Many golfers are riddled with the challenge of self-doubt. It seems to be the nature of most athletes in any sport, but golf accentuates the mental challenges of knowing our golf game. After many years of experience on the links, I still encounter situations where I know the shot and I still let negative thoughts control my play. I do immediately recognize the issue, yet I cannot change the narrative. I do believe I am not alone and most golfers, regardless of experience and skill level, face the same situation during every round of golf.
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How To Make More Short Putts
Lee Trevino is a golfing legend. He understands the challenges of the short game and offers some advice on how to make more short putts. His sage offerings on ball position strike and interesting mental exercise as I try to envision how his advice will help. I talk about envisioning his teachings because we have a foot of snow on the ground and putting, except in my basement, is not going to happen anytime soon. Regardless, Trevino suggests something that might help chase the yips away.
Continue readingIt Is All About Ball Contact
Iron play is very challenging at best for many beginners. Trying to understand the mechanics of hitting irons is a bit counterintuitive. We want to have a weight forward, hit higher on the club face, and make a divot after the ball. When we first start playing, most of us play with our weight on our back side, we try to scoop the ball and try to avoid divots. Unless you have taken a lesson (which if fully endorse) it could be a long while before you make solid contact with your irons. Believe it or not, this skill is something I struggle with from time to time, but I do know how to fix it. For today, lets talk about how to make solid contact with our irons and see if we can accelerate our learning curve.
Continue readingPlaying A Tough Golf Shot Out Of Deep Grass
Every golf I know has played a golf shot from long, thick grass. It is the nature of golf courses to leave certain areas long and unruly in order to add some degree of difficulty to the playing area. Many times hitting out of this tough location I felt that just making it to the fairway was a blessing. In order to limit the number of stroke added to my scorecard it is important to take our medicine and not try to compound our mistake by trying to hit the ball too far down the fairway. It can be a challenge to keep our ego in check, but from a course strategy standpoint ensuring our next shot is played from the short grass is key. Once we understand what we need to do with a shot out of long grass, the next thought is how we actually accomplish this task. This aspect of the overall golf shot may be easier than you think.
Continue readingIs Slicing The Golf Ball Destroying Your Scores
If a golfer has a swing fault, it usually is a slice. And no matter how hard we try, that slice ball flight never goes away. I am fortunate as I rarely play a slice. My ball travels straight indicating I have made square contact with the ball. This does not mean I do not hit errand shots, but it does allow me to play from a safe position more often than not. When I did have a slice, many years ago, I worked tirelessly with the goal of removing this swing fault. Well, I wish I would have and the internet back then because it might have sped up my learning curve.
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The Grateful Golfer 