golf

Pondering on Where to Go Next

/ The Grateful Golfer / 6 Comments

Have you ever sat down, tried to turned off all the noise, put your phone on silent mode and just thought about what is next? Of course most of us have pondered the big decisions in life, but what about the smaller decisions that affect your life? Have you really given that much thought lately?

Daily, I like to sit in a room to meditate and think. Many times my thoughts revolve around my health and happiness. I use focused intent and positive affirmations to help chart my life’s journey. I find that just 20 minutes makes all the difference in the world to my emotional state. During this time of quiet reflection,  I like to think about where my life’s journey will go next.

I believe that things happen for a reason (although I do not always understand them) and we meet people or have experiences because we manifest them through our thoughts and actions. This is a philosophy that keeps me happy and grateful everyday.

You are likely thinking that this is all great, but what does this have to do about golf?

In case you did not realize, Golf is a passion of mine. I enjoy all aspects of this sport.I like being in the outdoors walking the green fairways, hearing the sounds of birds, and breathing the fresh air. I enjoy talking about golf and to try figure out the best ‘swing’ for me to reach my goal of being a scratch golfer. I like meeting new people and experiencing the joys of playing with old friends. But, I am at a bit of crossroads.

Where to go from here, what is next? This might seem to be an odd question, but with 2015 in the books, I like to start thinking and preparing for what is next. Do I continue to blog about golf? Do I cut back on golf and focus on other, possibly fun, areas of life? Do I increase my time about golf? Do I change nothing? So many questions, so many thoughts!

I obviously do not have an answer at this moment because I would share it if I did. I do know that, at least for the time being, I will continue to learn and grow my knowledge about golf. As winter freeze approaches, I will have more time to think and ponder about the future. Regardless of what I decide, I know one thing for certain: I will always be grateful!

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

Slow and Steady Wins the Race!

/ The Grateful Golfer / 4 Comments

As I walked in beautiful surroundings of our favorite path today with my best friend, the feeling of gratitude flowed through my body. As we strolled in the falling leaves breathing the crisp fall air, we both felt at peace. It is during days like this, I take the opportunity to get lost in my thoughts.

During this particular walk, I was counting my blessings and came across this little fella!

Slow and Steady Wins the Race!

Slow and Steady Wins the Race!

As my wife and I watched him slowly make his way across the path, I was amazed by his unwavering focus and desire to move forward. It took little steps and just kept moving. Each step, he moved closer to his goal or destination. Although, I believe the journey is as important as the destination, this little guy seemed focused on his end goal.

As I thought about my little friend, I thought of my 2015 golf season. I realized that my journey towards scratch is becoming more and more difficult. The reason for my increased difficulty falls in my willingness to make changes, practice difficult shots, and to for my ego to accept short-term poor scores! These and many more challenges face players with a single digit handicap!

I am not sure what the 2016 golf season will bring, but thanks to my new friend I will keep moving towards my goal. Life sometimes throws us curve balls, but keeping our eyes on the prize will help us achieve anything!

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

In or Out?

/ The Grateful Golfer / 2 Comments

A couple of days ago, I asked if you thought Mike C’s putt would go in or out! In case you forgot, here is the picture!

In or Out

Well congratulations to Vet and Josh for calling it. Mike C left it pin high on the left! It was quite close, but we decided he choked, but he thought he was robbed!

Frog 2 golf balls

Not the real picture, but Mike C missed on his left. The frog is just for fun!

Thanks to everyone for playing!

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

Awesome Instagram Golf Pictures!

/ The Grateful Golfer / 4 Comments

Here are some great pictures I saw on Instagram. I hope you enjoy them.

View this post on Instagram

Life’s not fair.

A post shared by The Open (@theopen) on

 

Have an awesome golf day! I hope you are still hitting the links and enjoying the fall!

I am a grateful golfer!

See you on the links!

 

Teeing The Golf Ball at the Proper Height

/ The Grateful Golfer / 8 Comments

Teeing the ball at the proper height is a common theme in golf. It is a fundamental skill that all amateurs must master to produce those “Rory McIlroy” drives to which they aspire!

The challenge for non-professionals is the contradictory information on the subject! There is a consensus on the height of the tee and where to the ball should make contact with the club face. This is what most analyst agree on:

Teeing too low – This causes lower spin rates and therefore a lower trajectory when striking the ball. Which will combine to seriously decrease the distance you are obtaining when hitting your driver.

Teeing too high – Inversely this will give you too much backspin, and create a launch angle that is steeper and therefore affect the distance with the ball travelling upward rather than forward. (National Club Golfer)

I wrote an article on this subject before and espoused the common themes of teeing height, but now I am not so sure. I struggled with my driver this year. My new Titleist D2 12-degree and I did not get along for much of the season. The new shaft caused a slightly different ‘kick point’ and the 12-degrees was something I am having a hard time adjusting too!

With my new driver, using my normal teeing pattern, my ball would travel too high and I lost about 20 yards off my average drive. As a result, this challenged the rest of my game; sometimes I played well and others times……! This was very frustrating and I struggled to understand why only this part of my game had not immediately improved with my new sticks!

Well after much soul-searching I decided that the normal convention of teeing up the ball may not work for me. I found this video from My and My Golf. The information was not just about tee height, but also about types of swings and their relation to teeing the ball.

Off the range I went; I experimented with the height of ball on the tee and hit some pretty ugly shots. After a medium bucket, about 50 balls, I still did not find the proper height of the ball for my swing. Knowing that any change in my golf swing takes time, I was not discouraged. I went back to the range a couple of days later and still had no real success (still not discouraged). I was closer, but not fully satisfied that I found what I was looking for. My third time to the range, which was about 3 weeks ago, was the charm.

I realized I had several challenges with my swing and teeing the ball was just one of them. Many of those challenges will be discussed in future posts, however the height of the ball on the tee was solved (I think). For me, the ball should just be peeking over the top of my driver. I guess it would be considered low for most, but given my type of swing it works best for me.

One aspect of golf I did learn is that the norm or convention is only a starting point. It generally offers a solution, however it many not offer the exact fix you are looking for in your swing. Take the time to experiment on the range, sometimes you will be astounded by the results!

Unfortunately my golf season is over, so I will have to wait until next spring to see if I actually fixed my challenges with my driver. This will definitely give me something to look forward to! How high do you tee your ball?

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