How I Learned To Play Like Tiger - Cameron Strachan suggests we take some time to work on a weakness. It's not easy and feels uncomfortable, but if you can get some good advice and be prepared for the long haul you'll see some significant improvement. Turns out Cameron's weakness is the same as mine, so I'm paying attention.

Labels: Golf Blogs, Practice, Weakness

Although I try not to place too much focus on scoring when playing golf, I do enjoy keeping statistics to track my improvement (or recent lack thereof). I didn't keep track of all my scores during my first 9 months of playing golf in 2005, when I played weekly, but have recorded every score since. I began to develop a handicap towards the end of 2005 and lowered my index to 10.4 by the start of 2006. Since then, I've been averaging 10-12 rounds per month and reduced my index to a low of 3.3. After enjoying 6 months in a row now with an index under 5.0, I've drifted back up to the high end of this range in the past month due to a lack of practice.


Handicap history for past 12 months

After only breaking 80 twice in all of 2005, I began to break 80 in 1 out of every 8 rounds in the first quarter of 2006, then 1 out of every 5 rounds in the second quarter of 2006, then 2 out every 5 rounds in the third quarter, and improved to better than 1 out of every 2 rounds by the last quarter of last year! Then, during the first quarter of 2007, I began breaking 80 in 2 out of every 3 rounds! I've also avoided a single round in the 90's for over a year.


History of scores for past 16 months

But in the past month, I've regressed to where I was late last year, and am back to shooting in the 80's in half of my rounds. Due to what I hope is my recent lack of practice, all parts of my game have lost consistency and it's costing me strokes. I think I know how I'll spend a few more lunch breaks this month!

Labels: Disciplines, Practice

"The more I practice, the luckier I get" -- Ben Hogan

Peter Nomm, General Manager and Head Golf Pro at Minocqua Country Club in Wisconsin, recently posted some great advice for your practice routine at his golf instructional blog. He suggests that instead of hitting dozens of shots with one club, then dozens more with another, then perhaps holing 100 3-foot putts in a row that we approach our practice routine more like we would for other sports or activities such as basketball, football, baseball, and even piano. A basketball player wouldn't go to the gym and spend five minutes shooting 5-foot jump shots, then 10-footers, 15-footer, all the way back to a bunch of three-pointers. Can you imagine a concert pianist practicing by striking the same key over and over?


I think I'll take a mulligan, by bensargent at flickr.com

Using basketball as an example for a new approach to our golf rehearsals, Nomm shares that, "usually the first few minutes of time is devoted to the warm-up. Randomly shooting short shots, long shots, and throwing in a lay-up or two - basically getting a feel for the ball as the body loosens up and get's ready to go. This is a great way to begin our golf practice session - hit some chips and pitches, high-and-low shots, and vary the distance of each. Focus on getting the feel in your hands: re-connecting your body with the game enabling your natural ability to take over. Eventually you will want to lengthen the shots so that you are swinging fully, but continually change from driver to iron to wedge and so on. Like a basketball player, every shot you'll face on the course will be different. Get your body ready for this... our focus should be getting us confident enough to be able to hit the shot on the course. Finally, when the warm-up is completed and the drills are done, usually the rest of the time is devoted to real game simulations. In golf, it means GET OUT ON THE COURSE. Practce out there. You don't have to play an entire round - it could be four or five holes. And like a coach observing a practice, if the team messed up a play, he may require them to do it again. If you're on the course for the purpose of practice, allow yourself to hit the occasional second try. However, if you have a recurring problem with a certain club or shot, note it to yourself and if time allows, spend a few minutes back on the range when you are done."

I think this is excellent advice! I have incorporated a similar practice philosophy and make a point to mix up my shots and putts as much as possible during practice sessions to better simulate conditions during a round. When I'm not working on a particular new shot or technique, I limit every shot I'm practicing to two shots. I call this my "Mulligan" practice routine. I'm sure we've all missed a shot or putt before during a round, then dropped another ball and tried again, just for practice. Chances are you nailed it the second time. I use this to my advantage when I practice. I hit one shot or putt and gauge conditions such as wind, break or speed, then hit or putt my mulligan ball, attempting to improve on the first shot. I know I only get two chances to hit my target or hole my putt, so I make the most of each attempt. I find that golfers who drop a whole bucket of balls down and hit or chip the same shot over and over again with the same club seem to loose focus. They think they're working on developing muscle memory, but the routine lacks the mindset required on the course.

