Are You Listening To The Wrong CD?

Thursday, November 28, 2013

 

The putts that lip out and the bad bounces that send your ball from fairway to rough can mount and convince your brain that, no matter how well you play, it isn’t good enough. At this point, a full-blown case of cumulative disreward (CD) can kick in and prevent you from trying any harder. How do you beat CD? The answer is never quit. In the words of the greatest Soprano on CD, when you get a bad break, “Fuhgetaboutit!” Grind on and reap the rewards.

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14th Hole Tips

If you opt to get more aggressive for the final stretch, understand that you’re liable to miss a green you might normally hit, and that the price of aggression is tough recoveries. You have to know how to read the lie and execute the required shot. Here’s an easy way to tackle such situations: If your lie is tight with little grass underneath, think “hands up”; if your lie is buried in the grass, think “hands low.”

A note on putting: The type of putt you hit depends on the conditions. Remember, you’ve been out there three-plus hours. The grass has grown and the greens have slowed (unless the wind and sun has dried them out). Once you figure out the speed of the greens for the final stretch, make a point to jam the up-hillers and die the down-hillers.

A final note: If you’re growing tired as you hit the final third, you should have put in your gym time. All things equal, the strongest machine wins.

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Ruin Yours Or His?

Playing golf with someone who doesn’t know etiquette can ruin your game. Usually, breaches of etiquette aren’t done on purpose, but there are golfers who do it by plan, so if you’ve got a little something on the line, keep an eye out for gamesmanship. If you don’t like this kind of stuff, you have two options: Say nothing and ruin your game, or look him or her right in the eye and say, “Have you seen the USGA’s video on etiquette?” See if the games continue after that.

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Pick Your Putt

Conventional wisdom advises golfers to get their approach putts and chips into a three-foot circle around the cup, but when the pin is on a slope, not all three-footers are equal. Three-footers from above the hole or from a side slope can be score-wreckers. Your goal should be to position your approach directly below the hole so you can ram your next putt straight back up the hill into the cup. Remember, from where you putt is as important as how you putt.

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Alternative Sand Play

If you skull your sand shots using the “standard” bunker technique, try this method. Open your body to the target line more than normal and position the golf ball in the middle of your stance. Now, make sure that the majority of your weight is set and remains on your back foot (the opposite of the normal technique) all the way through the swing. This ensures that you’ll hit the sand first and guard against catching the ball thin.

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Choke In The Sand

In a fairway bunker, be careful when you dig your feet into the sand. Digging your feet two inches into the sand effectively lengthens the club by two inches. The tendency here is to hit the sand first, a no-no when you need to pick it clean. Make sure you choke down the same amount.

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Go Lean On The Fats

Wednesday, November 27, 2013

On short-iron shots, many golfers fail to shift their weight and execute a weak, arms-only swing. However, in order to hit crisp short irons, you’ve got to make a weight shift just as you do for full shots. Most high-handicappers leave about 40% of their weight on their back leg through impact, whereas Tour players leave only about 10%. The solution to prevent fat short irons: Shift your weight onto your front foot very early in the downswing.

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