Golf Game Secrets

Golf tips come from all sorts of place. That doesn’t mean they can’t help you chop strokes off your golf handicap. The advice might be from an unusual source, but if you don’t give it an honest evaluation, you might miss a good thing. The important thing is to look not at who the source is, but at the advice itself. When it comes to golf tips, the only thing that matters is, does it work .

Take, for example, Tom Lehman. A five-time PGA Tour champion, the 1996 British Open winner, and the 2006 Ryder Cup captain, Tom had stopped making big putts. Eventually, he started getting advice from fans by mail. He enjoyed reading the letters he got from fans and viewed the letters as sympathetic. After a while, he disposed of them. For some reason though, he kept one man’s letter for three years.

The letter was from a fan some might be consider a most unlikely source. The fan had been following Tom for some time and was trying to support Tom during a difficult time in his career. An amateur player of some note, the fan had been considered an excellent putter. At one point, he had qualified for the North Dakota State Amateur championship. Along the way, the fan had gained a reputation as someone who never choked on a key putt.

Book of Revelation

In addition to the letter, the fan sent a book he had written, published, and sells on his Website. The book’s topic was what the fan called hidden handicaps—those things we unknowingly do and think that handicap our performance, like thinking negative thoughts and dwelling on past failures.

The book was based on the fan’s life experiences as a quadriplegic—the unfortunate result of a car wreck at age 41. The fan had had a tough life since his accident. But despite his injuries, he no longer felt sorry for himself.

One day Lehman met the man.  Lehman was in the area anyway and he figured he would stop by and thank the man for the book. Lehman figured that if the man was so tough that he no longer felt sorry for himself, he might have something to offer Tom.

Tom came away from the meeting with a simple insight. The brain can’t process two thoughts at once. Tom had had all these thoughts running around in his head about break, speed, and stroke that it confused him But after talking with the fan, Lehman reduced to one thought and one thought only—roll the ball in the center of the cup. That one simple idea transformed the way Tom approached putting and ahs been benefiting him every day since.

When it comes to golf, we all have hidden handicaps. Tom was thinking about break, speed, and stroke when putting. The combination handicapped his putting in key situations. But Tom could also have been thinking of all the times he had missed big putts in big tournaments, like the Masters or the U.S. Open. Or, the 19 times he finished second on tour. By focusing on one simple thought, he eliminated these handicaps.

Focus on One Simple Thought The fan’s advice applied to putting. But it could easily have applied to driving or his pitching and chipping. Instead of focusing on the mechanics of your swing when you hit a drive, about where your hands should be, and what your tempo should be, think about keeping your take away low and slow.

Instead of thinking about the swing’s mechanics, like what part of the ball to hit, how to swing down on the ball, and how to create a divot after the ball, think just about hitting an on-course target. Instead of worrying about how high to hit a pitch shot and about making first ball contact all at the same time, focusing on one thing: hitting the landing spot you’ve pricked out on the green. Keeping one thought firmly in minds banishes any negativity that might interfere with your shot or putt.

Players of Tom’s notoriety frequently get advice from fans.  In Tom’s case, the fan’s golf tip worked. If he had dismissed it because of its source, he would never have learned what he considers a valuable golf lesson. Golf is difficult. There’s no two ways about it. But by remembering that the mind can only process one thought at a time, you can eliminate our hidden handicaps and put yourself in the right frame of mind.

Tom came away from the meeting with a simple insight. The brain can’t process two thoughts at once. Tom had had all these thoughts running around in his head about break, speed, and stroke that it confused him But after talking with the fan, Lehman reduced to one thought and one thought only—roll the ball in the center of the cup. That one simple idea transformed the way Tom approached putting and ahs been benefiting him every day since.

When it comes to golf, we all have hidden handicaps. Tom was thinking about break, speed, and stroke when putting. The combination handicapped his putting in key situations. But Tom could also have been thinking of all the times he had missed big putts in big tournaments, like the Masters or the U.S. Open. Or, the 19 times he finished second on tour. By focusing on one simple thought, he eliminated these handicaps.

 

Putting isn’t just about feel. It’s also about information processing. In other words, the better you are at reading greens, the more likely you are to sink a putt. You don’t need a golf tip to tell you that. Plumb-bobbing is an old-school technique for generating information that’s useful in putting. Some players swear by it. Others disregard it.  The question is can it help you sink a putt.

The biggest knock against plumb-bobbing is that it tells you how a putt breaks but not how much. But a computer model developed by Fredrick Haney, Ph.D., a few years ago, is changing the way golfers think about plumb-bobbing. Haney’s model suggests that there’s more to it than meets the eye and that with a little effort you can use it to help determine how much a putt breaks. Improve your putting and you’ll slice strokes off your golf handicap quickly.

