Because golf is such a challenging game, there is always room for improvement and areas in your game that need some fine tuning. But, it's important that you work on your game at the right time and not in the middle of an important round. That's why I think there are two different types of playing golf...practice mode and play mode.
A lot of golfers have a tendency to get caught up in the mechanics of the golf swing while they're in the middle of a round. They've got so many swing thoughts going through their head that it's impossible for them to put a good swing on the ball. Instead of feeling the swing and swinging the feel, they keep thinking about all the individual checkpoints and if they're in the right positions. It's okay to think mechanical, but there's a place for it and it's not the golf course!
Practice mode is the time for you to work on mechanics. This can either be on the range or in your own backyard like me. When you're working on improving your game through technique and mechanics, having this other mode of playing is critical in order to improve when you finally step on the course. As soon as you've left the practice tee though, it's time for you to switch gears and focus on play mode.
Play mode is completely different than practice mode. Now it's time to put up a number, so you must rely on the feelings you had during your practice sessions. Instead of overloading your brain with mechanics, take a few practice swings so you can "feel" the swing. Once you've got the swing you want, then you step up and "swing the feel." In order to have a successful golf swing, there must be a continuity of flow. All the parts must work together naturally, not robotically.
If you feel like you are the type of golfer who really has a lot of swing thoughts and constant mechanics running through your head, try separating how you practice from how you play. It's okay that you analyze and work on your game bit by bit on the range, but once you are out on the course it's time for you to feel the movements happen together and get the ball in the hole. Having a "play mode" will improve your feel for the game and allow you to shoot lower scores.
Keep it vertical,
The Surge!
Don Trahan
PGA Master Professional
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Comments
Thanks for the info...ed
Thanks for the info...ed
A big over sight on my part
A big over sight on my part was somewhat fixed yesterday.ÃÂ My wife CindyÃÂ has beenÃÂ playing aÃÂ set of men's Black Max Maxfly golf clubs we bought her some two years ago. Though not a custom set certainly a forgiving design and she has done okay considering she only started learning these past two years. However I had not measured them and though I figured they were too long was shocked to find that the driver was 45 inches. Likewise every club in the bag was too long accept her PW and Sand W. We spent a while in the backyard driving range finding a length that was comfortable on all clubs. Starting with her driver we went through the bag and then marked the grips with a rubber band when she hit them solid and centered. I felt this was initially a better way to adjust them rather than going by a strict wrist to floor measurement both because she had grown used to the longerÃÂ length and I am currently unprepared to properly check for swingweight, ect.. Might not matter that much anyway as the shafts are a fairly light 59 grams and A (senior flex). So we found that about two inches off the driver and then 1.5 off both the 3 wood (rarely used) and the 5 wood was appropriate. Then one inch came off her 5-9 irons. I easily regripped them by air and presto a new set of clubs (kind of :). We went out yesterday afternoon and toÃÂ no surprise she hit nearly every drive down the middle and longer than before. Over all she played well with all her clubs. It was a real windy day and weÃÂ will better judge the improvement on a nicer day soon. We are planning on getting her a bettter quality set of clubs hopefully custom fit. We are considering Doc's long distance help. We'll see. Was fun to cut and regrip her clubs in less than two hours. While not a custom fit the clubs lengths are now more playable and should be funner for her.
I also have been studying my putting stroke and several books on putting. I have concluded that one of the key reasons I pull puttsÃÂ even with my favorite putter was slightly too upright. I adjusted the lie by about 1.5 degrees until I was rolling every putt straight on line with my normal comfortable stroke which now includes aÃÂ saw grip style. I'll test it out this week starting tomorrow at 5:45am at muni for my 9 holes before 8am and work.
Hope you are all able to get out and
PMG :)
Damn. I hope he didn't injure
Damn. I hope he didn't injure himself. DJ just withdrew after three holes. I'll edit with more info if I find a report of why he withdrew.
From PGA Tour report: "2:42 p.m. â D.J. Trahan, who went to school at nearby Clemson, withdrew with a back injury. He played one hole." According to Shot Tracker he'd actually played three, but no matter. I hope whatever happened can be taken care of with a minimum of fuss and delay.
Her e you go.
Her e you go.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?f...
Powwwwwwwwwwww
Edit
True but it does have a shaft shaped like a sword that cuts through the air.
