Golf Tips
Whenever I find something I feel will help those of you who read
these tips improve your game (whether or not it came out of my
head), I will pass it along. Butch Harman said it best when asked
at the NCPGA’s Player and Teacher Development Forum in 2001 how he
came up with the things he taught Tiger Woods.
Golf Tips
Whenever I find something I feel will help those of you who read these tips improve your game (whether or not it came out of my head), I will pass it along. Butch Harman said it best when asked at the NCPGA’s Player and Teacher Development Forum in 2001 how he came up with the things he taught Tiger Woods.
“I didn’t make it up, it was already out there, I just had to know when to apply it.”
Most of what Butch learned, his father, Claude Harman, taught him, and what his father learned was taught to him. Golf instructors learn from golf instructors as well as their students.
I just read what I feel is a great tip by Harvey Penick on how to practice and develop some on-course discipline. Don’t forget how many times you wonder why you don’t hit the ball the same way on the course as you do at the range. I’ve said this before and I will say it again, “Golf is 90 percent mental and the other 10 percent is in your head.”
Here is what you do after you have stretched and loosened up: take out your pitching wedge and hit five full shots and put it away; five shots not six. Now take out your seven iron and hit five shots with it. It doesn’t matter if they are good or bad, just hit five.
Put your seven iron away and take out your three wood and hit five shots with it. Make sure you always have a target. Now put it away.
Take out your seven iron and hit five more shots with it and put it away. Now take out your driver and hit three or four shots with it. Be focused and try and make it your best effort, then put it away no matter what the result. Now get your putter and some chipping clubs and finish your practice session.
What you are learning is that the value of each shot has gone up. Each shot counts, so make them good. With only five shots per club, you have to center your thoughts, just like you should on the course. This is not like looking down at 80 range balls with your driver in your hand. One count 80 is a safety net we don’t have on the course.
Congratulations to Jomar Gonzales. He correctly answered last week’s question first. The only time you can hit a moving ball and not be penalized is if a ball is falling off a tee or if a ball is moving in the water.
If you have any golf related questions, from rules to club fitting, e-mail me at
sk*****@ea**********.com
. Or, if you would like to read some of my past tips, you can do so at www.pinnaclenews.com. And don’t forget, if you’re not having fun call your local PGA or LPGA instructor. We will help, that’s what we love to do. It is the shortest distance between you and better golf.
