After getting fitted for new clubs, taking lessons from GOLF Magazine Top 100 teachers on both coasts, hitting range balls with a stronger left-hand grip, about 10 sessions with a personal trainer, a nutritional analysis, and a session with a renowned sports psychologist, GOLF Magazine writer Cameron Morfit admits defeat in his quest to lower his handicap from 6 to scratch in 6 months. Final results - his handicap went up to 6.1.


Cameron Morfit getting instruction video

Cameron wrote a series of articles beginning in August that chronicle his attempt to erase his handicap. The idea was to give an occasionally brilliant, mostly erratic 38-year-old, 6-handicap every advantage of a pampered Tour pro; wait six months; see if he improves or not. If so, by how many strokes? What exactly were the breakthroughs? If there's little or no improvement, why not? What are the limits of great technology and brilliant teaching?

In his last article, he informs his readers he's not going to make it from 6 to Scratch by New Year's Eve.

The story is quite interesting, and because Morfit takes an honest look back to share what he learned from the experience, I'd consider his failure quite a success. Instead of blaming his failure simply on having to take on this challenge while also juggling family and career, Morfit instead shares the insightful lessons he learned - which are shared below.

1) Golf has no bathing-suit competition, unless you're Natalie Gulbis

I'd never had a trainer before and I wasn't about to let the opportunity pass. I should have. I'm not saying I shouldn't have done anything, but sweating and stretching isn't as important as putting and chipping. My Idaho friend Scott Masingill, who just got through the Champions tour Q school, says he doesn't do much working out in golf season. If it's good enough for him...

2) Take your strengths for granted and they'll break your heart

I got so focused on the full swing I didn't work on my short game. That's what happened to Phil Mickelson when, still in the honeymoon phase with Butch Harmon, his putting stroke temporarily went AWOL. Working out also can hinder touch around the greens. Whatever the case, I used to be deadly around the greens with a sand wedge. Not anymore.

3) Lose the joy of playing and watch your score go up, up, up

Golf became a numbers game and only a numbers game, and that's no way to play. I learned that my angry guy can't play golf, and still I got angry. I lost track of the number of times I blew it after keeping it together for most of the round. I'd scratch and claw and hang around at 3- or 4-over by the middle of the back nine. From there you can make a birdie or two coming in and card a nice score, or lose focus and shoot 80 or worse. I specialized in the latter.

4) Never underestimate the primacy effect

Localized swing changes can be so profound as to affect everything else. A grip change impacts alignment, swing path, position at impact, the way your hips fire, the way your hands feel through the ball. The whole deal. It was nuts for me to expect to radically strengthen my left hand grip and immediately go low. I've had to break too many bad habits. Psychologists call it the primacy effect: The tendency under pressure to revert to what you first learned, even if it's dead wrong.

5) Even the experts have limitations

At a certain point you've got to stop asking how your swing looks and just go figure it out for yourself. I never did that, partly because I didn't make the time for it, partly because I didn't have the time for it.

Although I never had any confidence that Morfit's approach would succeed in erasing his handicap, especially given limited practice time and such a short time period, the fact that he learned how important it is to improve by at least figuring some of it out yourself instead of relying only on others, and to continue to play for the joy of the game instead of focusing only on results, made this a rewarding and successful endeavor.

Getting to scratch is much more about how you think than how you swing. In my opinion, changing who you are on the course during a 6 month period will provide better results than changing how and what you swing.

During the six months after I got down to a 6 handicap, I experienced my first rounds in the low 70's and got down to a 3.5. Now, six months after that, I haven't made much progress and never broke through an index of 3.0.

What I just realized, is that even though I've started stretching daily and purchased new clubs in the past 6 months, I haven't continued to change myself - and my game hasn't changed either. It appears I've learned something from Cameron's story too!

Series: [Aug 28] [Sep 3] [Sep 13] [Sep 26] [Oct 3] [Nov 11] [Nov 19]

Labels: Articles, Failure

I don't usually post news from professional golf here, but for the original Artful One, I'll make an exception. On the heels of entertainers Justin Timberlake and George Lopez being named hosts of their own PGA Tour events, the Nationwide Tour announced on Monday that a new tournament will include the name of its own great one. Check that. The Great One.


Wayne Gretzky, The Great One

Named for the NHL's all-time leading scorer, the Ford Wayne Gretzky Classic will be held June 26-29 at The Georgian Bay Club and the Raven Golf Club at Lora Bay, located on the shores of Georgian Bay, northwest of Toronto.

"I have always had tremendous respect for the Nationwide Tour and the platform it provides for aspiring golfers," said Gretzky, who has competed in multiple celebrity events on both the PGA Tour and Nationwide Tour. "I am thrilled to host an event that will recognize the hard work and dedication these players put in week after week on tour."

