Instruction

What golfers can learn from NCAA March Madness

Published

8 years ago

Mar 17, 2015

Golfers can absolutely learn from the buzzer beaters and crazy finishes that are sure to happen over the next few weeks at the March Madness basketball tournament.

In golf, like in basketball, you must learn to “score the ball” when the game or tournament is on the line.

For the players competing in March Madness, the pressure is at an all-time high, especially as time winds down in the games and their season hangs in the balance — but those moments aren’t new to them.

Hoops coaches often simulate pressure moments in practice, teaching players how to deal with scoring situations that arise during the final moments of a game. I am a huge fan of Duke Head Coach Mike Krzyzewski and have read several of Coach K’s books. He likes to set up creative pressure conditions for his players to react to, thereby ingraining the correct response come game time.

One time in practice, he set the scoreboard timer for 2 minutes and turned his three-point shooters loose trying to beat a target score. When they beat that, Coach K increased the target total, pushing his team to make as many three’s as possible in two minutes. Similarly, a basketball coach may put 10 seconds on the clock in practice, and have the offense run suicides if they don’t score the “winning shot” in time. These tactics prepare players for the heat of competition, and instill the ability to score as the pressure increases and the game is on the line!

This type of preparation for pressure moments can be useful in your golf practice sessions as well.

Golfers these days do not practice the way we did when I was younger. I can remember having chipping and putting contests with the other kids at my club in St. Louis. I grew up with the Haas and Goalby kids, and I can tell you no one wanted to lose. These were battles for candy bars and sodas and there was a lot of smack talk and chirping going on in every contest.

I don’t see that going on anymore. I do not see our members out there competing during practice, nor do I see any of the kids — not even my academy kids — doing this. I have to provoke the competition by telling them, “How about you two have a contest?”

I encourage golfers to gin up practice-area games with their buddies and play for something meaningful. Not only does that build some pressure, but it makes golfers focus, and will start to “pressure proof” your putting and short game. The old saying, “The hotter the fire the harder the steel,” surely applies here.

Brenden Steele and Keegan Bradley have a standing game of H-O-R-S-E on the putting green during practice rounds at PGA Tour events. I can tell you from watching lots of their competitions, although they’re friendly with each other, they DO NOT like to lose.

I had a player several years ago, who I was working with on the PGA Tour, and we used to have heated contests during practice. One time, we were on the back of the range at the TPC Stadium course working on wedge play. It became so intense that the last competition of the day required us to precisely measure the final shot to determine the winner — that’s how serious it was! Everyone needs more of this in their practice sessions.

When you practice, make up your own mini tournaments

Just like every other kid that went on to play professional golf, I would have practice sessions that were imaginary rounds at major championships. Throughout the years, I have won the Masters at least 23 times, as well as several dozen U.S. Opens, making me the greatest imaginary major champion of all time!

The point is, you should put added pressure on yourself during practice by setting up a challenge such as, “I have four holes to go and have a one shot lead and have to get it up and down from these four spots to beat Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus.”

In golf, a chip-in, pitch-in or hole-out from the bunker can play like a three pointer in basketball. It is a big shot and can give you a big boost during the round. So don’t be afraid to give it a “fist pump” when you succeed in these imaginary showdowns.

Your mind cannot tell the difference between an experience that is real and imagined if the experience is intense enough to get your full attention. So go through your full routine and make it as real as possible.

Try to practice making the final putt to win a major or your club championship or for all the skins, with some consequence for missing (doing the dishes, maybe). This simulates game-like pressure, so when you have a chance to win the game, or win the tournament, it won’t be your first time taking the shot or hitting the putt.

When you see a buzzer beater in the Men’s Basketball Championship tournament in the coming weeks, you’ll know that they’ve made that shot countless times in practice over the years. If you practice in pressure-packed situations on the golf course, you too will feel comfortable when a golf match is on the line.

My concluding thought is that there is an art to scoring in golf. It is a knack that you learn through the stress of practice and competition against others. We are so wrapped up in golf swing these days we forget that the objective is to “score the ball.” So make it a point this spring to work on this via great head-to-head battles with players you challenge!

Share your favorite head-to-head contest stories here — when you squared off with your buddies on the practice green or short game area. It is your chance to chirp about a victory!

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Instruction

The Wedge Guy: What really needs fixing in your game?

Published

1 day ago

Mar 22, 2023

Terry Koehler

I always find it interesting to watch how golfers interact with the practice range, if they do so at all. I certainly can figure out how to understand that some golfers just do not really want to get better — at least not enough to spend time on the practice range trying to improve.

What is most puzzling to me is how many golfers completely ignore the rationale for going to the range to at least warm up before they head to the first tee. Why anyone would set aside 4-6 hours of their day for a round of golf, and then not even give themselves a chance to do their best is beyond me. But today, I’m writing for those of you who really do want to improve your golf scores and your enjoyment of the game.

I’ve seen tons of research for my entire 40 years in this industry that consistently shows the number one goal of all golfers, of any skill level, from 100-shooter to tour professional, is simply to hit better golf shots more often. And while our definition of “better” is certainly different based on our respective skill level, the game is just more fun when your best shots happen more often and your worst shots are always getting better.

Today’s article is triggered by what we saw happen at the Valspar tour event this past Sunday. While Taylor Moore certainly had some big moments in a great final round, both Jordan Spieth and Adam Schenk threw away their chances to win with big misses down the stretch, both of them with driver. Spieth’s wayward drive into the water on the 16th and Schenk’s big miss left on the 18th spelled doom for both of them.

It amazes me how the best players on the planet routinely hit the most God-awful shots with such regularity, given the amazing talents they all have. But those guys are not what I’m talking about this week. In keeping with the path of the past few posts, I’m encouraging each and every one of you to think about your most recent rounds (if you are playing already this year), or recall the rounds you finished the season with last year. What you are looking for are you own “big misses” that kept you from scoring better.

