I honestly believe whenever The Shark hit his ‘shanks’ into the crowd on the 72nd hole he was playing soft high cutty shots, trying to feather it in. Well I know he was because I heard him say it in interviews.Totally against his nature so his body and hands with the pressure on still wanted to fire and he couldn’t square the face up. Lost them both.
Yet…how many times did we see him shoot 62 on the last day and pass all and sundry and sometimes win…because he played to his aggressive nature and went harder instead of steering softer shots
Two
You had a bunch of low rounds in tournaments can you relate to us the thoughts or lack of thoughts in the swing. Did you play agressive or only when th e situation was right. Did you know something special was happening or at the end were you surprised?
I would play as aggressive as I had to play or felt I could for each shot.
When i won the Masters in Australia, both times in 93 and 98 I had a game plan that the trouble on that course was from the tee…SO I laid up off the tee…and then attacked my second shots when I had the right yardage and the right angle. If I didn’t feel good about the yardage or angle I would hit to the safe side a little and hope to hole the putt.
When I won the TPC in 96 we played a real tight course on the Gold Coast, Robina Woods… I was driving it great and the fairways were real narrow and trouble everywhere…Everyone was having fits from the tee and couldn’t get near the holes because of the undulating greens. I felt so good with the driver I just bombed it without fear from almost every tee long and straight and had nothing in to the greens…and putted great and won by 12 shots.
So 2 different courses…two different attack plans.
When I had the patience to stick to my plan I normally played well. When I got frustrated and pressed when i shouldn’t the snowball affect sometimes happens. Many would be surprised how well you can score by taking trouble out of play from the tee…laying up short of bunkers and having a slightly longer shot in…when everything is really clicking take whatever course of action you feel comfortable with.
A lot of my best rounds came from being conservative and aggressive all at the same time by playing each hole on it’s merits.
The par 5 holes at The Masters I played three of the five of them with irons from the tee and relied on being in play then laying up and then pitching it close. I won the tournament in 1998 on those holes because I was birdying them playing them safely and making 5 the worst score I could have and other guys were attacking them and making 6’s and 7’s
We won’t always hit the shots according to plan but avoiding the snowball of bad by easing back and working in segments was what I would do when playing average. …OK…Next 3 holes I am going to play in par… OK… got that done…the next 3 holes I will be happy to play in one under…just tiny little goals along the way…not concerning myself with total score just working in stages… similar to what I used to do when I was younger and would run…OK…I feel like shit but I am going to run to that 4th telegraph pole…OK…that wasn’t so bad I made it…now I will make it to the 4th pole down ahead again…and so on… next minute you’ve run 2 miles and don’t feel so bad just by setting mini goals instead of thinking so far down the line that it all seems or feels unachievable.
Two,
That is just a fantastic post. So much in there if you read it carefully. This is why you won all those golf tournaments.
no wonder you were so tired, at that pace…
Two wrote
The whole post was great. If I could learn this…whoopee! Thanks for those thoughts.
- How: This section is heavily borrowed from Dr Carey Mumford, anyone interested should definitely check out his website and his extensive works, The Double Connexion and ClearKey. Further info and statistical analysis is contained therein.
In a previous post I suggested that you want to practice with 32 (or 16) balls, the reason is this: everything you do from now on is going to be in a series of four. The human mind learns and retains best when it does things four at a time, second best is to do something once, all other numbers have diminishing returns.
Here’s our basic deal: take 4 balls and set the rest to the side. Choose your target and ‘normal’ club. Hit 4 high shots to the target. Every shot should be treated as if you are on the course either under tournament conditions or if there is money on the line, you go through your routine and there is no concern about mechanics, all that matters is getting the ball high in the air and as close to the target as possible all four times. Next four balls, same target same club this time hit them low. Next four medium height right to left, again no thoughts concerning mechanics, you can only think about one thing at a time and that is going to be the shot at hand going exactly toward the target. Fourth series again medium height the other way.
