format, however, this strategy is less advantageous because there are other players we can rely upon to make the most out of any shot. This situation occurred last Thursday when I was invited to play on my friend’s team of long hitters. I was by far the shortest off the tee and my normal role of anchor was relegated to a different player.
Continue readingLosing A Dollar Or The Bragging Rights
Many amateur and professional golfers like to make side bets with their fellow golfers. Most of the time, it is very low stakes with a side order of bragging rights. For years, my playing partners did not want to have any side bets until Mike came on the scene. Since, Mike and I have a tradition of challenging each other with a small side bet. It is all in fun and we still continue to play regardless of how well each of us is swinging the club at that time. And after our last outing, the tradition continued.
Continue readingDropping Strokes Through A Poor Setup
Typical to the start of my golf season, I fail to align all my ducks. It takes a bit of time to align things in order to find that sweet spot I need to hit the ball properly consistently. During my round earlier in the week, I experience a failure in my shot setup which resulted in many strokes over par for the front nine. Yes, it was frustrating, but no it was not unexpected. I attribute my poor swing to many factors, however my setup was the main culprit.
Continue readingPlaying North Granite Ridge – The Tale Of Two Nines
Yesterday, I played 18 holes at North Granite Ridge with my friends Mike and Blair. We decided to travel the 1.5 hours to play this fun course in order to kick start our golf season. We showed up, registered and were sent out one hour early. The staff at the course were nice, polite and professional. We were happy to get of early and after a quick snack, we trundled off to the first tee. Mike and I have played this course in the past and the challenges of this 5700 yard track quickly came back. Although this the distance seems short, the architecture of cutting 18 holes out of the Canadian shield proved that shot making can be the at the forefront of any design.
Continue readingThe 2023 PGA Championship Final Word
Congratulations to Brooks Koepka for winning the Wanamaker Trophy. His win yesterday was his third PGA Championship and fifth Major in his career. I am not surprised as I chose him to win earlier in the week. (Not to mention Victor Hovland to be second) Koepka found is form from the past when he was almost unbeatable and he looks to be on his way to rack up a few more Majors over the next few years. However, his win was not the only highlights of the tournament that caught the my attention.
Continue reading
The Grateful Golfer 