2010 Is Your Year to PLAY Golf!
Certain that golf made your 2010 New Years Resolution list, I will be cheering you on as you make it to the course to continue playing the greatest game. However, beyond taking those late winter lessons or committing to a regular Saturday game, I have to ask-how do you plan to go from golfing to becoming a player of the game of golf? There’s a big difference: golfers are wondering why they can’t hit it solid and straight around the golf course, while players understand that they have to adapt to each situation and play the shot.
Too difficult, you say? You just want to learn to hit it straight? But-you should know this-it won’t always go straight on the course! It can be done on the range, but to truly progress you need to start learning what is actually happening on the golf course. And truly playing golf goes beyond hitting it solid and straight. So get ready and buckle up- this isn’t your conventional Sunday instruction.
There must be something beyond the golf swing-something that allows players with unconventional swings to excel. Players like Lee Trevino, Corey Pavin, Jim Furyk, and even Arnold Palmer. And, how often does Tiger Woods change his swing to adapt to a given situation? Yes, there are things that influence your ball beyond your golf swing. Take note of the following points and consider how they might apply to your favorite course:
Beyond the golf swing #1: When does your 7-iron go farther than normal? When it’s on a very ‘fluffy’ lie-called a flyer. When does your 7-iron go shorter than normal? When there is too much or too little grass to allow the club to strike the ball cleanly.
Beyond the golf swing #2: Because the golf course is not flat, you cannot hit every ball solid and straight. If the ball is above your feet-and therefore your clubhead is above your feet-it is no longer aimed in the same direction as your body alignment. It is actually aimed left of your alignment. And that is where the ball should go.
Beyond the golf swing #3: Tight lies are hard to hit solidly (and straight!). These are lies with little to no grass, so it’s difficult to get the ball to the sweet spot of the clubface. So, thinking outside the box: Which is more predictable, trying to hit it solidly, or understanding what the mis-hit will be and playing for that?
Conventional instruction suggests that you should learn to hit every shot solidly. But, for example, if you’re only successful 30 to 40% of the time, perhaps embracing the mis-hit is the answer. (Told you this wasn’t conventional!)
Actually, if you don’t have a perfect lie then the ball should not perform perfectly. It makes sense: How often are you able to take your performance on the practice range to the golf course? On the range, you are in control of the lie and the slope never changes. Of course it is easier to be consistent! Once you get on the course and every lie is different, your performance naturally suffers. Or, rather, it changes.
These changes may seem chaotic, but they can actually be predictable. Instead of asking what you need to do to make the next shot solid and straight, ask what the next ball will do that is not solid and/or straight. Your range performance is your baseline, or model, and should be considered more as a reference than as the on-course performance you aspire to.
In other words, when you hit that 3-wood from a tight, fairway lie on that par 5 and it slices, that performance is actually predictable! Sure, you would rather hit it solid and straight, or perhaps you’re one of the many who would love to hit a consistent draw. But, will the tight lie allow either one consistently?
Yes, but you’re a beginner, you say. As a teacher and coach, my goal is to get beginners on the course as fast as possible so they can immediately begin to understand that the perfect golf swing must change in these situations on the golf course. After all, giving you a golf swing is not that hard (come and see me-I’ll show you), and with clubfitting you can be successful very quickly.
But if I don’t prepare you for the changes you see on the golf course, you will fail out there and not know why. Letting you become a golfer rather than a player is like worrying about rolling the dice and moving your piece in Monopoly and never buying a property-you’re not playing Monopoly! And therefore you don’t have a chance to win.
In golf, if you recognize the on-course inconsistencies and learn to play for them, you will be rewarded with success. You can learn to play the game and you should. In golf, winning really is about how you Play the Game.
Bob Duncan is the Teaching Professional at Tetherow Golf Club in Bend, Oregon, and has been teaching and coaching players since 1979. Bob is also the creator of the GolfeCoach, an interactive computerized golf coaching system. He can be reached at golfsavvy@msn.com.
