Tag: Beginner Golf Practice

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GOLF

PRIORITIZE YOUR GOLF PRACTICE

Rate your Golf Game

An idea I came up with this Season because practice time wasn’t easy to come by was to rate my golf game. In order to be as brutally honest as possible I decided to divide the aspects of an individuals golf game into 5 categories. Then assign a score from 1 to 5 for each category, but no two categories can have the same score. This will force you to rank your abilities from best to worst.

Here is how I ranked each category for myself.

Driving
-4

Putting
-1

Irons
-5

Woods\Hybrids
-3

Wedges
-2

What is particularly great about this system is that it doesn’t matter how good your overall game is. A 1 in putting doesn’t mean I can putt like a tour pro. It just means that it’s the most reliable part of my game. The next thing I did was make a quick note of one thing I would most like to improve in each category.

These were the primary goals I chose for each category.

Driving
-4
-increase average distance by 15 yards

Putting
-1
-improve proximity to hole on downhill putts

Irons
-5
-lower launch angle to increase distance

Woods\Hybrids
-3
-be more consistent with the distance

Wedges
-2
-improve bunker accuracy

So now what am I supposed to do with that information. This is where having an understanding of where you are able to effectively cut strokes really helps. I use a Shot Scope V2 to track my golf game. I also use the 18birdies app to take notes, and get a quick analysis of my game at the end of each Round while it’s fresh in my mind. This combination has enabled me to really understand what I need to improve in order to quickly lower my scores.

The goals that would have the least affect are adding 15 yards to my Driving distance, and improving bunker accuracy. An extra 15 yards off the Tee would allow me to take 1 less club into Greens. Unfortunately my Irons are the worst category in my game so 1 less club makes little to know difference. On average I only hit 1 or 2 bunkers per Round so having improved accuracy on those shots would improve my scores minimally.

The goals that could significantly lower my scores dramatically are a lower launch angle with my Irons to increase distance, and better distance control with my Hybrids. First of all distance, and distance control are key to scoring with the majority of your clubs. Hitting it short off the Tee with my Driver won’t punish me as much if I’m accurate, and relatively long with my Irons and Hybrids. Instead of hitting pop ups with my Irons that are difficult to control, and heavily affected by the wind. I could hit a shorter Iron delofted with more control, and lower so the wind doesn’t affect it as much. On long approaches into Greens I could take hazards out of play if my distance control with my hybrids was predictable.

Now that I have identified which improvements will have the greatest impact. It is easy to optimize my practice sessions to get the absolute most out of them. If I go out to the Range I know exactly which clubs to bring with me. I know exactly what to work on. I can bring along the correct devices in order to measure my results, and determine if the swing changes are working. For these particular goals I would only need my Swing Caddie SC200 at the Range, or I could get the exact numbers by booking time in a Simulator. I wouldn’t have to spend any time on a Putting Green, or Short Game Practice area. Not a second of my time spent practicing would be wasted.

If it wasn’t for the time constraints Covid-19 has caused I would have never developed this system. Having actually put it to use, and seeing the results first hand. I will be prioritizing my practice sessions this way for the foreseeable future. I would strongly suggest that if you are serious about improving your golf game you try it as well.

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GOLF

GOLF SWING THOUGHTS MADE SIMPLE

Finding the proper Swing Thoughts

The less you have to think about before, and during the Swing the better. I wish I could just select a club, get in position and swing away with no thought at all but that’s never going to happen. The best Players in the world still have one or more Swing thoughts in order to execute their golf swing. Your goal is to find the fewest number of Swing thoughts you require to execute your most consistent golf swing. Most people begin with many more than necessary, and have a very difficult time reducing it. The reason it’s so difficult to whittle down is because we don’t pay close enough attention to which thoughts actually make a considerable difference. In the beginning you will get Swing thought advice from everyone, including total strangers. I’m sure some of you have heard some or all of these.

Top 8 Swing Thought advice

1- Keep your head in the same position during the swing

2- Keep your eyes on the ball and don’t look to see where it’s going until your Follow through naturally lifts your head

3- Keep your forward arm straight

4- Swing with your body, not your arms

5- Transfer your weight into your back foot during the back swing, then shift your weight on to your front foot during the forward swing

6- Hit down on to the ball and take a divot just after ball first contact

7- Allow your hands to turn over through impact to close the face

8- Begin the forward swing by rotating your hips first to create lag

There are many more, and at some point I’ve tried them all. In the end my Swing Thoughts have been reduced to (a) maintaining a slow controlled back swing utilizing my two anchor points, and (b) completing a full swing through to a proper finish position. Some of you are probably surprised by that, and maybe even doubting it’s all I require. I’ll explain why this works for me. First of all a Slow Back swing prevents me from swaying. It keeps me balanced, and prevents my head from moving. The Anchor points keep my forward arm from bending to far, promote a proper rotation, and keep my Swing Path under control. Everything that happens through impact is determined at set up before I actually swing. As long as I’m set up correctly my strike will be decent. Something I learned to accept a while back is that a golf swing is far too fast to correct a poor set up during the swing. Better to take a little longer during set up, and then just trust you got it right. That way I’m able to just swing freely, and focus on getting to my second Swing thought, that perfect end position. Chances are if I finish the swing smoothly my shot will be what I expected. If things go wrong it can only be a problem at set up, bad Tempo, or poor balance. The icing on the cake is figuring out which thing went wrong is relatively easy. If I end up off balance it’s obvious. If my swing gets out of synch it’s a Tempo issue. If the Strike was really poor then the problem was at the set up. It usually only takes me a maximum of 3 Holes to get things fixed during a Round now. I can remember Rounds of golf where something would go wrong with my Swing, and it could take 6 Holes to figure out what. Sometimes I wouldn’t figure out what was wrong the entire Round. The reason I had no idea was because I had too many Swing Thoughts to work through. Was my head steady? Was I transferring my weight too soon, or too late? Had I gotten too armsy? Were my hands forward at impact? If just one thing was wrong I could potentially figure it out. But what if two or more things weren’t quite right? Good luck finding the right combination to fix things in time.

