Posts Tagged ‘practice swings’

Live Northen Trust Open Update!

Sunday, February 22nd, 2009

Well, my Twitter reached limit for today, here’s what’s been going at the Northern Trust Open:

Looks like Phil will win for sure now.

  1. rogolferdigest Crossing my fingers, 2 feet please!

  2. progolferdigestprogolferdigest Freddy Couples next, 173 yards from the pin, let’s see a classic Freddy’s iron shot under pressure here

  3. progolferdigestprogolferdigest Andres Romeros hits it 10 feet from the cup, great chance to tie for 2nd or maybe even 1st.

  4. progolferdigestprogolferdigest I think Freddy is going to be on the Senior’s tour soon.

  5. progolferdigestprogolferdigest Romero next, Freddy outdrove ALL of the younger guys!

  6. scottish007scottish007 Phil’s shirt sleeves seem really short. Is that the fashion now?

  7. progolferdigestprogolferdigest Perhaps Phil is feeling the pressure not, that wasn’t a great shot.

  8. progolferdigestprogolferdigest Phil, 2nd shot, 6-iron, hits it hard, lookin hard, finishes on the right fringe, 60 feet away from the cup.

  9. progolferdigestprogolferdigest Phil, 2nd shot, making practice swings, feeling the pressure?

  10. progolferdigestprogolferdigest Fred Couples is just coming back from nothing.

  11. progolferdigestprogolferdigest I’d root for Phil if Fred wasn’t contending.

  12. progolferdigestprogolferdigest Best case scenario for me: Fred makes birdie, Phil makes bogey.

  13. progolferdigestprogolferdigest I hope there’s no playoff since this is taking waaay too long

  14. progolferdigestprogolferdigest Either Phil, Fred, or Steve will win this

  15. progolferdigestprogolferdigest Well, just 1 more hole to go

  16. progolferdigestprogolferdigest Fred Couples’ book, http://cozyurl.com/2436 I highly recommend it, read it about 20 years ago.

  17. progolferdigestprogolferdigest I notice that Fred’s hair is all gray now, he is getting old, and I am getting old too. :(

  18. progolferdigestprogolferdigest Okay, commercials again, I hope Fred wins, he’s getting old so I have to root for old-school pros.

  19. progolferdigestprogolferdigest Go Fred!!!

  20. progolferdigestprogolferdigest Ol’ Freddy hits it long and hard, PASSES Phil’s ball on the fly, thank you very much.
  21. progolferdigest Fred Couples on the tee, need a good drive. Boom Boom!

  22. progolferdigestprogolferdigest Well, Phil might win now, although golf is never finished.

  23. progolferdigestprogolferdigest Oh darn, Phil rips the fairway in half.

  24. progolferdigestprogolferdigest Phil go left, Phil go left, Phil go left!!!

  25. progolferdigestprogolferdigest Phil on the tee at the 18th, I am hoping for a bad shot, hehe.

  26. progolferdigestprogolferdigest What a finish, this is gonna be really close.

  27. progolferdigestprogolferdigest Andres Romero makes a birdie to go 13 under, he has a chance.

  28. scottish007scottish007 I just joined the Golf Twitter Group http://tgr.me/g/golf so stop by and see us. #golf

  29. progolferdigestprogolferdigest I hope Fred Couples makes a birdie on the last hole.

  30. progolferdigestprogolferdigest Last hole will be exciting, will Phil Mickelson hit his infamous wayward driver?

  31. progolferdigestprogolferdigest Fred Couples makes birdie too, one back at 14 under.

  32. progolferdigestprogolferdigest I told you so, you gotta watch out for Phil if he starts making birdies, he got his confidence back obviously.

  33. progolferdigestprogolferdigest Oh, Phil makes a birdie, in the lead at 15 under.

  34. progolferdigestprogolferdigest I hope he misses since I am rooting for Fred today.

  35. progolferdigestprogolferdigest Phil for birdie now, downhill, not an easy putt

  36. progolferdigestprogolferdigest This is getting pretty exciting, I still hope Fred Couples comes through.

  37. progolferdigestprogolferdigest Steve Stricker 14 under, Phil Mickelson 14 under, and Fred Couples at 13 under.

  38. scottish007scottish007 Wicked ball movement on Choi’s putt.

  39. progolferdigestprogolferdigest K.J. Choi misses… opportunity lost but good play.

  40. progolferdigestprogolferdigest oHHHH
  41. progolferdigest oHHHH

  42. progolferdigestprogolferdigest Will he make it?

  43. progolferdigestprogolferdigest K.J Choi putting to tie for the lead

  44. progolferdigestprogolferdigest This could be a 3 or 4 way playoff

  45. progolferdigestprogolferdigest K.J. Choi on the 18th green, putting for birdie to tie for lead!

