My constructive advice for a few of my colleagues.
Student Grade 9, Mr. Noah
http://igotthemagicdansmoi.blogspot.com/2013/02/blog-post-1.html?showComment=1362066770654#c2896732533882093907
Student Grade 10, Mr. Andrew
http://quadroflcopter.blogspot.com/
Student Grade 9, Mr. Nick
http://doingthe3.blogspot.com/2013/02/week-one.html#comment-form
Thursday, February 28, 2013
Fail and Three Quarters
Everyone fails at doing something. This week, not only did I fail but I fell flat on my face. Imagine a guy running full speed on pavement, tripping on a boulder and slamming the ground causing a minor earthquake. Sort of like this nimrod skateboarding
This past week I was attempting to improve my seven and eight iron shots. I can strike the ball with force but it doesn't matter if it dips to the right landing you aside some pinecones, rusty leaves, and tall trees. The problem with my golf game is the accuracy and consistency.
PGA professional Jeff Coston helped me straighten out my swing. As misleading as the first sentence might have been I didn't meet the great Jeff Coston in person rather on PGA.com where I watched a two minute video. He talked about how many golfers raise their backswing straight up causing a slice. No not a slice of pizza (although that sounds quite delicious right about now) a slice that curves from left to right ending you up either on the right side of the green or further more ending you up in the boonies.
Getting to spend time out on the golf course is great. Getting to move around and feeling like you accomplished something when you make a nice shot is the best. But the worst part is having to sit on my butt and read a book. I'm not the type to sit down with a cup of green tea reading a book. No. I like to go and go and go. I can't stop once I start to move. This kid basically describes me reading my book.
The book I am reading is Harvey Penick's Little Red Book by Harvey Penick. It teaches the basic fundamentals of the game to beginners. I am hoping to pick up a few tips and tricks to get me one stroke closer to my goal.
I haven't discussed much about my final goal but I know have it here in numerical terms.
FEB 25-MAR 3: From 6 feet and closer to the hole I have a 52% accuracy in making it in one shot. By the end of week one I want to increase this percentage by at least 10%. Putting tutorials on PGA.com and the book by Harvey Penick will help me achieve this goal.
MAR 4-MAR 11: On March 9th I have a lesson at the Philadelphia Cricket Club with PGA professional Chris Young. Before, during, and after my lesson I will be tape recording, and video recording Chris Young and myself. I will get Young to analyze a tape of my swing and I will have an interview session with him to get helpful advice.
I don't want to plan my schedule too far ahead since I will focus on what makes since each week. If Chris Young suggests I work on bunker game and chipping then the week after March 11th I will do that. Before I meet with Young I am trying to play a round of golf at least once. My scores for each hole will be posted once I complete round.
Now for me to talk about this past week and as I call it the "Epic Fail."First, picture a teenage boy hitting his irons on the driving range. Some I connected with solidly and the others hit off the tip of the club and dipped to the right. So I was about two buckets in and I get this one ball that is cracked and looks like one of those deformed nerds that you get. I didn't want to waste the ball and throw it away because you know, times are tough. I placed the ball down, lined up, took my club back, and drove the head straight into the ball.
It sounded like the noise from George Jetson's car when he drives to work. My ball zoomed to the left so far that I thought it was going to go out of play. Not only did it go out of play but it kept on carrying and was heading straight to the road. I was cringing watching it as the ball struck a car and I heard a loud crash.
Simultaneously I packed my bag up and got the heck out of there. Hopefully they would blame the eighty year old man who hit his six iron a blazing ten feet. After that my week got worse as I was hitting in my basement and goofing off a slight bit and my club smashed into a light bulb.
Yeah, not so good for the first week but you know what they say, it's just the calm before the storm.
http://www.pga.com/golf-instruction/instruction-feature/hybrids-and-irons/swing-station-make-swing-right-video
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harvey_Penick
http://www.golf.com/tour-and-news/book-excerpt-little-red-book-harvey-penick-foreword-davis-love-iii
This is not me. Probably some rad dude though!!
PGA professional Jeff Coston helped me straighten out my swing. As misleading as the first sentence might have been I didn't meet the great Jeff Coston in person rather on PGA.com where I watched a two minute video. He talked about how many golfers raise their backswing straight up causing a slice. No not a slice of pizza (although that sounds quite delicious right about now) a slice that curves from left to right ending you up either on the right side of the green or further more ending you up in the boonies.
