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In many parts of the United States, Canada and Europe, you’re halfway through your summer Golf Season. You might only have a few months of good golf weather remaining until your golf clubs are put-a-way in the basement, garage or wherever you put them until spring.

So tell me (or tell yourself) – what have you accomplished so far this year on the golf course? Lower scores, more consistent ball striking, a better understanding of your golf swing, or did nothing get better? Hopefully the answers are one of the first three options as opposed to the last.

Yet, year in and year out for many Golfers the answer is “I accomplished nothing. I’m still where I was when I began this year and at the beginning of this year, I was where I was when I began last year. I haven’t improved or answered any questions about my golf game in a couple of years.”

If this isn’t you – excellent! Then you’ve been able to do what over 8 out of 10 Golfers can’t do – which is improve. So if you’re the Golfer that has improved their scores or developed more consistency in your golf swing or now have a better understanding of your golf game – how did you do it? What would you tell a Golfer that hasn’t improved in the last couple of years? What’s the key?

Fortunately for us, we get many emails every week from Golfers from every continent besides Antarctica. And of the emails that speak about improvement – the majority of emails point out one of the four points below (and I’m going to paraphrase because these points are described in many different ways):

Point One - ‘I’ve settled on one golf swing - my golf swing! As opposed to fiddling around and trying to adapt someone else’s swing theory to my swing. One plane swing or two plane swing isn’t important to me – I just want a swing that’ll be more consistent and when I do hit a bad golf shot, I can easily self-diagnose what I did wrong and have a drill to correct it before my next shot. As opposed to going 6 or more holes before figuring what I did wrong on just one golf swing’;

Point Two - ‘My putting and short game have improved tremendously. I now know that I don’t have to be on every green with every shot. I have the confidence that if I miss the green that I’ll be able to get the ball close enough that I could one or two putt every time’;

Point Three - ‘I’m now practicing correctly. I used to go out like every other Golfer and just hit balls to warm up. I’d start with my wedge and progress up to my Driver and eventually I’d lose my swing just before I had to go to the first tee. Now I know how to warm-up my swing. Now I know the difference between practicing on days I’m not playing and warming up on days that I am playing. Yet, before I learned the difference between practicing and playing, I did the same thing regardless of the situation.

Point Four and something you’ve probably seen in Golf Improvement Weekly or heard on our Podcast every week – ‘I’ve stuck with my PLAN. I’m not hitting a golf shot without weighing my options. I’m not hitting my 3 iron to the green just because everybody else is. I know when I can go for it or when I should play a little bit safer. I’m now playing smart by playing to my Strengths and avoiding my Weaknesses regardless of what the others in my group think and do. I now know I need to play for me, not for anyone else!’

If you have improved, would you say that one of those four points includes what you’re now doing better compared to what you did in the past when you didn’t improve?

Though, if you haven’t improved:

Would you say that you haven’t settled on one swing that you can make more consistent and that you’re able to easily self-diagnose? Did you try any of the tips in Golf Digest last month? One tip isn’t as innocent as you may think? One tip a month for 12 months is 12 different swing thoughts. And one tip a month for 2 years is 24 swing thoughts – which is 23 too many. And I know Golfers that have had subscriptions for 5 or 6 years!

Would you say that your short game and putting hasn’t improved? I’m not asking if you already do have a good short game or are a good putter. That’s not the question. The question is – Have you improved? Most Golfers believe that their short game and putting is decent enough or even the best part of their game. And this might be true. But, most Golfers that score in the 90’s and 100’s can still improve their short game and putting in a big way. For example: Is your short game and putting as good as a Golfer that averages 83? No, then you’re not going to shoot 83.

Would you say that you never practice before a round of golf? Most Golfers that struggle are still trying to figure out their swing before a round of golf on the driving range. They’re practicing new golf tips, they’re practicing Swing Drills, and they’re working on their golf swing! And with the anxiety of playing a good round (or for some the anxiety of not embarrassing themselves on the golf course) – many Golfers panic on the Driving Range and get themselves into a bad situation with their golf swing before even walking to the first tee. You should know the difference between going to the range and practicing your swing before a round; and going to the range and warming up your swing before a round.

