Golf As You Wish

Is your new driver bad for your ears?

2009-01-05T15:04:00.002-05:00

Apparently it likely is a problem for your ears. An article on the BBC website LINK states that some researchers have discovered that the new thin faced titanium drivers produce enough sound to cause temporary and in some case permanent damage.
Personally I would think you had to hit an awful lot of shots consecutively with the offending club for any permanent damage but I am most certainly not a hearing specialist.
Most incredulously is that they determined the Ping G10 to be the loudest which I really can't believe. The loudest drivers to my ear are the Nike Sumo's and the Cobras.
I suppose this is reason enough to never just hit driver on the range.
Wonder if we will have droves of golfers using earplugs on the course now - that would be another hazard as they won't hear anyone yell fore!
OK that is my quirky golf news of the day.

quick recession observation

2008-12-09T08:37:00.002-05:00

I returned to working as a clubfitter in a golf store a couple of days a week in August and have recently noticed a trend in the type of golfer that is most likely to buy new clubs.
By and large the people that are coming in are not coming in for the latest and greatest club. They are coming in and getting fit for a club/clubs that are going to make the game easier and increase their success on the course.
I know you are saying well um yea. But um no this didn't happen on a regular basis prior to say October.
I've got guys choosing softer flexes because they see it can help instead of getting a stiff that they really can't swing.
Not sure how long this trend will last but I am finding it interesting.
That's all the time I have right now - I need to head out to help golfers find the clubs that are really going to help their game.
Long & straight!

Rotator cuff injuries?

2008-11-14T16:03:00.003-05:00

I've been away from golf for many months now due to intense shoulder pain. I went to the doc and he said it was likely a partial tear and impingement of the rotator cuff. I dutifully performed the prescribed exercises and laid off playing for 8 weeks.
Then I tried to play again and was in pain by the 7th hole. So then I went to physical therapy for a while and will admit I stopped because the pain stayed the same.
I went back to the home exercises and stretches and was very careful about what I did with my right arm. I thought I was doing better.
Nope.
Played 18 on Sunday and had intense pain after the round and lingering pain for days. I hit a few balls on Wednesday - and I mean a few - and have been in constant pain since.
So I guess it's back to the doc and I fear the worst.
Talk to me folks............. anyone been through this with their dominant shoulder?
I keep hearing that the rehab from surgery is very intense. I'm OK with that but I would like to know whether your problem was fixed by the surgery.

New Activity

2008-11-07T15:20:00.002-05:00

Wow suddenly I see that many people have been visiting this blog and there is nothing new posted. I'll fix that now.
The most searched item that brings folks here is "Golftec"
It would appear that Golftec is doing well and our swings aren't. LOL
For the record lots of teaching professionals are using similar technology to Golftec. I saw the other day that a major golf chain is now offering the option of logging in to your lesson videos and instruction online so if you don't have a Golftec near you or you want other options check around, most teachers are using video instruction.
Unfortunately the pro I had started to work with and was due to revisit is no longer at that location so I didn't get back. That is why the process was stunted. Apologies.
Even worse, I have been nursing a rotator cuff injury for months now so my ability to work on my swing is nil. In fact I have played once since July. I'm feeling ready to try again and am hoping that I do not have to have surgery.
Fingers crossed everyone!
In the sweltering heat of July & August I didn't miss the long rounds on busy courses too much, but now it is my favorite time of the year for playing golf and the weather is perfect. The pain is hardly noticeable and I am desperate to return to the game I love.

Which brings to mind - I wonder if Tiger is getting ready to play again emotionally? I find it hard to believe that he isn't chomping at the bit to get back on the course. Don't you?

What an Open at Royal Birkdale! 2008

2008-07-22T16:21:00.002-04:00

Wow that was very exciting! I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did. I know many will clamor that the wind was too much a part of the championship but strong wind is integral to links golf in the UK. Being able to formulate a game plan and play the shots that are needed is a great skill. Keeping to that game plan and being able to remain focused when the wind blows like that is an extraordinary feat.
I played in the UK for 6.5 years and played in horrid weather and winds similar to the winds at Birkdale on Saturday. What you don't see on camera is that the wind is deafening and your swing is definitely effected. It is very easy to destroy a swing by the end of 18 holes and take months to get it back in a groove. You see you keep manipulating it to get the results you want, shortening it, altering the path (very easy to get flatter and flatter), etc. Anything to get the ball around!
I digress.........
I love Royal Birkdale and was glad to see it presented so nicely. Padraig Harrington is a very deserving champion and he played some incredible golf over the last nine holes - he played like a true champ. Ian Poulter really showed some good stuff too. The USA side in the Ryder Cup looks in trouble again!
The drama provided by Greg Norman was great stuff - just unfortunate that he couldn't last the full 72 holes. I wasn't surprised when I heard that he had lost his legs. That was some tough walking in that weather - again I know what that feels like after 18 to go out and do that everyday in those winds for 4 straight days when you haven't been playing much is going to beat you up.
Thanks to all the competitors for a truly engaging Open Championship. I hope you emjoyed it too!

Tiger, knees, Majors and mental powers

2008-06-18T19:05:00.003-04:00

I know, I know it's the talk of the town. Every town.
What can I add? Not sure but here it goes.......
Like all of you I watched the US Open and could see that Tiger was in pain. There were times I thought why is he doing this - and yes I know he wants to win every time he steps on the course but with potential permanent damage? That is a very high risk.
When I heard him say that the pain was on the follow through - after impact - I was suitably impressed. Knowing that each time you follow through you will experience severe pain would for most of us be a deterrent from following through, it didn't seem to thwart him.
There was a point on Friday that I could empathize and really knew where he was at - you could see that he was zoning in, using all his impressive mental focus to ignore the intense pain.
Anyone who has played injured knows this feeling. In some ways it helps you to be more focused on the task at hand because you must eliminate everything else in order to keep going.
Along the way he seemed to find a way to swing with less pain and win.
Yes win. With what we now know is a serious injury that needs another surgery and will keep him out of golf for the rest of '08 and goodness knows how much longer.
Stunningly I saw that some golf fans and golfers thought he was 'faking it'.
What we know about Tiger is that he isn't a fake.
We know he is mentally intense and we know that he is an extraordinary athlete.
I for one will miss his play and the excitement that follows his pursuits of victory. No Tiger at the Open Championship (British Open for the Americans). No Tiger at the WGC events and no Tiger at the Ryder Cup.
I've heard people say they'd like to see more of everyone else.
Well you will now
Hope you enjoy it
Me I'll watch but I'll be missing Tiger.
Hope the surgery goes well and that when he comes back he is fully healthy.

Scrambles - ugh!

2008-06-06T21:02:00.004-04:00

Dear, dear, dear I must admit scrambles aren't all that fun for me. This week I played in a scramble in the ladies league I play in. Now this is really messy. My current handicap is 11 the next on my team was a 31, then a 36 and rounded out with a 40. Ugh. Two of the ladies were very nice and wanting to enjoy themselves and play decently. Then there was the 'B' player at 31 who was saying as we teed off the first, "we really need a birdie". Now the thing is ladies scrambles don't have the scandalous scores of men's scrambles so really 4-5 under is usually in the running.
You'd have thought that miss 31 was playing for the Open Championship. Poor Miss 40 went from being nervous to being a wreck, as Miss 31 kept saying, "oh crap there goes another one", "we really need to make these putts", etc.
I think it was the third hole when I told Miss 31 to calm down, enjoy the golf and stop acting like anything short of a birdie was life shattering.
I then spoke to the two others and told them I wasn't trying to 'win', just play golf - if we played well, great, if we didn't let's enjoy the day.
I did have to stay on Miss 31 but the others definitely relaxed and played better.
LOL and we wound up in second place!
The point of posting this isn't solely to gripe - although that felt nice - it is a reminder of how powerful your mindset is in this tricky game. Miss 40 wound up having a blast and playing pretty darn well for her - because she wasn't stressing, I reminded her that her shots were no more important or less important than any of ours - we all hit bad ones we just had to hope that we didn't all hit bad ones on the same shot :- )
As we finished up she said she'd play more often if it was this enjoyable and she played that well.
I heard this today...............
I was watching the LPGA today and Lorena Ochoa had another stellar round and when asked after the round how she explained her current run of extraordinary golf, was it her swing or her attitude she said it is my mind (attitude) my swing hasn't really changed.
Hold that thought!

Counting your chickens

2008-05-20T18:40:00.002-04:00

"don't count your chickens"
a few weeks back a friend I play golf with regularly missed an exceptionally short putt. She had mentally counted a par for herself and didn't pay enough attention to her putt and wound up missing it. We started talking about how often each of us does that on the course, sometimes we hit a bad drive and mentally say, "I'll be lucky to make bogey". By doing so you usually take par out of play when sometimes you can still do it.
Interestingly I have learned to deal with the bad tee shot or a bad approach shot pretty well. BUT when I hit a bad lag putt or hit a poor pitch shot it is natural for me to immediately give up on the hole. I work on this every time I am out there and it is getting better, but it is still a fight.
The one that sneaked up on me last week went like this. Tough par 4, uphill and OB to the right. I killed the drive - long and dead center of the fairway. As I walked to it I was totally thinking birdie. I had a short iron in, I'd been hitting my irons well so felt very confident. Too confident.
When I got to the ball it was in a horrible lie, suddenly my mood changed. I played a shot that was the right distance but was left of the green.
Now I was like no problem I'll take a par, but I was disappointed that birdie was off the table (realistically anyway). My disappointment was what I was thinking about as I chipped and I left myself a downhill, side hill 30 footer.
Bam now par was realistically out of the question and I was really fed up and would be lucky to two-putt.
Fortunately I did two-putt, for bogey.
So from thinking birdie as I approached my ball to a bogey as I walked to the next tee.
So from here on out you won't find me counting my chickens before they hatch. It is an instant recipe for losing focus and not performing.
As they say play each shot with complete commitment and not thinking of scores or other things. Otherwise you may get ahead of yourself and wind up not thinking about the shot at hand.
In golf the shot you are playing is the most important shot of all.

Without confidence a golfer is little more than a hacker

2008-05-01T16:30:00.002-04:00

This is a Bobby Jones quote. I hadn't seen it before today and I really like it. Of course we have all seen the gentleman that thinks the world of his golf when actually he is just really bad at math and the rules of golf. Let's exclude them for now.
I will use myself to explain.
I have always struggled with the short game - putting and chipping to be exact. About 4 years ago I had a revelation; if I didn't get nervous/anxious which for me leads to tight muscles my results were quite good. However if I approached the shot as if I would prefer to be struck by lightning on my way up to the ball things didn't go to well. Shocking, ay?
Despite having this revelation I still struggle at times to keep my head in the right place. I haven't been able to play much for quite a few months now and my game is rusty. To be fair it isn't as bad as it could be but I don't have faith in my abilities. This leads to some half hearted play. And half hearted play doesn't lead to good results and then I lose interest in playing.
At that point I officially am a hacker.
I will say that the awareness of the process and of my mind's effect on my game is very empowering. I can take control and approach the game with a sense of confidence (in this instance think being fully committed to each shot) or I can slop my way round the course.
When I do the latter I would be better off staying home and walking my dog.
Earlier this week I played and it was a round that demonstrated what I am talking about. I had a difficult time getting to the course, wasn't particularly wanting to play because my game is rusty and my front nine was horrendous. I considered leaving.
But I didn't, I recommitted to the round and instead of thinking, 'gosh I wish I had my swing back' I believed in myself and kept an attitude that would be consistent with having your game in top gear. The back nine, which is the harder nine, I played in six less shots than the front nine.
So remember, "Without confidence a golfer is little more than a hacker", Bobby Jones

When it all goes wrong....

2008-04-24T10:55:00.002-04:00

I don't know a golfer who at some point had their game just mysteriously go wrong, all wrong. It just sneaks up on you doesn't it? One day you are out there and shooting an average score, nothing is terrible and in fact one part of your game is working really well.
Then the next time out one part of your game isn't so good and nothing is working really well. By the end of your round nothing is working and the game is no longer fun. You are either completely disheartened or frustrated or both.
What happens?
My belief is that while you are in the first part of the process and shooting an average score it is that one part of your game that is working well that is holding you up. The other week I had a round in which I was putting crazy good for me - this kept my score very reasonable. Had I thought about it then I would have seen that my irons were inaccurate and my tee shots errant, only the putts were keeping me in the game.
For most of us all we need is for that last 'good' part of our game to go south and the wheels come completely off.
Frustration and disappointment creep into every part of your game and your play descends further.
Golf demands good technique but it demands a positive mindset even more. Most of the time when a person's game just disappears it is due to a poor mindset combined with a minor technical problem.
That minor technical problem multiplies or grows as the player's attitude spirals downward.
Come on you've been there............
My next post will talk about how to avert this collapse so stay tuned

How do you define success?

2008-04-17T10:39:00.002-04:00

This is a question, as a life coach, I deal with regularly. The answer is extremely important in deciding what path to take and where it is you are trying to get.
How might this apply to the amateur golfer? I was thinking about this as I was walking this morning. I mean if I am shooting in the 90's regularly is success even par?
I think not. Not initially anyway. It may exist as your ultimate definition of success (thereby it is a long term goal).
What about saying success is having 30 or less putts per round.
Success is consistently chipping to within 3 feet.
Success is finding the fairways or finding the greens.
Your definition of success may be getting through 18 holes without losing a ball.
Success might be all of the above.
Success is how you define it. This is true in life and in golf. In some ways success is achieving your goals, have you defined your goals?
You can only be successful if you know what success is, so you need to decide what being successful in golf means to you.
Then and only then do you have a chance at being successful!
Good luck

Beware the sick golfer!

