Month: October 2012

Categories
Golf Tips

Don’t Manage Your Round Like a Pro!

By Shooting 90

Golf is a challenging sport. There are many, many body movements that make up your swing. Not correctly executing any one of these movements can have disastrous results. Watch the pros this weekend. Almost all of them will execute at least one swing incorrectly resulting in a poor shot.

One area you less seldom see a pro make a mistake in is course management. Course management is playing your way around the course by best utilizing the strengths of your game. It is rare to see a professional golfer hit a shot out of trouble that does not put them in a better position. We amateurs do it quite more often. By using better course management, high handicap golfers will be able to shave strokes off their round. These are valuable strokes on the way to shooting 90.

“Your name may be Rory, Phil or even Tiger, but you’re not them.”

I enjoy watching professional golf on TV. The pros’ level of play is both amazing and inspiring. Some of the shots they pull off to recovery from bad spots are jaw-dropping. Phil Mickelson’s second shot off the pine straw on the 13th hole of the 2010 Masters final round was incredible. As was Bill Haas’ third shot on the second sudden-death playoff hole of the Tour Championship on his way to winning the 2011 FexExCup Playoffs. I only wish they came with the warning “These are professionals – Do not try this on your home course”.

I’m not blaming professionals for my ill-advised shots. Sometimes we trick ourselves into believing we can pull off shots we do not possess the skills for. We try to pull off the improbable shot and leave ourselves in the same or worse situation.

High handicap golfers need to build the discipline to take an unplayable lie and salvage the hole the best we can. You should not attempt a shot unless you are 80% confident you can pull it off. By failing to pull off the improbable shot, we put ourselves in position to have a blowup hole. It is difficult to recover your round after a triple bogey or worst.

“Make Going for Par 5’s in Two a Rare Occurrence.”

I’m not saying never go for a par 5 in two. Sometimes you boom the perfect drive and have the perfect lie in the fairway on a par 5 with an accessible green. The problem is that the majority of the time, the risk of going for it in two is greater than the reward. The best you can expect when missing the green is a short yardage chip off the fairway. You have an equal chance of being in a bunker, green-side rough or worse yet a hazard.

You are better off to layup to a yardage that you are comfortable with. My comfortable yardage for a third shot on a par 5 is 100 yards. Yours may be different. 100 yards leaves me with a full wedge to the pin. This shot actually gives me a better chance of a realistic birdie putt than a shot from a green-side bunker or rough does.

“Play the Shot You Brought to the Course.”

We all have a ball flight that is natural to the skill level we are at and where our game currently stands. It may be a slight draw, fade or even relatively straight. When warming up on the range or on the first hole or two, you may find your ball flight path is noticeably different. Our natural urge is to fix it but neither the warmup period or the course is the correct time or place. Our swing and ball flight path are defined by practicing and committing our muscles to memory. Making changes on the course will only fill our head with swing thoughts leading to bad shots and high scores.

What usually happens to me when trying to change my swing on the course is my first correction isn’t enough. I end up over-correcting on my next shot which usually has major consequences.

The next time you find yourself with a slightly different ball path out on the course, manage your game around it instead of trying to change it. Leave the work on your swing to your practice time on the range.

We need to manage our way around the course differently than the pros. There are shots we cannot make, par 5’s we cannot easily reach in two, and swing corrections we cannot make on the course. Match your course management to your game and shave strokes off your score.

Categories
Putting

Reading Putts

By Shooting 90

While correctly judging the speed of your putts is the most important factor in avoiding three putts, correctly determining the break of your putts is crucial to making more putts. Scratch and low handicap golfers rely on making putts to score low. High handicap golfers are too inconsistent to score low, but making putts can offset other miscues and help in shooting 90. Strokes with your putter make up a bigger part of your score than any other club. Knowing how to judge the break of your putts is necessary for sinking more putts.

The first key to making more putts is to know the speed of the greens. Visit the practice green before your round. Hopefully it is a similar speed to the course greens. Take a couple balls and putt from 5, 10 and 15 feet. Finally putt to a few different  spots on the edge of the fringe. Putting to the fringe is a great way to confirm you have a good idea of the speed of the green.

