Understanding the rules of golf is very important for all golfers. I studied the rules and feel that if wanted to be competitive golfer, I needed to know the ins and outs of the rule book. I feel that I understand the rules well and that I have saved many strokes because I knew the details and how to implement the rules. Regardless of how confident I felt, I still made mistakes that cost me a stroke or two. Fortunately, it did not cost me a match or a tournament.
Continue readingSecond Guessing A Golf Shot
If you have golfed for any length of time, I am confident that you have second guessed one of your golf shots. We all do it and it is an important aspect of learning and improving our game. I have second guessed many decisions on the golf course and use many of my conclusions to build my future course management decisions. This process is a self-analytical method that helps my game; however, it is not at process I use to second guess another players actions.
Continue readingKeeping The Right Position On The Golf Course
Over the years, I have engaged in a plethora of discussions on slow play. I cannot tell you the different ideas that players have on how to speed up the play on the their golf course. Personally, I think staying in the right position is key to speed of play, but that only works if most of the groups are playing at the same relative speed. Of course we all know that if the course is playing slow, it boils down to one or two groups who set the place. Ultimately, from time to time you will find yourself out of position and need some techniques on how to close the gap; well I have a few suggestions.
The first is to play ready golf. I have written about this a important skill and think that if most players adopted ready golf, then the pace on the golf course would be quicker. Unfortunately, this skill needs to be taught to new players and that is rarely done from what I can see.
Play the correct tees. Stop playing the whites just because you think that is where you should be. Select your distances based on ‘Driver Distance Recommended Yardages’:
- 275 yards 6,700 – 6,900 yards
- 250 yards 6,200 – 6,400 yards
- 225 yards 5,800 – 6,000 yards
- 200 yards 5,200 – 5,400 yards
- 175 yards 4,400 – 4,600 yards
- 150 yards 3,500 – 3,700 yards
- 125 yards 2,800 – 3,000 yards
- 100 yards 2,100 – 2,300 yards
This not just a Canadian initiative, the PGA and USGA are supporting partners as well. “When you TEE IT FORWARD, you hit more lofted irons into greens, putt for birdies and pars more often and play faster and score better!
Follow the three minute rule for a lost ball. Over the years I have watched players look for their ball for 5 minutes, then the rest of the group comes over to look for 5 minutes, then they have a bit of a discussion. Watching this scenario frustrates all onlookers.
Let faster groups go through. If the group behind is watching your every shot and the hole in front is open (this is the important point about this last hint) then let the faster groups go through. I have had discussions with players who refuse if they are playing (in their minds) fast enough, so the group behind will just have to wait. This is poor etiquette in my opinion. There is nothing wrong with letting a group go through if your group is blocking the golf course.
Walk, ride and play to a pace of 4 hours. This timing has a +- time of 15 minutes. My group plays faster, however if we are on this pace, we will slow down to meet this mark. Unfortunately, this pace is a challenge for some players and it does clog up the golf course on busy days. Hence, I recommend that you keep track of your pace and aim for a 4 hour completion.
Keeping in position on the golf course is important to everyone. The enjoyment of playing golf, in my mind anyway, is to play at a comfortable pace to completes the round in the reasonable time of 4 hours.
I am a grateful golfer! See you on the links!
First Swing Of The Round
Depending on whether you had the time to prepare, if any, will likely determine your mental state on your first swing of your round. For many players, rushing from their car to the first tee is the norm and probably results in a less than optimal shot. At Osprey Links, I would say that I only prepared for the first hit occasionally due to the lack of driving range. They did have a driving net and I found this a reasonable substitute to hitting a small bucket of balls, but I did not really like using it…..so I didn’t. My lack of preparation did impact my fairway percentage and I am hoping this year at my new course I will be able to improve on my start of each round.
Continue readingChipping With Confidence Over Something
The title of this article might be a little misleading. The reason I used the word something is because many amateurs experience a tightening of their golf swing if anything is in their line of sight to the pin. The tips in this article where designed to deal with hitting over a bunker, however I would suggest that the skill of chipping with confidence is not limited to dealing with hazards. If we master the tips presented by Rick Fowler and Butch Harmon in the video below, then our golf game and golf score will improve dramatically.
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The Grateful Golfer 