Other than a few choice words, what can I really say about hitting my ball out of bounds. For me, it is one of the most frustrating shots in golf. I say this because I have to be well off my intended target to reach the out of bounds. However, as with all things in golf, it happens from time to time. The challenge for such a wayward shot is how I respond both emotionally and mentally. I can honestly say that in my early years of playing, I was not a very good athlete because of my poor response to going out of bounds.
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Line Of Sight Relief From An Obstruction
It is not uncommon for golf courses to have permanent obstructions on a golf course, like a fence. There are many reasons to have these obstructions especially when holes run parrallel to each other. At Osprey Links, there are two fences that come into play quite often. One is on the 3rd/6th hole and 18/1st hole. I have found myself having to take relief from these permanent obstructions more than I care to talk about. 😉 After finding myself close to these obstructions, I followed a process to take relief, but if you do not know the process, then you might inadvertently incur penalty strokes you do not need.
Continue readingMaking Solid Contact With Irons
It is likely that most amateur golfers are met with varying degrees of success when hitting irons. The longer the iron, the more the challenge. I can honestly say that I switch to a 3 and 4 hybrid because of how poorly I struck my long irons. Having said that, I do work diligently on making solid contact with my 5 iron through lob wedge. I feel that with these clubs I have a better than not chance of being successful. As a follow up to yesterday’s post about my second shot, most of the time it is with an iron and as such I think it is important to dedicate some time to hitting them well.
Continue readingHow Important Is Your Second Shot In Golf?
In just about every conversation about golf, the drive and putt appear to be the main focus of discussion. The drive is usually related to distance and the putt to how it rolled into the hole. I can see that these dynamic shots would stick in many players minds, however I would suggest the second shot is as or more important to the other previously mentioned golf shots. I realize this might fly in the face of many discussions on The Grateful Golfer, but if you think about it, the second shot is critical to how every round sets up!
Continue readingDo You Have A Travelling Handicap Index?
During a recent conversation on Twitter with my friends Serge and Andre, we stumbled on a great topic. Actually, Andre is the person who first brought up his desire to lower his traveling handicap and that sparked a thought. I have spent years touting the benefits of creating a handicap index through Golf Canada and supporting your local golf course. I still adamantly support this view, but I wonder how solid my handicap index really is if I record 98% of my rounds on my home course!
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The Grateful Golfer 