I did it with V1 but have to
I did it with V1 but have to record off of the screen with my camera (hence the bad quality). I'm sure there's a way to save the video with lines to a computer but I haven't found it yet. (Aggravating). ;-)
The big curiosity for me is how DJ does it, because he comes very, very close. Can't find anyone else with a Surge Swing that does though.
I guess it's just because he's a heck of a lot better than we are. LOL
Edit: It would be shank city if I tried to do what Bertrand is talking about. The only thing in the whole video that could pertain to me is when Hogan said "this may not be good for everyone".
More accurate would probably next to nobody.
ÃÂ Thanks Dick. The greens
ÃÂ Thanks Dick. The greens are driving me crazy though. If they don't get better soon I'm afraid I'm going to pick up some bad habits. Even today on every putt in the back of my mind I was thinking that it didn't matter how good I putted the ball it didn't matter much and it is mostly luck if it goes in or not.
That's not a very good thing to have running around in your head.
ÃÂ Hacker
ÃÂ Hacker
Theirs a lot of things that contribute to slow rounds I doubt practice swings are one of them. Course conditions tall rough, extremely hard pin placementsÃÂ for hackers to be playing and not playing ready golf are just a few.
If someone is slowing you down I would ask to play through. Public courses are begging for play right now and they are not going to raise to much heck over slow play in this economy from what I have seen unless they are a couple of holes behind.
Just my thoughts.
ÃÂ Terry, I can't seem to
ÃÂ Terry, I can't seem to respond to your comment directly. I thought the original shaft went straight into the head. I read they ruled them non conforming years ago. Did they re-make it with the curved hosel to try to make it conforming? I guess maybe it was called a Pod as Robert suggested.
Kim please let him know our
Kim please let him know our deep concern and hope for his rapid recovery.
I don't know that I would
I don't know that I would call it a talent. Can be an asset or a detriment to be a true "feel" player and holistic action learner. Charlie Y and I have talked about it about a million times.
The holistic learner is almost always going to be better when confronted with a new task that they have never seen, experienced, or thought about before.
The "dots" learner will practice more, stick to the training manual more, and very often in the end outperform the "feel" guy.
For each type to be the best they can be they have to adopt traits from the other group. The "feel" guy needs some structure and the "dots" guy needs some feel. Most people don't fall quite as far to one end of the spectrum as I do, and it's a curse and a blessing. Invent a brand new sport and I will probably be very good at it right away. Then I will get bored with it, never practice the fundamentals that would make me better, and eventually get passed up by the "dots" guys that had more discipline.
Wild Bill Mehlohorn
Wild Bill Mehlohorn
ÃÂ THE GRIP
Hold the grass whip with your golf grip. Hold it as loosely as
possible. Like holding a ripe banana. Now copy that grip pressure or
lack there of, when you play your round of golf.
Shoot we were not suppose to comment on this.
Robert,Surprisingly they are
Robert,
Surprisingly they are all in pretty good shape right now. Even decently smooth. But hurry and play soon cause summers coming a d they'll be trashed again by August.
Thanks, Hal. Since I'm
Thanks, Hal. Since I'm sitting here with a twinge in my lower back and left groin, I certainly relate to DJ's pain. Mine is due to a bad office chair, though (and spending way too much time in it).
Robert,
Robert,
I just regripped my clubs last night and will try them this morning. I still tape them all, have never tried the air gun method.
I am still working on finding my grip. My wrists have started to hurt and I see that I have been having my top hand way too weak. I watched Don's GripÃÂ video last night and have been reading the manual. I plan on making adjustments at the range this morning before my round. It has been frustrating to have such inconsistent shots, from driver to wedge, even the putter. I must be doing some things right at times as my scores have been in the mid 80's, 3-4 strokes higher than normal last year.
Tell Cindy congrats on the steadily improving game.
PMG, Dan
My only thoughts are that I
My only thoughts are that I wish I could somehow know from one day to the next how far I hit each club.
I almost always have to figure it out as I go. Luckily it usually only takes a couple of shots for me to get a good idea of what it's going to be for the day. Whether I play really good or really bad is much more dependent on how straight I hit the ball and how solid I hit the ball than my judgement on distance. Might hit the first approach shot a little long or short and if the opening hole has either trouble long or short I play that first shot safe by either taking more or less club than I think I need. If there is not much trouble around I just take the best guess I can.
