Oh the power of a 330 yard drive and that 150 yard wedge. To bring that par 5 to its knees and birdie it every time. It’s what every guy dreams that their golf game looked like, but very few can actually measure up to it. Sure, Dustin Johnson can do it. Rory? Tiger? Yes, some of the top 200 golfers in the world can pull that off quite easily, but that same 480 yard hole is reaching par 4 status on tour now, so let’s not be so quick to put our own game up against theirs. Of course, when you start to break things down, a good amateur male’s game doesn’t look like that of the tour professionals listed above, but more like the following: Klatten, Thompson, Kim and Henderson. Yes, we spend so much time trying to be like Tiger that we forget about being like Brooke.
Now, some of the ego’s in the room have already checked out. Others, may start to see their way to believing me here in a few comparisons. For example, Brooke Henderson blasts the ball off the tee an average of 266 yards. She hits over 72% of her greens, and takes just 1.7 putts per hole that she reaches. Now if I were to tell you that this weekend, you could go out and average 265 yards a drive, only miss 5 greens and have 32 putts for your round, would you take it? The fact of the matter is, that is our game. We aren’t male tour professionals that spend hours at the gym, then hours at the range, then hours on the course before hitting the range again to cool down before doing it all again the next day. It takes more work than the average person can put in to get to that level, but for an amateur to get good enough to reach the level of a top female golfer? Now that is something that is possible with quite a bit of work.
First things first, working on your driving accuracy should be the number one priority. Mo Martin led the LPGA in fairways hit this year at 86% That basically means two missed fairways a round. She still managed 72% of her greens and only 1.82 putts per hole. That means she was only making about 33 putts a round if she reached every green in regulation. Her 70.87 scoring average landed her the number 21 ranking on tour. Ultimately, I can’t imagine an amateur playing any better than this on a regular basis. To make it more even more astounding, she was able to score about 30% of her rounds in the 60’s. Surely we are looking at the wrong role models for our games, right?
The first problem that we have on the tee box is accuracy. We need to get the ball in the fairway. If we miss it, we immediately get into more trouble by trying to hit a ‘fairway’ shot from somewhere we shouldn’t. This isn’t because we try to do to much with the ball, but that we don’t hit it from the rough enough to know what it does to the ball. Twice in the last few rounds, I’ve hit what the tour stars refer to as “a flyer” or a shot that came out of the rough much hotter than a typical shot. The first was a 163 yard pitching wedge and the second was a 165 yard, uphill, 9 iron. Both were conservative plays, that if the ball would have been in the fairway, would have resulted in a solid shot into the green. Instead, both balls flew the green by some 20-30 yards and a bogey came into play.
Next up, being realistic about our real life distances is a must. If you think you can hit a 176 yard 8 iron, that’s great, but you probably hit a 5 or a hybrid from that distance in reality. Being real about your distances doesn’t make you less of a golfer, it makes you a more accurate one that will score lower. Notice that Martin only averages 238 yards off the tee, yet she still manages to hit 3 out of 4 greens in regulation and 2 putts the majority of those greens. Think about going out and dropping your ball 240 yards out from the tee in the middle of the fairway. If you did that, how good would your card look?
The long and the short of it is that most amateur golfers should set their goals to be inline with those of the LPGA Tour players, not trying to become one of the longest hitters on the PGA tour. Over and over, I watch as guys flail away at the ball with a driver hoping to reach that magical 300 yard mark, only to see them fall short again and again. What they fail to realize is that that 250 yard shot that they can hit right down the middle is the perfect drive for almost every course. If more of us took the stance of playing like the ladies do, many of our scores will drop to even par in no time at all.
Tuesday, October 11, 2016
Stroke Saver: Rare Back And Strike The Ball Like A Girl
Monday, October 10, 2016
Equipment Deals: Get In Shape This Off Season With These Great Tools
Most experts agree that the best way to increase your distance and accuracy is to develop strength and flexibility. Resistance bands have been around forever, but the Fitness Power Resistance Band Set is a stellar value at under $20. The 5 band kit includes bands that offer 5 to 25 pounds of resistance, 2 handles, a door anchor, 2 ankle traps and a bag to store it all in. There are a ton of options out there, but the Fitness Power Resistance Band Set makes for a very inexpensive kit that can do it all for you.
While building up your strength and increasing your flexibility is important, finding a way to work on your swing in tight spaces can prove to be a bit more difficult during the cold winter months. The SKLZ Golf Flex Tempo Trainer can really help make the most of your time when you need to get working on your swing. The 40” version is a bit longer than a standard 5 iron, so it really can’t be used much indoors, at least not without a vaulted ceiling, but about 10 minutes a day with it should keep your swing in tip-top shape over the snowy season.
