The old year is behind us (thank goodness) and it’s full speed ahead for golf.
Golf is the one sport/activity that boomed during the pandemic. People wanted to get outside, experience a great setting and what better than the game of golf.
With a new year in front of us, today we have a primer for getting your game started out correctly.
EXPECTATIONS:
Keep your expectations realistic. Remember that this is a tough game to master. PGA Tour players take a few weeks off and they have to spend time “knocking off the rust.” And these are the best in the world and the game will still embarrass them from time to time, maybe weekly in fact.
Remember: YOU DO SOMETHING ELSE FOR A LIVING. This is a game and it’s meant to be enjoyed.
FUNDAMENTALS:
Before he’d return to the Tour for a new season, Jack Nicklaus would spend time with his life-long teacher — Jack Grout. Guess what they’d work on? Fundamentals.
Starts with your grip. Doesn’t sound that complicated but if you look around you will see that most high-handicap golfers have lousy grips. It’s not that complicated. There are countless videos online that will show you the proper way to grip a golf club. It’s not rocket science.
Work on your setup. David Ledbetter once told me that when things go awry for Tour players, nine times out of 10 the problem was in their setup. Use those alignment sticks and be sure you always use one of them for the aim line. Ken Venturi was right when he said: “Bad swings don’t produce bad shots, bad lines produce bad shots.” You have shoulder line, stance line and aim line. Work on all three.
FLEXIBILITY:
We see too many players on the range who simply cannot stay in a correct posture. As soon as they take the club away, their backs straighten and at that point, it doesn’t matter what happens next, the result will not be good. Work on flexibility. STRETCH!! It’s good for your overall health as well.
START SMALL:
Harvey Penick said you learn the came from the hole out. That means you learn to make three-foot putts, then five-foot putts then 10-foot putts then lag putting. Three-putts will ruin your score, they ruin everyone from hackers to tour players. Then work on chipping, then short wedge shots and work your way up to longer wedge shots. Basically, be honest, if you can’t hit 10 decent looking 90-yard wedge shots in a row, you don’t need to pull any longer clubs from your bag. If your wedge swing is spot-on, your swing with the driver will be also.
HAVE FUN, ENJOY THE GAME:
Whatever you do, keep in mind the game is supposed to be fun. It’s not life-and-death.
The pandemic has carried a lot of lessons with it. We are fortunate that we can play this wonderful game.
Most of all, best wishes for a HEALTHY and HAPPY New Year.
