Sports & Fitness Golfers..

@Phil_22 you're doing pretty well if you're only playing once a month.

To hit <5 I really think you need to be playing/practising more than once a week.

Would suggest at least playing once and practice once.

I know for me to get to 2-4 I need to be able to play more than once a week for constancy.

I'm a reasonably big hitter of the ball, but extremely average chipping and putting (36putts a round I would be very happy)

 

Thanks mate yeah I don't disagree that I need to play / practice that often to consistently hit lower scores & get my handicap down.

Balancing work/family time and fitting in golf is hard to do!

Once this investment caper pays off for me I'll have time on my side!

Cheers,

Phil

 

Haha yeah I see myself playing a lot more golf in my later years - well hopefully not too far away.

Love daylight savings, I'm only 5-10mins away from my golf club and old man has a golf cart that garaged on course.

Able to get 9-18 holes in after work.

 

My 2c worth; (please take this as constructive criticism):

When golfers get to single figures; they need to play more than once per week to maintain that level (actually; it applies to everyone). At your current frequency of play; you won't get to 5 by Xmas.

Fantastic stat - this is better than the USPGA Tour average (60.67 fairways in reg).

What is your Greens in Reg average overall? The USPGA Tour average for greens in Reg is 65.06 - that's 2 out of 3. And these are the best players on Earth.

Golf Stats - PGA TOUR

This means that these guys are missing roughly 5 greens per round; yet their score averages are below par.

The analysis here is that these guys have incredible short games and are extremely good putters.

If you read this sentence again; the clue is already written in it - the guys who hit it further than you are not lower in their handicap - hitting it further has no impact on your score whatsoever...see Corey Pavin, Zac Johnson etc.

Sure; longer length is sometimes an advantage; but not the secret or the path to lower handicap.

The secret to lowering your score (at all levels) is your short game. On a handicap of 6, half your score is made from less than 100 metres from the hole.

I would say that any practice time you do should be at least 60% short game if you want to get to 5 or less.

Good to hear he /she can help you with the Fitting.

Two things I will say about drivers;
1. Anyone who is struggling for length - a softer flex shaft usually helps.
2. Also; a myth about hitting it longer is to hit it lower. This is not the case. Watch any really long hitter and you will see they launch it quite high into the air and have very long carry. If you are not naturally long then you need to consider a bit more loft to increase the launch angle and get the optimum carry.

So; don't fall into the trap of going for less loft in the pursuit of more length - as many do. From my experience; most golfers end up doing better (even lower handicap players) with a little more loft, and little more flex than they think they should have.

 

Couldn't agree more with @Bayview regarding the shortgame focus.

I remember one of my last games before hockey started back up, hit 14 greens in reg only made 1 birdie and shot 8 over.

If only I had a short game, unfortunately chipping and putting is what I enjoy the least. Fair chance is because it's the weakest part of my game.
Haha just writing this suggests if I practised more would be better and might enjoy it more

 

@Bayview thanks for the feedback i have taken it as constructive and i appreciate it.

I plan to play more golf over the summer months when daylight savings kicks in.

I average 6 -7 GIR, average 30 - 32 putts and my up & down sits around 50% - 60%

Yeah I agree about getting the ball up in the air for distance, those launch angles are important no doubt.

Thanks for your advice and input.

Cheers,

Phil

 

I'd suggest get a lesson - maybe two - on chipping and pitching for technique stuff, then you have a basis to be able to improve.

You dont need a lot of technique for putting - it's the most basic of the disciplines to get right in regards to technique - which I will go into shortly.....

But the real trick after that is to organise your practice time more efficiently.

With all practice; no more than 50% of your allotted time should be on technique practice - which you do first.

Then; you spend the remaining time on "creative" practice which is basically playing golf or playing as though in a round of golf with each shot you hit.

