Where to start

Golf for most of us is rather enjoyable, or constant heartbreak. We either are consumed by the mysteries, or confounded by the demands. Yet in all of us there is a desire to improve…a strange personal challenge, a call to “next year I’m going to….get better!” That is the amazing thing about golf, unless your initials are TW, you need to practice. And these are some guidelines to help.

Do an assessment on your game. Figure out what you do well and what you struggle with. On a scale from 1 to 5 (with 1 being dreadful, and 5 being “all-world” rate the following:)

1. Driver
2. Fairway Woods/hybrids
3. Long Irons 3-4
4. Middle Irons 5-7
5. Short Irons 8-PW
6. Wedges G-S-L
7. Chipping
8. Bunker Play
9. Putting
10. Course Management

Now add up your total…there’s a possible 50 points out there….Take that number and multiply it by 2 then divide it by 3. That’s your real total. Nothing is inflated more than golf acumen, except fish stories…and I have proof of mine! BTW I scored a 33 adjusted to a 22. Any score above a 30 and your game is rather solid, glad to know you and let’s play sometime. If you scored below a 20 then practice is your savior….it will without a doubt help your game. It also means that you are truthful, which as the saying goes…denial ain’t just a river in Egypt.

Find the Range closest to the putting green

In all my years it never amazed me to watch golfers on the Driving Range. What amazed me was watching people on the putting green or pitching green. Those were the people that understood the importance of practice. Don’t get me wrong, there is place and time for everything. The Driving Range is needed, albeit in smaller doses, for all golfers. The primal urge to pound golf balls is embedded somewhere deep within the Limbic system and can not be reprogrammed. What is needed is a method to improve. So find a driving range with a short walk to the putting and practice greens.

If you’ve followed my posts, you might see a common thread…The game of golf is not won with brute force and strength, yet it is subtle and yielding, kind of like Operation™ (Milton Bradley is not a sponsor and in no way shape or form associated with dlrgolf.com). The person that takes the time to practice their short game, in a nutshell improves the rest of their game. The logic is thus:

• Chipping takes pressure off of hitting the ball on the green
• Short wedge mastery can save any errant shot
• Two putting is a goal that any golfer can obtain
• More strokes are taken from inside of 40 yards than any other position!

Getting Dirty means to come Clean

So if you honestly want to improve your game, then lets practice. Hit your bucket of balls, flail away with the driver if it makes you work up a sweat, then take the time to cool down on the putting green. The best way to do this is to allow yourself 1 hour of practice. Twenty minutes of ball striking (most people are machine gunners and 30 balls in 20 minutes will be super easy) followed by 20 minutes of putting and 20 minutes of chipping.

To make practice fun, you need to do two things. Find a partner…a golf buddy and develop a game. The partner should be someone you like, and the game? Try playing a 9 hole putting match, or chipping match. Get the juices flowing by wagering a cold beer, or candy bar. Try to have fun, but also be into the learning aspect. And if you are looking for someone to pal around with, I’m setting up practice “dates” (and yes I’m happily married) for people to just go out and hit a couple balls on the range and then work out the short game. So check back soon and I’ll have times and locations posted. Let’s do this…and come out clean and mean for 2010.

$50 Gift Card

A great gift for that “Golfer” you love, and all you have to do is become a fan of Dogleg Right Golf on facebook.  Post a comment to any of the Discussions and that enters you in the contest.

One lucky winner will be chosen at random for the $50.00 Callaway Gift Card.  It is redeemable at CallawayGolfGiftCard.com and can be used on any item on their site. The contest ends Friday February 12 at 12:01 AM.  So become a Fan of Dogleg Right Golf and win a cool gift! The winner will have the Gift Card mailed on Friday the 12th, so it should arrive in time for Valentine’s Day.

*A bonus gift is available to the person that signs up the most “friends” to the Dogleg Right Golf Fan Page on Facebook.  Its a cool gift, and you won’t know what it is until you get the package!

There are three basic grips.

1. Baseball grip aka Ten Finger grip.  As the name suggests..all ten fingers are on the grip, much like that of holding onto a baseball bat.  This is the basic grip taught to most beginners.  I would not recommend it, as it leads to shaft spinning.  Shaft spinning occurs when the hands rotate during the takeaway and downswing.  It is difficult to keep the initial face angle of the club square through impact.
2. Interlocking Vardon Grip.  For a right handed golfer, the left hand is placed towards the butt end of the club.  The thumb is pointed down the center of the shaft, the right hand is then placed on-top of the extended thumb while the ‘pinky’ finger is interlocked with the index finger of the left hand. The three remaining fingers are used to grip the club, and the thumb for the right hand is used to stabilize the club using a pinching motion.  The inside portion of the right thumb presses against the club.
3. Overlap Vardon Grip.  Same as above, but the ‘pinky’ finger rests atop of the left hands index finger.

I have a neutral overlap grip. I overlap due to my large hands.

There is a fourth grip, which is taught by Natural Golf.  I do not have positive information, and have omitted it, not to say that it couldn’t be used.

And believe it or not, there is a fifth grip.  The left hand low (for a right handed golfer).  Now some people call this cross handed, which think about it…it would be very awkward to cross hand a golf club.  I have seen the left hand low grip ONCE.  His name is Josh Broadway, and he plays amazing!  I played a Mini-Tour event with him and….he flat out can move the ball.  I hurt myself trying to swing using his grip….

Check your grip.  Which of the three do you use?

Gather all the information you need.  Set a goal and do it!

2010 is an open book.  Start the page.  The ending is up to you.

I want you to think of the best round of 2009.  Where did you play it?  What was the day like?  What was the key shot that made it your best?  Who did you play with?  What time of day was it?  If you are like me, you can answer all these questions.  You can feel the weather, you can remember the smell of the course, you can maybe even remember what you wore that day…..Golf is funny in how it programs itself into your mind.  Everyone that reads this post has a desire or hunger to make golf a part of their fabric.  That is exactly why I’m writing this now!  I want to give you my ideas, observations and love of this game.  I also want you to become active in building your game.  So the first thing you will do is to go get a notebook (paper) and make that your golf journal.  This is where you will write down everything you learn…or forget.

Journals are great for golfers.  They give you a way to go back and see what worked, what didn’t and most of all it keeps a tab on your progress!

I’ll give you a couple minutes to get the journal………Great, now write down your Goal for 2010.  It has to be specific.  We need to have one major goal….this will be the guide to making our game 100% ours.  What did you write? My goal is to Win the 2010 Illinois State Amateur.  WHOA….that’s a big goal.

Think about it for a minute.  I said that I want to win the 2010 Illinois State Amateur.  The goal needs to be measurable as well as obtainable.  In my case, both of these are true.  I can measure my progress, and yep it is obtainable (I’ve played in 3 as well as 3 Illinois Opens) so there, I have a goal for 2010.  It’s written not only in a journal (mine is about 8 years old and loaded with stuff) but I’ve posted it online.  In this BLOG!  For everyone to read.  If I didn’t feel that I could do what I said, I would have been better off not writing it!

So write it down.  Let it sit for a day or two and then go back.  Think about what your goal is, and then come back to dlrgolf.com and build up your resume!