I too have enjoyed this thread! We do all that we do (and we do more than most, I think) to get that frikkin ball into the frikkin hole in numbers that at least resemble our potential!
I played with an up and coming young collegiate player today. He four putted the 4th green (horse shoeing consecutive putts!) I thought he was going to throw up! I recognized the “look” The look that says that I am playing for people other than myself (and 2 other strangers at that.) His rep was on the line…he was probably thinking “these guys are probably thinking that I am such a hack etc.” Well the wheels came off on the next hole and he was fit to be tied. So I sidled up to him coach-like and communicated the following (all of it based on personal experience.)
NEVER be surprised by ANYTHING that happens on a golf course…it suggests that you do not get it
Sure way to fail at anything is to make your highest motive quest ACCEPTANCE. You gotta have a lot of I don’t give a crap about what others think in order to be good
You take what you can get, or if you prefer, what the course gives you. That never precludes your level best effort
The course is your daily opponent
If you do not grind on a ten foot putt for bogey, you have not yet learned that a stroke is a stroke is a stroke.
Never allow one round to define what caliber of player you can be. By extention 10 individual rounds STILL cannot define what caliber of player you can be.
Sink your heart and soul into PREPARATION. When you tee it up determine to do the following:
Play each hole with a plan
Pick a specific target
Observe ALL rules and etiquette
Keep you grooves and ball clean
Shake your playing partner’s hands (with hat removed)
Add ‘em up
You gotta be able to say to paraphrase Arry Vardon “That sir, was my best for the day“ …or something to that effect
If anything is worth doing it is worth doing poorly, right?
I was able to convey all of this because as is often the case it took us 5 hours to get around!
We hit the range afterward and I introduced to him to the flying wedges! Ah to be a youngster again!
I too have enjoyed this thread! We do all that we do (and we do more than most, I think) to get that frikkin ball into the frikkin hole in numbers that at least resemble our potential!
I played with an up and coming young collegiate player today. He four putted the 4th green (horse shoeing consecutive putts!) I thought he was going to throw up! I recognized the “look” The look that says that I am playing for people other than myself (and 2 other strangers at that.) His rep was on the line…he was probably thinking “these guys are probably thinking that I am such a hack etc.” Well the wheels came off on the next hole and he was fit to be tied. So I sidled up to him coach-like and communicated the following (all of it based on personal experience.)
NEVER be surprised by ANYTHING that happens on a golf course…it suggests that you do not get it
Sure way to fail at anything is to make your highest motive quest ACCEPTANCE. You gotta have a lot of I don’t give a crap about what others think in order to be good
You take what you can get, or if you prefer, what the course gives you. That never precludes your level best effort
The course is your daily opponent
If you do not grind on a ten foot putt for bogey, you have not yet learned that a stroke is a stroke is a stroke.
Never allow one round to define what caliber of player you can be. By extention 10 individual rounds STILL cannot define what caliber of player you can be.
Sink your heart and soul into PREPARATION. When you tee it up determine to do the following:
Play each hole with a plan
Pick a specific target
Observe ALL rules and etiquette
Keep you grooves and ball clean
Shake your playing partner’s hands (with hat removed)
Add ‘em up
You gotta be able to say to paraphrase Arry Vardon “That sir, was my best for the day“ …or something to that effect
If anything is worth doing it is worth doing poorly, right?
I was able to convey all of this because as is often the case it took us 5 hours to get around!
We hit the range afterward and I introduced to him to the flying wedges! Ah to be a youngster again!
You have some good points, Okie, but as for what this youngster needs to focus on during the round, cleaning his clubs may or may not need to be on the list.
When it comes to learning how to score and how to play this game, for the most part, you have to figure it out for yourself. Playing holes with a plan and picking specific targets sounds like really good advice. But if it were that simple, wouldn't everyone be able to play to their potential?
Cleaning the clubs was more tongue in cheek, shouda used a smiley on that one! I mentioned that in the context of his routine. Worked with a sport psychologist some years ago...one of the non conventional recommendations was a "post-shot" routine built around the concept of "acceptance." My post-shot ritual if you will was making sure that the sword went back into the sheath spotless! Another one was pulling on the velcro to take the glove off. The idea being that you have officially moved onto to the next shot.
I am convinced (without hard numbers) that...98% of ALL golfers do not target very well. Primary reason being that they do not actually pick a specific target. Case in point, this kid was teeing em high and cutting loose on everything! By his own admission his target was 325 anywhere on the fairway! If you do not have a very specific target line what are the chances you have a workable plane line? I played a lot of golf in the brain dead hit and hope brigade...it is not the best approach.
