Welcome to our new web site!

To give our readers a chance to experience all that our new website has to offer, we have made all content freely avaiable, through October 1, 2018.

During this time, print and digital subscribers will not need to log in to view our stories or e-editions.

GOLF DOCTOR

When your game goes south, here is my seven-rules revamp

Posted

A lot of you may be currently struggling with your golf game. Maybe you’ve had several rounds where you scored miserably and were thinking “what’s wrong with me?” It’s healthy to be upset for not living up to your self-styled personal standard of golf mastery; but just don’t take it to an extreme. So here are my Seven Quick Rules for Revamping Your Golf Game.

            Rule One is identifying your “growth opportunities.” Simply look at your whole game, honestly and critically, to find your weak spots, your strengths and weaknesses. Go to work on specifically what is really hurting you. Is it your driving? Your approaches? Your short game? Your nerves? Your focus? You won’t lose your strengths permanently. Work on the weak areas.

            My Rule Two is to go out and play a few practice rounds solo by playing a personal three ball “scramble.” In other words, hit three shots from the same place and note which one is the best – or acceptable. If it’s pretty good, then you have the shot. If none of the three are any good, you don’t yet have that shot and you need to try something different or different club.

            Rule Three came from a former baseball player golfing friend of my mine who reminded me that when MLB ball clubs go into spring training in February they always go “back to basics.” Our golf basics include grip, stance, posture, ball position, swing tempo, alignment and balance. They also involve ball flight, spin rate, trajectory, contact, club speed and acceleration. Check that you’re repeating a fundamentally solid swing and then look at the other basics, like chipping, bunker shots and lag putting. Paying close attention to fundamentals of your game will pay off.

            Rule Four – Duh - is taking a lesson. Have a teaching pro look at your swing and your putting, and give you some feedback and some professional advice. Ask for two or three keys you can work on and tighten up your swing and scoring. Teaching legend Butch Harmon says that “feel and real are never the same,” meaning that what you think you’re doing with your swing, and what you’re actually doing can be a lot different. It’s not true what comedian Phyllis Diller once said: “The reason the pro tells you to keep your head down is so you can’t see him laughing.”

            Next, consider updating your equipment (Rule Five). Take a look at what you’re playing and ask yourself if your handicapping yourself by not playing with the latest and best golf clubs. If you can afford to play golf regularly, you can afford new golf clubs! Or at least the best recent models. You don’t need to spend a ton of money on clubs, you just need to do yourself a favor and play with stuff that isn’t putting you at a disadvantage. Your equipment should include a GPS or laser rangefinder, or both. Having attended the PGA Merchandise Show in Orlando for the past 22 years has made me realize how much things are evolving and quickly changing in golf .

            Revamping someone’s game, especially a golfer over the age of 60, commonly includes the goal of getting longer off the tee. If you want to play better you usually (but not always) have to hit the ball farther that you’re hitting it now. That’s Rule Number Six. In my case I had a miserable time after my rather serious accident in early 2011, and my open heart surgery in August of 2014. Once I was able to play golf again, I discovered the problem was several “power leaks” that had crept into my game. I went to a slightly longer driver which forced me to slow down my swing, recovering almost all of those lost 20 yards. “Twenty more yards” seems to be golf’s Holy Grail for senior players; but the caveat is to not let the driver get you into trouble.

            Lastly, my Rule Seven is simple: go to the gym and workout regularly. There is really no substitute for maintain strength and flexibility as we get older. Not only will doing weights and equipment at the gym help maintain and improve our golfing, fitness exercise serves to prevent falls and other accidents that can present big problems.

golf, golf doctor, golfing, handicapping, PGA

X