golf grip

Top 5 Grateful Golfer Posts of All Time

/ The Grateful Golfer / 2 Comments

I wanted to share the Top 5 Posts of all time at the Grateful Golfer Blog. I am not surprised at the topics, but I am a bit surprised at their popularity. I have also included the number of times these articles were viewed.

What do you think?

So here they are:

Which Golf Grip is Best for You? 13,109
Golf Grip – Strong, Weak or Neutral 10,305
How Wide Should Your Golf Stance Be? 2,415
Breaking 100 1,546
Golf Strategy: 2-Man Scramble 1,344

Just for fun and your reading pleasure, I have decided to add the next 5:

Swing Plane Training 1,296
The Best Golf Swing Ever! 1,259
Modified Scramble 1,194
Your Ego and Golf 1,163
Why 14 Clubs? 1,129

The reason for indicating these posts is that I am always looking for topics to write about. I do not claim to be an expert, but I do have an opinion on many topics. I am not limited to anyone area, I just like to talk about golf!

Therefore, if there is a golf topic or question that you just need answering, drop me a line and I will see what I can do. If I cannot answer it, I will ask someone who can.

Thanks for reading!

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

Infographic: Which Golf Grip is Best for You?

/ The Grateful Golfer / 6 Comments

“Good golf starts with a good grip”. – Ben Hogan

Which Golf Grip is Best for You is the first topic of conversation of all amateurs. I hope this infographic helps explain the differences and choose the proper golf grip for their game!

gg-golf-grip-infographic_new

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

Golf Grip – Strong, Weak or Neutral

/ The Grateful Golfer / 40 Comments

The golf grip is the singularly most important choice any amateur golfer makes. The slightest change to the position of the hands has a tremendous impact on whether the ball finishes in the woods or in the middle of the fairway.  Focusing on how to hold a golf club is the first step to developing a great golf swing. After choosing how to hold your hands on the club, it is now time to experiment with your hand position to decide if you need to use a strong, weak or neutral grip.

Determining if you naturally hold the club in a strong or weak way is determined by the thumb and index finger of each hand (Vs). A strong grip, the Vs are right of the centre of the shaft. As a visual cue, you can see the knuckles of your left hand. A neutral grip, the Vs are down the center line of the shaft and you can see three knuckles on each hand. A weak grip, the Vs are left of center and you can see the knuckles of your right had. (The above description is for a right-handed player; the opposite is true for a left-handed player) Continue reading →

2014 Was a Grateful Year!

/ The Grateful Golfer / 9 Comments

2014 was a fantastic year for golf. As the year progressed, I was fortunate to expand my golfing friends through social media. By taking a step into the 21st century, I was introduced to a whole new world of golfing enthusiasts who share the same affliction for this wonderful sport.

2014 marked some milestones for The Grateful Golfer. I was able to lower my handicap to its lowest point ever! I played many great courses that included one of Canada’s most famous – Glen Abby. And I was able to play 80 plus rounds with great friends! It was definitely a great year!

The Grateful Golfer blog expanded exponentially this year. I was able to post 199 articles on my blog and an additional 45 articles at PunditArena.com. This may seem to be robust, but when you are writing about something you really like, it is very easy to put pen to paper.

I was pleasantly surprised by all the positive feedback I received. Many of these great comments helped me shape many of the articles. They also helped focus my golf game when hitting the links. While writing articles about my golf experiences, I never really wondered if they were hitting the mark. But, it seems that some were helpful because the top 10 articles garnered about 30 percent of my blog traffic. Here are the top 10:

  1. Which Golf Grip is Best for You?
  2. A Growth Mindset About Golf
  3. Why 14 Clubs
  4. 5 Wood or Extra Wedge
  5. How Wide Should Your Stance Be
  6. Quiet Hands to Break 100
  7. Swing Plane Training
  8. What’s Wrong With Phil Mickelson
  9. Scramble or Best Ball Golf Tournament
  10. New World Number One

As I reminisce about 2014, I become invigorated for what is to come! 2015 is going to be a great year for all things golf.

My goals for golf in 2015 are pretty basic. Continue to share my thoughts, experiences and tips about golf on The Grateful Golfer. To continue the positive interaction between other golfing fanatics. And to complete my goal of being a scratch golfer!

Well, it all starts today! I am a grateful golfer! See you on the links!

Conquering Your Ego

/ The Grateful Golfer / 12 Comments

ego2-drhannanA follow-up to my last post about ego, the email below is from my best buddy in the UK. Among other things, he and I have share the passion for golf. He moved to the UK a couple of years ago and has focused on his game. Only recently has he noticed the improvements in all areas of his game.  He is his story:

“This is an interesting dilemma for sure.  I know that I would NOT be willing to have higher scores, shorter drives etc over the short term for longer term gain.

However….

Because the course is open all year here, I made the decision in Dec to do exactly what you are talking about in the blog.  I changed grip (very difficult at first); I changed my position at address to be 3 inches off front foot for all clubs except driver (this was also difficult, however now is great); and I changed my attitude towards course management by hitting driver on all holes that were 380 plus (this proved to be the hardest thing as I hit lots of balls in unplayable areas and was forced to play 3 off the tee). Lastly, I changed my ball position while putting (this proved to improve putting numbers immediately)

Now…..

Things are great as I had the extra few months of practice to try all of these things.  It was frustrating for sure, however most of these months I was playing alone and had lots of opportunities to hit many shots without holding up others.  

Grip change has been the greatest change for me as it ensured that my hands (therefore club face) are square at impact.  I have learned that the back of my front hand is simply the club gave – where this hand points so does the club face at impact. Not many draws or hooks any more and certainly there are no slices.  Sometimes I find myself aligned incorrectly when playing other courses, however normally the ball flies on a straight path right or left and not due to hook or slice – I can accept this, however it is rare at my home course as I know where every tee box location fits my address position.

Having the few extra months has been like a 4 month practice session, however if I had the Canadian golf season, I would be reluctant to change anything – perhaps one thing of this magnitude each year.

I was scoring well at the end of the 2013 competition season and I hope the practice pays off for 2014.  First stable ford was 40 points, which grabbed me second place (31 competitors with full handicap allowance)

Looking forward to my six strokes aside so I can be competitive with you.”

What a great story! His tale is not uncommon for all golfers wanting to play better. He actually took steps, endured the frustration, and as a result is playing better. I am not sure I want to give him any strokes next time we play, but that will be negotiated at the time. I think the word sandbag may be floated around regardless of what we decide.

Interestingly, my friend said that if it was not for playing year round, he would not likely have made as many changes to be a better player. I can appreciate his point, but would counter that the process would be slower and possibly less painful. A big thank you to my buddy for sharing his story!

Conquering your ego always starts the same way….make the decision to change! The rest is just details.

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