  46. Caroline Mooresixhours I make a pretty good baby bed, apparently. Also: Love the wrap!

  47. progolferdigestprogolferdigest Phil at 14 under, tied for lead, putting for birdie.

  48. progolferdigestprogolferdigest Oh he missed by inches! But he will make birdie i think.

  49. Norma Wilsonnormasdailyart Almost finished the portrait I have been working on. Now time to paint another farm animal! Cute one ends soon! http://tinyurl.com/bejgxg

  50. progolferdigestprogolferdigest Freddy for EAGLE!!!! GO IN THE HOLE!!!!!

  51. progolferdigestprogolferdigest Dang, I got a call from my dad, almost missed the best moments here

  52. progolferdigestprogolferdigest GO Freddy Couples!!!

  53. progolferdigestprogolferdigest Freddy on the par 5 in two, pretty close

  54. scottish007scottish007 Phil’s hand placement on his putter stroke has to the lowest on tour.

  55. progolferdigestprogolferdigest @dav0014 Phil and Fred both putting for eagle

  56. David Richardsdav0014 My mum has now desided that the German for pillow is punfundunfen … :S weird :)

  57. scottish007scottish007 Not so great from Phil

  58. scottish007scottish007 Beautiful shot from Couples

  59. David Richardsdav0014 @progolferdigest : Who is out there? and what is the leading 4?

  60. progolferdigestprogolferdigest People still call Fred Couples “Boom Boom”?
  61. progolferdigest Boom Boom is the Parallax golf club Fred Couples used to promote 20 years ago or so.

  62. progolferdigestprogolferdigest Freddy Couples, 13 under, 2 more holes to go, Gary McCord calls him Boom Boom.

  63. progolferdigestprogolferdigest Andres Romero at 12 under, not his day.

  64. progolferdigestprogolferdigest Rori makes a birdie and back to 13 under. He could have a chance by making another one on 18th

  65. progolferdigestprogolferdigest Better watch out for Phil once he starts birding

  66. progolferdigestprogolferdigest Phil at 16th, make the first birdie of the day! at 14 under!

  67. Jim & KellyJimandKelly @twot yeah but the burgers are darn good

  68. progolferdigestprogolferdigest Steve Stricker most likely make a bogey here, meaning there’s going to be a playoff?

  69. progolferdigestprogolferdigest Steve Stricker 3rd shot on 18th, gets within 12 feet, not the best shot.

  70. Jim & KellyJimandKelly @John_Corey 5 yrs in Myrtle and 4 in Snowshoe. Beats the heck out of paying a 25 – 35% rental fee to an agent

  71. progolferdigestprogolferdigest Freddy Couples just misses his birdie putt on 16th, darn

  72. progolferdigestprogolferdigest K.J. Choi on 17th, makes a birdie to go 13 under, he might have a chance now.

  73. progolferdigestprogolferdigest 17th, Rori Sabbatini hits his 3rd close within 3 feet but he’s already out of the tournament as far as I can see.

  74. Jim & KellyJimandKelly @consultski yeah – several times from PIT to MYR. They have the only non stop flight. They use planes from Virgin Atlantic

  75. progolferdigestprogolferdigest Go Freddy Couples!!!

  76. progolferdigestprogolferdigest Well, 3 more holes for the last group at the Northern Trust Open, I really hope Freddy Couples win, my predicted winner

  77. progolferdigestprogolferdigest @dav0014, Northern Trust Open on CBS.

  78. progolferdigestprogolferdigest Okay, commercials now, darn it.

  79. progolferdigestprogolferdigest Steve Stricker still in trouble if he cannot get up and down, might even lose to Freddy or Phil, both who are in great position to make bird

  80. progolferdigestprogolferdigest Exciting, Phil and Fred are both 2 back, 3 more holes to play for them.

How to Practice with Less Balls at the Driving Range!

Saturday, February 21st, 2009

Today, let me give you a couple tips that will save you money at the driving range, all the while getting a better practice session every time you go out there.

Here’s a couple rules I used to “live” by when I used to play mini-tour events:

1. For every practice shot, make sure you do 2-3 practice swings.  That’s right, practice makes perfect, not simply banging balls.

2. For every practice shot, before the shot, imagine and visualize how the golf ball will react after you hit the ball.

3. For every practice shot, before the shot, imagine and visualize how you will swing.  Visualize yourself swinging that ball perfectly in rhythm and balance.

Believe me, mind does some awesome stuff for golf.

4. For every practice shot, line-up your shot before hitting the ball from behind the ball like a real shot.

Why would you practice as if it “wasn’t” real?  Every shot I practice is the same as the shot I hit under pressure.

This type of mentality helps your conscious to stay the “same” even when playing for real money.  On the other hand, banging a lot of balls perfect does the opposite to you when you play because you are simply not that perfect, not even Tiger.

