Have You Ever Lost It On The Golf Course? The answer is Optimism. The question – What does every round of golf start with? How many holes on the golf course does your optimism last? Can you make it past the 15th hole without losing some optimism? Ok, ok – can you make it past
If you had to choose which group of clubs you had to take out of your bag, which would you choose? Group A – Your 3, 4 and 5 irons or Group B – Your Pitching Wedge and Sand Wedge Which would you choose A or B? Now if you chose Group A, you’re without
“BAD STREAK” You’re Not Alone. We all go through “Good Streaks” on the golf course and “Bad Streaks”. Even Tiger and Annika go through their share of “Bad Streaks”. So you shouldn’t feel too bad when you go through your own “Bad Streak”.
How many bad shots can you expect to hit during a round of golf? Or better yet – how many bad shots are you able to accept during a round of golf? And then to take it one step further – how many bad golf shots can you hit and still play your best round
What is One Good Habit that Players do that you should try to copy so that you get better? Isn’t this an important question? Let me give you an example of what I mean. And as you read this example, see if you know anyone that has a similar approach to the game.
The Question: When should you practice your golf so that you play your best in May, June, July and August? The Answer: For many Golfers, the next few months are the time you should be working to improve your golf game so that you’re ready for The Season. Unfortunately, many Golfers in the US, Canada
‘Would You Be Happy Shooting An 83?’ Are you interested in shooting an 83? Well, if you’re a 6 handicap … probably not. However, if you currently score in the 90’s or 100’s … it probably sounds like a good goal to accomplish. As I’m always fascinated in new ways to describe to Golfers how
Golf can be a crazy game. For a few holes you can be on top of the world. Then, all of a sudden you hit a bad shot and for the next 14 holes you feel like you have never swung a golf club before as everything feels wrong! “How can things go bad so
The Golfer’s age old question is “what is the simplest, most effective way for me to improve my golf scores.” It’s a brilliant question – so I’m going to give you a brilliant answer! Let’s start by talking about last week’s Nationwide Tour Event in Idaho – Hunter Haas won by scoring an impressive 4
How many times do you expect to hit your golf ball onto the green from over 200 yards away? Well, before you read anymore, please say your answer aloud so that you’re committed to your answer throughout this article. It will come in handy as we go forward! Now, before we talk about the number
Below are some questions that pertain to your golf game. By answering these questions we can find out what type of Golfer you are, what gets you motivated to play better and what aspect of your game you need to work on harder. Now some of these questions are a little outlandish and will never
Are you playing up to your potential on the golf course? Or are you still playing to the same level you were 3 years ago? A Player is constantly improving their game by using a “Results Based Approach” of having a PLAN to improve. A Monkey continues to stay frustrated with their golf game because
I’m sure you have heard at least one or two of the below quotes on the golf course recently. If so, please understand that you’ll usually hear these quotes coming from an above 90 Golfer rather than a below 80 Golfer. So if you hear a Golfer that happens to break 90 “every-once-in-a-while” say one
So my question for you this week is – “How often are you hitting your 3 wood each round of golf?” Nearly every Golfer that we see on the golf course is in the habit of using their 3 wood too often during a round of golf. In fact we believe that most Golfers could
“It’s all in your left arm. I need to stop using my right hand. My right hand is ruining my golf swing!” That’s all we hear from right-handed Golfers coming to see us. Everything these right-handed Golfers have told us is that the power comes from their left side. And the sad part is that
Would a Golfer with poor balance have a better or worse chance of having a consistent golf swing? The obvious answer seems to be that the Golfer that doesn’t have good balance would have a more inconsistent golf swing than the Golfer that employs good, solid balance. So if that’s true – why haven’t you
We believe that more strokes are lost with bad drives than are lost with bad putts. And although you have been brainwashed to believe that putting is the most important part of your score – your Driver wields even more influence than your putter.
