Joe,
We are starting a new recreational league, and we would rather do something new and different other than the conventional handicapping system. Most of us shoot between bogey and double bogey. Do you have any other ideas on how we can level the playing field and have a little more fun?
Grace
Hello Grace,
Here are some ideas for situations like yours. 1-You can use a modified “Stableford” scoring system where your league decides how points are awarded, for example, 1 point for a bogey, 2 points for a par, 5 for a birdie, 0 for double bogey, and minus one point for higher, that way a disastrous hole will not hurt so much, and pace of play will improve when you fail to hole it for a double bogey, just pick it up. Another idea – play “bingo-bango-bongo” where points are given for the first person on the green, the person closest to the hole when everyone is on the green, and the first person to hole a putt. To be fair, the person furthest away must shoot first. Another idea -instead of handicaps, award a certain amount of “mulligans” per round depending on a person’s average score. Another idea - award mulligans according to their position in the standings, for example, first place gets 1 mulligan for the next week, 2nd place gets 2 mulligans 3rd place gets 3, etc., but if you do that, be careful to avoid slow play. Have fun!
Joe
Friday, August 20, 2004
Joe,
I have read and heard in several places that you can hit chip shots just like you hit putts, but when I try that, my club gets slowed down by the taller grass and my chips end up short. If I try to hit it harder to compensate, then the club does not get stuck in the grass and my chips end up too long. How can I fix this?
Adam
Hi Adam,
For chip shots, the putting method only works on short grass. When the grass is taller, you must make the following adjustments. First, change the ball position to the back foot, or even further back depending on how tall the grass is. This allows your backswing to come up out of the taller grass and results in a more descending downstroke which again avoids getting caught in the taller grass. The more you play it back, the more lofted club you will need or else the shot will come out too low. Start with an 8-iron and see what happens. Also you must remember to keep your hands way ahead of the clubhead all during the stroke. Lock your wrists to prevent them from breaking, and your follow thru should end with the clubface still pointing at the hole. Let us know how it turns out.
Joe
I have read and heard in several places that you can hit chip shots just like you hit putts, but when I try that, my club gets slowed down by the taller grass and my chips end up short. If I try to hit it harder to compensate, then the club does not get stuck in the grass and my chips end up too long. How can I fix this?
Adam
Hi Adam,
For chip shots, the putting method only works on short grass. When the grass is taller, you must make the following adjustments. First, change the ball position to the back foot, or even further back depending on how tall the grass is. This allows your backswing to come up out of the taller grass and results in a more descending downstroke which again avoids getting caught in the taller grass. The more you play it back, the more lofted club you will need or else the shot will come out too low. Start with an 8-iron and see what happens. Also you must remember to keep your hands way ahead of the clubhead all during the stroke. Lock your wrists to prevent them from breaking, and your follow thru should end with the clubface still pointing at the hole. Let us know how it turns out.
Joe
Thursday, August 19, 2004
Joe, what’s wrong with Tiger’s swing?
Answer: Hey everybody has got an opinion, so here’s mine. He made a curious statement when he revamped his swing several years ago. He said he was getting away with murder by pointing the club across the target line at the top of the backswing. If that is getting away with murder, look at Bobby Jones’ swing, also Phil Mickelson, John Daly, and many others come way across the target line (who says crime does not pay?). Therefore I think he is focusing on the wrong thing, there can’t be anything wrong with that, it only sets the club into a good plane for the downswing path at the ball. There are far more important things to worry about than that. Tiger, if that is what you are thinking, you may be looking in the wrong area, perhaps even messing up other parts of your swing. Go ahead and cross that target line at the top, just like you did at the 1997 Masters, and see what happens.
Answer: Hey everybody has got an opinion, so here’s mine. He made a curious statement when he revamped his swing several years ago. He said he was getting away with murder by pointing the club across the target line at the top of the backswing. If that is getting away with murder, look at Bobby Jones’ swing, also Phil Mickelson, John Daly, and many others come way across the target line (who says crime does not pay?). Therefore I think he is focusing on the wrong thing, there can’t be anything wrong with that, it only sets the club into a good plane for the downswing path at the ball. There are far more important things to worry about than that. Tiger, if that is what you are thinking, you may be looking in the wrong area, perhaps even messing up other parts of your swing. Go ahead and cross that target line at the top, just like you did at the 1997 Masters, and see what happens.
Wednesday, August 18, 2004
) Joe,
Can you suggest a drill that will improve my ability to hold my wrist snap until I reach the ball. I know that many times my wrists break before I reach the ball and all my power is gone.
S. M. Werren
Hello SM,
There are a couple of things to try. First, go to the top of your backswing and pause. Then fire your lower body without swinging, the left arm and wrist stay cocked. This is intended to train your upper body to wait a little longer. Another drill is to again go to the top of the backswing and this time complete the swing in slow motion without breaking the wrists at all. Then repeat this increasing the speed each time, remembering to keep the wrists from breaking at all. When you try this at full speed, you may discover it is impossible to complete the swing without breaking the wrists, but you will have delayed the wrist break as much as possible.
Joe
Can you suggest a drill that will improve my ability to hold my wrist snap until I reach the ball. I know that many times my wrists break before I reach the ball and all my power is gone.
