Golf Tips & Quips

I spent the day playing in the sand but I wasn't at the beach. My practice session today was spent in the bunkers. I am making a conscious effort to practice all aspects of the game and today I got a little sandy.

I always hear the teaching pros talking about how all amateurs spend too much time on the range practicing their irons and drivers. I've been told that 75% of the shots taken during a round of golf are from 100 yards and in. So I think it only makes sense to spend 75% of my practice session on my short game.

The ability to get it up and down from the green side bunkers is crucial if I want to continue to lower my scores. I do pretty well, rarely leaving it in the bunker, but I definitely need to work on getting it closer to the hole.

The pros, for the most part, don't mind leaving it the bunker. I've actually seen players put it in the bunker on purpose. When a pro stands over a shot they look at where they want to hit the ball but they also take note of good places to miss it. If there is trouble behind the green, like water, they would rather leave the approach shot short in the bunker to at least have a chance to save par. Miss it long and they would be staring at bogey or worse.

I'm trying to make the bunkers my friend and not something to fear. I think when most amateurs hit it in the bunker, anxiety levels are raised. All we can think about now is the bad shot we hit and the difficult shot to come. I want to get to the point that if I hit that bad shot, I'm not upset. I want my mentality to be, "sure I didn't hit the shot I intended, but yes, I've been in this situation before, and I know how to handle it."

2010 Masters Champion Phil Mickelson is is known as one of the best short game players in the game today. What he does around the green can be considered miraculous. The following video is an excerpt from his DVD Phil Mickelson: Secrets of the Short Game. He demonstrates how to perform bunker shots from different lies. It's evident that he has total confidence in his game. He makes it look so easy, but I guess that what years and years of practice will get you. Have fun at the "beach".

Have a good one and always hit your target.



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Yesterday was the first time that I didn't play a "desert" course out here in Arizona. McCormick Ranch Golf Course(MRGC) resembles the courses back home in Florida in that this course was mostly flat, and had trees instead of cactus. The rough was grass and not rocks and tumbleweeds. The difference, of course, were the cascading mountains in the background which quickly reminded me that I was miles away from the shores of South Beach.

MRGC is an excellent course and a must play if you ever get to the Scottsdale area. The Pine Course seemed innocent enough but we quickly found out that there were many little subtleties that need be avoided.

I try to visit the course website before I play the round to kind of get a feel for what I will be in for, especially if I have never played the course before. I highly recommend that you do this because every tip that was provided by the website was absolutely dead on.

The par 4 383 yard 6th is a prime example of this. Here's the tip from the pro:

#6 PINE - Aim your drive towards the bridge on the right side of the fairway to avoid water on the left. A good tee shot will still leave the golfer with a mid to long iron second shot. Any shot that strays left will almost certainly find the water. Four is a good score here.

I remembered what I had read and I aimed my 3 wood down the right hand side towards the bridge. I hit what I thought was a great tee shot. It started left and started moving right on its intended line. It hit the fairway and then kick left and kept rolling and rolling and rolling all the time going to the left towards the water. And then it disappeared.

I hit a provisional because I thought it might be in the water. The ball must have had a magnet in it as that tee shot headed straight left and into the water. I drove up to where I thought my first shot might have landed and I found it hanging for dear life on the edge of the bank. I was able to play it but the stance made it impossible for me to get any kind of good shot off. I ended up with a double and headed off to the next tee.

I had some real troubles with my driver. I managed to only hit one fairway for the entire round. A lot of the fairways slope in one direction or the other and a tee shot slightly misplaced trickles into the rough. Most of my misses were to the right. Not huge slices but drifters. Somewhere between a slice and a dead push.

It may have to do with the fact that I have been working so much on my short game which actually got me out of a lot of trouble on the back nine. Recently, the only time I practice my driver is on the range right before a round. I'm not going to neglect my short game for the driver, because all the pros say that golfers should spend at least 75% of their time on the short game. At the same time, if I can't put it in the fairway more consistently, I will have a hard time posting lower scores.

I guess this game is always a work in progress. Have a good one and always hit your target.

91
Posted: 4/17/2010 •
McCormick Ranch Golf Club (Pine Course)	Tees: White (1239), Par: 72

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Pine Course Front Nine Hole 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Out Par 4 4 4 5 3 4 5 3 4 36 6 6 5 6 3 6 7 4 5 48 FIR: # Putts: 3 3 2 2 2 2 2 1 2 19 Back Nine Hole 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 In Par 4 4 5 3 4 4 4 3 5 36 5 4 5 4 5 5 5 4 6 43 FIR: # Putts: 2 1 2 2 2 2 1 2 2 16

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Pars: 3 Bogeys: 11 Doubles: 4

Par 3 Avg: 3.8 Par 4 Avg: 5.2 Par 5 Avg: 6.0

FIR: 1 / 14 GIR: 2 / 18 Putts: 35 Putts per GIR: 2.0

Scrambling: 1 / 16 Bounce Backs: 2 / 14

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I'm in Arizona for the next week and of course that means great golf. I live in the South Florida so I have some played some great courses, but I love the courses in Arizona. Every course I have been taken to has been in great condition with scenery that is to die for.