The tournament will feature a unique format, with 160 Nationwide Tour players paired with 160 celebrities/amateurs for a minimum of two days. One professional will be paired with one celebrity or amateur on Thursday and Friday, June 26 and 27, and the teams alternating between The Georgian Bay Club and Lora Bay courses both days. Ten pro/amateur teams will compete on Saturday, June 28 and Sunday, June 29 for the Pro-Celebrity/Amateur title at The Georgian Bay Club.

After 20 NHL seasons with the Edmonton Oilers, Los Angeles Kings, St. Louis Blues and New York Rangers, Gretzky is currently a managing partner and head coach of the Phoenix Coyotes. The Wayne Gretzky Foundation, founded by Gretzky in 2002, will be the primary beneficiary of the event.

Labels: News, Wayne Gretzky

Sandy Tatum shares an inspiring golf story about Major James Nesmeth in his book, A Love Affair with the Game. A version of the story is shared below, a story originally reported in a book titled You've Got to be Believed to be Heard.


Harding Park by morethangolf at flickr.com

Major James Nesmeth had a dream of improving his golf game - and he developed a unique method of achieving his goal. Until he devised this method, he was just your average weekend golfer, shooting in mid- to low-nineties. Then, for seven years, he completely quit the game. Never touched a club. Never set foot on a fairway.

Ironically, it was during this seven-year break from the game that Major Nesmeth came up with his amazingly effective technique for improving his game - a technique we can all learn from. In fact, the first time he set foot on a golf course after his hiatus from the game, he shot an astonishing 74! He had cut 20 strokes off his average without having swung a golf club in ven years! Unbelievable. Not only that, but his physical condition had actually deteriorated during those seven years.

What was Major Nesmeth's secret? Visualization. You see, Major Nesmeth had spent those seven years as a prisoner of war in North Vietnam. During those seven years, he was imprisoned in a cage that was approximately four and one-half feet high and five feet long.

During almost the entire time he was imprisoned, he saw no one, talked to no one and experienced no physical activity. During the first few months he did virtually nothing but hope and pray for his release. Then he realized he had to find some way to occupy his mind or he would lose his sanity and probably his life. That's when he learned to visualize.

In his mind, he selected his favorite golf course and started playing golf. Every day, he played a full 18 holes at the imaginary country club of his dreams. He experienced everything to the last detail. He saw himself dressed in his golfing clothes. He smelled the fragrance of the trees and the freshly trimmed grass. He experienced different weather conditions - windy spring days, overcast winter days, and sunny summer mornings. In his imagination, every detail of the tee, the individual blades of grass, the trees, the singing birds, the scampering squirrels and the lay of the course became totally real.

He felt the grip of the club in his hands. He instructed himself as he practiced smoothing out his down-swing and the follow-through on his shot. Then he watched the ball arc down the exact center of the fairway, bounce a couple of times and roll to the exact spot he had selected, all in his mind.

In the real world, he was in no hurry. He had no place to go. So in his mind he took every step on his way to the ball, just as if he were physically on the course. It took him just as long in imaginary time to play 18 holes as it would have taken in reality. Not a detail was omitted. Not once did he ever miss a shot, never a hook or a slice, never a missed putt.

Seven days a week. Four hours a day. Eighteen holes. Seven years. Twenty strokes off. Shot a 74.

Labels: Golfers, James Nesmeth, Sandy Tatum

It appears I'm nearing the end of 2007 pretty much where I started the year. My index still hovers around 4.0 and only half my rounds continue to come in under 80. I made great progress during my first year in 2005, getting my index down to 10 and breaking 80, then again last year, knocking my index all the way down to 4 and shooting par. This year, I set a goal to get down to 2 and break 70, but so far have failed to do either.


12-Month Handicap Index

Although I've reached a short-term plateau, probably due to spending much less time practicing this year, I shot 2 even-par rounds at Monarch Dunes (70.7/135) and shot rounds at or near par three times at Cypress Ridge in tournament play. I've made a lot of progress playing completively. I played in 3 men's leagues this year and finished in the top three in overall standings in each league.


12-Month #Rounds Per Score

I'm flirting with lower scores and indexes and have had several rounds lately where breaking 70 was within easy reach. I'm starting to hit more than 10 fairways and 10 greens in regulation per round much more frequently. Even my putting is starting to show signs of improvement and my putts per round is trending downwards.

I've learned to finish off good rounds, I rarely have blow-up holes anymore and am finishing many more rounds with no double bogies. I'm also making critical putts to save par and bogie more often. I'm giving myself more quality birdie opportunities too, and hope to start taking more advantage of those close approach shots.

There's a little more time before the year end. I'm still hoping for a little miracle!

