2013 Masters Starts the Golf Season (Monday morning update)

Posted on April 11, 2013 by Steve

2013 Masters Starts the Golf Season

Adam Scott won the 2013 Masters, defeating Angel Cabrera on the second hole of a playoff.

Here are wrap-ups from various sites:

Masters.com

CBS Sports

ESPN

Augusta Chronicle

Going into the final day of the Masters, Brandt Snedeker and Angel Cabrera were tied at 7 under par. Phil Mickelson is predicting that someone will shoot a low score so don’t be surprised if we see some birdies at Augusta National today.

On Saturday morning Masters officials reviewed a drop made by Tiger Woods on Friday, but decided not to disqualify him, but instead give him a two-stroke penalty. I was thinking that a penalty would have disqualified him for signing an incorrect scorecard, but ESPN says a “recent rule” gives officials discretion in such a situation.

Halfway through the 2013 Masters, Justin Day led by a stroke over Fred Couples and Marc Leishman.

There were several interesting swings during Friday’s play.

The 14-year-old Guan Tianlang managed to make the cut despite what is believed to be the first slow play penalty in Masters history. He will be the low amateur as he was the only non-professional to make the cut.

Tiger Woods was tied for the lead until a bad break. He finished Friday three strokes behind Day.

There were plenty of interesting storylines from Thursday’s round. CBS has good stories from both ends of the age spectrum.

Fourteen-year-old Guan Tianlang shot an impressive 73, while 53-year-old Fred Couples was only two shots behind the leaders after opening with a 68.

Defending champion Bubba Watson got off to a tough start with a 75. The Augusta Chronicle says Bubba’s putting let him down.

The Masters is regarded by most as the start of golf season. While many golfers have already been hitting the links for weeks or even months depending on where they live, most people don’t start paying attention to the PGA Tour until the first major of the year.

I remember sitting in a dorm room in 1986 watching Jack Nicklaus’ charge to victory on the back nine (Golf Digest calls it the “greatest Masters”). The near ace at 16 is ingrained in my memory.

Many have wondered about Tiger Woods’ Major Record and whether he will pass Nicklaus’ mark. If so, he better start winning Majors again soon. We’ll see if this weekend is the beginning of Tiger getting back on track.

Of course there are other interesting storylines as the Masters gets underway.

We’ll keep you updated and add our thoughts as the 2013 Masters starts the golf season.

 

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Daniel’s 2013 Golf Season Starts Today

Posted on March 7, 2013 by Steve

Daniel’s 2013 golf season gets underway today with a match on his team’s home course. He hasn’t played much golf lately because he played on his school’s soccer and basketball teams this year so I expect it will take him a while to get into form.

Last year’s golf season didn’t end as well as he and his team hoped, but Daniel capped off his summer by winning the junior club championship.

This year’s season for Daniel’s school team is not as promising as it once was. Two of the top four players on last year’s team have transferred to different schools.

Before those moves, Daniel’s team likely would have been considered a contender for the state championship. Now, several members of the team, including Daniel, will have to step up their games to be sure the team is one of the top eight to qualify for the state tournament.

Daniel didn’t play well when the team played for seeding in today’s match so he might be playing as the third or fourth seed. One of the players who was on last year’s team now plays for one of the other school’s in today’s match, so I’m sure Daniel and the other players on his team want to play well.

I will be at the match, so I’ll update this post with the results of the match tonight.

UPDATE: Daniel played pretty well but was not putting well at all. He ended up shooting a 49, which is 13 over par on nine holes. He three-putted five of the nine holes and two-putted on the other four (although on one of those was from slightly off the green so it was technically a one-putt).

He had one par, five bogeys, a double bogey and two triple bogeys. He had four birdie putts and ended up three-putting for bogey on three of those holes. If he would have averaged a two-putt on every hole, he would have shot a 44. That’s not as good as he was playing at the end of last summer, but pretty good for the first match of the year.

The team lost the match by 20 strokes, but I expect all the players improve as the year goes on.

 

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Daniel wins Junior Club Championship

Posted on September 3, 2012 by Steve
Daniel wins Junior Championship

Daniel stands in front of his score after winning the Junior Club Championship.

Daniel won the Junior Club Championship at his home course last month, shooting a 162, 18 over par for the two-day tournament.

