Get Real Floks!

It is important when playing and practicing to maintain a positive attitude.  Too often the perfectionist is upset with what should be considered an acceptable shot.  Ben Hogan once said that when playing well he hit two shots per round exactly as he intended.  That is a strong statement from a player considered by many to be the best ball striker of all time.

Dave Pelz quantified this concept when he created a statistical measurement of professional golf performance called the PERCENTAGE ERROR INDEX (PEI).  Pelz studied the ball striking of PGA TOUR players and discovered the average professional came within 7% distance of the target.  In other worlds:  from 100 yards pros hit the ball to within 21 feet; from 200 yards 42 feet etc.

I believe that average player should be quite happy with any shot that ends up within 10% distance from their target.  If you demand better than this you have unrealistic expectations….unless you decide to quit your job and practice full time.

Make Practice Fun And Productive

To improve your game you must practice.  WHAT and HOW you practice is important.  I think most players can improve faster by working on their short game.  Putting, chipping and pitching make up the vast majority of your score so spend twice as much time working on these shots as you spend on your long game.

To make chipping practice fun and productive I suggest you play a game I call “chip eleven”.  Simply take eleven balls and chip them to a flag on the practice green.  When you have chipped all eleven balls, remove the closest five balls and the farthest five balls.  The eleventh ball represents the mathematical median.  If this ball is within three feet, you are a great chipper.  You should do this drill with different clubs and from different locations.  This drill makes practice interesting and it provides feedback regarding your chipping prowess. 

My First Post

My purpose for this blog is to help students understand what it takes to become a better golfer.  No matter what your current skill level, YOU CAN IMPROVE!    It simply takes an assessment of your current technique, a better understanding of fundamentals and a game plan to get from where you are now to where you want to be in the future.  And yes, it takes time to go through the process of change.  Tiger has changed his swing 3 times and each time it took 18 months before he felt comfortable and could focus on playing GOLF, not playing GOLF SWING.  Here is a simple equation to use:


            



 +  = Success!