Golfers play in different course conditions routinely throughout their season. Some days it is wet, cold, windy, dry, lush, and rock hard to name a few. As we try to conquer the varying conditions it is important to be able to hit different types of golf shots. Yes, this does mean we need to practice at the range to manage our swing movements. As I perused different topics to chat about, I found a tip by Mark Crossfield that was made for certain conditions, but in fact is a universal golf tip that all players should master. It will lower you scores and is applicable for all course conditions.
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Last Practice Round Before My Hickory Stick Tournament
Yesterday, I decided just to play golf. I have practiced a fair bit this week and now it was time to put it to the test. I went to the Mattawa Golf and Ski Resort for a quick nine holes with the intent of playing alone. Fortunately, I met up with Logan and we decided to play nine holes together. I was going to play the reds (2557 yards) but move back to the whites (3039 yards) to play with Logan. So we teed it up to see what would happen.
Continue readingPracticing The Right Things On The Golf Course
I started my practice plan in preparation for the upcoming Hickory Championship next Monday and Tuesday. As I stated yesterday, I had a plan to work on my short game, putting and ball contact. I played nine holes and hit 5 balls from various locations on each hole. It was a plan to test out my hickories to determine which club I should hit from what distance. The plan started off well, but I need to make a few adjustments moving forward.
Continue readingBecome A Better Putter!
We are fooling ourselves if we think putting is not the great equalizer in golf. This simple stroke can make or break you score. Since most of our shots of any round happen on or near the green, it only make sense that we spend a large portion of our practice time on our short game. Putting is by far the most important area of play if you are planning on lowering your golf score. I have talked about putting a great deal at The Grateful Golfer and today, I will provide three putting drills that could improve your game.
Over the years, I have offered many putting drills. The ones today fall into new, old and I am not sure with respect to usefulness. Regardless, I think it is important to see different drills as some may resonate home better than others. For now, here are the three drills:
The new drill for me is placing two elastic bands on the putter head. This is a very simple drill and I can see the value of ensuring we hit the ball on the center of the club face. It is adjustable, sustainable, and repeatable; talk about a great drill. I definitely recommend this drill. If we combine the elastics with two tees as gates, then something special might happen improving the consistency of our putting.
The right handed putting drill is not new. It is something I have talked about before and provides a stable connection between the club and our body through our right (or left) hand. I figure if Tiger Woods uses this drill it has to have value. I have used this drill in the past and found that it helped me control the putter head to ensure square faced contact between the club and the ball. Overall, this is a great drill.
The coin on the back on the putter. To be fair, I have never used this drill and I will have to give it more research before assessing its value. In principle, I see the value. However, during execution I am not so sure. Again, I will not assess this drills value without experimenting more. If you have used this drill, please drop me a line and tell me how it worked for you.
There you have it. Three new drills to help improve your putting. Improving our flat stick results will definitely lower our golf scores. You may not like all the drills presented, however I am sure there are a few that will help your game. It is up to you to pick and choose. Regardless of which drill is good for your game, practicing your putting is a sure fire way to lower you golf scores.
I am a grateful golfer! See you on the links!
Thinking Through Tough Golf Shots
Every golf shot requires a certain amount of thought before execution. Sometimes it is a straight forward process, however more often than not, it takes a bit of brain bites to hit the appropriate golf shot. There are many different stressors on each shot that should be evaluated, however most of those challenges can be mitigated through one thought on tough golf shots. Yup, I have narrowed the multiple influences down to one thing can control to help make challenging shots.
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The Grateful Golfer 