Friday, November 30, 2007

The Rules of Golf

Don't buy a putter until you've had a chance to throw it.

Never try to keep more than 300 separate thoughts in your mind during your swing.

When your shot has to carry over a water hazard, you can either hit one more club or two more balls.

If you're afraid a full shot might reach the green while the foursome ahead of you is still putting out, you have two options: you can immediately shank a lay-up or you can wait until the green is clear and top a ball halfway there.

The less skilled the player, the more likely he is to share his ideas about the golf swing.

No matter how bad you are playing, it is always possible to play worse.

The inevitable result of any golf lesson is the instant elimination of the one critical unconscious motion that allowed you to compensate for all of your many other errors.

If it ain't broke, try changing your grip.

Everyone replaces his divot after a perfect approach shot.

A golf match is a test of your skill against your opponents' luck.

It is surprisingly easy to hole a fifty foot putt ...........for a 10.

Counting on your opponent to inform you when he breaks a rule is like expecting him to make fun of his own haircut.

Nonchalant putts count the same as chalant putts

It's not a gimme if you're still away.

The shortest distance between any two points on a golf course is a straight line that passes directly through the center of a very large tree.

There are two kinds of bounces; unfair bounces and bounces just the way you meant to play it.

You can hit a two acre fairway 10% of the time and a two inch branch 90% of the time.

If you really want to get better at golf, go back and take it up at a much earlier age.

Since bad shots come in groups of three, a fourth bad shot is actually the beginning of the next group of three.

When you look up, causing an awful shot, you will always look down again at exactly the moment when you ought to start watching the ball if you ever want to see it again.

Every time a golfer makes a birdie, he must subsequently make two triple bogeys to restore the fundamental equilibrium of the universe.

If you want to hit a 7 iron as far as Tiger Woods does, simply try to lay up just short of a water hazard.

To calculate the speed of a player's downswing, multiply the speed of his back-swing by his handicap; i.e., back-swing 20 mph, handicap 15, downswing = 300 mph.

There are two things you can learn by stopping your back-swing at the top and checking the position of your hands: how many hands you have, and which one is wearing the glove.

Hazards attract; fairways repel.

You can put a draw on the ball, you can put a fade on the ball, but no golfer can pu t a straight on the ball.

A ball you can see in the rough from 50 yards away is not yours.

If there is a ball on the fringe and a ball in the bunker, your ball is in the bunker. If both balls are in the bunker, yours is in the footprint

It's easier to get up at 6:00 AM to play golf than at 10:00 to mow the yard

Sometimes it seems as though your cup move'th over.

A good drive on the 18th hole has stopped many a golfer from giving up the game.

Golf is the perfect thing to do on Sunday because you always end up having to pray a lot.

A good golf partner is one who's always slightly worse than you are...that's why I get so many calls to play with friends.

That rake by the sand trap is there for golfers who feel guilty about skipping out on lawn work.

If there's a storm rolling in, you'll be having the game of your life.

Golf balls are like eggs. They're white. They're sold by the dozen. And you need to buy fresh ones each week.

A pro-shop gets its name from the fact that you have to have the income of a professional golfer to buy anything in there.

It's amazing how a golfer who never helps out around the house will replace his divots, repair his ball marks, and rake his sand traps.

If your opponent has trouble remembering whether he shot a six or a seven, he probably shot an eight (or worse).

You probably wouldn't look good in a green jacket anyway! A sweatshirt will do just fine.

Thursday, November 29, 2007

Friday, November 16, 2007

Trouble From Tight Lies

You're just 50 yards from the green -- inside that dreaded
"tight-lie" zone. In other words, it's too close for a full
pitch shot and too far away for a simple chip shot. Suddenly
you begin get concerned about the difficult "finess" required
to perform that 1/4 sand wedge swing. You start to remember all
the chunked shots that went less than 10-inches and the 80-yard
sculled "worm burners" that fired straight over the green.

Your golf buddies begin to laugh out loud while rubbing their
hands in glee. But hold on... no need to panic. For these tight
lie shots the solution is easier than you'd think.

It's critical that you catch the back of the ball first, then
take a divot -- NEVER the other way around. Your divot on these
shots should always be in front of where your ball layed.

1.) Setup slightly open with your stance...
2.) Have the ball back in your stance so the shaft naturally
leans forward with your hands ahead...
3.) Look at the FRONT of the ball and just turn back and
through.

You'll be surprised to discover that the ball will pop off the
clubface with the proper spin on it. It's not big and dramatic
-- and rarely does this result in trumpets and dancing girls --
but it's how you'll get it on the green and near the hole
without a lot of trouble. That's how you'll save par... drain
more birdie putts... and wipe that smile off their faces. You
can thank me later.

Tuesday, November 13, 2007

Golf is Simple

Add Power to Your Golf Swing

This one's about power -- and why "little old ladies" may be currently outdriving you.

Okay... here are the two key "weak links" in your power chain. Pay attention to this, because this is solid golf info that'll stop you from losing power in your swing.

First (and this is a big one), your left shoulder area must be relaxed -- all the way through the swing. Because ANY tension in your shoulder area muscles (your trapezoids and deltoids if you want to get all technical), will block the flow of energy coming from the feet up through the body. In fact, tension will always stifle the flow of power, so you want to stay calm, loose, and tension free.

Second... your wrists should be "loose as a goose" -- or "oily" as some pros put it. The idea is that you want your wrists to natually cock and uncock like well-oiled hinges -- without tension or restriction of any kind. This allows for a full release of your pivot power at just the right moment for monsterous drives. This is how even "little guys" can start hitting 300-yard drives.

Now the BIGGEST reason -- the huge "no-no" -- that keeps most golfers from having loose wrists is thumb pressure. Most golfers are simply squeezing the club grip with their thumbs too tight. Big time rookie mistake.

Instead you should be able to easily pick up your thumbs with no tension throughout the swing. Relaxing your thumbs may initially feel like the club is about to fly outta your hands, but you need to learn to trust it and work through this illusion. Keep the thumb pressure out of your swing, and your wrists will remain flexible and loose for more power.