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Simplify Your Chipping!

If you are a golf video junkie like me, you are always looking for tips to improve your short game. Well, here is a tip……simplify your chipping. Xander Schauffele recommends finding two types of chips and focus on mastering them as soon as possible. He explains when he was playing on the Web.com tour that he had to reinvent his short game in order to head to the next level of golf. His efforts…

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Playing Golf The Hard Way

With all the videos and articles out there telling you the easiest way to play golf, I thought it would be fun to talk about reality. The reality is that golf can be easy, but for most players it is difficult and a challenge. I went through the entire gambit of these emotions yesterday while playing golf at my home course. I am slowly knocking the rust off my game and I understand the process of…

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The High Soft Lob Shot - Do You Really Need It?

Golf can be challenging enough without adding additional pressure to our game. The plethora of shots available to each golfer during a round can make our head spin with choices. One of those possibilities is the high soft lob shot! This specialty shot is difficult at best and really is something that elite golfers might master. A few years ago, I decided to carry a lob wedge because I felt I…

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Hitting Hickory Golf Clubs

HA few years back, I was introduced to playing golf with hickory shafted clubs. Thanks to Lorne Emery, President of the Golf Historical Society of Canada, I am hooked on playing these vintage beauties. I enjoy hitting them and having to use different course management strategies in order to shoot well. When I first started swinging the hickories I was challenged because I did not understand the…

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Struggling With Solid Ball Contact

The start of my 2024 golf season has seen the resurgence of a swing challenge: making solid ball contact. This is challenge is not unique to this year’s start, but on I face each year. It takes weeks for me to find my swing, train my body to play golf, and to feel comfortable with hitting a golf ball. It is a process that is a yearly tradition (much to my chagrin) the accentuates the lack of…

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How To Reset Our Golf Swing

Every golfer experiences days when we could not hit the broad side of a barn from 5 yards. Our swing feels like complete trash and we cannot seem to fix our woes. Sometimes we need a reset of our swing in order to banish our error riddled process. The challenge for most is finding a simple, easy and repeatable process to reset our golf swing. Well, I think I found one!Continue reading How To…

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Golfing For The First Time In 2024

Yesterday, I golfed for the first time in 2024. It was our annual pilgrimage to the first home course to open in the area (we were a few days late this year) and play our first round. I was lucky to hit the links with Rick, Steve and Dillon. Rick is one of my usual playing partners, so it was great to reconnect on the links. It was a great round laced with many ups and downs. Overall, it was a…

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Basic Tips Are Not Just For Junior Golfers

Teaching someone how to play golf can be a difficult task. Depending on their physical and mental abilities, explaining golf concepts is a challenge. The one thing I notice over the years is that we seem to teach young juniors different than an adult learning how to play golf. Of course, keeping it fun for juniors is key and I would suggest the same goal applies to adults. The key is finding fun,…

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Does Your Takeaway Hurt Your Golf Swing?

The golf swing is made up of a 1000 minor movements to create poetry in motion. It can be challenging at the basic level, but certain movements help easy the pressure of creating the perfect golf swing. One of the basic movements is the takeaway. Moving the club head away from the ball in such a manner as it sets up the conditions for success throughout the rest of your swing. The trick, I…

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Are You A Flipper When Chipping?

The act of chipping is a delicate shot that requires a consistent and focused movement. When the pressure grows, many amateurs have the tendency to try and help the club loft the ball during a chip. This swing fault results in flipping the club through contact. The results are usually poor and frustration does ensue. Did you know that flipping the club is an issue regardless of your skill level.…

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Conquering Your Ego

A follow-up to my last post about ego, the email below is from my best buddy in the UK. Among other things, he and I have share the passion for golf. He moved to the UK a couple of years ago and has focused on his game. Only recently has he noticed the improvements in all areas of his game.  He is his story: “This is an interesting dilemma for sure.  I know that I would NOT be willing to have…

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Great Tips For Senior Golfers

As we age, golf can become challenging than expected…..or does it? As I enter the back nine of my golfing career I often wonder what my game will be like in a few years. I have enjoyed a great deal of success over the years and my ego thinks that I should be able to continue without any challenges. Some of this is true, yet I am reminded that management of my expectations has to be part of my…

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Understanding The Phases Of Our Golf Swing

The golf swing is a fluid movement producing tremendous power. Of course the results vary depending on the player, but the intent is usually the same. Although the golf swing is intended to be one motion, it can be broken down into many subsets. These internal motions can be dissected further in order to understand what movement works best for our game. To start all of this, however, we need to…

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Open Day Of The 2024 Golf Season Is Here

The day has finally arrived! The 2024 golf season starts at my local courses. After months of lamenting, hoping and wishing, the local golf courses are opening. It is exactly 11 days longer than I had hoped, but that is the nature of Mother Nature! So, now what? What do I do next? These and many more are great questions. The trick is to start strong without causing any damage to my body. This…

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Sinking Short Putts The Easy Way

The ability to sink short putts (inside four feet) is a challenge for all amateur golfers. Many times we dread these knee knockers because we do not have an establish process for success. For years I thought that banging the ball at the hole was the road to success, however this approach is fine as long as I hit the center of the cup. For those beginners and more experienced players who want to…

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How To Hit The Driver For Beginners

Every golfer I know loves to hit the ‘big dog’! Watching their ball sail through the air hundreds of yards is fun. The challenge for many beginners to golf is how to effectively grip it and rip it. Well, the process is fundamental for every player and it does take some time to develop the swing the works best for you. If you are new to golf, it is important to develop some basic fundamentals for…

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How To Sink Long Putts

Putting is a unique skill that requires a great deal of attention to master. I spend most of my time on or around the green with my scoring clubs in hand. The club that will lower your score the most is your putter! I know this from experience because even now as a low digit handicapper, putting accounts for 40 to 50% of my score. Yup, it is the club we use the most and in many cases receives the…