I played at Arizona Grand Resort, formerly know as Phantom Horse yesterday with my good friend Anthony who was actually the one who got me into golf. He and his Dad gave me my first set of clubs and I have been addicted ever since.

Playing a new course is always tough but this particular course presented some unique challenges. From the first tee I knew I was in for an interesting round. The par 4 first hole wasn't very long, measuring only 314 yards. The problem is that is an uphill blind tee shot so you really have to pick a target and hope to get into the fairway.

I hit a pretty good shot to the left side of the fairway atop the hill. When I got up to the my ball I looked over to my right and noticed a sneaky little pond just over the top of the hill. That seemed to be a trend on this course because there are many blind shot and hazards, that if you have never played here before, you basically have to go by the pictures on the scorecard or GPS and hope for the best.

I didn't score as well as I wanted to but I hit some really good shots. I hit just under 50% of the fairways and the ones I missed were not in terrible position. The problem was my short game. I left a lot of chip shots short and that put way to much pressure on my putter. My putting has been better, but as Lee Trevino said, "there are two things that won't last long in this world, and that's dogs chasing cars and pros putting for pars."

What really hurt was posting double bogeys on three out of the four par 5's. I have been working hard to eliminate doubles especially on par 5's. At this stage of the game I don't mind bogeys and I hope to mix in five or six pars. That would give me scores somewhere in the mid 80's. But when I post to many doubles, I can forget about it.

So the game plan over the next month is to really work on my chipping and pitching. I am still working on adding distance to each of my irons so it is extra important for me hone my short game when I come up short of the green on my approach shots.

Anthony and I plan ongoing back to Arizona Grand Resort before I leave. He feels he didn't play his best and he wants to get back out there now that we know the course. All I know is even if I do know the course now, it won't make a difference if I can't get my chip shots to within eighteen inches of the cup.

Have a good one and always hit your target.

95
Posted: 4/15/2010 •
Phantom Horse Golf Club (Phantom Horse)	Tees: Black, Par: 71

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Phantom Horse Front Nine Hole 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Out Par 4 4 5 4 3 5 4 3 4 36 4 6 7 6 4 7 5 5 7 51 FIR: # Putts: 1 2 2 2 3 2 2 2 3 19 Back Nine Hole 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 In Par 4 5 3 5 3 4 4 4 3 35 5 7 3 6 3 5 6 5 4 44 FIR: # Putts: 2 1 2 2 2 1 2 3 2 17

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Pars: 3 Bogeys: 7 Doubles: 7 Other: 1

Par 3 Avg: 3.8 Par 4 Avg: 5.4 Par 5 Avg: 6.8

FIR: 6 / 13 GIR: 4 / 18 Putts: 36 Putts per GIR: 2.5

Scrambling: 1 / 14 Bounce Backs: 2 / 14

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I had an opportunity to take my friend Sam(Sam is on the left) out for his first full round of golf this past week. It was his birthday and he wanted to start off his day on the golf course. I think it's the perfect way to spend a birthday so I obliged.

I took him to Miami Springs Golf Course where Sam Snead , Gene Sarazen , and Byron Nelson used to compete in The Miami Open, held there from 1924-1955. The course was in great shape and Sam was like a little kid on Christmas.

Sam played pretty well for a first timer. About twelve stroke better than I did my first time out. He shot a 117 which was better than some of my other friends who have been playing for the past three years like myself. Sam is a natural athlete and when he gets a hold of it he can hit the ball a ton. He has good hands and takes direction well. If he works at, he can become a very good player.

The most important thing is that Sam loved being out there. I think he got disappointed as the round was nearing its end. I get the same way. I just want to keep playing. I'm glad that he got an opportunity to play. He's been bitten by the bug.

Sam is the fourth friend I have introduced to golf since I started playing three years ago. Golf is one of those sports that needs to be shared. Unlike other fast paced sports, golf is a sport that allows itself to be appreciated.

We as golfers can appreciate the scenery. We can appreciate our playing partners. We can appreciate that one perfect shot that we hit during the round that makes us forget all the bad shots we had hit to that point.

Sam is already pestering me to go back out there but trust me, it is no bother. There aren't too many other places I rather be than on a golf course. Have a good one and always hit your target.

91
Posted: 4/7/2010 •
Miami Springs Golf & Country Club (Miami Springs)	Tees: White, Par: 71

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Miami Springs Front Nine Hole 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Out Par 4 4 4 3 5 4 4 3 4 35 5 5 5 5 6 5 5 4 6 46 FIR: # Putts: 1 2 2 2 2 2 1 2 1 15 Back Nine Hole 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 In Par 4 4 3 5 4 5 3 4 4 36 4 4 4 6 6 6 5 5 5 45 FIR: # Putts: 1 1 0 2 4 1 1 2 1 13

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Pars: 2 Bogeys: 12 Doubles: 4

Par 3 Avg: 4.5 Par 4 Avg: 5.0 Par 5 Avg: 6.0

FIR: 7 / 14 GIR: 1 / 18 Putts: 28 Putts per GIR: 4.0

Scrambling: 2 / 17 Bounce Backs: 1 / 15

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