With putting; there are only two things which need to be adhered to;
1. Aim the putter on the correct line (sounds obvious, but from 30 years of teaching golf I can promise you that most people do not aim their putter correctly - I can show you this in another post).
2. Shoulders have to aimed square/parallel to the putter aim line (again sounds obvious but not done very well by most golfers). This is important because your shoulders set the path of the putter as it swings forward and back.

If you get either or both of thes two basics wrong, you then have to build in compensations to get the ball on line and it then becomes very difficult to be consistent. Once they are corrected, your putting stroke will automatically evolve and adjust and improve with very little effort.

After this; the real skill is in reading the green and judging distance, and this is all you should be focusing on when on the golf course.

I can give you more info in further posts

 

Would be interested in more about the putter head being fundamentaly misaligned, thanks BV

 

no worries.

My observation of all right handed golfers over 30 years of teaching is they subconsciously aim ALL shots to the right of their intended target line - including putting...and they dont realise they are doing it. They think they are aiming correctly, but unless they have been shown how to do it correctly they get it wrong.

Of course; the better players tend to aim much better - but even lower handicap players can get it wrong if they are not shown correctly, or are not vigilant with aiming.

If you are a player who has been shown how to aim using a spot on the ground then you will probably be on the right track...but if not then this post will be a massive mental shift.

With putting, this aimimg issue poses two problems;
1. All humans learn to adapt to this aiming to the right problem by pulling the ball back to the left through their stroke. It is automatic, and will never be corrected until the aim is corrected, and can work with varying degrees of success over longer putts, and varying time frames..sometimes not too bad; other times horrible etc.

2. When golfers get much closer to the hole - say; 1 metre or less - it is much easier to aim your putter accurately at the correct line due to the shorter distance, but the putting stroke has been evolved to suit a longer distance where "pulling" a putt can work ok....but on the shorter putts this doesn't work and often the putt misses to the left.

And; another compensation can then sneak in where the golfer then pushes the ball back to the right in a desperate move - all subconscious of course, and the result is very inconsistent success with shorter putts at least.

So; how do you fix it? First step is to acknowledge that your aim is probably wrong, and fix it by doing a simple test.

Next; make a simple cardboard arrow approx 20cm long and 5-10cm wide with a point at one end and a perfectly 90 degree straight edge at the other, then draw a line down the dead centre in texta from the pointed end to the centre of the perfectly square edge at the other end.

Next; pick a target around 4 to 5 metres from where you are standing and place your putter head on the ground and aim it at the target like you are going to hit a putt directly at the target - using your eyesight to do the aiming (no ball in this experiment).

Next, have a friend place the arrow against the putter face. Then; stand back and see where the arrow is pointing. Most golfers will see that their arrow is aiming to the right of the target to some degree..this is quite normal.

Now the solution; you need to start picking a spot on the ground just ahead of the ball - no more than 30cm from the ball - and on your intended line, and aim the putter at the spot. Do not look at the target while you are doing this. Once you are happy that the putter is aimed at this spot then you can look at the target.

Another method is to draw a line on the ball and aim the line at the spot, then aim the putter to the line on the ball. Many Tour players do either or both.

Initially you will probably feel as though you are aiming to the left of the target - this is normal and you will adjust.

The worse the golfer has been aiming the more dramatic this optical illusion tends to seem.

Of course; none of this will do any good if the shoulders are misaligned to the putter...

Using the same friend; have him/her place a golf club shaft along the front of your shoulder line after you have addressed the ball for your putt....they should be parallel to the putter line and the shaft will indixate this.

If they are not; you need to adjust the line until the line is parallel to the putter line.

In my own case I found a normal grip made my shouldeds "open" to the left, which results in pulled putts. I had to reverse my hands so the left hand was below the right hand and this automatically realigned my shoulders square or parallel to the putter...problem solved.

 

Awesome.

I have been picking a spot a foot ahead, e.g. tiny scuff or notceable grass blade. But when I look up to hole for context, I cannot refocus on the near spot, and feel in no means land between trying to 'hit the hole' and hit the near target.

