Golf 101 – Emergency fixes

For golfers all over the world, men, women, pros to the rank amateur and hacker, we ALL have one of ‘those’ days. Now to be fair ‘those’ days can also include brilliant, very good, fair days to the ones we would prefer not to remember – The Train Wrecks.

‘That’ day, all or most of your drives put on the indicator lights to either turn left or right and do exactly that – a humungus hook or a horrendous fade/slice that would take a very serious safari to locate your ball.

‘That’ day, where every iron shot, from your favourite 60 degree lob wedge to your ill conceived attempted 5 iron shot is either chunked, knifed, hooked or faded into the bush, water or the nearest bunker.

‘That’ day, where your putts seem to have a mind of their own and you wind up 2, 3 or 4 putting everything including the tiddlers and gimmies…….. Yes, YOU all know ‘that’ day.

Yep, we all have one or like most, we have a couple too many. Now just like that one too many drinkies, this day leaves you feeling pretty similar to that over indulged alcoholic intake, you feel befuddled, humbled and totally dejected…… ‘Did I reeaally do that???????

Now any golfer worth his or her salt would want to cut ‘those’ days out and minimize the really bad shots and get back to having a fair to good day. Are there some absolute basics that can help me or maybe that I can implement on a day to day basis to cut out having one of those days???

Fortunately the answer is YES there are a few things that can help. But before we start on the actual game itself, let us have a quick look at probably the biggest problem facing any golfer (not all mind you) – that is three little letters - E...G...O. “Dave hits his drives 300 yards plus. Man I gotta try and get close to that (knowing that his best drive ever has been 250 yards). The fact that Dave plays off a 8 and he plays off a 16 does not seem to faze him in the slightest, he just HAS to compete……........... F A I L.

Forget about Dave and try to play a 80-90% game and try each time to improve on that by sticking to a set game plan that you can set for yourself. If you can do that, you have already just improved your chances of cutting out one of ‘those’ days by about 60%. Now if you start having one of those days - back off a bit - club up - play an easy 7 iron into the green instead of a full blooded 8 iron and while doing that, breathe - relax - slow your game down a bit and concentrate on a few easy applications.

Off the tee: Force yourself to follow a simple pre-shot routine.

• Check the layout of the hole - know the distances and check for hazards and wind.
• Ask yourself what clubs do I need to use, to play to an area of my strength.

Example: OK, no driver on this hole, use the 3 wood to there, then depending on the roll I get, maybe a 9 iron or a wedge to the green, 2 putts and I’ve got myself a par. (Put together 18 of those and you are playing scratch golf........ scary huh???)

• Pull your 3 wood - line up your shot - place your tee at the correct height - place ball - step back and line up again - then step up, fix your stance and distance from the ball, two nice strong breaths and fire.

On the fairway: Check your yardage and then play the easier shot (9 iron or the wedge) to a safe area you know you can hit. To stop yourself from chunking or knifing your shot, work out a quick and easy 'shot set up routine' for yourself.

Example: (except in a bunker) Put the head of your iron down one ball length away from the ball (between you and the ball), step up to your stance position, place your club head in position, look to your target area and in your mind make the decision for either a full or three quarter shot, breathe and execute.

NB!!! Cut out the cute shots – they are 'bad news' for your scorecard. Stick to the 80-90% shot every time. Remember you are trying to cut out ‘that’ day, so stick to the plan.

On the greens: By the second or third hole you should have worked out the speed of the greens, so when lining up a putt (your 'read') and working out the breaks, keep in mind the speed as it does affect the balls movement through those breaks. Try to putt to a circle of about four feet around the hole as that does not put pressure on you to sink it - Putting for the hole adds pressure. The other part of putting is that people tend to forget to breathe normally, so don’t hold your breath and don't strangle your grip......... relax OK!!! One more point, when reading the putt, read it and don't second guess yourself - read it, check it, step up, feel the length and putt it. You will be surprised at what comes from doing that. Try it when you are not under pressure from a bad round.

Work these types of routines into your normal pace of play and get comfortable doing it and you will find that those train wreck days start fading into the past. Now if you start having one of those days, just remember to back off, slow your game down (not to the point of slowing everyone else down), then force yourself to get back to your simple basic routines you have worked out for yourself and that should sort out the impending crash and mayhem.

Remember it is just a game so, relax, enjoy your golf and keep it on the short green stuff, it helps!!! Help others to do the same and please share this post, thanks.

Graham Riley / Clubface-Golf Ambassador / Strike Line Golf / Axessor Online