Golf is a game of etiquette, professionalism, good manners, and fair play. Or at least I think it is! Over the past while, I have notice a change in what is considered acceptable behavior on the golf course. An increase of professional players throwing their clubs in the water, purposely breaking their clubs, and flopping their clubs out of their hands at the end of a swing seems to be growing in frequency.
Slow Play Costs Jordan Spieth
Slow Play! No Way!
As one of my must read golf blogs, White Dragon Golf, by Pete Robbins, hammered home a misunderstood point about a contentious topic: Slow Play! This what Pete wrote:
World #1 Jordan Spieth received a slow play penalty at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championships.
Jordan reported that he had no idea why he got the penalty in the first place, he said it was a surprise to his playing partners Rory McIlroy and Rickie Fowler as well. The official ruling was that he took too long over a putt, while already being on the clock.;
“It didn’t make any sense to me”
“It didn’t affect the round, but Rory and Rickie were surprised as well.”
Under the European Tours slow play policy, two monitoring penalties will result in a fine, of about $2,800.
Rory commented;
“It was a bit of a weird one.”
“Sometimes the refs have to use common sense. With the time we’re allowed if you take an extra look at a putt you’re over the time.”
“But if we’re in position relative to the group ahead there’s no reason to time us.”
So I guess walking around to check all angles of a putt is verboten on the Euro Tour, you just have to stand up and hit it. Officialdom gone mad, if you want to watch the best golf in the world, let the players take some time over a putt. There are too many rules already.
Everyone plays to quick!
As you can see, Spieth’s playing partners were flabbergasted by the call and wondered why the penalty was assessed. The apparently were keeping pace with the group in front of them, and they were not holding anyone up! Thus, is this really slow play.
According to Pete, Spieth took too long over his putt. He had already been warned, thus the reason for the penalty. However, does this really constitute slow play when you are keeping pace with the group in front?
Personally, if a group is keeping pace, it is impossible to call someone for slow play! A player might take a bit longer putting or aligning a shot, but as long as it does not jamb you for time on your shots or cause the group to fall behind, slow play cannot be called. I am not sure what the referees were thinking, but I am sure more of the story will unfold over the next few days!
What do you think? Should Jordan Spieth have been called for slow play?
I am a grateful golfer! See you on the links!
Can I Play Through?
Sometimes a picture is worth a thousand words. I took this picture a couple of years ago a the Hampton Court Place Golf Club with my buddy Kirk!
I was amazed by the awesome scenery of this royal course. If you get a chance to play it, I would recommend that you do!
I am a grateful golfer! See you on the links!
Understanding Great Golfers
- What makes great golfers great?
- What makes élite golfers, élite?
- What makes superstar golfers, unstoppable?
Belief is a powerful ally!
I have thought about these and other questions regularly. I often wonder why some players seem to totally dominate their respective opponents. This unique situation is not restricted to the professions, but happens in amateur events as well.
Yes, skill has something to do with the answer for sure, but let us assume for a moment that with all physical skills being relatively equal; what is that edge that repeated winners routinely display?
After much thought, I have concluded that the one quality above others that separates champions from the rest is belief. It really is as simple as that; they believe!
- They believe that their swing will happen the same every time.
- They believe that when they decide on a shot, they can make it.
- They believe that they have the skills to succeed.
- They believe that they are the best.
- They believe that they can win all the time.
- They just believe!
I realize that this might be an understatement, but belief is an extremely powerful ally. It is there when you are struggling and can lift you out of the quagmire of self-doubt. Belief can help frame success before you tee it up. Belief builds confidence that can defeat your opponent at any time during a match. Belief can build a foundation for great golf and can help produce low scores.
Does all of this sound simple. Well, it is! Except there is one important action that we must take to make sure belief flourishes in our golf game. Are you ready?
We have to accept belief. We need to whole-heartedly accept what belief is laying down! Removing or changing doubt to belief will immediately change your golf game. Great things will happen if we only believe!
