Day 15: Day Off Physically, but not Mentally

I did not practice today as I had to be home by 6pm for my girlfriend’s birthday party that was starting at 7pm. This was the second day in 15 that I did not have a club in my hands.

However, I got to talking to her boss’s boyfriend about golf at the party.

He’s a good shooter and told me that when he changed his swing last year, he went from a 3.5 handicap to a 7.0 – he also said that he went from never hitting a shank off the tee in 30 years to hitting about 40 during his learning period with his new swing. I could only image how difficult it must be for a 50-year old guy shooting in the mid-70’s to change his swing after 30 years and suffer the inconsistencies that it takes in order to groove in a new swing.

That gave me hope that what I was doing was the right thing to do. Not that I did not fully believe that what I was doing was right, but stories like this help to reinforce that what I am going through can be frustrating, painstaking, introspective, but rewarding in the end.

I was interested to hear him talk about how far he hits his irons. His 8-iron is my PW (130 yards). This fact told me that it isn’t about how far you hit the ball, but how you get up and down that contributes to your score.

I was also interested to hear that he hits a ‘natural fade’. I have heard this term come up more and more recently in the past week. Michele Wie hits a ‘natural fade’, as does Fred Couples.

In the August issue of Golf Magazine, Mike Chwasky interviews Couples in the magazine’s lead story. Couples imbues so many words of wisdom throughout the article. Couples says that when he was playing his best, he was hitting a very hard fade. But as he got older, he started hitting a draw as it was easier on his body. The article is fantastic. I reference what I think are some of the highlights below.

Couples on Putting:

‘Putting is the hardest thing in golf – if you can’t read a putt, you don’t have much of a chance.’

Couples on Practice:

‘I think it’s important to hit a fair amount of practice shots, but not with the driver every time…You’ll groove your swing much better with a mid-iron than a driver. If you can hit your 5 or 6-iron well, you should be able to drive it well.’

Couples on Power and Tempo:

‘In the modern game the long hitters will always be the best. Length is a huge deal now.’

‘I think a lot of amateurs hold the club too tight. The tighter you hold anything, the slower you’ll be. You really need to be soft and supple to create clubhead speed and power. When I am at address, you could walk up and take the club out of my hands easily. That’s how softly I hold it.’

‘If you want to improve your power, you need to work on your swing – that’s the best way to learn to swing harder.’

‘My tempo goes along with my relaxed approach to my grip and setup. When I take the club away, I just think about making a good backswing. I definitely don’t muscle up in preparation for a big drive, I just try and stay relaxed. Then the split second before impact, I try to hit it as hard as possible. It might not look like I’m putting a lot of effort into it, but I am – it’s just that my body is free of tension. After that, I let the club go completely and it naturally folds into a relaxed finished position.’

I think those words of wisdom from a true professional are priceless.

I need to really concentrate on being nice and relaxed at the set-up, making a good backswing and have that moment of power just before impact and then relax again into a nice easy follow through. I think those might be the words to live by when standing at the tee box. Thank you, Mr. Couples. You have always been one of my favorites to watch play golf.

Tomorrow, I leave for China for 5 days. I took and extra large bag with me that would fit my putter and my 8-iron. I also packed 5 balls and plan on practicing in my hotel room.

After 3-putting those last few holes last Sunday which kept me from being in the 80’s, this time spent putting and chipping with my 8-iron will be very much welcomed.