Who's Your Caddie ... On The Golf Course

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Come on, tell me - Who's Your Caddie? I can't tell you how many times I've heard a Golfer tell me that they played better when they've had a chance to play 18 holes with a Caddie. Why is this? And how can you incorporate these same strategies and techniques into your game all the time?

Is it because they're cleaning your clubs after each shot, raking your bunkers or even carrying your clubs? That may be a small influence. Or can it be that after a couple of holes of watching you play, they know more about your game and your abilities than you may know about yourself?

Now, can you learn how to develop this talent and apply it to your game?

I believe that your good rounds are with a Caddie because they give you the correct club for each shot, along with making a PLAN for you. The Caddie isn't allowing you to play shots that you don't have the ability to play consistently. The Caddie is forcing you to play to your Strengths and away from your Weaknesses.

"Mr. Smith, it's 135 yards to carry the bunker on the right, but there's nothing to carry on the left - it's a wide open approach. So aim left and make a smooth swing with your 8-iron." Though, if you were playing without a Caddie, it might've turned out to be you trying to hit the ball over the sand bunker with your 9-iron.

Maybe you need to be your own Caddie on the golf course. Not just doing the usual Caddie duties of taking care of the clubs, sand bunkers and tending the flag – maybe you can learn to PLAN your game around the golf course like a high ranking Caddie would help you do.

When a Golfer is playing on the golf course – they can't see themselves play. And I'm not talking about watching your swing on video. I'm talking about how you play and the decisions you make on the golf course. When a talented Caddie watches a Golfer – that Caddie can see within a couple of holes what distance you should be hitting your 7-iron from. Or I should say – they know the distances you can consistently hit all your clubs.

Yet, many Golfers go for years, hundreds of rounds, thousands of shots without knowing as much about their game as a Caddie would by just watching you for two holes. Now this isn't an advertisement for you to get a Caddie your next round. This is to say – Most Golfers don't have a PLAN based on what truly are their Strengths and Weaknesses.

Are the yardages you can hit your golf clubs - on a consistent basis - important to know?

Absolutely! Because 99% of the time – you have to be your own Caddie on the golf course – and I'm not talking about just the club cleaning and raking the bunker tasks – you need to determine what your abilities are. You need to understand the yardage you can consistently hit your 7-iron as opposed to the yardage you can hit the ball when you hit it your best – "I can hit my 7-iron 155 yards when I hit it well."

Yet, how many times out of 10 can you hit it well? If you hit your 7-iron 155 yards only 3 times out of 10 – what distances and directions are you hitting it the other 7 times? I don't know – maybe 147 yards, but I guarantee that there isn't a Golfer on the Planet that hits the ball the best they can more than 3 times out of 10. And most Golfers are basing their distances on only what they can hit it on their best shots.

Again, this example can be made with any club or any distance that pertains to your game. Let's just make this simple by sticking with a 6-iron and 7-iron, along with a 155 yard shot.

Though, many Golfers blame bad shots primarily on their golf swing – yet, maybe you make a lot of bad golf swings because you continually have the wrong club and an unrealistic PLAN for many of your shots? On the other hand, if you were able to make your PLAN based on how your Caddie would be doing it - by watching you and understanding what your abilities are – maybe you'd come to the realization that if you played your 6-iron from 155 yards that you might hit the ball well 6 times out of 10.

If you could instantly double your consistency by going from one club to another – would you do it?

Though, I'm sure that there are some Golfers that are now saying – "Yea, but what would happen if I hit my 6-iron really well? I don't want to hit the golf ball over the green." Yet, you wouldn't hit it over the green because if it were 155 yards to the center of the green – it's most likely at least 170 yards to the back of the green. And if you hit your 7-iron 155 yards on your best shot – trust me, you're not hitting your 6-iron more than 170 yards on your best swing.

