July 7, 2008
Many people don’t realize the effect a good pair of golf shoes can have on their game. Apart from the fact that good shoes will help you to have more control when you are swinging your clubs, a good fitting pair of shoes will be more comfortable and aid your performance.
Tired feet can cause a lot of fatigue, and that fatigue gets translated into a tired mind and reduced performance on the course. Hot or wet feet will affect your game, as will feet that are uncomfortably tight in the wrong size shoes.
Golf is a game where all aspects of your performance are related, from the top two inches of your head (your mind control) right down to the comfort of your feet. You are going to be spending a lot of time on your feet during a round of golf so you really do need to ensure your comfort.
There are many different types and styles of shoes allowing almost anyone to find something suitable.
Before you buy you will need to find out what types of shoes are allowed on the courses that you will be playing at, as some courses don’t allow the cleated or spiked golf shoes.
Having cleats or spikes on your shoes can assist in stabilizing your feet during your swing and this can add a lot of power to your stroke.
Having the reassurance of knowing that your feet aren’t going to ‘break loose’ after you have just done a big drive will allow you to push the limits of your ability just a little but more and that can be the difference of winning or losing a game at the end of a round.
Every little benefit helps and chipping away at all these factors will eventually lead to a lower handicap and a happier golfer.
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June 3, 2008
QUOTE: I have a tip that can take five strokes off anyone’s golf game: it’s called an eraser.
- Arnold Palmer
Have you ever considered what the source of your problems might have been when you just finished a poor round of golf?
Many people will be surprised to know that most of their problems stemmed from the way they were holding their clubs. You probably already know the situation I am about to describe.
You hit a bad shot and then you tell yourself that the next shot has to be better to compensate and the pressure begins to grow.
Along with the increasing pressure is a tendency to grip the clubs too hard.
Tension has a tendency to make us do that. Along with this tight grip we have on the club goes a corresponding loss of control. The ball starts flying in all directions, and the tension builds ever more, until you look at your knuckles and they are white from the pressure.
If your clubs had to breath you would have choked them by now.
I had a playing partner who had a simple list of instructions that he would read when his game started to fall apart and at the top of that list was ‘don’t strangle the clubs’
It’s simple and we all know about it, but this visual reminder was all that it would take to get his game back on course and ensure that the tension wasn’t there in the rest of his game. This technique of having written guidelines was so powerful that several other people started using it.
It was like having your own personal golf pro walking with you and giving you the necessary instructions when things started to go wrong. Those words would allow him to focus on the next shot and release all the tension that would have otherwise crept into his game.
Try carrying your own list of ‘game savers’ around with you next time and don’t hesitate to read them at the first sign your game might be falling apart. It is an incredibly powerful technique.
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May 20, 2008
There’s nothing like a hilly golf course to test your skills. In a perfect world the golf ball would always fall on flat smooth ground, but that’s why golf is so addictive. Every shot is different and the lie of the land is one of the factors that can make or break your game.
So what are you to do when your ball has just landed on a slope?
The first step is to have a practice swing to determine where your golf club is striking the ground. Without the practice swing you will most likely be relying on good luck to hit the perfect shot. When you see where your club is striking the ground you can alter your stance accordingly.
If your club strikes the ground nearer your back foot you will need to move your stance so the ball is nearer to your back foot and the inverse is the case if your club is striking the ground nearer your front foot. Just position your feet back so the ball is nearer your front foot. It might sound more difficult than it actually is but all we are doing is ensuring the ball is going to be in the right position for where the club is striking.
Now this is the simple explanation for when the ball is on an uphill or downhill slope but there will be many occasions where the ball will be on a side slope and this is where things can get tricky. On a side hill lie you will position your feet according to whether they are above or below the ball. If they are above the ball you will tend to pull the ball to the left due to the action dictated by your legs as you try to maintain balance and therefore slow your swing down.
With the ball above your feet you will normally hit it straight or to the left.
If that seems confusing then there is, as always, a good solution. Take a few balls to a slope and practice. There is nothing quite like it for getting the perfect shot.
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May 10, 2008
File this under “obvious” but I constantly see this problem every weekend. Let me ask you, how often have you been frustratingly close to sinking a putt only to come up short?