S. M. Werren
Hello SM,
There are a couple of things to try. First, go to the top of your backswing and pause. Then fire your lower body without swinging, the left arm and wrist stay cocked. This is intended to train your upper body to wait a little longer. Another drill is to again go to the top of the backswing and this time complete the swing in slow motion without breaking the wrists at all. Then repeat this increasing the speed each time, remembering to keep the wrists from breaking at all. When you try this at full speed, you may discover it is impossible to complete the swing without breaking the wrists, but you will have delayed the wrist break as much as possible.
Joe
Monday, August 16, 2004
Joe,
I have noticed one of the reasons for slow play is the fact that players of lesser ability refuse to play from the forward tees. I suppose it would be too embarrassing for guys to play from the “ladies tees”. Any ideas on how to solve this?
Andy
Hi Andy,
You are right, if other male golfers in a foursome are not playing from the forward tees, then it would take some courage for a short-hitting guy to walk up to the forward tees, he would get a lot of giggles. I suppose it is possible for courses to impose restrictions on which tees you must use based on your handicap, but each golfer must decide what gives them the most enjoyment out of the game. Do you really want to have a chance to hit greens in regulation without having to use fairway woods for every shot? If so, go ahead and play the back tees and live with your higher scores. If not, swallow your pride and move up to the shorter tees, which by the way, should no longer be called the ladies tees because there are a lot of ladies who can hit the ball farther than a lot of men, and I am sure these ladies do not use the forward tees.
Joe
I have noticed one of the reasons for slow play is the fact that players of lesser ability refuse to play from the forward tees. I suppose it would be too embarrassing for guys to play from the “ladies tees”. Any ideas on how to solve this?
Andy
Hi Andy,
You are right, if other male golfers in a foursome are not playing from the forward tees, then it would take some courage for a short-hitting guy to walk up to the forward tees, he would get a lot of giggles. I suppose it is possible for courses to impose restrictions on which tees you must use based on your handicap, but each golfer must decide what gives them the most enjoyment out of the game. Do you really want to have a chance to hit greens in regulation without having to use fairway woods for every shot? If so, go ahead and play the back tees and live with your higher scores. If not, swallow your pride and move up to the shorter tees, which by the way, should no longer be called the ladies tees because there are a lot of ladies who can hit the ball farther than a lot of men, and I am sure these ladies do not use the forward tees.
Joe
Sunday, August 15, 2004
Hi There,
I am a weekend golfer averaging between 83 and 90 per round...if I can just pin point my problem with my driver I'm sure I'll be able to lower my scores...the problem is that at the driving range I hit my driver almost perfectly every time ...but when I get to the tee I seem to pull my drives which is extremely frustrating .....what do you suggest I do to solve this annoying problem......maybe I'm trying to hit too hard ...maybe I'm turning too early ...I do not know .......driving range it works...on the tee it does not.....please suggest some drills that I can do to correct this.
Kindly
Saadiq
Hello Saadiq,
Some drills that will work are shown in the Body Golf videos, such as the double clubber and the toe drag. Many golfers find that everything seems to work better on the range than on the course, and there are 3 main reasons for this. First of all, if your range has rectangular mats, they help your alignment, while on the course you don’t have this help, so whenever possible, go to a range that has grass tee areas and align yourself to specific targets. Secondly, on the range there is no pressure, no penalty for a bad shot, so the muscles are more relaxed. On the course, muscles behave differently when the pressure factor is in play. Thirdly, on the range you are swinging every few seconds, so it is easy to get into a ‘groove’, while on the course you only swing once every several minutes, so it is harder to maintain this groove. I suggest on the range to get a mindset the same as on the course. Put a little pressure on yourself by picking a target, and tell yourself that unless you hit it at the target, you are going to deny yourself one of life’s many simple pleasures for the day, like watching TV or surfing the internet, or whatever penalty you choose, just to add a little fear factor.
Joe
I am a weekend golfer averaging between 83 and 90 per round...if I can just pin point my problem with my driver I'm sure I'll be able to lower my scores...the problem is that at the driving range I hit my driver almost perfectly every time ...but when I get to the tee I seem to pull my drives which is extremely frustrating .....what do you suggest I do to solve this annoying problem......maybe I'm trying to hit too hard ...maybe I'm turning too early ...I do not know .......driving range it works...on the tee it does not.....please suggest some drills that I can do to correct this.
Kindly
Saadiq
Hello Saadiq,
Some drills that will work are shown in the Body Golf videos, such as the double clubber and the toe drag. Many golfers find that everything seems to work better on the range than on the course, and there are 3 main reasons for this. First of all, if your range has rectangular mats, they help your alignment, while on the course you don’t have this help, so whenever possible, go to a range that has grass tee areas and align yourself to specific targets. Secondly, on the range there is no pressure, no penalty for a bad shot, so the muscles are more relaxed. On the course, muscles behave differently when the pressure factor is in play. Thirdly, on the range you are swinging every few seconds, so it is easy to get into a ‘groove’, while on the course you only swing once every several minutes, so it is harder to maintain this groove. I suggest on the range to get a mindset the same as on the course. Put a little pressure on yourself by picking a target, and tell yourself that unless you hit it at the target, you are going to deny yourself one of life’s many simple pleasures for the day, like watching TV or surfing the internet, or whatever penalty you choose, just to add a little fear factor.
Joe