You are right that everyone has to figure out how to score themselves. To me that means applying what those with experience suggest...and seeing what works for you. I still use Johnny Millers green lite, red lite dealy
Golf is heavy on process (as is life) Preparation, preparation! Routines are important...even if it means making sure the grooves are usable
Next time you are out playing take a look at all the filthy clubs! Competing has a lot to do with finding every advantage. Another example: I am amazed at how many people simply tee the ball where everyone else has as opposed to using the latitude the rules allow, or they face the way the tee markers are situated, as if they were direction aides. There are a lot of tricks to the trade, as it were. When you play with a kid that flies it 300 yards and has zero fear...you despair when the brain is dormant!
Attention to mind numbing detail is simple, but never easy. A key in daily living is to find the meaning in the menial tasks we perform. You spend years searching out what works...then reality sets in! It is kinda like when you were a teen lapping up the "you can do anything you set your mind to" speeches. Options demand a decision. It is kinda like people trying the latest fad diet. Do you honestly think that people do not know how to lose fat? If they keep enough options pending they have very cleverly abdicated their responsibility to choose. Although a non-choice is a choice, right? The extension to golf is that you gotta make some decisions. How often have you heard the advice to give equal time, if not more, to the short game? How many people you know that know that (even intuitively) and REFUSE to comply. Success is compliance with what IS ?
Why is Tiger so good? In the context of my statements above he has simply made up his mind! Oversimplistic? Perhaps, but that to me is what is at the heart of focus...a sovereign will that is set like flint...unwavering...immovable.
This kid will probably not heed my advice, but that is just because of the cash he had to fork over!
Another 80 this morning.....I blow.....36 putts...didn't hit it solid....yuk.....missed 4 birdie putts and 2 par putts inside 6 feet. Hit it great on the range before and after the round though. Made everything after the round on the putting green. Oh well, my lowball team won 9 skins. The only good thing was today I made some money.
And that you got to play golf. We got 6 more inches of snow yesterday, happy Spring!
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"In my experience, if you stay with the essentials you WILL build a repeatable swing undoubtedly. If you can master the Imperatives you have a champion" (Vikram).
The reason you can't sustain the lag is because you are so eager to make the club move fast (a reaction to the intent of "hitting it far"). So on a full shot you throw it away too early, which doesn't happen for your short chip. (bts)
Shake your playing partner’s hands (with hat removed)
What if you have horrible hat head or a surprisingly receded hairline?
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"In my experience, if you stay with the essentials you WILL build a repeatable swing undoubtedly. If you can master the Imperatives you have a champion" (Vikram).
The reason you can't sustain the lag is because you are so eager to make the club move fast (a reaction to the intent of "hitting it far"). So on a full shot you throw it away too early, which doesn't happen for your short chip. (bts)
Another 80 this morning.....I blow.....36 putts...didn't hit it solid....yuk.....missed 4 birdie putts and 2 par putts inside 6 feet. Hit it great on the range before and after the round though. Made everything after the round on the putting green. Oh well, my lowball team won 9 skins. The only good thing was today I made some money.
How close are you chipping/pitching it when you miss the green?
Whatever folks think of Pelz from a technique standpoint, the stats are worth paying attention to. Simply put, if you want to score, chipping better is the fastest way to do it - get inside that 3-6 foot circle with your chips.
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"Support the On Plane Swinging Force in Balance"
"we have no friends, we have no enemies, we have only teachers"
Simplicity buffs, see 5-0, 1-L, 2-0 A and B 10-2-B, 4-D, 6B-1D, 6-B-3-0-1, 6-C-1, 6-E-2
How close are you chipping/pitching it when you miss the green?
Whatever folks think of Pelz from a technique standpoint, the stats are worth paying attention to. Simply put, if you want to score, chipping better is the fastest way to do it - get inside that 3-6 foot circle with your chips.
I hit 10 greens and every chip I had on missed greens was within 5 feet but 1. I really felt good with the wedges and chipped it close all day. The funny thing is, the putter wasn't that bad, I burned a lot of edges and lipped out a bunch....as stated earlier in this thread......"I rolled it well, I just didn't make as many as I wanted". It was really a weird day. I did a good job course management wise.
Funny thing is...I have a lot of these types of days. Tommorrow I may hit 3 greens, have 24 putts and still shoot 80. It's day to day, but what isn't...right?
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