Jeff Coston demonstrating the INCORRECT way to bring the club back.
A good thing to help make sure your hands go straight back instead of straight up is to place a tee under your armpit. Make sure you have an adequate amount of deodorant on or else the tee will grow legs and run away. The tee should be under your back armpit, so if you're right handed it would be under your right arm. Try and keep the tee under your arm as you bring the club back and as you strike the ball. This will force you to bring the club back the proper way.Getting to spend time out on the golf course is great. Getting to move around and feeling like you accomplished something when you make a nice shot is the best. But the worst part is having to sit on my butt and read a book. I'm not the type to sit down with a cup of green tea reading a book. No. I like to go and go and go. I can't stop once I start to move. This kid basically describes me reading my book.
Somebody save him!
The book I am reading is Harvey Penick's Little Red Book by Harvey Penick. It teaches the basic fundamentals of the game to beginners. I am hoping to pick up a few tips and tricks to get me one stroke closer to my goal.
I haven't discussed much about my final goal but I know have it here in numerical terms.
FEB 25-MAR 3: From 6 feet and closer to the hole I have a 52% accuracy in making it in one shot. By the end of week one I want to increase this percentage by at least 10%. Putting tutorials on PGA.com and the book by Harvey Penick will help me achieve this goal.
MAR 4-MAR 11: On March 9th I have a lesson at the Philadelphia Cricket Club with PGA professional Chris Young. Before, during, and after my lesson I will be tape recording, and video recording Chris Young and myself. I will get Young to analyze a tape of my swing and I will have an interview session with him to get helpful advice.
I don't want to plan my schedule too far ahead since I will focus on what makes since each week. If Chris Young suggests I work on bunker game and chipping then the week after March 11th I will do that. Before I meet with Young I am trying to play a round of golf at least once. My scores for each hole will be posted once I complete round.
Now for me to talk about this past week and as I call it the "Epic Fail."First, picture a teenage boy hitting his irons on the driving range. Some I connected with solidly and the others hit off the tip of the club and dipped to the right. So I was about two buckets in and I get this one ball that is cracked and looks like one of those deformed nerds that you get. I didn't want to waste the ball and throw it away because you know, times are tough. I placed the ball down, lined up, took my club back, and drove the head straight into the ball.
It sounded like the noise from George Jetson's car when he drives to work. My ball zoomed to the left so far that I thought it was going to go out of play. Not only did it go out of play but it kept on carrying and was heading straight to the road. I was cringing watching it as the ball struck a car and I heard a loud crash.
Simultaneously I packed my bag up and got the heck out of there. Hopefully they would blame the eighty year old man who hit his six iron a blazing ten feet. After that my week got worse as I was hitting in my basement and goofing off a slight bit and my club smashed into a light bulb.
Yeah, not so good for the first week but you know what they say, it's just the calm before the storm.
http://www.pga.com/golf-instruction/instruction-feature/hybrids-and-irons/swing-station-make-swing-right-video
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harvey_Penick
http://www.golf.com/tour-and-news/book-excerpt-little-red-book-harvey-penick-foreword-davis-love-iii
Wednesday, February 20, 2013
What's Chillin Bloggers??
What's up bloggers???
I'm new to the blogging world and I will be discussing my journey as a golfer. Golf is a great game that does not account for your size, age, or how much you can bench but rather eye-hand coordination and skill relative to the sport. Going out with a couple of buddies scoring a six and writing down a five is what the game's all about. But, in the next seven weeks I am attempting to take my golf game to the next level.
I began playing golf in the beginning of the sumer of 2012. I was starting to grow a passion for the sport as I began scoring better in each round. But my journey was halted by an obstacle due to injury. I had a spiral fracture in my right humerus that put me out of exercise for a good six months. As I return to athletics I am resurrecting and becoming a better golfer. My skills are rusty and I haven't hit a golf ball in over six months. As I start this journey I plan to take each week to focus on a different aspect of my game.
Today marks week one as I attempt to reach success. For this first week I will be clearing all of the rust out of my body and hopefully returning to my old golf ability. Today, tomorrow, and Friday I will focus on my irons specifically my seven and eight to improve my second shot. I have a setup in my basement where I can hit off of artificial turf into a net with my clubs. I will focus on the mechanics of my swing and most importantly keeping my head still. Accuracy is a huge factor in improving your score and the difference between a ball in the woods or lying perfectly in the fairway.