The championship didn’t start very well for Daniel. He was six-over par through six holes after making a bogey, a par, three more bogeys and a double bogey. Pars on holes seven through nine left him with a six-over par 42 on the front nine.

A key hole for Daniel on the first day was the par four, 10th, a slight dogleg left with water on the left and a hazard guarding the front of the green. He popped up a three-wood on his tee shot, leaving himself with about 190 yard shot.

Daniel considered hitting a seven-wood, but it would have been a long carry over the hazard to a small green. He decided instead to lay up short of the hazard, where he pitched onto the green and made a 10-foot putt for par.

Two bogeys and three pars over the next five holes left Daniel 10 over par with three holes to play. He hit his tee shot in the water on the par-three 16th and made double bogey, but parred the last two holes.

Just after he finished the first round, Daniel jokingly said he would probably be leading the tournament. When all the scores were in his 10-over par, 82, was a stroke better than the next closest competitor.

Daniel was supposed to tee off just after 1 p.m. on the second day of the championship but a strong rain storm came through the area in the morning. The weather cleared, and his group started the round at about 1:30 p.m.

The final round did not begin well for Daniel. He hooked his first tee shot into a hazard and ended up with a double bogey on the hole.

One of Daniel’s two playing partners started the day a stroke behind. He parred the first hole to go from one shot behind Daniel to one shot ahead.

A bogey on the second hole meant Daniel still trailed by one, but birdies on the next two holes put him back in the lead.

Daniel shot a 42 on the front nine for the second day in a row. The player who was a stroke behind shot a 45 to fall behind by four, but Daniel’s other playing partner shot a 39 to move into a tie with Daniel after starting three strokes back.

Neither Daniel or his fellow competitor knew it at the time, but they were both a stroke behind after the turn. Two players in the group behind them shot one over par, 37s, on the front. One of them started four shots behind Daniel, so he was leading by a stroke after nine holes. The other player who shot a 37 started six shots back and was two strokes out of the lead and one stroke behind Daniel through 27 holes of the tournament.

Daniel three-putted for bogey on the first two holes of the back nine, but then ran off a string of seven straight pars to finish with a 38 coming in and an eight over par, 80, for the day. He was ahead of both his playing partners, but did not know how the other players were doing.

When Daniel turned in his scorecard, he found out about the two other players making the turn in 37. We rode on a cart to watch them finish their rounds. We knew that one of them would need to shot a 39 on the back to tie Daniel. The other needed a 37.

On the 18th hole, one of the players had about a 15-foot par putt that lipped out. We found out a short while later that the putt would have tied Daniel if it went in. He ended up winning by a stroke.

Daniel kept his composure throughout the tournament even when he didn’t hit his best shots. He made smart decisions and never made worse than a double bogey.

The back nine on the second day played a major role in Daniel’s victory. Consistency was the key during the final stretch. Daniel kept hitting good drives and approach shots that led to pars. He hit eight of nine greens in regulation over the last nine holes.

That solid play won him the championship.

Here’s a recap of Daniel’s two rounds in the 2012 junior club championship

Round 1 on Saturday, Aug. 18

1. Popped up his drive with a driver on a downhill dogleg to the right. Ended up short and to the right with a tree impeding his approach. Hit a low fade with a three wood to just in front of the green. Chipped up to about 18 feet. Two putt for bogey.

2. Another dogleg to the right. Hit driver that went up the right side and bounced over a bunker. Had about 100 yards left. Hit approach to about 20 feet. Two putt for par.

3. Hit a low tee shot with his driver that ended up on the middle of the fairway. Approach with a 7 iron to 25 feet, just off the green, putted on then two putted for bogey.

4. Long drive up the right just missed two bunkers and stayed in the rough on par 5. Second shot into the trees on the right. Third shot faded around some trees and ended up just short of the green. chipped on but well short, 2 putted for bogey.

5. Hit a four iron short of bunkers to the right of the par 3. hit wedge to 15 feet, 2 putt for bogey.

6. Hit trees on right with his driver. Ball came down just in front of a stick. Carefully removed stick without moving the ball, but a small pine cone was just behind the ball. Hit a three wood that just barely made it to the fairway. Left with 190 yards uphill for his third. Hit short and right. Chipped up. Two putts for double bogey.

7. Three wood to the left side of the fairway. pitching wedge to just under 20 feet but off the green, putted on and made that for par.

