Golf Practice Started - Warm Weather Finally Here for A Day - At the Golf Course

Today was a day that finally was warm enough (75 degrees) to put my clubs in the trunk and take a lunch hour at the Golf Course.

Through a hectic day at the office, the warm weather allowed me to get my first practice in this year without having to go to Dicks Sporting Goods to hit a few balls as I test some of their new drivers and woods.

Even though the golf course isn't ready for smooth greens and great shape I was able to get a little practice in.

When you only have an hour lunch what can you do.

Today I worked on chipping and walking.

As I have stated before I believe that the short game is the most important part of the game since you use it about 70-80% of your shots.

With limited time, I practiced on my chip and run shot with my 56 degree wedge.  I placed myself about 20 yards away with about 15 yards of green between me and the hole.

• Position the ball just inside the right foot.  (left foot if left handed)
• Place your back foot perpendicular to the target and your front foot at a 45 degree angle with not much room between your feet in an open stance.
• Take a short back swing with hinging your hands almost immediately. (the distance you need to carry and hit the ball will be adjusted on length of back swing taken)
• The most important item on this technique is to make sure your club head swings at a descending angle, with the club head behind the hands.

I worked on this for approximately 20 minutes.  The goal is to get all the shots to finish within 3 feet or less of the hole.

It was such a nice day I thought I would check out a nice walk on the golf course and hit balls on two holes.  Of course to make sure I got the most exercise possible I picked the two hilliest holes and carried my bag.  The first hole I played 3 balls knowing that I would have average shots off the tee because first swings of the year.

This allowed me to play one shot from the middle of the fairway, one shot from the right rough on a down hill slope and the other shot I had to hit around the tree line and fade it into the green  The one in the fairway I placed on the green.  The one in the rough I pulled and was on left side of the green and chipped within 4 feet (about 20 yards away from the hole).  The third ball on the fade to the green I left on the right side of the hole with a short shot up the bank of the green with about 5 yards of green to play with and left it about 4 feet away.  My putting stroke was fine, but the greens are real bumpy for they haven't yet started rolling and cutting them.  So my recommendation on putting this early is work on technique and stroke.

With time running out, the next hole I hit only one drive down the middle and placed the second shot about pin high right side green rough.  I chipped and one putted.

Well it was time to get back to work.  It definitely was fun, enjoyable and allowed me to see what I can focus on the range for the start of my practice sessions coming up now that it has started to warm up.  Unfortunately, tomorrow back down to the 20-30's with possible snow, then a warm up to the 60's again.

Until next time, remember when you are out practicing be focused on what you want to accomplish and have fun doing it......

Effects of Golf Wedge Shots in the Wind

The Effects of Wedge shots hitting in the wind.

Tour players know that the toughest scoring in golf is during windy conditions.  As the wind picks up, the elite golfers assess, evaluate, and play the effect the wind has on every shot, including short-game and putts.

Most Amateurs wait until the wind is blowing hard toward danger before they start to adjust.  Even then they fail to consider how it affects wedge shots.  You hit the shot tracking toward the pin, only to end up short in the sand.  This not only happens in real windy conditions, but also in mild 5-7 mph winds.

Even though wind is a challenge, most golfers try to hit through it instead of using the wind to their advantage.  To have the wind assist you instead of hinder you, you must have some knowledge of the wind.  The most important is to keep your shots lower and with less spin on the ball. 

Here are a few tips on how to strategize on windy days hitting short-game shots into the green.

1.  Playing Downwind. Play the ball in the back of your stance, close your club face, and hit it crisply.  This will allow you to penetrate the wind with ample backspin.  Will give you a lower trajectory, allowing you to minimize the wind affect, while stopping the ball prior to any trouble behind the green.





2.  Playing into the wind.  Try hitting this shot with pitching wedge, or a 8, 9 iron with an easy swing.  This should produce a lower ball flight with minimal backspin, both of which should minimize the wind effect.  The result should be landing short of the green, releasing and then rolling on the putting surface toward the hole.  This is a much more predictable shot than hitting a high shot with a lot of spin.



3.  Playing in Cross Wind.  The important thing to remember is the ball will turn with the wind the whole way, including after it hits the ground.  It's the last bounce and roll that surprises the golfer.  Sending what are well played shots further from the hole.

I have played a lot of golf in the wind.  Actually practice on the range during windy days to work and watch how the wind affects my ball flight.  I pride myself with the ability to adjust to the wind.