Are you more likely to hit a bad tee shot after making a double bogey (or worse) on the previous hole? Or are you more likely to hit a bad tee shot after making a birdie on the previous hole? It is amazing how many Golfers I have seen make a great birdie (or miraculous
Is it possible to continually get better and better every time you go to the golf course or driving range? Yes, I believe that every Golfer has the ability to make small improvements every time they go to the golf course. This is not to say that you have the ability to continually improve one
There’s nothing like the expectation of standing on the tee feeling confident that you’re going to make a nice, smooth golf swing that produces a great drive down the middle of the fairway. Being able to watch the golf ball sail through the air as it splits the fairway is worth everything and anything! That’s
As we move from August to September – it would be nice to hear that your golf scores continually improved throughout the summer. Which brings me to this question: “were you playing to improve each round or were you more focused on searching for your golf swing every time it was your shot?” It would
I recently observed a situation you mightl be surprised to hear. In fact, many of you may not believe this story at all. On the golf course the other day, I was watching a mid 90’s to mid 100’s Golfer play a few holes. On the 1st hole (a Par 4), this Golfer was on
Have you ever hit a golf shot that felt so good and effortless that you said to yourself – “that was perfect. Why can’t I consistently make that same golf swing everytime?” What’s the issue that’s standing in your way of an effortless golf swing and being able to say: “I hardly felt like I
These quotes make me cringe on the golf course because they might be holding you back from becoming more consistent – “That was a bad shot because I picked up my head” (Trust me, the reason you hit the bad shot happened well before your head moved. The feeling you have that you picked up
Why is it that some Golfers improve so swiftly and some Golfers don’t improve as fast? How is it possible that we see a Golfer that struggles to break 100 and then within a few weeks, he/she is emailing us about shooting an 88? Yet, how is it possible that we also can get an
The day has come for you to make a commitment to your Golf Game. The Player makes a commitment to “play to their Strengths and stay away from their Weaknesses!” The Monkey doesn’t even make an attempt to know what their Strengths and Weaknesses are! So what are your Strengths and Weaknesses? Most Golfers aren’t
You know, I give more credit to a 16 handicap that goes to a 3 handicap than I give to a Golfer that makes it to the PGA Tour. Don’t get me wrong – the PGA Tour Player is the greatest Golfer in the world. The skill level of this Player is off the charts.
Your Warm-up to play golf can be such an over-looked aspect in how you play on the golf course. Many Golfers take it for granted how vital the process of warming-up can be to your results on the golf course. And although there are many types of Golfers that play many different styles of golf
How Do You Play To Your Strengths? Click Here To Listen to The Audio Version of Golf Improvement Weekly It seems to me that we’ve gotten away from what we’re playing golf for. In our attempts to hit the golf ball better we have lost the art of strategy.
These days more is written about the golf swing than I can ever remember. It seems as if almost every year there’s a hot new golf swing that everybody is trying. Did you try one of these “new” golf swings this summer? Have you ever been involved in a conversation like the one below?
How can you become more consistent with your Golf Swing? What do you need to do to become more consistent? In order to become consistent – watch consistent people! And there’s nobody more consistent on the golf course than the Players on the PGA Tour!
Why do we call a frustrated Golfer a Monkey? It has nothing to do with one’s ability. It has to do with how a Golfer goes about learning. I’ve seen Monkey’s that shoot in the low 80’s and I’ve seen Players that are just starting to break 100. The difference is that the Monkey will
Are you sick and tired of going into each new golf season with high expectations and then ending your season not reaching your goals? Then you promise yourself that you’re going to work hard during the winter to work on your grip, your swing plane, keeping your head still. And every year around this time
The thought of swinging too hard is enough to make even the best Golfer stop to take a deep breath. For as long as many of us can remember, it’s been beaten into our brains that swinging too hard is one of the 3 Golf Commandments never to betray. And so it is that whenever
Congratulations to Brian Vranesh. Who’s Brian Vranesh? He’s Mr. 81 on the PGA Tour this year! What’s Mr. 81? He’s the first Player on the PGA Tour this year to score above 80. Now this isn’t to make fun of or ridicule Vranesh – this is just to show that even people who play golf
I overheard a conversation the other day at the golf course where two Golfers were debating the importance of either a One Plane Golf Swing or a Two Plane Golf Swing. So when I hear Golf Conversations like this – I enjoy listening (at least for a couple minutes) to Golfers talk about such important
So we left off last week’s Why Henry Hates Golf speaking about how to get the golf ball up in the air. The common fallacy in golf is that you need to get underneath the golf ball to get it up in the air. And if you try to get underneath the golf ball –
Can you improve your swing by working on it 100% of the time? Can you improve your swing even more by working on your swing 50% of the time and working on your body 50% of the time? There’s no doubt you’d find a lot more consistency splitting your time between practicing your swing and
