..... go to warm-up at the driving range with just your Driver before playing.  What are you thinking?  Could you ever imagine Tiger or Annika warming up for a round of golf by just going out there and repeatedly beating their Driver?

..... go to warm-up at the driving range before playing and start off by hitting to a target more than 65-yards away.  The number one factor to hitting the golf ball in the direction you want it to go is "Centerness Of Hit".  If you're hitting to a target more than 65-yards away, you're not working on controlling your golf swing, you're just swinging and hoping to eventually make solid contact on the next swing.  We call that "Hoping Golf".  Golfers that "Hope" are golfers that struggle.  Players that prepare a PLAN for better golf are Players that smile!

You're a Monkey if you:

..... practice your Driver more than you practice your wedges.  Sure the Driver is the most important club in golf to hit well if you want to have fun on the golf course.  I totally agree with that statement.  Though the fastest way to hit your Driver better is to practice your wedges.  Why is that?

..... think you're a good putter because you can 2-putt every hole.  If you're averaging 36-putts per round or more, you're a poor putter and you'll never break 90 on a consistent basis unless you're an excellent ball striker.  Think about it - if you have 36-putts, you have to be able to get to all 18-greens in 53-shots or less, that's less than 3-shots a hole including all penalties.  This might not be difficult for a golfer that regularly plays in the low 80's, but it may be difficult for someone with an inconsistent Driver to accomplish consistently.

You're a Monkey if you:

..... have a $300 Driver and a $12 sand wedge.

..... get so charged up about reading the tips in the golf magazines that you can't wait to get to the driving range to practice 3 or 4 of them.  Sometimes all at the same time.  And you usually end your practice session by saying - "I think I'm getting worse!"

You're definitely a Monkey if you:

..... have a $300 Driver and the $30 "KMART Special" as your putter.

You're a Monkey if you:

..... are always trying to "work" the ball - play fades and draws on just about every shot - yet, you don't break 80, 9 out of 10 times you play.  Become consistent at one ball flight before you try to be consistent at 2 ball flights.

..... say to yourself or your playing partners - "This is the worst I have ever hit the golf ball."  Why does this make you a Monkey?  Because this is often announced after only playing 2 holes and these same golfers say this just about every round they play.  If every round you play is the worst you ever hit the ball - Never mind, I'm going to stop right here before I say something that gets me in trouble.  Though, do you know anybody that says that same statement often?

You're a Monkey if you:

..... say that the strongest part of your game is your short game, yet you don't break 80, 9 out of 10 times.  The perfect example - I know a Player that shot 1-under par on a par 72 golf course while only hitting 1 Green in Regulation.  And I've seen multiple golfers hit more than 10 Fairways with their Driver in a round of golf and not break 90.  If you want to score better than you currently are scoring, you need a better short game.  Or maybe I should say it this way - If the strongest part of your game is your short game and you don't currently break 90 consistently - you probably have a really bad long game.  Anybody with a really strong short game will break 90 everytime they play golf, regardless of how they hit off the tee.

..... hit your first putt 10-feet past the hole, then leave your next putt 2-feet short of the hole and then complain that "these greens are so inconsistent!"

You're a Monkey if you:

..... once heard a Golf Professional say that the only way you should play a shot around the green is to get the ball rolling as soon as possible and then you not only adopted this philosophy to your game, but refuse to try anything else.  Luckily for Phil Mickelson, he must've skipped that class.

..... are trying to decide which would be better for you - A one axis swing or a two axis swing.  Learn to control your golf club by controlling your "Length Of Swing" and "Pace Of Swing" and you'll hit the ball so much better that you'll start to laugh at the Monkey's that talk about how they're working on the one axis or two axis swing.

And you'll always be a Monkey:

..... not because you have done any of the above recently, you can't blame yourself for learning these bad habits.  These habits are what you had learned by observing other Monkeys doing and saying.  It's only natural to think that this was the way that golf was played.  That's why there are so many Monkeys - Monkee See, Monkey Do!  But "You're A Monkey" if you continue to do all these things that have most likely contributed to frustration in your golf game.

"You're a Player if you ..... do the exact opposite of the Monkeys."

Regards,

Marc Solomon - Your Instructor For Life