First four series of four down, now change the focus to mechanics. Hit four high shots focusing on one and only one mechanical motion and doing it as best you can. Then 4 lowballs same thing, you don’t have to go through your routine but you can with the mechanical 4X4, doesn’t really matter, then 4 L/R finally 4 R/L. Time to shag and clear your mind of the mechanical thought.
Next 4X4 is going to be target oriented, tournament mindset, same target same club. 4 high R/L, 4 low L/R, 4 low R/L & 4 high L/R. Next 4X4 is the same thing on mechanical mode. Time to shag again and let go of the mechanics. Ok now if you were to go Tic-Tac-Toe Style you’ve hit every shot but the center square. That’s exactly correct. The center square doesn’t exist anymore, a medium height straight shot is useless, so don’t plan on ever hitting it again.
Now the first series is done, the second series is to repeat, same target but this time one club less. Third series is one club more. And finally the fourth series is back to the original club.
One target, three different clubs, 24 different shots. Some will be easier, many damn near impossible. Do your very best on every one but don’t worry about the results, just keep hitting ALL the shots and hit the same number of all of them. Remember this is the beginning of a long, long process.
3A. How to practice on the course: When you are on the course playing one ball this is how to keep score. On the scorecard put the date, temperature and wind speed and direction. The lines will be: 1.score, 2.club played from tee/fairway hit or missed noted by a +/- and the number of yards left or right the ball ends up from your target (ex +2I/10R). Leave this line blank on par 3s. 3.club hit on approach (always 3rd on par 5s,even if it is on the green) +/- on green hit (++ noting par 5 hit in 2 or par 4 driven)/ number of feet from hole and a +/- noting whether it is the preferred side OR if a missed green the direction the approach was missed and a +/- whether it was a preferred miss with an opportunity to easily save par or make birdie (ex -7i/-SL or +7i/-22). 4.number of putts/length of 2nd putt with a +/- for short or past the hole on a green hit in reg or length of first putt on a missed green with a +/- indicating short or long if missed (ex 2/+4 GIR or 2/-8 -GIR). Open lines on card can be used to make notes for penalties or anything out of the ordinary like a temp green or tee.
Keep track of every round in this fashion and within 25 rounds you have a very exact assessment of your game, your strengths & weaknesses, and what parts of your game require the most attention.
3B. How: While you are practicing your 4X4s occasionally you want to put a video camera up to the side of your target at a 90° angle to your LANDING POINT. You want to get the last 15 feet of all the different shots coming down, the different descent angles of the different shots, the speeds and the reactions on the first and second bounce, even if you aren’t practicing into a real green. You can’t get the correct perspective while you’re practicing but you need to look at the video while you’re taking a break in order to train you mind’s eye to see exactly where to land different shots played to different targets and to better understand what’s a good play and what isn’t. This is the most valuable use of video possible (for now).
