The Case for Executive Courses

I have been playing golf four days a week most of the summer.  I don't play the "big" courses as much as a little municipal executive course about 15 minutes from my office (home). Yeah, I know, muni course, executive, etc.....

Get over it.

Golf is a about making shots. being able to put the ball where you want it when you need to. This is a requirement unless you like shooting 100 or more.  And I don't. When you go hit that large bucket of balls on a wide open range and you pull out your driver and hit 50 or so balls with it, what have you really accomplished. Not much more than putting $8 - $10 bucks in the till.

Take that same $10 ($11 in my case) and play nine holes. Real shots. Real greens. Real golf. Think each one out. Straight, draw, fade? High, low? Where do you want your approach shot to be from? Did you plan each hole from the green back to the tee?  What is your favorite distance in? What do you need to hit to leave that shot for yourself? Driver is not an option on every par 4 on an executive course.

A 298 yard par 4 may require a 5 iron off the tee if your favorite distance in is 90 yards with a sand wedge. Even if you drive 300 yards, why waste the practice. We often have a 208 second shot on a par 5 or even a par 4. Play executive courses with your regular course in mind.

I also walk the course. I don't do that on my regular course, age and injury have effected that. But walking a short nine builds leg strength. Your whole swing requires great leg strength as it's foundation. The legs drive through and everything else follows. Doubt it? Take your normal stance with a full iron or fairway metal and make your swing without using your legs. Just turn your hips but don't drive with your legs, allow you arms to follow your hips. Funny thing, most amateurs won't see much of difference, but if you have strong legs and drive through with them you will lose 30 - 50 yards, easy. Try it. If you don't see much of a difference, you need to start walking. Harvey Pinick used to make sure all of his junior students walked carrying a big bag to build their legs.

The last thing I do on my executive course is drop a second or third approach shot and play them all out.  the greens are in great shape running about 10.5 to 11. Real putts.

I play Monday through Thursday and mid morning to around noon.  Usually by myself. No one in front, no one behind me. That's golf.  Try it, you might be surprised.

Snow, Snow, Snow in Denver?

It's been snowing for a couple of days here, so what do you do to keep your game tuned?  Practice of course.

Putt every day on carpet  for stroke and pace. Distance control is much more important than reading breaks for most amateurs.  Living room, family room, want a 16 on the stimpmeter? Kitchen floor!  Practicing your putting stroke indoors will improve your on course game considerably. Typical Living room is about 18 feet long, that gives you a 16 foot practice putt.  Work on control of your distance.  3', 6', 9', 12', the putts you always miss when it counts. 

Have a large mirror? Practice your swing while watching your reflection.  See where you are on plane and off.  Look at your wrist set, your upper body position at the top position, how is your weight distribution?  You can tell all these things in the comfort of your 70 degree living room.  Do a super slow motion swing, should take about two minutes, you will notice all of your weak spots. 

Have a net and practice tee?  Set it up in the garage and swing a way.  I use mine at least three times a week sometimes in the living room (only when my wife is away).  Practice different set ups, straight shots, draws, fades.  Just because you won't see the ball flight doesn't change the set up or swing.  Keep the muscle memory tuned up and you will see a significant difference in your game next month.

Swing Easy, Practice Hard!

Big Break Disney

The Golf Channels Big Break Disney just concluded with a 1 hole playoff between Toni Finau a polite and professional 17 year old pro out of Salt Lake City and Mike Perez the younger brother of PGA winner Pat Perez. It was a tough back nine for both but Finau gave up the lead and Perez capitalized on his mistakes.

The question is, with all the negatives in professional sports, should a foul mouthed, tantrum throwing, club throwing, immature player like Perez be given the opportunity to tarnish golf any more than it already is. His antics were embarrassing to watch. On my home course we would call a Marshall and have him removed. Any self respecting player with the smallest respect for the game wouldn't even play a single round with him. I find it hard to believe that Torrey Pines would put up with that behaviour, the course he calls home. Well, it is a public course. But I am sure he would find it difficult to find a private course that would let him damage the turf the way he does. No Superintendent would allow him near their greens.

If older brother Pat was watching, he ought to throw a whupping on that boy like he did when they were younger. Seriously Pat, kick his butt! He wronged the family name, the older sibling has a familial duty to punish those that shame the name. In some cultures death is an acceptable remedy. Not here of course, so maybe he could be the locker room attendant at some 9 hole sand green course in Iowa as punishment for his antics.

Let's not let children like this profit from their bad behaviour, boycott any venue that allows him to play, complain to the PGA Tour about his antics. Let them know that we expect more from these players.

It's a Simple Game Really

I was talking with one of my golf buddies about how far I was hitting my 7 iron on the range. Carry was about 180, total 190. After insinuating that I was lying, because "the pros don't hit them that far," he then pointed out that length is not nearly as important as accuracy. I agree. But there is an argument to be made that length today can be accurate.

If you look at today's pros, both young and old, they are hitting the ball a lot further than they used to. Substantially further than they used to. A few weeks back a I watched Argentine pro Angel Cabrera hit a rescue club 260 on to the green. A rescue club! With what, a 13 degree loft? That is as far or farther than most average golfers hit their drivers in the Mile High City, never mind at sea level (which by the way accounts for my 7 iron going 180-190). So the advent of better equipment comes to mind. Conditioning is better too, but take a close look at Cabrera or Kenny Perry, they aren't winning any Mr. Universe Awards.

So equipment helps.

About four years ago I traded up into a set of Callaway X-18 Pro Irons dropping 4-5 strokes over the course of about 20 rounds. That's a lot of strokes just by changing gear. While I loved the feel from the start it took some time to learn what I could or couldn't (not much of that) do with the clubs. They were longer, and my shots were within a tighter circle including my mishits. My buddies were amazed, and I started saying that you could buy a game. A partially true statement, I still practiced every evening for an hour or so and every Friday for about 4 hours.

So practice helps.

Yes practice helps immensely. Without it no one improves. We see it all the time, the weekend duffer sees a commercial or reads an ad for the latest and greatest new improved irons, driver, putter or wedge, he runs out buys them after taking a couple of practice swings in the store aisle, goes to the course that Saturday and shoots the worst game of his life. Or maybe he shoots a great game but 3 rounds later it's worse. How much did he practice before taking them on the course? Probably about a 1/2 hour on the range before the round, if he got there early enough to even warm up. And then he got angry during the round because he wasn't making shots the pros couldn't make. Physical practice is important but so is mental. Understanding the game emotionally is crucial to improvement.

So Mental Understanding helps.

My younger brother doesn't hit the ball really far, is an average putter, and steady when he is in the fairway, but the last two years he has beaten me consistently (no big deal except to the ego) because he plays within his game. He finally learned what he was capable of and what he wasn't. He buckled down and got the mental side right. Of course I had all sorts of reasons for my decline, not his improvement, knee surgery, neck injury, back injury. All issues that when I really focused went away for 2 or 3 holes. But the reality was mentally I didn't adjust and he did. So when I felt great he still beat me.

Golf is tough, get fitted for better equipment, practice and mentally learn the game.