3 Tips To Make Your Score Sink Faster Than Fearless Felix

  There are mysteries a-plenty when it comes to our beloved game of golf, but fear not! I will share the three main secrets that will have your score plummeting faster than Fearless Felix from the fringes of outer space.

  1. Proper rotation. The first big concept that I see a lot of the pros utilizing to help their drives and irons is proper rotation around the waist. They all keep their lower bodies relatively quiet, and gain all of their power and accuracy from this torque rotation of the upper body. Longer and straighter shots will lead to lower scores.
  2. The short game. Somewhere in the neighborhood of 60% of all strokes in the game are taken from 100 yards or less from the pin. To that end, to lower your stroke count you have to spend about 75% of your practice time on chipping, putting and wedge shots. There's a good reason why some of the best putters and short game players in the sport are always near the top of the leaderboard.
  3. Consistency, consistency, consistency. This is the bane of every golfer's existence. We can go out and hit the perfect drive, or drop the long par putt. Can we do it on a regular basis? Not even the legends of the game could or can do it every single time. What separates them from the rest of us is the fact that they know how to recover from one bad shot and just move on. Don't let it weigh your mind down.

  There you have it! This is just a broad overview, of course. If you keep these three things in mind during your practice sessions and rounds you will see your game improve and your score fall faster than Fearless Felix. Until the next time -- hit them long and straight.

It's Been A While

It has been a while since I last played a round... kids will do that to you. My last round was played a Lockwood Folly in Shallote, NC. The course is amazing... and very difficult to play. This was my first experience playing on bermuda grass, and I hated it. Getting up and down out of the rough was deceptively difficult. The greens were fast, and their reads were a whole different creature altogether.

Despite my disgust for the grass itself, the course was immaculate. It had well-manicured grounds, the personnel were very courteous and the course gave me some spectacular views of the bay.

Latest Rounds

A couple of weeks ago, I went back out for a round of nine, and shot an even par- 36. I went out just this past Saturday, on nine again, and shot a 41. Granted the wind was gusting at 30-40 mph, but I think I psyched myself out more than anything else.

Getting started down the Road

So, I've been playing golf since I was about 12 years old. I lettered in the sport in high school, continued to play from time to time through college, and - up until recently hadn't played that much. I've accomplished many goals that I have wanted to in life. I've been a professional musician, producer, writer, and now have served my country for over two years. One goal had eluded me, and I felt that it might have been out of reach - too little too late. Then I started doing some research and found out that there might still be hope. I could make teh PGA Tour if I made it through their grueling Q-School, and then remained within the top 125 on the annual Money List. So, I looked to see just where #125 was for this year so far...

Earnings: $610,000
Putting Ave: 1.799 or 32.38 over 18 holes
Driving accuracy: 64%
GIR: 68%
Ave drive: 269.4 yards
Then, I went to practicing every day, and went out to the local course, Woodbrier Golf Club, to see where I stood:

9/17/2011
Driving accuracy: 88%
GIR: 25%
Ave drive 210 yds
Putting Ave: 1.777
Score 9 holes: 40

Not too shabby for not hitting the fairways in over seven years.  So, I figured out that I had a slice problem, my putts were incosistent, and so was a lot of the rest of my game for that matter. But, I worked at it over the next week, and went out again to a USGA course, Stonebridge CC.

9/24/11
Drive accuracy: 70%
Ave drive: 200 yds
Putting Ave: 1.550
Greens In Regulation: 23%
Score through front 9 holes: 39

Again, consistency was the problem. The drives were still slicing from time to time. I nailed a 130 yd apprach shot to No. 2 to within 10 ft of the pin. Walked away with a birdie there. I came to the next tee, 118 yds nestled behind a pond. Once again, I got GIR, but two-putted to walk off with a par. I found that I got frustrated somewhere into the next few holes, and that casued me to rush myself, and thus cost myself several unnecessary strokes.
Over the next week, I focused on consistency, control, and accuracy. I use the orange Calloway practice balls in the yard with a wedge. I found that they fly true and simulate intended (or unintended) backspin, too. I should also note that I currently use an older set of Wilson Dyna-Pro clubs. I also carry, my favorite club in the bag, a 1940s wooden-shaft Otey Crissman crescent putter - that I will further refer to as "Odie". I always end my round by pulling Odie out of the bag. My next outting was back to my practice course, Woodbrier.

Drive accuracy: 79%
Ave drive: 210 yds
Putting Ave: 1.500
Greens In Regulation: 33%
Score through front 9 holes: 36

Even par over nine holes... Things are getting much better. I was striking the ball off the tees better. My short game was on point, and my reads on the greens were accurate. Now, I just need to keep it consistent. 

Currently, my plan for getting to the Tour is to compete in some area/regional tournaments and work my way up. As it is getting close to the end of the WVGA Touring season for this year, I'm preparing for the WV Open 2012, The Greenbrier Classic, and several other tournaments as time and money will allow. I'm currently a professional golfer on a regional level. I'll be sharing hints and tips that I've gathered myself and found to be useful as I go. We'll see what happens this coming weekend on the next practice round.