8. Tee shot ended up just short of the green on par 3. Chipped up to about a foot and tapped in for par.

9. Driver off the tee to the left side of the fairway on par 5 with water on the left and guarding the green. Popped up a three-wood that just barely made it across the water. Hit his pitch shot short of the green. Chipped up to … Six-over, 42 on the front.

10. Popped up his tee shot. Laid up short of the hazard. Pitched to about 10 feet. Made the putt for par.

11. Short tee shot. Four iron just cleared the hazard. Chipped up. 2 putted for bogey.

12. Beautiful tee shot up the right side. Pitched to about 8 feet. Missed the putt. Par.

13. Hit the green, about 30 feet from the hole on par 3. Two putt for par.

14. Tee shot to the middle of the fairway. Sand wedge to 20 feet. 2 putt par.

15. Tee shot to the right rough on par 5. Poor 3 wood in front of left fairway bunker well short. Hit to the right of the green and in the rough. Chipped up, 2 putted for bogey.

16. Tee shot hit short of the green on par 3 and bounced in the water. Dropped and pitched onto the green. Two putts for double bogey.

17. Long tee shot to the middle of the fairway. Approach to about 15 feet. Two putts for par.

18. Tee shot up the left side on par 5 with water on the left. Laid up in the fairway. Hit the green. Two putts for par. Four-over 40 on the back.

Ten over 82 total for first day. One stroke lead.

Round 2 on Sunday. Round scheduled to start at 1:09 p.m. Delayed for about 15-20 minutes due to rain.

1. Hit a three wood off the tee into the hazard on the left. Dropped and hit to about 100 yards. Fourth shot to the right of the green, just off. putted on to 4 feet and made that for double bogey.

2. Tee shot up the right side missed the bunker but barely stayed in some bark chips. Punch shot with a six iron went over the green into a bunker. Shot out of wet sand short of the green. putted on to 8 feet and a great putt for bogey.

3. Long tee shot to the middle of the fairway. Pitching wedge to about 10 feet. Made the putt for birdie.

4. Tee shot was not long but in the left center of the fairway on par five dogleg right. Crunched a three-wood to about 100 yards. Pitch shot to 5 feet. Made the putt for birdie.

5. Four iron into the bunker short and right of the green on par 3. Shot from the sand landed on the top edge of the bunker and stopped. A frog jumped around the ball just before he hit his third. Finally hit just barely short of the green. one putt on and one putt in for double bogey.

6. Tee shot just missed trees on the left and ended up in the middle of the fairway. Second shot to uphill green into the bunker short and right. Blasted out to about 12 feet. Two putts for bogey.

7. Tee shot with a driver up the left side. Approach to 10 feet. Two putts for par.

8. Left tee shot in rough short and right of the green on par 3. Chip shot came up short. Three putts for double bogey.

9. Tee shot into the middle of the fairway on par 5 with water on the left. Three wood over the water to just short of the green. Chipped up. Two putts for par. Six over, 42 on the front.

(NOTE: At this point Daniel was tied with one of his playing partners who started the day three shots back and shot a 39 on the front. His other playing partner started the day one shot back and shot a 45 to trail by four shots. Daniel wouldn’t find out till after his round, but two of his teammates from his school team both made the turn with one-over, 37s. One of them trailed trailed by four shots starting the day, which put him in the lead at the turn. The other was six shots back starting the day, so he was two back of the lead and one behind Daniel.)

10. Daniel hit a three wood off the tee to the right side of the fairway, avoiding water on the left. Approach just stayed on the back side of the green but was up against the collar. Left his first put about 10 feet short. Missed the second. Bogey.

11. Tee shot into the right side of the fairway. Didn’t catch a four-iron approach well, but landed on the front right of the green. Left about a 60 foot putt about 10 feet short. Missed the second putt. Bogey.

12. Tee shot up the left side of the fairway left him with a good angle to the pin in the back of the green. Approach left about a 10 foot downhill putt for birdie. Left it short. Par.

13. Tee shot to the front of the green left about a 25-foot, hard breaking right to left uphill putt. Just missed on the high side. Par.

14. Tee shot long and up the right side. Approach left about a 15 foot way uphill putt. Just short. Par.

15. Tee shot on par 5 into the rough just short off a mound on the right side. Poor three wood left him about 190 yards to the green. Seven-wood to the right side of the green about 40 feet away. Two putts. Par.