Just because these two Swing thoughts work for me doesn’t necessarily mean they will work for you. My Swing thoughts include a front and rear arm anchoring against my abdomen. Unless you do that as well it won’t make sense for you. I rarely take much of a divot, and don’t compress the ball all that much. As a result of that I don’t hit the ball particularly long. Right now distance isn’t all that important to me. I hit long enough to get around a shorter course, and shoot my target score provided I’m accurate. At some point in order to improve my Handicap I’ll have to learn to hit the ball a bit longer. At that time my Swing thoughts might change, or I might require one more in order to account for compressing the ball at impact.

WHAT SWING THOUGHTS HAVE WORKED FOR YOU?

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GOLF

HOW TO IMPROVE YOUR GOLF SWING

HOW TO IMPROVE

There are a lot of theories on the internet about how to improve as a Beginner Golfer. The manufacturers would like you to believe that the right equipment will make the difference. Golf coaches will tell you that lessons are the fastest route to improvement. The majority of Social media Influencers will claim to have the correct tips to accelerate your game. With so many options which one is right for you?

Figuring it out without having any real direction can be an expensive process. There are a few things you can do for free to provide you with a decent starting point. The first of which is to spend a little time at your local golf store, and test a few clubs. I would highly suggest you use that time to figure out which long shot clubs suit your natural swing. Test a 5 Wood, 4 Hybrid, and 4 Iron to see which you hit best. This will help you determine how to design your golf set. Also test how well you hit Hybrid Irons vs Traditional Irons. A lot of Beginners ignore Hybrid Iron sets like the Cobra T Rail, or Wilson Launch Pad sets. They can seriously help some golfers get started depending on your natural swing. When testing clubs pay attention to your natural ball flight, and what the majority of your miss hits are. Do you hit a lot of chunks or thins? Do you hook the ball or slice it? If you are able use your cellphone camera to film some of your test swings. This takes us to the second thing you can do. Go on YouTube and look up tips to help you with your swing problems. There are a lot of “experts” on YouTube but I’ve found a few that can offer solid advice. Start with Larry Cheung golf, Mr Shortgame, Me and My Golf, and Mark Crossfield. Between those channels you’ll probably find some helpful hints. For me personally Mark Crossfield helped me with my grip. Larry Cheung helped me improve my Back swing, and Mr Shortgame helped me limit my chunky shots. Me and My Golf have provided me with helpful drills to continuously improve. Spend time at the Range utilizing their tips for at least 8 hours of total Range time. That should improve your swing some. It won’t be perfect. Far from it actually, but at least you will have a very good idea of what you need to work on. At this point you might decide to invest in lessons, or a Swing Analyzer device. There is one more thing you can do before that though. Try swinging your clubs while choking down on the grip. Move your hands as far down the grip as possible without having any fingers on the actual shaft. The shorter a club is, the easier it is to hit. If suddenly your strike and ball flight is significantly better. Then a fitting might be the answer to gain some additional improvement. If things don’t look much different. Then it’s time to get lessons.

Of course everything I suggest is dependent on your budget. For instance I didn’t get my first, and only lesson until my third Season. I quickly realized that the same information is available on Larry Cheung’s YouTube channel. Provided you know enough about the basics of a golf swing to interpret his advice.

I hope this helps you accelerate your improvement. For more helpful tips for Beginners. Check out the Cobe Life YouTube channel.

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GOLF

QUICK START GUIDE FOR BEGINNER GOLFERS

First things first

I’m not going to get into choosing the right equipment, or how much time you should spend at the Range. I’m not going to tell you what part of your game you should focus on in the beginning, or how to develop a repeatable swing. I’m not going to tell you these things because I have written previous articles, and have a whole series of videos dedicated to those things already on my Cobe Life YouTube channel. What I’m actually going to do is provide you with a flowchart of sorts. A step by step guide that should help you progress as a Golfer, and minimize the number of setbacks most Beginner Golfers experience. So lets assume that you have purchased your first set of clubs, have a halfway decent swing, and can get through 18 holes on a course without losing your mind and a case of balls. Now what… 

Time to get Fit? NOPE!

Practice Putting until sinking 5 footers becomes so easy that it’s boring

Notice the emphasis on short putts. Trust me, there’s nothing worse when you start golfing at actual courses, and feel like you are 3 putting every hole. Putting is like Running. First you need to know how to crawl, then learn to walk, before you can run. It won’t help you to hit a long lag putt to within 5 feet, or chip it close from off the green, If it then takes you two putts to sink it. Lag putting will become easier over time. It takes a lot of actual playing time to become decent at reading greens and getting a feel for the speed required to cover assorted distances. Once you have learned to control your putts. Knowing that you can drain anything that gets remotely close really helps your confidence, and frees you up to try and sink long putts more often.

