Keep Stats - Now and Later

Your golf season is over. I'm sorry, it happens to most of us. This time of year is a great time to sit down and analyze your season. Looking back on how you played this year can be very helpful to the future of your game. Below are some things I want you to think about.

How well did I play this year?

What was the best part of my game?

What was my season highlight?

What was my low point?

Very basic questions, right? The above questions are great to think about, but there is one more I want you to ask yourself. Have I kept detailed statistics to see how I really did? I can almost guarantee that most of you do not keep detailed statistics throughout your golf season.

Statistics can be instrumental in helping you improve and possibly find the positives in your golf game. The PGA Tour players have the benefit of having someone else do this for them and tell them where their strengths and weaknesses are. Until you become that good, you need to do them yourself. Below are BASIC statistics I want you to commit to compiling in 2012.

Front 9 scoring
Back 9 scoring
Total scoring
Fairways
Greens
Putts
Sand saves
Par saves
Eagles, Birdies, Pars, Bogeys, Doubles, Etc.
1 putts, 2 putts, 3 putts
Par 3 scoring, par 4 scoring, par 5 scoring

Seems like a lot, I know, but these are the essential stats that can help you get better. If you are really crazy about stats, keep track of right and left shots (tee shots, iron shots, putts), penalty strokes, par breakers, etc. Go to pgatour.com and look at all the amazing stats that are computable to help your game. You can also find all kinds of applications for your phone on your respective carrier's website. Make a commitment to keep stats next year. It can only help!

Chipping for Distance

It can become difficult simplify

shots around the green because you run into so many different kinds of shots of
varying distances. To help me keep distances simple, I use different parts of
my body to gage how far to take the club back, and how far to swing the club
forward. I will also vary the clubs I use to help with these distances. I use
my knees, belt, and shoulders as references while focusing on maintaining consistent
speed for all shots.

I will also think about the phrases “just past” or “just
short” to give me even more distance variations. For example, a 30-yard shot (pictured)
would be a sand wedge and a “just above my belt to just above my belt” swing.
Practice this technique for more consistent distance control around the greens.

Goal Orientated Practice

I have seen more players in the last 3 years that come into the golf shop and say "can I have 4 tokens or 4 bags of balls?" 30 minuets later, "can I get 2 more tokens or bags of balls?" My point is, too many players are hitting balls; just to hit balls. This kind of rapid fire practice would be like practicing running a mile without timing it. How do you know you got better? I would love to see more golfers set goals for themselves when they enter a practice session. Things like...

Get alignment down,

Develop a routine,

Lighten grip pressure,

Shorten swing,

Increase shoulder turn,

Hit 10 balls inside 10 feet of a flag...etc.

I read an article once that said Vijay Singh took 1 min to hit 2 golf balls when he practiced. That's 30 seconds per shot. So if my math is correct, a typical small bag of range balls is 30 balls. It should take a player at least 15-25 min to hit 3o shots on the range. Think about what you doing when you are hitting balls, get rid of "aimless" practice and develop goal orientated practice to help you get better.

Some Mental Thoughts on Putting

Putting sometimes can be more mental than physical. Whenever I find myself in a putting slump I refer back to Dr. Bob Rotella's books. I have read all of Dr. Bob's books and strongly recommend them to any golfer looking to improve mentally. Just for fun, I want to give you my top 10 of Rotella's Rules for Putting from his book Putting out of Your Mind.

1. The putting game is the place to look if you want to gain a competitive advantage.


2. You need to Love putting.


3. There is nothing worse than dwelling on the putts you've missed.


4. To gain control, you must give up control.


5. Putt to make it.


6. More often then not, anger is the enemy of focus.


7. You already have touch. You have to believe in it and use it.


8. If you think the putter you are using will help you, it probably will.


9. There is no perfect way to roll the ball.


10. Practice in ways that build confidence.

Set up Tall and Balanced

I am finding more and more students that get set up in a “squatty” stance. Players get into this stance because they feel more stable. Weight gets back on the heels, legs feel strong, and they feel powerful. However, most of these squatty players end up standing up during the swing and dropping down on the downswing leading to all kinds of inconsistent shots. When the weight stays back on the heels it also becomes very difficult to properly swing through the shot.

I want students to focus on three things; 1) Stand up tall with the lower body, 2) Get the weight on the balls of the feet, 3) Bend the upper body at the hips to get down to the ball. This setup will prevent any up and down movement in the swing. I also find that it is the best setup to ensure proper rotation around the spine. Work at getting taller in the legs, weight on the balls of the feet, and bend at hips for solid shots.

Tee it Forward!

If you have been paying attention to golf on television recently, you might have seen information about the USGA and PGA’s new initiative called Tee it Forward. This program was designed to find you an 18-hole yardage that is matched up with your driving distance. The Tee it Forward strategy will allow players to hit the same club into greens that PGA Tour players do. Below you will find a chart that helps you understand what tees you might be best suited to play from.

I recommend this program to ANY golfer that wants to enjoy their round more. When I teach beginners, I always tell them to try to hit a tee shot, make an attempt at the next shot, and if it doesn’t go as planned, pick it up and put it on the green. Unless you play in a golf group that battles it out for a couple of bucks, pick a spot to tee off from that will allow you to enjoy your round. Remember, Tee it Forward, Play Faster, and Have More Fun!!!

TEE IT FORWARD
Guidelines for Selecting Tees
Driver Distance Recommended
18 Hole Yardages
275 6,700 - 6,900
250 6,200 - 6,400
225 5,800 - 6,000
200 5,200 - 5,400
175 4,400 - 4,600
150 3,500 - 3,700
125 2,800 - 3,000
100 2,100 - 2,300

Balance Like Rory

Like most of you, I watched the US Open in amazement as Rory McIlroy dominated the tournament. I was very happy for him to rebound after what happened at the Masters. I have been watching Rory for a while and have been very impressed with his attitude and his game. One thing I love about his golf swing is how he maintains his balance throughout his swing. If you watched the telecast, the announcers talked about how much emphasis his golf coach put on balance during his swing. It reminded me about what I teach all of my junior golfers; I don't care how hard they swing as long as they maintain their balance. If a player stays balanced, swing plane and contact will fall into place.

I like two different drills to work on balance. One is to put your feet close together and hit balls for a while. If you don't maintain your balance you will fall over every time. Another drill is to go to any retail store and buy a pool "floaty" and stand on it (without hitting balls) while you make some swings. Both of these drills will help you stay balanced like Rory.