by Sandell Bennett on May 6, 2013
There we were, side-by-side - me, and my (way) better, younger, blonder, professional golf “sister.” It was an eye-opening, awesome, absolutely instructive moment, and one that I can view to my heart’s content because it’s stored on my computer.
Few of us yearn to see ourselves on video, but according to the National Golf Foundation, golfers learn 3 times faster that way! Time to get before the camera? Here are 5 reasons to give it a go.
- Power of the picture
65% of us are visual learners. We absorb and recall info best by seeing it, so for us video is a super-efficient teaching tool.
- Versatile video
With slow motion, stop action, overlays of lines and angles, videos are extremely good at explaining elements of a swing.
- Teacher aid
Video assists an instructor in diagnosing swing flaws and then working with a student to develop a plan to improve.
- Make the change, see the change, feel the change
A new move our instructor suggests may feel awkward and strange. Video confirms the feeling of a proper move and helps a student correlate a feel with positive results. Practice is much more productive and change happens faster.
- Take it with you
We can put our video on our smart phone and watch it before practice. It can live on our computers, an individualized teaching tool that lasts and lasts.
“Every picture tells a story don’t it” - and just maybe that story is all about golf game improvement!
by Sandell Bennett on March 5, 2013
It’s official. February 2013 was the second snowiest in Ann Arbor since 1880. Yes, many dedicated players have been using the heated tees at Miles of Golf all winter, but some of us, well, we’re just thinking about restarting our golf game for the upcoming season.
Jim Yuhas, Kendall Academy Director of Instruction and PGA Teaching Professional offers 7 solid tips for getting going again. Keep these in mind as you head out to practice at the range.
Leave big expectations at home
It’s been a while since we’ve focused on hitting a golf shot. Be kind to ourselves.
Leave the big clubs at home – bring only a 7 iron and shorter clubs
It’s easier to swing with correct rhythm, easier to create the correct sequence of events that delivers the club to the ball. Once we get the longer clubs out, the swing gets faster. It’s not how fast we swing, it’s how we swing fast.
Take extra time to loosen up
Start with half swings. It’s been months since we’ve executed a full turn at full speed, so all things in moderation.
Focus on the proper grip, stance, and posture
It may sound trivial, but it’s an important aspect of good ball striking.
Believe in balance - practice holding the finish for at least 3 seconds
Balance is key to solid, consistent ball striking. As the season goes on and we get stronger and faster, good balance is more and more important.
Practice the short game - chipping and pitching
Early in the season, we aren’t as sharp and the weather conditions can be a little difficult. We miss more greens with our approach shots. A better short game will result in lower scores even though our full swing isn’t as dialed in as we’d like. Additionally, working on our short game will keep our swing speed under control.
Take time to take it all in
Enjoy the scene, the feel of clubs in our hands, the athletic motion of a swing, the sights and sounds of golf. Let’s take a minute to remind ourselves why we the game.
We’re back, the season is beginning!
by Sandell Bennett on August 3, 2012
Everybody’s played longest drive or putt, closest to pin or line, etc. Lately we’ve come across some extra-special games that we’ve collected for our readers.
Tried and True Games For Individual Holes
- Longest drive on fairway
- Closest to line
- Longest Putt
- Closest to pin (Par 3, first shot; Par 4, second shot)
Golfer Assistance – Free or for Purchase
- Mulligans
- Hand Wedges – 2 per player. Each player gets to toss her ball out of trouble anywhere on course
- 24” of paper tape – use anywhere on course, especially on green to finish putt without an additional stroke. Rip off portion used … until it’s all gone!
- Pro hits a drive for each team, or for each player on one hole
Why Didn’t We Think of This?!
- Multiple Pin Placement – A green is set up with multiple holes/flags, say 3. Team may use the pin that best suits their team
- Use worst ball on a designated hole
- Kamikaze Putting – pre-event fun
Give each event participant a numbered range ball and gather everyone around a practice green. At signal, everyone tries to putt out to a selected hole. Players run and get another ball to putt until someone is successful. Winner gets a prize.
- Memorial Day, 4th of July, Labor Day Outings
Each player adds her handicap and par for her “number.” Give each player a small American flag on a small flagstick. When player has reached her “number” in the round of play, she plants her flag. As play progresses, more and more flags appear on the course. Draw a winner from those who finish play with their flag. It’s a great effect to see flags around the course.
There’s lots of room for creativity – and for more ideas to add to this post. Please do!
by Sandell Bennett on August 2, 2012
Most players have a feeling about their golf game – “Consistent off the tee,” “Lousy chipper,” “Good putter,” etc. – but what are the FACTS? If we track some basic numbers during every round, our true golf game with all its strengths and weaknesses will come to light. (Annika Sorenstam did this for over 20 years.) There’s no better way to identify soft spots in our game, make a practice plan to improve them … and lower our scores!