5. For every practice shot, imagine a real green, bunkers, and fairways.  You should always have a target on your practice shot and it’s even better if you can imagine hitting a certain shot for EVERY practice shot.

6. For every practice shot, hit a different club.  You don’t hit the same club over and over again on the golf course, why would you make it that easy for yourself on the driving range?

Basically, all these tips make you spend most of your time getting ready for your golf shot, just like a real golf shot on the golf course.

Now, if you can’t even hit your pitching wedge past 50 yards, this might not be a good advice for you.  But if you have broken 80 or 90 already and you want to get better mentally, this is how you gotta practice.

Maybe not all the time but most of time, you will reap the benefits of hitting every practice shot after you are mentally and physically ready for it.

Using this method, I usually do 500 practice swing with just 100 practice balls and my practice’s quality goes UP, way high.  And this shows on the golf course if I shoot couple under.

Swing Faults At Impact – Being Too Square with the Shoulders

Monday, July 7th, 2008

Swing Faults At Impact - Being Too Square with the Shoulders

I did go out to the range the other day and took a small video.  Although I was hitting the ball fairly good, my impact position was too sqaure.

Here’s my impact position compared to Ben Crane and Adam Baddeley:

If you look carefully, both of these guys have their shoulder slightly open.

Now, what I’ve found out is that, I tend to get my lower body too close to the ball near the impact, causing me to hold on to my release, thereby causing an open shoulders and also annoying hooks once in a while since I have to “flip” my wrists slightly after impact.

But the most interesting thing I found was in my practice swing.  As you can see, this is a snapshot of my practice swing impact position.  The shoulders are slightly open and the hands are exactly where I want them.

Next time, I will try to stand a little taller during the swing and that should help me fix the kink.

Darn, if I could only swing like my practice swings…

How to Practice to be a Scratch/Pro Golfer!

Tuesday, May 13th, 2008

If you are trying to be a scratch golfer or a pro golfer, often people will ask themselves how many balls to hit per day.

Now, having experience watching other aspiring junior golfers when I was a junior golfer, the number of balls you hit actually does not mean anything once you get to a certain point. (Let’s say you can consistently shoot around 75 or lower)

I do however, have experince of hitting 10 buckets per day, that’s about 1,000 balls. I did that for about 3 months during summer and school breaks.

My mom would drop me off at the practice range at 8am, she’d pick me up around 8pm when I was done hitting 1,000 golf balls.

After I grew up and around college I was shooting consistently 3 under par. Those days, I didn’t practice with focus on quantity. However, I did focus on hitting each shot on the range as if it were a real tournament shot.

Now, that is called, quality practice. I still do that same type of practice and even do couple practice swings before I even hit the ball.

What does this do for you? Well, it let’s you hit the best possible shot you can on every practice shot.

Now, I average only 100 balls and practice maybe once a month. But I can still go out to the course any day and shoot around par.

So today’s lesson?

Next time you practice, do the following before hitting each shot:

1. Visualize your golf ball flight and your swing.

2. Make 2 or 3 practice swings matching your visualization and “see” the ball hit perfectly to your target.

3. After doing 1 and 2, go up there and hit that ball without thinking too much. Rely on your muscle-memory to hit it, just like in tournament golf or under pressure situations where you’d have to make a birdie to win all those skins.

Explanation

Golf is a game of visualization. If you hit 100 balls in a row at the range without clear thinking (visualization) of what you want to do, you are basically instilling that into your brain.

The next time you go out and “play” on the golf course, your practice habits will be present whenever you encounter any kind of pressure.

More Tips on the Range

1. Do not hit the same type of shot more than 10 shots in a row. You need to keep hitting a 5-iron, sand wedge, driver, etc…etc… and keep it rotating.

2. Practice your weaknesses.

Golf is all about lowering your percentage of failure. The more you practice your weaknesses, the less chance you will make bad shots on the course.

3. Practice your strengths.

Golf is also about having your strengths. For example, if I am at 125 yards from the hole, I can promise you that the ball “will” end up within 10 feet 10 out of 10 times. You need to find out what shot you are good and also practice that a lot.

Pros call this, “bread and butter” shot. Every pro has one including Tiger Woods. It’s a shot you can rely on the most toughest situations. Make sure you have couple in your bag.

4. Practice lots of wedge shots from 100 yards in.

I actually do about 50-60% of my practice shots for wedge shots from 30 yard, 50 yard, 75 yard, and 100 yard targets.  These are the shots that can save you “lots” of strokes.  Tiger practices these about 80% of his practice balls.  I did see Tiger practicing couple years ago, where he’d “hit” every target with his wedges.

Now, try these tips and I am sure it will help your score next time on the course especially if you have been banging those poor balls mindlessly and carrying that to the course before.