- Who: (wow, one of my best friends, Robert Lucetich just got a plug on PTI, Aussie Aussie Aussie, Oi Oi Oi!! Check him out, golf writer for Foxsports.com, shameless plug over) Whether you are on the practice ground or on the course, every single moment has a purpose, even the time you spend in a chair sipping a cup of coffee is an opportunity to assess what you are doing, the environmental factors, to tighten and relax your focus and to assess video. Time is a factor. Let me repeat that, time is the ultimate factor. Every moment, every action is either spent moving forward toward your goal for the next shot, the goal for the session and a long term improvement of the skillset OR it is time wasted that can never be retrieved and two steps back along the road to mastery. If you get frustrated while you’re practicing it only means you are not paying attention and you are wasting time. Bad shots happen. A lot. Let them go immediately. One thought, either shot/target or one mechanical motion. You do this again and again and again and again. Every time a tiny bit better, a little more focused. You do it until there is no good or bad shot, no anxiety, no frustration or elation, all there is is this shot, this very small step along The Road. Then you do it more, then you can really get to work. Who are you that maximizes their time and works efficiently and intelligently at your craft? You are becoming a Player, you can look anyone you ever play straight in the eye and you know that even if you get beat today, I own you tomorrow and forever and in turn the look in your eye lets anyone know the game is over before it ever begins…
Gear: Now this is about me take whatever you want from it. I don’t see any reason whatsoever to ever game a set of irons different than what I’m playing now no matter where or what level of competition I’m playing at. If I were to decide in the future to play some events my current set of Apex’s would be nonconforming so I would have to pony up the big bucks and have Scratch Golf make me up a set of heads exactly like the old MT Colokrom’s, down the copper inserts with the current groove specs, that oughtta give Mr White a chuckle. My whole life I never cared what club goes how far, in fact if I did that I’d reverse the numbers on all of them and have the 9 stamped with a 1 and the 1 with a 9, I never understood why they were numbered like that anyway. I mean you’re hitting a shot 165 yds with a club that’s 37.5" long with 32° loft, who cares if it’s stamped with a 7, a 5 or a -Π…
Woods are a different story. I could care less how long a course says on a scorecard, in fact the longer the better. 10,000 yds is fine by me. I played the Wolf at Paiute in NW Vegas a few times always from the tips & it didn’t bother me at all. Card says like 7650 or so & all the 4 pars are 460-495 yds long, it just meant I was hitting driver all day long & all the approaches are 180-210, it’s not scary or stressful at all, it’s just boring because the course has no challenge or character other than raw length. When I play courses like this I have a Titleist 975J that I chopped the hosel off of and retrofit a taper shaft into and a 15° PT with the same shaft. They’re more upright than I’d like but they both lay wide-ass open so that helps. Point being I can fly the driver 280 and the 3 wood 260 and hit shots, I’d like someone to show me a golf course that’s not long enough for… Besides I’ll let everybody in on a secret, all these huge monster golf courses that they play all these tournaments on never ever play that long anyway, they push the tees up constantly, dry out the fairways so everything runs out (into the rough) and flat out lie about the yardage. Been going on for 100 years. Now I wouldn’t exactly wait in line to play a wide out goat track like the Wolf against 150 guys who were all Bubba long, but that’s not the only game in town either.
LCD wrote
Jacobi( famous mathematician) : “Invert, always invert”
Jacobi advice was for helping students solve hard math problems. It also helps in non-math problems sometimes, but it’s easy to forget to try it. In golf, it would mean “playing the hole backwards” as some strategists advise.
Numbering the clubs in reverse had not occurred to me, but what a novel idea. And, it’d get some real looks as a guy browses through your bag on the first tee. Maybe Don White will do that if he makes up an official ABS set.
Jesus Christ Charlie what the hell are you doing?!? Toms is so far in his own head it’s not even funny and your totally letting him off the hook! You’re never gonna have a better opportunity to win and instead of pressing this guy who’s waiting to get beat again all your can do is clank it around the left trees 3 holes in a row? Make that 4 in a row, come on man… Can we officially rename it Stack & Tilt & Pitchout or is STP still trademarked? Nice peek at the Hogan Room btw… But Charlie, one time just play man, you’re SO better than this.
LCD - How/when does the rope drill fit into your practice scheme? Or is that just a thing of the past that cant be performed now due to modern balls?
I’ll definitely get into that as soon as Colonial is over. I’m enjoying this tremendously. DT wit da ol ‘nobodys gonna step up & beat me so I guess I’m gonna have to do it myself’ 3 putt for dub from 12 ft. Btw if anyone thinks this is really Colonial it’s not even close, they’ve taken 80% of the trees out over the last 25 yrs. That course in it’s day was down right claustrophobic it was so tight. You couldn’t break 80 hitting 4 fairways.