16. Great tee shot hit the green and left him with a downhill 12-footer. Just short. Par.

17. Rain started walking to the tee. Tee shot in the rough on the left. Approach in the driving rain just off the back. Putt from off the green short and to the right. Par.

18. Drive just left of center on par 5. Laid up with a six iron to about 100 yards. Approach to about 10 feet. Just missed the birdie putt. Par.

Two over, 38 on the back. Eight-over, 80 for the round. 18-over, 162 for the tournament.

Watched the other players finish. The school teammate who had taken the lead at the turn had about a 15 foot putt for par that would have tied Daniel and forced a playoff. Lipped it out.

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Golf Chip Shot Tips

Posted on July 16, 2012 by Steve

Golfers who want to improve their scores are always looking for good golf chip shot tips.

Golf Chip ShotThe old adage that you drive for show and putt for dough can be extended to include chipping on the money-making side of the equation. Learning to get up and down from around the greens will shave precious strokes off your score.

After Daniel plays a round of golf, he and I often talk about how he played. Many times, we’ll talk about how much better the round could have been if he could have just avoided a few bad holes.

Think about how much better your scorecard would look if you knew before a round started that you would never make worse than a bogey. When you’re playing golf, chip shot tips can help you accomplish that.

How Golf Chip Shot Tips Can Improve Your Game

Consider this. If you learn how to hit a chip shot that gets you in gimme range, all you have to do to make bogey on a par 4 is to get your third shot close to the green. Regardless of whether your hit your tee shot in the fairway or in the rough, if you can get near the putting surface in three shots, then chip it up and putt it down, you will make bogey.

So, you can see that if you hit good chip shots, golf becomes a lot easier game. It’s a lot more fun, too.

Here are three golf chip shot tips that focus on preparing to hit shots that will help improve your game. You’ll need to work on the mechanics of chipping, too, but these simple suggestions can help you get up and down more often.

First, read the green. Some golfers don’t think about looking at how the ball is going to break on the green until they’re about to putt. But chips can move right to left or left to right as well.

An Example of How Golf Chip Shot Tips Can Work

When Daniel was in the junior club championship last year, he had a rough start on the second and final day of the tournament. He hit his tee shot in the hazard on the par 4 hole, dropped in a spot with an awkward lie, laid up and then missed the green on his fourth shot. While we were looking over his chip shot, he and I figured out that the green was breaking right to left. I told him that I thought if he chipped the ball just onto the green and about six inches to the right of the hole, he should be OK. He did exactly that and the ball went in the cup. It was an unusual way to make bogey, but it was still a bogey.

So the second of our golf chip shot tips is to decide where you want the ball to land on the green in order for it to end up close to the hole. Once you know how the green breaks, you can figure out the optimum spot where the ball should hit the putting surface.

Of course, you will have to consider how high you’re going to hit the ball, whether you think you’ll be able to get any spin on the ball and the speed of the greens. All those factors will help you discover where to hit the ball.

The third chip shot tip is to visualize the shot. Go over it in your mind before you hit it. Imagine the ball landing perfectly on the green and rolling smoothly along the putting surface and into the cup.

You should visualize all your shots before you hit them, but the practice is especially helpful on shots around the green. Francis Howley, director of golf at Carton House, demonstrates the importance of visualization and also talks about the importance of landing the ball in the right spot in this video.

How to Make Golf Chip Shot Tips Work for You

Golfers also often make the mistake of ignoring technological advances in club development that can make the chip shot tips even more useful. Changes in wedge design (like the ones perfected by this company) can help on shorter shots from the fairway or rough and on chip shots around the green.

Chipping is an important part of the golf game, but many players often overlook it in their practice routine. They’ll hit a a few buckets of balls on the range, then head straight to the practice green to work on their putting. They never even get out their wedges to work on their chip shots.

Golfers on the PGA Tour are always ready for nearly any circumstance on the course. They do that by practicing all facets of the game.

So before your next round, take a few minutes to work on chipping. These golf chip shot tips will help you get ready to hit shots that will lower your scores.

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Daniel Shoots Even Par on Nine Holes

Posted on July 7, 2012 by Steve

Daniel set a new nine-hole personal best in golf this week, shooting even par on the back nine of a round.