Fall in love with your Hybrid

If you have read my previous posts on assembling your first golf set, or seen my YouTube videos on buying golf clubs. You will already know that I’m a huge fan of Hybrid clubs. Recently popular YouTuber Rick Shiels posted a video on 5 different ways to use your Hybrid clubs. That alone should tell you how versatile they are. The versatility isn’t why I believe you should quickly make your Hybrid clubs your favourites. What makes Hybrid clubs so important for the majority of Beginner Golfers is the ability to hit them a relatively long distance out of any lie. It doesn’t matter if it’s off a Tee, from the fairway, in a bunker, or out of the rough. Hybrid clubs seem to have no problem hitting a golf ball from anywhere. Once you’ve realized this, you’ll have the confidence to take a full swing off the Tee, or attack greens from a distance. If you happen to miss the Fairway or Green so be it. The Hybrid club is there to help get you out of trouble.

Pick your Favourite Wedge

As a Beginner Golfer you are going to miss a lot of Greens. If you want to continue to lower your scores you will have to get good at Chipping. The first step is finding a Wedge you feel confident with. Any Wedge will do. Actually it doesn’t even have to be a Wedge. It could be your 9 Iron if that’s what suits you. What’s most important is that you choose one club and stick to it! Sure PGA professionals have around four different Wedges in their bag, and they use all of them. The thing is, and I’m sorry to be the one telling you this but. You are not a PGA professional. Practice chipping out of trouble with one club from around 30 yards and in. Get in the habit of using the same exact stroke for every chip. Just control the distance by limiting your backswing. If you stick to it, then eventually chipping will feel as natural as putting. Once you’ve reached that level of confidence you will take dead aim at greens with very little worry. If you end up 5 to 10 yards off the green. Your goal will be to get up and down for Par, not to hopefully make Bogey.

Now it’s time to get Fit right? NOPE!

Let the Big Dog eat

Now that you can putt like Jason Day, hit your Hybrids from anywhere like Jordan Spieth, and chip to within inches of the hole like Phil Mickelson. It’s time to learn how to bomb it down the Fairway like Dustin Johnson. If you can’t achieve both distance and accuracy, well at least develop accuracy. Not everyone is going to be able to hit their Driver 250 yards or more, but we can all learn to develop some accuracy. As a Beginner Golfer 2 out of every 3 Fairways hit is a pretty good average. The Driver can be the most difficult club to control for a lot of new golfers. If you are really struggling then it may be time to enlist some outside help.

So this is when we get Fit! NOPE!

Find a Coach and get some lessons

Coaches come in many forms. Could be your local Course Pro, the Golf Trainer at your local golf store, or a friend who has been playing a lot longer than you have. Whoever it may be you might find yourself pleasantly surprised what a couple of golf lessons can do for your game. Golf is a game of minor adjustments, but it can be difficult to assess what adjustments you require. A good coach should be able to recognize simple setup or swing faults rather quickly. For some Beginners it only takes one or two lessons to see a major improvement. Once you’ve spent enough time with your coach to eliminate your bad habits, and get everything in order. There’s just one last thing to do.

GET FIT!

Finally it’s time to get properly fit. This doesn’t mean that you need to go out, and buy a whole new set of clubs. Getting fit can simply be about getting your current set adjusted for Length, Lie Angle, and Loft. When it comes to your Driver, and Fairway Woods you might opt for a Shaft Change. Whatever you decide that fits your budget will help at this point. Some of you are probably wondering why getting Fit was left till last? These steps aren’t meant to be taken until you begin playing Golf Courses and actually keeping score. For most Beginners that’s around the six month mark. At this point your swing is far from polished, and quite honestly will probably change drastically over the next six months to a year. Getting Fit too early will in some cases benefit you for a short amount of time, and then become a hindrance to your progress. If I had gotten Fit after six months the Lie Angle on my Irons would have been way off the mark they are at now. It is my opinion that most Beginner Golfers shouldn’t add a Driver to their bag until they have played a full Season. It is also been my experience that the Driver is the most important club in the bag to get Fit. There are benefits to being Fit for every club in your bag, but some are negligible. Putter and Wedge fittings can help improve your game but most true Beginners won’t see a difference. The Lie Angle on a Hybrid isn’t nearly as important as the Lie Angle on an Iron so getting used to one off the rack is far easier. That’s why I suggest mastering those clubs first. By the time you feel confident in those areas of your game. The benefits of a Fitting will be far greater.

Good Luck, and hopefully you won’t be Beginner Golfers much longer!

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My 2018 Golf Season – Beginner’s Guide to Golf

The Year that was…

For those of you that follow my blog.  First of all Thank you.  I know it’s been a bit since my last post, and I apologize for making you wait.  Things have been a bit hectic lately.  On top of all the usual things life burdens you with, there have been a few extra issues to deal with as well as a new edition to the Cobe Life family.  Before some of you get too excited, no we didn’t have a baby.  We did however bring a puppy home.  I don’t know how many of you have raised a puppy before but for those of you that haven’t it means getting up around four times a night to take him out to do his business.  Sleep has become a distant memory.  I look like an extra on the Walking Dead these days.

