Filed under: Advice, General | Tags: beginner golf, beginning golfer, golf beginner, golf for beginners, golf instruction, golf slice, golf swing, learn golf, learn play golf, learning golf
That seems so obvious that you must wonder what I am going to talk about. We play golf in the summer and ski in the winter, what else do we need to know? I have always looked at how I learned to ski as being quite similar to how I learned to play golf. When I started writing for beginning golfers I didn’t really think about how different the experiences were.
The point here is that like so many people I learned each sport on my own. I read how to books and articles. I played, and thought my way through what I seemed to be learning. I listened to people who were better than me and again tried to learn. After a lot of time and fun, I realized that I had become better. So what is the point?
Well, let’s start with my first article: Why Not The Pro? In both sports I chose not to bother with much or any professional teaching. I participated and enjoyed my time, probably much more than I would have standing in a beginners class. Then I chose my equipment to fit my budget and not to impress anyone with the latest and greatest fancy name. Wow! I saved some money there!
After several years I became an expert skier, yes black diamond trails, and a competent recreational golfer. I was comfortable with both choices and decided to share the golf experiences. I felt I could shorten the learning curve for golf beginners.
The difference is I never regretted the skiing choice, but I do regret some of the golfing choices. Skiing is a terrifying sport for those who have never tried it. You go flying down mountains with trees and rocks whizzing by. Golf is quiet and reserved in comparison. Skiing is risky and golf is sedate. Very few people ever broke a leg swinging a golf club, Tiger is the exception. Yes, but skiing is simple to learn and golf is not.
Once you can turn to the left, turn to the right, stand up and sit down you are ready to ski. Speed and difficulty are learned skills that come in time. In golf every club is different and every shot is too. You can learn to putt and never hit the driver well. The best person from the tee and fairway may never learn how to play bunkers. The short game is a skill set in itself. Golf is much more like baseball than it is skiing.
I still don’t regret not taking professional lessons. Many if not most amateur golfers will make the same decision. Time, money and ego will all drive this decision. Still, how do we learn to master this complex and difficult game?
The reality is that we can’t without help. We are going to have to spend some money and some time learning this game or we will never be satisfied with our performance. Every time we play with our friends we will have to face this. Every time we hit another drive out of bounds we will face our short comings again. Let’s not even think about taking three to get out of a bunker or taking four to get down from just off the green.
This is my biggest golfing regret, that I didn’t take advantage of effective training aides to accelerate my learning curve. Accept this personal commitment. I am going to spend some time and money with training aides, books and videos. I am going to spend some time and money learning to use additional clubs like hybrid irons, and various short wedges. I am going to spend some time reading, watching, listening and learning or I will never get better.
Please take the time to leave a comment about this post in the space provided below. To review my thoughts, comments and advice for beginning golfers, please continue to review the rest of my blog. If you would like to see suggestions for training aides, videos, books, and clubs please visit my web page. Fix-My-Slice.com
Filed under: Advice, General | Tags: beginner golf, beginning golfer, golf beginner, golf for beginners, golf instruction, golf slice, golf swing, learn golf, learn play golf, learning golf
How To Break 100
The Mental Part Of The Game
Advice For the Golf Beginner
If Tiger, Phil, or any other pro makes an 8 (a snowman) on any hole, that is terrible. Your average score on a par 5 is 7 or more right now. For a golf beginner an 8 is really no big deal. 10 is the score you should avoid. The difference is a pro is trying to break 70 and you are trying to break 100. Don’t let par, Tiger, or your buddy set your goals.
To break 70 on a par 72 course Tiger needs 3 birdies and 15 pars. He plans his rounds thinking about which holes he can birdie. Do you plan your rounds thinking about what score on each hole is reasonable and achievable for you?
To score 99 on a par 72 course you must average 5½ shots on every hole. Somebody is asking themselves: “How do I score ½ of a stroke on any hole?” Obviously you don’t! On the first par 4 you score a 5 and on the next par 4 you score a 6. The average is 5½.
On the first par 5 you score a 6 and on the next part 5 you score a 7. On the first par 3 you score a 4 and on the next par 3 you score a 5. The average of all that is 5½. (6+7+4+5=22 and 22/4=5½)
To break 100 you must average bogey and ½ stokes per hole. To break 90 you must average bogey. If you don’t believe me, do the math. Now you understand the math, but what is the plan?
First, improve your skills. Don’t bother setting goals in a skill based activity unless you intend to improve. A goal doesn’t make putts or hit straight drives.
Second, set your next goal within sight of your present skill level. If your average score is 120 then aim at double bogey per hole (108). As you practice and improve one or two parts of your game you will find those 12 strokes. You can’t get to 90 or 100 strokes until you get past 110.
Third, ask yourself what is par really worth? Par is an estimate of what a scratch golfer should score on a hole or total for the entire course. Tiger’s par is really 68 or less and mine is around 90. If your par is around double bogey then add two strokes to the listed par for a hole. Now you have a reasonable target for your own performance.