Dammit!! Just hand out a bunch of 1 irons & everyone will be fine… Like nobody in Ft Worth has ever seen a 4:00 thunder shower before…
There’s no way to do the string drill with solid core balls. It’s just apples and oranges. It’s not just the difference in the launch angle but the time difference that the club and ball are in contact with each other. The new balls come off the face so fast, you can definitely feel it & I think at least I can see it. I think it’s worse than a flyer. But unfortunately the string drill does not apply to a hot ball with a parabolic flight. Sorry.
& this is a great opportunity to elaborate on what Lag was talking about with the importance of trees on a course. Colonial was for decades one of the roughest toughest most feared championship tracks in the country. Now it’s lost all its teeth and is a nostalgic oddity. Anybody watching should look at all the treelines and picture 5x more all in play overhanging the fairways and greens every hole to the point you could be shut out while still in the fairway. Then add the wind… The only way to play it was to curve every shot with the shape of the hole and keep it well under the treelines to keep most of the wind off it. Anything ballooned went sideways and was a lateral chip out. Now every shot is 20 feet over the treeline and the same way Lag was describing the problems at Augusta you get similar problems here. For over 40 yrs this was the 2nd most difficult test of the year only behind the US Open, now hardly anyone understands why it’s a tour stop. What a crime, and I blame IBF & NF for not even showing the place some of the reverence it deserves, they both know better.
But getting back to the string drill with today’s technology I don’t even need the string anymore. Back when I was playing for a living I was lucky if I could get some bad video of myself once every month or two & I was young, on a budget & didn’t understand how to best use it. Didn’t fully understand a lot of things & I suppose I still don’t, at least I hope not that’d be really depressing… But instead of putting up a string what I would do now would be to stick a series of yardsticks in the ground in between the ballflight and a camera for height reference as well as a second camera on the descent as I described earlier and adjust my mechanics toward the type of flight I’m looking for. Everything is about ballflight, it’s the only thing I ever care about and the way I can use a couple of $100 digital cameras today is light years ahead of anything that was available to me on my budget 15 yrs ago. The funny thing is that with everything available today with technology nobody understands how to use it properly, the game has ruined itself & the tail is not only wagging the dog, it’s slamming the dog against a wall over & over again.
Btw thanks to TM for finding & posting that pic of Hogan from behind, that’s the best pic I’ve ever seen of exactly what’d the jist is of pulling the club out of orbit really is, that was the one piece of the puzzle Quinn never had. The only person I ever knew that got all of it as well as Lag does now was Bud, and he passed away long before I was ready to learn all of it. Looking back it makes a lot of things I never understood clear up, miss patterns, left knee action and especially why my right hand kept creeping crazy weak and the way I always felt like I didn’t dare engage it properly and fully. I just figured I was doing the best I could and the people I trusted always told me the best I could consistently do was a straight line from impact to a high finish and keep the club square by disconnecting. I always looked at Johnny Miller and how ultra-compressed he was and thought ‘I know this is so much better than anything I’ve ever seen and I don’t know why… How does he stay so square and connected at the same time?’ I stared at pictures and video of him for so many years it got to the point where the sight of him gave me a stomachache. Now I get it, gimme another 5 years & maybe I can even chuckle I guess, I’ll say it again this is skill & ain’t nobody ever born knowing any of this…
LCD wrote
Lag wrote
To wrote
BOM wrote
Got some ivy in my yard, and the balls tends to roll into it, and they are hard to find…but have been persistent in trying to find every ball as advised. One morning last week a tick was having breakfast on my midsection, and I almost stepped on a snake. 
But is interesting. The value of balls seems to have changed for some. As a kid, had my own shag bag, would wash, count and mark my balls. A good dream would be walking along in a pasture and finding jillions of them. We’d walk the woods, streams, and lakes searching, and dive the lake to get more. One friend was more happy with a “positive ball count” after his round than a good score. Another could find a Top Flite in a creek, and beat you with it for 2 months…even then not losing it, but replacing it with another he’d found.