So it probably wouldn’t surprise you when I say that I haven’t done anything of particular note lately.  Instead I will take this opportunity to evaluate how my season went.  What goals I managed to achieve, and where I fell short.  Plus a few moments that really stood out to me.

Why goals are important in golf

Unlike many other sports, setting goals in golf is critical to improving your game.  Having said that I’m sure a number of you are already thinking that goals are important in all sports.  Of course they are.  It’s just that in golf there are so many different aspects to the game, that without setting specific goals you won’t actually know how you are improving.  If you still think what I’m saying is nonsense.  It might help you understand what my goals were.

Average less than 2 putts per hole.

GOAL ACHIEVED!  I finished the season with an average of 1.7 putts per hole.  This is actually better than I had hoped.  Essentially what this means is that I rarely 3 putt, and quite often I require only one putt to hole out.  What it doesn’t tell you is how long my average putt was.  This brings up an important aspect of understanding your progress in Golf.  Quite a number of your statistics can be affected by other aspects of your game.  Which brings me to my next goal.

Average less than 1 chip per hole.

GOAL FAILED!  I finished the season with an average of 1.3 chips per hole.  This tells me two things.  First of all I’m not hitting too many greens on approach shots so my accuracy is off with my Irons.  Secondly if I’m forced to chip that often, and I know that my chipping ability is quite good.  Then I’m probably leaving myself a lot of easy putts.  That’s partially why my putting numbers are so good.  Which leads me to my next goal.

33% or better Green in Regulation average.

GOAL FAILED!  Verifying what I safely assumed was the case.  I didn’t hit too many greens with my approach shots this season.  My average was a paltry 13.3%.  Obviously my accuracy with my Irons needs major improvement.  Of course that might not be the only concern.  It’s possible to be deadly accurate at the Golf Range, then trouble taking aim on the course.  Hitting your targets becomes a lot more difficult when you aren’t hitting off a perfect surface.  Which brings me to my next goal.

50% or better in Fairways Hit.

GOAL ACHIEVED!  Coming into this season my fairways hit percentage was around 50%.  I was hoping to maintain that average while choosing to play more aggressively off the tee.  I finished the season with a 65.5% average.  Far better than what I had hoped for, and proof that all the practice I put in with my Driver is working.  What this also tells me is that my accuracy with my Irons are an issue because the majority of my approach shots are from the Fairway.  Which brings me to my final goal.

Lower my handicap to 18 or better.

GOAL FAILED!  I was really hoping to finish the season as a bogey golfer but unfortunately that didn’t happen.  My current handicap is 21.9.  Close but no celebratory cigar.  My handicap did go down by 7 strokes so that should be seen as a success.  More importantly I have a good understanding of what I need to work on to lower my handicap next Season.  First and foremost is my Iron accuracy.  A few trips to the Simulator practicing in closest to the pin mode should help.  With that goal in mind I should probably work on my longer putts because I should hit more greens.  In order to make my approach shots easier I should probably work on my Driver distance as well.

Possible goals for next season

Less than 1.9 putts per hole

Less than 1 chip per hole

33% or better Greens in Regulation

66% Fairways Hit

16 or better handicap

Understanding where my game is at, and what specifically needs improvement makes those goals realistic.  Most other sports aren’t like that.  For the most part you just practice in order to get better.  You don’t necessarily isolate one particular part of your game that will end up improving your overall performance.

I’m already excited for next year, and hope you continue to enjoy the journey right along with me.

 

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3 keys to lowering your score – Beginner’s Guide to Golf

Keep it Simple

I’ve come across many Guides for Beginner Golfers.  The majority will include ways to begin lowering your score.  They will go into detail about how to develop a one way miss, play to your skills, and spend a lot of time working on your putting.  I agree with all of these but they don’t address the real requirements necessary to lowering your score.  There are three keys to lowering your score that will work for every Beginner Golfer.

Hazard Avoidance

This seems quite obvious right!  Well think about how many times  on the course that you have found yourself in hazards.  How many times have you failed to clear a pond, found yourself in a sand trap, or had to hit a difficult pitch out of the woods?  Some of you are going to blame these situations on poor strikes.  That’s a poor excuse.  I recently played a course with a friend of mine.  On the way there he mentioned how difficult the sand traps were at this course.  I told him that ssnd traps wouldn’t be a problem for me.  He had a puzzled look on his face, and asked why?  I told him that I rarely land in sand traps.  Most Rounds I don’t land in a single one.  He asked how is that possible?  My answer was straight and to the point, I avoid them.  My game out of the sand is weak.  I know that if I land in a bunker it’s going to cost me a stroke.  It could take me two strokes to get out of the bunker, or even if I get out with my first swing, it’s going to take another stroke to get back into position.  The smart play for me is to hit away from the bunker, or short of it.  In order to do this effectively you need to know your average distance with each club, and even more importantly the maximum distance with each club.  This is a statistic that you should be aware of that none of the “experts” talk about.  As an “expert” they never need to worry about hitting their clubs exceptionally long.  For example my average distance with my 7 Iron is 138 yards.  I have on occasion caught it a little thin and hit it close to 150 yards.  Both of these numbers come into play during a Round.  If I’m attacking a Green that’s 134 yards away with a Bunker on the left.  I will choose 7 Iron and aim for the right side of the Green.  In case you were wondering where the Pin is placed. Well it doesn’t matter.  I would prefer to attempt a long putt than having to potentially hit out of a bunker.  Now lets add one additional feature to that same situation.  Along with the left side bunker there’s also thick woods and fescue at the back.  The distance to the back of the green is 146 yards.  Now the maximum distance also comes into play.  If I catch my 7 Iron too thin I could skip out the back and into the woods where losing the ball is definitely a possibility.  In this case I would club down to my 8 Iron.  On average I hit my 8 Iron around 125 yards.  I have hit it as long as 135 yards at times though.  This would give me a slim chance to get my shot as far as the pin, and a decent chance to find the front fringe.  It totally takes both hazards out of play though.  Once again I would prefer a long putt, or short chip than end up in a hazard.  I probably save 5 strokes a Round by playing this way.

