Did no one else see it? Am I the only one? On the eights hole on Sunday from the middle of the fairway with a perfect lie Angel Cabrera did what many weekend hackers do from a similar situation trying to muscle an iron. He SHANKED it! The difference is he went on to win the Masters. You golfers out there no this is really the most incredible feet. For once you have hit the shank how do you even pull the trigger for the next shot. Never mind that you're contending on Sunday for the green jacket. The announcers briefly mentioned it but almost seemed to embarassed to talk about it at length themselves. At least Faldo did bring it up but I would have loved to have heard Johnny Miller's reaction to this.
Every golfer knows it had to be on his mind. I don't care who you are, the shank plays reeks havoc with your mental stability on the golf course. Kudos to Angel for keeping it together. Never mind bouncing one off a tree and getting the bounce into the fairway and then saving par during the first hole of the playoff. The shot of the tournament was the shank on #8. When have you ever seen anyone go on to win a tournament, much less a major after hitting such a shot? It simply doesn't happen and its been overlooked by nearly everyone.
You've got to love a player who can pull that off. It gives all of the rest of us hope. Even though the everyman golfers out there were undeniably rooting for Kenny Perry they should have no problem embracing an everyman player from Argentina. The thing is Angel Cabrera is proving himself to be much more than a journeyman pro and a nice player. He is a real champion, winning on some of the toughest tracks and in dramatic fashion. Despite all the incredible and wonderful shots he played last week I for one will always remember the 2nd shot on #8 and wonder how he played so well after that. That's the question I would like to ask.
Tour Proven Training Aid
One of the easiest ways to learn to shoot in the 70's is to make sure you are in play on every hole. That means you have to drive the ball well. I'd been struggling with this for a long time. Then in June the PGA tour was in my home town. I was luck enough to get some tickets for the practice rounds. So I went to the event on a Wednesday and spent some time at the range watching the pros practice on the range. Like always I was hoping to see or pick up something from watching them. Every time I see a PGA Tour event in person it makes me think I'm going to go home and hit shots like them I don't know why. Anyway I noticed a number of the PGA tour guys on the range were using this funny club that seemed broken on the end. It had some kind of hinge to it and I was pretty sure I'd seen it on the Golf Channel. The one thing I noticed was that all the guys using this thing had such a nice smooth tempo. None of the sudden bursts of acceleration that are likely to happen anywhere in my swing.
I walked the course the rest of the day and didn't really pick much else up in the way of tips or advice. I was just hoping watching these guys play would make me better. On Saturday morning I had my weekly game with the guys. I was pretty psyched because they all knew I had taken off during the week to see the tour event. Of course they wanted to know all about it, who I saw, what they said etc. For some reason I really thought I was going to play better because I hung out with the tour guys. That seems very funny to me now but it wasn't at the time.
Needless to say my game wasn't any different. I sprayed the ball all over the place. My iron game is pretty good but that doesn't matter if you're not in play off the tee. So I went home and starting poking around the internet looking for something to help my game. I've read just about every golf instruction book there is and I try every tip that comes along. However, I've never been much into training aids. One thing I noticed was that the tour pros did seem to be using them, especially early in the week before the tournament began. I remembered that funny looking driver I had seen so I started research and discovered it was the Medicus 2000.
I went ahead and took a chance and ordered my first training aid. It took a few days to get here and I had to laugh when I saw it. It really did look like a bit of a broken driver. I had no idea how the hinge mechanism really worked. I finally got some time to go to the range and try it out.
Cons
I'm not going to lie and tell you that it immediately changed my swing and my game. In fact, I was quite frustrated at first. I could not swing that thing without the hinge breaking down. I had a few choice words about what I thought about this club and they weren't very nice. I was trying to swing the way I always do and I just couldn't see why the club wasn't working for me.
Pros
Well, after more than a few balls I started to slow down and really try and see what this thing was doing. I slowed down my backswing until I could keep that hinge from breaking. Then after a while I was able to also start my downswing without the hinge breaking down. I couldn't believe how well the shots were flying with this "broken shafted" driver. It really did force me to change my backswing and downswing path to make the club work. When I went back to my regular driver I was suddenly driving the ball straight. I could always hit it a decent distance but I didn't know where it was going.
The short story is that two weeks after I got the Medicus I was driving the ball in play on every hole and my scores dropped into the 70's with no problem. I didn't have to make more putts or anything. It was just the fact that the Medicus made my swing much more consistent so now I know where the ball is going. I would say if you have the patience to stay with it the Medicus can definitely help make your game much more consistent. Its one of the few training aids I know that you can actually hit balls with.