It is also important to know the overall terrain of the golf course. If there are mountains nearby, every green will most likely slope away from them. Likewise, the greens will most likely slope towards the lowest point in the area. The greens on most courses will slope down from the back to the front. As you walk up to each green on the course, use this knowledge to examine your upcoming putt. Based on where your ball is sitting on the green, determine if your putt will be uphill or downhill and which general direction it will break.

When on the green, you will want to look at your putt from multiple views. The first thing you need to verify if your ball is above or below the hole. The easiest way to do this is to look at both your ball and the hole from a side view. Knowing whether your putt is uphill or downhill is important for both judging the speed and break. The best view to read the break of a putt is from below the hole. So for an uphill putt, you should view the putt from behind the ball looking up to the hole. Conversely, for a downhill putt, view the putt from behind the hole looking up to the ball. If you have the time, look at the putt from above the hole. Having multiple looks at your putt will give you more information and will help your decision making. Crouch down and be as low to the green as possible when viewing your putts.

When lining up your putts, you are visualizing the path your ball will take going in the hole. The curve(s) of this path is determined by many factors including whether the putt is uphill or downhill, the slope of the green and the speed of the green.

The ball will break more or less depending on how fast it is going. A slower moving ball will break more than a faster moving ball. This is because gravity has a greater affect on an object the slower it goes.

It is important to recognize circumstances where your ball will be travelling more slowly and taking more break such as:

Downhill Putts – You hit your ball more slowly on a downhill putt as it needs less speed to make it to the hole.

Fast Greens – The ball needs less speed to reach the hole on a fast green.

When Approaching the Hole – As your ball approaches the hole, it loses speed thus being affected more by the slope of the green. Conversely, your ball will take less break after it is first hit.

Probably the hardest part of a putt with a lot of break is getting the ball rolling on your visualized path with the right speed to keep it on the path. This is where a lot of the “feel” you here about in putting comes into play. Knowing the right direction and speed for a putt to get it on your visualized path largely comes down to practice and experience. One tip is to putt “around the clock” during a practice session on the practice putting green. Find a hole on a slope and putt balls from 12 o’clock all the way around back to 12 o’clock. This repetition will help you hole more putts from these same positions during play.

Putting is the key for both the professional and high handicap golfer working on shooting 90. Practice reading and making putts with break and you will find yourself sinking more on the course.

Categories
Golf Equipment

A Golf GPS System Will Improve Your Game

By Shooting 90

I’m a firm believer in every amateur golfer owning a golf GPS system. Depending on the model, a golf GPS system can provide the distance to the front, center and back of the green along with the distance to carry hazards and various layup distances. Some provide a visual overview of the hole allowing you to drag a target to show the distance remaining to the center of the green from any spot on the hole. Many will even provide distance of your last shot, keep your score and track your stats. The model you decide to buy will largely come down to personal preference and budget.

The biggest function of a golf GPS system is to assist you in hitting more greens in regulation. Many people say high handicap golfers should concentrate on hitting the middle of the green. I do not believe you should use the exact yardage to the middle of the green. I feel it is more beneficial to look at the distance as a range from the front to the back of the green. I find it easier and faster choosing the right club when looking at a range of 130 to 160 yards instead of a single yardage of 145 yards, especially after factoring in elevation, wind and hazards surrounding the green. Looking at a range helps you look at multiple clubs to start and then narrow it down to the correct one after evaluating all the factors.

A golf GPS system can also help high handicap golfers correctly play par 5’s. Many golfers do not play par 5’s as effectively as they could. A lot of amateur golfers do not have the distance to reach a par 5 in two shots. They’ll bomb their driver off the tee and then hit a fairway metal as far as they can. This often leaves them with 30 to 50 yards left for their third shot which is arguably the most difficult shot in golf. The better approach is to layup with your second shot and leave a full wedge shot to the green. A full wedge shot for many golfers is around 100 yards. To layup for a 100 yard third shot, simply subtract 100 yards from the distance to the center of the green on your second shot. This gives you a shorter, more accurate second shot and a full swing wedge shot for your third shot. Although your third shot will be longer, doing this will give you a better chance of hitting the green in regulation.

One thing I do not use my golf GPS system for is measuring the distance of my last shot, keeping score or tracking my stats. I like to concentrate on my most important shot, my next one, when I am on the course. Trying to do too much with my GPS quickly becomes a distraction and takes me away from my game.

Using a golf GPS system is one of the cheapest and quickest ways to immediately improve your game. Check out golf GPS systems for every budget in our equipment section!