Motto for 2013

Practice more and play less.

I didn't practice as much in 2012 and it prevented me from playing consistent and ultimately beating my best score. I am stuck in a OK plateau and will need to develop a concentrated practice plan in order to improve. There are no shortcuts, practice is a must.

Shots in the wind

Tip from CBS Golf Analyst Peter Kostis

Upwind: Hit it softer (ball tends to stay lofted)

Downwind: Hit it harder (ball tends to get knocked down)

2012 Travelers Championship

Got the opportunity to experience my first PGA Tour tournament. My employer provided me with a bunch of free tickets, so Tony, Lynch, Erik, Erik and I decided to head down to Cromwell, CT for the final round. We made it down there in about two hours and strolled over to the first tee to witness Charley Hoffman's opening drive. We followed his group through the third hole until we discovered Bubba Watson was coming through to the 5th. We anticipated his arrival and camped out behind the par 3 tee box. I was super stoked to finally see the "Sultan of Swat" hit a ball right on down the line. It was about a 230 yd. par 3 with the pin tucked on the right side of the green, protected by large bunkers. Bubba hits a massive hook landing left of the hole a good 50 ft. which slowly rolled closer to the pin to about 10 feet. Amazing. We ended up following most of Bubba's round and became part of the massive gallery. We camped out on the challenging 17th tee box and saw a few great shots by Webb Simpson and Camillo Villegas. After bubba went through the 17th we migrated to the 18th to catch some of the drama that would unfold for Charley Hoffman. It was a fantastic experience and would recommend it to anybody who has any interest in the game of golf. Can't wait for the Deutsch Bank Championship.

On this day: Mark Leishman wins the Travelers Championship

Why You Need Two Swings

Article written by Roger Schiffman for golfdigest.com 

I was playing a quick nine the other evening after work with Golf Digest’s Design Director, Ken DeLago. Ken is a very good player. He can flat-out crush his driver. He told me when he thinks of sweeping the ball on the upswing, he hits it long and true. That’s his key thought. But I observed, after a couple of 280-yard pokes that found the center of the fairway, that he failed to get his wedge approach onto the green. Both times he hit them a little fat. Finally, in frustration, Ken asked me why when you’re hitting the driver well, the irons aren’t so good, and vice versa. It reminded me of an article I once did with Golf Digest Teaching Professional Chuck Cook. Chuck came up with the theme: “Why You Need Two Swings.” Chuck coached Payne Stewart, Tom Kite and Corey Pavin in the 1990s and now teaches Jason Dufner. He told me that the ideal driver swing catches the ball slightly on the upswing, because the ball is teed. Also, the club ideally approaches the ball from slightly inside the target line. But short irons and wedges need a level to slightly descending blow. Why? Because the ball is now on the turf, and you want the club to strike the ball, then the ground. It’s easier to do this if your path is straighter through and the club bottoms out just after contacting the ball. Chuck said that when the top tour players go really low, their swings are balanced. They are hitting both the driver and the irons well. So if this sounds like something you’d like to achieve, try these two key thoughts for starters: When setting up to your driver, tilt your shoulders a bit so the back one is lower than the front one. Also, look at the back of the ball throughout your swing. This will cause you to stay behind the ball better, creating that great ascending blow, which is ideal for the driver. When setting up to your middle to short irons and wedges, keep your shoulders more level and look at the front of the ball throughout your shot. That will keep your weight more forward, resulting in a descending blow that’s perfect for hitting crisp iron shots and pitches. I hope these thoughts help your game this weekend, and let’s hope Ken reads this blog.

On this day: Tiger Woods wins the 2012 Memorial Tournament

Tip: Stop the push to the right

In order to stop pushing the ball right of your target...

Never let your left eye move ahead of the ball.
Stay back on the shot.

Injury Report: Groin

I've decided to take at least 2 weeks off to rest an injury sustained in my left groin. I went to two doctors to have it checked out, hoping it wasn't a hernia. Luckily, it is not, only a mild groin strain. It is aggravating and hurts like hell at times. The only way to get it back to normal is rest. It is hard having to sit on the couch on the weekends only to watch golf on TV.

Round: Woods of Westminster

3 Players (Me, Dan, ? )

Pre-round practice: Range balls

18 Holes
Today is not only my birthday but the 1 year anniversary of my lowest 18 hole score of 87. Last year, I took the day off work and played 18 holes by myself at Ponkapoag GC. It was one of the most gratifying experiences walking off the 18th green, looking at my scorecard, noticing that I shot the lowest round thus far. To this day, it remains my lowest. Anyways, this year, my birthday is on the same day as Mother's day. I was hoping that the course would be clear and I could once a again get out early and try to post another low round. To my amazement, the front nine seemed backed up. I teed off solo but eventually caught up to a friendly twosome on the 3rd hole. I joined both Dan and his buddy (both in their 40s?). Immediately, I could see that Dan was an experienced player. He flushed all his shots (including a 3-iron!) and was solid with the putter. Pars were commonplace and birdies were no surprise for these guys. Now, I forgot to mention that in the last week, I've been dealing with a nagging left groin strain. I told myself it wasn't a great idea playing on this day b/c it was only aggravating it. I was erratic with my drives and iron shots. Never felt comfortable over the ball and began to over compensate for the discomfort on my left side. Bad combination. To my amazement and the others, I converted an unlikely birdie from a tough pitch shot out of the rough. It was nice to get some validation for myself. Later in the round, it got the point I think on the 15th hole, when I thought to call it quits b/c of the groin. Instead, like a stubborn idiot, I kept going and ended up playing beautifully, salvaging a decent score of 87. I tied my career best on this one year anniversary. After the round, I knew I had to take some time off to heal the injury.