The Art of Plumb-bobbing

Before we get into Haney’s findings, lets take a look at plumb-bobbing and how to do it correctly. Here are six tips on plumb-bobbing:

1. Stand behind the ball 2. Extend one arm 3. Hold the grip lightly 4. Align your dominant eye 5. Flex your knees 6. Align the shaft’s longest point

Stand behind the ball so the hole, ball, and your dominant eye are aligned. Keep your eyes parallel to whatever slope exists on the portion of the green you’re standing on. Flex your knees slightly. Let your body tilt with the green’s slope. Holding the top of the grip lightly between your thumb and forefinger, extend your arm slightly.  Let the putter hang freely in your grip.

Next, using your dominant eye, line up the putter so that the shaft’s lowest point covers the ball. Without moving your head, look up at the hole. If it appears to the right of the shaft, the hole slopes left. If it appears on the left, the hole slopes right. If it’s in line with the putter, the hole is flat.  That’s all there is to it.  You could learn all you need to know about plumb-bobbing in the first 5 minutes of a golf lesson.

Determining

Plumb-Bobbing Distance

If you plumb-bob correctly, you’ll notice that the putter makes a point either left or right of the hole on the putting surface. The distance from that spot to the center of the hole, Haney explains, is the plumb-bob distance (PBD), a measure of slope and distance at the ball. On a level putt with no right or left break, the PBD is zero. But for all other putts, plumb-bobbing produces a discrete value. That value is an indicator of how much the ball will react around the hole.

Using PBD, Haney developed a computer model on plumb-bobbing. It takes into account varying speeds of greens, the distance of a putt, and the amount of slope (both sideways and up or down). It also takes into account the effect of friction on a putt. When you first stroke a ball, it first slides and then rolls. Both are considered in the computer model. The force of friction causes the ball to slow down. Haney’s goal was to figure out if you could use plumb-bobbin to determine the true amount of the break.

Computer Model Guidelines

After examining lots of examples and producing numerous charts, Haney concludes that for typical green speeds (9 on the Stimpmeter) and level putts (no uphill or downhill slope), the amount of break varies from slightly more that the PDB for gentle slopes to about 1-1/2 times the PBD for steeper slopes.

The above guidelines assume you’re following the Dave Pelz suggestion for leaving your missed putts 17 inches past the cup. If you like to die your putts into the hole, then you need to allow for about 2 to 4 times the PBD for steeper slopes.

For similar conditions, moderate uphill putts break as little as half the PBD. Down hill putts can break anywhere from eight to 10 times the PBD. Obviously, downhill putts break much more than uphill putts. Green speed has much the same effect as uphill and downhill putts. The break is greater for faster greens than for slower ones.

Putting is about feel and information processing. The better feel you have and the more accurate your information processing, the more your chance of being the kind of putter that sports a low golf handicap and that I talk about in my golf tips. Keep in mind, however, that there’s no magic formula for determining the break on a putt. But by experimenting and using PBD as an additional bit of information, you can improve your green-reading skills.

Gia Works with Wayne’s balance on sidehill lies. Gia Bocra is the LPGA Teaching Professional at the top-ranked Forsgate Country Club in Monroe TWP, NJ. Prior to FCC, she starred as “The Wandering Golfer” on Fine Living Television and was golf instructor at the Academy of Golf at Palm Beach Polo & Country Club. She has worked alongside Director of Instruction, Mike Adams, one of the country’s top golf instructors (GOLF Magazine and Golf Digest). In addition, she has taught with Todd Anderson …

As you are starting to play the great game of golf, everybody and their brother will be attempting to give you beginner golf tips. Trust me I mean everyone. This includes the guys that you are playing with that cannot break 100 themselves! They will become David Leadbetter or Butch Harmon in their own mind of all places right there on the golf course.

You will quickly learn that there is a time and a place to work on your game. The golf course is where you should play and not practice. Work through all of your beginner golf tips while you are practicing on the driving range, short game area or practice putting green.

So with everyone throwing all of these free beginner golf tips at you, how do you know what to trust? Well, I can tell you that I do not ask my fellow golfers about legal or accounting advice. Through golf books, golf DVDs and local golf instruction, there are many credible and qualified sources for you to tap.

Here are two beginner golf tips from Brad Myers who teaches at The Massengale Golf Academy in Houston, Texas:

Beginner golf tips: Short Game

Opposed to popular belief and actions, if you want to learn how to play the game of golf or if you have played for a long time and want to lower your handicap, learn how to chip and putt. It may not seem as macho or as sexy to learn all of these little short shots as opposed to standing on the driving range banging out long shots. No matter what your current handicap is, if you want to lower your golf scores learn all aspects of the short game. This will drop your scores faster than standing on a driving range for a long period of time week after week.