2008-04-04T10:56:00.002-04:00

LOL I had never heard this until I was living in England. Then one day someone who wasn't feeling well turned in a personal best and won the weekly comp. All the muttering in the locker room was "beware the sick golfer". I admit I was like what in the world, this poor person just trudged around in bad weather feeling like a dog and some how posted a fantastic score, and all you can imply is that she was lucky because she was sick?
Well the next time someone won who was sick with laryngitis I started to understand. I can also recall playing half decent myself when not feeling physically up to par.
Enter Adam Scott yesterday at the Shell Houston Open, he shot a cool 9 under with swollen glands, sore throat and fever. The news brief said what would he have shot if healthy - well according to the saying in the title of this post not as well!
So what gives? Why would you play well when you don't feel well?
My experience is that you stay more relaxed as you don't have the energy to get too worked up. You just want to keep it simple and by and large it works out that way.
Here's what Adam said “I was just about conserving energy and thought about hitting the fairway and hitting the green and not having to work too hard,” he said. “Fortunately, that’s kind of how today went. I need to keep going that way.”
I wonder who will be sick Master's week?

SPCA Dog Walk - if everyone donated a dollar!

2008-04-02T10:06:00.002-04:00

Hi all, about two and bit years ago my life changed when I adopted the world's greatest dog (oh yea I'm biased!) from our local SPCA. Since then I have become more aware of what they do and how well they do it. Each year we have participated in their dog walk and raised money for them. Each year we have tried to raise more than the last.
So as the walk approaches (4/19) I am upping my begging.
This non-profit has received the highest rating by CharityNavigator.org so you can rest assured that your money goes directly to the animals. Thousands of homeless animals!
Please every dollar counts please consider a small donation to our favorite cause.
Go here and to make a gift LINK

As of today they have raised over $33,000
Here is a link to the best run non-profit you could come across.
SPCA of Wake County
Take a bit of time and peruse the information and good work they are doing.

early season expectations

2008-03-25T13:08:00.002-04:00

Last week I played with a few people, who like myself, have taken most of the winter off. I've done this most of my golfing career and have a method that works for me. One of my playing partners though was expecting to score and play similar to their late season best. This made for a long round for them - as well as for me.
They left the course tired & grumpy, I left relatively pleased.
So what is my secret?
I have modest goals in the early season. I am always aware of my strengths and weaknesses as a player no matter how well or poorly I am playing but especially so in the early season.
I like to concentrate on making good swings. Good ball contact. Sound grip. Good posture.
I find that after a layoff is a great time to fix those bad habits that one gains throughout the season when the focus tends to become scoring - at all costs!

Things I don't worry about in the early season, distance control both on full shots and partial swings. If I put a great swing on a 6 iron but it turns out I needed a 5 iron, so be it. Once I'm playing regularly and playing a particular ball I'll know my clubs again.

Same with a pitch shot, if I hit a pretty pitch but it's too long that's OK, I'll adjust. What is important is the technique.
I don't worry too much about score at this stage. Putting pace is difficult when a) you've not been putting, and b) the greens aren't in good shape (ours had been aerated and sanded).

So next time out, set some modest goals and keep your focus on easing into form.
If you've been real good and been out practicing you are way ahead of most of us - your goals should be appropriate to where you are at.
Whatever the case make sure your goals for the round don't get in the way of enjoying yourself.

The power of Tiger, yes THAT Tiger

2008-03-17T15:08:00.003-04:00

I know there is too much Tiger coverage everywhere but can you blame people for writing about him? Seriously he keeps upping the bar and I am glad I am not a PGA tour player in his career frame (if that's the right term).
Yesterday's win at Bay Hill - Arnold Palmer Invitational was really quite something. He was so far off the radar that I didn't realize he was playing until Saturday morning's newspaper stated he was 7 back. He had a great Saturday round and a few in front came back and then he had a very good Sunday round. Blah blah blah. We've heard all this before and we have seen it all before.

We don't see many 3 putts from him as we did on the 10th - I admit to paying more attention to the ACC tournament then the golf.
But then the end.
That putt.
How in the world does he do it? Early in his career I recall stepping back and admiring his mind, his strength of character and power of focus. From that point on I have watched him closely and my admiration has just grown and grown.
I can't really quantify it at this point, I am as flabbergasted and stunned as the rest of the world.
More than any sports person I can remember watching in my 42 years he is the one that gets it done, when it needs to get done. I'm sure you've heard the announcers say he wills it into the hole.
After yesterday's final putt for birdie and the win do you doubt it?
He is a walking advertisement for the importance of the mind in golf.

If you haven't started to improve your mental game - the time is now. Get going!

Spring and a return to the course

2008-03-11T21:40:00.002-04:00

I finally officially ended my self-imposed hiatus from golf today. After months of really not wanting to play - I wanted to play again. I was supposed to meet a friend first thing, they didn't turn up as they assumed there would be a frost delay so I set out on my own. The ONLY golfer on the course. On a cool but sunny morning just me and the course. Bliss.
So what can I share. I could talk about the two fox I saw or the birds and geese overhead. Or my creaky but surprisingly efficient swing or my not so efficient putting. But I won't. LOL
I was aware that I had a good amnesia out there. I didn't remember the trouble spots so intensely. This especially rang true on 4th tee, a hole that for some reason I always hit a cut (instead of my typical left pattern) and wind up either in the woods, in the hazard or just playing out of a horrible lie. So when I stood on the tee and my mind started thinking about the junk on the right I stopped myself and said, "wait this is a new year, I'm starting fresh, there is no pattern."
So I lined myself up took extra care of aligning my body parts and hit a drive that hugged the left side of the fairway and was of good length. Indeed it is a new season and this is a new pattern!

The message tonight is if you have a negative pattern on a hole at your course or a bad feeling about a typed of shot ( sand, over water, etc.) Stop yourself from thinking, "I always do such and such" and empty the slate. Once empty put only golf thoughts on your slate, set up, shot shape, whatever is your process.
Of course you will then imagine the shot and see it and then hit it! With tremendous success
Give it a try

golf announcers argh

2008-03-08T17:22:00.002-05:00

just watching, mostly listening, to the PODS championship and Stewart Cink just hit a 196 yd approach shot, over water, to about 12-15 ft. Johnny Miller says, "not bad" and adds, "from that distance."
Good golly that was a great shot. If you know who (Tiger) had hit it it would have been great. Just sort of seals it for me, these announcers stink. I used to love watching golf and I find myself less and less interesting in watching it. The announcers just blab on about nothing if Tiger isn't playing and blab incessantly about him if he is playing. We see some tee shots, a few approach shots and putting. They seem to pick 2-3 players and key in on them so we don't see anyone else nor hear what else is happening on the course.
bah humbug I'll just read about it in the paper in the morning and scour the scoring stats!

Golf prep in the off season

2008-02-27T12:22:00.007-05:00

I was reading a really sweet piece written by a daughter about her relationship with her father and his with golf and her. Here's that story LINK
I was struck by a passage, "He was faithful to what can make golf a difficult partner to keep. It is a relationship that can't be maintained by the listless."
What a great statement.
Golf is a game that defies mastery (OK unless you are Tiger Woods and even he hasn't mastered driving it in the fairways). There are so many aspects to the game that ask different questions. Driving, long irons/hybrids, short game, putting, fairway woods, and iron play. Each discipline has its own intricacies. Then there are the subtleties that need to be taken into consideration for those disciplines.
Then add in the terrain, weather and course.
And who doesn't like trying to buy a game with new clubs or the latest greatest ball. Heck now shoes are claiming hey can add yards to your game.

Just when you feel exhausted from thinking about all those physical aspects I'd like to remind you that golf is 90% mental with the other 10%, mental.

Golf takes everything you've got and more. It can tire you out thinking about it and working on your swing and changing equipment, etc. But if you don't do any of those things I bet your game hasn't changed much.

I find that I really need a few months off in order to come into a new season with a new energy and focus. It helps me to not think about it for a while. I lose some bad habits and have an opportunity to build the correct ones to replace them.

Golf really isn't a game that you can be listless about and improve. If you don't care about scoring and only go out to be with your buddies - that's cool just don't hold people up or damage the course (repair divots and pitch marks please!)
For most of us that isn't enough.
For me it isn't.
So as Spring approaches have a think about your game and what you will take to a new level this year.
I'm going to be offering a spring mental game tuneup in this area - check around in your area and see if something like this is available. Thsi may help you to determine what area(s) of the game you want to address.

Just don't be listless or your game will be too!

Hitting it FAR!

2008-02-23T11:39:00.002-05:00

I feel confident that everyone that has swung a golf club has at some point tried to hit it far. So how did it work out for you? LOL when I first started hitting golf balls boy oh boy did I go for it!
Interestingly it took ages before I could see that the pros weren't swinging nearly as hard as I was and they sure didn't have the slice I had either ;- )
The deal is that when we focus on swinging hard or using our muscular strength to hit it hard the muscles tense and typically the release isn't at the right time or at all and the swing is 'stiff'. You must have heard the don't swing at 100% mantra - its true and I think it is mostly about what swinging 100% does to our mind. Swinging at 100% brings that trying really hard aspect back into play. And that is most often a recipe for lack of success in golf.
So swing easy guys and gals and you will likely see your swing speed go up and see more of the fairway.
Stealing a line from "The Inner Game of Golf" by W. Timothy Gallwey
"The interferences caused by trying to hit with more power actually inhibit power." p.52

It's Accenture Matchplay time

2008-02-20T14:33:00.003-05:00

I enjoy watching matchplay and I LOVE playing matchplay. During my time in the UK (6+ years) I went from golf newbie to experienced low mid handicapper. The biggest reason for my improvement was matchplay. I've always been competitive but I found my competitive fire was often misdirected in strokeplay events. But when it came to matchplay it and I was a force to be reckoned with. Somehow the head to head battle helped me to focus and because I enjoy competition I like the pressure of the must make putt when many I played clearly hated the added pressure.
As I'm typnig this, the announcers at the Accenture just mentioned that Monty went 3 up on Furyk and they said, "he is just so comfortable in the matchplay format."
I am not going to claim I completely understand what makes someone better at matchplay than strokeplay but I will make a strong case that for many golfers it provides a more clear target for the players. There is less to worry about. I just need to beat you.
If you've not played much matchplay give it a try. Ideally you can get into a tournament and get the true feel of matchplay golf. Don't worry about gamesmanship. Just play the ball and get it in the hole before your opponent. And have fun.
Oh Monty just took out Furyk 3&2 I believe.

golf by the rules - yes or no?

2008-02-17T15:59:00.003-05:00

I admit it I'm one of those people that plays golf by the rules. If I am turning a score in or going to tell you what I shot I've taken all penalties and played the ball down. I've had people say what about when you play for fun can't you just relax?
I am relaxed. I learned to play by the rules so its the only way I know how to play. I feel uncomfortable when people roll the ball or pick it up "because it was on a stick" and move it to a nice fluffy lie. How about the guy that never putts out? One guy I know I've never seen make a 4 ft putt or even attempt it very often. Apparently thats a gimme. Or there was the day a lady found her ball in a red staked hazard. She was pulling out weeds and breaking branches so I asked what she was doing. She replied that it was in a bad spot so she needed to clear it out so she could swing. I gently informed her that she was in a hazard so she could play it as it lies or take her penalty and choose which option she would play from. The look on her face was priceless I tell you.
OH and a mulligan is 3 off the tee folks.
I'm not really sure why here in the US we just don't like to play golf by the rules. I can't imagine playing a game of softball with each team choosing the rules they want to follow. Or how about going bowling with each person scoring in whatever fashion the deem 'fair'.
Its strange.
Learn the rules and force yourself to play golf. After a while it will seem natural to you, you'll be better, and you will play faster.

Putt like Jack

2008-02-10T19:19:00.001-05:00

This will be a short entry. As I was browsing one of the new golf mags I saw a little feature on Jack Nicklaus and his putting technique and I spotted this little gem;
Jack wouldn't putt until he saw the putt going in. Imagery. If you can't see the line and can't picture the ball following the line and dropping in the hole, your chances of that happening in reality are greatly reduced.
So the next time you are over a putt, imagine the line and watch your ball follow that line and see it drop. Hopefully then you will really see it drop!

The media and the Tiger obsession

2008-02-01T09:17:00.000-05:00

There was an article in the paper today about the media and Tiger Woods. You may have seen it as it was a syndicated article. It quoted the fan that is sick and tired of the media obsession and it quoted the president (?? it was an executive at the least) from The Golf Channel who stated that it wouldn't be changing soon. He stated that its about ratings ( duh) and that since it was a once in a lifetime experience to witness this level of greatness they would continue to cover him more than anyone else.
OK I feel strongly that Tiger is a once in a lifetime athlete and I LOVE watching him play. I admit it I'm fascinated and awestruck.
BUT and its a big BUT..............
I am repulsed by the commentators quite often. They gush like school children, they do obsess and each step he takes they announce as if it were his last on his path to greatness. You know like they did when Jack crossed Swilken Bridge at St Andrews for the last time. Jack's moment was an appropriate time for the emotions. But watching Tiger play the 3rd round at the Buick Invitational?
Its too much. Even for someone like me who does love to watch him play. Its the sentiment and constant over the top adulation.
Sure commentate but don't sound infatuated. Talk golf. Not lust.
And just as a reminder there are others playing the tournament.
Actually having lived in the UK for 6.5 years I think the American commentators need to take a lesson from the UK announcers. And yes I know that we have imported several. It seems that when they get here they start talking non-stop too. That leads me to believe that non-stop mindless chatter and adoration is what is expected by the networks.
So Dear Mr. Golf Channel (CBS, ABC, ESPN, NBC,...) sure we want to see Tiger play but not with the exclusion of everyone else. Also we don't need you to constantly pour out Tiger-loving details. Let us watch the golf and please keep in mind that there are other golfers in the tournament. We may not ( but many are) be as interested in the others but we do want to see them play and hear about what they are up to too!
Thanks.

And to those golf fans that are sick and tired of the media obsession, it's not Tiger's fault that they are doing this. Place the blame where it belongs!
He is a once in a lifetime athlete and at 32 he's here for a while. Make it known to the broadcasters that we want more of everyone else, make your voice known.