You will, too, if you take the advise above to heart, and accept that the wind affects all shots, not just the long ones.

Until next time, keep your head down and your swing smooth....

Golf Dreams - When Practice Doesn't Go Well

Well you know the old saying practice makes perfect.  Some days you practice and it doesn't go perfect or get better.  I had one of those days yesterday.

I went to the range and worked on hitting my warm up drills, worked through my drills with fading and drawing the ball, finishing with putting and chipping.   Normally I meet my goals and everything seems to be in place with tempo, rhythm and distance control.

It didn't work yesterday.  My tempo was off, my shots were not going how I wanted them to and my distance was weak.  It is like I didn't have enough energy.

Just to let you know, those days happen also.  When you have that kind of day and it doesn't seem to get any better below are a list of what you can do.

1. When getting frustrated when not working, change to another drill
2. Take a breather and rest removing yourself from the range for a short time
3. Work through it the best you can.
4. If still not working call it a day and start again tomorrow.

Sometime it is better to just stop the practice that isn't working and get back to it at a later time.  It could be that something else is keeping your mind occupied so you cannot use it to control what you are working on.

Until next time, if at first you don't succeed, try try again.......

Practie Continued - Practice Versus Playing

Playing a round of golf is fun, challenging and a great way to spend the weekend with your buddies.

As a golfer I have a lot of fun playing with my friends, co-workers, business friends and acquaintances.  I think it is the most relaxing part of the game.  You get to have great conversations, tell jokes, cut up, even sometimes shoot off a firecracker in their backswings.  After the round you sit have a few drinks and tell stories of how you did for the day.  That is relaxing at its finest.  It helps take your mind off the troubles of your life and worries of work for a few hours during the day.  Unless, of course, you have to bring that phone with you and ruin your game altogether.

As a professional golfer I still have those days stated above, but spend most of my golfing time at the practice range, chipping and putting area perfecting my game.  Don't get me wrong, I enjoy practicing also, because I make games out of what I am practicing on.  This way I don't get bored and can practice for hours.

You see the way you look at things in your mind determines what you are doing is boring or exciting.  I think that if you are bored at what you are doing then you are more than likely truly not interested in this endeavor.  So my recommendation is that if you are bored at whatever you are doing than you have two options: change your attitude and perception of why you are doing whatever you are doing or, stop doing it.

I have enjoyed golf my whole life.  I have played and had a lot of fun over the years. A lot of good memories and a lot more memories still to come.  The decision I made to play as a professional changed my outlook on the game I love.  I still have fun at it, I just have to work more at it instead of playing just on the weekend, or a couple times during the week.  I choose to practice for hours an on my free time to compete at this high level instead of playing rounds upon rounds of golf. 

Now, as far as playing, I have found that a lot of times you go to the course with your buddies you don't have time to hit the range to warm up.  I recommend to at least do some good stretching and swinging of one of your long irons to loosen up before you hit that first shot.  You do not want to pull anything on the first hole except the ball.  With that being said I want to give you some of the new rules of golf I heard:

• You can take as many drives off the first whole as you want until you get the one you want, because everyone knows you don't have time to warm up before you start
• If you loose your ball in the high rough, trees you shouldn't have to take a penalty stroke because, eventually someone will find the ball and then it becomes a stolen ball and why should we be penalized for someone stealing our ball
• On the putting green if the ball roles over the hole then it is considered to be holed, because everyone knows that the rules of Physics out rule the Rules of Golf.

I do believe that no matter what level of golfer you are that practice is an important part of your game.   The better golfer you want to become the more practice you should be doing.  As far as instruction to get better you have to do three things.

1. Gain more knowledge in the game
2. Get lessons from a qualified Professional
3. Practice what you have learned and have been taught

Along with practice the other big area of interest in improving the game of golf is course management.  I will be talking about that later on.

Until next time, If you find yourself getting frustrated in what you are doing, stop and do something else for awhile......

Tournament Preparation at Wyndham Fairfield Glade, Crossville, Tennessee - Golf practice

Well today I didn't get a chance to play the course, but I did have a chance to work on my warm up, swing tempo, technique, and chipping.

The course was busy today so I worked on my short game instead of spending 6 hours on the course.  They had 170 people today as well as tomorrow playing on each course.  This is Memorial Weekend at a major golf Resort, Wyndham Fairfield Glade, Crossville, Tennessee.