Labels: Progress, Statistics

My father-in-law passed away recently after a 15-year battle with Parkinson's disease, a disease that usually compounds its physical challenges with that of depression. However, my father-in-law, who often shared that "attitude is everything", showed us what that meant as he faced this disease. As he gradually lost the ability to do one basic function after another, while becoming more and more dependent on others, he demonstrated utmost dignity. He literally never complained and maintained his positive and humorous attitude to the end. He showed us how an old soul faces one of life's very difficult challenges.


Archie Bunker by Rexton at flickr.com

I think of my father-in-law often, even on the golf course. As trivial as golf's challenges are in comparison to something like Parkinson's, learning to meet them with a constructive attitude can help prepare us for those larger challenges we may eventually face in life. I have a pretty good attitude as far as attitudes go, but am nowhere near the stature of someone like my late father-in-law. I admit it, I catch myself complaining or getting upset about a bad break or a bad shot more often that I like. I try to remind myself that golf doesn't have to be about scoring. At its highest, golf can be about learning and transformation, along with enjoyment and recreation. Most of the time, I remember that.

Nevertheless, I still manage to measure my rounds a little too much by score. If I break 80, I'm happy with the round. If I don't break 80, I feel like I failed somehow. Putting too much importance on my golf game has even made me limit other activities I enjoy. I've avoided hockey and snowboarding over the past couple years, in part because I don't want to hurt my back, more than golf already does, and perhaps limit the number of rounds I'd otherwise play. To a degree, I credit the frequency of my play for my speedy improvement. If I jeopardize my ability to play twice a week, perhaps I'll loose the skills and touch I've worked so hard for.

Over the past couple months, I've become more aware of the over-importance I've placed on the quality of my game. This has become evident partly because my game has slipped recently due to my inability to practice as much, but mostly because I've been more aware of my attitude and have noticed more of those little complaints and frustrations. That's really not who I want to be on the golf course.

A particularly horrible finish to a decent round last week really helped me change my attitude.

I walked up to the 18th tee at 7-over. A simple bogie would insure I break my so-important score of 80 (par 71 course). In the heavy fog, my drive failed to carry a mound that encroaches on the left side of the fairway and I found my ball in a tiny little bunker cut into it's upward face. There was really no option but to punch the shot directly sideways back into the fairway. With my feet about 18 inches above the ball, I scalded it all the way across the fairway into a grove of trees. This time, my only option was to actually punch the ball backwards into the fairway. Now, finally in the fairway, lying 3 well short of my normal drive, I hit an iron slightly right of the green and got stuck in some long fescue on a hill bordering that side of the green. My first attempt at lobbing the ball unto the green succeeded only in moving the ball 1 foot forward. I shanked the next attempt 20 feet to the right, leaving me on the same shaggy hill. I finally put the next shot on the green and 2-putted for a quintruple bogie 9!

Although I've had big blowups before, I decided this time to make a permanent change in attitude. I really wasn't that upset about this finish, but I guess I'd grown tired of placing undue importance on breaking a certain score.

The first thing I did was accept an invitation a few days later to start playing roller hockey again, in a 30-over league with some old friends. I played my first game in nearly 4 years on Tuesday night, and although I could hardly breath - or walk a couple days later - I had a blast. I forgot how much fun it was. Committing to playing hockey has already reduced the amount of golf I can play. I was too sore to consider playing until yesterday, my first round in over a week. However, my attitude was much improved, and my game was just fine.

I got through the first 10 holes at just 2-over, but then bogied 5 out of the next 7 holes. Actually, I was pretty happy with some of those bogies. I made some huge putts to prevent recording a single double bogie all round. Like the prior round, I walked up to the 18th needing just a simple bogie to break 80! However, this time, I didn't pay attention to my score. I just looked up and admired some monsterous cumulus nimbus cloud formations building over the Pacific which were just turning red as the sun began to set.

Perhaps distracted by this beauty, but more likely just stiff and tired, I hit my drive so far left that the ball went out of bounds and hit the roof of a house - the first house I'd ever hit on my millions of rounds here! I teed up my second and managed to keep this one in bounds, but only by a couple feet. Now lying 3, well left of the fairway, I shanked my wedge all the way across the fairway to the rough on the right side! The thought of shooting another 9 definitely entered my mind here. But unshaken, I hit my next shot to the far right side of the green, hoping to catch the slope and run across the green to the pin in the back left. Unfortunately, I caught too much of the slope and watched the ball run left with too much speed to stay on the green. Then, all of a sudden, my ball hit another ball that was already on the green, just 5 feet from the pin. His ball moved a little right and my ball went right in the hole! I got my bogie from 80 yards out and broke 80!!

I had to credit my luck to my newfound artful attitude - thanks Dad ;)

Labels: Attitude, Disciplines, Rounds