Or maybe you have only just missed the hole to see your ball go sailing past adding too much distance for the return putt. A lot of games have been lost on the putting green and in most instances it has been due to the wrong distance, rather than the direction of the ball.
Most beginners quickly get a feel for the direction the ball will travel, even on sloping greens. You’ve probably seen it yourself when a newcomer to the game places the ball within inches of the hole on a sloping green time and time again. What you won’t see quite so often is the ball stopping a few inches past the hole when they miss.
There are many factors that come into account when determining the distance a ball will travel on the green, from the slope, to the preparation of the green and whether it is wet and slow or dry and fast. It can make a huge difference depending on the time of the day with greens getting faster as they dry off in the afternoon sun.
So reading the distance of a putt is what you really need to concentrate on to get your ball to drop in that hole. Once again it all comes back to practice and there is no better practice than on the day of the tournament in the conditions that you will be playing in. Always take some time to have a few practice putts before you start play to ‘dial in’ your distance. Because here’s the key. You may be able to sink that putt on another day but every new day requires you to make that mental/physical connection between your brain and your hands.
What I mean is that your muscle memory know how hard to swing for a 20 foot put, but making sure your body reads those impulses correctly depends upon a perfect connection between your hands and your brain. Making that connection is not automatic. Sometimes you need more practice than you think in order to “complete the circuit”
One thing you must always remember in life as in golf; the ball will never drop if it doesn’t reach the hole.
Sounds too obvious to even need mentioning doesn’t it, but more often that not putts will come up short. Always aim for the back of the cup so that, provided you have your direction right, you are going to have a chance of making the putt. And always warm up and practice so that your brain and hands work in perfect sync.
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May 4, 2008
What’s up with these new hybrid clubs? Everyone is talking about ‘em these days. Are they really the game saver that all the hype seems to say?
The fact is, clubs like hybrid type clubs have been around a long time. They used to go by names like “baffler” and “rescue clubs” or just plain utility woods. So are they really something new? Well, yes and no.
The hybrid as we know it today was actually developed with the help of Gary McCord, the TV announcer and former PGA pro. He saw his golf buddies back home struggling with their long irons, so he thought maybe something could be done to make them easier to hit. He went to his sponsor, TaylorMade and suggested they come up with something new.
The result was the TaylorMade Rescue. The first of a new breed. So what the heck did they do to make this new club?
Well, it’s called a “hybrid” because it a combination of a wood and an iron. They basically took an iron shaft and and put a new kind of head on it. That head would have features of a wood. Features like a wide sole, low-back center of gravity, and more mass. So what’s so different about that? Why not just get a 5 or 7 wood.
The big difference is that shaft. The loft of a 2 iron and a 5 wood may be about the same…but the shafts are way different.
The shaft length on a 2 iron for an average height player is about 39 inches. The length on a 5 wood is about 42 inches. Hybrids are somewhere in between. A longer club will always go farther because a longer club will produce more clubhead speed. That extra speed will also tend to make the ball go higher. The problem with that extra speed is it can make the club harder to control.
Iron shafts are also thicker than wood shafts. I bet you didn’t realize that. Not a lot (.03 inches), but enough to make the shaft more stable which adds up to a bit more accuracy.
Starting to get confused? Well here’s the bottom line.
Compared to a comparably lofted wood, a hybrid club is:
- more accurate
- won’t go quite as far
- easier to hit because it’s shorter
Compared to the same long iron, a hybrid is:
- easier to hit because the head has more mass and a lower center of gravity
- will make the ball go higher, carry further and land softer
- better out of sand and bad lies
Hopefully that clears up any confusion.
So which ones to buy?
Today’s hybrid clubs are actually quite varied. In addition to a choice of lofts, you can also get different sole widths and face heights. You can get lengths that are longer than standard irons and shorter or just as long as woods. In short, some hybrids offered are more like fairway woods and some are more like irons. Just remember the basic rules of club design…the lower and farther back the center of gravity, the higher the ball will tend to fly. The longer the shaft the farther the ball will go but that extra length may make it harder to control. Remember to make your selection based on what your game needs not the manufacturers hype.
Price ranges for brands are in the $150 to $250 range. You can find custom clone versions for under $50.
Give those hybrids a try. They’re bound to help your game.