Tiger and Torrey Pines

2008-01-26T20:26:00.000-05:00

Well he's doing it again. Tiger is back for 2008 and playing Torrey Pines 8 shots better than anyone else after 3 rounds. He looks set to win his fourth straight at the course and his sixth overall. I believe that he will tie Arnold Palmer with this win tomorrow for all time wins on the PGA tour.
Its crazy. I tuned in late this afternoon ( it was on an off channel as here in ACC country we had basketball to watch) and it was amazing. It felt like he was closing in on a major. The feel was like this is history this guy is the greatest ever and we are honored to watch. And I'll be honest I don't disagree. But it is incredible to think that it is his first event of 2008, he is 32 and this is what it already feels like.
It is already a coronation.
A deserving one in my opinion.
I know I am enjoying watching this exceptional athlete rewrite the record books.
I know I'll be watching tomorrow
Will you?

getting fit for a new driver - maximize your experience

2008-01-23T19:29:00.000-05:00

Just recently someone asked me about a particular driver, was it worth X amount of dollars as an upgrade to their current driver. I know this person's game pretty well and know that their current driver is probably the best fit for them that I have seen have in the bag. They were asking me because I'm a golf equipment nerd and worked as a clubfitter for 2 years with a golf chain. So with trepidation, because we all know what the pull of new toys is like, I mentioned that they hit their current driver REALLY well. And that in my humble opinion the driver they were asking about wasn't offering a significant upgrade/technology to their current stick.
We discussed his tendencies and technology needs and then I told him what I would tell anyone SERIOUS about getting a new driver intending it to be better than their current driver.
Sometimes we just want something new and then its not as big a point because anything will satisfy the need for something new.
OK so what did I recommend?
I told him to go get fitted. Bring his current driver in to one of the club fitting stalls in the golf shops. My experience is that most everyone disagrees with the results the golf monitor states, this way your current club is your baseline. You can see what the monitor says about it and compare that with what you know of its performance on the course.
You can use this information to predict real on-course results from the other clubs you test.

Other recommendations;
narrow your choices down, ideally you know what head you want and can then optimize loft and shaft options.
use the ball or similar ball as you do on course ( ask them for a new couple if they all have had the dimples beaten off them)
take only 5 swings with each driver - for most of us anything after swing 25 or 30 isn't a typical on-course swing. Take five focused good swings with each stick, be disciplined.

Use these tips the next time you want to replace your driver ( or other clubs) and you will more than likely get a better club or realize that the one you have is working pretty well for you. Too many times I saw people trading in their 'new' driver because it had been an impulsive purchase and wasn't as good as the one it replaced.

Good luck - spend wisely and practice more

oh winter you here - well and truly

2008-01-22T10:56:00.000-05:00

Longing for a bit of sun on my back and a lush green undulating hole in front of me. Its easy to get spoiled in this part of the country as golf is available to you pretty much year round (if you don't mind extreme heat and a few cold days) but when its cold and gray - shudder - after while you become a southerner. I mean I would play in this when I lived other places but despite wanting to play I don't want to bundle up and feeling the frozen turf on each swing. Yuck. May be next week.
That's it today. No wisdom just longing.....................................

Walking versus riding a golf course

2008-01-18T16:37:00.000-05:00

Hey I'll fess up I really don't like riding while playing. I hate being jostled all over and stop/start, stop/start, jump out play shot, back in, stop for other player, back out play shot. Etc., etc.
And yea I know so many courses in the US are so spread out that it is nearly impossible to walk them, and in fact rarely are you allowed to walk them.
No worries about a good walk spoiled then.

When I walk I get to feel the course, my muscles are limber, I can get into a rhythm and assess my next shot as I walk to my ball taking in all around me and what is 'in play' for that next shot. I feel calm when I walk and can walk off steam after a bad shot.
I just love it. I remember a course I've walked - I rarely recall more than a hole or two of a course I whizzed 'round.
Oh and riding golf is more often than not slower than walking golf. Why? Well there's the cart path only issue. And then you have to go to both players shots. If we are walking I go to my ball you go to yours (hopefully - I have seen the fourball that follows each other to each shot- sigh)

OK so that's my take. Shorten the green to next tee distance and let people walk. Not many of us CAN"T use the exercise!

Productive daydreaming about golf

2008-01-14T08:58:00.000-05:00

Its a true wintery day here and throughout most of the US so like many of you I can only daydream about golf. I'm thinking about the long soft draws off the tee into the sunshine landing in position A for going for the green in two on a par 5.
OK that might be a fantasy but can I really find a way to work on my game while only having the opportunity to 'think' about golf?
Sure.
Perhaps you are dissecting your home course in your head. Which hole gets you nearly everytime? What is your normal strategy in playing this hole? Have you tried a different approach?
Let's say it is a par 5 that you are sure you can reach in two but more often than not you miss the green and wind up scrambling to get on in three. Have you tried to play a positional shot off the tee leaving you an easy lay-up and a simple approach shot?
What is your best distance for an approach? I like about 105 yds. Would it be best to come in from the left side of the fairway or the right?

Other mental games might be thinking about your set-up. How do I naturally stand over a shot? Are the key parts aligned? If you have a tendency to have open shoulders at address can you imagine closing them and getting comfortable over the ball?
I like to imagine putting. I have a wonderful stored memory of a 'feel' and I like to get to that place in my head. If I could putt with that feel all the time I would be a much more consistent putter.

So instead of just fantasizing about golf - daydream with a mission. Fix something in your game by improving your mental place and imagery.
Have fun
May be you can figure out how to shoot a 59 in your head.

Golfing after a layoff

2008-01-08T12:56:00.000-05:00

Well I broke my unintentional golf hiatus yesterday to play a course that I haven't ever played before, on a gorgeous unseasonably warm day yesterday.

I looked at it a little differently than I would normally do. Typically I would go out there with expectations of playing my good game and bringing the course to its knees ( LOL take a short break to have a good laugh at that).
Seriously in the past I have headed out after not playing for weeks or months with the same hopes and intentions as I would mid-season.
Can you imagine how disappointed I would be after the first hole?

So this time, again almost unintentionally, I went out to enjoy a truly spectacular day and to ease my way back into a good swing and get some feel. I did have to really TRY to keep from worrying about scoring. Or getting frustrated as my distance control was less than stellar and my short game showed all its rust.
I had a couple of holes where one shot would just be terrible and immediately get under my skin. Man did I have to work at getting back to an easy and positive mindset - but I did.
The end result was that I enjoyed the day, the company, the course was very nice and in good shape, and I had some really good swings.
My score was horrible but I did have a few pars so that's what I'll keep in my memory banks.

So if you find that you've been away from the course for a while and like me you don't actually go practice first to get your swing together, readjust your goals and your expectations prior to that first swing. Don't focus on scoring and like the old TaylorMade commercial said,
"Find Your Game"

Mercedes- Benz Championship - the new season is here!

2008-01-03T19:08:00.000-05:00

Just doing a little channel surfing and found the Mercedes Benz Championship from Maui, HI playing. I've been a non-golfer for over a month now and I can admit that I haven't missed it as much as usual. Then earlier today I was shown how to play golf on the Wii. I opened with a bogey, followed with a par and finished with an eagle. Oh yea I remember this game.
Now tonight seeing the PGA again I am really feeling the urge to play.
One thing that I love about watching golf is feeling the rhythm of their swings. Take that rhythm to the course and you will be successful.
Now if the weather would warm up I can blow the dust off my clubs and get out there!
I feel a need to get the 2008 season underway!

Carolina Life Coaching hits the big time!

2007-12-30T19:04:00.001-05:00

Great news for Raleigh, NC based Carolina Life Coaching and Karen Lee. A news story and interview with Heather Moore of Carolina News14 was featured on television and is also on their website.
Here's the link.
If you would like some help in creating your resolutions or want some tips to KEEP your resolutions.
email me: karen@carolinalifecoaching.com

Carolina Life Coaching is featuring a January 2008 special - Three months coaching for the price of two!

What's on your list, golfer?

2007-12-12T12:32:00.000-05:00

So what are you hoping to receive this holiday season?
New driver, new putter, irons?
A state of the art hybrid or wood?
OK may be the latest greatest golf ball............
shoes?
You get the idea.
One thing you might consider is some mental coaching. Other terms for the same are performance coaching or sports psychology.
Basically instead of trying to improve via technology improving your mindset, attitude or course management.

Sometimes we have a block about how important our mindset is to our golf game (Of course this is true of all of life, but hey this is a golf blog!).
Has your game reached a plateau?
Or may be it never gets passed being up and down
Perhaps you have one aspect that you just can't get better

There are lots of people offering these services (myself included), around here there are evening classes run at local schools, etc.

There are some great books that you could read and self - improve but you are less likely to make the same sort of progress that you would with a personal coach.

Think about!

Dissect a quiet course for some real learning

2007-11-07T09:56:00.000-05:00

Most courses are entering or have entered the 'quiet' season now which is the perfect time to get some real practice in and truly 'learn' the course.
If you can get out by yourself to your home course when it is nice and quiet, take advantage and do some real work out there.
Go to the trouble spots and figure out the best way to extricate yourself. Are there trees you often find yourself in? Go there and work on playing out, some full shots and some chip outs. Which is your high payoff shot and what is the advantage (if any) of playing a full shot if it is a high risk strategy. If you chip out is the next shot in a strong range for getting to the green?
What about any water that too often figures into your round?
For me on my course its the Bermuda rough around the greens. When it is quiet I play a few different types of shots to learn the best play for me.

Basically I am recommending that you put yourself in your worst case scenario and learn how to get out.

You can do this ONLY if it is not imposing on anyone else. You may not tear the course up as you do this practice. If anything you should be doing repair work as you go - if you have time to play practice shots you have time to repair a few divots and pitchmarks along the way.

Self praise is no praise

2007-11-01T11:18:00.000-04:00

Self praise is no praise. Makes sense doesn't it. Sure you want to be self confident, but going around telling everyone how great you are isn't the same thing.
I played golf yesterday with someone who obviously had never heard this saying. They pretty much went 'round the whole course boasting about how well they were playing. After every putt and every shot we were told how good a shot/putt it was. It became so tiring that by the 5th hole or so we were no longer distributing encouraging words to this golfer, not sure they noticed as they were busy telling themselves how good they were (we all know a good day on the golf course is relative to one's game but this individual didn't bust 100!) No real message in today's entry just a gripe and a reminder that its a social game. If you are playing in a group think about how your actions will impact and be perceived by the other members of the group.
That is one person I won't choose to golf with again!

My 'A' game lives at the range..

2007-10-26T13:44:00.000-04:00

Who hasn't heard another golfer say," I just don't know why I am playing so poorly, I hit it great at the range" Heck many of us have said this at some point. And I feel confident that we all have experienced hitting the ball great in practice or rolling all the putts in on the practice area only to stink it up on the course.
What's going on? Why does this happen (especially for those people that it happens regularly to)?
There is no definitive 'why' this happens but the most common reason is that people lose their focus and relaxed approach when the get to the course.
It is no longer, "I want to hit a great shot" or being focused on a single shot. Suddenly it is I want to shoot an 85. Or I need to beat my partner. Or some other competitive goal.
Muscles get tense, instead of seeing the shot ahead of them they are contemplating the whole 18 holes.
Thinking of not getting a double bogey.
Heck I know some people that are worried if they look right.
These are all thoughts that one doesn't have while on the range, no there you are just focused on the next swing.

So when you hit the course it is good to dress well. And have an overall goal ( an 85 or fill in the blank) and want to be competitive.
But it is essential that when you stand over the ball and prepare to take your next shot that all you are thinking about is that shot.

Oh and the next time you are at the range and hitting it well, take that feeling in. Feel it in your hands and your arms and your shoulders and back. Feel it in your legs. And feel it in your mind.
Memorize that feeling.
Use it the next time you hit the course.
Perhaps then you will bring your 'A' game to the course!

Just one of those golfing things...

2007-10-19T13:37:00.000-04:00

"The trick of golf is to try without trying."

I bet everyone of you golfers knows exactly what this means, knows is true, but struggles to achieve.
My early days on the golf course were rife with wicked amounts of frustration.
Every other sport I had played my performance improved when I tried harder. Not golf.
Whenever I increased my intensity or got real serious awful things happened. Then I would read some golf magazine article stating that the key to great golf was focus and intensity. Say what!!
And then it started to fall into place. Muscle tension, tightening the grip, clenched jaw, etc. - basically getting stiff - leads to much trouble in golf.

Being intent yet relaxed. Being confident not aggressive - "I'm going to make this putt", not, " watch this" or "take that"

All of which leads to trying without trying.
Personally my physical cues are my shoulders and my grip. When things go awry I can guarantee I've got a grip of death and my shoulders are tight and up. I'm trying, REAL hard!
So I loosen up my grip and drop my shoulders to a natural relaxed position and wala! My results are much better.

What are your triggers when you are 'trying' too hard?
What do you do to fix it?

take dead aim!

2007-10-17T12:31:00.000-04:00

The first time I heard this was in one of Harvey Penick's books.
I'll confess now that when I first read it I had no idea what it truly meant.
I was extremely new to golf and my knowledge of the swing was limited to what I could glean by watching the tour players and trying to mimic their positions throughout the swing. Being athletic and flexible this wasn't doing me a disservice but my alignment at setup was not something I had considered.
I can hear you laughing now. It was no wonder that accuracy wasn't a strength - not on full swings, not on chips and not on putts.
And then someone I was playing with said - where were you aiming? I told them what my target was and then they showed where I was actually aimed. Light bulb moment.
I then discovered that my shoulders, feet and hips were all at different angles - oops!
Now ( assuming a straight shot is my goal and on all putts) I make sure that my shoulders, hips and feet are all lined up - with each other and to the target.
So if you are having a wild streak ( however long it may be) check your alignment and take dead aim!