Just because it’s a Par 4 doesn’t mean you have to play it like one!

Something I realized after a full Season of playing courses, is that some Par 4s are specifically designed to challenge low handicappers.  As a Beginner these holes can totally obliterate what could have been a great Round of Golf.  The reason for this is how we are mentally conditioned to play a long Par 4.  Hit it as long as possible off the Tee, and then use whichever club is necessary to reach the Green.  Recently I played a 448 yard Par 4 dogleg right.  I chose Driver off the Tee.  Recently I’ve been hitting my Driver with great consistency.  You should choose whichever club you can hit long and find the Fairway consistently, after taking Hazard Avoidance into consideration first.  I was left with 210 yards to the Pin.  Now I could potentially get there with my 3 Wood.  In my first couple of Seasons playing golf, that’s exactly what I would have tried.  Now what I chose to do instead was treat this long Par 4 like a Par 5.  I chose 5 Hybrid which totally took any of the Hazards around the Green out of play.  It left me only 50 yards to the Pin which is a very easy distance for me.  Choosing to play long Par 4s this way makes Birdie almost impossible, Par difficult, and Bogey very easy.  This may sound counterproductive to lowering your scores but in actuality it isn’t.  My Par 5 average score has gone from almost 8 to 6 strokes.  If the course I’m playing has 4 Par 5s that’s 8 strokes saved on average!  The reason for the dramatic change in scoring is because the longer you hit a club, the greater the possibility for error if you hit it poorly.  A sliced 3 Wood could put me in brutal trouble.  A sliced 5 Hybrid isn’t anywhere close to as bad.  Even if I hit the 3 Wood well in the aforementioned situation.  I could end up in a greenside bunker, or roll through the back into fescue.  A well struck 5 Hybrid can only end up in the Fairway.  So I can’t get a birdie. Well so what!  As a Beginner Golfer I only aversge 1 birdie per Round anyways.

Play to the Front of Par 3s

I’m guessing that nobody has ever suggested this before.  Whenever you are in doubt of how to play a Par 3, just aim for the front of the Green.  The only time that I would suggest against this is if you have to clear a hazard.  In that case I would suggest aiming for the back.  Aiming for the front is all about being logical.  Many Beginners know their average total distance, but aren’t aware of their carry distances.  Balls that land on the Green will usually roll out further than usual because of the firmness of the surface.  But what about Spin, you ask?  You are a Beginner (news flash) you don’t really have any.  As a result your total average distance is actually increased.  Another reason to aim for the front is that you aren’t punished for hitting it thin. You might actually end up on the Green, or roll through the back.  At least you won’t be so far out the back that getting back onto the Green will be easy.  Last but not least, you generally take hazards on the left, right, or back mostly out of play.

If you take these three tips into consideration the next time you play.  I promise you that your final score will be lower than if you didn’t.  Good luck, and keep working to improve your game.  I’ll see you on the course.

 

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Developing that one swing – Beginner’s Guide to Golf

Why Not?

(Cobe Life has recently switched to a new Subscription service.  I strongly advise current Subscribers to resubmit their follow request)

I’m sure every golfer has gone through it.  Maybe some of you like me are still going through it.  What is it you ask?  It’s the inability to have one swing work in a Simulator, at the Range, and on the course.  Last Season I got in the habit of visiting the Range a couple days before playing a Round.  If the weather turned bad I’d spend an hour in a Simulator.  I’d get my swing dialed in.  By the time my practice was done I’d leave the Range, or Simulator feeling totally confident.  I was going to play the best Round of my life in a couple days.  The course isn’t ready for what’s coming.  My playing partners will be talking about this Round for the rest of the year.  Never have I ever been this focused, ready, and confident.  Two days later…

I shit the bed

I battle to make proper contact all day.  When I don’t totally chunk it, I catch it thin.  When I finally do make decent contact I slice the ball into oblivion.  My distances are so inconsistent that club selection becomes a total gamble.  Eventually I just choose the club that I happened to get a halfway decent shot with earlier.  Long Par 5, think I’ll tee off with my 4 Hybrid because I hit it relatively straight two holes ago.  390 yards left to the hole, 4 Hybrid seems like a good choice. Only hit it 150 yards leaving 240.  That’s OK the 4 Hybrid will work.  Still 80 yards remaining.  Normally that would be a smooth 52 degree Wedge.  Unfortunately nothing I’ve hit has been smooth today so I’ll club up to a Pitching Wedge in case I chunk it.  End up blading the ball into oblivion.  Damn it!  I should have just played a bump and run with the 4 Hybrid.  Have you ever had those days?  Sounds like an exaggeration but it isn’t.  I have had those days.  What could have happened to my swing between Thursday and Saturday?