After shooting an eight-over-par, 44, on the front nine, Daniel started the back with five straight pars before three-putting for a bogey on a 537-yard par 5. He made two more pars before making birdie on the last hole, which also was a par 5, for a 36.

putting lesson

Daniel takes a putting lesson during our recent vacation to Myrtle Beach, S.C.

Daniel has been putting better since he took a golf lesson while we were on vacation.

Besides the one three-putt holes, he had three one-putts. He needed only 16 putts on all nine holes. He also had 16 putts on his first nine holes, but he hit the ball better off the tee and had better approach shots on the second nine.

Daniel only hit two fairways and two greens in regulation on the opening nine holes. On the back nine, he hit six fairways and seven greens.

Daniel’s even par, 36, came on the same nine holes where he had shot his previous best of 37. He made a hole-in-one during that round, which was played in a school match.

Daniel plans to play in three more tournaments this summer in the Tar Heel Junior Golf Association. He also will play in his club championship, which he came in second place last year.

All in all, Daniel continues to improve in his golf game. He’s not quite ready to break Tiger Woods’ Majors Record yet, but I think he is satisfied with the way he is playing.

Daniel’s enjoyment of the game has shown during a heat wave we’ve had this summer. He’s played golf when the temperatures were over 100 a few times. He shot the personal best even par on nine holes on one of the extremely hot days.

Shooting even par on nine holes is an important milestone. I expect it won’t be long before he’ll break par on nine and eventually for an 18-hole round.

 

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Daniel ends the school golf season, starts summer tournaments

Posted on June 25, 2012 by Steve

Daniel’s school golf season didn’t end up as well as he hoped, but he and his team had a good year and now he has started playing in summer golf tournaments.

conference golf tournament

Daniel walks down the fairway of a par 5 during the conference golf tournament. His team placed second in the tournament.

Daniel played pretty well in his team’s conference tournament. I think he finished about 12th individually. His team came in second. Not bad considering that three of the top four players were eighth-graders and the other was a 10th-grader.

The team came in fifth in the state tournament, which is exactly where they were ranked pretty much all year.

Daniel didn’t play as well as he would have liked in the state tournament. He started terribly. Imagine the worst hole ever. It was worse.

He came back and played relatively well the rest of the first round, but he still shot a 99. The next day, he could never get his game together and ended up shooting a 101.

Daniel did have a few good holes in the tournament. Here is a video of a tee shot he hit on a par three.

The ball hit the green and ended up about five feet from the hole. He made the putt for a birdie.

But Daniel was not happy that his worst two rounds of the year came at the state tournament. Overall, though I think he learned a lot about how to handle such situations. I was proud of the way he hung in there even though he started off worse than he could have imagined.

Daniel joined the Tar Heel Youth Golf Association and has already played in two of their tournaments. He got off to another slow start in the first tournament, but played better on the back nine and finished tied for 10th.

In the second tournament, which was played on a par 3 course, Daniel played well except for two double bogeys and ended up with a nine-over-par score of 63.

The association also allows Daniel to keep up with his handicap. He puts his scores in for each round he plays.

He got a new set of irons for his birthday so he’s still getting used to them. We looked at 2012 golf club reviews and considered reasonably priced golf clubs in our search for clubs that he liked.

Daniel also has a new putter. He took a 30-minute lesson from the pro at the Wachesaw Plantation East golf course while we were on vacation. He says his putting has improved since the lesson.

Overall, Daniel’s game continues to improve. More importantly, he still enjoys playing the game and wants to keep learning how to get better at golf.

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Tiger Woods’ Majors Record: Will He Pass Nicklaus’ Mark

Posted on June 16, 2012 by Steve

Tiger Woods’ majors record is back on the minds of golf lovers as his game comes back into form and once again people are wondering if he will break Jack Nicklaus’ mark.

Tiger Woods Majors RecordWoods (here is his official site and here is his PGA Tour profile) was tied for the lead after two rounds of the 2012 U.S. Open, but faded over the last two days. He also won the Memorial Tournament in May and the AT&T National in June.

The victory at the Memorial brought attention to Woods’ pursuit of Nicklaus’ majors record because the tournament is hosted by Nicklaus (here is Nicklaus’ official site and here is his PGA Tour profile). That win also tied Woods with Nicklaus for PGA Tour wins with 73. The victory at the AT&T moved Woods into second place by himself behind Sam Snead’s 82. Here’s Woods talking about the win after the Memorial.

