What to Focus on First at the Start of Golf Season

April 19, 2015April 16, 2015 / The Grateful Golfer / 6 Comments

Golf is officially here. The crew at Roundel Glen Golf Course spent many long days cleaning up the winter mess and their efforts are greatly appreciated by all the anxious golfers! With the hope of an awesome season ahead, it is time to focus on the fundamentals and execute my plan of being a scratch golfer.

This year, I am going about things a bit differently. I am not actually developing my plan until mid-May. I know many of you are shaking your heads thinking that I will be wasting a precious month, but rest assured there is a method to my madness.

My plan is to work on my fundamentals first, then see where I need to focus my practice time to generate the most ‘bang for my buck’. So after much introspection, this is my initial approach to the 2015 golf season:

Chipping. This year I believe that chipping will be the key to a lower handicap. My GIR stat is not bad (I hope to improve this), however on the days that I am not striking the ball well, chipping is what is going to keep my scores low. On the days that I am doing well, the odd missed green will not have as great an impact on my score. So, chipping is first.

Mid-Irons. Most experts would suggest that putting should be next. Personally, my GIR stat is more important. If I do not give myself the opportunity for birdie more times than not, then being a great putter does not really matter. The distance I will focus on is from 175 – 125 yards.

Putting. Once on the green, putting will help me close the deal. Being a strong putter is critical to low scores. My self-assessment is that I am a strong putter already and that focusing on chipping and mid-irons is a better use of my time so early in the season.

3-wood. I hit my 3-wood on most par 5s and several times off the tee. It is an important club for my game because it helps with my course management. In the past, it was my go-to club, but recently I have relied on it less. Regardless, my 3-wood will be next in line as I practice this spring.

Long-Irons. I do not hit many long irons. My course management is such that hitting long irons is generally avoided. I will hit a short iron and stay 75 yards back, then hit a long iron to 30 yards from the green. Not always mind you, but hitting into the an area of my game that I use 2 or 3 times a round does not make sense, but I do have to practice hitting long-irons just in case I need to during a round.

Driver. Many of you are gasping right about now! Not to worry. I have left my driver until last because I plan to be fitted for a new driver in early June. Mike at my home course is a Master Club Fitter and we are going work together more this year. My focus for the fitting will be the shaft, thus extensive practice with my old driver does not make any sense early in the season.

There you have it. My initial practice plan is in place. My area of focus and overall plan for 2015 will not be formed until around mid-May. This is a new approach for me, but I think focusing on the fundamentals in each area without the pressure of having to score well will be very beneficial. What do you think?

What is your initial plan to prepare for the 2015 golf season?

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

Groundhog Day and Golf

February 1, 2015February 1, 2015 / The Grateful Golfer / Leave a comment

Groundhog Day is tomorrow. On 2 February, all golfers in the northern hemisphere wait in anticipation for the weather prediction of rodents: Wiarton Willie and Punxsutawney Phil. The pressure on these special creatures to predict an early spring is overwhelming. Each year, these loveable creatures climb out of their hole; if they see their shadow and scurry back home to safety, it means that golfers will have to wait an additional 6 weeks for winter to slowly become a distant memory.

Is it GroundHog Day Again!!!

Groundhog Day is also a famous saying that stems from the movie “Groundhog Day” with Bill Murray and Andie MacDowell. This romantic comedy is set in a small northeastern town in the United States where “a weather man is reluctantly sent to cover a story about a weather forecasting “rat” (as he calls it). This is his fourth year on the story, and he makes no effort to hide his frustration. On awaking the ‘following’ day he discovers that it’s Groundhog Day again, and again, and again. First he uses this to his advantage, then comes the realisation that he is doomed to spend the rest of eternity in the same place, seeing the same people do the same thing EVERY day.” (IMDB)

The storyline in the movie should be familiar to most amateur golfers. We hit the links time after time with no substantive change in our golf score. We try quick fixes in the hopes of permanently lowering our score. Unfortunately, the only real result is frustration and confusion on why the changes are not having their desired effect. It reminds me of the Albert Einstein definition of insanity: doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results!

Real change in golf, as Phil in the movie discovered, comes from within. The realization that to successfully and permanently change our golf game takes real effort, focus and desire. To effect change in your game, I recommend developing a plan, taking the time to execute it, and accepting the results. After a reasonable time (reasonable is relative to every person) repeat the process by making small changes to your learned behaviour. By following your successful game plan, like in the movie, your golf game will have miraculously changed and frustrations of Groundhog Day will be gone forever!

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

Golf Report Card From 2014

November 24, 2014 / The Grateful Golfer / 12 Comments

Back in April, I reaffirmed a plan for my 2014 golf season. The intent was to improve my overall game to help achieve my goal of being a scratch golfer. My plan was met with varying success; so I thought I would share the goods, bads and uglies with you.

I have four main focus areas that help guide every golf season. With a plan in place, I am usually ready for anything on the links. Here is my plan:

get fit – focus on exercises designed to improve my golf game;
research – the drills and techniques required to improve my game;
practice – dedicate time to practice to improve my game; and
compete – either formally or informally compete every time I hit the links.

The Grateful Golfer in 2014!

Well I can say that my overall fitness for the golf season was pretty good. I felt strong during most rounds and rarely waned heading down the home stretch. I could have improved on my physical strength, but that is what this off-season is for. I would rate my fitness a B+.

My research on drills and techniques continued all season. I improved my chipping, widened my stance, and found better methods to score low. I have shared these tips and drills through the year in my blog, and they might be worth taking a look at. Interestingly, I improved more in the last two months of the season because I started hitting the ball farther off the tee. I will continue researching better ways to improve this area this winter. I would rate my research as a solid A.

Practicing was up and down this year. I started off extremely strong, but slowed during various times in the season. When I did practice, I felt rushed and unfocused. I write about practicing with intent all the time and should heed my own advice. I would rate my practice as a C+.

I did compete a bit this year, but mostly in fun tournaments. This type of competition is not good for my competitive edge, but it is competition. I played in 2 stroke events and was underwhelming. My competitive edge was not as sharp as in years past, but keep in mind that my criticism is relative to my handicap. I would rate my competitive edge as a B.

So overall, my season was about average for sticking to my plan. It is amazing how quickly the season passed and by not staying focused, I think that I missed some opportunities to improve. However, the most surprising aspect of my entire 2014 golf season is that I dropped my handicap from 4.7 to 2.8!

Wait, before you say not nice things to me, I cannot believe it either. I had a 4 week period where I could do nothing wrong and I actually broke par once. From a pure handicap perspective, 2014 was a fantastic season.

Hopefully, I will build on my successes from this year and achieve my overall goal of being a scratch golfer.

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