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May 3, 2008
Brad Goodman sent me this little parable and it really made me think about today’s post:
A group of junior-level executives were participating in a management training program. The seminar leader pounded home his point about the need to make decisions and take action on these decisions.
“For instance,” he said, “if you had five frogs on a log and three of them decided to jump, how many frogs would you have left on the log?” The answers from the group were unanimous: “Two.”
“Wrong,” replied the speaker, “there would still be five because there is a difference between deciding to jump and jumping.”
Okay, now every golfer I’ve ever known has told themselves over and over how much they’d like to improve their game. We all want to do better, in life, in our careers, etc… and often times these are mired in circumstances beyond our control.
However, golf… though this might be heresy… is just a game. And like any game, you can definitely get better at it over time with the correct approach. In this case, I’m talking about practice.
How many of us have extremely busy lives? Raise your hand.
No matter how much or how little time you are able to carve out of your life for practicing, you will want to optimize the impact of that practice and the best way to achieve that is with planning.
You need to decide before you start your practice what you want to achieve and the best way to do it. You need to have a goal and that could be anything from sinking 30 long putts to driving 30 balls a certain distance.
And in golf, as well as life, along with a goal you need a target. You always need a target, whether that is the cup on the green or a point that you will be chipping the ball to. Without a target when chipping or putting you might be getting your stroke right but you will have no guide for the distance you will be getting and that is essential for consistency.
Likewise, when you are practicing your driving at the range you will want to look at the distance markers to see how far you are hitting the ball. I know this sounds so incredibly basic and obvious, but sometimes the most obvious steps are the ones we overlook first.
Having a goal to aim for will always lift your game and you should be constantly challenging yourself in practice. Remember, it is not good enough that you can hit the ball a long way on the driving range if your accuracy is poor. It is not good enough if you can chip the ball well but never control the distance it will travel.
If you have a written plan you will be more likely to follow through with the correct practice. It will help you to focus better and you can record the results, which will help you to plan your next training session.
Plan your practices ahead of time and you will have the information necessary to tailor your practice to the areas of your play that are lacking and using this process will deliver better results faster. It will mean you will play better with less training. Truth is, not many golfers follow a process of planned training and are essentially wasting valuable time by not having this focus.
The first step to being a better golfer is deciding you want to be.
However, the most important step is actually committing to the jump after you’ve decided upon it.
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May 2, 2008
You ask… “Golf Sensei, what is this golf ball compression of which you speak?”
Understanding golf ball compression will assist you in determining which balls you should be playing with. Once you match your golf balls to your style you will notice an improvement in your game.
Sometimes a change of ball might be all you need to nudge your handicap in the right direction if progress has stalled recently.
The compression of the golf ball is measured by how tightly it is wound.
Sounds complicated? Not really. There are only 3 numbers you need to remember. These are the three main compression ratings with golf balls and they are as follows:
Firstly there are the 80 compression balls, which are the softest of the balls on the market.
These are the balls that beginners love because they fly further than the other types of balls, and let’s face it, beginners love to see how far they can hit the ball. It’s a natural part of growing into becoming a golfer so don’t blame them. Who isn’t enamored with a nice long drive?
However, 80 compression balls are also suited to a slower swing, which benefits the beginner. Women and elderly players often prefer these balls too.
When these softer balls are hit, they compress somewhat and that gives them a slingshot effect, which assists in the distance they can be hit.
However, realize there is a downside to everything and softer balls offer less control. Once you start to gain better control of your swing and your shots, you’ll find that you’ll want balls that respond better to your shots. You’ll find that you’ll need to step up to the next golf ball compression level.
Next up is the 90 compression ball and as expected these are a nice mid-range compression that offer more control with a little less distance.
And finall,y there are the 100 compression balls. These are the hardest balls and because of this fact they require a faster swing to get the same distance.
100 compression golf balls are the same balls that the pros use because they offer the highest level of control and control is what pros are mostly concerned with. Pros are able to hit the ball with sufficient speed to get the required distance and they can take advantage of the added control that these balls offer over the other ball compressions.
When choosing which compression best suits your game, it is a good idea to buy one or two of each type of ball and test to see which ones you prefer to use, as it is not set in rock that a slow swinging golfer must use a softer ball. Feel free to experiment. Golf balls are relatively cheap, but finding the right compression for you is priceless.