More than a few Golfers have written to me asking if I could write an article on “how to keep my poise and play golf with very slow Golfers”. This seems to be an issue that affects a lot of Golfers and your ability to keep your rhythm going on the golf course. Let me
With much awaited anticipation Golf Improvement Weekly has arrived in 2007. From Golf Made Simple, we wish all of our readers a very Happy and Healthy New Year. If you have not read the previous issues from December 2006, you may be asking yourself “Who is Henry?” Henry is a frustrated golfer and is in
Continuing from last weeks ‘Why Henry Hates Golf’ we left off with Henry saying to Marc that he is frustrated with his game and wants to become more consistent. Marc starts to speak about what the best players do to become more consistent and Henry is eagerly awaiting his answer. “Well Henry, first you’ll need
Why is it that on the first tee you can always tell who’s a Player and who’s struggling with inconsistency. I mean even before this Golfer swings to hit the golf ball – you can tell how good a shot they’re going to make. The Player just has this look about him/her – they reek
Hitting the golf ball farther should be a priority of yours. If you look at the top Golfers in the world – the majority of them hit the golf ball a good distance. The problem is that many Golfers continually hit bad golf shots because of their quest to hit the golf ball farther. For
Can you improve your golf game by watching John Daly? Yes, you absolutely can. You just have to know what to look for. As much fun as it used to be to watch John Daly hit a golf ball – it’s sad to see him now. It doesn’t look as if he’s having a fun
“Only A Small Percentage Of Golfers Will Improve” Why we call a frustrated Golfer a Monkey has nothing to do with one’s ability or the scores that you shoot. It has to do with how a Golfer goes about the learning and improvement process. I’ve seen Players that are just starting to break 100 and
‘How To Fix The Cause Of Golf Swing Problems?’ All I want for Christmas is a …. Golf swing. Imagine if it was as easy as sending a letter to the North Pole. “Santa, all I want is a consistent golf game. I’ve been a good ___ (girl or boy, you fill in the blank).
‘I’m going to try to the Stack and Tilt. I’ve tried the 8 Step Swing, The X Factor, Slow and Low, Square to Square, along with every other new swing that has come out. ‘I’ve tried video analysis, I’ve tried Golf Tec, I’ve even tried getting down on my hands and knees to pray.
“I hate this game! I hate it! Why do I play this stupid game? I quit – I’m never playing again!” Henry blasted himself. I heard Henry as he was walking to his car and wondered why he was so down on himself. Henry is a hard worker, I see him at least once a
Would You Rather hit the golf ball 300 yards and have 41 putts a round or Would You Rather hit the ball 200 yards and have 27 putts a round? Both the 300 yard drives and the 27 putts are great stats to have. Both signify that you have talent. But, it’s rare to have
If you’re looking to improve your golf game and understand how a Player practices (as opposed to how a struggling Golfer practices) – read the below paragraphs and fill in the blanks as they pertain to your golf game. Then below that section – we’ll explain how you can use your answers to improve your
Golfers will go to great lengths to hit the golf ball better. Many Golfers have a tendency to believe just about anybody and everybody that promises to have a Theory on a better golf swing. And although in the back of your mind – you know that much of this stuff is too good to
As it typical happens, the Golfer that hit the golf ball the best, won the Masters. Adam Scott led the field in hitting the most Greens in Regulation by hitting 55 out of the 72 greens … including 30 of 36 for the last two rounds!
The story of the year in Golf just might be Zach Johnson. And his game might be a perfect blueprint for you to follow so that you can also have your game get to the next level. I don’t know much about Zach Johnson – but I do know that he’s having a career year
The idea that golf needs to be as complicated as many Golfers are making it is a frustrating/confusing concept to me. Every week, I hear of a new, groundbreaking concept that someone has come up with that’ll help all Golfers to hit the golf ball farther and straighter. I’ve heard about new grips, swing plane
Stats are a great way for you to understand what your expectations should be on the golf course. And believe it or not, many Golfers expectations of what the range of scores that they should be scoring is far off. For example: once a Golfer scores a 95 for the first time, they usually expect
So the Golfer said to me – “I want to get my swing on video so I can see what I’m doing wrong. I want to compare my swing side by side to a PGA Tour Player’s swing to see what I need to correct.” And I said to myself – Here’s another Golfer that’s
Would you be happy if you shot what might be your best score ever in an important event or tournament, then shot a disappointing score the next round? Would you celebrate or would you lament?
Can Your Golf Swing Produce A 300 Yard Drive? Understanding the true distance you hit the golf ball might be one of the top 5 factors in improving your golf swing. Most Golfers have no idea what distance they hit the golf ball and because of that ….. well, bad things happen.
When’s the last time you gave your golf game a thorough self assessment to find where you need to improve the most? Most Golfers can not give themselves an accurate assessment about their golf game because they do not diligently track what they do well and what they’re inconsistent with. They just go out on
Has there ever been an athletic movement more over taught, with “to-do’s” and “not-to-do’s” … than the golf swing? These Golden Rules cause more confusion in the Golf swing than they help to correct.