Absolutely nothing!

The truth is that your swing didn’t suddenly disintegrate.  It was as ready as you had imagined.  You were ready to have the Round of your life.  The problem wasn’t your swing.  The problem was where you chose to use it.  There are specific differences between each place you practice your swing.  Some of these differences are extremely subtle, but can have a profound effect on your game.  The first of which is barely noticeable to golf beginners.  It wasn’t noticeable to me for a full two seasons.  I struggled, and doubted myself every time I played.  Wondering if I would ever be able to reproduce the success I was having at the Range on a course.  One of the most important Golf Beginner tips I can give you is to always begin your setup by properly setting the…

Lie Angle

I used to believe that the key to Golf was to develop a smooth repeatable swing.  I had the right idea, but I missed one necessary ingredient.  Golf is a game of minor adjustments.  One of the most important of those relates to lie angle.  Something I failed to realize when I practiced my swing at the local range, was that the old hitting mats they provide have become significantly worn in the contact zone.  So where the ball sits is slightly lower than the area around it.  In order to make proper contact you would have to adjust the lie angle of your swing to be slightly toe up.  Of course the Beginner Golfer isn’t actually aware that over the course of adjusting their swing ball after ball until they consistently make good contact.  That swing is counterproductive to when they step on to a course and the ball is on even ground, or even worse a slight downhill lie.  More often than not that’s how thin shots happen.  It might sound like I’m suggesting that you stop going to the Range.  I’m not.  I’m telling you to be very aware of the lie angle of your club when you place it behind the ball at setup. The sole of your club needs to be as flat against the ground as possible.  The lie angle determines how far you should be from the ball.  I used to believe that my club choice determined that.  It does if you take every shot from the exact same spot at the Range, or in a Simulator.  On a course things become very different because the ground level is constantly changing.  That brings me to the next factor that can cause fits…

Surface hardness

Something that never changes in a Simulator or hitting off a mat at the Range is the surface you are hitting off of.  I actually have preferred Simulator Practice locations because the surface you hit off of has a softer underlayer that provides more give.  If you are having trouble understanding my meaning.  Imagine hitting your longest Iron off of a sidewalk.  There’s a very good chance that the fear of contacting the concrete would have you end up blading the ball.  Any swing that came in too steep would bounce so hard it would totally sap your strike of distance.  A hitting surface with more give or depth to it allows you to come in steep or shallow, and still make decent contact.  That felt much better to me.  It feels far better to everyone that plays golf no matter what your skill level may be.  Does it help you improve your swing though?  Of course it does.  All practice helps you improve.  In this case though the firmer surface helps you even more.  The reason for this is because of it’s affect on the proper utilization of each clubs lie Angle.  The softer the surface, the more incorrect your lie angle can be, and still allow for decent contact.  If the heel, or toe would hit first the surface gives way just enough to limit the affect on the swing.  A rigid surface forces you to bring the club head perfectly square through the impact zone or suffer the consequences.  Learn to make clean contact in a Simulator, or on a mat at the Range with a hard surface, and your swing will be pure.  Sounds like that’s the ticket to improving your swing, and lowering your scores on the course then.  I really wish it was.  Course conditions can change from very hard surfaces to extremely soft.  Especially when you live in Canada like I do.  Practicing off of a hard surface can end up creating a swing that’s robotic.  It becomes difficult to make those small adjustments that are required during a Round of Golf.  What if you have to hit out of the Rough, or out of a bunker?  What if the ball is above or below your feet?  Once again the most important thing that you can focus on is the lie angle of the club.

Pre-shot Routine

Everyone should develop a pre-shot routine.  It gets you prepared to make the shot, settles the nerves, and helps you properly set yourself.  Everyone has their own unique way of doing it.  Whatever yours is, make sure that it includes aligning the club’s lie angle so that it’s level with the surface you are hitting off of.  If your routine doesn’t include this one crucial step yet?  Then that could be why you have had those days on the course that made you wonder what happened to my swing?

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FANTASY FISHING GAMING GOLF

In case you didn’t know – Winter Sucks!!!

I’m Canadian so I know

For those of you that don’t really experience winter as the cold, dark, snow and ice filled hell that Canadians know it to be.  Well lucky you.  You really don’t have a winter Season.  What you experience is more of an extended fall, or if you are truly blessed, a cool summer.  The Winters that I’ve experienced in my lifetime range from mild (below zero with light snow) to severe (an entire city frozen in ice without power).  It’s during this abhorrent time that I go from an active sports enthusiast to an out of shape couch commando.  I’ve wondered what kind of shape I would be in if I could just keep doing the things I love (golfing, fishing, walking the city) year round.  Of course there are the many winter sports that so many find enjoyable.  Obviously something terrible has had to have happened to each of them at some point in their lives.  Why else would they subject themselves to such torturous endeavours. Strapping two thin planks to your feet and sliding down a snowy hill.  Fast enough to make the -10 degree temps feel like-20. If you prefer one wide plank that’s available.  Maybe you prefer strapping blades to your feet so you can slide across ice instead.  Desperately working on keeping your balance well enough to keep your ankles from breaking.  You could always head far enough up North to mount a tobaggan equipped with a high powered engine and really freeze your ass solid.  As appealing as some of those activities may sound to some of you.  They sure as shit aren’t for me.

