Irons, all of the same length!

I came across this new idea today. Every golfer has a favourite iron. For me, it is the 8-iron. Imagine now playing with a set of irons, all of the same length as my favourite iron. During my set up, the ball distance from my feet does not change. So, my swing plane remains constant. I can therefore use the same easy swing for all my irons because they have identical shaft lengths and swing weights.

Square to square method

Recently I found this guy, Doug Tewell on the internet. What he says makes a lot of sense. When we were in our 20's we were young and nimble enough to do a full golf swing. After a few operations to fix our knees, hips and some other body parts, this method is no longer suitable for golfers over 60 years old. He suggested that perhaps we should be considering changing over to a 3/4 square to square swing: http://fast.squaretosquaremethod.com/get/the-bundle?utm_source=et-dt&utm_medium=email&utm_content=dt-8myth-50&utm_campaign=dt-8myth

Why senior players give up golf

It is common knowledge that a golfer loses distance with advancing age. He remembers that once upon a time he could hit them off the blue tees, 300 metres or more with the Maruman/Callaway driver. Now it flops and rolls reluctantly to 200M or even less! Previously for par 4 holes, he used a pitching wedge for his approach shots to the green and putted for birdies. He would par only when he missed his first putt. Those were the days remembered by many senior golfers.

Use 70 % power and no more

Golf is an easy game if the player remembers to use only 70 % of full power for the longer clubs. Then it is possible to hit the ball on the sweet spot every time. The player controls the ball, not the other way round! When control of the ball has been achieved you may increase power to 75% and a bit more progressively as your handicap comes down to single. Then you may use 80%. That will be the maximum power you are allowed to use because beyond that, you are no longer sure of hitting the sweet spot at all. The ball again controls you!

Draw shots go further than fades.

I practised my shots regularly at the Hamilton Golf Club's driving range. When I picked up all the balls, I always noticed that the balls on the left side is 5 to 10 metres further than those on the right side of the range. For a long time, I could not figure out the reason why; but now I think that I have got it! A draw shot carries  top spin and not the anti-clockwise rotation, found on fades. On landing, the top spin carries the ball slightly further! This means that a fade carries some back spins and stops sooner!

Golf joke

A bloke is driving from Sydney to Melbourne and , noticing that he's getting low on fuel, decides to pull off the freeway and find a service station.

The engine is coughing and spluttering when, thank God, he finds an old-fashion service station, just near Gundagai. And an old bloke comes out, tugging at his braces.

Ben Hogan's golf tips

I received this sketch from a friend on my Google group, extanjong.

(sketch contributed by Uki)

I like this tip: "less is more"
For the beginner golfer, it is not easy to accept this tip which means that if he uses less force (power) he will hit the ball further. No way! (He is thinking that I was trying to pull a fast one on him and so refuses to believe me) However, the logic is very simple:

The doughnut effect

A golfing friend recently relate to me about an interesting article that he has read on the internet:

An American NASA scientist analyzed and came to the conclusion that a flight of 4 golfers would leave more than 400 foot prints on a green during putting. Most of these foot prints are concentrated around the cup because every golfer removes his ball from the cup after putting. He does it in a certain fixed sequence of movements, usually ending with one foot in front (leaning on his putter?!) and the other foot behind him as he bends to retrieve his ball from the cup. This very posture causes the green around the hole (18" radius) to be compressed more than the rest, forming what is termed a "doughnut". In fact the grass around the hole never had a chance to recover sufficiently so that a circular impression is left permanently around the cup until its location is changed by the green keeper by digging a new hole at a new location on the green. This same doughnut will be formed around the new hole within one day.

This doughnut shaped patch of grass around the cup causes all slow putts to break to both sides near the hole so that the ball appears to avoid the hole. A golfer thinks that he has read the green incorrectly (he hasn't). We call this the doughnut effect! It has fooled many unwary golfers. To overcome this doughnut effect on the green, for short putts, we charge the hole, aiming to stop at a spot 18" behind the cup. This way, the ball does not turn sideways and away from the hole.

(contributed by Tsun Kong)

How to hit a straight ball

Many golfers make the common mistake of trying to coordinate too many variables into their swing e.g: grip, foot position, line up to target, set-up, bent knees, straight back, chin up, straight left forearm, wrist cocked, slow back swing, accelerating down swing, in-to-in swing, weight transfer left to right, weight transfer right to left, moving the left hip out of the way, head very still, rotate, follow through, hit down, take divot with iron, release on impact, right wrist rolling over left at impact, full release and use no more than 70 % full power.

Types of golf shots

Fade and slice
An out-to-in swing of the golf club with respect to the target line, produces a slice which bends the ball to the right. A less severe slice is called a fade. Some times a slice is caused by not moving the left hip out of the way towards the left during the down swing. This error is not too obvious unless a high speed video is available for analyzing the fault. No matter what the cause, a slice is always the result of hitting the ball with an open club face. This part is always true.

How the game is played

Most golf courses are designed with a mixture of holes of different lengths. The majority are par 4 (12 holes) The rest are par 5 and par 3 (6 holes).
Par 4 holes are usually between 250 and 380M in length. In any case, the average golfer requires at least two strokes to reach the green. Then he putts the ball twice on the green with his putter and it falls into the hole and he makes par. (4 strokes)

Why so many clubs?

