I often wonder if watching professional golf help my golf game. There is no question in my mind that these athletes can perform an a regular basis, however as an aging amateur, I am not sure what they do applies to my game development. I mean, they hit the ball at least 4o to 50 yards farther than me off the tee; hit their irons a country mile; they can putter reasonably well; and they are as slow as molasses trying to roll up hill in January. Nothing they do applies to my game. So, other that watching professional golf for entertainment, I see no value in what they do that helps my golf game. Do you?
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Hitting Back At Bad Golf Scores
Every athlete feels that can perform just a bit better even if their original result is a personal best. This is an inherent mental attitude that all champions innately use to be successful. Well, you do not have to be an elite athlete to feel the same way; we amateur golfers often feel we left strokes on the course even when we shoot our lowest score ever. This approach to sports is the same even when we shoot a terrible score…..actually, we want to play better even more. There is a trap in trying to hit back at poor golf scores and it is one most of us have fallen into over the course of our golf journey. Well, I am here to tell you how to avoid this trap in order to correct the ship and sail to better golf scores.
Continue readingA Quick Tip To Read A Green
Reading the greens is a tough skill to develop for most amateurs. There are many factors to consider which change for each putt. I wish I could give you a 100% guaranteed process for sinking more putts, but I cannot. It is a skill that is developed over time as you develop more experience reading greens. There is, however, a quick overview of the five aspects of putting that every player should know. I realized there are a great deal more as you skill improves. However, this is a great place to start.
Continue readingWhich Golf Shot Should I Hit Next?
Golf is a sport of decisions. Regardless where you are on the course, you are making a plethora of decisions in order to shoot your lowest score possible. I think this game has more definitive decisions than most sports and as such experience is a key factor to being successful. Another critical factor about playing well is to check our ego. Sometimes our ego lures us down a rabbit hole into a wonderland of crazy. The key for most amateurs is to understand what they can and cannot do with their clubs in order to select the right shot for any given situation. This is a lesson I still learn from time to time, but I am getting better at checking my ego at the door. Are you?
Continue readingHitting Your Ball By Mistake
Have you ever hit a ball during a practice swing? Of course it was unintentional and besides the embarrassment, there should be no penalty for this faux pas. Over the years I was asked about this mistake and since the rules changed in 2019, the embarrassment would be compounded by extra strokes on your scorecard. As I think about this scary scenario, I often wonder if people understand rule that the rule has changed and there is still a chance to be assessed a penalty stroke depending on where the incident happened. Let me explain further.
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The Grateful Golfer 