Indoor Sport

So what’s an athletic guy to do?  I’ve considered joining the red and white GoodLife Fitness gym bag carrying crowd.  Unfortunately I can’t enjoy working out.  Especially when I know that playing a sport achieves similar results.  I have a collapsed arch in my left foot so simply joining an indoor soccer, or basketball team is out of the question.  I could take up swimming, but I’d trust the toxicity levels in Lake Ontario more than a public pool.  I’ve considered many potential activities, but not one fit the bill.  Winter has got me totally euchred.  I spend most of my days  in an area not much larger than a squash court.  I still Golf. Got a quick 18 holes in after Morning Drive yesterday.  Of course that’s 18 Rounds on my single hole putting mat in my living room.  There are times during the year that I look at my PS4 and think what a waste of money.  Well my opinion changes rather quickly as soon as the first snowfall hits.  Hardly a day passes without one of my PS4 controllers requiring a recharge.  I had the unfortunate situation where a label came off one of my blu-rays inside my PS4.  I played digital downloads for a couple days, but missed playing Tom Clancy’s The Division way too much.  So after about a week I broke down, and proceeded to take my PS4 apart to clear the drive.  It wasn’t nearly as difficult as I expected it to be.  Less than an hour later I was back to playing The Division.  Winter can do that.  It can motivate you to try things, or buy things you wouldn’t normally.  This is the weekend before the Superbowl so my favourite spectator sport isn’t available either.  I find myself watching movies galore.  Now I love film so that isn’t necessarily a bad thing.  The problem is that I know I’m going to be spending so much time watching movies that I specifically select Trilogies or ongoing series.  I’ve watched the Bourne trilogy, the Millennium trilogy, the first six Star Wars films, the Hobbit trilogy, the Lord of the Rings trilogy, all of the Die Hard films, and I’m four films in to the Harry Potter series.  Can you see how this might be a problem.  Some of those movies I’ve seen so many times that I can quote every key line.  Not a single moment in any of those films surprises me anymore.  I find myself watching what’s going on in the background more.  Hoping to see something I might have missed the first 30 times I watched the movie.  Did you know that Michelle Monaghan was in the Bourne Supremacy?  I didn’t either until I noticed her as an FBI analyst at one of the terminals in the background.  That was the highlight of the film for me.

I’m in the dark here

Yes that was a Scent of a Woman quote, but it’s very relevant during Canadian winters.  If you leave for work before 8:00am, and return home after 5:00pm.  Then there’s a very good chance that you never experienced the light of day.  It was dark when you left, and dark when you returned.  I found myself yawning at 6:48pm last Thursday.  By accident last week my wife and I had dinner twice.  It got dark so early that we mistakenly had dinner at a little before 4:00pm.  By the time 8:00pm came we were hungry again, and realized that sleep might be impossible unless we ate again.

A sudden reprieve

Suddenly without any warning the temperature has been rising the last two days.  It actually got up to +8 degrees today.  Opportunity is knocking, and provided the temperature holds for one more day.  I am going to grab my clubs and make my way out to the Range to do what winter denies me.  Get outside, get some enjoyable exercise, and see the light of day.  If it doesn’t hold, and the winter weather forces me back indoors.  Well I only have to wait a couple more months before the sun begins to shine again.  Until then I have every Marvel movie to watch in chronological order.

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GOLF

How important is Distance – Beginner’s guide to Golf

The quest to hit it long

(Cobe Life has recently switched to a new Subscription service.  I strongly advise current Subscribers to resubmit their follow request)

If you were like me in the beginning then Distance was the most important thing to you. It seemed like by gaining Distance your game would dramatically improve. Everyone else seemed to hit the ball a mile with relative ease. While you were swinging with all your might, and only carrying your 7 Iron 100 yards.

I remember thinking if I could only transfer my natural strength into my swing I’d be able to carry my 7 Iron at least 140 yards. Then I’d finally have an easier time making par on those long Par 4s. That was 3 years ago. Well now I can carry my 7 Iron 140 yards, and I still don’t have an easy time making par on those long Par 4s. What I’ve learned is that hitting it long doesn’t necessarily equal a better score.

Consistency over length

Distance isn’t really about how far you can hit a golf ball. It’s about how accurately you can hit a ball a particular distance. Then once you have your Distance control dialed in. You need to assemble a bag of clubs that allow you to leave a small enough gap from club to club to navigate your way through 18 holes on a Golf course. Understanding how to properly assemble a set with proper gapping is easier than you might think. As a Beginner I would suggest assembling a set that includes the Sand Wedge as your most lofted Iron, and a 3 Wood as your least lofted club. Once you know how far you hit your 3 Wood, and Sand Wedge. Take the difference in yardage between the two and divide it by 8. The number you arrive at will determine the average yardage between each club you should try to have. If the number is below 11. I would suggest reducing the number of clubs in your set until the gaps are at least 10 yards or more. As an example: lets say you are able to hit your Sand Wedge 90 yards but you only hit your 3 Wood 175 yards. The difference between the two is only 85 yards. Divide that by 8 and your gap average would be 10.62. In this case I would reduce the number of clubs you should purchase between the Sand Wedge and 3 Wood down to 7. This would provide you with an average gapping of just over 12 yards. Trust me when I tell you that as a Beginner you will make poor contact more often than not. It wouldn’t be uncommon for you to chunk shots, and come up ten yards short, or catch shots thin and end up hitting them 10 yards longer. At least with an average gapping of 12 yards you shouldn’t be over a club off the distance with most shots.