So today I started with a warm up on the range.  I warmed up for about an hour starting with a 52 degree wedge hitting half shots working my way up to full shots.  The remainder of the time I worked on my swing tempo and technique.  I hit my 7 iron only. 

Following is what I worked on:

• Take away, down swing, and follow through
• Worked on aiming alignment
• using two clubs parallel to target
• make sure feet are positioned in line with target
• make sure club head positioned in line with target
• make sure divot is aligned with target
• Worked on Draw
• Worked on Fade

With the above my goal was to make sure I had consistent swing with proper takeaway, downswing, follow through toward different targets.  Allowing the ball to carry the distance of the stationary target.  The carry distance for 7 iron is 170-175 yards.

Outcome of workout was excellent.  All techniques felt good and were consistent.

• Proper set up
• Balanced start 
• Proper swing plane
• Weight shift
• balanced finish
• Consistent Ball Flight

Since I was comfortable with how the above worked out I proceeded to the chipping area.

The chipping area has a two tiered elevated green along with sand traps, fairway, intermediate rough and secondary rough.

I worked with my 60 degree, 52 degree and 56 degree wedges in the variety of areas.

• Hinge and Hold
• Flop shot
• Sand shot
• putting with 60 degree wedge on fringe with ball next to rough

Goal on each one of these shots is to put the ball within 3 feet of the target hole.


By working extensively on the different areas of rough, fairway, elevations, sand traps allows you to be more consistent in getting up and down from variety of areas.  The practice also builds your confidence.

My overall practice today went excellent.  My finger had very little sensitive feelings attributed to striking the ball on the range and in heavy rough.

In my opinion I accomplished all my goals today.

Tomorrow I will be working more on the putting aspect of the game and  more range time with 7 iron and chipping.

As you see in order for me to keep at a playing level I need to practice a variety of different shots so when I am on the course this all becomes second nature.

For the weekend golfer you don't have to practice as extensive as I do, but if you put half the effort into your practice as you do your game you will become a better golfer.

Until then, I will leave you with a story I heard from Gary Player.  As he was working on his sand shots, a golfer was on-looking and saw Mr. Player place three sand shots in a row in the hole.  The observer stated, wow, that was sure lucky.  Mr. Players response to the spectator was, yes, the more I practice the luckier I get.

Thanks for viewing my blog and I hope you keep checking in.....

Understanding What You Need to Practice

I was talking to a fellow golfer the other day and he asked the question what he should practice the most on his driver or another part of the game.  I asked him why he thought it was important to practice with his driver.  He stated, so he could have more accuracy and keep the ball in the fairway to give him a chance to get to the green better.

I asked him how many drives do you hit in a round.  He thought about it and stated 18.  I explained to him that in reality you only hit 14 drives.  He asked, what happened to the other 4 drives.  I stated that those are par threes.  Most par threes for average golfers are only 150 yards or shorter, therefore, you wouldn't hit a driver.   He stated he never thought of that.

Then I got into percentages.  I stated that the higher percentage of practice should be based the higher percentage of shots that will be taken in the course of a round of golf. 

If par is 72 and you only hit 14 drives that is only 19% of your score.  Even if you hit 18 drives that is still only 25% of your score.  Putting is the highest percentage of your score in golf.  In 18 holes of golf the par for putting is 36, which is 50% of your score.   The remainder of your score after the tee shot is 25-31% depending on the number of drives you consider as 14 or 18.  So what is your area you want to practice most, drives or putts. 

With the information in previous paragraph, you want to spend most of your time on putting, then chipping and pitching and working on 150 yards in which will be at least 75% of your scoring.  Then the remainder of the practice you want to work on is your swing technique, tempo and yardage control.  The least amount of time should be spent on your driver. 

In the mathematical scheme of things, Drives are the only constant in the game.  You see, there only 14-18 holes to which you would probably hit your driver.  So you will not hit less than 14 and no more than 14 shots with your driver (not including par threes).  That is the only constant in the game.  You cannot go up or down it stays 14.  The rest of the game is what truly determines your score.  If you had a 400 yard hole and you hit a 1 iron 200 yards that gives you 200 yards left and you hit the 1 iron again.  You will either be on the green or close to the green depending on your accuracy.  So you have to either chip close and one putt or two putt for a par.  Any additional strokes is what makes your score add above par. 

