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Does Tiger Woods Have an UNFAIR Advantage ?
Why does Tiger seem to have an UNFAIR advantage? Is it because he can hit the ball farther. Is it his ability to sink putts in clutch situations? Is it his sharp short game?
The truth is there are times he does ALL these things to near perfection...
Golf Equipment Isn't Working
Golf equipment doesn't work? Did that catch your attention? I hope so. Now keep reading.
Just the other day I was watching the Golf Channel and they were talking yet again about the latest and greatest drives and irons. This golf equipment...
Golf Swing Instruction - Ask a Pro
Sometimes, no matter how much you practice, perfecting your
swing or even correcting small problems in your swing seems
impossible. In this case, you might require golf swing
instruction from a pro...even if you have been playing for some
time....
It is 2005, Do You Know Where Your Hybrid Is?
If you haven't hit a Hybrid club lately, you should, especially if you struggle with your long irons. Just ask about a million golfers, including many TOUR players, who have added a hybrid club to their bags. A hybrid is a cross between an iron...
Tips for Finding the Right Set of Golf Clubs
Golf is a game of nearly infinite subtleties. A slight rotation during the swing of a degree or two can mean the difference between hitting the green or landing in the bunker. Those same subtleties are also apparent in a set of golf clubs. As...
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The Mental Game...Play To Your Strengths
This is how I use to play, see if you recognize it.
On my way to the course, in the back of my mind I was going to have my best round ever. Getting to the course I would sign in and go to the first tee with little or no warm up. I would swing the club a few times, tee up the ball and with butterflies or shaky knees boom, I would shank it in the woods, or slice it bad, or top it about 100 yards. Frustrated I would go find my ball, normallly in a bad lie or have to lift it out of the woods if I could find it. Then looking at the green about 250 yards in the distance I would get out the old 3 wood and give it my best (worst) swing. Again I would shank it, top it, slice it or some other terrible shot. By the time I was finished the first hole I was looking at an eight or worse, and thus started another frustrating bad round. I did this over and over again for over two years.
One of the first things I figured out from listening to the pros and experts was that golf was a mind set, and in order to play good golf to have to play smart. That means playing within your strengths. This is part of "good course management". That's right, course management is not just making good shots, it's also playing to the course design and playing to your strengths as well.
Let me give you an example of how I use my strengths now to lower my score. The other day I was playing our number 5 hole, one of the hardest par fours I have played. Not in length, but in design. It's a dog leg left and you ned a really good tee shot over trees to the fairway beyond to have any chance of reaching the green in two. That's the way most people would approach it. And if the tee shot is not good most people are thinking boggey. But why?
I hit my tee shot a little right of the trees and landed in the fairway about 220 yards from the green. What would you do? Get out the 3 wood and try for the green? That's what I would have done, even last year. That shot for me, because I rarely play it or practice it, is a very high risk shot. Hitting that shot increases my chance from boggey to double boggey tenfold. I am not mentally prepared to hit that shot with confidence. But I was thinking par all the way though.
My strength in the fairway is
PW, 9 Iron, 8 Iron, 7 Iron, 6 Iron, 5 Iron, in that order. Thus the further I am away from the green, the less confidence I have in the shot I am making. (This thought process is an on going learning curve that takes practice and a lot of playing to increase your confidence in making those types of shots) Thinking about the distance I had left, 220 yards I was thinking of getting my ball to PW distance. Since I hit my PW about 130 with confidence I layed up to approxiamately that distance on my second shot. A short shot for my second, but it got me to my confort zone. I then hit my PW for my third shot and landed the ball on the green pin high about 6 ft from the pin. I now had a chance at par, something I am sure I would not have had if I had used the 3 wood to try to get me on the green on my second shot.
Yes, I only had one shot at par with one putt but my putting is fairly consistant, since I can practice putting just about anywhere, and I feel confident about my putting. (Hint, practice your putting)
I missed the putt by an inch and boggied, but I felt good about the way I played the hole, and next itme I might par it. Not to mention that a boggey is better than the double or triple I probably would have had with a second higher risk shot to the green.
Remember the goal is not to be on the green in regulation, but rather to finish the hole in the regulation number of shots. No one cares or will ask you how many greens in regulation you had, but when you tell them your great score they will be impressed.
Sure being on the green in regulation helps since you then have 2 putts instead of one to par, But if you are now playing double boggey or triple boggey golf, imagine what eliminating one shot per hole is going to do to your score.
Play with the clubs you have confidence in. Keep the ball in play for better scores.
About the Author
Bob Power lives in Canada with his wife of 30 years and is an educator in an institution of higher learning. When not playing he is researching the basics of golf and how to teach the simplicity of the game through the "Back To Basics" approach to the game.
To ask Bob any questions or to pass on any comment please e-mail his at info@howtoandyou.com
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