pre-shot routine

Pre-Shot Routine: Do You Have One?

/ The Grateful Golfer / 7 Comments

Golf is a game of exciting opportunities! It is the only sport that requires a meticulous process to result in a near perfect swing; hoping for spectacular results; with a plethora of opportunities to make a mistake. Golf is awesome!

Through the years, I have learned on lesson over and over again: a pre-shot routine is critical to consistent golf!

There are an infinite number of variations to the pre-shot routine. Most are unique, but there is one I noticed that most professional golfers use; it is the waggle before they hit their driver. You know, that 3 seconds before starting your swing when you wag the club head at the ball. It is the last indicator for a player that it is time to hit the ball long and straight.

Recently, I asked the question if you had a waggle before striking your driver. Here is what the masses said:

I did receive an interesting response from one of the #golfchat attendees. (#golfchat happens on Twitter every Tuesday night at 8pm EST. If you are interest in golf, it is worth your while to check it out) From the sounds of things, she took the waggle a bit too seriously. She said that:

Obviously, the intent of the waggle is to calm all aspects of thought and movement before striking the ball. It is a visual and mental cue for players that it is time to perform their perfect swing. I have tried the waggle, but found it too distracting; so I am in the minority given the results of my poll.

Regardless, having a pre-shot routine is very important to a consistent golfer. It is something that most professionals perform before striking the ball. Chances are that if the élite players are using the waggle in their pre-shot routine, it is worth a try. What do you think?

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

Filling in Time on the Golf Course!

/ The Grateful Golfer / 6 Comments
Ball Hawking - spending time on a golf course.

Ball Hawking – spending time on a golf course.

How do you fill in your time when playing golf? I am not talking about course management, your pre-shot routine, or focused intent on playing well. You know, the time when you are waiting for your shot because the group ahead is so slow that you can measure their pace by the changing of the seasons!

Some players, especially lately, pull out their cell phone. Others practice chipping along the fairway. And still some will play several balls just to slow their pace of play down. I have a friend, Mike, who has an entirely different solution.

Mike is a ball magnet! He can walk into the most conspicuous of locations and walk out with a handful of golf balls.

Mike Ball Hawking

Only 17 golf balls this time!

Mike is not your ordinary ball hawker, he is the best I have ever seen. For an example, over a month ago there was charity tournament at our local course. Two days later he played a round of golf with his brother and walked away with over 100 golf balls! Yesterday, we playing and he walked away with two dozen balls. It seems no matter where he goes, golf balls stick to him like glue.

Having said that, Mike sometimes takes ball hawking to another level! He walks into the rough (or deeper) and the next thing we know, he is blazing a trail along the Amazon Valley picking up ball after ball! He never holds up play and he definitely shares what he finds. I find it quite amusing and laugh when he walks out with a handful of white gold!

There are plenty of ways to spend time on a golf course. Ball hawking is just one way to pass the time while waiting for the group ahead to play. For those that are wondering, my normal group (including Mike) play 18 holes in about 3 hours and 10 minutes. We play quickly and at a pace we all enjoy. So playing behind a group who plays in 4+ hours affords us extra time to talk, practice various shots and ball hawk.

So back to my original question, How do you fill in your time when playing golf?

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

 

 

A Winning Mindset in Golf

/ The Grateful Golfer / 10 Comments

GrowthI was having the round of my life! As I walked towards the par 5, 18th hole at Laurentide Golf Course (par 71), the realization that an eagle would help me shoot the lowest score of my life…a 68! Positioning ball on the tee box, to avoid the bunker 255 yards out to the right, put my mind in the proper state to execute the required shot. Going through my pre-shot routine, I hit the ball down the left side of the fairway into the first cut, but with a great lie. As I thought about my second shot, I decided the risk – reward is worth pulling my three-wood and going for the green. With a sand trap in the centre of the fairway 25 yards back from the green and a water hazard on the right about 75 yards from the green, the probability of me staying on the elevated green from 240 yards was remote. But, my short game was on fire that day, so I was confident that an up and down birdie was the worst that could happen! I went through my normal pre-shot routine, step of the ball and made solid contact.

