Matt G's Golf Question / Instruction Thread

[Matt G]

From the other golf thread, i thought i would start my own to see if i can help anyone who plays golf on here, with some small tips and tricks to help you lower your score.

Now i am not a PGA pro or anything close, i dont even play anymore, but i used to play high level golf and my focus as a teenager was on teaching. Maybe one day ill go back to it, but for now if you have any questions you want to ask, ill help, or direct you to answers which i believe are useful.

Remember everyone thinks about things with golf different, but ill try and use tennis like movements and feelings to help you.

I'm having a social game on Tuesday, and ill see if i can get some videos up of my swing and answer any questions you have.

Matt

 

[r2473]

For a guy that shoots in the 90's (20-25 handicap), what is the most important thing(s) to concentrate on to lower his score into the 80's (15 handicap)?

 

[dParis]

For a guy that shoots in the 90's (20-25 handicap), what is the most important thing(s) to concentrate on to lower his score into the 80's (15 handicap)?

Switch to a two-handed backhand, hit down the line more often and start using polyester hybrid clubs.

 

[Matt G]

For a guy that shoots in the 90's (20-25 handicap), what is the most important thing(s) to concentrate on to lower his score into the 80's (15 handicap)?

These would be my tips:

From the Tee: get the ball in play, swing 80% on the driver, hitting out of the tree's 250m down the fairway is no advantage to hitting it 180m down the middle. The more fairways you hit, the better chance of getting near / on the greens and making pars. Dont waste shots chipping out. Take a 5 wood if needed to get the ball in play. And as you hit more fairways, your confidence will grow.

Into the greens: Dont go for the pin, go for the middle of the green EVERY TIME! Remove the flag from your mind!! Very simple, focus on the middle. And look at where the best miss is going to be. If the green has bunkers at the back, and is clear at the front, DONT GO LONG! If you end up short, so be it, chip up and in, dont leave yourself harder shots, play smarter.

Greens: Distance control is everything! Never 3 putt, just get your distance right and aim for near the hole, you dont have to sink a lot of putts, just 2 putt. And you'll actually see that you will make a few more but concentrating on distance rather than line.

Short game is everything when it comes to lower scores, pro's get up and down from everywhere. There is no difference between a pro and a 20 marker on the green, you dont have to smash the ball, you cant duff it, read the line, get the distance right.

Hope this helps

 

[r2473]

That was pretty helpful Matt (and Paris), thanks.

Truth be told, I've always been a "Ranger Rick" on the golf course. But the past two times I went out (and that was a few months ago), I played the way you suggested. The result was quite a few pars.

I sort of felt like a pusher in tennis. I just kept the ball in play and good things happened.

 

[dParis]

That was pretty helpful Matt (and Paris), thanks.

Truth be told, I've always been a "Ranger Rick" on the golf course. But the past two times I went out (and that was a few months ago), I played the way you suggested. The result was quite a few pars.

I sort of felt like a pusher in tennis. I just kept the ball in play and good things happened.

Nice thing about golf is, no one is going to go on the Golf WRX forums and criticize you for being a pusher.

 

[Dedans Penthouse]

Golf Question/Instruction Thread

Lee D, get in here and weigh in on this...

 

[Matt G]

The main thing for golf is the final number is the only thing that matters. You can flush it and have 78 or scrap it around and have 72.

Doesnt matter which way you do it, that number counts. Always remember, THERE ARE NO PICTURES ON THE SCORE CARD, JUST A NUMBER, meaning it doesnt matter how you made par, you made par.

It doesnt help to bomb it 300 into the bushes, it just doesnt matter!

The way i could link tennis is someone who hits every serve like a first serve bomb, and double faults all the time (along with the occasional ace). They cant win cause the point doesnt start. Same with golf, you cant score well if your second shot all the time is chipping out.

And i would say its being consistent, if someone says its like being a pusher, so be it, you have 72, they have 80 and you win.

Hope you continue to keep the ego in the bag and score better.

 

[dParis]

Lee D, get in here and weigh in on this...

A Lee D vs. Kim Jong-Il match play would have been epic. Not saying it didn't happen, just saying...

 

[CoachingMastery]

There are some similarities between tennis and golf that are striking:

1st, we have millions of athletes and others who never learn the games correctly and thus never achieve or reach their potential because of the inferior swing patterns developed.

2nd, millions of players take countless lessons and spend lots of money in trying to correct their faulty stroke elements.

While the two sports differ in the idea of hitting while running in one sport and hitting while standing still in the other, (and hitting a ball that is stationary), both sports depend on the ability to create a repeatable, reliable swing path on command for each shot. In both sports there are variations in the swing for different shots. Slices, topspin, drop shots, overheads, backhands, etc. for tennis; fades, draws, knock-down shots, flop shots, putts, etc. for golf.

I have a 14 year old daughter who shoots even par and has only played golf for 2.5 years. (I taught her an advanced foundation swing at 8 years of age and she didn't play after that first year for nearly four years.) She is also an exceptional tennis player...but not a great athlete. She is exceptional in both sports because she first learned both sports within a framework of skilled play...not hit-and-giggle or other meaningless methods.

I've also had the privilege to work with thousands of players, many older adults who first learned tennis with mediocre patterns and then recognized after years of play they were not only not getting better, but were being passed by countless players who started tennis more recently. These students finally realized that they learned ineffective methods.

The idea of keeping a golf ball in play, putting consistently, and being able to hit shots that can get you out of trouble is based on proper learning patterns and training effectively. Tennis is no different. Learn wrong and you will get really good at being bad...in either sport.

 

[Matt G]

Just thought id see how the tips were going and if anyone has any more questions?

 

[Zoolander]

Just thought id see how the tips were going and if anyone has any more questions?

Yep Matt i do since i know you have such a ridiculously low handicap. How many beers should i have to loosen up my swing and straighten out my drives? Played Belmont the other day(ambrose) and did okay the first 9, stopped and had a beer, then did better on the back 9! Would 2 beers help me twice as much as one?!

Seemed to be lots of long Par 4's and 5's at Belmont, and it helped to have the driver working!