The idea of standing on the first tee without knowing how you are going hit your first tee shot is enough to make a grown man cry. Believe me … I have seen the tears after watching Golfers hit bad tee shots.
Do you make better golf swings while thinking about what number shot you are about to play? Well, approximately 80% of Golfers are doing the same by thinking about score as they continually suffer from inconsistent golf swings. Thus, I hope you read our thoughts below so that you can find a better way to
Who would like to shoot 81 for 18 holes? Without a doubt, at least 8 out of every 10 Golfers would love this! If you’re one of the 8, the first thing you need to do is have the correct expectations as far as how well you need to hit the golf ball.
What’s the secret to getting more distance with your golf swing? How can a PGA or LPGA Tour Player hit the golf ball so far … yet make it look so effortless? What is their secret to more distance?
What’s the hardest thing in golf? While you may ask eight Golfers that question – you may receive eight different answers. Yet, the one answer always in the Top 2 will be … “Moving onto the next shot after a bad shot.”
Most Golfers that want to improve their golf swing often go on a rollercoaster ride of ups and downs. Once they finally start to get a feeling of hitting the golf ball great … and getting close to the summit of golf swing perfection … out of nowhere, for no apparent reason, their golf swing
What is it about the sand bunker shot that scares the pants off some Golfers? Why is it that some Golfers can just hop in the sand, look at the target, wiggle their feet into the sand and get the ball out every time? Yet some Golfers go into the sand knowing what they exactly
“Fixing Your Slice Off The Tee Comes Down To Feeling Your Golf Swing” If there’s one thing that haunts Golfers more than missing a 3-foot putt, it has to be slicing the ball off the tee. Fixing your slice can be a complicated task or it can be a simple solution – the choice is
Based on working with over 1,200 Golfers each year … one of the most taught golf tips that Golfers are working on is called “Toe-up to Toe-up”. Unfortunately for people trying to improve their golf swing … “Toe-up to Toe-up” has been taught so often that it has been pretty much annointed as being as
Do you know how to caddie yourself into a good round of golf? The best Players in the world are much better than the rest of us with all facets of golf. Really, to compare ourselves to being anywhere close to as good as a PGA or LPGA Tour Player would be the same as
The frustrated Golfer is constantly trying to incorporate new swing tips into their golf swing. Although trying a new tip into your swing each time you go to the golf course is a consistent habit. Trying to implement the swing tip into your golf swing is not.
The end of the golf season often ends with most Golfers dreaming about how much better they want to next spring. Which means an inconsistent season is often ended with the thought of next year … “I’m going to do it. I’m going to work hard to finally improve my game.”
Continuing from last week’s Golf Improvement Weekly about the length of your drives ….. Tiger Woods only hits a drive over 300 yards 24% of the time. Or in other words – only once in four drives. So if his drives over 300 yards can be considered his best drives – then 3 out of
There are a few characteristics of a consistent Player that all Golfers should be striving to achieve. For if you don’t know what it takes to be consistent … how will you ever make it there? As most Golfers just go out and do the same things over and over again, repeating the same mistakes
85% of the Golfers we see average more over par on the Par 5’s than on the Par 3’s. Yet, the Pro’s are far more under Par on the Par 5’s than the Par 3’s. It’s completely opposite between the best Players in the world and the regular Golfer. Maybe there’s something we can learn
If you had a chance to go back to the beginning of your golf – what would you change? And as I can hear the echo of 1,000’s of Golfers right now saying: “I would have started playing at a younger age” … that isn’t what I’m looking for.
Why do some Golfers improve while others are stagnant for years? I know of one Golfer that has been playing for 15 years and has been a 21 handicap for 13 of those years. I also know of another Golfer that first came to GMS 3 years ago as a 28 handicap and is already
Who would you rather play golf like – Phil Mickelson or Joe Durant? Now Joe Durant is a fine Player or he wouldn’t be on the PGA Tour – though I’m sure that Joe Durant wishes he could play like Mickelson. So unless you’re Joe Durant’s mother, I’m assuming you’d pick Mickelson.
One of the perks we receive at GMS is that we’re forwarded every email in hyperspace that has a reference to golf. Some are good, some are bad and some are excellent. I’ve now seen two excellent golf emails in the last 6 months.
