Month: January 2010

Golf Journal Is A Golf Gem

There’s a fabulous golf improvement device, sure to improve your game, and it only costs a couple of dollars.  Run, don’t walk, to your nearest office supply store and pick up a notebook and pencil.  It’s one of the greatest golf aids around — your own golf journal.
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Golf is an endless LEARNING experience, so take notes!  Capture a lesson, log a practice, note a particular success on the course.

LESSONS LEARNED – AND RETAINED
Ever take a lesson, return to practice the following week and realize you’ve forgotten a lot?  Take time at the end of every lesson to review important points with your instructor.  Write them down – and write down your “homework” too.  You’re paying good money for this info – so keep it!
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To start with, make two sections in your notebook:

  • “Before I Hit the Ball” –  Use this area to collect notes on grip, stance, posture, aim, ball position.
  • “When I Hit the Ball” –  Collect info on the swing itself, things like club path, club face, weight transfer, etc.

With your instructor’s help, note your tendencies in both areas and specific drills to improve these tendencies.  Use drawings, squiggles, stick people.  Get creative.  With this basic framework you will have a working system to capture – and remember – golf information that is personal to you.  This will be very helpful when you go out to practice.

SPEAKING OF PRACTICE
Log your practice sessions: what you’re working on, what’s successful, what’s not, ball trajectory, questions that arise.  All this info will be very useful, giving continuity to your practices and info you can share with your instructor next time you meet.
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MORE IDEAS FOR YOUR GOLF JOURNAL
Expand your notebook and make it yours.  Use it to keep all kinds of info, memories and reminders.  Some thought-starters:

  • Current Calendar of Practice Club sessions!
  • Specific topics, like  “Chipping – What To Remember” or “Putting – Ideas that Work”
  • Equipment Wish List – clubs, balls, etc
  • People & Places – List of fun folks and great courses to play this summer!
  • Golf books to read, Golf blogs to look at
  • On-course journal – logging games played, where, with whom, highlights, etc.

The sky’s the limit with the information you put in your journal – and with the benefit you get out of it.  People who keep notebooks refer to them when they feel their swing getting off.  They can start to solve their own flaws – and be their own instructor!

At Home On The Range – Etiquette at the Driving Range

The other day at the range I put my money in the ball machine and ALMOST forgot to put the bucket in place.  Only two balls escaped – comedy averted – but it got me thinking about being at the driving range.  Whether it’s a basic facility, a well manicured hitting area with practice balls in nice pyramids, or a full-service operation like Miles of Golf, there are ways to make your visit safe, considerate and fun.
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Don’t Go There
Never retrieve that mis-hit ball lying seductively just a few feet in front of you.   The unbroken tees out there aren’t worth your noggin either.

Keeping an Eye on the Other Guy
Don’t set up too close to other players or walk in back of them.  Before you walk into a stall, wait until golfers on both sides have finished their swings so they are not distracted.
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Curb Your Cell Phone
Enough said.

Pace of Practice
 If it’s crowded, you don’t need to rush your practice.  Be mindful, work efficiently, and move away quickly when you’ve worked through your basket of balls.

The Art of Saying  “Thanks….. and Goodbye!”
You know him/her – Helpful Herbie.  This is the person who has personal insights into your golf swing… and apparently all the time in the world to share them with you.  Try saying, “Thanks, I’m working on that with my coach”.

What’s Right?
It’s perfectly OK to set up right-handers next to lefties.  No particular etiquette there.

Save the Grass
On grass tees, try to keep divot pattern close together to minimize area that gets abused.

A Word About Winter
If you’re playing at heated tees, keep your clubs close to keep them warm – and turn off the heater when you leave.
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Picking on the Picker and Other Strategies For a Good Time at the Range
You know what they say about golf, it’s just a stick and a ball.  It’s all about having fun.  So go ahead… it’s OK to try to hit the ball picker (we checked!).  Play some games, promise yourself some rewards, (I WILL go shopping if I hit 10 wedge shots within a yard of the target.  OK, make that two yards of the target), try something new, shake it loose…. you get the idea!

By all means, put that basket under the spout on the ball machine
At least once a week at Miles of Golf, someone doesn’t… who said golf isn’t fun?