There are many types of golf courses that requires a different skill set. Some courses we can just bang away without fear of missing the fairway. Others, we rely on the roll to shorten the distances between tee and green. And then there a shooters courses where accuracy and distance combine to add additional challenges when playing. I was fortunate to play such a course last Sunday with my friend Mike. It was all about club selection, hitting to distance, and being on the proper side of the pin from our approach shot. Windermere Golf and Country Club provided the challenges expect on a shooters course and more!
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Are Clean Grooves On Your Golf Clubs Important?
I clean my golf club 98% of the time after a shot. I do this because I learned a long time ago that clean grooves help me control the amount of spin I place on the ball. This inturn helps me control the release of the ball on the green. Hence, I am almost neurotic about keeping my clubs clean and I think it makes me a better golfer. If you do not have the habit of cleaning your clubs after each shot, I recommend that you start because it is important and I have the science to prove it!
Continue readingA Telling Golf Stat That Everyone Should Know
Golf is a game that has gone statistics crazy. There is a stat for just about everything. In the past, I have tried to capture a bunch on my own and realized after a couple of years that the data I was collecting was helpful to a small degree. I have discussed stats in the past and have concluded that how close the ball is to the pin on approach shots is really the top stat. I have focused on greens in regulation (GIR), but I think it is time to expand that concept a bit in order to fully understand the most telling stat in golf.
Continue readingAccepting Your Distance With Each Club
Has your ego every encouraged you to try and squeeze just a bit more distance from your clubs? You know, trying to eek out an extra 5 or 10 yards instead of clubbing up. I know I am guilty of this needless error for a variety of reasons, but I am starting to understand that this course of action rarely works in my favour. I know that I sometimes gain 5 or 10 extra yards from a club, but that is usually from solid contact or a perfectly in sync swing. The challenge I face is ‘trying’ to hit the ball farther; this is when the my game falls off the rails.
Continue readingWhat Are Your Scoring Holes?
Golf courses are made up of three types of holes: Par 3s, Par 4s and Par 5s. I realize that this is the most obvious statement I have made on my blog, but stay with me there is a point. Each of these types of holes offer an opportunity to score birdies, but only if they compliment your game. Thus, each of us will score differently on the holes and as a result will set us up mentally for success or failure. Scoring holes are unique to each player and only they can decide which holes suit their game on any given day.
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The Grateful Golfer 