Would you say that you have a PLAN for every shot as opposed to just ‘aiming down the middle’ on your drive or trying to hit the exact yardage to the flag without processing other important information about the shot or aiming for the flag on every shot to the green or hitting your 3 wood for your 2nd shot on every Par 5 regardless of the situation or trying to hit a high shot over the sand bunker and onto the green every time without considering other shots or etc., or etc., or etc!

So tell me (or tell yourself) – what have you accomplished so far this year on the golf course?

The Monkey is waiting for next year to improve

The Player is continuing to work on the four points above

Go Ahead, Be A Player!

Regards,

Marc Solomon -Your Instructor For Life

www.GolfMadeSimple.com


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Labels: California, Clubs, Driver, Florida, Golf, Golf Instruction, Golf Lessons, Golf Schools, Golf Swing, Golf Travel, Lake Tahoe, Marc Solomon

posted by Golf Made Simple - Golf Improvement Program  # 5:06 PM 0 Comments Links to this post

Labels: California, Clubs, Driver, Florida, Golf, Golf Lessons, Golf Schools, Golf Travel, Lake Tahoe, Marc Solomon

posted by Golf Made Simple - Golf Improvement Program  # 1:40 PM 0 Comments Links to this post

Click Here To Listen to The Audio Version of Golf Improvement Weekly



Who would like to shoot 81 for 18 holes? Without a doubt, at least 8 out of every 10 Golfers would love this! If you’re one of the 8, the first thing you need to do is have the correct expectations as far as how well you need to hit the golf ball.


A great example of scoring 81 was demonstrated last Friday at the AT&T Tournament in Washington DC. Tim Petrovic scored 81 in the 2nd round. Now this isn’t a good score for Tim – but it might be a career round for you. So we’re going to use his round as a basis for what you need to do to score 81.


Now, we can start with his score – 9 Pars, 8 Bogey’s and 1 Triple Bogey – but I don’t believe this is the best place to start. Score is a function of how well you’re hitting the golf ball, putting the golf ball and sticking with your PLAN. If you’re trying to make Pars, you’re going to fail. The more you play for score – the more you fail. The more you PLAN each shot by playing to your Strengths – the more you’ll start to see the Pars and Birdies just happen. But, the more you try to make 9 Pars and 8 Bogeys – the more times you’ll end up with 9 Bogey’s, 8 Double Bogey’s and 1 “Other”.


So let’s start with the how Petrovic’s Drives, Shots to the Green and Putting resulted in him making 9 Pars and 8 Bogeys – something that I’m sure you’d be more than satisfied with. And then I believe it’ll be easier for you to picture yourself making 9 Pars in a round if you’re a 90’s Golfer or how you could avoid multiple Triple or Double Bogeys if you’re a mid 80’s, mid 90’s or above 100 Golfer.


And away we go -


Tim Petrovic hit 43% of his fairways. This translates into hitting 6 fairways out of the 14 holes that this stat is taken. Now, I know many 95 Golfers that would look at their stats and be upset that they only hit 6 fairways. Yet, 6 fairways are good enough to score an 81. Yet, when I’ve asked an above 90 Golfer – How many Fairways must you hit to score in the low 80’s? The answer is usually in the area of 11 or 12.


Would you be happy with an 81? Then be happy with 6 fairways!


Tim hit his Driver an average of 304 yards. Now, when the PGA Tour finds the average distance a Golfer hits their Driver, they use just two holes. So this isn’t really an average of all their Drives, but it’s a pretty good indication of how far they’re hitting the ball that day.


Does this mean that you need to hit the golf ball 304 yards? Of course not! They’re playing a Golf Course that’s almost 7,300 yards long. The average male Golfer is playing from 6,200 yards, the average female Golfer is playing from 5,000. So this means that their golf course is 1,100 yards longer than men usually play and 2,300 yards longer than women usually play. So for you to hit the ball an equal yardage each Drive (you playing from your tees and Tim playing from his tees), men would need to hit the ball about 237 yards and women about 168 yards with your Driver.