On the practice green, I use my two balls and practice up and downs from varying locations around the green. I'll practice a random rotation of holing putts from various distances, lag long putts, chip from off the green, and lob over imaginary mounds and bunkers, then hole the resulting putt. I keep track of how many strokes above or below par I am, with each shot being a par 2. For me, this makes practice fun and I never tire of doing it. If my back didn't start hurting from bending over for so many putts, I could go on for hours.

Yesterday, inspired by Peter Nomm's practice advice and eager to experiment with Chuck Hogan's insights, I headed out for a lengthy practice session before my Tuesday night 9-hole league round. What I discovered is a new variation to my "Mulligan" routine.

On the range, I picked a very precise target (usually a single ball sitting on the range), then visualized my ball traveling through the air and landing on that spot. I then looked down and took my swing, doing physically what I'd just rehearsed in my mind. I then did it again with the same club, then moved on to another club. I didn't concentrate, I just looked out at the range and observed the conditions and visualized my desired shot. I was amazed by my accuracy.

I then moved to the practice green and rehearsed my shots in the same manner. I casually observed the break of the green, visualized the ball landing and rolling to the hole, and picked a very precise spot on the edge of the hole where the ball should drop in. I then simply took the wedge or putter back and performed the stroke I'd just rehearsed. I never chipped or putted better.

What I discovered is that I was using my rehearsed "virtual" shot as if it was my first practice shot, then treated my actual shot as if it were my "mulligan" shot, which we all know is always an improvement over our first shot, because it's approached with that invaluable "non-caring" attitude. As I expected, I nailed that "second" shot every time. I already knew I could do it since I'd just done it "virtually".

Once the match began, I maintained my "soft eyes" and calm demeanor out on the course and continued to rehearse my shots, sensitive to the conditions of my surroundings, but without concentrating or trying. I simply trusted that I'd make the "mulligan" shot to the precise spot I'd just rehearsed visually.

I succeeded on nearly every shot and won my match. I holed every putt within 8 feet and shot a round of 2-over, even with a 2-stroke penalty for an out-of-bounds due to poor club selection. It was a very windy round and I miscalculated the wind direction on a long approach shot, thinking I had more headwind, when in fact it was mostly a crosswind. I ended up taking too much club and landed 1 foot past the OB marker beyond the green. I double bogied that hole and bogied 2 others, but managed 2 birdies to capture a great round under some difficult conditions.

It looks like I'll be practicing and playing with mulligans from now on!

Labels: Articles, Disciplines, Practice

We've all heard of the 80/20 Rule, also known as the Parento Principle. Dr. Joseph Juran, the total quality management guru, developed the Pareto Principle after studying the work of Wilfredo Pareto, the Italian nineteenth century economist who observed that in most countries eighty percent of the wealth was controlled by twenty percent of the people. The Pareto Principle states that a small percentage of your efforts (typically around 20 percent) will create a large majority of your results (usually around 80 percent).

Today, the rule appears everywhere. Sales people will tell you that eighty percent of the sales are made by twenty percent of the sales force. Artists say that eighty percent of their productivity comes from short bursts of intense inspiration which happen about twenty percent of the time. Managers point out that eighty percent of the work is done by twenty percent of the employees.


Natural Swing by rgusick at flickr.com

In golf, it has been said that twenty percent of the game is physical and eighty percent is mental; twenty percent of players are avid golfers, and they play eighty percent of the rounds; twenty percent of golfers break 100 on a regular basis, while eighty percent do not; the average golfer spends about twenty percent of his time at address looking at the target, and eighty percent of that time staring at the ball (pros do the opposite); and that golfers spend twenty percent of their practice time on the putting green and eighty percent of that time on the driving range.

