Pick Your Target

Here you are on a short, downhill par 3 over water, with sand and trees and a huge drop off left of the green. If that's not enough, the wind is blowing about 15 mph right to left. Where do you aim?

If you can just put all the elements out of your mind (no biggie right), then you can just pick out a target in the distance and put a good swing on it. Is golf that simple? Maybe.....

Something that might work is to not pick a target in the distance, but pick one on the ground, about 12 inches in front of your ball. You can use an old divot, an old tee, a blade of grass, whatever catches your eye. This will help you keep your head down and focus you on the ball and not what's up near the green.

Now just commit to the shot and put a good swing on it. I know it can be done on this hole, I have a buddy named Joe that has 5 (yes 5) hole in ones on this hole. We have a bet (for a drink) that I can hit 100 shots to this hole and not get hole in one. I haven't tried it yet, but maybe someday.

Pick your target and commit to the shot.....golf can be that easy!

Golf Tip Today

Do you come up short on a putts?
Do you notice if your wrists break during the putt?
Do you putt with your shoulders?

If you answered yes to the first two questions, then the third question is your answer.
If you answered no to the first two questions, then then I bet you answered yes to the third question. I'd also bet you're a pretty good putter.

"Putt with your shoulders"

Don’t putt with your wrists or hands, you have to use your shoulders like the
pendulum on a grandfather clock (tick- tock). Only use the big muscles, if your wrists break, you will not hit solid putts. Putts will most likely come up short, but sometimes you'll blast one by six feet. Consistent?

Tighten up those wrists and putt with your shoulders and I'll guarantee you will hit more good putts. Now go out there and spend 30 minutes putting once a week. Then you will take all the quarters from your partners the next time you play. But, they will probably make you buy the drinks. Oh well, that's golf.....

Today's Golf Tip

There are millions of golf tips out there. So many that if you linked them all together you could play about 4,598,324 miles of par 5's. But what if you could actually get some tips that would help your game? Not rocket science, but just basic thoughts to help you play just a few shots better.

I think we all get caught up in our score, no matter if we shoot par golf or double bogey golf. If we have a bad hole, it gets in our heads and it's very hard to get that bad thought out of there. What can we do to forget the bad shot or shots? Well, if we had thought it through better, or executed better, or hit a different club, or blah blah blah. It's golf, it's a hard game. It never works out exactly like you want it to, well almost never.

What if you played to your strengths? If you hate 30 yard pitch shots, don’t leave yourself that shot. It goes hand in hand with “play within yourself”. For instance you have 250 yards to a par 5, do you hit a 3 wood (that has no chance of reaching the green) or lay up with a 7 iron and leave yourself a 100 yard full shot. Know your limitations.

There are 9 billion thoughts going through your head as you start to take the club back, don't make it more complicated than it is. Just play your game. If your game is to lay up, then lay up, you're going to feel alot better about a par than double bogey.

Here's a concept, what if we used that same "play to your strengths" thought in our daily lives?

Think about that one, have a great golf day and enjoy a nice evening.