With all this being stated above it comes down to the game of golf is a mathematical percentage that determines how close your score will be to par.  Mathematics determines what you need to work on and how you need to play the game.  The old saying of 10% skill and 90% mental is truly not an understatement.

I know that is a lot of math, but, I just wanted to get the point across that golfers should spend most of their time putting, chipping, and working on 150 yards and less into the green. 

The other practice should be on swing technique, tempo, and balance. Not smacking the driver over and over on the practice range. 

Until next time, go to the range and practice area with a purpose and your score on the course will get better........

Rainy Day Sunday Cont'd - Things To Do Indoors 3. Working with your Swing

The third area I want to work with you is your swing. 

This will be a little more difficult indoors unless you have a high enough ceiling and plenty of room that you won't break your wife's (or husband's/Mom's, or Dad's) special glass pieces or TV.  If you have a garage and you can move your car into the rain to give it a good washing then that is probably what you want to do and you can kill to birds with one stone so they say.

There are a couple things you can do indoors to work with your swing but I believe the most important would be working on your tempo.

If you can get your tempo to be consistent and smooth then you can apply it to every club you use and it will help lower your score on the course.  Golf is about tempo and timing.  If you have that in place then you can easily observe the distance each club carries the ball in the air and you can have easier determination on what club you will use for each situation.

To work on your tempo the following is what you need:
  

•  have proper posture

• feet at least shoulder width apart, spine angle about 8 degrees (depicted on left of picture to right). 
• knees slightly bent

• back spine straight at angle below.

• Balance.  The weight of your body should be reflected on the inside ball of each foot. 
• Rhythm.  this should be smooth going in your back swing as going through to your finish.
• Tempo.  This is the movement like a grandfather's clock pendulum going back and forth.

What you want to do while indoors is to make sure all these are being done correctly.  This will allow you to work on tempo of your swing to keep it consistent throughout all shots.  Get to know what this feels like so you know when your tempo is off. 

Of course you don't have to wait until you are stuck in doors to work on this you need to work on tempo all the time.

Tempo is not enough, all though, with tempo and balance you can have a few swing quirks that can be hidden.  Follow my blog and later you will find swing techniques on helping improve distance and power without swinging hard.

Until then, with a smooth and steady tempo, your game can become consistent no matter what level player you are.......

Rainy Days continued... Five Things You Can Do Indoors

Well it is another Rainy Day, I guess it really hasn't stopped.  Been raining now for about three days.  Fortunately, it has only been raining and not storming.

You just got your game the way you want it, or, close enough that you are feeling good about your swing and scoring.  You get a long delay for unknown reasons or it is just raining for several days that you cannot get on the course.

Here are five things you can do inside:

1. Keep stretching so you can stay flexible.
2. Practice putting on carpet or indoor putting pad.
3. If you have a room or garage that is safe to swing a 7 iron, you can practice your swing and work on your technique.
4. Chipping Drill Indoors
5. Work on Your Swing Balance.

Over the next few days we will go over all five of these tips.

So until you can get back on the course keep these in mind to once you do you won't miss a beat....

Golf Tournament Goes Bad

Well I am back from my golf venture in Georgia.

Sorry I haven't written in a while but I am back.

It didn't go as I wanted.  I was attempting to qualify for a Champions Tour Event.

I was doing fairly well and then with 4 holes left I hit a nine iron which stopped when it hit the ground and ended up causing a hairline fracture in my right hand ring finger.  The pain was excruciating and as my wife stated, "You looked like you were going to fall to the ground you were in so much pain."

So I had to withdraw and not finish the tournament.  This was to be the first event for the year and now it might be the last.  We will see how long it will take to heal.  I have to wear a splint on my finger for at least a month.  Then depending on the healing I don't know when I will be able to swing again.

I had to withdraw from the US OPEN Qualifier May 7th, but am keeping myself signed up for the Senior US Open Qualifier in Nashville on June 20th for the time being.  I will know more by end of May if I will have an idea if my finger will be able to take it by that time.

Well, time to go.  I will continue my blog on Golf Etiquette on my next Posting.

Keep your tempo smooth and your swing easy.......

Warming up at The Range, 9 tips

Well it is another day at the Range.

Most people when they go to the golf range they just buy the bucket of range balls and then start hitting with their driver usually.  Everyone seems to like the long ball.  They like seeing it go beyond the border of the range.  Well, they would like to think so anyway. 

