I had the privilege to take my brother golfing the other week for his first time on a full course. Naturaly, we had some struggles, namely being chased down by a couple of old ladies behind us.
Finally, my brother figured he’d just tee-up on the fairway, because, why not?
I asked Richmond Country Club head pro Mark Strong whether there were any etiquette concerns with using tees on a fairway. “Not at all. A lot of people think you have to do everything by the book. By all means break out a tee or take a mulligan. Golf is supposed to be fun.”
I’ve taken some time off from the golf course recently, so Strong and I haven’t had too many swing lessons of late. However, we got together on Wednesday to address some issues I’ve been having with my mid-range game (using my irons from 120-150 yards out).
As I’ve mentioned before, my driving game has been pretty spot on and another new blessing from the golf gods has been my newly discovered bunker game.
But for some reason I have been incredibly inaccurate with my irons and at times my three-hybrid.
Strong informed me that there are some basics to how the ball is coming off my club.
Keys to an accurate shot include positioning your shoulders parallel to your target, keeping the club face closed up and 90 degrees to the target and following through without under- or over-extending your arms so you strike the ball in the club’s sweet spot.
I had Strong explain how to purposefully execute a slice (to the right), as well as, a hook (to the left), and I then worked backwards from that to better understand how to hit the ball straight.
Meanwhile, I’ve been pushing my shots right with my three-hybrid, but I’m overcompensating for my hook by bringing in my shoulders too much. Yet I’m also making clean contact, which pushes the ball straight, but to the right.
In terms of clean contact, my irons are another story. I’ve frequently been topping the ball out of the fairway.
Now I’m going to start erring on the other side by taking bigger divots. Then maybe I’ll find that happy medium for clean contact, just underneath the ball.
This week I golfed a practice round and am pleased to say I shot a 91, or a plus-19. If you recall, my goal is to hit an 89, or a plus-17 (bogey golf) Sept. 30.
Sadly, I choked on the 18th hole with a triple bogey. Had I shot just a bogey, I would have tentatively reached my goal!
