Finally got some good news, the UCL damage is minor, the pain is likely due to some calcification near the ligament, and if I want to play a few more rounds this year, no problem. The correction is a relatively simple arthroscopic surgery with a quick recovery. I will take advantage of any nice weather in the next few weeks, but schedule surgery as soon as work permits so we can get working on my fitness program.
Archive for September, 2009
Yeah!
September 25th, 2009More AimPoint Green Reading Tips
September 21st, 2009Do not waste your time standing behind your ball and staring at the green on the way to the hole. This is not how you read the green. This is helpful with picking a place to aim but not much else. Your job is determine what kind of pin location you’re dealing with and where you are on the green. Now what does that mean, “where you are on the green”?
Your job is to figure out where you are in relation to Zero Lines. These are the places where the net break is zero. You aim at the center of the hole. Sometimes that will be either straight up or downhill and sometimes it will be double breaking putts. Standing behind the ball and staring at the ground does nothing to help you do this.
As you learn more about the AimPoint Green Reading method, you will learn where to expect these zero lines. The straight uphill and downhill ones are pretty self explanatory. The double breaking ones can be more of a challenge. Any time the pin is located on a part of the green that is sloping in the opposite direction than where you’re ball is, you will have a double breaking putt.
Hitting it harder does not eliminate the early break. Gravity is a very consistent force and it always applies. The ball will roll downhill. Period. You can’t just look around the hole to determine the break for the whole putt.
Depending on where you are relative to these zero lines will help you determine the expected break. This is especially accurate 20 feet and in.
So while you are waiting for your turn, use your time to determine where you are and you’ll have a better chance of making the putt.
Learn How to Golf
September 19th, 2009This year is the first year I have a beginner come to me and say he wanted to learn the form correct right from the beginning. He had tried the range a few times with no success and wanted to learn the right way. He bought 10 half hour lessons and we went to work.
He grabbed a 7 iron and we started with grip and the such. After those things we started working on how to hit the ground where you are looking. He had no desire to hit the ball. He wanted only to work on form.
It was the first time I had to convince a student to hit the ball. I knew this student would be a wonderful example of what I had always preached. If you could get someone from the beginning to learn how to create a good impact shape right from the beginning they would get good very quickly.
He has a full time job and practices during his lunch hour. We did a whole bunch of drills to get the shape of impact good. At his 8th lesson, I convinced him to take a full swing. After a couple shots he hits this super solid 150 yard 7 iron. High with a little draw. Nice divot after the ball and “the sound”. There’s a very particular sound to a solidly struck golf shot.
He looks at me and asks if that is what it should look like. I laugh and say yea. It was probably the 10th fullswing he’s made with me. I keep trying to convince him it is time to move on to some other clubs. He puts up a fight because he wants the form to be good before he adds new clubs and ideas.
He learned very quickly the power the ball has over him and the psychology of the swing. We started working on that during the 9th and 10th lesson.
Today we had our 12th lesson and we finally went over how the set-up and swing changes with the rest of the clubs. I love giving beginners lessons. I look forward to this particular lesson every week. If only he knew how many people would kill to hit just one shot like he did.
Short Game Practice Tips
September 16th, 2009Many good junior golfers struggle with being real precise with 80-30 shots. It’s a shot that you need to practice to know because it will be much less than a full swing.
My facility does not have a great area to practice this shot. I think it is very common with most practice facilities. They have a putting green, chipping green, bunker and range tee but not a designated area you can hit 30-80 yard shots into a real green.
I have to use my imagination to create an environment for player’s practicing this area. Really, all you need is a rangefinder and a little imagination. Usually, I will either set up a beach towel or a GolfRing at a particular distance out into the range.
You need to make sure you have something you can see hit so you can tell if the distance is correct. During a lesson, I actually stand out there and shout out the distance the ball went so they can get a feel for the distance.
Once the trackman arrives, I will be using it to work on this area. Trackman has a feature that will speak out loud the distance the ball flew. It uses the speaker on the laptop to voice the data it picks up. This will be a much more precise way to practice these shots.
Without this device, you will have to use towels or sheets or something like it. This is a dig it out of the dirt type of practice. You need to punch the clock and put the time in. I would say about 80% of your practice time should be spent on similar shots like this and the rest of the short game.
“Break” Time
September 12th, 2009My previous entry may have been more prescient than I imagined. I have developed severe elbow pain in my “good arm.” I vaguely recall having a minor case of this toward the end of last season. I am now wondering if my “flip” was the result of subconsciously changing my swing to avoid the pain. Wednesday night’s practice was great…for about 30 balls and I was done at 50. Tonight, I warmed up, made sure to stretch the arms and shoulders, but the first wedge was a killer. The toe shot on the par-3 2nd hole was worse, and the round ended mercifully when I could not even pull off a 3/4 swing on the 3rd tee.
We will see what ice, Motrin, P*******, (let’s not give the juniors any ideas), etc can do with complete rest for a few days. This really bites, I finally start on the road to getting proficient, and all I can do this weekend is whine.
However, let this be a lesson to those golfers that are not getting any younger that there is a price for getting out of shape, and it comes due when you least expect or desire it.
