Joe,
I am a believer of Never Up Never In, so when I 3 putt it is usually because my first putt is too far past the hole. However I do not want to lose my aggressiveness or else I will never sink anything. How can I reduce 3 putts?
Marv
Hi Marv,
Most people who miss a putt show their disappointment by turning away and giving an Oscar performance of pain and woe with an overabundance of body language. It would be much better to pay attention to what the ball does after it goes by the hole. You should notice which way it breaks as it trickles to a stop, and then you will have a much better chance at making the comebacker putt.
Joe
Wednesday, December 20, 2006
Joe,
My buddies and I play golf just for fun and small bets. We do not have handicaps and we do not play in tournaments, but sometimes they call penalties on each other for reasons that seem silly. Whenever I ask for logical reasons why these must be penalties, the answer is always a rule is a rule – duh, yup yup yup. Nobody seems to know the reasons some of the sillier golf rules got made. Do you know?
Confused Victim
Dear Confused,
The game was originally played only by rich people who made bets while playing golf. Money and egos were both on the line, so if there were any chance of catching an opponent with the smallest of rule violations, these people would pounce on it without mercy. Common sense and sportsmanship had nothing to do with it. The point was, and apparently still is, all about money and pride, not common sense. Some say there is integrity involved with following these rules, but common sense says many of these rules were made by egotists with very little integrity and some of these rules had nothing to do with the skill of the game. For recreational players, I don’t think there is much integrity or sportsmanship in calling a penalty on someone who had no intention of gaining an unfair advantage with some miniscule violation that had no bearing on shot making. That is like playing the kids game Simon Says. This leads to the question, do you really have any integrity if you have no sportsmanship? I say no. Sportsmanship suggests to give a person a break if an incident had nothing to do with the skill of the contest, for example, a meaningless penalty for the wind moving the ball after you ground your putter, especially if you are only playing for fun. You might enjoy a website called sortagolf.com, where there is lots of information on similar topics, for example, there really is a difference between tournament golf and recreational golf, and if you are not a tournament player, you will enjoy the game less if you subject yourself to tournament rules, so sortagolf suggests what recreational rules should be.
Joe
My buddies and I play golf just for fun and small bets. We do not have handicaps and we do not play in tournaments, but sometimes they call penalties on each other for reasons that seem silly. Whenever I ask for logical reasons why these must be penalties, the answer is always a rule is a rule – duh, yup yup yup. Nobody seems to know the reasons some of the sillier golf rules got made. Do you know?
Confused Victim
Dear Confused,
The game was originally played only by rich people who made bets while playing golf. Money and egos were both on the line, so if there were any chance of catching an opponent with the smallest of rule violations, these people would pounce on it without mercy. Common sense and sportsmanship had nothing to do with it. The point was, and apparently still is, all about money and pride, not common sense. Some say there is integrity involved with following these rules, but common sense says many of these rules were made by egotists with very little integrity and some of these rules had nothing to do with the skill of the game. For recreational players, I don’t think there is much integrity or sportsmanship in calling a penalty on someone who had no intention of gaining an unfair advantage with some miniscule violation that had no bearing on shot making. That is like playing the kids game Simon Says. This leads to the question, do you really have any integrity if you have no sportsmanship? I say no. Sportsmanship suggests to give a person a break if an incident had nothing to do with the skill of the contest, for example, a meaningless penalty for the wind moving the ball after you ground your putter, especially if you are only playing for fun. You might enjoy a website called sortagolf.com, where there is lots of information on similar topics, for example, there really is a difference between tournament golf and recreational golf, and if you are not a tournament player, you will enjoy the game less if you subject yourself to tournament rules, so sortagolf suggests what recreational rules should be.
Joe
Sunday, December 17, 2006
Joe,
I consider myself to be a pretty good ball striker, I do not hit many fat or thin shots. But one day I will hit everything left and another day I will hit everything right, and sometimes both ways. My set of clubs has been custom fitted, so that cannot be the reason. My friends say I am not swinging any differently, and I am not overswinging. What can I try to fix this?
Harvey
Hello Harvey,
This is typical of a backswing that is too loose at the top and pays no attention to keeping the clubface square to the target line. Without you thinking about it, sometimes your clubface will be closed at impact and other times it will be open. Picture your clubface being square at setup. Using your chest as a reference point as you turn on your backswing, keep the clubface square to your chest. When you have completed your turn, your chest has turned away from the target line and so has the clubface. If you have ever seen Mike Weir swing, you will notice that before his swing he will take the club halfway back and look at it to make sure the clubface is in the correct position, and ingrain that feeling in his mind. Then while he still has that feeling, he quickly starts his backswing the same way. Give that a try and let us know how it turns out.
Joe
I consider myself to be a pretty good ball striker, I do not hit many fat or thin shots. But one day I will hit everything left and another day I will hit everything right, and sometimes both ways. My set of clubs has been custom fitted, so that cannot be the reason. My friends say I am not swinging any differently, and I am not overswinging. What can I try to fix this?
Harvey
Hello Harvey,
This is typical of a backswing that is too loose at the top and pays no attention to keeping the clubface square to the target line. Without you thinking about it, sometimes your clubface will be closed at impact and other times it will be open. Picture your clubface being square at setup. Using your chest as a reference point as you turn on your backswing, keep the clubface square to your chest. When you have completed your turn, your chest has turned away from the target line and so has the clubface. If you have ever seen Mike Weir swing, you will notice that before his swing he will take the club halfway back and look at it to make sure the clubface is in the correct position, and ingrain that feeling in his mind. Then while he still has that feeling, he quickly starts his backswing the same way. Give that a try and let us know how it turns out.
Joe