Start with the Scorecard
Besides your score (!) some helpful golf stats to track are:
- Fairways hit
- Greens hit (in your regulation)
- Number of putts
On the scorecard simply use the lines provided for other players’ names to write in the above categories. On each hole: X if your drive hits the fairway, X if you hit the green, and record the number of putts.
Other stats worth recording include driving distance (easy with GPS) and number of bunker shots, pitches and chips
Record all your games
A notebook or spreadsheet will do the job.
How do you stack up?
Watch the progress of your numbers over time. It’s also fun to see how we stack up against others. Peter Sanders of Golf Research Associates has tracked thousands of rounds and offers these averages for a golfer with a 20 handicap playing 18 holes:
- 6 out of 14 fairways hit
- 4 out of 18 greens hit in regulation
- 34 putts
by Sandell Bennett on July 15, 2012
My home course is familiar and friendly. On the 9th hole (if golf goddesses are smiling) I’ll lie two at the base of a steep little hill to the green - and my pitching wedge will get me there. I don’t know the exact distance, but experience has taught me what club to use - again and again.
This summer I’ve been using a rangefinder on this super-familiar course. Why bother? What’s the upside?
My 8 iron is my 100 yard club – I think.
Using a distance measuring device regularly helps determine the yardage of different clubs in your bag. It’s all about precision. Verify your thinking, dispel your misconceptions – pick the right club.
Practice using your distance measuring device.
Make it part of your routine. Then, when you play an unfamiliar course you can use it easily and quickly.
Make a game of it
Before you take a reading, make a guess at the yardage. Get your partner involved, making a friendly game of yardage estimates. A nickel anyone?
Learn the differences: Read “GPS Devices vs. Rangefinders”
They are very different pieces of equipment and selecting one or the other can be complex and personal. Ease of use, accuracy, innovation, travel use, cost, annual fees, buzz factor – each device offers a mixed bag of pros and cons.
by Sandell Bennett on June 6, 2012
Teeing off – does anything on the course offer up such an exquisite blend of promise and anxiety? A new fairway before us with a wealth of possibilities! Not all of them good, as we know, and folks are watching. Tee it up!
We posted 9 Notable Things to Know and Do Around the Teeing Area a while ago. Inspired by new experiences, and an entertaining new book, On Par, by Bill Pennington, we’ve got a few more things to say.
Level-Best
Do you place your tee nosed right up to - and in the middle of - the imaginary line between the markers? An uneven and divot-dinged place, perhaps. Seek level ground, as far back as 2 club lengths, because it’s easier to hit a good shot when your feet are level and level with the ball. As Pennington says, “You’ll never miss the 3 feet.”
Marker Madness
The markers aren’t there to help you line up. Deploy whatever personal lining-up routine you have - but ignore where the markers are pointing you. The mowers probably placed them there.
Ball Falling Off Tee
When we tee up the ball, it is not yet in play – we haven’t tried to hit it, we haven’t made a stroke. Along comes the wind, or we accidently knock it off at address or with a practice swing. No penalty – we have not intentionally tried to hit it. See USGA Section II, Definitions,“Stroke” and Rule 11-3.
Wrong Tees
Is it the scent of freshly cut grass or the heady mix of friendship and competition? Every year one of our group drives a ball from the incorrect tee. We don’t notice at first, then we do and are sad … and then inspired because she takes her penalty – 2 strokes! – re-tees in the right place and keeps on smiling. She’s our club champion in more ways than one.
by Sandell Bennett on June 6, 2012
There’s lots of buzz this year about fairway woods because of some significant breakthrough technology. “Make friends with the new breed … before someone decides these clubs are too long and need extra scrutiny,” was the zippy line in the morning NYTimes that got us out of the arm chairs and over to see Brent Norton at the Miles of Golf Cluboratory.
First, what ARE fairway woods, exactly?
Around for a long time, they are often called “fairway metals” these days. Designed for maximum distance off the tee or fairway, they have over time given ground somewhat to hybrids. This year, big changes in the engineering of these clubs have made for faster swings, easier hitting, longer distance.
We took tested fairway woods at the Cluboratory.
Here’s how a typical club testing goes:
What to Expect
Bring along your old club that you’re considering replacing. Plan to spend 45 minutes to an hour and hit about 75 balls. Fee for club testing is $25, fully refundable if you make a purchase. Making an appointment is always a good idea.
Get-Acquainted Conversation
What we’re looking for, our game, our current clubs, anything helpful in defining the mission - just tell it like it is.
Club Technology – Explanations and Examples
The conversation with Brent touches on fairway woods vs hybrids; loft and spin; club playability for women’s slower swing speeds; new technology/engineering, particularly the Adams Speedline Fast 12 and Taylormade Rocketballz Fairway Wood. You’ll get as much technical info as you want.
