A big slice of life…

Photos courtesy of golftipsmag.com

If you’re a big slicer like I am (sometimes) you are always looking for a way to cure your slice.  So far, the best way that I have found to straighten out my drives to to aim way to the left to compensate for my slice.  It seems like every time I try to do that my ball goes straight into the woods or the water instead of slicing back to the fairway.  The pros over at Golf Tips Magazine have written an easy-reading article with some pointers that may help to cure your slice:

Golf Tips - Slice No More

Golf as therapy

You would think it would be frustrating.  Shanking balls into the woods, visiting every bunker and water hazard on the course, sending chunks of grass farther than my ball travels.  You would think it would be torture, but it’s actually a sort of therapy, as far as I am concerned.  I have been missing from this blog for the last little while dealing with the loss of a close family member.  While she has been on my mind constantly since she passed, the only times that I have felt at peace and relaxed is the couple times I have been able to get out on the course in the last few weeks.  There is just something about being out in nature, drinking beer with your friends and failing at a nearly impossible feat that just helps you to take your mind off of things.  The weather doesn’t have to be great and by the end of the round the beers don’t even have to be cold. All you need is a friend or two, your clubs, and in my case at least 10 golf balls.  Even if you are playing solo, or if you skip the beverages, you can still get a lot of benefit from golfing even if you do it badly. 

Golf has been called, and I’m paraphrasing, “Masochism outdoors” and at times I can see why.  But, as was said by the Irish author Robert Wilson Lynd, “It is almost impossible to remember how tragic a place this world is when one is playing golf”. 

Maybe it is the friends, maybe it is the nature, maybe it is the self abuse and surely it is partly because of the beer, but golfing is the best form of therapy I have come across.  Both golf and life can be cruel, but in both cases you have to play it as it lies.

Butch Harmon tips to save your short game

Butch Harmon has coached some of the best golfers the world have ever seen.  While the small tweaks someone like Phil Mickelson has to make in his game are nothing compared to what us hacks need to work on, the fundamentals of the swing are the same for virtually everyone. The slideshow which I have linked to below has some tips for each of 5 different types of short-game shots from Butch Harmon.

"I've been fortunate to work with some of the best short-game players ever--guys like Phil Mickelson, Tiger Woods, Jose Maria Olazabal. What I've learned from these players is that greatness around the green comes from always picking the right shot, then totally committing to it. No second-guessing it, no flipping or scooping at impact. If you commit and make a positive swing, you're virtually guaranteed to do three things right: (1) accelerate through the ball; (2) shift to your front foot; and (3) deliver the same clubface loft at impact as you set down at address. "

See the slideshow here:  Butch Harmon: 5 Shots To Save Your Game

Remember Memorial Day this Weekend

Memorial Day Weekend, in addition to being the unofficial start of summer, is a great time to get out and golf.  I hacked my way through a soggy 18 holes yesterday morning, as we have had rain up here in Michigan for at least the last 75 days in a row.  This weekend is also a great time to have some friends over for a barbecue and to drink some beer.  There are great sports to watch on television this weekend.  What ever you do this weekend, take a little time to remember what Memorial Day is all about.  Many men and women gave their lives so that we all have the freedom to do whatever it is we want to do -this weekend and every weekend.  Some of these fallen heroes were drafted into service, and some of them volunteered to fight for their country.  Freedom isn’t free and countless people have paid the ultimate price for our liberty.  One day a year is not enough to remember all that they have done for our country, but on this one day be sure to take some time to remember all of the lost service men and women who have died for our country.

Try this to cure your slice....

If you like to slice your drives off of the tee than one of the potential culprits is an open club face at impact.  This video shows a couple of drills to try to cure your slice. 

Pop Flies

Hitting a nice drive is always a great way to start off a hole.  It gives you confidence to complete the rest of the hole, which is a big part of it.  Don’t get me wrong I have started out plenty of holes with great drives (for me) and still ended up scoring miserably.  Often times I get what feels like a decent swing with the driver, but ends up as more of a “pop fly”.  Which leads smart-ass comments from my equally-hack buddies which inevitably elude to baseball.  “…and he pops out to shallow left field.”, "Nice hit, Magglio", etc.  On the next tee box-or, cough, if I tee up a mulligan- my natural reaction is to try to tee the ball lower.  I always thought that pop files came from having the ball teed up too high.  PGA instructor Frank O’Connell shows in this video that is not necessarily true. He suggests the next time you fly out to right field, go against your natural instincts and try teeing up the ball a little higher.

Tips from Jack

Seriously, if you could get golf tips from anyone who would you want it to be?  Of course it would be the man with 18 majors on his resume, the "Golden Bear”, Jack Nicklaus.  Well, here you go.