Off-Season Golf Strategies

December 13, 2015 / The Grateful Golfer / Leave a comment

There is only one way to prepare for the 2016 golf season! I have a fool-proof way method that will ensure you be ready for that faithful day when golf returns to your neck of the woods. It will not cost you anything for this secret (as this goes against the goal of The Grateful Golfer blog), but if you decide to partake on this journey to lower scores, you must share it with your friends! Are you ready?

Decide!

That is it and thank you for your attention! Details can be found in the next article. I am a grateful golfer! See you on the links!

Golf Strategy: Playing a Par 3

December 11, 2015 / The Grateful Golfer / 11 Comments

Playing par 3 golf holes usually provides the most exciting time on the golf course. Every player takes the time to plan and consider all the factors that might affect their shot! They line up and focus with hope that the perfect shot is in their bag at that time. Their thoughts shift to the elusive hole-in-one waiting for them at the end of the rainbow!

It is strategy time again! This picture of a player Patrick McLaughlin playing at the Slieve Russell Golf and Country Club, Ballyconnell, Co. Cavan, Ireland. I received this picture last year, but I thought it would be a great hole to see “How you would play this challenging par 3!”

The 11th Hole – Heron Haunt. Advice is not to under club!

From the looks of the picture, the hole is about 170 yards (center of the green), downhill to a pin located in the back left. The wind is blowing from left to right. You are playing well and need a birdie to keep your awesome round going! What do you do?

Let us know where you aim, if you play safe, what type of ball shape you would want, and what club you would use! We all want to know!

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

Golf Strategy: How to Play a Tight Lie

December 2, 2015 / The Grateful Golfer / 14 Comments

How to play a tight lie is one of the most challenging shots in golf. Proper execution is undoubtedly important, but selecting the proper shot is really the key to success! Do you putt the ball, chip it or flop it are just some of the things that go through your head as you look over the situation. I came across the picture below and thought I would get your advice on how you would play it.

How would you play this golf shot?

This shot happened a few years ago at a scramble golf tournament. My three playing partners and I were lying 2 on a par 5. As we surveyed the shot, each of us played it differently. Here is what happened:

The first player tried putt the ball and you can see the results in the picture.
The second player hit a bump and run. He tried to hit the ball short and hoped it would bounce up to the pin. His shot was short and the player picked up.
The third player flopped the ball, it landed on the fringe and the ball rolled up about 8 inches from the pin. It was an easy tap in for birdie.
I tried to flop the ball to the pin with the hopes of the ball landing just short and slowly rolling into the hole. I was unable to put a spin on the ball, so my ball released 4 feet past the hole.

As you can see, we tried a different shots to make the up and down. The success of the third player made my shot easier and thus I was more aggressive than normal. How I would play the shot is really not important; what is important is how you would play the shot!

How would you approach this shot?

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

Golf Strategy: A Two Man Scramble

August 7, 2015August 7, 2015 / The Grateful Golfer / 5 Comments

Last year’s 2-Man Scramble on the first tee. Jean is happy to playing in the rain!

Tomorrow is the second time (last year was the first) my friend Jean and I will play in a two-man scramble. It is a low-key event with 20+ teams and handicaps will be applied. Our second place finish last year is something Jean and I will build on to see if we can win it all. The big prize in this event is the bragging rights as most of the players are regulars at my home course of Roundel Glen.

Similar to last year, the rules for this tournament are pretty simple. The handicap of the two players are added together, divided by two and multiplied by 25% (was .75% last year). The multiplying factor is a slight change from last year.

What this means is: my handicap is 3.8, Jean’s handicap is 10.8, combined 14.6, divided by 2 is 7.30, multiplied by 25% is 1.8; everything is rounded down to the nearest whole number. Therefore, our handicap for this tournament is 1. For those non golfers, this means we are awarded one stroke on the toughest hole on the course. So if we shoot a 4 on the toughest hole, we would record a 3 on our scorecard. All things being equal and everyone is honest, this method of using our handicap is golf’s way of leveling the playing field.

Our strategy was straight forward last year. This is how it unfolded:

Jean tees off first on all par 5s and short par 3s.
Jim tees off first on all par 4s and long par 3s.
Jean is first to hit our second shot inside 175 yards.
Jim is first to hit our second shot outside of 175 yards.
Jean chips first by all green.
Jean putts first on all greens.