Tiger Woods’ majors record trails Nicklaus by either three or four depending on whether you include major wins in amateur tournaments.

Nicklaus has the record for major wins with 20 including amateurs (six Masters, five PGA Championships, four U.S. Opens, three British Opens and two U.S. Amateurs). He also is the leader with professional major titles with 18.

Woods has 17 overall major victories (four Masters, four PGA Championships, three U.S. Opens, three British Opens and three U.S. Amateurs). He has 14 professional major wins.

At one time most golf experts thought the question was not “if” but “when” Woods would break Nicklaus’ majors record. Some personal issues derailed Woods career, but it now appears that sidetrack may have been only temporary.

Many golfers, including the weekend duffers, would do well to consider Woods’ reaction to his tough times on and off the course. So what can we learn from Tiger Woods’ majors record and his pursuit of Jack Nicklaus’ mark.

First, don’t give up on improving your game. A lot of people wondered if Woods could make it back to his former level of excellence. His recent play has showed that while he may never dominate the game as he once did, he can certainly compete with the best golfers in the world.

Second, learning how to get better at golf is a lifelong process. I’m sure Tiger’s improvements haven’t happened as quick as he wanted, but he knew that getting better is worth the effort.

Third, don’t be afraid to make needed changes. Woods has revamped his swing. At times, it looked like the revisions might not pay off, but now he’s once again at the top of the game.

A lot of golfers don’t like change. Some often stick with habits and equipment that keep them from getting better and enjoying the game.

Many golfers could help their game by upgrading their clubs. They could cut strokes off their scores by considering 2012 golf club reviews or by purchasing reasonably priced golf clubs.

Some golfers could improve their games significantly with a 30-minute lesson from a professional golf instructor.

It will be fun to watch Tiger Woods’ majors record as he goes after Jack Nicklaus’ mark. It should encourage us pursue our own personal records and learn to love the game even more.

 

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First Hole-in-One, New Low Nine-Hole Score

Posted on May 7, 2012 by Steve

I was sitting at my desk Tuesday afternoon, bummed that I couldn’t be at Daniel’s golf match, when I got a text message from him that said, “The first of many, I hope. Hole in one.”

Hole-in-One

This is the hole where Daniel hit a hole-in-one.

The text went on to tell me that he had made the ace on a par 3 at his varsity’s team’s home course. I had to hold back from letting out a joyous shout, but I did immediately let all my co-workers within earshot know about the hole-in-one.

Daniel’s ace came on a hole that measures 161 yards on the scorecard from the white tees with water on the right of the green and a bunker on the left. The pin was in the back, and just before Daniel hit his tee shot, he heard one of his competitors who measured it with a laser device say it was playing 167 yards.

The wind was a little in his face so Daniel decided to hit the longer of his two six irons. He has two, but one of them plays more like a five iron.

Daniel hit a high shot that landed on the green and bounced a couple of times before rolling toward the flag. He said from the tee it looked like the ball might have lipped out and gone off the back of the green so he didn’t immediately know it was a hole-in-one.

He looked at his playing partners and said, “Does anybody else think that that might have gone in?” A member of the other team shook his head, “No.”

When Daniel got to the green, the father of another player was standing nearby. Daniel asked him if he saw where his ball ended up. “You might be in the hole,” the father said.

Daniel looked in the hole and saw his ball.

The hole-in-one made Daniel even par through his first six holes of the nine-hole match. His personal best was a five-over par, 41, so he knew he had a good chance to break it.

Daniel parred the next two holes, but bogeyed the last to end up with a one-over-par, 37.

The score is even more impressive because Daniel was three over par after bogeying the first three holes. He played the last six holes two under.

The start of his round actually played a key role in his overall score. The match began with a shotgun start, which had Daniel and his playing partners beginning on the second hole.

He pulled his tee shots into the woods on the first two holes. Instead of trying unlikely miracle shots, he chipped out on both, hit his third shots near the green and got down in two from there.

Daniel hit his tee shot in a bunker on his third hole, which was a par three. He had a bad lie, but blasted out and two-putted for bogey.

He drained about a 75-foot putt for birdie from off the green on the next hole, then parred his fifth hole, a par 5, before the hole-in-one.

Daniel’s 37 meant he had been the low scorer on his team for three straight matches. In his next match, however, he shot a 46 to finish behind the other five players that day. His coach reminded him that golf can be a humbling game.