Now, if you are like me and really want to work your flexibility in the off season, the TangoFlex DVD system is one of the best out there. It combines flexibility training with coordination and strength exercises to get you the total package in less than an hour a day. Other mini sessions in the TangoFlex system include a 5 minute lower back stretch and pain relief routine, a 10 minute balance routine and a 15 minute core routine. TangoFlex is $27.95 for the 2 DVD set.
Friday, October 7, 2016
Budget Beater: Time Is Money, Don’t Waste It At The Lake
Is there anything cooler than spending 15 minutes down by the lake that you just launched your drive into? You find a Srixon, a Nike, a Taylormade and even a brand new Titleist. Sure, your ball is still MIA, but you have plenty of time, there’s nobody behind you. The search continues until the you notice the group behind you is no longer way back on the last hole and are currently looking very perturbed on the tee box behind you. You climb two clubs away from the edge of the water, drop your ball and rush your, now hurried, shot to the green, which you miss. This is something I see all too often on the course and something that is completely preventable. There’s three different ways to handle this situation and all of them can help you score better, but most of all, they will help you not waste your time on the course. As we’ve all been told for as long as I can remember, time is money, so if you are spending less time doing something unproductive for your game, you must be spending less money doing it also.
Let’s start with your drive going into the lake. If you know your shot is water bound, begin watching for where it crosses in. This is key since you will need to drop at the point of entry for most hazards. After the rest of the group hits, walk straight at the point you saw the ball go in and drop your bag approximately 2 clubs from that point. This way your bag shows you where you should be, rather than somewhere you wandered to while looking. Then, scan the edge of the water, any further than that, you won’t have a shot to the green anyways, so you are dropping at your bag. Go back to your bag, drop a ball and hit when it is your turn. This will allow you to keep playing on pace, and not rush the shot when the group behind you comes up. You can now continue to look for your ball while the others in your group hit their approach shots. This is the ideal way to play through this as it keeps your group on pace and keeps your momentum going.
Option number two is to walk directly up to the location that the ball went into the water, drop one, and hit it immediately and move along. Many players cite the golf gods on this one, but sometimes lost balls are just better off being lost. Whether it’s a head game or a defective ball, sometimes it is just better to walk away. Again, this keeps your game moving at normal pace. This keeps the group moving as quickly as possible, and unless you have a large wager on the match, the stroke penalty normally won’t kill your chances of scoring well. The added benefit is if you lose more than a few balls a round, this can cut 15-20 minutes off your round very quickly.
Finally, there’s the 6 hour round rule… If you are suffering through one of these gloriously horrible days, then by all means, bring along the ball retriever and have at that lake. Heck, make one of the rope-tow-basket jobbies for that round and dredge the lake for the poor course. If you are trapped on every shot, sometimes the distraction of having something to do will pass the time. Of course, I say this half in jest and half in truth, but honestly, unless you are playing a tournament and are one stroke down with one to play, there’s never going to be a reason to play a shot out of the pond. A drop is always the correct course of action for this, but if you are waiting to hit, see option number two above. Drop a new ball, hit your approach and then continue to search down the water line until your group has all finished their approach shots. You’ll find the time you save is not only going to help your next shot, but with the 30 minute faster round, you’re saving yourself some time with the family when the round is done – which is money in the bank.
Tuesday, October 4, 2016
Stroke Saver: Buying An Adjustable Driver Isn’t Going To Help Without Knowing This…
Adjustable drivers. They are all the rage right now. From slider weights to hosels that change the loft 3 degrees in any direction, driver heads aren’t as simple as they used to be. Actually, let me take that back. It’s not as simple as it was when metal woods hit the market back in the late 80’s and early 90’s. With the invention of so many technologies, shopping for drivers (and golf clubs in general) has taken on a crazy new form of trial and error with quite a chunk of change being spent on swing analysis and club fitting. In fact, it’s not abnormal to see someone spend $300 to find out which $400 driver is going to work the best for them. Even after all of that time and cash, the first thing that happens is that club doesn’t perform the way it did on the launch monitor and the tweaking begins. 99% of the time, this is due to one, grossly overlooked feature of clubs, the shaft.
Long ago, when woods were still wood, all of this custom weighting and CG movement was accomplished by removing the sole plate of the club, drilling a small hole and filling it with lead. Craftsmen could straighten a slice, create a more penetrating ball flight or even just make a head feel more substantial at the end of the shaft in moments. For quick fixes and testing, lead tape could be applied to club heads to get an idea of the effect and to customize the settings prior to creating the new head. Lofts were adjustable by sanding the face to the correct loft, then recreating the bulge and roll of the face. Different inserts gave golfers the feel they wanted in the club. You could even sand the head down completely and change the look of the club by changing the stain or paint that was applied to it. It was the ultimate custom club experience.
