2024 June

Over the years we have seen amazing performances by Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods GOAT-(Greatest Of All Time) and now the new blood like Scottie Scheffler perform at a level so much better than other golfers. As they age their skills drop off but we should all learn to enjoy golf with the energy and skills that we have learned. Don’t let anger over a missed shot kill your game.

Bad Breaks Should not Kill Your Next Shot
Bad breaks, like hitting a branch or landing in a trap happen. Yes it would have been nice to miss those problems but there is nothing you can do to change the result. What you can change is the reaction for your next shot. Great golfers don’t swing their club in disgust. They step back, appraise their mistake, make the right practice swing and get ready for the next shot. They move on mentally with a fresh frame of mind.

Let Your Hands and Club do Their Work
Your hands make or break your next shot. They need to square your club face and add speed to the release through impact. Flatten your wrists in the backswing to shallow and square your club face with the plane of the back of your hand. Relax your wrists at the top of your swing to let your club add lag that will release with a whipping action AND SPEED at the bottom of your swing.

Scottie Creates Relaxation During his Pre-shot Routine
He plans his shot and then moves into a CALM MIND AND BODY to execute the shot that he wants. Whether he is driving, launching an iron or putting he visualizes the path that he wants his ball to take before he executes his swing. He know what he wants and can do.

Make the Best of a Bad Lie and Hit Shots that You have Practiced
Learn from the reaction that you saw so many pros take throughout their games at Pinehurst #2. Scottie’s game was not great during the US Open but he kept a “good head” and was able to bounce back on many holes. Build confidence with shots that you know you can make.

Keep positive mental goals in your head and stay patient. Scottie commits to what he can control and does not worry about the results. He said that, “It’s all about responding to the bad and kind of rolling with the good.” Put some effort into your game by learning the basics with GOLFSTR+. Straight elbow and flat wrist allow you to shallow your club and launch with power. Buy one today at www.GOLFSTR.com

Just when we thought that Scottie Scheffler had the magic solution for excellence in golf, his world came crashing down. On the second day of the US Open he just made the cut and we were shocked. We found out that he’s human after all. There really is hope for every struggling golfer. We should all learn from some of the comments and performance at the US Open.

Most golfers will never play #2 Pinehurst as it really is designed to humble any golfer who takes on the challenge. Watching how the pros handle their commitment to their game is the most important thing that we can all take away from this amazing golf event.

Scottie’s Weak Putting Performance:
Even before the start of the US Open, Scottie Scheffler was outside of the top 70 professional golfers for strokes gained in putting. In spite of his seemingly weaker putting performance, he still has an amazing winning record. OUR TAKEAWAY: His performance in other skills like fairways hit, scrambling, greens in regulation, sand saves and one putt greens are enough to keep him at the top of his sport. DON’T LET ONE WEAKNESS DESTROY YOUR MENTAL OUTLOOK.

Positive Attitude:
Roger Federer was a top tennis player who won 80% of the games that he played but he only won 54% of the points. OUR TAKEWAY: The top performer wins by the slimmest of margins. Attitude and Confidence can put you over the top in every sport.

Stay Focused:
Jack Nicklaus commented at his Memorial Tournament that Rory’s inability to win majors over the past 10 years: “He seems to not be able to focus all the way around.” When commenting on Scottie’s success: “He doesn’t make dumb mistakes.” OUR TAKEAWAY: Jack was right about Rory’s focus (when he missed 2 short putts) to lose the US Open and for Scottie: you are only as good a your next shot so keep your head in the game.

Learn Patience:
Scottie’s demeanor stays the same throughout the round. He navigates each shot the same regardless of the level of difficulty. Rather than getting upset over a mishit or a shot deflected by a tree, he takes his mind to a positive place and focuses on what he can control. OUR TAKEAWAY: Avoid #2 Pinehurst.

Over the past few weeks we have seen Nelly Korda and Scottie Scheffler lose their magic touch. We will never know the external pressures that may have thrown their games off but we do know that they are amazing athletes who have the mental fortitude to get back on their games. You can do this too if you practice to improve your swing with GOLFSTR+. Buy one today at www.GOLFSTR.com

You will never be good at any shot unless you practice a consistent swing that performs well for you. This is pretty basic stuff. Most golfers spend too much time on the range swinging with their driver. Unfortunately, golf is a game played with every club in your bag and each one can hurt or benefit your game every time you play.

Tennis is a lot like golf when it comes down to hitting any shot. Technique is critical but you need to perfect various types of serves, forehand shots and backhand shots to be a great tennis player. To improve my game, I took a single lesson to learn the proper serve as it seemed to be the most critical shot similar to being able to hit a great drive.

I was fortunate to have courts in a park next to our house so I would regularly practice serves using buckets of balls at least 4 days every week. Unfortunately, as a single player practicing my serve the rest of my game suffered.

Reading an article by an editor at GOLF.COM, I realized that his golf game suffered the same fate. His drives and full swing approach shots were great but he could not make chips and flop shots around the green. His friends complimented his game and said, “Its too bad he couldn’t score well”. That set him on fire with determination to clean up his game.

Solution
He learned to trust the bounce for each of his lofted clubs. His old habit was to close the face of his wedges to keep the ball lower to control his shots. When he saw the success that he was having with his open-faced lob shots, his game turn around. Consistent practice allowed him to build confidence for each angle of his lofted clubs so that he could roll or stick his chip and flop shots.

By practicing his short green shots instead of hitting without purpose, it made all the difference. He found the right setup position and with consistent practice he learned to get his chips close for more single putt greens.

Put some effort into your game before you waste more time playing golf. Practice with GOLFSTR+ for perfection with every shot in your game. Buy one today at www.GOLFSTR.com

Sports Illustrated’ s weekly blog: GOLF.com, recently had a great idea to improve our games. Just set some achievable positive goals before every round. That will help you enjoy your great shots and disregard your worm burners and shanks without setting a grenade off in your butt.

The enjoyment of golf is about setting goals that bring you energy and fun. When you’re having more fun you’re in a happy place. Ben Hogan, one of the greatest champions in the history of the game, said he was happy to hit just one or two perfect shots per round. He said that everyone — from high-handicappers to scratch players — would be wise to play the game that way.

Julie Elion is a mental-game guru, who reminded us of Bobby Jones’ quote: “Golf is a game that’s played on a five-inch course — the distance between your ears,” She found that the mind is the most daunting hazard out there on any course.

Set Your Goals
Julie helps golfers identify their personal goals before every event. The most common theme is CONSCIOUS POSITIVE INTENTIONS. All it takes is a simple message — distilled into a few easy-to-remember lines. Positive goals play better than those who play with fear of negative outcomes. An obsessive insight and analysis about a problem seldom results in a winning putt. Focus on your target Negative thoughts based on avoidance cause a bad case of energy drain.

Knowledge of a relevant hazard is useful, but it’s not a goal. Positivity is paramount. Elite athletes, like Scottie Scheffler with an optimal mental attitude are the ones who end up pulling away from the pack.

A/ Set measurable goals: Number of Fairways Hit, GIRs and 1 or 2 putt greens

B/ Set SWING goals that reinforce energy and concentration with specific steps:

• –Light grip to relax muscles as you swing though the ball.
• –Full backswing to allow time for wrist lag at the top.
• –Swing to a balanced finish
• –Finish your putting swing up your target line to let the ball pass the hole.
  
• Practice with your swing goals in mind using GOLFSTR+ before you reach the first hole. Then keep those thoughts throughout your round. Buy one today at www.GOLFSTR.com