"Tales from Q School" John Feinstein

2007-05-12T12:54:00.000-04:00

This is the latest book by the author of "A Good Walk Spoiled". As the title suggests it is based on individual stories of player's experience at Q School (which is of course the competition to get playing rights on the PGA tour).
I have previously read and enjoyed "The Majors" and "A Good Walk Spoiled" so I had a good knowledge of John Feinstein's writing style.
OK how was this book? I can't say that I enjoyed it in the way I did the others. It is choppier and personally I felt less emotional involvement with the 'players'. There are many, many short 'stories' but they didn't feel linked together so in a way it felt like I was reading a review of a book not a book.
These are obviously personal likes/ dislikes so you may feel otherwise.
The content is interesting - like being in the clubhouse on a rainy day and trading war stories with other golfers. Much detail is present in the recanting so if enjoy blow by blow golfing accounts this may be your sort of book.
The stories are interesting but I just didn't feel a continuity that makes it a book that you start and can't put down. That's a different experience than I had with his other books.
See for yourself

Don't overthink things

2007-04-25T09:01:00.000-04:00

Karen often says to me that she is amazed at the fact that , after taking a significant break from playing, I never seem to have problems 'getting back in the saddle' . I remind her that I've been playing golf for 35 years and have, therefore, the basic skills set a bit like riding a bicycle.
The first shot is always difficult after a lay off but I tend to just step up to the tee and hit it - I'm not trying to hit a monster or even place it accurately , just trying to get it somewhere down the middle and keep out of trouble. I don't overthink what I am doing or let negative thoughts invade me, if anything I just clear my mind and think of nothing , letting the inbuilt mechanics do their job.
I have played with people who are visibly worried after a layoff and invariably this shows up in a bad first shot that is sliced, hooked or missed altogether.
Don't try too hard - grasshopper.

Get a Grip!!

2007-04-18T10:05:00.000-04:00

I was in my local golf shop the other day , eyeing-up the second hand clubs, looking for that elusive bargain or cheap club with a premium shaft that I could test. Well my foraging was pretty unsuccessful on this occasion but I was struck by the amount of used clubs, especially iron sets that had poor grips.
Some were old and cracked , others slick from dirt and others had finger marks where the owners had worn a groove in the material with their death grip!
Maybe the owners kept putting off the re gripping knowing that they would eventually trade in the set for a newer one (known as buying-a-better-score) which, in my view, is a false economy a bit like the driver who refuses to replace the tires on his car.
Grips are the interface between golfer and equipment and should always be in excellent condition. The first club work that I ever embarked upon was re gripping, its cheap, easy and satisfying work. I would urge any golfer to try it - all you need is a vise, solution such as white spirit and double sided tape ( I use carpet tape). If you have an old club why not get an extra grip and practice - it will give you confidence in your task - please let me know how you go on.
Here's a link to the regripping process . Why not give it a try - the worse that can happen is that you have to take them in to the golf shop!

2007-04-12T14:13:00.000-04:00

O.K. , I have to ask this question : Is it me or did anyone else see Tiger Woods behave in an atypical manner at the Masters?
In fact the man of steel seemed to be displaying some traits that I have not seen him publicly display before. On the final day a couple of times he seemed to be anxious , breathing heavily as if to regain his composure and just generally stressed out. There are no criticisms intended here, as I am sure that I would have wilted under the pressures of tournament golf at the knock-out stages - I am just saying that the golfing robot that is TW may be human after all!
Even the great man himself showed remorse in his post game interviews, saying
"I had a chance and looking back I basically blew it with the two rounds when I finished bogey-bogey," he said referring to Thursday and Saturday."That's four over in two holes. You can't afford to do that and win major championships."

I'm a big fan of Tiger's and what he does for the game and I'm sure he will be back next year , with a vengeance

Registration info for Golfers - Find Your Focus!

2007-04-11T16:50:00.000-04:00

I think this will probably be the easiest way to do this - From the Lifelong Learning FAQ section;
"For all other courses, make check payable to the Agency (Karen Lee, Carolina Life Coaching) listed in the catalog course description and mail with registration form to:
Lifelong Learning with Community Schools
Wake County Public School System
3600 Wake Forest Road
Raleigh, North Carolina 27609"

Registration forms are available from the Lifelong Learning Website
Please make sure that you use the Summer 2007 form. As of April 11th it is not yet available, but will be up shortly.

GolfTec - Part 1

2007-03-24T15:22:00.000-04:00

A while back I posted about visiting the local GolfTec and posted that I was going to get a chance to have a more complete experience. Well I finally got around to taking John Budwine (the pro at the Cary, NC location) up on his offer and have experienced the introductory session so can now report more fully on the GolfTec teaching/learning experience.
For those of you unfamiliar with GolfTec it is a Denver, CO based chain of golf training facilities that make heavy use of computer technology in the teaching process.
OK back to me and my first session. First things first - I have never had a golf lesson so felt quite a bit of anxiety as I prepared for this experience. I imagined that John would be appalled at my home-cooked swing, although I knew from my experience as a club fitter at Golf Galaxy that it isn't as bad as some.
I warmed up a bit and then John watched me hit a few. The video of your swing is instantly on the computer and we could see the various angles, planes that made up my swing. Some good, some bad, John was instantly able to offer some simple alterations I should consider.
Then he had me slip on the 'electrodes' (don't know the actual name of them) one on each shoulder and a belt around your waist.
I imagined that one might feel inhibited in this gear but you don't even know its on. Now a few more swings and even more information is available; information like shoulder tilt, bend and turn, same for hips. These numbers are shown within colored boxes (red, yellow, green - green is good) and colored according to how they compare to tour averages.
John threw quite a bit of suggestions at me - we then decided to focus on one particular area.

I cannot tell you how helpful it is to have the instant feedback of the video to facilitate your understanding of your 'issues'. You don't have to imagine your angles or those that you are trying to emulate, they are there for you to see and that for me helped me to feel them.

Taking the whole process even further and improving it even more is that it all goes on the web, you access your lesson online and can download your information, drills, swing videos, and movie comparing your swing to one that the pro wants you to try to mimic.

So now I can see my fugly swing anytime I want, have drills to work on, and have a much better idea of what is right and what is wrong with my home-cooked swing.

I am going to continue to work with John and continue to document my experience on this blog

Golfers who know , play with their pro

2007-03-22T16:12:00.000-04:00

I was talking to my pro the other day about the post I put up regarding dressing for success and we were discussing the disparity amongst the players at the course ( public/private) . He was coming from the perspective that dress rules can sometimes lose a club revenue but did agree that the pros really do dress for success and that poorly dressed players can reflect badly on the status of the club in general.
Anyway , I got to asking him whether he played with members as an alternative to practice ground teaching. I know that my pro in England used to do so and the pupils found it helpful for a number of reasons - you can watch how the pro plays to understand their strategy and whether their thinking differs from your own . You can also delve into their local knowledge regarding the greens , areas to avoid etc.
Can sometimes reap greater rewards than hitting into a practice area!

Dress for success

2007-03-19T09:05:00.000-04:00

Well I can't take any credit for VJ winning yesterdays tournament just because I mentioned a putting drill he used but did you see that last putt he sank on the 18th to seal the win - it had authority, speed - looked in all the way!
There are some personal things that I don't like about VJ but when it comes to golf he's all business, never seems flustered and never seems (at least on camera) to lose his cool. Have you ever noticed how the pro's look on TV ? When I was at Pinehurst last year you could tell the pro's a mile away - the way they dressed, sometimes flashy, made them stand out from the crowd.
Maybe their sports psychologists have told them to dress for success - studies have shown that people perform better if they dress better and whilst this is probably a confidence thing, I'll take it!
I've seen players dressed in all sorts of attire, some of it you wouldn't do yard work in, if you dress down then the chances are that you will have low expectations of yourself that will emerge in your game .
Give yourself every advantage and combine a good attitude, positive thinking, high expectations with a great look

Don't miss the little ones

2007-03-12T21:03:00.000-04:00

From my experience of golf it seems that most of the short putts are missed because the ball is not struck properly. I know of a couple of good practice drills that will help you in this regard:
Firstly , I saw VJ at Pinehurst putting through a 'gate' of 2 tees about six inches in front of his ball that acted as a gate to the hole. Try putting solidly so that your putter brushes against the tees on your follow through.
Secondly, and don't let the grounds keeper see you doing this, stick a tee peg inside and at the back of the hole so that when you hit the ball it strikes the tee peg - this will ensure a solid strike that will not wander from it's trajectory - it takes courage but you will hole more than you will miss
Feel free to 'flag up' any issues that you would like to have discussed
We're here to help

Downhill racer

2007-03-07T08:24:00.000-05:00

No I'm not talking about the 1969 film about skiing but rather that most frightening of all putts , the downhill on a fast green . I know from painful personal experience that it is easy to mishit your putt and have it come to rest after only a couple of inches or go screaming past the hole for a long putt back that you will inevitably leave short.
The trick in this situation is to get the ball started, so that it tumbles and rolls. A light grip ( someone told me to imagine you were holding a little bird) avoids the pitfalls associated with the death grip of the Boston Strangler! Concentrate on a short backswing without a follow through, just nudging the ball forward at its equator.
When executed correctly the result should be a nice roll up to (or in) the hole

Never Up , Never In

2007-03-02T16:23:00.000-05:00

Following on from the last post about preferring the matchplay format reminded me of one of the cardinal sins of matchplay - leaving a putt, for the win or a half, short. An old timer once berated me for doing so in a match with him - "you never leave a putt short in matchplay , you go for everything" and I think that aspect does add to the excitement of play . A daring player will usually triumph over the meeker one - Who dares Wins!
Whilst we are on the subject of putting have you ever noticed how the best putters are firm from around ten feet or under? This allows you to take the break or guesswork out of the putt - you should stroke the ball firmly enough that if it does go by the hole you only have a one or two footer coming back. I guarantee you make more putts doing that than by trying to die the ball into the hole.

Try Match rather than Medal

2007-02-26T09:14:00.000-05:00

If there is one thing that I like better than watching match play - it's playing match play!
Next time you play with a buddy, why not try it? I'll tell you why you should :
1. Every hole is a new game - you can forget the bad shot(s) on the last hole and focus on the hole you are playing.
2. Because of 1. above you can 'go for it' with every shot - knowing that the worst you can do is lose the one hole helps you be more creative and ambitious. When you need that 30 footer for a half your not going to lag it up!!
3. It helps you appreciate the gamesmanship involved in golf - getting into a position that mentally forces you opponent into trying a difficult shot, as opposed to being able to play safe, raises the mental stakes.
4. Match play is unpredictable. Sometimes it takes a great round to advance, sometimes you can shoot over par and advance. You just have to go out and beat one guy at a time.
5.Here's why Tiger likes it -

“The whole idea is to put as much pressure as you possibly can on your opponent right from the first tee until it’s over,” “Keep hitting a bunch of fairways, keep hitting the ball on the green, giving yourself chances and forcing your opponent to make a mistake. That’s the hard part. That’s also the fun part.”

Give it a try - you might like it.

The negative effect of lessons

2007-02-22T08:40:00.000-05:00

Personally, I've never had a golf lesson probably because a pro who watched my swing once said " What you do works so don't mess with it" - I think the message was probably more that I was good enough for what I wanted to do but would never threaten the ranking players. That said, I know a lot of people who have and who have benefitted from the instruction of pros but nearly all of them mentioned that their game had gotten worse before it had improved.
If your pro has suggested a swing change it is tempting to focus on that one small part and over emphasize the change by overdoing the motion - practice by all means but don't expect instant and quantifiable improvement as learning a new movement or position takes several weeks

Don't get sloppy - Joe!

2007-02-18T11:07:00.000-05:00

Whilst watching the Nissan Open last night I was musing about how some of the best players in the world can make stupid mistakes just like the rest of us - sure its great in some ways to see the human side of these demi-gods of golf but why do they do it?
A good example of such mistakes is the easy 3 footer that they just try and 'knock-in' , sometimes with disastrous effect. You sort of have a gut feeling that they are going to miss it because you subconsciously recognize that either they rush the shot or depart from their pre-shot routine.
Skipping the pre-shot routine throws off their feel and alignment - some players do their pre-shot routine no matter what the distance , I'm think of Furyk and Harrington here, and they seem to miss less of the 'easy' putts.
My advice: Line up the putt as you would a 10 footer, take a practice stroke and align your putter carefully - don't let sloppy play spoil a good round!

Get closer to your game

2007-02-16T09:04:00.000-05:00

I was enjoying a post round shooting-the-breeze session with another golfer at my club the other day when he told me he had been given a tip to help him hit the ball longer. Well this guy is in his early 70's (age not score) quite fit and has an average club game from what I have seen. He said that he'd been told to stand a little closer to the ball which would free his body turn a little and provide further power.
I asked him to illustrate and, whilst it looked a little too close to me , he certainly seemed to swing freer and with more of a turn.
I was brought up with a wide stance and more of a reaching-for-the-ball set up which considering the above , is a weak position where the club feels heavier and thus distance is lost.
Standing closer to the ball forces a taller stance, demands a more upright swing plane that SHOULD deliver more power to the ball - think Furyk without the lump.
I'm going to give it a try next time out , why don't you? - I'd be interested to hear what your results were

Having a bad day?

2007-02-12T09:08:00.000-05:00

Someone recently asked me a question by email " What is the best thing to do when everything suddenly seems to be going wrong?"
Well you could just pack up, go home and watch golf on tv or play Tiger Woods on PS3 !
Seriously, when things go wrong the tendency is to try and speed up play in the hope that the bad shots will go away. I can vouch, from painful personal experience, that this is NOT the thing to do.
Try slowing things down - take your time over the shots, compose yourself and focus on the mechanics of set up and alignment . Grip the club lightly , resisting the temptation to strangle the life out of it, and swing freely.
Do not think about your overall score , that will surely be the 'kiss of death' on your game - play one hole at a time, one shot at a time - and you'll break out of the slump quickly

Take aim, fire.

2007-02-09T14:01:00.000-05:00

I forgot to mention that when I was playing the other day and returned a nice score , one of my playing partners was watching me on the tee and after we had played a few holes he asked me why, when teeing off, I pointed the club down the fairway.
I thought that this was a tip that everyone used - before taking address I stand behind the tee , look down the fairway and use my club as a straight line between my teed up ball and the flag (if I can see it).
This allows me to pick a point ( usually a leaf, divot or other mark) a couple of feet in front of the teed ball which in turn helps me to align my stance when addressing the ball. It also allows me to pick a point between the tee and green where I would like my tee shot to land. This simple tip promotes visualization of the shot and encourages confidence on the tee

Improve Your game - Stop Playing!