A golf set is designed in such a way that each club is intended to hit a golf ball to a certain distance at a certain height. The game is simple if the golfer uses exactly the same swing with exactly the same power every time. The shaft length decides the distance the ball travels; while the face angle decides the height of the ball trajectory. In other words a golfer allows the club to decide the distance and trajectory. The longer the club the further the ball goes. The bigger the face angle the higher the trajectory of the ball. All that is required for the golfer to do is to hit the ball consistently with exactly the same power every time.

Ode to the game of GOLF

In my hand I hold a ball ....
white and dimpled, rather small

Oh, how bland it does appear...
this harmless looking little sphere

By its size, I could not guess

The awesome strength it does possess
But since I fell into its spell I've wandered through the fires of hell ...
My life has not been quite the same ...

Since I chose to pay this stupid game It rules my mind for hours on end

A fortune it has made me spend....
It has made me swear and yell and cry I hate myself and want to die
It promises a thing called par If I can hit straight and far....

To master such a tiny ball should not be very hard at all.

But my desires the ball refuses And does exactly like it chooses
It hooks and slices Dribbles and dies And even disappears before my eyes
Often it will take a whim To hit a tree or take a swim....
With miles of grass on which to land It finds a tiny patch of sand Then has me offering my soul If only it would find the hole....
It's made me whimper like a pup And swear that I will finally give it up...

And take a drink to ease my sorrow ....

But the ball knows ....

I will be back tomorrow !!!!

(Contributed by Uki)
Note : This Ode was taken from a scrap of old sport page of a magazine of an unknown origin that I found while playing this "stupid game" at a club I don’t remember exactly where.

Control of the ball

The secret of playing consistent golf is gaining control of the ball. This can be achieved easily if a golfer uses only 70% power and not his full strength. As a golfer gains confidence and control of the ball he may increase power progressively up to a maximum of 90%.
Do not try to increase distance by increasing power. Simply use a longer club and hitting the ball in the same way as always, using the same power, same grip, same swing, same set up every time. Let the club decide the distance.

Golf anomaly

When a right handed golfer holds a driver with his right hand lower on the grip than his left hand, his  right shoulder will naturally be lower than his left shoulder during his set up and address position. To start with, his shoulder is uneven and not level. The ball he hits with this club will naturally bend towards the right (a slice). Is it possible to hit a straight ball with this lope sided set up?

A cure for a slice

A slice is a golf ball going forward for about 100 metres and then bends sharply to the right into the bush. Most new golfers suffer from this malady. The driver is the longest club in the bag. It is not an easy club to use. When a golfer sets up for a tee shot many things can happen:

golf school

Today I started coaching my first group of golf students (Germany, Japan and Mongolia). They were sent to me by Sandy at the migrant centre. She runs a 7 weeks course for new immigrants looking for jobs in NZ. This is one of her many class projects. She coaches immigrants on how to find a job in New Zealand. Topics include employment laws, the Waitangi Treaty, Maori culture, CV writing, how to conduct yourself at job interviews, door knocking etc.Good luck guys. I hope that I was helpful to you this morning talking about my favourite topic: GOLF

Lost balls

While searching for a lost ball during a practrice round today I found 62 others! Three of them has my mark (blue arrow) on them. At this rate I will not need to buy any more new golf balls for a while.

At the 4th, par 5 hole I used my 3 wood to hit the second shot. It went wide. I dropped 8 more balls on the fairway and hit them. They went about 180M. I was pleased to find 3 of them ending up in a cluster on the fairway and only 2 balls were in the rough. I teed off 12 balls at the 14th hole and lost only one ball which hit a tree and disappeared in the rough. Slowly I am getting more consistency. By the time I came to the last hole it was already getting dark. I needed the pin to see the hole. I will put a torchlight in my bag...

Golf set

The game of golf is played with 14 clubs. The longest one, the one wood (on the left) is called a driver (10 to 12 degree face). It is used for starting the game on par 4 and 5 holes. The shortest one, the putter (90 degree face) is used on the green for rolling the ball into the hole. The 12 other clubs are used for hitting the ball to fixed distances (shaft length) and heights ( face angle) from the fairway or rough. The idea is to hit the ball exactly the same way for each of these 12 clubs and let the club decide the distance and the height of the trajectory. I find that using 80% power works best for me.
I carry three special utility clubs in my bag: a rescue/hybrid club (iron/wood), a 9 wood (replacing the 3 iron) and a 60 degree lobe wedge for pitching the ball from the rough around the greens.

If I use just 5 clubs (driver, 4-iron, 8-iron, lobe-wedge and putter) I can usually play under 100 strokes for 18 holes. The other 9 clubs allow me to refine my strategy and to cut 6 to 8 strokes from my score.

A page from my journal

I saw a programme about baby boomers on BBC this morning. I suppose I am one of them. My next project is to sell the house and buy a Harley! Baby boomers do not age graciously. As soon as their children left school, found a job and left home they go back to their second childhood! Many of them have a lot of spare cash and spare time, enjoying the great life doing things they have always wanted to do.