I enjoy time on the range as it allows honing your skills without the pressure of performance that playing presents. The range provides a significant level of privacy that we often don’t get in everyday life. You’re usually alone in your own hitting station, absorbed in your swing, your body’s reactions, how you’re doing, and […]
Ben Hogan
On Curing the Shanks Via a New Swing
As I mentioned in my last post, I’ve been plagued by the shanks lately, and was at a complete loss about how to treat my affliction. Feeling desperate, I combed YouTube, viewing every solution I could find. But no dice. Nothing worked. Butch Harmon had the best explanation of cause–closing the clubface severely at impact, […]
Tiger Did It!
Tiger did it! He won the Masters. This win is up there with Arnold’s dramatic come from behind 1960 U.S. Open win, Hogan’s comeback (from serious injury) win at the 1950 U.S. Open, coined the “miracle at Merion”, 46 year old Jack’s ’86 Masters, and Tiger’s ’97 Masters, and, yes, amateur Francis Ouimet’s amazing win […]
Prediction Time for the Masters
My prediction for the Masters winner is Rory McIlroy. Right. Pretty safe. But not really, given the depth of the field. Hell, an amateur could win. Freddie could win. As could Bernhard Langer. And certainly Tiger Woods, at 43, could take the green jacket. There are probably 20 players who could easily win, and 20 […]
Notes During The Players
A few notes during The Players And now the Players, considered by some a fifth major. All the big guns are there: Koepka, Thomas, DJ, Spieth, Fowler, Rose, McIlroy. And Cameron Champ, the longest driver on tour, who was in last place after the first round and withdrew during the second with a sore back. […]
The Toughest Thing About Golf
Here’s some simple advice on overcoming golf’s toughest conundrum: the missing link between range and course.
Swing Sequence
To paraphrase Sholom Aleichem, golf instructors are just like lawyers are just like physicians: what one says, the other contradicts. Concerning the sequencing of the body during a well-executed golf swing, it seems like every instructor will give you a different answer as to what follows what. And it could very well be that the golf swing is so complicated and human bodies and minds are so different that there isn’t one standard sequence everyone can rely upon to bring the clubface squarely into the ball…
Dealing with Injuries
China has recently banned golf for its 88 million Communist Party members (yes, 88 million!), labeling it bourgeois, decadent, and too representative of Western values. But we democrats know it to be a game that can etch good character and perseverance, especially in the face of injury. Though not quite as brutal as rugby, it can also wear […]
A Simple, Repeatable Swing
One of the challenges of the game, as many handicappers and pros will attest, is bringing your driving range game to the course. And I think the main reason for that is the nature of both venues. On the range, everything is the same: same lie, same terrain, same target, same time between shots, same […]