2007-02-06T07:06:00.000-05:00

Most of the golf I play nowadays involves what I would term ' going out for a knock' as opposed to competitive golf and I believe that this has , to a great degree, contributed to my lack of motivation to play. When I lived in the UK my practice rounds were focussed on honing my game in preparation for competition days - not so much here in the USA.
I've probably not played more than 4-5 rounds in the last 4 months so when I motivated myself to get off the couch last week I was surprised at the result. I actually teamed up with 2 guys that I didn't know and who turned out to be fairly decent golfers. I was feeling relaxed and not much in a ' go get 'em' mood. No warm up - no practice putts - in fact I did everything opposite to what we are told!
The result was that I shot a 2 over par gross for the round and made a couple of shots a pro would have been proud of including making a 50' undulating putt from off the green.
The moral of the story is that I think sometimes we can try too much and just get golfed out, jaded - whatever you want to call it - and that sometimes a rest from playing can help replenish your golfing talents and help your mental health also!
Maybe I'll go out today and see if it's worn off :)

Meet Coach Karen Lee of Carolina Life & Performance Coaching

2007-01-31T11:41:00.000-05:00

On Saturday, February 3rd, 2007, I'll be in Cary, NC for The Vitamin Shoppe Wellness Day between 1 and 3pm.
I'll be giving out information about both life and performance coaching; what's the difference, how does it work, what's right for you and will happily answer any questions you might have.
So if you are in the area stop and say hi!
I'd love to meet you and have the chance to introduce you to Carolina Life Coaching

Click on the Vitamin Shoppe link for directions to the specific location and click on Carolina Life Coaching to head to my main website.

Keep it real!

2007-01-27T10:50:00.000-05:00

When I read Karen's post about expectations and their impact on your game it made me smile. When we develop our skills set in relation to new skills we go through an interesting process - in a simplified form it is as follows:
Unconsciously incompetent
Consciously Incompetent
Consciously competent
Unconsciously competent
A good analogy is driving - Before we start to drive it seems so simple but we don't know what we don't know. When we start, we then realize what we don't know and, as our skills improve, we move to being a good driver aware of our skills, abilities and limitations. Later we move to being unconsciously competent e.g. ever driven a familiar route and not remembered anything significant about it? - driving to and from work is a good example of that!
Think for a moment about your golf game and how easy it looked before you started to play - how much more difficult did it seem when you actually started to play? I'm not sure whether , given the high demands on focus, that one ever becomes unconsciously competent at this game or whether the ultimate is to become simply consciously competent .
What do you think - more next time about this

Expectations and golf

2007-01-24T16:27:00.000-05:00

Today I finally had an opportunity to play some golf. I played with a friend that is not a very good golfer and they get very unhappy very quickly on the golf course. Today was no different and it became very unpleasant for me because they were getting so frustrated and miserable.

While I was waiting for them to play their shots, I discovered what the core problem was; their expectations of performance were mismatched with their skill/ability.

This individual carries a 31 handicap, this means that for them par is equal to par for the course + 31 (72+31 = 103). (Yes this is a VERY simplistic view)

So if we were handicapping the holes for them, they get two strokes on 13 holes (stroke index 1-13) and one stroke on 5 holes (stroke index 14-18).

Thinking about this another way, for 13 holes a double bogey is their par and for 5 holes bogey is their par.

However this person was trying to par the holes and getting angry when they didn’t.

That is a serious case of mismatched expectations and skill/ability level.

If they went out and tried to ‘beat the course’, i.e. make a bogey on the holes they expected to double bogey and par on the ones they are expected to bogey; [a] they would be more successful, [b] they would be happier, [c] their confidence would build, and [d] in time their skills would improve as they found ways to make bogey instead of throwing in the towel because they had blown their chance at par.

Yes this sounds simple but we all know it isn’t simple to adjust one’s expectations so drastically. When I first began to golf I was much like the above person. I expected to be good instantly as I had a long history of excelling at all sports. I assumed that golf would be no different and that I would quickly become a better than average player. I figured that within a year or so I would be a scratch player.

(you can stop laughing now)

Well I didn’t achieve that goal.

I spent most of my time really frustrated and clueless.

It wasn’t until I re-oriented my golf scoring expectations, trying to beat my handicap, that I started to ‘get it’. And I started to improve.

How about you? Do your expectations of your golf match your skills and ability? Or are you out there trying to drive a green 350 yards away when your career best drive is 280 yards? Are you hoping to shoot even par 72 when your average score is 90?

By the way I am not suggesting that you shouldn’t try to better your scores or that you shouldn’t have expectations slightly higher than where you are at – I am suggesting that your expectations are grounded in reality!

Do yourself a favor and try the ‘play the course’ exercise.

Use your handicap if you have one and match the strokes to the stroke index (if your handicap is 1 you get your 1 stroke on the number 1 stroke index hole – this means it’s the toughest scoring hole on the course). Give yourself a (+1) for each hole that you better your handicap (for the above golfer should he par the hole he gets his stroke on), a ( 0 ) for each hole you play to your handicap (a bogey for our 1 handicap on his stroke hole), and a (-1) for each hole you take more strokes than par plus you handicap allocation ( a double bogey for our 1 handicap on his stroke hole).

Tally it up at the end and you have beaten the course if you have a positive value, but the course has beaten you if you have a negative value.

Try it and report back in – alternatively if you have no idea what I’m talking about let me know!

This format is sometimes called ‘Par’ and sometimes ‘Bogey’

Don't let the rot set in

2007-01-23T08:53:00.000-05:00

Hi All,

Karen's recent post about being golf starved got me thinking. There is so much kit about nowadays that there really is no excuse for not practicing at home when the weather stops you from playing - but you don't need to spend in order to practice.
I like to lay a coffee mug sideways as a hole and use that to practice my putting (Heaven knows I need it!!). I even like to practice my chip shots using the same method on the upstairs landing hallway. The worry of trying not to break something seems to let me be more gentle and reserved in my shots - its great for the chips from 'just off the green'
It's also a good time to catch up on cleaning the clubs , going thru the bag and removing trash and excess products - do you really need 3 dozen extra balls, just in case? If there is a break in the weather why not invest in a piece of artificial turf and use it as a mat in the yard , chipping to a bucket or other size receptacle.
Doing something prevents the golfing rot from setting in and ensures that when you next play at least some of your skills will still be there - good luck

What's golf?

2007-01-21T19:30:00.000-05:00

I am currently experiencing a long spell of no golf and not loving it. The weather hasn't been cooperative on the days that I have time to play so each week I wind up not playing. ARGH

I've got a brand new Ping Redwood Anser that has only seen the carpet.
That is SO wrong!

How do you get through the non-golf spells? Do you read more about golf, avoid it, watch more, spend more time in the golf store?

Please write in and let us know how you pacify yourself when suffering from golf withdrawal?

Thanks!

2007-01-12T11:51:00.000-05:00

Just a quick post to thank Steve, our new contributor.
Don't know about you but I have really enjoyed his posts so far -
What he has done for himself in itemizing his strengths and weaknesses - then pointing out specifics is a great learning option for all of us.
If you have not done this yet, give it a try.
It can be humbling and encouraging all at once.

If you take the time to list your strengths and weaknesses take just another moment to post them here. Steve & I would both like to see what you come up with and may be we can post some feedback on how to use your lists to better your game!!

Strengths and Weaknesses -Part Deux

2007-01-10T08:49:00.000-05:00

OK - Here we go with the weaknesses - usually of more interest to people if only from the point of 'learning by the mistakes of others'! I don't intend to discuss these in any order or priority because their significance or impact, for me, may vary from game to game.

Weaknesses
Lack of focus: I tend to start off playing with a higher level of focus and lose it as I play . There seem to be a number of triggers including slow play of others, thinking about previous poor shots and distractions by 'chatty' playing partners. What causes you to lose focus?
Refusing to 'Take my punishment': This is a classic downfall with an easy work around. Most average golfers do not possess the ability to perform trick shots on demand. Even the best players, who can perform trick shots, sometimes just have to chip out to the fairway and accept that the mistake will cost them a shot. Don't let it cost you 3,4,5, shots!
Excessive creativity: One instance that really sticks in my mind was trying to hit a ball out of a bunker with a high lip , using a 5 wood - there was no way anyone could do the shot but I wanted to get it out and onto the green! Just about as bad a decision as you can make - it cost me several shots because , having failed to get it out of the bunker I continued to try and do so ( Ed. Pse see above re 'Taking Punishment')
Course management: I guarantee that anyone who takes this aspect of their game seriously will see an improvement in their returned scores. Before you take a shot, think about where you would prefer to be taking your next shot from, and try to put it there - avoid hazards and difficulties.
Under clubbing: I'm not sure whether it's my fantasy of being Tiger that makes me believe that I can hit the ball further or it's just a lack of belief in my distance perception! Most amateur golfers come up short of the intended target whereas most pros will be too long, if anything. resolve to find out what your club distances are and factor in things like opposing winds etc - err on the side of too much club unless there are obvious hazards in doing so.

Remember - If you always do what you have always done - you will always get what you always got!

Strengths and Weaknesses - Part One

2007-01-04T10:37:00.000-05:00

In the last post I did I spoke about my personal strengths and weaknesses and I would like to take a moment to discuss what they mean to me:
Strengths
Consistency: This is an important weapon in any golfers arsenal , the ability to replicate a shot and swing is key to a good score. Bad golfers play SOME good shots , they just don't play them all the time.
Hand/Eye coordination: The ability to deliver the club face in the correct manner to the ball at point of impact really decides where the ball is going to end up ( I understand that this is a simplistic view and there are more variables) but if you can ensure that the club face is at 90* to the ball at impact - it's pretty much going to go straight where its pointing
Ability to filter out distractions: I've played with many people who respond negatively to every little audible and visual distraction - I'm not talking about a B52 dropping it's load !- even a bird noise can upset some. This is unhelpful and to me indicates lack of focus on the task at hand
Creativity: When I get into trouble or need to pull something special out of the bag I can usually visualize what I need to do or manipulate the club and achieve my goal
Long hitter: Being a fairly long hitter I have found this to be a mixed blessing . It sometimes puts me in a position where I am past all the trouble but can also leave me a long way from where I should be if things go wrong :(

Competitiveness: If I play golf with someone I don't like to return a higher score than them! This explains, to me, why one tends to return a good score when playing with better golf partners. The desire to win (even if you don't win in the end) helps you to return a lower score. I find the converse to be true - when playing with a less skilled player I usually end up playing worse myself

Well No-one's perfect are they?

2007-01-02T08:22:00.000-05:00

Well I must have done something right because Karen has asked me to start the New Year off with a blog post!
In the interests of full disclosure I thought it may be appropriate to reveal what I believe to be my strengths and weaknesses in the game of golf. See if any of these ring any bells with you:

Strengths
Consistency
Hand/Eye coordination
Ability to filter out distractions
Creativity
Long hitter
Competitiveness

Weaknesses
Lack of focus
Refusing to 'Take my punishment'
Excessive creativity
Course management
Under clubbing

Some of these points may be worthy of further discussion and explanation so I intend to devote a post to the strengths and one to the weaknesses section - I think that readers will find the posts both informative and thought provoking because I believe they are faults which are not only common to many golfers but are also ones that can be fixed easily!
Thanks for looking and speak with you all soon
(Remember to spare a few moments to give me some feedback ----please)

New Year - New Contributor!

2006-12-30T10:32:00.000-05:00

Hello to all the readers of Karen's golfing blog,

At my request Karen has kindly agreed to let me do some postings for her blog . She say's that I am on probation and that continued posting privileges are contingent upon the quality of my work and feedback from readers :)
If you haven't guessed already, I'm Karen's loyal and devoted spouse ( was that alright, honey?) . I am a regular golfer and have playing experience over a 30 year period and I hope to pass on some of the acquired wisdom from my (sometimes painful) experience's. The best my handicap has been was 9 but I feel that I could have done better (as my school teachers used to say). My uncle, who lives in the UK, was a pro golfer and the longest serving pro at one club (42 years I think) and I'm hoping that some of the golfing genes have passed to me - they just haven't kicked in yet.
I am as old as Bruce Hornsby, Dennis Quaid and John Travolta. Like Karen, I am a qualified psychologist (forensic) , life and performance coach, counselor and teacher - I am hoping that I can mix these skills up and produce postings that are informative, useful and give some pleasure to read!
Karen has refused to pay me for my efforts so I ask that you all consider rewarding me with some feedback as to what you like, dislike, would like to read about etc etc - you know the deal.
Thanks again in advance of your interest and I hope to be posting again soon.
Steve

GolfTEC

2006-12-27T13:41:00.000-05:00

Earlier today I was out distributing some promotional materials for Carolina Life Coaching and discovered the local GolfTEC location. I have read and heard quite a lot of interesting information about GolfTEC but hadn't been in to 'check it out'.
Well if there's one near you and you have a desire to improve your swing and you're the least bit techie - you must stop in and see what they have to offer.

The pro took the time to talk to me and show me some of the process of how they record, document, compare, etc your swing. Since I was there on an impromptu visit I didn't get to try on the harness that has the sensors in it but I imagine one would feel like Tiger working on the new Playstation3 Golf game with that on! May be another day.
Overall it seems a very nice facility with golf mags to read, club carts for fitting, and of course the teaching/training and practice areas.
Just the sort of place I'd love to hang out!

In the interest of full disclosure I do not have any affiliation with GolfTEC, but do think it is a fantastic idea and surely is a great way to fix your swing!.