Was it a few wayward drives that put you in trouble or even out of bounds? Or maybe loose approach shots that made birdie impossible and par super challenging? Might your issue have been some missed short putts or bad long putts that led to a three-putt? Most likely for any of you, you can recall a number of times where you just did not give yourself a good chance to save par or bogey from what was a not-too-difficult greenside recovery.

The point is, in order to get consistently better, you need to make an honest assessment of where you are losing strokes and then commit to improving that part of your game. If it isn’t your driving that causes problems, contain that part of practice or pre-round warm-ups to just a half dozen swings or so, for the fun of “the big stick”. If your challenges seem to be centered around greenside recoveries, spend a lot more time practicing both your technique and imagination – seeing the shot in your mind and then trying to execute the exact distance and trajectory of the shot required. Time on the putting green will almost always pay off on the course.

But, if you are genuinely interested in improving your overall ball-striking consistency, you would be well-served to examine your fundamentals, starting with the grip and posture/setup. It is near impossible to build a repeating golf swing if those two fundamentals are not just right. And if those two things are fundamentally sound, the creation of a repeating golf swing is much easier.

Clement: It’s hard to hit the driver badly when you’re doing this

Published

1 week ago

Mar 16, 2023

Shawn Clement

Mu and I go through the swing of the driver in slow motion to show the difference between hitting at the ball and then trying to move it to target versus collecting the ball from the top of the tee and releasing it into the flight plan. Check out the video to learn what this means for your golf swing.

Also: Congrats on Savy getting another personal best of 337 yards at the WLD event in Mesquite!

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Instruction

How to hit a fade…according to YouTube, a robot, and GolfWRX members

Published

1 week ago

Mar 16, 2023

GolfWRX Staff

How to hit a fade. At some point, if you aren’t a habitual slicer of the golf ball and are able to hit a draw with regularity, in your quest to become a better golfer, you’re going to want to know how to do this.

Without debating the relative merits of a draw versus a fade, it’s agreed that working the golf ball both ways is key to to scoring, positioning off the tee, and risk minimization. If you’re a golfer who is currently only slinging draws, we have some advice for you on how to hit a fade from three very different sources.

Ben Hogan: A man who knew how to hit a fade

How to hit a fade…

…according to a robot (that is, A.I. language model ChatGPT):

A fade is a type of golf shot that curves gently from left to right (for a right-handed golfer). If you want to know how to hit a fade, follow these steps:

Set up for the shot: Aim your clubface at the target, but align your feet, hips, and shoulders slightly to the left of the target. This open stance will help promote a left-to-right spin on the ball.
Grip the club: Hold the club normally, but slightly weaken your grip by turning your hands slightly to the left (again, for a right-handed golfer). This will help you hit the ball with an open clubface.
Swing the club: On your backswing, keep your clubface square to the target for as long as possible. Then, on your downswing, try to swing slightly from the inside to out, which will help produce the left-to-right spin on the ball. Finally, make sure to follow through towards the target with a high finish.
Practice: Hitting a consistent fade can take some practice. Spend time on the driving range and experiment with different grip and swing adjustments until you find what works best for you.

Remember, hitting a fade is not about hitting the ball harder, it’s about controlling the spin and direction of the ball. With practice, you can learn to hit a reliable fade that can help you navigate tricky golf course layouts.

Hitting a fade takes practice, and it may take some trial and error to find the right adjustments for your swing. It’s also important to note that a fade is not necessarily the ideal shot shape for every situation, so it’s important to be comfortable with hitting a variety of shots on the golf course.

How to hit a fade…according to the most-watched video on YouTube on the subject

With more than one million views on YouTube, this video from Any and Piers of MeAndMyGolf not only covers hitting a fade but also discussing drawing the golf ball as well as hitting it high and low.

…according to GolfWRXers

And of course, our GolfWRX forum members have opinions on the subject.

The appropriately named PreppySlapCut said: “If the face is open to the path, the ball is going to fade. There’s several adjustments you can make to encourage that to happen, it’s just a question of what feels best for you and allows you to do it most consistently.”

Bladehunter says: “For me just the sensation of taking the club back outside your hands , and then swing left with a face square to target , while turning hard as you can makes for a pretty straight flight that won’t hook. Unless you stall and let your hands pass you.”

“That’s my take as an upright swinger If you’re really flat it’s going to be tough to time up and never have the two way miss Because you’re always coming from the inside and will rely on timing the face open or shut to see a fade or draw . For me it’s just set the face at address and feel like you hold it there until impact”

Dpd5031 says: “Had a pro teach me this. Aim a little left, stance slightly open, still hit it from the inside (just like your draw), but unwind chest hard letting handle follow your rotation so toe never passes heel. He called it a “drawy fade.” Ball takes off almost looking like it’s going to draw, but tumbles over to the right instead of left. Cool thing is ya dont give up any distance doing it this way as opposed to cutting across it.”

Scottbox says: “Jon Rahm is a good example. Watch the hand path of his backswing– his hands are not as “deep” as someone who draws the ball (i.e. Rory). And even though he has a slightly shut face, Rahm rotates his chest and hips very hard. Because there’s less depth to his backswing, the club gets more in front of him at P6. He’s most likely 1-2* outside in at last parallel. Brooks Koepka has a longer swing, but similar, in terms of his hand path– well above the shaft plane going up with less depth to his hands at the top, and slightly above the plane coming down.”

“Most good modern players rotate pretty hard with their hips and chest to stabilize the face, but the difference between those who draw it and those who hit a baby cut is often seen in the way they “engineer” their backswing patterns.”

Check out more of the “how to hit a fade” discussion in the forum thread.

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