Something you should be aware of in that example is that I didn’t bother to mention how far you should expect to hit each club. It’s been my experience that the average male golfer only needs to be able to hit at least one club in their bag at least 200 yards to successfully play practically any course from the Whites. If that happens to be your Driver that’s fine. For me it’s my 3 Wood. Until you are able to successfully hit 200 yards with at least one club on a regular basis I would stick to short courses. That one club over 200 is the only case where total Distance really matters.

Disregard my advice if you bomb it accurately!

Of course there are exceptions to the rule. Dustin Johnson’s recent 433 yard drive to within one foot of the hole on a Par 4 is a great example. Ridiculous Distance can dramatically effect your score. It does come with a warning though. The further you can hit it, the worse a. miss hit will be. Sure bombing the ball can put you in advantageous positions. Just hit one of those monster drives a little off line and you will be reaching into your bag for another ball pretty quick. If given the choice between risky massive Distance, and controlled average Distance. I’d choose controlled average Distance every time.

OF COURSE I’M NOT DUSTIN JOHNSON!

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GOLF Uncategorized

Going outside your comfort zone – Beginner’s guide to Golf

Your go to clubs

Every one of us has a couple of clubs in their bag that we can’t seem to ever hit poorly.  These are our go to clubs.  One of mine is my 52 degree MacGregor VIP Wedge.  A full swing will allow me to carry the ball about 82 yards with around 2-3 yards of roll out.  I can muscle it up to 92 yards with maybe 2 yards of roll out.  I can also swing easy and hit it about 78 yards with a couple yards of roll out.  I know this because I use it so often in any number of situations.  There are very few clubs that I will choose to muscle for additional distance.  My Gap Wedge is one of them, and my 3 Hybrid is the other.  My first full year playing Golf, the longest club in my bag was my 3 Hybrid.  You learn to muscle your longest club.  Especially when you usually hit it about 180 yards, and you need to hit your Tee shot 190 yards just to reach the Fairway.  It’s one of the only clubs in my bag that I can affectively shape my shot with.  If I need to hit a long low stinger to stay out of the wind.  The only club I would consider is my 3 Hybrid.

Having that kind of confidence can only help your game right.  Sure it does.  Knowing that you can make those shots will definitely help you work your way around a course.  What you may not realize is that you could also be limiting your opportunities by leaning on those particular clubs.  I’ve caught myself doing it at times.  Teeing off with my 190 yard 3 Hybrid when I could aim for an equally wide portion of the Fairway with my 205 yard 3 Wood.  Then having to cut the corner of a dogleg and carry my approach shot 160 yards.  Instead of having a clear approach to the Green of only 145 yards.  Just because I trust my ability with my 3 Hybrid more than I do with my 3 Wood.  I’ve passed up trying to reach the Green in two after a great Tee shot, because I wanted to set myself up for a Gap Wedge approach from 85 yards.  Chances are I wouldn’t have reached the Green, but I could have easily left myself with a 20 to 30 yard chip shot instead.  Sound familiar to any of you?

Practice what you hate

Too often we go out to the Range, or spend an hour in the simulator hitting whatever we are best at.  Marvelling at the distance, trajectory, and shot dispersion.  We might shoot a short video or take a picture for posterity.  I sure as hell do.  It lets us know that we have improved, builds confidence, and shows others that we know what we are doing.  To be honest though it doesn’t actually help us much.  Don’t get me wrong, any practice is better than nothing.  The problem with hitting your best shot during practice is that you should be using this time to improve your worst shots.  Think about it.  If you are nervous, or uncomfortable hitting difficult shots during Practice when the result doesn’t matter.  How are you ever going to hit a successful one of those shots out on the course when it does matter?  When I first began playing I’d only hit the clubs I was most comfortable with because I didn’t want to embarrass myself at the Range.  It didn’t take long for me to realize that Range embarrassment is much easier to take than Course embarrassment.  At that point I would bring the clubs I was struggling with, and one or two clubs I was confident with to the Range.  That way I could switch back and forth between clubs I hit well, and clubs I don’t.  Just so I wouldn’t get overly frustrated.  It wasn’t long before I realized that I started every Range session with clubs I hit well “to loosen up”, and finished the Range session with the same club.  I’d only hit a few of the clubs I’m struggling with in between.  All that actually accomplished was to reinforce my opinion of which clubs I hit best.  It was actually counterproductive.  My last trip out to the Range I only bought one club along to practice with.  I’ve been having trouble hitting my Driver with any degree of accuracy.  So I went out to the Range with the sole purpose of fixing my issues with the least accurate club in my bag.  It took about a full bucket to get my Driver swing to where I hoped it would be.  The first 20 balls I hit we’re ugly, and that’s putting it lightly.  If I had another club with me I would have probably given up, and switched to hitting that.  I’m glad I didn’t because by the time I had finished my bucket of balls I couldn’t wait to Tee off with the big stick on a course.

What’s the goal?

Golf is simply just a series of choices.  Each shot requires you to choose the right club, and choose the right shot.  Then you just need to execute.  In order to do this effectively you need to be able to treat every club in your bag as your go to club.  That way it doesn’t matter the distance, situation, or lie.  You will hit each and every shot with total confidence.

Beginner’s guide to Golf