By the way Carolina Life Coaching is doing a January special offering a free life or performance coaching consultation - check it out!
karen@carolinalifecoaching.com

First day of Winter

2006-12-21T16:04:00.000-05:00

In the Northern hemisphere we are experiencing the shortest day of the year.
A day to celebrate - for golfers anyway.
Some of you who are buried in snow may be wondering why you would celebrate the day that signifies the bleak, cold months ahead.

Because its the shortest day of the year!

Because every day from now until June 21st (not sure of the exact date for 2007 but it will be near there!) it gets brighter.
And brighter means longer golf days!
Earlier golf and later golf

So if you don't feel like celebrating anything else,
celebrate the Winter Solstice

is this club a keeper?

2006-12-01T16:11:00.000-05:00

used to be I was always trying new equipment
searching for the holy grail of golf clubs is fun, sometimes expensive, and not always a beneficial endeavor
this is a common time of the year for pros and amateurs alike to experiment with equipment
Me - well although there are a few things that intrigue me, working in a golf store has nearly cured me of my desire to change clubs

But one club has seemed vulnerable
My sand wedge
I've been using Vokey wedges for ages - had a brief trial with some new Clevelands but went back to the Vokeys.
However I changed my configuration so my SW went from a 58* to a 56*.
Nothing has been the same since
Sure it works out of the sand just fine but other shots feel very different and worst of all full shots are never the right distance (this is handler error not the wedges fault)
So every few rounds I start thinking about what to replace it with.
I had just gotten to the point of making a concerted effort to replace it and lo and behold I holed out from 75yds the other day with this wedge.
That's the second time in the last few months that I have holed out with this wedge - both for an eagle 2 on par 4's.
So is it a keeper?
How do you decide?
Should I put some work into becoming more proficient with it ( I know the answer is yes!)

For now this club is a keeper solely on the basis of those 2 eagles. I will put some time in with it and build our relationship so it feels better throughout the range of shots I like to use a SW for.

As you are building your wish list for the holiday season, think about the new club you have to have and what you are realistically expecting from it.
Why do you want to replace your current club?
Will changing that one club cause a spiral of change?
Are you willing to deal with the transition phase of the changeover?

OK - I know it is fun to change clubs and sometimes even when it isn't the decision that helps bring your score down its still worth it

Enjoy, there's lots of new gear out there!

A Golfer's Thanksgiving

2006-11-23T12:54:00.000-05:00

The things (golf-related) that I am thankful for:

Having good health so that I can play the game I love
having the opportunity to play on a regular basis
having wonderful friends to golf with
belonging to a friendly club and being welcome by so many
for finding the balls I was sure were lost (and other people's too!)
for being able to appreciate beautiful days even when my golf is ugly
living in a place where I can play year-round
all the eagles, birdies, and pars
all the putts that dropped
for the game itself that teaches us about the ups and downs in life and also reminds us that one does not conquer it
for the never ending learning curve

OK going to go and work on the meal so I can get out to the course before dark
Enjoy and be thankful

What is the ONE thing you are going to change?

2006-10-27T17:13:00.000-04:00

So what aspect of your game are you going to change/improve by the time you tee it up for the first time next season? Can you work on it away from the course? If so how will you work on it in the 'off season'?
I know that for me I am going to continue to work on my putting. I need to work on my attitude about putting and also while putting and I need to work on my actual putting.
My home course has a great practice putting green so I will have to set up a schedule to ensure that I use it.
In the past when I have done a 45" session a week I have seen the results on the course because my stroke is more grooved but also because my mental approach is one of more confidence than without that 45" regime.

So think about your game and choose an area that you will focus on in this off season. Look for a way to practice the physical discipline but also look to find a way to work on your mental attitude towards your chosen discipline.
I guarantee you will see results!

May be I'll see you on the putting green!
Coach Karen

Golf's off season

2006-10-12T20:04:00.000-04:00

For many of you the weather is turning and its not too far away from snow covered fairways and closed courses. Fortunately here in North Carolina (except the mountains) the weather is fine for golf year round. In fact I joke that here you must survive July & August the winter is no problem ( for the semi-hardy). The locals generally don't play if its below 50* F so I can be found laughing and rejoicing on empty courses on sunny, breezy 40* days.
I digress.
What do you do in the off season?
Since for me the weather doesn't dictate an 'off season' I have to allow myself a 'silly' season. I've been grinding all spring and summer and now I have this urge to play care-free, high risk golf. I know I do not score my best in this mode but I have a desperate need to relax and be true to myself. I'm no Steady Eddie but I can force myself into that game in order to score. My natural inclination is Wild Bill - go for everything high risk, high reward. Sure enough my scores vary wildly when I don't force myself to play a game of management but boy o boy do I enjoy it more.
So I don't know about you but for the next few months I can be found in the rough (no doubt) taking on the impossible and stretching myself as a golfer. Laughing, smiling and all out enjoying myself.

I do this because it is what I need to do to stay excited about golf. Currently I'm bored with playing safe shots and focusing on course management, playing crazy rejuvenates me. Sometime down the road I'll realize that I need to get back to the basics to prepare for the season. I'll be excited to do this having given myself a vacation from sensibility.

What will you do in the off season. Do you feel burned out? How will you get the excitement back? Do you need to take a break? Or are you able to stay focused an jump straight into practice and exercises/drills?

Let me know....

Sportsmanship

2006-10-07T14:11:00.000-04:00

A week or so ago I played the most unfriendly match I have ever been a part of. I have played a lot of matches but was and am still surprised that someone would want to play a match in this tenor. I presume they accomplished what they wanted to; which was to win, but how good could they feel when it was over?
So today I ask you - to what extent would you go to in order to win? I consider myself an intense competitor but I wouldn't want a win by cheating or by being unsportsmanlike. I have always felt like I give 150% on the field or course and if it is not enough so be it. For the first time I suppose I am wondering if that is the right thing to do. When I have said to others what this person did, they have queried what I did in return, my answer was nothing. Just tried to not let it get to me and buckle down my game. It didn't work as I played angry and we all know what happens when you play angry but I don't really have the wiring for being unfriendly and unsportsmanlike.

So I ask you - what would you have done?

Would you have played nasty games too?

How would you have responded to someone more interested in upsetting you than in playing the game?

I consider myself mentally tough but this certainly put me off my game and I have spent some time considering what to do in the future to counteract this sort of thing. Once I complete my research I will post what others recommend.
In the meantime I would love to hear your thoughts............

continued thoughts on the Ryder Cup

2006-09-27T19:32:00.000-04:00

If you read yesterday's post you know I've been looking at what happens
(0r doesn't) to the US team at the Ryder Cup.

These were the ideas I proposed;

The US players only play stroke play even as young golfers
They are used to perfectly manicured courses with consistent conditions week to week
Little to no concept of teamwork
Too serious

Continuing on from the first point the US players only play courses that are perfectly manicured with very consistent conditions. Yes, the weather can be variable, and the grass types are different but these variances are nothing like playing one week in Spain, following week in England and the next in Sweden. Having to play well through all these variances changes your game and adds flexibility to your game. You have a great array of shots and have practice using them.
It reminds me of the Big Break show when it was Euros vs. US and they were tasked with a 185 yd shot into a circle. The competition was at Scotland's Carnoustie. Each American would go up there and say my 7i or 8i is my 185 club, hit it full out - super high - and watch the wind knock it down and sent it out of the circle and short. Each of the Euros took more club, choked down, and punched a low rocket into the circle.

We learn only strokeplay and we learn only fly it high shots.

On to point 3, teamwork in golf is not too dissimilar than in any other sport or endeavor. If you are playing foursomes (alternate shot) and your partner plays a bad shot, you need to think & feel, "no problem I'll get us back in it"
Too often you could see the US player's head go down when their partner played a bad shot. What an awful message that sent. The player who just played a bad shot will now be more uptight and the other player instead of wanting to be the clutch player feels put upon.
Having been a team player all my life I do not have any understanding of such poor teamwork. But I saw it - and it embarrassed me as an American.

Lastly the US squad was too serious. Golf is one of those games where you have to be focused and confident, trying too hard is a disaster. One plays stiff & nervous. The chips, pitches & putts all are short (or hit thin!) . The full shots are steered not hit.
You need to be loose in golf and the American squad was stiff. Nary a smile, instant frustration with poor shots, looks of desperation when they lost a hole.

It was awful viewing (if you were for the Americans) and I sure don't know when it will change. Certainly we don't seem to have any young blood that will be ready in 2 years. Having been trounced in '04 sure didn't help in '06 so 2 thumpings in a row is unlikely to change anything.

The US squad needs some psychological help and not as individuals as a team. They all need to be on the same page which they are not. The Euros are and it is a joy to watch them.

So that is my analysis of the Ryder Cup - sure would like to hear what you're thinking!

Ryder Cup - 2 worlds apart

2006-09-26T10:19:00.000-04:00

I'm sure that many golf fans watched this past weekend's Ryder Cup with great interest.
If you are an American it wasn't pretty and I'm sure you shook your ahead in amazed disgust more than once.
If you are European I imagine it was pure exhilaration.
The press and internet golf forums/blogs are all filled with theories on what happened or is happening with US golf.
This European squad was a very strong squad on paper and in reality, so I can confess to not being surprised by the outcome.
I do think that the US squad performed under their capabilities and that is not easily explained. But heck that won't stop me from putting forth a theory.

So here it goes:

The US players only play stroke play even as young golfers
They are used to perfectly manicured courses with consistent conditions week to week
Little to no concept of teamwork
Too serious

#1
Playing in foursomes (alternate shots) and fourballs (each playing own ball, best score is recorded) is not rocket science but it is different than playing your own ball. However you still need to play your shot your way!
It is this last comment that the US players don't seem to get. They get all hung up on 'his game is different than my game' instead of complimenting each other that both players wind up off their game. Its been the case in the last 4 Ryder Cups at the least.
Additionally you are best served with an attitude of 'its OK if my partner hits a bad shot, I can put us back in it'
That is not evident in the US squad but very evident in the Euro squad. I think that is a huge advantage for the Euro squad.
I lived in the UK for 7 years and played LOTS of foursomes, fourballs, and matchplay.
I am American and belong to a club here and we might have 2 scrambles (never serious and never using the USGA rules!) a year and we have one matchplay tournament, everything else is stroke play single golf.
I know that my experience is similar to others in the US & UK. So if I grew up here I have little to no diversity in my golf - if I grew up in the UK from an early age I would have tons of diversity.
If I am learning my golf in the UK I have a preparation for various competitions. If I am American I do not.

The American team seems befuddled and their 'normal' game disappears

That's point #1
I'll do a separate post for each point
Love to hear your comments - stay tuned for more.............

Know Your Abilities

2006-09-19T21:00:00.000-04:00

I was out playing in my ladies league competition today, playing nicely and feeling confident.
And then it happened.
I decided to play a shot I flat out don't have. And as you might imagine it didn't work out and the wheels started to fall off.
There are lot of terms people use when you do this - they might call it greedy, foolish, brave, ridiculous, etc.

I call it poor game management.

I will admit that game/course management didn't come easy or early for me in my golf. But having reaped the benefits, one of which is the feeling of control over your game, I get disappointed when I brain fart like I did today.

Can you relate?
I'm sure you can!

Today's mistake was totally about not acknowledging my limitations and letting my imagination decide on the shot. This will work sometimes but most of the time it can only backfire.

So the moral of the story is:

Know your abilities

Pick your moments

[If you choose to try a high risk shot that asks all or more than what you have - do so with the knowledge that it most likely will not work so think about the consequences.
Is it worth it in the circumstances you are playing under? The answer sometimes is yes - like when you need to play aggressive or when the 'safe' shot isn't truly safe or when if it doesn't work out you will still have a play.]

Don't let you entire round hinge on this one shot

Best advice is to be creative and imaginative within your abilities - that is game management!

(About my shot . Well in the last few years I have become better able to shape my shots , adjust their height etc. This one was just too much ask on a very risky line and I wound up OB!! Oh well these things happen :o )

Autumn Golf

2006-09-17T19:50:00.000-04:00

This will be a lighter post than usual as I find myself just wanted to take a moment to breathe.
Specifically breathe in the crisp autumn air. Admittedly its not overly crisp here in North Carolina but you still know that you have survived the extreme heat and humidity of July & August.
The light is changing and the leaves are subtly starting to change.

I don't know about you but is there a better time of the year for golf?
It makes me want to play near the beach and in the mountains and anywhere really.

So my only words tonight are - get out there and enjoy!!

Patty Berg RIP

2006-09-11T19:03:00.000-04:00

"You need to have the will to win not just the wish to win!" Patty Berg

Patty Berg, one of the founders of the LPGA and an LPGA great, died yesterday from complications from Alzheimers.

She knew a lot about winning, having won 57 titles on the LPGA & WPGA circuit and 29 amateur titles before that. She won 15 major titles which is the LPGA tour record.

For us this statement may be more applicable to our golfing goals than 'winning' as most golfers do not play in tournaments or organized competitions (at least here in the US, in the UK they play many competitions which I miss terribly!).

Using an earlier example we can insert breaking 80 for winning and we get this;
"you need to have the will to break 80 not just the wish to break 80."

You are unlikely to break 80 if you only think to yourself I wish I could shoot 79. You need to be committed to achieving it and willing to work as hard as you need to in order to do it - that is having the will.

so think about your golf and what you want to 'win'

Do you have the will or just the wish??

Commitment in golf

2006-09-06T16:30:00.000-04:00

As a golfer I am sure you are watching Tiger Woods dominate the PGA tour. Last week when he was in the lead after the first round I imagined what the other golfers were thinking, can you? Its a remarkable run for sure. I can't help but think about how he does it. To me it is as if you can watch his confidence growing and with that his commitment to each shot deepens (if that can be possible)

This serves as a model for us and should help us take our game to a higher level. The game of golf allows for constant improvement and this improvement will happen faster if you can improve your level of commitment.

I have spoken before about my putting difficulties. And of course my improvement. In the process of improving I noticed my mental state as I was putting.
Not only did I often have a completely unrelated thought while making a stroke, I realized that I was uninterested in putting AND I would make a stroke without any purpose.
You know I would look for a line, think about pace NOT DECIDE and hit the putt.
NO WONDER I WAS MISSING SO MANY!!!!!!!!!!