Luckily I have never played a course where the starting hole doesn't have a little bit of bailout area either long or short.
I have started on holes like that in shotgun scramble tournaments and messed them up plenty.
Nothing like starting on an island green. ;-)
That club doesn't have the
That club doesn't have the shaft in the middle.
Would come in handy if you wanted to chop something with it.
ÃÂ I try to not read
ÃÂ I try to not read anything into distances on a range. Have rarely ever been to one that uses the ball I play and if they did have that the wear on a range ball cover will slightly reduce the volume of the dimple which is what creates the low pressure spot on the ball during the flight that controls the direction and to a great extent the distance.
Doc,Funny because after I
Doc,
Funny because after I typed in "forgiving" I now realise that I tossed out a term that is of normal marketing hype. Guess what I mean is that they her clubs have some of the typical playability factors including an apparent low center of gravity and a larger flang again found in clubs designed (and yes marketed) as 'forgiving'. Now that you bring it up I don't like that wordÃÂ forgiving either. Playable is a better term used by Ralph Maltby as you likely know.Yes I am keenly aware that you and Surge both do not believe that cavity back, parimeter weighted irons are particulrly advantageous and I agree over all. However I do believe that certain designs are going to be easier to hit than others. Of course there are (as you know better than I lots more and many other factors to playable clubs and more importantly clubs that are specifically better for each individual, hence professional clubfitting).
How much difference? None as to the actual sweet spot. It's a mere tiny dot on either design.ÃÂ
As for the primary feature that helps the majority? Hmmmn. Likely 'offset'. Most amatures slice and don't square up the clubhead at impact and offset can be a great help. Correct? Primary benifit of cavity back/low center of gravity? Getting the ball airborn for those with slower clubhead speeds.
Of course important among many factorsÃÂ are shaftÃÂ dynamics not disscussed here. Trust me, I don't pretend to know much yet Doc.ÃÂ
Doc, if I'm wrong, please be nice, I do appreciate your insight.
Here's some oldies but goodies on the subject by you and Surge:
http://www.swingsurgeon.com/Ho...
http://www.swingsurgeon.com/Ho...
ÃÂ Some of us don't have a
ÃÂ Some of us don't have a lot of choice but to play on the public courses that would be completely beneath your dignity.
I've played at some "real golf courses" and enjoyed some of them. Then there are some that are so overrun by golf snobs that I was glad to get back to the Saturday game at home where nobody thinks they are better than anybody.
My son and I were playing one day and a couple of outstanding local golfers were on the next hole and they came over a talked for a few minutes and when they drove off my son said "those are some REALLY nice guys to be such good golfers".
Pretty much summed up the difference from the atmosphere at the fancy country club where you would be lucky if the best players would even speak to you, much less play a round with a hacker.
ÃÂ Since my memory is no
ÃÂ Since my memory is no longer reliable, I journeyed to the land down under to ensure a proper report.
In the original design, the shaft goes into the center chrome ring which surrounds the face at approx mid point. Just as in this pic on Ebay My understanding is that it created a weak point where the hosel connected to the ring.
Vintage original
http://www.ebay.com/itm/The-Po...
The newer design has the shaft hosel formed as part of the club head itself.
Newer copy from Carisma
http://www.ebay.com/itm/The-Po...
A, Lately I have not been
A,
Lately I have not been taking practice swings on most shots. I find that taking too long makes me play worse. I don't rush and don't like to be rushed. I visualise my shot from behind,ÃÂ line it up all the while I've then decided the swing and result I want, then step and fire. Same on the green. I am usually ready to go when it's my turn to putt. Got it figured out before my turn.
When playing with my wife and doing a little on course practice or helping her, I always wave anyone waiting to play throughÃÂ if they like.
ÃÂ ÃÂ ÃÂ ÃÂ When I playÃÂ 9 holes at 5:45am during the week I am often the first one out in which case IÃÂ am doneÃÂ in 90 minutes. Even if there are groups ahead they are usually other 'ol guys who play fast so it's a good pace of play. Only in the late after noon is another story because of the groups that are drinking beer and hitting the ball all over the golf course and take forever. Now that's no fun. 5 hours or more playing 18 and waiting for every shot.ÃÂ
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