This and That on a Thursday

Picture: Seen around town earlier today...

Golf Tip:

From about.com, these suggestions on those using a 460 cc driver:
-use a longer tee
-move the ball forward even as far as in front of your left toe (for right handers)
-move back to ensure you are hitting the ball in the center of the face

First and third seem like no brainers. Second one surprised me and is something I'll have to try.

Weather:

Supposed to be in the 50's tomorrow and Saturday. Golf course will be open around eleven.

Guess I'll head over there now for a little late afternoon golf in the middle of December in southern Indiana. Nice.

Oh, one other thing. We signed up for 21st century internet service this morning - Verizon broadband. What a concept. (We've been wanting it for over a decade now. Patience is our middle name...)

More Golfing Tips from a Calendar: Putting Recap, Chipping

Anybody who has played golf with me this year, or read my groans and moans on this blog, know that I have had all sorts of fun with my chipping and putting this year, like any semblance of consistency and skill has disappeared. Oh, an occasional blast from the past and a round that is sterling. But for the most part, misery. So, I continue to moan but also look for a fix to the breakdown. (I refuse to say it's age cause it aint...)

So, the arrival of the big sister calendar the other day has given me yet one more item to look for answers that golfers have been looking for ever since the game was invented (by King Henry the 8th? go here for one answer - the Dutch!).

Monday night here at home I tried the four foot make as many as you can in a row drill to improve one's ability to make a putt under pressure (got up to eighteen or nineteen). At Diane's suggestion that a real golf green is the only real test, I tried that Tuesday morning (between doctor visits) out on #2 green and got myself up to thirteen putts in a row in a short period of time. And then later in the day, in the Denson-Bird, Wininger-Jones scramble, I even made a few putts that would qualify as the proof of the pudding (?), the transfer of knowledge. So, that might be a worthwhile drill to engage in every now and then. I would suggest a five minute time limit, maybe even three, and a variety of greens (but do pay attention to putting mechanics!).

There was a second tip I tried out which was just as successful and actually more impressive. That would be what the calendar's author called the 'pop, hop and stop' chip, something effective from 20-40 yards from the pin. The particulars:

Ball off of your back foot, stance slightly open; start with hands in front of ball, hold wrists firm in a half swing back, no more than waist high. On the downswing, keep wrists locked and sweep through the ball with a full (?) follow through. Executed properly, the ball should pop on a low trajectory, hop once and stop quickly.

Tried it out and had much success striking the ball cleanly (!) and getting it onto the green and heading towards the pin. Did not see the 'stop quickly' part all that much but still was pleased with the results, especially considering the dismal chipping that had visited me during the round with the boys on Monday. And yes, did have a very nice chip during the late afternoon scramble that led to an easy birdie on #2. Again, proof of the pudding time...

Time to head to the golf course - sun is breaking through the clouds at the moment. Hurray!

Golfing Tip for a Monday Evening

Diane received a Golf Tips calendar from her older sister out in California in the mail today and a couple of things caught my eye. For one, this putting under pressure drill:

Place ten balls at a distance of four feet from the cup and gradually work yourself up to sinking fifty in a row.

Hmmmm, I thought. Fifty in a row. Five or maybe even ten would be more my speed. My main problem with these kind of repetitive drills, especially with chipping and putting, is the wear on my back - after five minutes I need to be doing something else. But, what the heck, lets try it out right here in my own living room (Diane refused the offer to participate saying the living room is different than the putting green; yes, that's true, but not near as convenient, especially during commercials or tv programs that just aren't all that gripping, or inclement weather or even the dark of night...). So I went ahead and tried it out and by golly if I didn't get up to eighteen or nineteen in a row rather quickly. And for sure the pressure did mount each time I neared my own Monday-night-between-eight-and-nine record.

So, will this help me on the golf course next time I've got a four foot (or three foot) putt that's going to make a difference? Don't know but would hope so and I do believe that examining one's game and working at it does help. Do think I'll give Diane the benefit of the doubt and try the same drill out at the golf course maybe tomorrow afternoon. How about you? How many four foot putts can you make in a row? Think I'll challenge the boys next time I'm with them, just for fun of course.

Golf Basics Revisited

Had the chance to practice a little golf today. After several drives and several approaches and several chips and several putts, I decided to concentrate on finding out why I was repeatedly pulling the ball to the left on my approach shot, that 60 to a 120 yard finesse shot that is not all that hard and one that was made easier with my adoption of the David Pelz method several years ago. Since I was consistently pulling the shot to the left, I thought maybe my alignment was off. So I dropped a club on the other side of the ball and carefully pointed it at the pin some 115 yards away. Backing up and taking my stance, I was careful to ensure that my feet were parallel to that alignment aid, and then swung away. Same result - pull to the left of the pin. Darn. Tried it several more times, ensuring that my grip and my club face were in the right position and again and again pulled the shot to the left. Darn again and again. What now... From somewhere back in my memory of alignment, the image of two clubs on the ground popped up. One club near the ball, and another closer to the feet. Put a second club down and made sure that it was parallel to the first one. Stepped into position with my toes up against that second club and gave it a go. Wallah! Three shots, threes right at the stick, two close enough for birdies. So, my eye ball alignment was throwing me off; and my putting one club down, thus minimizing that eyeball, was also off. Moral of the story: keep going back to the basics. In this case, the basic was being parallel to your target line, something I thought I was but really wasn't. And that is pretty basic.