Fast forward a few years to when the metal wood came out. These were not solid clubs, so you couldn’t fill them like a wooden head. They had a dead feel and came in a few lofts since you couldn’t change them by hand. That was, until one fateful day when Taylor Made Golf introduced the first ‘real’ metal wood. The original Taylor Made driver featured a small port on the bottom of the club that allowed club makers the ability to customize the head, just like the old wood woods, but without having to do quite as much work. Many claim that the port on the bottom of the club was added so they could remove shavings and epoxy from the head, but I’ll give them the benefit of the doubt and say that it was for adjustability. As time went on, those ports went away and we were back to just using stock heads.
As more people moved towards these non-customizable clubs, club makers found a new way to customize the flight of the ball. By changing the characteristics of the shaft, club makers could change the ball flight very easily. If a person had trouble getting the ball in the air off the tee, the answer used to be for the club maker to increase the loft of the club and add more weight in the bottom of the head. With the new shafting options available, this now became finding a shaft with a lower kick point, or bend point. A lower bend point means the shaft will flex more towards the head and virtually ‘flick’ the ball higher into the air. The opposite is true if a player is hitting the ball too high. A shaft with a bend point closer to the grip end will provide less kick and keep the ball lower off the tee. The options of shaft fittings was endless. From steel to aluminum, titanium to graphite, there were shaft options to make a ball do just about everything under the sun in the air, and club makers were thrilled.
Moving on a step further, and to the point of this post, club technology has once again moved onward with the new adjustable hosel and weighting designs. It drives club makers crazy, since customization is now found in almost every club, but it makes manufacturers happy as they only need to produce one or two heads to cover just about every swing style on the planet. While this is technically great, the problem with this is that most shops are overlooking the shaft fit when they adjust the club head out. The force the ball downward by decreasing the loft and moving weight upward instead of having the higher bend point shaft installed in the club. They move weight around on the head and increase the loft to change to a higher flight pattern instead of trying a lower kick point shaft. In other words, they try and force players into a $500 off the shelf driver that really doesn’t fit their game as well as it could.
A custom fitting should start with the basics. If you measure out standard, that’s is fantastic, but that doesn’t mean your swing is standard at all. Golfers that swing “flatter” will tend to push the ball or hit draws – with the tendency to start hooking it. Players with a more upright swing will tend to slice the ball and hit pulls when they close the face off. The loft and weighting of the head will do almost nothing to help this situation, but the right shaft can. For someone that swings slower and slices, a lighter weight shaft with more whip can help them get the club into a better position and complete their swing in a way that will deliver straighter shots.
Shafts are often the most overlooked part of the fitting process today. With all the tweaks that are available in weighting and lofts, most store sales people and fitters often resort to selling off the rack shafting options instead of properly fitting your swing to the right shaft. Now, unless you’re looking to eek out every last yard from a club, you are almost going to do as well with a $30 generic driver as you will with a $500 ‘custom’ one, but that’s a debate for another day. For now, just remember, when you go get fitted for your new driver, if you are going to sink that much money into a fitting, make sure they test various shafts to check your launch angle with each one prior to tweaking everything else on the head. Before we had all this technology, the shaft was one of the most custom parts of a club and there’s no reason why they shouldn’t be still today.
Monday, October 3, 2016
Equipment Preview: GolfPad LINK Is Coming Soon
As many of you have read, I am a HUGE fan of the GolfPad App and Tag system. The free Android/iOS app is an all-inclusive GPS and stat tracker that delivers massive amounts of feedback about your game and real-life, on-course stats that will make you a better golfer (if you actually believe them!) The one frustration with the system, if you want to call it that, is the fact that it really can wreak havoc on your poor smartphone’s battery during a 4+ hour round. In fact, I’ve had to take to turning off my Moto360 watch and plugging my phone into a charger on my way to the course just to make sure I can make it all the way through the round. Normally I have no problems at all, but the idea of a box that would clip to me that would read my tags for me sounds not only brilliant, but also like a total battery saver.
Promoted on the GolfPad site some months ago, the GolfPad LINK is exactly what many people have been begging for in the system. While we can certainly pull out our phones on each shot, tag the shot and move along, the idea of being able to ‘scan’ the shot by just touching something to our belt or bag, certainly sounds appealing. I have to say, the belt is going to be a much better deal with this, especially for tracking those putts, but anyway you slice it, not draining the phone battery is a beautiful thing.
I haven’t gotten a chance to get my hands on this hot little number yet, but rest assured, if/when I do, I will be sure to let you know the difference in performance over just using a phone vs. using the LINK system. I’m also curious to see how the GPS works with the LINK system over just using the phone itself. For right now, I have way more questions than answers, but for GolfPad users, the LINK could be the best Christmas gift around this season… Oh, did I just say Christmas? For now, just check out the GolfPad Golf Tags and see how you can make your game better for less than the cost of a good lesson.