In my improvement process I had to be more interested in putting, not think about what I would have for lunch, and most importantly pick line and pace and COMMIT to it.
Like a miracle it has worked. Its been a real epiphany for my game, I have applied the same measures to my chipping and pitching and that too has improved.

So, I know I've written about this before, you must be more committed to your shots - each one.
Whether chip, pitch, putt, drive, etc.
Decide what you want to do and do it.
Banish all other thoughts.
Its just you and the ball and your intent.

Sometimes it will go wrong but many more times it will be right
I guarantee you that your golf will improve!!

BTW how are your golfng goals coming along???

So how would you beat Tiger Woods?

2006-08-28T13:36:00.000-04:00

(Sorry for the lapse in posting been working on several things and enjoying a bit of summer.)

Now on to this post

How would you beat Tiger Woods? Let's face it he's starting to seem invincible. The latest win at Firestone he clearly wasn't even playing well!
Many golf fans are saying that he just doesn't have any competition. I don't subscribe to that theory.
I think he has mentally intimidated them to the point of neutering them. Many of the tour pros have similar physical talent but once they see him in the lead, despite what they tell the media, the lose confidence.

Golf, of course, is a game of confidence.

So how would you tackle the problem?
No one can ignore his tremendous achievements and success. Once he's in the front he isn't going to give you much so you will have to go get it.

But how does one do it? By it I mean keep your confidence and focus when you are aware of his stunning record (s).

I am not so pretentious as to say I KNOW the way but I am going to offer a theory of how to take on Tiger.

Personally I think that you must acknowledge his prowess. It serves no purpose to attempt to deny what he does and how good he is. Having accepted his greatness, you must focus solely on you. On your ability. On your skill and talent. On your resolve.
You must become more focused.
You must have singular focus and commitment.
You will have to enter a space that is yours and yours alone.

Once you have entered the above zone, I believe you will have to play aggressive, attacking golf. Shoot as low as you can on the day. Obviously you do want to minimize tragic mistakes so if you need to play safe due to positioning than that is how you play for as low a score as possible.

You have to believe that you can do it. Confidence in your own abilities is essential.

At no point can you be thinking where he is up to or what is capable of.
Your sole intention is to stay in YOUR ZONE and have the best score that you can.

So what do you think? How would you tackle the problem of beating the great man?

I have no thoughts that I could take on Tiger but I have had to take on strong (more skilled) players in matches and find a way to beat them.
The above method works for me.

I think it will work for most because it outlines focus, commitment, and confidence in oneself. In golf these three characteristics are the key to performing.

I sure know that Tiger believes in himself, isn't worried about what you or anyone else is doing and is fully committed to every shot he plays.

Try it I am sure it will work for you.

ps I do not think this will turn you into Tiger!

Rule numbers 6 & 7

2006-08-20T19:53:00.000-04:00

Rule Number 6: You Must Have a Burning Desire to Achieve Your Goals
This one seems fairly straightforward and obvious. You need to have an intense need/desire/intent to achieve your goals.
Steve Williams says, "Your goals should be something you're driven to, not just things that intrigue you for the moment."
Everyone has motivation issues or other barriers to achieving their goals. It is easy to become discouraged or lose focus at these times. Your energy towards achieving your goal wanes...
It is at these moments that you will need that intense desire or your goal will return to being a fantasy.
Additionally goals that are long term or ultimate goals take time to achieve and you will 'live' with them for some time they had best be something you can and want to live with!

Remember your goal changes you from a thinker to a doer.
So make sure when you set your goals that you have a real passion to achieving them!!

Finally
Rule Number 7: You Must Be Determined to Achieve Your Goals
This is closely connected to Rule #6 and is an underlying component to all aspects of goal setting.
You will as earlier stated hit some difficulties, hiccups, road blocks, slumps etc. as you progress towards your target.
Determination will be paramount.
Thinking back to the Walking the Baby post you must see these bumps in the road to your goal as information gathering. Don't be negative. You are learning what doesn't work!

Ask yourself "is it really worth it?" The determined will always answer YES!

I cannot separate rules 6 & 7 - to me desire and determination are entwined. Desire drives determination.
If you really, really want something you will endure and persevere. This is in contrast to kind of wanting it.

That is the review of The Seven Rules of Goal Setting as laid out by Steve Williams

I have heard from a few of you regarding your goals - send them in or post them as a comment as I'm sure that others will enjoy them and will benefit from your process and progress!

Rule Number 5

2006-08-15T13:24:00.000-04:00

Continuing forward we'll look at the fifth rule of goal setting from Steve Williams book.
Rule 5: Goals Must Take Personality into Account
This sounds a little different than what it means - at least to me. As SW explains it, this rule is related to your goals being realistic and attainable. This is about self-limiting factors, in particular the emotional ones. You must recognize the limiting factors that are effecting you now in order to face them and move on to changing them or getting past them.
Its important that you realize that by creating a lofty goal you will not automatically jump past your limiting factors.
One way in which I believe that personality can and should be taken into account is in how fast one moves forward and/or the methods by which one tackles difficulties or emotional barriers.

I like to think of learning to swim. Are you the type of person that would do well to jump in the deep end and be forced to learn to swim quickly or would you do best wading in and slowly learning to swim?
You need to know which kind of person you are and your goals should reflect this.
I'm a deep end sort of person so I know that I respond best to forcing myself to adapt quickly. Slow and methodical is not best for me.

So have a think - slow and methodical or deep end scramble? Which one are you? How do your goals reflect this?

Also think about what self-limiting thoughts or feelings are preventing you from achieving your best.

Keep posting them here please - it helps all readers of the blog to see this in action

Moving Forward with your Golfing Goals

2006-08-13T11:07:00.000-04:00

In the last post we looked at Rule 3 - Goals Must Be Realistic and Attainable. As we talked about in that post if you are a 18 handicap a goal of playing in next years US Open is not realistic in its scope. Setting unrealistic goals is a sure fire way to set yourself up to fail.
We don't want to set goals that are overly cautious or conventional but they do need to be attainable or within our reach.

This leads nicely into Rule 4 - Goals Must Represent a Target Not Already Achieved.
We don't want to set goals that are truly out of our reach but we do want them to be a reach!
You want to be stretching yourself, raising your standards, ideally you are constantly improving yourself.
Golf lends itself to this constant improvement and as I stated a few posts ago I believe it is a strong factor of attraction to the game for many.

SW says, " For goals, look up, not down."

I might say that this step might also include re-evaluating your goals. In my putting example I happily achieved lowering my putting average per round by the 3 strokes. I now need to move forward with that goal and set the bar higher. I have achieved 34 putts/round ( I know its still high!) so I now need to attempt to average 33 putts/round.
Had I originally set the goal of knocking 4 strokes off my putting average it may have been too bold to achieve within my timescale - but now having achieved it I need to take it up a notch.
Make sense?

So make sure that your goals are stretching you - but attainable.

Good luck and report in on how you're doing

Keeping it Real!

2006-08-09T19:18:00.000-04:00

Today I want to consider the third rule which relates to goals being realistic and achievable. No matter how high your personal levels of self-esteem and confidence are there is little prospect of fullfilling a target goal that involves wining the next US Open! ( Although that could be your overall vision for the future). Certainly goals need to be stretching but equally they should be realistic and achievable. Athletes of all sports set incremental goals that provide opportunity for improvement, personal growth and success.
By way of example, a golfer who usually shoots over 80 may aim to shoot below that figure within a set timescale , say the next two weeks. Of course you need to consider how to best achieve that goal , so why not revisit previous posts and think of ways in which you can incorporate the ideas into your game plan?
I know some club players that have an overall vision of winning a specific club tournament within a year and , knowing that such vision demands an overall improvement in their game, action plan how they propose to improve the various components of their game.
Try writing down your vision - look at where your game is now and what you need to improve - break it into the various components that may be restricting your success and prepare a written action plan for improvement. Remember to monitor and evaluate your progress towards your smaller goals and redefine as necessary
Good Luck - and keep it real!

Here is a link to the book by Steve Williams

Golf As You Wish feed

2006-08-07T11:06:00.000-04:00

for anyone interested you can get a feed of this blog here

Getting started on your golf goals..

2006-08-07T10:10:00.000-04:00

As promised we will now start looking at the 7 Golden Rules of Goal-Setting as laid out in "Golf at the Top with Steve Williams"

The best way to utilize this information is to have a goal in mind and 'do' the process along with the blog entries. Let's get started.........

Rule 1: Goals must be written down
Just telling yourself, I'd like to 'blah, blah' or thinking about a goal isn't going to work. It may as well be a fantasy if you don't write it down. Writing it down takes it to the next level, you go from, "I'd like to" to "I am going to." Do you feel the change?

Once you write your goal down it becomes something concrete and you have committed to it. You have defined your target. Steve Williams says that by doing so you elevate it to a status of pre-eminence.

I'll liken this to standing on the first tee thinking, "I'm going to break 80 today" versus telling your playing partners that you are going to break 80 today. Again I ask can you feel the difference? The ante has been upped.

I have often told myself that I must improve my putting. When I wrote down that I was going to knock 3 strokes off my per round total putts by the end of July, my level of involvement in seeing this to fruition changed. I became much more aware of my per round putting average and had a greater motivation to go over to the golf course and just putt. It became a competition within a competition for me - I was doing my best to post a good score and was also completely focused on lowering my number of putts. (and it worked!)

So pick a goal for your game and write it down. Post it somewhere, share it with friends.

Rule 2: Goals must be written in a positive way
This may seem obvious but it is essential so make sure you've not written negatives in your goal.
ex. I will not dip my shoulders at impact is WRONG
instead
I will stand tall at impact
or
I will maintain my posture throughout the swing

So go ahead and write down at least one golfing goal I'd love to have some of them posted here!!!!!!!!!!!!

Improving your golf

2006-08-04T15:59:00.000-04:00

All golfers want to improve. Its an aspect of the game that people told me about before I had even hit a ball. The more you play it the more you'll want to achieve. The better you get, the better you want to get. I think you will struggle to find a golfer who doesn't have a goal in sight or have an answer to, "what part of your game is holding you back?"

So do you have a target or specific goal?
Do you have a plan to get better?
Have you written it down?
How important is it to you?
What have you done to achieve it?

In order to help you in attaining your goals this entry will outline some specific steps to improving your game.

Continuing to highlight parts of the book, "Golf at the Top with Steve Williams", this entry will address goal-setting.

Much of what he talks about is the same stuff you hear in all informed conversations on goal-setting. Mr. Williams breaks it down into 7 Rules:

Rule 1 : Goals must be written down
Rule 2: Goals must be written in a positive way
Rule 3: Goals must be realistic and attainable
Rule 4: Goals must represent a target not already achieved
Rule 5: Goals must take personality changes into account
Rule 6: You must have a burning desire to achieve your goals
Rule 7: You must be determined to achieve your goals

Golfasyouwish will in the next few weeks take a closer look at each of these rules. It will be an excellent time to think of a few golfing goals and to develop them along with this blog.

Think of some technical or mental aspects of your game that you want to improve on, or a specific target like breaking 80 or 90. I trust you will think of something!
As you get started you may want a refresher on SMART goals - here's an early post from lifeasyouwish that may help you out.

check back regularly and feel free to send in examples or post some comments/questions as we move forward!!

Walking the Baby

2006-08-02T20:17:00.000-04:00

In, "Golf at the Top with Steve Williams", there is a section near the beginning that is called walking the baby.
I feel that it is a particularly well written and interesting segment even though it is relatively short.
He talks about watching a baby learn to walk. A baby that is learning to walk comes to the task without negatives and value judgements.
All it does is keep trying, despite repeated mistakes. Each mistake supplies the brain with useful information about what it needs to do to succeed. The baby makes modifications, unconsciously, based on the continually refined info supplied to the brain via the 'mistakes'. Eventually the baby is walking.
Most importantly for this discussion, the baby makes no judgements.

"The baby doesn't swear or throw up its arms in disgust or even get mad...:it's too busy absorbing information - practicing awareness - to resort to silly histrionics and value judgements that do nothing but distort the information-absorbing process. The baby is simply aware of its mistakes and automatically trusts its subconscious brain to learn from those mistakes."

He goes on to talk about how to the baby mistakes are not good or bad, just part of the process.

This is in stark contrast to adults whose value judgements are massive obstacles to learning.

Our conscious minds have negative images of our skills, remember bad experiences, have fears etc.

Instead of just absorbing the info we taint it and occlude it with extraneous negative information.

For example, many golfers suffer from fear of water hazards - they stress as soon as they see a water hole, instead of taking in things like wind direction, temperature, etc. they stand there thinking about how they always hit into the water, pull out a 'water ball' ( you know the worst ball in the bag that you're not worried about losing, the shot they played earlier with that club that wasn't their best, etc.
Instead of gathering information that will feed into their brains to make a better shot they feed their brain with negative thoughts & value judgements.

No surprises as to what happens next.

For me the image of a baby walking will forever be different.

Power of positive thinking (& creativity)

2006-07-30T21:38:00.000-04:00

Most golf fans will have seen that Corey Pavin has won today, his first victory in 10 years!
Corey has long since had the reputation as an incredible shot maker & short hitter. If you've been around golf for a while you have most certainly heard of his 4 wood approach at Shinnecock Hills in the 1995 US Open. Others were playing much shorter clubs into the green but he shaped his beautifully and set himself up to win the championship.

Today I only saw a glimpse of the golf, I turned it on to see how he was doing. He had shot an opening 9 of 26 on Thursday and that certainly deserved to hang on for the win in my book.

The glimpse I saw was Pavin on the 8th hole lining up a shot from 172 out and his ball was lying in a divot. He played a crazy shot - if it wasn't a pro you'd think it was a terrible slicer's swing, he came across himself, hooded the club, and had a quick wrist action.

The result - even better than he was hoping - it went in!!!!!!!!!!!!

