Back in 1457, the creators of golf back in Scotland never put much thought into a question that’s almost impossible to avoid now when you step onto the course. Should you walk or should you ride a golf cart? Are these really the only two options available? And can you gain a small advantage based on whether you take a cart or carry your bag?
Category: Golf Tips Page 4 of 6
Today, even in the midst of forty degree weather and gusting winds, I had the pleasure of playing my first round of 2016 with my dad at our home course in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin. With the lack of snow and surprisingly mild temperatures lately golf courses have started opening up, and as my family was sitting around breakfast this morning my dad and I decided that nothing could beat spending our afternoon on the golf course.
Of all the skills around the green, one of the hardest to perfect is the art of getting up and down. While it might be hard to get the hang of, perfecting this can be one of the easiest ways to save strokes during your round. I mean, if you think about it, going from three shots around the green to only two is an extra stroke on your scorecard every time you get up and down. And you know we’re all about saving strokes here at The Golf Academy! So we’re here today to talk about some of the different ways to practice the art of getting up and down.
We’ve all been in this spot on the golf course. A place that’s close enough to the green you don’t want to chip the ball, but where the rough is still too high or thick to simply putt the ball on. It’s one of the more dangerous places to be around the green, especially if the pin is close by. Often times the chance of catching the ball poorly and flying it over the green, or chunking it short, are better than the chances of you hitting a good chip, and that puts golfers like you and me in a tough position when it comes to decision making.
But are we really doomed to skulling balls across the green for the rest of our rounds? Or is there a different technique that can help us consistently get up and down from this tricky spot around the green? That’s why we’re here today. We’re here to learn about the hybrid chip.
Over the past few days, I’ve been searching through golf blogs and eventually I came across ptpgolf.com (which has a lot of great information on it) and something I saw on this website again reminded me of my childhood lessons. Under the “Moeisms” part of the way down the page, there’s a brief quote from Moe Norman who is considered to be one of the best ball strikers ever. He says “Why am I the greatest ball-striker? Because I have the least moving parts. I keep it simple.” and that resonated with me. Keeping your game simple is something that golfers can lose as they search for some of the newest advice and equipment.
But it’s easy to get caught up with all of the latest and greatest gadgets and techniques. You can scour Youtube, Google, and Golf Digest but often times, there’s too much information at these places to help you at all. You can’t go through a round thinking about the hundreds of different mechanics you’ve read lately. You can practice your swing, but trying to incorporate everything you learn is only going to confuse you as a golfer and hurt your scores.