One of the benefits I get out of writing posts for Life in the Rough is that the research I do for most posts helps my own learning process. While I’m normally writing about things I know, I definitely don’t know it all. So I’m always reading up on various topics to help me ensure accuracy, refresh my recollection, and fill in the gaps. Sometimes I find that I’ve forgotten a key detail of something, or that I maybe misunderstood what was going on. A case in point involves my two recent posts about Dave Pelz’s Putting Bible and the pure in line square (pils) putting stroke. Ever since I read the book (my second reading was 3 or 4 years ago), I have been employing the pils stroke. At least I thought I was. I understood the fundamentals, but when I wrote the post about it, I went back and refreshed my memory on the specific key points as well as on the science behind it. Friday afternoon, I got back on the course
When It Goes Bad, It Really Goes Bad
Last month, you may remember me lamenting about a few swing ailments. I got back to the basics of grip, alignment, stance, and posture (GASP) and after some hard work at the driving range, all was well. Well, not really. It was the start of a serious downward spiral. I let myself break rule #1: don’t abandon the plan without cause. When my game went south, I did a couple of things that started a chain of events. First, I devoted all my practice time to work out my pitiful ball striking. That meant no work on the short game. Period. The second thing I did was replace regular fitness workouts with range time. While I perceived that it was all right because I was still working, it wasn’t all right at all. I was breaking the discipline that I had built over several months. Sure enough, when I got my ball striking back in order, predictably, my short game was a mess. I was playing a little better but I lost the ability to
Adding Consistency With a Stable Right Knee
One problem I’ve struggled with in my swing is a little too much lateral movement, both in the back swing and in the down swing. When there is a lot of lateral movement (a small amount is normal), the bottom of the swing arc moves. That leads to inconsistency because I then have to try and return the low point of the swing to the correct spot to make crisp contact. If I shift too far right and then not enough to the left to counter it, I hit the ball fat. If I shift too much back to the left, then I come down to the ball at a steep angle and smother it. It becomes one big inconsistent mess. It’s magnified because I’m a big guy and don’t have a really speedy action in my hips, so if I get too far right, it’s hard to get back to the left in time. I discovered something at the driving range recently that has really helped me to cut down on this problem. I
Golf Stats: Reading Between the Lines
This applies more to players who keep track of stats, but that can mean informally as well. Whether you keep meticulous notes about every single shot and use stat tracking software or whether you kind of keep a rough mental tally of things, those numbers are trying to speak to you. It’s tempting to look at the raw numbers and just make a snap judgment about what they mean. You might notice that your putting average is 1.75 putts per hole and start thinking that you’re putting like the pros. Not so fast. Sunday evening, I finished up my 9-hole round and went home and tallied up my stats. I’ve been making great improvements in my ball striking, but still felt like I wasn’t playing well. When I looked at my putting stats, my average was over two putts per hole. I had only a single one-putt and had two three-putts. Another bad round? Not really. My final score was a 42. Not great, but my best at my new course this year. You’re probably
Always Be Prepared
The Boy Scout motto applies to every aspect of life. Without preparedness, we’re lost. Even on the golf course. Let me relate a short tale of unpreparedness that bit me on Saturday. I went out Saturday afternoon fresh off of a couple of swing changes and some serious mental game improvement work. To me, it felt like I was hitting the ball poorly but as I came to the 9th hole, I did some quick arithmetic and discovered that I had a 37 to that point. Not a great score, but until then, my perception was that I was hitting the ball somewhat poorly, especially the long irons and woods. I was surprised to realize that I was hitting a decent amount of fairways and greens and I was recovering well from bad shots, especially mentally. In reality, I was hitting the long clubs poorly, but I was making up for it by not melting down and by exhibiting strength in other areas (NOT putting). So, I came to nine, and teed off, somewhat in
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