Tales From The Bunker

A smooth golf ball driven by a tour player would go about 130 yards. As we all know the average tour pro hits their drivers around 295 yards.  Why the difference?  The Dimples!!

A ball with no dimples is akin to a bullet. It will fly but it doesn’t create lift. A dimpled ball creates more spin and climbs into the air more easily because it has lift from the dimples. But all dimples do not behave alike. The size, shape, depth, number of, pattern and overall surface coverage of the dimples all influence the ball’s aerodynamic lift and drag properties.

The Rules of Golf only have a few formal rules covering dimples, which has opened the door to ball manufacturers. The USGA does require that a ball must be aerodynamically symmetrical.  While most balls have between 300-450 dimples some claim to have many more. The idea is to make the surface of the golf ball more uniform to improve the consistency of the aerodynamic performance.

Dimples affect trajectory but not spin. A particular dimple design can result is a higher of lower trajectory by modifying the dimensions of the dimples. Dimple patterns are designed to minimize drag. The larger the total volume of the dimples, the lower the lift. In other words, balls with large or deep dimples are more likely to produce a lower trajectory.

What does this all mean for duffers like us?  Probably not much. For the more accomplished player, choosing a ball that fits their game may just shave off a few strokes using technology (plus practice).

As always keep “em in the fairway.

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When your ball is greenside with the cup 30 feet away from the fringe do you try to be a PGA Professional? You pick up a sand wedge or a pitching wedge and try to fly the ball to the hole. When I try the ball occasionally flies very nicely to the hole. But often it goes everywhere but where I want it to go. We all know the line drive over the green or the flubbed shot that goes three feet.   There is a better way.

Learn the bump and run. It is not sexy but it is effective. The idea is to try to fly the ball 20% of the way and have it roll 80%. Use a seven or a six iron or even a five if necessary. Place the ball back in your stance with a majority of your weight on your front foot. Have the shaft leaning ahead of the golf ball. Then just make a putting motion. It’s amazing! With a little practice your ball starts ending up consistently near the hole.

Remember it is easier to hat a ball shorter and gain consistency. Forget about sexy, look for results.

As always, keep ‘em in the fairway!

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In recent blogs we have been discussing establishing rhythm prior to playing and sticking to your pre-shot routine. Perhaps the most difficult part (at least for me) of a routine is visualization.

Nick Faldo has stated “Your body will do what your mind pictures – that’s golf in a nutshell”. If it was only that easy! But I do have some suggestions on improving you visualization ability.

When visualizing, the word “don’t” cannot be in your mind. If you are thinking “Don’t hit it into the lake on the right“ the ball will undoubtedly go into the lake. You cannot ignore the existence of the lake but rather acknowledge its existence and turn that to your advantage by focusing with even more urgency on positively visualizing where you do want the shot to go.

The cornerstone of visualization is painting positive pictures of what you want the ball to do. And the more detail the better. Visualize the ball all the way to its finish. You don’t want to only see it start out on the correct trajectory because the mind might think its okay after that for the ball to slice or hook.

On the tee work backwards from the green to visualize how you are going to play the hole and then you can more easily visualize each shot as you execute it.

For me it can be mentally tiring to visual all of the shots in 18 holes. At times my mind does wander and the result is usually not pretty. I find it less tiring if I take one hole at a time and try to be in the present. I can only hit one shot at a time so I try to only think about the shot that is next, what club am I going to hit and what will it look like. Thinking about one shot is not overwhelming; thinking about 18 holes is definitely overwhelming.

Yes it is hard but the more you practice visualizing your shot the easier it becomes. The sooner you start the sooner your golf scores will improve.

As always, keep ‘em in the fairway.

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Since today is our last day in Florida I decided to get in a round of unhurried golf yesterday unlike in my last blog. What a difference.

Instead of arriving at the last minute, I had plenty of time to warm up correctly. Following is the routine I followed, stolen from many PGA professionals, which helped immensely.

Start with a few chips or putts to ease into a good rhythm. Include putting to the edge of the green to help your feel and a few straight six footers to check you technique.

Then it is time to warm up. Start with stretching which we have covered in previous blogs.

At the range begin with short swings and focus first on loosening up the wrist and forearms.  As you loosen up, try staying relaxed through the neck, shoulders and arms.  The last thing you want is to be tense.

Start with a nine iron and work your way up hitting every other iron, through the hybrids and woods. Hit only two or three balls with each club. Hit only several balls with the driver unless you have problems. (Like me) If the driver is not happy, go back down to your mid irons and work back up emphasizing tempo.

Finish with some full and partial wedges to slow down you tempo and ensure good rhythm. Per our last blog, please remember to use your pre-shot routine on some of the shots to insure good rhythm.

If there is time return to the practice green for a few putts.

I followed the previous advice yesterday and what a difference in my first few holes from my last round. Maybe the pros know what they are doing! Unfortunately reality finally set in and I had my fair share of bad shots but I was quite pleased with my score.  My new golf resolution in to try to arrive early enough at the course to warm up properly but I am sure life will sometimes interfere.

Until next time, keep ‘em in the fairway.

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