Daniel’s team plays in its conference tournament this week. If the team qualifies, the state tournament is the next week.

 

 

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Golf Season Nearly Over, Tournaments Ahead

Posted on April 28, 2012 by Steve
golf chip shot on a par 3

Daniel prepares to hit a chip after his tee shot came up short on a par 3 at Eagle Ridge Golf Course.

Daniel and his golf team have only one match left in the regular season. The team is playing well as the conference tournament and hopefully a spot in the state tournament are coming up.

Daniel’s team is in second place in its conference right now. They have beaten the number one team in two matches, but lost to them in three others.

The team is ranked fifth in the state in the 1-A classification right now. The top eight teams play in the state golf tournament.

The team played a non-conference match Tuesday at Eagle Ridge Golf Course. They beat one of the teams, but lost to the other.

Daniel played pretty well. He started the match with a slice into some deep rough, but smartly played the ball back to the fairway and ended up with a par 4.

That was one of two pars on the day to go with five bogeys and two double bogeys. He ended up with a 9 over par, 44.

Here’s a video of Daniel hitting a tee shot on a par 5 at Eagle Ridge. (Sorry it’s a little shaky, but I was trying not to let him see that I had the camera out.)

On Thursday, Daniel and his team played a conference match at Stryker Golf Course, the number one team’s home course. Five other teams also played.

Daniel’s team came in second, six shots behind the conference’s top team. Daniel was three over par through six holes and was trailing the best golfer in the conference by only a stoke.

Daniel bogeyed the last three holes to finish with a six over par, 42. The top player played the last three birdie, par, par to shot a 37.

Here’s Daniel hitting his tee shot on the first hole, which was the second hole his group played. He hit a high draw that started at some bunkers on the right and came back to the middle of the fairway. You can see it was a windy day, so 42 was a pretty good score.

The team plays a non-conference match Tuesday as warm-up for the conference tournament, which is the following Monday.

If they make it to the state golf tournament, it will be the next Monday and Tuesday.

Daniel’s team is hosting the conference tournament. The golfers on his team are pretty comfortable playing there, so I expect they will play well.

The state tournament is in Pinehurst on a course they have never played. I expect they will try to get in a practice round or two if they qualify.

If your ready for some golf this year, you might want to take a look at our 2012 golf club reviews, which take a look at this year’s top golf equipment.

You also can check out our take on some of the season’s reasonably priced golf clubs.

We’ll let you know how Daniel and the golf team do in their upcoming match and in the conference tournament.

 

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Golf Instruction and Tips: Making Solid Contact with the Ball

Posted on April 24, 2012 by Steve

Golf Instruction And TipsIf you need golf instruction and tips, it’s not always easy to find a lesson for golf that will help improve your game. Some free video golf lessons are too specific and deal with details of the golf swing that can confuse golfers.

We prefer lessons that will help us remember general ideas that improve our golf swings. In his free video golf lessons, Charlie King, director of instruction at Reynolds Golf Academy, gives some of the best golf instruction we’ve found.

In the video below, King talks about what he calls the ultimate tip in golf. He says golfers should focus on developing the ability to hit the ball solidly.

Some golfers, King says, mistakenly think they are lifting their head when they are hitting the ball. What is really happening, he says, is golfers are instinctively try to lift the ball up in the air, which makes the club contact the ball on the way up.

King, who is a Golf Magazine top 100 instructor, provides golf instruction and tips that emphasize the importance of learning how the club should “smack” against the ball on impact. This can best be accomplished by hitting down on the ball. He demonstrates a drill that will help you develop that skill.

The line drill that King shows you how to do on the video will help you take divots in the right spots while you are hitting your golf shots. He starts by hitting shorter shots. He says figuring out the lesson behind the drill can make a big difference in your golf game.

Once you know how to make solid contact with the ball on your golf swing, you’ll start hitting better shots. When you are hitting better golf shots, you will start making more pars and birdies and less bogeys or worse.

You also want to make sure you have the right equipment. Many golfers are checking out 2012 golf club reviews to find this year’s best clubs.

Some golfers have discovered that reasonably priced golf clubs can help them hit the ball longer and straighter than their older clubs.

Daniel found this video while looking for golf instruction and tips that will help him learn how to get better at golf. I am sure it will help him improve his golf game.

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