If you want to improve your game go to the range and practice with a purpose.

1.  What am I going to work on today.
2.  Plan a time frame of approximately 15 minute intervals working on different areas
3.  Before you start stretch.
4.  Warm up with the wedge group taking half swings loosening your muscles.
5.  Start working on what you planned and stick with it.
6.  If you start getting frustrated change what you are working on, take a break and come back to it later.
7.  Once you have completed your planned work out, cool down
8.  Hit the last few balls from the bucket with half swings of the wedge aiming at same distance target.
9.  Stretch again before leaving range.

When practicing at the range and not on the course you will become more consistent with your shot making and will be able to reduce your score.

I was listening to Gary Player during an interview and he told a story; He was practicing hitting sand shots at the practice green and three shots in a row went into the hole on the green.  A fellow golfer saw this and commented, wow, that was sure lucky.  Gary responded, yep, the more I practice the luckier I get.

Remember, enjoy the game and have fun.

Until next time take your frustrations out on the range and not the course.

Bye for now.....

My Golf Dream

Hello.  I have just been led to start blogging about my dream from childhood of becoming a professional golfer, player, and teacher of the game I have found out that dreams do come true if you have patience, work hard and never give up.  I was told for many years in my childhood that I couldn't do this or that, that I wasn't good enough or smart enough by many different people. I listened to those people and began to believe it for many years,  instead of listening to myself and what God was leading me to do.  People are not always right!

I was five years old when I started learning the game of golf.  You see my dad was playing it quit a bit and bringing home trophies and I thought that was cool.  He watched the game on TV on the weekends after he returned from the golf course or if the weather was not cooperative.  We watched because he controlled the TV even when he was snoring (clearing his throat).  As children we didn't want to watch golf really and while he was clearing his throat we tried to change the channel.  Only to hear, hey I was watching that, turn it back.  We informed dad, your eyes were closed and you were snoring and he would reply, "I wasn't snoring, I was clearing my throat and my eyes were resting not closed."  My dad was a very talented golfer who loved the game and still does.  You see he is 83 years old and still loves and plays the game.  He is still tough to beat.  He told me at end of last year he shot his age which at the time was 82.  Wow, I hope I can do that at his age. 

I started playing with my Mom's clubs, I don't think she played much after I started using them.  I don't think she ever found her clubs again, because I had them all the time.  I started caddying during the summer months in between baseball and football.  I remember caddying for my dad at the local golf club pushing his cart.  Every now and then when the course wasn't busy we were allowed to play a hole or two.  I think I was 8 years old I had my first par on a par 4 golf hole.  My dad was a very patient and talented player in his own right.  When we were young kids we saw his trophies as play things and didn't understand their importance until later.  When I was older in High School I played a lot with my dad and found out that while he was in the military in the 50's he had played with Chi Chi Rodriquez and Gary Player down in Texas.  I also found out that I caddied at the same course my Dad did when he was a child.  That was another wow in my life.  Doing something that both my Dad and I enjoy has given me great memories throughout all my life. 

I have always loved he game.  Watching my Dad play, playing rounds with my Dad, watching Jack Nicklaus on TV.  Caddying in the Hawaiian Open in 1996 in the Pro-Am was delightful and awesome.  Watching Corey Pavin win, following Jack Nicklaus and listening to Andy Bean and Fuzzy Zoeller on the Practice tee with an amateur between them cutting on the amateurs on how they think they don't need to have a practice round for the amateurs and only for the pros because the amateurs always play well and then choke during the actual pro-am.  The amateur was listening to this and then asked the two pro's, " Why do you pick on us amateurs like that?",  Only to hear Fuzzy spout back "because your pay for this abuse".  They all laughed.  Even though I was 26 at the time and in the Military, wow, what a great opportunity that was seeing for the first time in person some of the greats in golf and played on a great course.  Of course now it is called the Sony Open in Hawaii.

Well it is time to get some practice in and spend some time with my fabulous wife.  I will write on how I started getting back to my dream on my next entries.   Take Care.

I will leave with two statements:  One I don't agree with because I enjoy good walks and that is Mark Twain who stated:  "Golf is a good walk ruined".  apparently Mark Twain never understood or played Golf.

The other is:  Walter Hagen stated, "Three bad shots and one good shot is still a 4".

Until next time....