Getting Ready
We hit some warm up shots while Brent gathered seven clubs for us to test.
Trying Them Out
The Cluboratory has a sweet, peaceful glow in the morning sun, but make no mistake, Brent is hard at work. He hands us clubs, watches, analyzes, gives us another. We hit with our old club too, making comparisons. Brent knows more about my swing in 5 minutes than I know in 5 years. It’s a team effort – my swing, his knowledge; together we’ll narrow the selection down to the club that works.
The Good Feeling
You’ll know it when you hit it – which is why it’s so valuable to test clubs in the Cluboratory. It’s not always the latest and greatest technology that works. It’s the one that generates confidence and consistency for YOU.
Thanks, Brent!
by Sandell Bennett on May 4, 2012
A Golf Instruction Gem Right Around the Corner
Did you know that Kendall Academy is home to 5 of Golf Digest’s top 15 golf instructors in Michigan? True! Paul Haase (5), Dave Kendall (8), Jeff Goble (13), Jack Seltzer (14) and Tom Harding (15) are the fab five. Kendall’s a golf instruction gem right in our own backyard.
With that in mind, 4 of us are planning a 3-day golf “get-away” - all the way to Kendall Academy on Carpenter Road! Why go any farther? Jim Yuhaz, Director of Instruction, will be our intrepid teacher. We’re headed to Kendall because it’s:
- Custom-designed just for us - and our schedules
- Flexible - instruction can adapt to our “unique” games
- Inclusive - we four have different levels of golf experience
- An awesome social outing for us!
- Local. When it’s over, we know where to find Jim for a follow-up!
The founder and president of Kendall Academy, is the ever-affable, approachable Dave Kendall. “Golf’s a social thing,” he says. “Being with friends and having fun is a large part of it.” Right you are, Dave. We’ll see you over there next week!
by Sandell Bennett on May 4, 2012
There’s a personal pantheon of folks I love to play golf with. They have that spot-on combo of thoughtfulness and golf smarts. Some have a great game of golf and others are almost beginners. What they have in common is the fine art of being a good golf partner.
After you’ve trekked together over hill and dale, missing shots, finding hazards, taking penalties, are there smiles for the mission accomplished? That’s what a good partner brings to the game.
Here are some good partner habits worth acquiring…
Be on Time
There’s so much to think about on the first tee - “Where is my partner?” shouldn’t be in anyone’s mental mix. Get to the course early with plenty of time for all the pre-game details. Orderly and unrushed – that’s a great way to start a round together.
Be Quick
We’re not talking speed golf here, just an ever-efficient mindset. Gauge yardage, select a club, read greens while others are playing – when it’s your turn, you’re ready. Be smart with your cart too.
Attitude is everything.
No matter how you’re playing, keep it upbeat. Stressed out? No sharing. Your bad mood is no one’s idea of a good day on the golf course.
4 Eyes Are Better Than 2
Always track the path of everyone’s ball, and join in the search when a ball is lost.
Mind the Flagstick
Simple, yes. Overlooked, often. If you’re closest to the pin, pull it. If you putt out first, move over near the flagstick so you can pick it up and replace it when everyone’s done. It’s all about efficiency and doing your part.
Be Prepared
An extra ball marker, energy bar, the tab for the snack cart, those are the little kindnesses a good partner has at the ready and offers up at just the right moment. The small, thoughtful gesture goes far on the golf course.
Just Don’t Offer Up Any Unsolicited Golf Advice
The reasons are too numerous, and the consequences too complex to mention. Unless you’re a golf pro, keep your personal “6 Sure Steps to a Better Golf Swing” all to yourself.
And last, but surely not least …
Raise a glass to the good golf partner, she of generous gestures and bullet-proof humor. Long may we appreciate what she does for our golf game!
by Sandell Bennett on May 4, 2012
Thank you to Jeanne Meyers, GAM Assistant Director of Rules & Competition, for helping us understand the Rules!
Webb Simpson led by 1 stroke in the final round of the 2011 New Orlean’s Classic. On the green at address, putter 4-5 inches behind the ball, he saw the wind move the ball about 1/4″. Simpson called a penalty on himself - one stroke. With the score tied, he was forced to a playoff which he then lost. His tournament win slipped away because of wind.
This year one of golf’s most unpopular Rules,18-2b, now has a welcome exception.
Rule 18-2b. If a player’s ball in play moves after he has addressed it (other than as a result of a stroke), the player is deemed to have moved the ball and incurs a penalty of one stroke.
Exception: If it is known or virtually certain that the player did not cause his ball to move, Rule 18-2b does not apply.
This exonerates a player if it is known that she did not cause her ball to move. Example: if a gust of wind moves her ball after it has been addressed, there’s no penalty and ball is played from its new location.