Equipment Deals: The Gear Up Recap
Over the past two weeks I’ve been showing you great products for use at home and the range to make your winter practice time more effective. To help you go back and find them, assuming you didn’t already get what you wanted, here is a full list of all the great items that I posted on the @Golfing4Less Twitter Page. Some of these devices will only set you back a few bucks while others may cost you several hundred. Remember, all of these have their own uses, but the biggest thing to remember is that you don’t have to spend a dime to putt in the living room and swing some irons outside. Just remember to keep loose during the winter months and play when you can. Enjoy the round up and let me know in the comments below if there’s any great ones that I missed!
Putting Practice:
Putt-A-Bout 3 Hole Putting Green: Practice your putting in any weather with the Putt-A-Bout Par 3 Putting Green! http://amzn.to/2ccRtZs
Take your putting to the next level with the Putter Wheel trainer... http://amzn.to/2crmbiZ
Chipping Practice:
Get your chipping dialed in with the Sklz Quickster Chipping Net http://amzn.to/2cMcdW5
Full Swing Practice:
See your club face impact points with LongShot Iron impact tape http://amzn.to/2d13VZD
Practice inside or out with these MassMall Practice Balls! http://amzn.to/2cASLt6
The BirdieBall is a limited flight golf trainer that flies up to 40 yards http://amzn.to/2d1t85Z
Practice your full swing at home with the Callaway Home Range! http://amzn.to/2crqx9O
Get the ultimate in swing feedback from the Voice Caddie SC-100 Launch Monitor http://amzn.to/2chBCr7
Get Your Game On:
The OptiShot 2 Simulator lets you play anytime you want - no matter what it's doing outside! http://amzn.to/2cu9Cju
For On The Course:
Don't waste a cash on balls that will soon be plugged in a fairway. Get refurb Pro V1s for less than half! http://amzn.to/2czLMnr
Get the GolfPad GolfTags for $99.99 with a 1 year premium membership included! http://amzn.to/2ccTC7H
Honorable Mention:
The Net Return Pro Series multi-sport net works indoors and pairs great with the Optishot2. http://amzn.to/2cuCXKJ
The FORB Academy Golf Practice Mat lets you practice like the pros without destroying the lawn http://amzn.to/2d1HhAd
Saturday, October 1, 2016
My 100th Post–Thank You For Following My Journey Back!
In December of last year, when my Dad asked me if I wanted to play a round of golf with him, I never dreamed that this would have been such a crazy, nutty year. From that first 85 at the end of last year to my much sharper low to mid 70’s scores I’ve posted throughout the summer, this season has been a wild ride. From a 15 handicap to start the season to my 4 that I am ending it at, my game has come back much sharper than I could have ever imagined. Playing rain soaked rounds and dealing with poor course conditions early in the year made way to sunny days and beautiful scenery. This year has been amazing so far, and as I gear up for the off season, I’m excited to see what 2017 will bring.
First up in 2017 will be officially joining a club in my area. I’ve been using TheGrint as my handicap tracker thus far, but I’ve heard of some people having issues getting registered for tournaments without a full GHIN number. By joining a local club, this will give me that number and allow me more access to regional and national tournament schedules. After that, the first major qualifying tournament that I plan on making a run at would be the USGA US Open Regionals in May of next year. This is if my handicap is able to be established at a 2 or less before then. If not, I will be participating in the Puetz Golf Winter Tour if that is an option for next season. Next up on the list is the USGA US Amateur Qualifier in early July and the WSGA Amateur Qualifier later in the month. This would be followed by the USGA US Mid-Amateur Qualifier in early August.
If I am lucky enough to make it past the qualifying rounds of any of the tournaments, I would be participating in the actual tournaments during the month of August. The WSGA State Amateur, USGA US Amateur and the WSGA Mid-Amateur were all held in August this year and will probably be scheduled for about the same time next year. If the schedule continues similarly to this year, the final tournament of the year would be the USGA US Mid-Amateur in September next year. I’m also going to participate in the club tournaments at the club I choose to join as long as they do not conflict with any of the other dates on the calendar as well.
Next season should be a busy one, so hopefully it will come together quickly for me and I will be competitive. I want to reach out to the amazing people at Wilson Golf, who, while they haven’t officially sponsored my run to tournament golf next year, they have certainly gone above and beyond what I ever expected in a company to help me find the gear I need to get to the next level. Also, a huge thank you to Golfsmith, World Wide Golf Shops and Amazon for helping me raise funds to keep my golf blog alive. It’s been an adventure through the first 100 posts and I can’t wait to see what the next 100 will bring!