The confidence from playing well on that day continued to grow. My ball landed just before trap, took a big bounce and stopped 10 yards from the green at the bottom of elevation. After realizing that my ball was lying in a good spot for my next shot, my thoughts turned to how to navigate the elevated green and sink that chip for my 68. I select my club (56 degree sand wedge) and went through my pre-shot routine. With confidence I hit the ball cleanly, landed it 15 feet from the pin, and watched it roll towards the hole.

As my ball continued to track towards the hole, my excitement started to rise. The ball took the proper break and what seemed like an eternity, everything looked awesome. As my ball struck the pin, I heard what I thought was a clap of thunder! My ball hit the pin, bounced back towards the lip of the hole, bounced forward and hit the pin again! I was yelling “GET IN, GET IN!” Well my ball stopped on the lip of the hole, disappointed and elated at the same time I tapped it for a birdie and a low score of the year a 69!

The ability to perform under pressure is a skill all golfers desire. As you can see from my adventure above, the pressure to hit a great shot on the last hole of an awesome round continued to mount! But, my ultimate success did not start on the 18th hole or even the first hole of that round. It actually started about three weeks before; when, after analysing my performance to date, I realized that I was not improving. I was just treading water!

I decided to change two things in my game. The first was the amount of time I spent chipping and putting. I decided to adopt the 80/20 rule. So I practiced my short game for 80 percent of my practice time. Of that, I divided my time 60/40 – 60 percent chipping and 40 percent putting. During my original 20 percent, I mixed up my clubs on the range with a majority of my focus on the 3, 4, and 5 hybrid. This practice regime significantly improved my up and down percentage and quickly increased my confidence around the green.

The other thing I changed was my attitude! I decided that ‘close’ was not good enough. I tried (and still struggle with from time to time) to eliminate all doubt when swinging a golf club. I decided that: a positive mental attitude, that I could hole every chip, and that all putts would drop, was the way forward. Combine this approach with my new expectation that any score over 75 was just not good enough help expand my winning mindset in golf! This approach helped shape my future successes and over the past 3 years, my handicap has continued to drop. Albeit slowly, it still continues to drop.

As I continue to prepare for the 2015 golf season, I will expand my winning mindset. I will increase my off course mental preparation through visualization, mental imagery, and a positive “I can do anything” attitude! This may sound silly, but everything I have read lately seems to point in this direction. Who am I to turn away from this message of success!

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

Driving the Golf Ball Under Pressure

/ The Grateful Golfer / 6 Comments

“Let the big dog eat!” or “Grip it and Rip it!”  How many times have we said that. It usually happens when trying to express the importance of our next tee shot. The driver is the most difficult club to hit in any golfer’s bag. Sometimes it has a mind of its own; other times it is just possessed! Through the years, my fickle driver and I have fought to decide who was the boss on the golf course and I am not afraid to say that I have not always won that battle. The most challenging time for players with an inconsistent driver is when they need to hit the fairway. The pressure grows and grows to a point where negative thoughts control their mind.

When hitting the ball well with my driver, there are some things that I do with boring repetition. It is not rocket science, but I know if I do these fundamental things, pressure is never a factor in my golf swing. Here is what I must do to make sure I hit my driver consistently and accurately under pressure:

  • Proper pre-shot routine. Sometimes I rush my pre-shot routine because I have played my home course over and over. I know exactly which club I need at which tee. When I choose my driver, I sometimes walk to the tee box, tee up my ball and hit. I do not take time to align anything! As a result, I sometimes pull the ball into the rough or push the ball into the woods. Actually, by not following my pre-shot routine, anything can happen!
  • Keep my head down. After I make contact with the ball, I count to one, before I raise my head. This slight delay allows my right shoulder to force my chin up and helps keep my swing sequence correct. Keeping my head down helps me extend my arms along my intended swing path. Lastly, it prevents me from over rotating my hips, thus I generate more power and control.
  • Keeping a positive mindset. Staying confident and focused so that I can hit my driver well (or any club for that matter) is key to playing under pressure. Keeping a positive mindset helps me stay focused on the things I must do to execute a good swing. Additionally, being positive helps guide my mind to using proper course management. If I am positive, I rarely feel any pressure on the golf course.