Finally, what happens when you do score a snowman? There is no punishment beyond personal disappointment. Tiger makes bogey sometimes, he just needs to shoot one more birdie to make his goal. You need to score more bogeys and fewer double bogeys on the remaining holes.
At this point in time you probably struggle more on par 5’s than anywhere else. That is normal! To reach a par 5 requires 3 accurate shots in a row. Can you really do that right now? To reach a par 3 requires 1 accurate shot. You will probably loose strokes on par 5’s and make them up on short par 4’s and par 3’s. That is part of your plan. Remember pros love par 5’s but they kill us.
Learn to play golf with joy. You may never hit a drive 300 yards, but you can measure your own progress. Set reasonable goals and then practice to improve your skills. Measure your game against your own growing skills not what you see professionals do on Sunday. Remember you aren’t just an amateur, you are a beginner. Relax and enjoy every round.
For more information please see my web site. Please feel free to leave comments in the space provided below.
Filed under: Advice, Swing Thoughts | Tags: beginner golf, beginning golfer, golf beginner, golf for beginners, golf instruction, golf slice, golf swing, learn golf, learn play golf, learning golf
Alignment In The Golf Swing
Advice For The Golf Beginner
Did you ever try to drive a nail into a board? On the first swing you missed the nail and left a dent in the board. On the next swing you hit the edge of the nail, bent the nail, and left another mark on the board. Now you can claw the nail out and start again. You can also listen to your spouse make jokes and derisive remarks. We don’t hit a nail, a baseball or a golf ball. We swing a hammer, a bat or a golf club. Maybe we should learn how to swing and not how to hit.
I want to talk about the very beginning of a golf swing, the alignment You actually have to align two different things. You must align the initial path of the golf ball with some distant target that will allow the ball to curve into the fairway or onto the green and you must align your feet, body, and club with the initial path of the ball.
Almost every good golfer has recognized that every golf shot has some curve in it. The trick is to decide how much curve and in which direction. Once you know the answer, you pick a target line that allows the ball to move towards your real goal, the green.
Let’s say you are a right handed beginning golfer, so your shots nearly always move from your left to your right. Pick a distant target 10 yards or more off the left side of the fairway. The target can be anything you can see like a tree, trap, pond, or building. You intend to hit the ball directly at your target and allow your slice to move the ball back into a playable position.
That was easy, now for the hard part, your body. Many teaching methods involve placing several clubs on the ground to show the initial target line, a parallel line for your toes to touch and a perpendicular line for the ball to sit on. Practice this learning to feel comfortable with your body in this stance and learning to be comfortable with what your eyes see when you look down at the ball.
This is very helpful for a training aide, but you can’t put clubs down like this on the course. I am not sure, but I doubt that the greens keeper would like you to draw these lines with a stick into the tee box. How are you supposed to get back into this alignment on the course?
Remember the ball is sitting there waiting to be hit and all we do is swing the club. Also please remember what Tina Michelson among others has said: “You swing down to make the ball go up”.
Let’s talk about irons only for now. We swing down on the ball which allows the club to trap/compress the ball against the ground and allows the club’s loft to push the ball into the air. The club will continue forward making a small shallow divot in the ground. Since the lowest point of your swing is almost directly under your nose, assume your stance and look straight down. The ball must be behind this point, back of center. How much depends on the club, so we will get to that in a moment.
The face of the club must be square to the target line. That way the ball will start by flying at the target until it curves.
Now pick your club. Take your grip with your top hand (left) and place the club behind the ball with the club face square to the target. Lean the club shaft forward until the front edge of the club face is touching the ground. Then lean the club shat towards you until the entire front edge of the club is on the ground.
It is this edge that cuts into the ground to make a divot. If this leading or bottom edge does not reach the ground there will be no divot. If the leading edge is not flat on the ground along the entire club face, then the club’s toe or heel will be off the ground. This will cause your divot to be deeper on one side than the other. This may cause the club to turn in your hand, missed shots, or weak shots.
I like to feel that the sole of the club is lying flat on the ground from side to side and from front to back.
Place your lower hand (right) on the club and take your grip. The club shaft is leaning toward the target and the grip with your hands is in front of the ball. Without moving the club or your hands take a stance that is comfortable.
You should be in a good position to swing the club into the back of the ball. This happened because your left hand was always on the golf club and because you set the golf club in the proper position behind the golf ball facing the target line. Once you placed the club properly with your hand still on the grip, you body had nowhere else to go but into its proper place.
Notice this isn’t about standing in just the right place and then placing the club down. The club hits the ball, so the club plus your grip tells you where to stand.
In general you may use this same method to align yourself with hybrid irons, fairway woods, and the driver. The only difference is that the driver is hit off a tee on the up swing. The ball is placed slightly in front of dead center.
For more advice, swing aides, books , and videos please see my web site.
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