Facing Challenges in Golf

/ The Grateful Golfer / 8 Comments

The ability of any golfer to face challenges with confidence is difficult at best. Through the years, I have overcome several set backs, but there was one thing that always helped me stay confident and focused. It was nothing earth shattering or profound, however it was always around and all I needed to do was to remember what it was.

Before I reveal my secret weapon, take a moment and see if you can guess what it is! It is in everyone of us, we all have access to the source of this great tool, but we have to believe that it is there to help….always. Lastly, we have to be able to accept this simple, yet powerful thing when it shows itself. Have you figured it out yet?

The belief that my next shot is the one that fixes my game! I always believe that no matter how challenging my golf game is, that the next shot will show me the way back to playing well. Before you call me goofy and crazy, think about it.

You are playing a round of golf and your first four holes are a complete struggle, then out of no where, you hit the perfect shot! All of a sudden your attitude changes, the confidence increases, and everything is working like a well oiled machine. This happens often and I would suggest to every golfer.

So, when my four holes turns into a couple rounds (or more) I do not panic. I try to clear my head from all the white noise and let my game shine through. I have unwavering confidence that my game is just one shot away!

What do you think? Do you have that one shot in your bag?

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

Solid Contact in Golf

/ The Grateful Golfer / 8 Comments

Solid contact on the club face is extremely important! It will determine whether your ball will travel the expected distance, on the intended line, and finish in the intended spot. You will see the word ‘intended’ was used quite a bit because unless you are a professional, our real intent does not always match our execution.

What does solid contact actually mean? It is a term used extensively; however terms such as this are sometimes misinterpreted and misunderstood. To me, solid contact means feeling nothing when the ball hits the club face. The ball hits the ‘sweet spot’ and all the energy transfer from the club to the ball is at its optimum level. The leaves the club face with no distribution of energy or forces to the outer areas of the club face or the shaft.

It is very difficult to explain the feel of solid contact, but we all seem to know it when we feel it. The video below explains how to make solid contact with a seven iron. I found it quite informative and thought I would share it with you!

What are your thoughts on how to make solid contact?

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

Opening Golf’s Pandora’s Box

/ The Grateful Golfer / 10 Comments
Pandora's Box

Golf’s Pandora’s Box

It is time to open Pandora’s Box! Based in Greek Mythology and morphing through the years, the present day meaning of “to open Pandora’s Box” is to perform an action that may seem small or innocent, but that turns out to have severely detrimental and far-reaching consequences. In the case of a golf swing, this statement is quite profound.

After much research and thought, last year I decided that hitting the ball further off the tee was the key to lowering my golf score. I felt confident that my short and mid game was strong enough to carry me most days, but by adding that extra 10-15 yards off the tee would exponentially reap the gains I sought.

After my quick lesson at the PGA Tour Canada Golf Clinic at Wildfire Golf Course, widening my stance seem to be the key to achieving my goal of hitting the ball further off the tee. Well, the domino effect of making this small change was unforeseen. By widening my stance, my alignment, set-up, swing plane and follow through all changed! I could not believe the dramatic effect this slight change had on the rest of my game.

Not to be defeated, I made my way to the range (many times) and worked on this minor change. Initially, I had success with my wider stance, but the challenge was that the rest of my swing was grooved to my old way of standing. Hence, my swing and stance were competing for dominance!

As I became frustrated with the early results, I kept reminding myself of the end goal of hitting the ball further and without degrading the rest of my game. I am still working on this change and my continued focused practice increases my confidence.

An important note about the entire process is to work on one thing at a time. Understanding the 80/20 rule and how the domino effect works will speed up the overall success of your focused change. Too many changes can spell disaster because of the uncertainty of which change impacted which part of your swing.

I know I will eventually conquer everything and close Pandora’s Box. At that time, my entire swing will feel natural again. I will be able to think less of the mechanics and actually not think at all during my swing. That day is just around the corner and I can hardly wait.

When you plan “to open Pandora’s Box”, be ready for some frustration, but keep focused on the end goal. Before you start, try to envision the domino effect of the change and to work on one thing at a time. It is not an exact science, but keeping your eyes on the prize will help improve your game and lower your scores.

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

Golf Isn’t a Sport, it’s an Extreme Sport

/ The Grateful Golfer / 2 Comments

This is a remake of a post I wrote back in 2015. The original article had broken links I could not restore. I thought this infographic was still worth sharing.

infographic-v4

I found this infographic a Bunkered.com

Thanks Allianz for making it.

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

First Round of the 2015 Golf Season Complete

/ The Grateful Golfer / 8 Comments

My first round of golf for 2015 is in the books! Before everyone asks how the conditions are at my home course of Rondel Glen, let me stop you right there. This year my first round of golf was played at the Northwood Golf Course at Middlesex, London, UK. 

I am on vacation with my darling wife and we are visiting our awesome friends in the UK. As always, Kirk and I take the opportunity to play a few rounds when we are visiting each other and this time things are no different.

Overall, my round was very satisfying and I am very happy with the overall results. I am using borrowed clubs and shoes, but the intent of my round was more about playing golf, than actually scoring. To my surprise, I was able to do both. My score of 78 with 2 doubles and 1 birdie was pretty solid for the first time out.

Northwood was in excellent shape. The greens were freshly cut and rolled. The fairways were in good shape for this time of the year and the sand traps, many were recently reworked, were in awesome shape. I have talked about this course before and it is worth the 28 pounds it cost to play.

For the first round of the year, with no practice yet, I wanted to manage my expectations and make the round as fun as possible. The little bit of rain during the first 6 holes did not dampen our spirits. So as I approached the first tee, I had two thoughts in mind: keep your head down and widen my stance when driving the ball. As it turned out, these were perfect things to think about.

I had 9 chances for birdie. Four of those were within 10 feet. I only made one. This is not surprising because I have not putted on grass since last year. My chipping was on and off, but my driving was very good. I was able to keep it in play the entire round! 

I did have one poor hole. It was a par 5, 480 yard dog leg left, reachable par five, if you are in the fairway off the tee. As it turned out, I hit the ball into the fairway bunker on the left side. Confidently, I walked into the sand, pulled out my 5 iron and hit the front lip of the trap. Classic rookie mistake. To make things worse, the ball came to rest beside the front lip. So, grabbing my shovel…. I mean my sand wedge, I hit the ball again and to my surprise, it landed 6 feet behind me IN THE MIDDLE OF THE TRAP. I cannot remember the last time, if ever, I was still in the trap after 2 shots! Taking no chances, I hit my third shot about 25 yards up the rough.

   
Now here is a lesson for us all, on my third shot out of the trap, I lost my mental focus and did not consider my upcoming shot. I just hit the ball and did not care where it went. So now I am lying 4 behind the trees with no shot to the green. Next time (well actually I hope there is never a next time) I will remain focused and remember that course management is always in play!

So, on to my fifth shot. After three poor shots in the bunker, I executed the best shot of the round. I hit a 3 hybrid in Bubba Watson like fashion around the trees with a big hook and landed 10 feet from the green in the fairway. It was spectacular! A quick up and down, I walked off smiling with a smooth 7! 

With those exciting times over, I responded with a par on the next hole. My first round of golf was nothing but fun. I started with a bogey, ended with a birdie, and now have been bitten by the golfing bug. I finished the 2014 golf season and started the 2015 golf season in the UK with one of my best friends! How grateful am I!

I hope to play a couple more rounds while on our vacation, but in case that falls through, my 2015 golf season has started on a high note!

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