Yes, it’s 3 games that you play against yourself on every hole that you play. If you think of it this way, it will help you perform better on every round you play. Game 1 is: drives landing in the fairway. Game 2 is: hitting Greens In Regulation (GIR). Game 3 is: avoiding 3 putts. Of course hitting it close for a 1 putt green is a bonus. The best part of this approach is that every hole is a new set of games that you play against yourself.
When your play these “games”, keep your score by placing a dot in the upper left corner of your score card square for each hole where your drive lands in the fairway (or in a good location for your second shot). Place a dot in the upper right corner if you hit the green in regulation (or a good putting location). Enter your number of putts in the lower right corner. As you improve your totals for each of the 3 games, your scores will drop.
Driving Game: In this game you should pay attention to the shape of your shot and the shots that give you the best distance. Of course the longer the shot the easier it is to hit your GIR.
>A longer swing path with a straight leading arm does not have to reach horizontal in the backswing. Just make sure that you force your shoulder rotation in the backswing with a straight leading arm to build power in your swing.
>Limit your backswing so that you can keep your head down and eye on the ball (without bending your leading arm). If you focus on keeping your leading arm straight, over time your will improve your shoulder rotation and increase your distance. Swinging with a straight leading arm is critical for consistent hits but it takes time to change from a baseball swing to a golf swing.
>Start your down swing with your hip. Swing from the inside up the slot by flattening your swing plane to hold your lag and whip your club up the slot for more power. Jim McLean does this with a slight loop at the top: swing straight back and create a slight loop at the top to swing on a lower plane up the slot from the inside to outside across the ball.
GIR Game: It’s all about direction control. You know the club that should reach the green, so choose a less lofted club and swing with slightly less speed & a lot more control. If there are too many hazards around the green or the green is too elevated, land your shot in a safe area where you can chip your next shot close to the hole to make sure that you minimize your putts.
Green Game: Getting 1 putt on a green is wonderful but your goal is to avoid 3 putt greens.
>Reading the right break is critical to minimize your second putt. You can only learn this with practice and getting a feel for the speed of the green for each day when you play.
>Practice the swing speed that you know will pass the hole by up to a feet (even if you are only 1 or 2 feet from the hole) to avoid direction changes from bumps and the major break as the ball slows down. [Stop trying to make the perfect putt to die into the hole. Get that out of your mind.] Then step up and make the same swing (before your muscles freeze up and your mind starts to think up excuses to miss the putt— stay focused).
>Don’t stand over the ball thinking for 5 seconds like Jason Dufner at the Players on the 18th hole where he missed a 3 foot putt and then a 2 foot putt. Nerves caused him to short-putt on many of his closing holes before the 18th. Those 2 putts missed on the 18th cost him $770,000 by moving from second to a tie for 5th.
Golf is a game that you play against yourself. Play these 3 games on every hole and forget about what your partners are doing. Total your scores on all 3 games so that you can set your own personal records. The more you play these games, the lower your score will drop. Practice with GOLFSTR+ to improve your swing with all 6 swing fixes. Buy one today at www.golfstr.com
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You make the game more complicated than it is .
Just play the game and enjoy .Don’t ‘screw yourself up with all these (useless )recommendations !
Hi Raymond, You have reached an age where improvement is not your goal. When I reach 80 I hope I can still play the game for exercise and relaxation the way you do. New golfers and golfers in their pre-80’s still have a passion for ways to make improvements in their games.
I hope you liked the video of Jason Dufner? Those putts were missed on the final hole where the winner won $1.98 million. Lots of pressure and I’m sure Jason is wondering how he can make important putts when he is playing his next tournament.
It never hurts to read fresh ideas to improve your game.