This year, things will be a bit different. We will play to our strengths. Jean hits the ball farther off the tee than I do, however my short game is a bit stronger. So, I will hit first on all par 5s. Jean will hit first off the tee all other times except for two short par 4s that Jean can reach, so I will put us in play on those holes. Jean will hit first for all second shots, chips and putts. This strategy will be modified as the day goes on to ensure we make the most out of every opportunity to score low.

We are looking forward to improving our score from last year. With a change in the handicap system, the scores might be a bit higher this year, so our goal will be shot a 66 again and see what happens.

Regardless of the outcome, this event is a great time to hang out with my fellow grateful golfers doing what we like to do most – play golf.

Our strategy is set, what do you think? What would you do?

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

Ontario Regional Golf Tournament – Final Thoughts

July 24, 2015July 24, 2015 / The Grateful Golfer / 6 Comments

Twenty four hours later, I had the opportunity to analyze the goods, bads and uglys of my play at the Ontario Regional Golf Tournament. It is not a chance to whine or point fingers at outside influences that may have negatively affected my game during the past three days. It is an opportunity to look at possible areas of improvement to move forward and still work towards my goal of being a scratch golfer.

I decided to use The Good, The Bad, The Ugly style of introspection to make sure I keep what was good and improve on the other aspects of my game. However, I do not like to end on a bad note for anything, so I am going to reverse the order to end on a positive note.

THE UGLY

Decision Making – each day, I made two poor decisions about shot selection. Each time, it was counter to my game plan and as a result it cost me 2 penalty strokes each day. These were mental errors that should not have made their way into my decision-making cycle. The area of improvement is that I know better and talked myself out of the right decision over half the time.

Chipping – I was not able to adjust to the greens while chipping over the four days. The lack of practice facilities (of any kind) did hamper my warm up, but I did have the opportunity to adjust….I just didn’t! I was very frustrated because a player of my experience should have been able to adjust, so this is a lesson learned and I will find ways to improve my ability to adjust to various conditions in the future.

THE BADS

Driving The Ball – my new clubs are awesome. I felt comfortable hitting all the clubs, however I had difficult hitting my driver. I was straight, but the new 12 degree loft was something that reduced my distance off the tee. I was consistently 25 yards shorter than normal off the tee. I did hit some that I would call normal shots and will work on hitting this club better in the future.

Approach shots from 150-100 yards – from this distance, I was only about 50% GIR. I struggled with my alignment this week. I am not sure why, but I will hit the range with my alignment sticks and work on my swing. Part of the challenge might be that I have tried to change too many things this year and as a result my approach shots have suffered. It could also be a lull in my play of late from that distance, but I need to find out.

THE GOODS

Ability to scramble – This week I relied on my ability to score well through the ups and downs of my game. It seemed that every time I was struggling, I would make several great strokes to bring my game back to normal. I consistently hit my 4 and 5 iron very well. Atypical to great play, my success from 175-200 yards raised my confidence and ability to play well.

My game plan – my game plan was very good. Having played at Petawawa before, I felt that my understanding of the how to play the course was a benefit. As stated earlier, I did make a couple poor decisions, but my overall strategy worked. I played within myself and took advantage of my strengths. The time spent on planning was time well spent!

Meeting Old and New Friends – This was definitely a good! It was outstanding to re-acquaint myself with old friends. I have met these players year in and year out at golf Regionals and every time it is fun to catch up on all the happenings in their lives. Additionally, meeting new friends who are attending Regionals for the first time. This year I played with one young gentlemen for two rounds and one gentlemen for three rounds. Both were excellent playing partners and I look forward to playing a round of golf with them in the future.

Objectively looking at my performance at the Ontario Regional Golf Tournament helps me be a better golfer. If I focus on my weaknesses and capitalize on my strengths, things should get better. It is difficult to identify our weaknesses and to make the decision to do something about it. I believe that this approach is good in life and is a natural extension to my golf game.

So I am off the range to see if I can duplicate my errors and find positive solutions to improve my game. I think that this process is an important part of being a better golfer. My approach has worked in the past and with any luck will produce positive results now.

Thanks for reading and I am always open to positive comments!

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