Now, 304 yards is a good Drive – or in relative terms a man hitting 237 yards or woman 168 yards – these are good Drives also. Though, it’s not absolutely necessary to hit your ball even that far to score 81. Petrovic drove the ball “only” 284 yards in Round 1 when he scored a 72. That 284 yard Drive would be equivalent to a male driving the golf ball 217 yards or a female driving the golf ball 148 yards. So, I would say a male would need to hit the golf ball an average of only 217 yards and a female 148 yards with your Driver to score 81.


Would you be happy with an 81? Then be happy hitting your Driver “only” 217 yards or 148 yards.


Tim hit 33% of his greens in regulation, which translates into 6 out of the 18 greens. A green in regulation (or GIR) is when you’re on a Par 3 in one shot, a Par 4 in two shots, or a Par 5 in three shots). GIR’s are often a macho thing for guys to talk about after their round. “Hey, how many Green’s did you hit today?” “8, but I shot a 92.” “How many did you hit?” “Ah, I hit the ball like garbage. I hit only 6 greens today.”


When you ask most Golfers how many greens in regulation are necessary to score in the low 80’s – most Golfers say about 9 or 10, though I’ve heard 11 and 12 before. So what happens is that after a Golfer doesn’t hit the first 3 or 4 greens in a round, they often get frustrated with their swing. Yet, don’t be in a hurry – your round has just started - you still have 14 greens left to hit only 6. The odds are with you.


Would you be happy with an 81? Then be happy hitting 6 greens in regulation.


Tim had 32 putts for his 18 holes. 32 putts isn’t a difficult thing to accomplish, yet the average Golfer trying to break 90 has around 41 putts. So, if your average score is 95 and you go from 41 putts to 32 putts – you’re instantly scoring 86. That’s not an 81, but you’re more than halfway there.


And by knowing that you’re halfway there and by understanding that you don’t need to hit the golf ball as perfect as you think you need to – you won’t be taking so many risky shots as you have been. Many of your big scores come from thinking you need to hit more greens in regulation (or get very close to the green); many of your big scores come from thinking you need to hit your Driver 40 yards farther; many of your bad scores happen because you think you should be hitting more fairways than you do, so you start to “Fiddle” with your swing on the golf course and it gets worse.


And because of these bad decisions – you become a collector of penalty strokes and lost balls. Some people collect stamps – you collect penalty strokes!


If you add up 6 fairways each round, an average of 217 yards or 148 yards off the tee, 6 greens in regulation and 32 putts – you should score an 81.


Yet, if you were presented with these numbers without going through how Petrovic did it – you wouldn’t believe that it was possible with such “low” standards. Why? Because your expectations are way off. How did you come to the expectations that you need to hit 10 Fairways, 260 yards, 12 Greens in Regulation and 30 putts; to be able to score in the low 80’s?


You’ve been listening to the Monkey!


You have a choice – you can continue to be frustrated with yourself and your game by listening to the Monkey by not having clear, concise, realistic expectations (or in other words, not having your PLAN) or you can start to understand what it really takes to improve your scores. You can start to understand that better scores don’t come by trying to score better – that they come by understanding your golf swing better (and thus hitting the golf ball a little more consistent).


Would you be happy with an 81? Then be happy with 6 fairways, 217 or 148 yards off the tee, 6 greens in regulation and 32 putts.


The Monkey doesn’t use any guidelines on how to improve their score


The Player has a PLAN – do you?


Go Ahead, Be A Player!


Regards,


Marc Solomon -Your Instructor For Life


www.GolfMadeSimple.com

Labels: California, Driver, Florida, Golf, Golf Instruction, Golf Lessons, Golf Schools, Golf Swing, Golf Travel, Lake Tahoe, Marc Solomon

posted by Golf Made Simple - Golf Improvement Program  # 3:27 PM 0 Comments Links to this post