Here is a question that may put how important the short game is and can help put it into perspective for you. Once your round is finished, do you want to give your buddy a hard time about the one drive you hit past him/her or do you want to brag about the lower score that you shot? Speaking from experience, the ribbing about how your buddy hit one past you is pretty short-lived as he is paying you for winning the bet of lowest score.

One last thought about the short game for you is to make sure you arrive early enough to spend some time on the putting green putting and chipping before your round. You do not need to spend thirty minutes there. You just need to hit enough putts and chip shots to get a good feeling going prior to your round.

Beginner golf tips: Have fun

Unfortunately, most people will tell you that they play the game for fun or to relax but their actions simply do not say the same thing. Especially while you are learning the game, you should set little goals for your rounds or practice time. Sometimes they are not even to do anything with golf. You simply cannot concentrate for four to five hours straight. Maybe it is to play with certain people to enjoy their company or maybe you try to identify different birds or wildlife. Remember it is to be fun for you!

Using these beginner golf tips will help you reach your playing goals and fun goals!

Many average golfers want to go see how the pros do it when a professional golf tour comes to their area. Although golf seems to be a spectator sport that plays better on television, golf enthusiasts should go experience a live event at least once. Here are some tips and information that may help you. Most professional golf events have websites that can answer frequently asked questions.

Most professional events allow you to purchase tickets on a per-day basis, or sell ticket packages for the duration of the event. For most PGA Tour, LPGA and Champions Tour events, expect to pay around $30 for a single day ticket, and around $75 for a four-day pass.

If you wish to attend a Nationwide Tour Event, single-day tickets cost about $10, with week long event packages in the $30 range. Major tournaments will likely cost a little more to attend. It is important to check with the particular event you will be attending to determine what you can and cannot bring to the course with you (esp. refreshments, chairs and cameras).

Backpacks are usually allowed as long as they are carrying towels, sunscreen and clothing. Generally, you will want to travel light, since it will be a long day, and you will likely be walking several miles. Dress comfortably, protect yourself from the sun with sunglasses, a hat, and sunscreen.

Parking and Accommodations. Again, you should check with the event regarding parking. Because many country clubs and golf courses that host professional events are located in suburban neighborhoods, parking may be limited. Field or roadside parking may be available, but in many cases, spectators will need to park at a remote location and ride a shuttle to the golf course.

The tournament website should also list nearby hotels that will likely provide shuttle service to and from the course etiquette. Because golf is a gentlemans game, it should be respect as such. Silence is golden, and spectators should not talk while a golfer is preparing to swing, take pictures during a golfers swing, or talk to a golfer in between his or her shots.

Stay outside of designated boundaries, do not touch a ball that has been hit into the gallery, and although there may be a mad scramble to surround a miss hit ball, use common sense to avoid standing in an area between the golfers miss hit ball and his next target.

Failure to follow proper spectator etiquette can get you expelled from the course without a refund.

Golf courses each have a character of there own. Here in Southwest Florida I have 8 different courses within 5 miles of my residence. I have played all of them at one time or another. During what we locals call season (winter months) many are members only but come the first of June you can play on all of them at greatly reduced prices.

If you live in Florida for more than a couple years you will find that the heat of summer really does not bother you, especially here near the coast where we enjoy an afternoon sea breeze off the Gulf of Mexico each day. If the heat does bother you we have a lighted course that your can play on until 10:00. However I suggest you bring a good set of eyes with you preferably young eyes to follow the flight of the ball, especially if your ball lands on the edge of the fairway.

Many of my friends are addicted golf fanatics that will play everyday come rain or shine. Afternoon thunderstorms are an everyday threat on all our courses. Golf courses that feature carts with a good wide and long roofs will do double duty by keeping the blazing hot sun off you and keep your gear dry during afternoon thunderstorms.

Golf courses with water hazards can be interesting during June when the gators are mating. Most golf courses have the number of the local alligator trapper on speed dial at this time of the year. It is advisable to never wade into a golf course pond to retrieve a ball. Alligators are very deceptive by appearing to be slow moving but can accelerate to capture prey at incredible speeds. We have had several attacks in our area over the past ten years so you need to give gators a wide birth. In the past we used to have a good supply of rattlesnakes but due to urbanization and increasing numbers of wild hogs they are now seldom seen.

Hogs on a golf course are a disaster waiting to happen. In just one night your favorite course can have thousands of dollars worth of damage. This is especially true if they do their rooting on greens. Golfers are very picky about the golf course they want to play on and especially critical of any changes to the greens. Hog control and removal is a high priority effort around most golf courses.

There are many quality golf courses located here in Southwest Florida. In fact you could easily play a different course for each day of the month and not have to travel more than 20 minutes from your home. There are to many to name and more are being built all the time. Southwest Florida has at least one golf course to suit you and your playing style.