Score: 87

Hey, Confidence....Is that you, again?

I won't go into any details about the last two rounds except to note that my scores were in the low 90s. The common theme throughout these rounds was the lack of mental and physical preparation. I'm learning that the nature of my obsessive behavior towards golf in general has somewhat handicapped my performances. Lately, I have been just stepping onto the first tee and letting it rip. So far, I think it's working.

Things that are working

• Balanced swing, maintain spine angle
• Staying back on driver
• Dropping the right shoulder
• Supination of the left wrist
• Following pre-shot routine. Lining up to the target line.
• Reacting to target
• Inner-convo helps to maintain focus on task at hand.

Things that are not working

• Thinking too much over the ball
• Tension at address
• Doubt

Mental Note: The Hips!

At the moment, I am having trouble getting my body to turn through the shot which is resulting in big pushes to the right. Frustrated and nostalgic, I started thinking back to times when my swing seemed effortless. The moment that always comes to mind was a full 90 yd. sand wedge from the 2nd hole fairway at Green Harbor. I remember feeling so comfortable over the ball as I motioned back and then through the shot. The strike was pure as the ball skied high and landed softly within 5 feet of the cup. Through process of elimination, I realized the success of that shot can be attributed to the rotation of my hips which activated my downswing. When executed, your arms and hands should follow and almost drop on an inside path to the ball. Steal this feel!!

The backswing starts in this order:

1. Hands
2. Arms
3. Shoulders
4. Hips

The downswing starts in reverse order:

1. Hips
2. Shoulders
3. Arms
4. Hands

Ben Hogan had this to say about the hips:

"If the average golfer will only start his downswing with his hips, what a world of difference this will make in his swing and his shots, not to mention his score."

Playing Lessons: Nick Faldo

The thing I like most about watching Faldo is his effortless rhythm. He makes the game looks so easy. Whenever I struggle with my swing, I find it refreshing to watch his tempo.

Tee Shots

• Always swing to a target.
• Use the ground. Build a solid stance for optimal power.

General

• It's always easier to hit full shots rather than half shots in down wind.
• See your shot and then get on with it already!
• If you have the opportunity to play practice rounds, play your shots/putts from the worst, most difficult spots.

Chipping

• From off the green, pick your spot where you want to land the ball. Then determine the club to use by how much distance left to the pin.

Putting

• Get as much info as possible. Read the line from both sides.

Tee Ball Heights

I picked up on an interesting tip from Johnny Miller during the telecast of Tiger Wood's victory at Bay Hill. He explained that teeing the ball at different heights allows for different shot shapes.

1. Tee the ball High to hit a Draw
2. Tee the ball Low to hit a Fade


On this day: Tiger Woods wins the 2012 Arnold Palmer Invitational

Round: Braintree (2012 Opener)

Players: Me, Erik, Jay P
Pre-round practice: None

18 Holes
Global warming is ruining our planet but it is also allowing obsessive golfers like myself play golf in March :) It was a beautiful day for a round of golf and the conditions were perfect. I did not have many expectations for score but I was hoping to see some improvements on things I worked on during the off season. My short game was as sharp as its ever been. Unfortunately everything about my swing was off. I did not hit one shot to the left. Mostly everything was slicing or blocked/pushed to the right. I did not have much feel or comfort in my swing to understand the problem. After the round, knowing my tendencies, I have been able to diagnose the following ailments.

• Hips getting stuck and not turning through to the finish. My body stops rotating.
  Result: Blocked/Pushed shots

• Left hand is not rotating; clubhead not releasing after impact.
  Result: Blocked/Pushed shots

March '12: Practice Sessions

Field practice

• Review fundamentals
• Better ball-striking
• Maintain posture throughout entire swing
• Keep your focus on the swing and completion of the shot, not the ball!
  Trust your ball position.
  
• Blocked shots. Not turning through.
• Less focus on the ball. More on making full finish.
• Watch posture.
• Hitting fat shots.
• Make full turn on backswing.

Tip: 100 Swings Everyday

Most golfers along with myself find it hard to invest enough time to practice our game. Hank Haney suggests picking up a club and swinging it 100 times per day. This should take no longer than 10 minutes of your time. He claims it will make noticeable improvements to your game. Hey, it's the least you could do!

The Dreaded Flip

I have this tendency to "flip" the club at/after impact and it has plagued my ball striking during the last half of the season. The result can be shanks, hooks, pop-ups, etc. Time to fix it!

Swing Keys (V3)

MECHANICAL THOUGHTS (Pre-PreShot Routine)

• Stay upright; don't lean over
• Stay loose; clear your hips
• Drop club on inside/out path; clearing hips is the key
• Light grip pressure; maintain pressure points
• Compress the ball; forward press

SWING THOUGHTS (PreShot Routine)

• Visualize your intention
• Maintain that image
• Stay in the "present" and you'll be free.

Click here to view 'Swing Keys (V2)'