Earlier when I said it was simple….well, maybe believing poses more challenges to our golf game then we expect. I am sure you have heard, “if the belief is strong enough, anything can happen”. This is true.
What happens if the belief is great; we look for ways to improve our game; we see the changes that will make us better; we start to make positive changes and then we start to belief even more! What a great golf cycle.
The great players of golf all have a strong belief that they can always win. They believe they will have their best game every time they stride to the first tee. They just believe.
Belief is a great ally; if we let it into our game!
I am a grateful golfer! See you on the links!
Golf Balls and Cold Temperatures
Playing Golf in Cold Temperatures!
As winter continues to pound most of Canada, the discussions of the weather is never far away. During previous posts, I offered suggestion on how to play in cold weather to help improve your game. One area that I have overlooked is the effect of cold weather on your golf equipment. Specifically, your golf ball; after some research, I realized that this oversight might very well be robbing me of chance to score low in cooler weather!
There are three aspects of cold weather that affect your golf ball that every player should understand. They are not difficult concepts and they are easily rectified. Understanding how cold weather effects compression, ball flight, and feel on the club will ensure you are always ready to shoot your lowest score.
The optimum temperature for a golf ball is 80 degrees. As a ball’s temperature drops, it won’t compress as much off the clubface. For maximum playability, store the balls at room temperature.
Compression of the golf ball is a key fundamental to hitting the long ball.
“The golf ball is compressed and flattened by the force of the impact. The lower compression of the ball results in the ball; travelling farther as the club’s energy creates energy, transferring it to the ball. The ball’s compression handles the high-speed and impact of the club, and allows flexibility so that the ball can recoil and not break apart.”
During cold weather, high-compression golf balls are not as effect or efficient because they are more difficult to compress. If you are playing golf in temperatures below 60 degrees F or 15 degrees C, I recommend a lower compression ball or a high-compression ball designed for colder temperatures.
Ball flight is a challenge in cold temperatures. As an ex-aircraft technician, I understand the theory of flight. Although cold temperature helps an aircraft take-off sooner; the same cold temperature shortens the your ball flight. Without going through the science of cold temperatures, it is enough to say that the air is more dense due to the slower movement of molecules. As golfers, we say the air is thicker. This thicker are makes it harder for the ball to travel in the air because it has to push its way through more resistance. The more resistance, the more energy required for your ball to travel the same distance in cold temperatures vs warm temperatures.
The last challenge of cold temperatures is feel. Everyone one of us has hit a golf ball at one time or another and felt a stinging pain in our hands. Immediately, we exclaim “that felt like hitting a rock!” Well, we should not be surprised because the materials that make up a ball are basically plastic and rubber (simplified version). As we all know, both harden when exposed to cold temperatures. Therefore, as we hit the ball and more importantly miss hit a ball in colder temperatures, the feel of hitting a ‘rock’ is amplified. My advice is to swing slightly less aggressively and club up! It will help save your hands and improve your feel!
I found the following at TheSandTrap.com where they quoted the PGA Teaching Manual as a source. As you can see, cold temperatures make club selection more challenging:
The temperature of a golf ball affects its ability to rebound from the clubface. The following chart is the approximate influence of temperature on the ball for a shot that would normally carry 220 yards at 75 degree temperature.
- Yards — Temp
- 226 ——- 105
- 224 ——- 95
- 222 ——- 85
- 220 ——- 75
- 216 ——- 65
- 214 ——- 55
- 205 ——- 45
- 196 ——- 35
It gives the reasoning of rubber being a poor conductor of heat.
I also asked golfers what temperature they would most like to play in and this is what they said:
It is not surprising that just about half the respondents like to play in 80 degree weather. I am sure it has as much to do with the playing temperature as well as the performance of their golf ball.
Golfing in cooler temperatures does pose challenges from most golfers. Understanding the effects temperature plays on your equipment can help mitigate mistakes before you tee up. Selecting the proper golf ball is the first step to shooting your lowest score regardless of the temperature.
Do you change golf balls depending on the temperature?
I am a grateful golfer. See you on the links!
The Grateful Golfer 