Home » Sports » Golf » The Inquisition

The Inquisition

© Bill Howard

So, it's officially summer time. Golfers will be flocking to golf courses. Each and every one of us will be looking to get better. In light of this, you need to ask yourself a few questions.

What are your weaknesses as a player? Try to be objective. If you three putt four times every round it is not because of spike marks or poorly maintained greens. And it's probably not your putter. Similarly, problems in the sand are not the result of an inferior sand wedge. Identify your weaknesses and work on them. Practice them. Or at least shake up your thought process.

Do you understand how to play? It's not just about whacking the ball as hard as you can. Think about where you want the ball to land and why. Look carefully at the greens you are approaching. Yes, you want to hit that green. If you fail to do so, there are easy places and impossible places to play from. It's not hard to tell one from another...your choice.

Are you realistic? If you customarily hit a 220 yard "power fade", don't try to carry the ball 235 over water into the wind. The likelihood of a career shot occurring is remote. And for goodness sake, keep the ball in the fairway. Wildness leads to stupidity on a golf course. Stupidity is fatal. On this I am the very voice of experience.

Are you tired of wasting your hard-earned cash on the latest miracle clubs? Be it a set of irons, a putter, or a wedge, throwing cash at a hole in your game won't fix it. A few buckets of range balls just might.

Do you hit the ball solidly? If not, trying to manage a golf course is a joke. It's very hard to formulate a plan for a shot if you aren't certain the shot in question will get airborne. When you hit that bucket of balls, work on solid, consistent contact. Pay no attention to the yardage signs. They probably aren't accurate anyway.

Do you know exactly how far you hit each club? Exactly? If you don't, hit twenty decent shots from one place with a particular club and pace it off. Repeat the process with all clubs. Knowing the yardage to the hole is only helpful if you know what you'll hit that far. Don't guess and don't plan for a career shot.

Do you test yourself? Or do you play the same course from the same tees with the same players every weekend? Shame on you. Play a really tough course to see how strong your game really is. Find some really good players to play with on occasion. You can learn volumes from good players. And play the back tees. Yes, it is harder and it might screw up your handicap for a little while. On the other hand, no pain, no gain.

The copyright of the article The Inquisition in Golf is owned by Bill Howard. Permission to republish The Inquisition in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.