Here is what Phil Mickelson has to say about driving the ball under pressure:

Hitting the driver while under pressure can be challenging. Try some of my tips and you may be surprised at how little you notice that dreaded pressure. If you have any favorite techniques, please share. We are always looking for new ideas on how to lower our score!

I am grateful golfer! See you on the links.

Grinding in Golf

/ The Grateful Golfer / 9 Comments

Base Playdowns 2014 club ball duckI finished the first round of the Wing Playdowns yesterday. This golf tournament is a three-day event to select a 5 man – 2 woman team to represent 8 Wing Trenton at the Ontario Golf Regional competition in July. Due to inclement weather, the second and third round will be played next Wednesday and Thursday. After two days of heavy rain , about 100 mm, the course played tough, long and unforgiving. We played from the tips (blues) and between the hot sun, sprinkles, puddles, ground under repair and casual water everywhere, all the players had to be on their game to score well. I am grateful for my two playing partners; they were very pleasant which really reduced any stress that might have mounted as the round progressed.

Shooting an 81 was a great score. Given the conditions, I felt very good about my result; let me explain. The very first shot was into a 200 yard par three.  Using a 3 hybrid, I struck a smooth shot that tracked straight for the pin. As the ball landed 2 yards short of the green, it kicked straight right and finished 4 yards from the green, but still on the fringe. I could not believe it! When I arrived at the green, I noticed my ball hit the side of a sprinkler head! And so the games began.

I was short on most chips. For some reason I could not adjust to the wet conditions and could not hit the ball hard enough on my approach shots. Uncharacteristically, I only chipped the ball within 10 feet once all day. No matter where I was located, I could not seem to adjust.  Having said that, my putting was very good.  I made at least 5 putts from between 10-15 feet. Most of those were in the side door!

Base Playdowns 2014I am not a long hitter, so I do rely on the extra 10-20 yard roll from my woods and long irons. Well, during this round there was no roll! Therefore, I was hitting many long irons on my second shot. Everyone knows that hitting long irons into the green is not conducive to scoring low! As a result, I walked off with an 81.

Our round took about 4.5 hours. It was a bit slow considering we were a threesome, but we spent quite a bit of time looking for balls in the long rough.  Our course has decided to let some of the grass grow along the course. Normally, this grass is not really in play, but yesterday it was. In some cases the grass is up to your knees and if you find your ball, it was likely you would call an unplayable lie. This change in routine definitely impacted how we played. Focus and concentration was definitely tested!

Some of the things that was very helpful during my round that helped me grind out a good score was:

  • pre-shot routine – this allowed me to stay focused on the shot at hand regardless of other results;
  • mental concentration – I worked both physically and mentally during the round. I found that the use visualization and positive mental focus prior to my round really helped; and
  • being grateful – stuff happens on the course. Good breaks and bad breaks, regardless I was grateful for the opportunity to play golf and hopefully represent my Wing at the next level. This positive attitude kept the negative thoughts from creeping in and really affecting my score.

For those players who understand that you can score well and play poorly; score poorly and play well; and really work on the course keep your score down, yesterday was the latter. I felt that I really worked at playing golf yesterday. My score is a bit higher than normal (about 4-5 strokes) but I am very happy with the result. I am encouraged and excited for the next Wednesday!

Currently, I am tied for 3rd place with two other players. Our moving day will be Wednesday and my strategy is to play my game and shoot my handicap.  If I do that, I will be well situated to move on to the next leg of the competition.

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