It's no surprise then that eighty percent of golfers don't break 100 on a regular basis if their efforts to improve are focused on twenty percent of the game.

Using the Parento Principle, it follows that the golfer should instead spent less time working on his swing and more time on those activities that improve scoring.

There is no prize for the prettiest swing. We've all seen golfers with some very unique swings, score well. Just look to the Champions Tour. I learned this for myself when I played a round last year with an 80 year old golfer with a short little swing that hit the ball about 180 yards off the tee - into every fairway. He outscored me that round with an incredible attitude and short game.

The artful golfer learns to appreciate his unique and natural swing, and uses his limited practice time working on the parts of the game that make the most difference in scoring - the mental and short game.

I've also found that the Parento Principle can be applied to the overall score I shoot for a round. I usually score well on eighty perfect of the holes (14-15 holes) and loose my round on the other twenty percent (3-4 holes), usually towards the end of the round.

Many years ago, I failed to get selected for a job managing a software team that develops a very popular financial program. I shared during the interview that my greatest strength lies is getting new projects off the ground, building teams, and doing the initial product research, specification, architecture and design - the first eighty percent of the project. And although I had prior success in seeing projects through to the end, I found the last twenty percent of the project to be less rewarding. I didn't enjoy the grind involved towards the end of projects. The company selected someone else, perhaps someone less frank.

Interestingly, I seem to carry this personality trait over to golf. I'm usually a good starter. I find myself shooting good rounds through the first eighty percent of the round, but seem to fail in the last twenty percent, when the need to grind it out is most important.

Yesterday, I had the opportunity to play with three employees at my local course who are all good golfers and who play from the back tees. I'd played the back tees only two other times, never breaking 80, but still got off to my usual good start. I only had one bad hole through 15, and tallied 4 birdies. I missed a 2-footer on 16, putting me at a respectable 4-over going into 17. I can remember about a dozen rounds over the past few months where I had a great round going into 17, but only finished well on 2 of those occasions. I added to the number of failed rounds yesterday by finishing with a triple bogie on 17 and 3-putt bogie on 18. I did however break 80 by one stroke.

I think the reason for my failures lies deeper than a simple inability to focus for an entire round or from getting overly concerned about the outcome. Golf, which we all know reflects our personality, is perhaps exposing an internal issue I have with success, causing me to break down on the last holes, ruining good rounds. I can think of other examples of this in my life.

It appears I better take a closer look at what golf is trying to teach me here. My golf game - and life - may be better for it.

Labels: Disciplines, Failure, Parento Principle, Practice, Rounds, Success

This winter, I've spent most of my available free time playing golf instead of practicing golf. With flexible hours working from home, I can usually sneak out for one or two rounds of golf during the week and once over the weekend. But I haven't been making time for practice, assuming I can maintain my current level of play just being on the course. Instead, my index has drifted from my recent low of 4 back up to 5.

Last fall, I spent many of my lunch breaks at Cypress Ridge Golf Course working on my chipping and putting and hitting balls on the range. I was using my practice sessions to not only improve my ball striking, accuracy, putting, and touch around the greens, but also my concentration and visualization skills.


Cypress Ridge Golf Course 18th

My game began to improve quickly. I started hitting more fairways and greens in regulation. I succeeded in getting chips close to the pin and making putts for birdies and pars far more often.

During the last three months of last year, I not only scored my first round of 75, but recorded a total of nine rounds of 75 or lower and shot my first hole-in-one! My index quickly dropped from 7 to 4. In the nine months prior, I'd only seen a gradual decrease in my index from around 10 to 7.

Although my game has become pretty consistent now without practice, with nearly 80 percent of my rounds under 80, I haven't recorded a single round below 77. Those low scores just don't happen unless you're hitting greens in regulation and making a lot of putts for birdie and par. As should be expected, that part of my game has slipped a little without practice.

Looks like I'll be spending a little more time back on the range and practice green.

Labels: Courses, Cypress Ridge, Disciplines, Practice