The year is just about over and it was a great one.

I didn’t accomplish many of the things that I set out to accomplish, but the road map is becoming more clear as each day passes. I accomplished some of the things on my to-do list, but fell short in some places too. I’m going to talk more about that in the next couple of days.

As for Life in the Rough, it has turned out to be great fun. It’s been a valuable learning tool for me, and it has been fun getting input from so many readers on the various subjects.

I wanted to highlight some of my favorite posts from the year (well, since April), so new readers can catch up on the things they may have missed.

Stack and Tilt

By far, the Stack and Tilt has been the most popular topic here. When I first read about it in Golf Digest and decided to try it out and write about it, I never realized it would be so popular.

After my initial post, I followed up with:

• Stack and Tilt: A Follow-Up
• More Stack and Tilt Analysis
• Golf Digest Revisits the Stack and Tilt

The “More Stack and Tilt Analysis” post has been the most popular of the year. It has been viewed over 23,000 times. If you want information on the Stack and Tilt and ended up here, that’s the place to start.

Total Game Improvement Week

This was a 5 day series I did in September to hit all aspects of game improvement in one huge push. It was five days packed full of of tips, drills, and information intended to help improve every aspect of your game.

• Day 1
• Day 2
• Day 3
• Day 4
• Day 5
• Recap

Cure Your Slice

By far, the most common problem with most amateur golfers is the slice. In July, I did a series intended to help defeat the slice forever.

• Banish Your Slice
• Causes of an Over the Top Swing
• Some Other Factors that Can Lead to a Slice
• Combat Your Slice

Sand Play

Another series I started near the end of May, called “Beach Week”, gave tips and information about how to handle all types of sand play on the golf course.

• In the Sand, Point of Entry is Key
• The Basic Sand Shot
• The Buried Lie: A Sandy Grave (my favorite title of the year)
• The Fairway Bunker Shot

Some time after the Beach Week series, I added a post discussing uphill and downhill lies in the sand.

Book Reviews

I did twelve book reviews this year. I tend to simply not review books I don’t like, so check out my book review category page for complete listing of books I think you’ll like.

Of the ones I reviewed this year, these are what I’d consider required reading:

• Dave Pelz’s Short Game Bible
• Dave Pelz’s Putting Bible
• Harvey Penick’s Little Red Book
• Golf is Not a Game of Perfect

I think there are others you’ll find enjoyable too, so check out the book review category for more.

Mental Game

I’m a big proponent of the mental game component of golf improvement. I think a vast majority of players will improve to some degree by understanding their own mental approach to the game and expending effort to refine it.

My favorite posts on the topic of the mental game:

• Gamesmanship and Gamesmanship Revisited - Dirty tricks or legitimate tactics?
• What Separates the Best From the Rest? - What makes a Tour pro so much better than a scratch player?
• Defeating Old Man Par - Par is just an artificial “barrier”. Forget about it and you might play better.
• Realistic Expectations - Making expectations realistic takes off some of the pressure when things don’t pan out.
• Target Awareness in Golf - Thinking about the target instead of on mechanics before and during the swing will improve your play.

Glossary

I did a series of posts intended to help beginners understand all the different terminology associated with golf. There were five editions, covering:

• Ball Flight Patterns
• Club Anatomy
• Bad Shots
• The Golf Course
• Swing Plane

Lists

I did several lists this year. I find these to be a lot of fun. Here’s my list of my top lists:

• The Top Five Golfers of All Time
• The Top 9 Advancements in Golf History
• Seven Ways to Improve Your Game On a Budget
• Ten Ways to Improve your Golf Game - RIGHT NOW!
• Eight Common Mistakes Beginning Golfers Make

Miscellaneous Favorites

Here are a few of my random favorites that I did throughout the year:

• The No-Backswing Swing
• The Art of Reading Greens
• Selecting a Golf Ball
• Pre-round Warm-up
• Fix your Posture, Save Your Back
• The Shanks
• Practicing Golf With A Purpose
• The Flop Shot

That pretty much caps off 2007. Looking back, it’s interesting to see how things progressed over the year. Both my progress and the site itself.

I included many of my favorites here, but there’s a lot in the archives I don’t have room to mention without this getting out of hand. There’s a lot of information about the rules, more ball striking tips, and a bunch of other stuff. Check it out if you haven’t had a chance. I’d like to see some of the old stuff get a second wind.

I hope your 2007 was great and I hope your 2008 is even better!

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