Most golfers faced with a mid-long iron shot from a nasty divot would be aggravated and not feeling very confident. I tend to try and remind myself of what I need to do to ensure that I advance the ball properly.

Corey Pavin must have been feeling very confident. Confident enough to imagine the shot and even more so to pull it off.

I was impressed with his mental approach and how calm he appeared as he thought about his predicament. One got the impression that he was all business, no problem, etc.
Unsurprisingly this attitude helped him to devise a plan to extricate himself from his poor fortune.
The good fortune was the resultant eagle!!

So keep your head about you when you get a bad break, be confident in your skills, and be creative as necessary.

Congrats Corey and thanks for reminding us that we all have tools at our disposal and if we use those tools creatively and with a positive outlook, The results can be stunning!!!!

Playing in the rain

2006-07-27T10:55:00.000-04:00

Nobody I know likes playing golf in the rain but no doubt you've experienced it at some point.
It just happened to me last Tuesday. Unfortunately I have lots of experience playing in the rain but my playing partners did not.
In fact one was desperate to pack it in but we convinced her to stay out as we were already on the 15th.
Inclement weather is just another opportunity to flex your mindset, if you catch my drift.
I had to laugh when I thought to myself, 'at least its a warm rain'
As water was running off my bucket hat into my eye I thought, 'sure beats the humid 100*F and sunny we had last week'
When the one player was still miserable because we didn't turn back, I reminded her that it was only water, like a shower or sprinkler.

The point here is that for me playing in the rain is like being a kid again, it is humorous and fun, as long as its not too windy & cold.
For this other woman it is absolutely awful.

My attitude was in the whole very positive, hers was very negative.

Unsurprisingly I shot the same on the back 9 as I did on the front 9, she was 10 strokes worse on the back as she was on the front.
These results are representative of our mindset during the rainy holes.

So if you find yourself golfing in the rain, lighten up its only water.
Take extra club, choke down on it and swing easy.
Adjust your expected score, it is harder in the rain so give yourself a break. That's called having realistic goals.
Use your skills to focus on the shot just as you normally would (without thinking about the water running into your eye)!

Play for less roll, less break on the greens - slower too, use something other than your sand wedge in the sand and you'll be amazed at how well you can still score.

Please though if you see lightning get to safety, that is number 1 in all of our books!

In agreement

2006-07-24T14:16:00.000-04:00

You just might enjoy this
The Human Tiger

Tiger Woods is The Master

2006-07-23T20:01:00.000-04:00

I'm sure that many of you will have been following The Open Championship (otherwise known as The British Open) and some will have uttered, " Here we go again" as Tiger Woods dominated the field and won his 11th major championship.
We all know that he is a wonderfully talented golfer and hard worker. What is more impressive is his mind control. His ability to focus is already legendary yet witnessing it again today was something to behold. The last time I personally recall him dissecting a golf course like this it was the year 2000.
When I think of the extraordinary distractions he plays with every round it is a miracle that he can even hit the ball. Today was worse than ever as people with camera equipped cellphones seemed unable to resist taking a picture during his swing. Add to this that it is the last round of a major, its a difficult course and you are playing with the spirit of a lost loved one.

He looked cool and calm throughout.
He did not wander from his strategy despite sometimes being 80+ yards behind his playing partner and having long irons into the unforgiving greens.
He just kept hitting the fairways and playing to the greens and his putting was deadly accurate.
It would be easy to forget the weight that he was carrying............ at least until he hugged his caddy Steve Williams when it was over and he collapsed into his friend's arms and sobbed uncontrollably.

It was at that moment that you became painfully aware of what had been inside him all week but especially as he played today, no doubt building with each shot.
Heck may be it was sitting there since his father passed away in May. Bottled up and waiting for the right moment.

As I sat here watching it, remembering the intensity of the loss of my own father & feeling a little guilty for being able to watch someone at such an intimate moment.
Ultimately I found myself marveling more than ever at this young man's power, his mind and emotional control, consummate professionalism, intelligence and athleticism. And his humanness.

So this post is essentially a 'hat's off' to Tiger.
Today was the quintessential example of mind control and focus (obviously paired with extreme talent). He performed at the highest level while carrying very intense feelings of loss in a setting full of external distractions.
This is why I call him the master. Certainly the best I have ever witnessed at focusing and harnessing his emotions until its safe to let them out.

Congrats Tiger. You are a young man that can teach us lots.
I hope that today's emotional letting is a turning point in your grief.

And to those that don't 'like' Tiger at least stand back and look at his ability to manage emotions in order to achieve his best. You'll find no better teacher.

Accentuate the Positive, Eliminate the Negative

2006-07-22T14:27:00.000-04:00

The recent hot weather has been adversely affecting people especially the avid golfer trapesing around in the mid day sun like a mad dog or Englishman ( my husband!). What is even worse is when your internal temperature rises as a result of a bad shot, distraction or other stressor. I'm sure that even tour players are prone to throwing the odd club around to allieviate tension but that really isn't the answer and makes you look immature.
Externally, take plenty of water ( save the beer for later) and place a cold wet towel on your neck, seek out breezyor shady areas before and after your shot and dress comfortably.
Internally, find a strategy that works for YOU - count to 10, break a tee peg in your pocket, snap an elastic band on your wrist - everyone will think you are cool customer even when things don't seem to be going your way!
Soon enough you will find that you don't even have to do the small strategy to relieve your frustrations and you will have removed a significant negative aspect from your game - and it's cheaper than replacing those shafts!

Tee it high - Let it fly

2006-07-20T08:58:00.000-04:00

Watching the opening round of The Open this morning I was wondering how the pros deal with first tee nerves. My husband's uncle has played in five Open's - so who better to ask?
His name is George Parton and he is the longest serving club pro ( 42 years at the same club) in England. He said that he never really got first tee nerves but when pressed about what he did differently when a crowd was around him and the competition screws were being turned he did give one tip.
He said that, for him at least, the biggest danger was 'topping' the ball so he would tee it higher than usual - bearing in mind that in those long gone days club heads were much smaller - I still think that the tip holds good with today's giant clubheads, as that first shot sets the scene for the round and can boost your confidence tremendously.
You have already had my two cents worth in the First Tee N-e-r-v-e-s post but I will add a little more:
Always double check your set up including ball position, feet orientation and overall stance position - it will remove any doubt in your mind - get these right , take a few deep breaths and all you have to do is hit it down the fairway!
Let me know if any of you have any strategies for dealing with nerves.

Does Practise make Perfect?

2006-07-18T07:44:00.000-04:00

I was reading an article recently that discussed the pro's and con's of using the practise range. Interestingly, there is a wide continuum between the likes of Carlos Franco, who doesn't even play between tournaments, and Vijay Singh, who was reported to hit 1,000 balls a day during the US Open.
I would have to say that you tend to see Vijay's name winning more tournaments than Carlos but is range practise the determining factor?
Driving ranges tend to be frequented by aspiring participants in the World Long Drive Comp, working on a 350 yard drive that can(and usually does) land anywhere and paying little attention to their faults. Such actions are counterproductive as all that is happening is the 'grooving in' of any bad habits you may have - so lay off the endless drives! Sure Tiger Woods heads out to the range to iron out any wrinkles in his game but he will have a top coach intently watching him.
My recommendation for practice ? - Go to your local club early in the morning or late in the evening when you can play nine holes and practise various shots with focus and purpose - it will also help your stress levels.
Remember - the more you practise the luckier you will become.

Maintaining your focus

2006-07-15T09:39:00.000-04:00

Steve Barker, a 12 handicapper, from UK asked me about 'running out of steam mentally towards the end of a round' especially when playing an unknown course. I thought this was an issue that affected many people, myself included.
I think there are a variety of reasons why we run out of juice mentally, here are a few:

Simply seeing the 'finishing line' and dropping focus
Too much focus for too long - it's important to be able to switch between periods of high focus and periods of just smelling the roses
Wasting mental energy analyzing bad shots - the time for reflection on your game is after you finish and you need all the self-confidence you can muster
Setting unrealistic expectations-goals need to be achievable

A couple of suggestions;

Stay in the present at all times. This means not thinking about shots that didn't turn out the way you wanted or worrying about your final score. All you are doing is playing the shot at hand
Alternate times of intense focus with relaxed interest. When you are surveying your next shot you should not be in the same intense focus that you will be when you are playing that shot
On 'new' or 'unknown' courses set yourself a different target score than you would on your home course. Allow for the fact you do not know all the nuances and you cannot expect to see them all.
Think about splitting the game up into smaller groups of holes - 6-6-6 or 9-6-3 or whatever your preference or tolerance is. I always advocate splitting a round up into two halves and trying to better your first half score
Nutrition is an important fuel for focus, it's hard to think about a shot when your stomach is rumbling or your throat is like sandpaper- stay hydrated and eat something along the way.

Some people like to use a technique called 'anchoring' when they feel themselves start to lose focus - more about that technique later

The important thing in life is not the triumph but the struggle

2006-07-14T14:57:00.000-04:00

Well, we've returned from our little jaunt to the mountains of North Carolina and I must say it was very impressive. Great scenery, trails, rivers and sunsets were the order of the day and even the dog seemed to enjoy himelf.
I promised, the other day, to post about the golf course, Jefferson Landing, and it looked and played as good as the web site promised. An early morning mist rolled along the fairway of the first hole but had burned off by the time we had reached the green and it got better as we played on.
The course is in a beautiful location and we had it all to ourselves, so could stop and admire the views along the way.
AS for the golf - I always set myself a goal score ( a little higher when it's a course I haven't played before) I find this helps me to focus when it could be 'too casual' a round. I happily report that I was able to score one stroke under my target. I was struggling all day with my irons but my goal score was my focus not par which helped immensely in moderating my response to a bad hole.
Lastly I must admit that on one hole there was a sign which gave a reading to the front of the water - Believing this old lady didn't have that kind of distance anymore I hit my driver and guess where I found my ball - that's right taking a cooling dip in the stream!
That's an example of a bad result bringing a smile to my face!
Hope you like the picture!

Feedback- The Breakfast of Champions!

2006-07-11T11:06:00.000-04:00

There can be no doubt that the people who perfom the best are constantly looking for ways in which to improve themselves and one of the best ways is to seek feedback. Leading on from the S.W.O.T analysis I recommended the other day, it is imperative that you seek feedback from everyone who is willing to provide it. Of course, part of that deal is that you are ready,willing and able to accept feedback, even if from an unskilled messenger.
It could be something as simple as saying to your playing partners, " Tell me if you think I played a stupid shot or if you would have played it differently". How you phrase your request depends on how well you know your partners.
Your part of that deal, having requested feedback, is that you accept it without arguement and use it to evaluate your performance. In effect your requesting a form of peer review which can mean a 'warts and all' picture of how you play - so bear that in mind - your game may not be as beautiful as you think!
In seeking to improve our game we should never be satisfied with the status quo - the top performers aren't.
Tomorrow I'm playing Jefferson Landing golf club in the Mountains of North Carolina - it looks stunning - I'll tell you how it is when I get back.

Be A Reflective Practitioner.

2006-07-10T08:59:00.000-04:00

Very few people have not heard of S.W.O.T. analysis , so I'm going to look at it's usefulness, in golf, in terms of knowing our limitations.
Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats are what they stand for and the simplest way of doing the analysis is to reflect on your performance as soon as possible after a round, draw up a simple sheet with the four quadrant headings and fill them in.
When I'm playing, I always make a note of the number of drives, chips and putts I take in a round and that helps identify where my strengths and weaknesses are - perhaps too many putts or wayward iron shots have cost me dear - and I can refer to the notes later.
In the Opportunities section I usually put in the opportunities I have missed by not playing a particular shot or club and in the Threats section issues such as hazards, incorrect distance markers, invisible or disguised obstacles etc. You can see that Strengths and Weaknesses are internal issues that you should have some control over whereas Opportunities and Threats are more external and fixed and therefore need to be exploited or avoided the next time you play.
If you accurately and fairly complete the analysis you will get a better picture of your overall game, where you need to practise or improve and ways in which you can maximize your potential to return low scores.
Keep in your head that you need to play to your Strengths and Opportunities whilst minimizing your Weaknesses and Threats!

A funny thing happened on the way to the green

2006-07-08T10:12:00.000-04:00

When I last posted, about limitations, it reminded me of a friend of mine who was always attempting shots that he could not pull off or trying to hit distances that were outside of his range. I knew he couldn't execute the shots because I'd seen him try (and fail) many times. There's a saying that 'the world loves a trier' but golf is not always that accommodating!
I'd suggested to him that his scores would be better if he knew how far he could hit each club and if he played the 'percentage shot' rather than the 'Tiger Woods shot'. It's not always easy to see the sensible options when you are caught up in playing the game so I asked him to humour me and let me club him and give him the shot to play.
He did just that and the result was his score was at least 10 shots better than usual although I must say that the next time we played he relapsed to his former game and his score relapsed also - he clearly lacked the self discipline required to play the percentage game.
The next time you are out practicing and are tempted to play a difficult shot (position or distance) also play the 'percentage shot' and see which route pays dividends!

Don't bite off more than you can chew

2006-07-06T09:05:00.000-04:00

Anyone can make a 75' putt. Even someone who has not played golf before can stand on a green and hit endless balls until one falls in either by accident or design. Not everyone, however, can hit 280 yard drives (sorry to burst the bubble there) - knowing what you physically can and can't achieve is crucial.
Interestingly, you can see many club players attempting shots, usually from difficult lies, that tour players wouldn't contemplate and it usually leads to disaster.
There are a number of reasons why they do this; they don't understand the position that they are in, haven't looked at their options, don't know their limitations, want to impress others, etc etc. Sure, they may get lucky and pull the shot off but that's not the smart way to play golf, is it?
Knowing what you can and can't do (limitations) is critical because no matter what level of self-belief you have, you are not carrying the 280 yard shot over the water, no matter how many times you try! A poor shot from a difficult lie can (and usually does) ruin a card whereas an extra shot can usually be recovered somewhere else in the round.
If you know and play within your physical limitations you can concentrate on reducing your self limiting thoughts ( more about that later)