I will be measuring my progress by comparing side to side footage of my stroke with different clubs at the end of each week. I will calculate how far I hit the ball and my accuracy percentage out of ten swings. I will also be using score cards to keep track of how I do when I play a round of nine or a round of eighteen. In this upcoming week I will be going out to a basic golf course, Center Square Golf, and recording my score for nine holes. I need something to start with and base my progress off of.
I will also be setting goals for myself to help me succeed. As of now I cannot set specific goals due to the length of my shots and the score I receive on nine or eighteen holes solely because I have nothing to base it off of. I will be testing out my ability this week and next week I will have in depth specific goals.
As I progress through this adventure I will be reading a book to help my skills. The book is titled The Modern Fundamentals of Golf by professional golfer Ben Hogan. Hogan is one of the best golfers of all time racking up nine majors. In this book Ben discusses the skills necessary to shoot a good round. The book has pictures along with words to help demonstrate proper stance, grip, and form.
Aside from reading a book from one of the best golfers of all time I will be watching and reading advice and tips at PGA.com. PGA.com has videos that focus on certain shots and help demonstrate the proper technique. Better yet they have professionals discussing in depth topics on how to improve. Just a few examples are, chipping out of a bad lie, grip pressure for irons and hybrids, and proper putting from certain distances.
Wish me luck this week! Stay tuned for a new post every week!
Golf Tip of the Day brought to you by PGA.com- Too many people think the sand wedge is just for bunker shots. It should be used for sand shots as well as pitch shots to the green.
I'm new to the blogging world and I will be discussing my journey as a golfer. Golf is a great game that does not account for your size, age, or how much you can bench but rather eye-hand coordination and skill relative to the sport. Going out with a couple of buddies scoring a six and writing down a five is what the game's all about. But, in the next seven weeks I am attempting to take my golf game to the next level.
I began playing golf in the beginning of the sumer of 2012. I was starting to grow a passion for the sport as I began scoring better in each round. But my journey was halted by an obstacle due to injury. I had a spiral fracture in my right humerus that put me out of exercise for a good six months. As I return to athletics I am resurrecting and becoming a better golfer. My skills are rusty and I haven't hit a golf ball in over six months. As I start this journey I plan to take each week to focus on a different aspect of my game.
Today marks week one as I attempt to reach success. For this first week I will be clearing all of the rust out of my body and hopefully returning to my old golf ability. Today, tomorrow, and Friday I will focus on my irons specifically my seven and eight to improve my second shot. I have a setup in my basement where I can hit off of artificial turf into a net with my clubs. I will focus on the mechanics of my swing and most importantly keeping my head still. Accuracy is a huge factor in improving your score and the difference between a ball in the woods or lying perfectly in the fairway.
I will be measuring my progress by comparing side to side footage of my stroke with different clubs at the end of each week. I will calculate how far I hit the ball and my accuracy percentage out of ten swings. I will also be using score cards to keep track of how I do when I play a round of nine or a round of eighteen. In this upcoming week I will be going out to a basic golf course, Center Square Golf, and recording my score for nine holes. I need something to start with and base my progress off of.
I will also be setting goals for myself to help me succeed. As of now I cannot set specific goals due to the length of my shots and the score I receive on nine or eighteen holes solely because I have nothing to base it off of. I will be testing out my ability this week and next week I will have in depth specific goals.
As I progress through this adventure I will be reading a book to help my skills. The book is titled The Modern Fundamentals of Golf by professional golfer Ben Hogan. Hogan is one of the best golfers of all time racking up nine majors. In this book Ben discusses the skills necessary to shoot a good round. The book has pictures along with words to help demonstrate proper stance, grip, and form.
Aside from reading a book from one of the best golfers of all time I will be watching and reading advice and tips at PGA.com. PGA.com has videos that focus on certain shots and help demonstrate the proper technique. Better yet they have professionals discussing in depth topics on how to improve. Just a few examples are, chipping out of a bad lie, grip pressure for irons and hybrids, and proper putting from certain distances.
Wish me luck this week! Stay tuned for a new post every week!
Golf Tip of the Day brought to you by PGA.com- Too many people think the sand wedge is just for bunker shots. It should be used for sand shots as well as pitch shots to the green.
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