To start, I have to thank Mike Johnny, author of 36aday who I had a brief discussion with yesterday, for giving me the inspiration behind this article. While the comment below belongs to discussion about the benefits of a pre-round routine, I understated how important it can be for calming your nerves. That’s something we’re going to elaborate on today.
Category: Golf Tips Page 5 of 6
Looking back at my golf career it really is amazing to think of the number of punches I’ve had to hit out of the woods. I mean let’s be honest, we all have bad shots, and sometimes these bad shots end up in bad places. Let’s assume we landed in the woods (which isn’t too much of a stretch some days) we all need a shot that we can rely on to help us escape the sticks without adding any more damage to our score. I know that with a few mechanical tips, and a little practice, that can be the punch shot.
When I was back in high school I used to do the same thing before every tournament. It was my pre-round routine if you will. I would stretch, go out on the range and hit about 50 balls to warm up my swing, move to the green where I would spend about ten minutes hitting different types of chips and ten minutes on different types of putts. There are a few reasons why I do the same things before ever round, regardless of whether it’s competitive or recreational and these reasons are what we’re going to talk about today.
It seems like everything in my life this week has been reminding me of golf. We must be getting close to spring! Just this week after returning from New York, I came home to find no snow accompanied with a cold, windy, drizzle. What many might consider a golfer’s worst nightmare. There are a lot of reasons why rain can be detrimental to your score, not to mention the fact that most people don’t consider it nearly as enjoyable as playing in warm, dry conditions. But unfortunately, some days it just isn’t meant to be. Luckily for you, there are ways we can cope with playing in the rain.
Although work sucks, these past days have really been the inspiration behind today’s article. In life, you only have 24 hours a day which is about 170 hours in a week (it’s maybe 168? I only got good at adding up golf scores in my head). You can do whatever you want with this time each week but in order to fulfill all of your commitments you have to balance the benefits and consequences of each action. Are you going to go to work today, or skip out and play golf (tempting…)?
Either one of these options can lead to a complex sequence of events in your life. Golf relates to this idea of weighing your options if you understand two simple words. Risk and reward. Just like you have to make decisions outside of golf, you also have to consider your decisions during your round. Are you going to lay up in front of the water, or try to play over? And even without your conscious thought, you are evaluating all of your possible options. Today I want to talk to you about risk management during your round and put you inside my mind when it comes to making simple and complex golfing decisions. So now that you’re primed and ready, let’s dive into this!