So, if it's true that you should take your 6-iron as opposed to your 7-iron in the example above – and most people don't ever consistently switch to a longer club and swing smoother; usually most Golfers switch to the shorter club and swing harder – but if it's true that you could hit the golf ball better - twice as often: Why wouldn't you do it consistently?

I can't tell you how many times during our GMS 9 hole On-course Training that a Golfer would say that they were going to hit a club from a distance that I knew they couldn't hit the golf ball well - consistently enough. So after a discussion, I'm often able to convince the Golfer to hit their 6-iron as opposed to their 7-iron. And then after they hit the green with their 6-iron, I'd ask them to hit the same shot with their 7-iron.

How many times do you think the person that successfully used their 6-iron was able hit the ball on the same green from that same distance with their 7-iron?

Exactly less than 10% of the time. Because the Golfer knew that they'd have to swing just a little bit harder ‘to get it there' – and because of that they wouldn't hit the golf ball as solid and they'd end up missing short of the green or flaring the ball off to the side into the sand, water, trees or otherwise.

Why were so many Golfers that took their 6-iron able to hit the green much more often? My belief is that they knew that they had the correct club in their hands and were able to make a smooth, natural swing that had all the parts of their body working together to produce a solid ball strike. Which are exactly the kinds of swings we like to see at GMS.

Why did they miss so frequently with their 7-iron? My belief is that because you know you have to be absolutely perfect, while at the same time giving it a little bit extra to be able to ‘get the ball there' - was enough to throw off your golf swing.

The Monkey just goes out and hits the clubs they always hit because "if I hit it well, I can get it there".

The Player makes a more consistent swing because their PLAN is based on what their Caddie would tell them to do.

Go ahead, Be a Player!

Be your own Caddie.

Regards,

Marc Solomon - Your Instructor For Life

www.GolfMadeSimple.com

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*Look below this week's poll for last week's results.

This Week's Question:

What's the most important distance you should know before selecting a golf club and hitting a shot to the green?

- CLICK ON THE BEST ANSWER -

A. To the Front of the green

B. To the Center of the green

C. To the Back of the green

*Please note: The results of this poll will be announced in next weeks issue!

Last Week's Poll Question Results:

If you have a tendency to slice the golf ball with your Driver – what part of your swing should you spend the most time working on to 'fix' your slice?

The answer was C - Impact. If you didn't see last week's poll and would like to see the explanation on why C was the best answer and why knowing this will help you to 'fix' your slice ... click here

Votes received by the readers of GIW:

A) your set-up - 237 votes
B) backswing (takeaway) - 102 votes
C) impact - 462 votes
D) follow-through - 120 votes

"I Made All My Goals For The Year!"

Hayden,

Glenda and I took the GMS course in Boca at the end of March. At that time, one year into my golfing career, my best game was a 108, I rarely made par, and my handicap was 39+. I had three goals for my game for this season: break 100, get a birdie, get my handicap below 30.

Long story short, I made 99 twice this year, got two birdies, and my handicap index is now 29.9. I made all my goals for the year!

Granted, there were a couple of times that my game took a slide, but all I had to do was remember the GMS basics and think "Tic Toc". The swing would come back and the game would get more consistent.

Glenda and I are really thankful for the things that we learned and look forward to attending another class in the Spring.

Rocky E – Bettendorf, Iowa – Sent October 23rd, 2008

Attended Boca Raton, Florida location on March 28th to 30th, 2008

"Almost 7 Strokes Off My Handicap In Less Than 4 Months!"

GMS,

I attended a session in June at Amelia Island.  Since that time, my handicap index has improved dramatically in less than 4 months from 37.4 to 30.7, so needless to say - I am pleased with the direction things have gone over the summer.

On two occasions I've broken 100, scoring a 95 in July and another 95 on a hard course on October 10.  One of my friends has signed up for GMS after seeing what it has done for me.  

Thanks for helping me to improve my game.

Bryan F – Atlanta, Georgia – Sent October 19th, 2008

Attended Amelia Island, Florida location on June 27th to 29th, 2008

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