But you suggest take focus entirely off near target once putter lined up.....suppose will have to try that. But for 3 footers find if I can focus on that near mark and brush the ball over that it's in 95% of the time. Just the focusing is hard.

 

Once you have picked that spot and aimed at it; the aiming is set and you don't need to look back at it again after you have looked at the hole for context (distance and speed).

All you need to do after the final look at the hole is to remember it in your "mind's eye" and focus on it for speed while you hit the ball....the final thought should be 100% speed, and if you can have complete trust in line and aim already being established; no other thought than speed is required - even from 3 feet.

From my experience; where folks go wrong from that last look at the hole is they revert their focus back on to line, or aim, or putting stroke mechanics....doesn't work.

Incidentally; the correct speed is for the ball to roll 12 to 15 inches past the hole if it misses and no more - if it is going further past than that it has been hit too hard.

Watch the very best putters on the PGA Tour and you will see that their speed is such that the ball is starting to "die" into the hole..they do not ram it at the cup like some folks think - that is a myth.

If the putt hits the hole with a "ram" appearance you know they have got the speed wrong - which they sometimes do.

Same as a 20 footer; the 3 footer has to have the right speed even though it is a shorter putt - if it has break, and you have assessed say; 2 inches outside the cup based on a dieing putt, you need to make sure that you get that pace; otherwise the putt will miss.

So; even from 3 feet; no focus on stroke mechanics, line or aim....focus on the correct speed and trust the aim and line...that's all you can do.

Another often forgotten aspect of better putting is looking at the putt from angles other than behind the ball to the hole...If you play on very fast and/or undulating greens the read of the putt can be critical.

On putts of longer than say; 3 metres - I recommend doing this - especially for very low handicappers where trimming shots off the score is mostly in short game....

The slope near the hole can be very different to the slope under the ball and your feet, so try and incorporate into your putting routine a quick walk to the far side of the hole and look at the slope around the hole, and as you walk back to the ball take note of any uphill or downhill slope as well.

This one extra thing can improve your putting by easily 10% with no practice.

 

How do I find a good coach in Sydney. Preferably south west Sydney

 

I live in Melb and don't know a single Teaching Pro from Sydney, sorry.

But; every (or most) Golf Clubs, Golf Courses and Driving Ranges in your area will have a Teaching Pro...

Call them up and see what they have on offer for lessons. You won't know what they are like until you meet and have a lesson with one; and sometimes it may take a few different Teachers to find one that gells with you and you are completely comfortable with.

 

I went to school with the Macquarie Links Pro (Ingleburn) Anthony Storich and know for a fact he is very capable. I would have no hesitation in using him.

 

So... what did we make of Jason Day's 2nd shot on 18 in Round 3..... Brain Snap or should he of backed himself?

Hindsight says he should of chipped it sideways...

 

havent seen it yet.

 

PGA Championship 2017: Jason Day's no-good, very wild adventure at the 18th hole - Golf Digest

 

watching it now..looks like he has a ton of room to the right of the green, so I guess he thinks he can hook it around into that area and maybe get it up and down.

With another round to go; he shoulda chipped it out and played for a bogey IMHO.

His back foot slipped in the downswing; which caused him to hit it fat and thus higher than planned.

 

Anyone help with this Golf School, any good??? 3 Day School in Melb.
Thinking of this for partner, birthday present.

I guess Bayview's not around.. ??

Schools

 

OK, so bayview not around, shame.

We are off to Augusta golf course today, home of the Masters International Golf tournament, partner is a golf nut.
Augusta National Golf Club - Wikipedia

Here are some stats.

Membership is just under $100,000.

Lunch can cost as much as $3000

1 Bottle of wine $1000 each

Warren Buffet and Bill Gates are both members, of course they would be

Looks like partner will need to be happy with his golf membership in Perth