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May 1, 2008
Still frustrated with your handicap? Let’s face it, there are always plateaus in the progress of any athelete and golf probably has more than most. You might work for years to get to a target handicap and seem to be stuck there unable to improve.
What’s the problem? Has your game topped out?
Probably not. Often it is a mental barrier that we need to address before we can move on, but there are also other things you can do to reduce that score. Even minor improvements can make a big difference over the course of a game.
Practice is the most obvious way to improve your game, especially the mental aspects of it. If you are following some of my tips you know what I’m talking about. Years and years ago when I was a young Golf Sensei, this is exactly what I had been preaching to a friend for months but when following all of my mental exercises still weren’t improving his game I sat down with him one afternoon and made a startling discovery. I realized that sometimes you have to realize that you’ve outgrown your current equipment. Truth was, much to my friend’s wife’s chagrin, new/different golf balls or golf clubs was exactly what was needed to improve my friend’s game.
In the same way we outgrow our training wheels we have to realize that as we continue to improve our needs continue to change and this can mean you will need different compression golf balls or maybe stiffer shafts for your clubs.
As your swing changes so do the effects this has on your golf clubs and clubs that flex too much might no longer ‘cut the mustard’
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April 30, 2008
Feeling like it’s time for a change in your handicap?
Have you ever considered you might be thinking too much? Try relaxing a bit more and enjoy the game. A better score might just follow.
Alternatively, some people just don’t focus enough and bring a week worth of worries and concerns to the course and hope to play well.
Focus on the areas that are letting you down the most. While they might not be the area that you prefer to practice, they are likely to be where you can find the most improvement.
Invariably it will be the short game letting most people down, and as over half of our strokes in a game of golf rely on these shots, any improvement can have a dramatic affect.
What I learned a long time ago was to stick a small notepad in my bag and, in between strokes, record any data that can help me improve. This can work for you, too. Write quick notes on what you did on a particular hole and what the outcome of that was. You can refer to these notes when you are away from the game and plan how to improve your play. You can mentally play these holes over and over during with the help of a few notes and the better you can visualize your approach, the more chance of success you will have getting to the hole in fewer strokes.
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April 30, 2008
You’re ready for some new clubs but when you went to the store the prices sent you reeling as if you’d been hit with a Mike Tyson haymaker. What? You didn’t realize new golf clubs have gotten so expensive? Your wife won’t let you spend the kids inheritance, so now what do you do?
Well your first thought might be to try and find some used clubs. After all how much could club designs have changed in a year of two. You can probably get used clubs for half the price. Why not?
Now a used club is better than no club if it means the difference between being able to play or not. But at some point, when you’re ready to get serious about your game (and I’m hoping the fact that you’re reading THE GOLF SENSEI means you truly are serious about beting a better golfer) then let me pass along the top ten reasons why not to settle for used clubs.
10. They were made for someone else.
Why get something made for someone else when you can get something made that’s fitted exactly for you.
9. They’re not the right length or shaft flex
Unless you are about the same height as the other guy, used clubs may not be the right length. If the guy before you was a fast swinger or a slow swinger the shaft flex may not be right for you.
8. They’re old technology
Things have changed a lot in the last 5 years. Club heads and materials have made golf clubs more forgiving and there are more choices.
7. They may not be the right kind of heads
If you’re a beginner and need forgiveness, you want clubs that offer super game improvement. That means extra perimeter weighting, wide soles, hosel offset and a low center of gravity. Do those used clubs offer what YOU need.
6. They have no guarantee
What if the head comes off after 7 or 8 months, can you still get it fixed. Probably not.
5. You can’t take them back
What if you don’t like them after a couple of weeks? Can you bring them back for a full refund? Can you switch the shaft out at no charge? Can you try them out for a couple of weeks and still take them back?
4. They’re still too expensive
If you’re paying over $200 for a used set of irons or over $150 for a used driver you may still be paying too much.
3. Not the right configuration
Does the set have hybrids, high lofted woods, and game improvement irons. If not they may not be for you. If they have a 2, 3, or 4 iron, you may be buying clubs that are too difficult for you and you won’t use.
2. Not the right loft
If the driver has less than 12 degrees of loft you probably have a club that will not get the maximum distance-or the accuracy
And the number one reason not to buy used clubs…
1. They’re used
Need I say more.
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