Why do some Golfers improve while others are stagnant for years? How is it possible that one Golfer that has been playing for 15 years has been a 21 handicap for 13 of those years and another Golfer that has been playing for 3 ½ years is already down to an 11 handicap. And the
Are you interested in shooting an 83? Well, if you’re a 6 handicap … probably not. However, if you currently score in the 90’s or 100’s … it probably sounds like a good goal to accomplish.
Who is most likely to have a more consistent golf swing … a Golfer with good balance or a Golfer with poor balance? The obvious answer seems to be that the Golfer that has good balance will be more consistent. Now, why will the Golfer with poor balance be more inconsistent? Because the poor balance
How may Golf Instructors does it take to screw in a light bulb? If it’s the same amount that it took for me to get my golf swing consistent enough to think about becoming a PGA Professional – it’s a lot more than 1 and a little less than 100.
If you had to find one word that is the most important thought in your golf swing … what would it be? The reason I ask is because too many Golfers have too many thoughts in their head as they play. And as your mind is cluttered with two or three different ideas as you
Believe it or not, the expectations of many Golfers of what their range of scores should be is far off. For example: once a Golfer scores a 95 for the first time, they usually expect to score 95 or better in each of their next 10 rounds. And when this doesn’t happen, there’s often a
After the longest hiatus that Golf Improvement Weekly has ever seen (2 months) – we’re back. Just as it maybe a good thing for Golfers to take a break from the game every-once-in-a-while to refresh your brain – GIW needed to do the same. Although GMS had a record year in 2008, and 2009 is
There might not be anything that impresses me more about a Golfer than their ability to practice effectively. To be able to go the driving range with a Practice PLAN shows how serious a Golfer is towards improving. But the reality is that a Golfer that goes to hit golf balls as their sole method
“I hate this game! I hate it! Why do I play this stupid game? I quit – I’m never playing again!” Henry blasted himself.
The average Golfer uses eight different golf swings when playing a round of golf. Thus causing you to move farther and farther away from consistency because if becoming consistent with just one golf swing is not difficult enough … it’s even tougher to become consistent with eight different golf swings.
If there’s one trait that the most successful Players have, it’s coming back after a bad hole. Often times the biggest disappointment a frustrated Golfer can have is a ‘good streak’ of 4 or 5 holes followed by the infamous triple bogey.
As we were looking through Golf Improvement Weekly archives for a quote of the week, we came across a Classic GIW from 2006. As we read it – we couldn’t stop laughing at how true it is. So we want to present this GIW to you to read. This truly is a classic!
Your ball is in the trees again and you have a couple of options. You could “punch-out” sideways to the fairway or you could try to squeeze the ball between the two trees about 15 yards in front of you.
Hitting your Driver is the greatest aspect of golf. There’s nothing I’d rather do more than be able to go on the golf course and hit my Driver. Walking to the tee of a Par 3 is a let down. Why even have Par 3’s? Let’s have only Par 4’s and Par 5’s so that
Why is it that Golf is often referred to as the most difficult sport to play? Yes, golf is difficult if you want to score in the low 70‘s. Especially if you have only played for a few years, play only occasionally, spend more time working than working on your game, etc. But it shouldn’t
What’s the percentage of time that you take out your 3 wood for your second shot on a Par 5 hole? If you’re like most Golfers, the answer could be 80% or higher. Though, the Players on the PGA Tour aren’t even close to that high of a percentage. So why are you using your
Watching golf on TV is great especially if there’s a great match going on like they did last Sunday at the Honda Classic in South Florida. When a golf match gets down to the last few holes with a few Players around the lead you get to see all the great shots and all the
The Evolution of a Golfer Go From a Frustrated Golfer to a Happy Player! Click Here To Listen to The Audio Version of Golf Improvement Weekly Why is it that it seems like some people that begin to play golf pick-it-up right away? Then before you know it, they’re breaking 100, busting through 90 and
Why is it that we constantly hear that the key to a consistent golf swing is all about your Swing Plane? “Why did I slice on that shot?” It was your swing plane. “Why did I hook on that shot?” It was your swing plane. “Why did I top the golf ball on that shot?”
What’s one of the major causes for Golfers hitting inconsistent tee shots? You all pretty much know the answer … it’s when you’re swinging too hard. But even though you’re constantly telling yourself to “swing easy” … we continually have bouts of swinging too hard.
As we were reviewing some past articles from Golf Improvement Weekly, we came across this ‘gem’ from January 18th, 2005 about playing better on the Par 5’s. As many of the people reading this weren’t subscribers 3 years ago and I doubt the people who were subscribers would remember this article – we’re repeating it.