Medicus Driver Improves all aspects of your swing from the takeaway to downswing.
I walked the course the rest of the day and didn't really pick much else up in the way of tips or advice. I was just hoping watching these guys play would make me better. On Saturday morning I had my weekly game with the guys. I was pretty psyched because they all knew I had taken off during the week to see the tour event. Of course they wanted to know all about it, who I saw, what they said etc. For some reason I really thought I was going to play better because I hung out with the tour guys. That seems very funny to me now but it wasn't at the time.
Needless to say my game wasn't any different. I sprayed the ball all over the place. My iron game is pretty good but that doesn't matter if you're not in play off the tee. So I went home and starting poking around the internet looking for something to help my game. I've read just about every golf instruction book there is and I try every tip that comes along. However, I've never been much into training aids. One thing I noticed was that the tour pros did seem to be using them, especially early in the week before the tournament began. I remembered that funny looking driver I had seen so I started research and discovered it was the Medicus 2000.
I went ahead and took a chance and ordered my first training aid. It took a few days to get here and I had to laugh when I saw it. It really did look like a bit of a broken driver. I had no idea how the hinge mechanism really worked. I finally got some time to go to the range and try it out.
Cons
I'm not going to lie and tell you that it immediately changed my swing and my game. In fact, I was quite frustrated at first. I could not swing that thing without the hinge breaking down. I had a few choice words about what I thought about this club and they weren't very nice. I was trying to swing the way I always do and I just couldn't see why the club wasn't working for me.
Pros
Well, after more than a few balls I started to slow down and really try and see what this thing was doing. I slowed down my backswing until I could keep that hinge from breaking. Then after a while I was able to also start my downswing without the hinge breaking down. I couldn't believe how well the shots were flying with this "broken shafted" driver. It really did force me to change my backswing and downswing path to make the club work. When I went back to my regular driver I was suddenly driving the ball straight. I could always hit it a decent distance but I didn't know where it was going.
The short story is that two weeks after I got the Medicus I was driving the ball in play on every hole and my scores dropped into the 70's with no problem. I didn't have to make more putts or anything. It was just the fact that the Medicus made my swing much more consistent so now I know where the ball is going. I would say if you have the patience to stay with it the Medicus can definitely help make your game much more consistent. Its one of the few training aids I know that you can actually hit balls with.
Medicus Driver Improves all aspects of your swing from the takeaway to downswing.
How to Break 80
I'm going to start with telling you the worst thing about the "How to Break 80" program. Its the title! It should be How to shoot in the 70's. Because that's what I do now. Yes, I break 80 now, round after round. But I get great satisfaction saying I'm a 70's shooter! I think everyone who plays this game and doesn't already break 80 wants to get there. I'll admit I act a little more confident and yes occasionally I feel a little more licensed to give advice which probably isn't a good thing.
I used to be one of the "If only" guys in the bar after the round. You know "If only I had more time to practice, If only I drove the ball better, If only I could putt, If only I didn't duck-hook the ball into the water on 18 then I could break 80!
You see my problem was I didn't have a plan. I tried every tip that came along. One week I foucs on driving, the next week chipping, then irons, and always, always putting. There was no real discipline and in some cases I was working on the wrong things. It turns out I actually drive the ball pretty well for my abilities but I still spent a lot of time working on that part of the game when I should have been focusing on chipping and iron play if I wanted to break 80.
I won't bore you with the all the details of my first time breaking 80. My foursome is a little sick of that story anyway. But I will tell you this. The last hole at my home course is a relatively easy par 5. But there is water all the way down the left side. I came to this hole only needing a bogey to shoot 79. I'd been in this position several times before but always managed a hooking a ball into the hazard, take my double bogey and yes post 80. But the How to Break 80 program made me think about this situation differently and I actually birdied the hole to shoot 77. My first time breaking 80 and I shot 77! I'm still excited talking about it.
So if you're struggling to break 80 you might want to consider this program. You can probably get there on your own but if you want a blueprint for how to break 80 quickly then this is it.
Pros
The material is presented by someone who understands where you're coming from. Even tour pros used to say they didn't want to take a putting lesson from Ben Crenshaw. He was such a naturally gifted putter that he probably didn't struggle with some of the the putting isses that other good golfers go through with their putting. The instruction is presented clearly and concisely with lots of photos so its easy to see the concepts. Its also simple. No, physics of the swing information to give you paralysis by analysis. In fact, its the opposite. One of the keys I learned was to be comfortbale with my own swing. I didn't have to change everything to break 80. I just had to learn how to make what I already had work better for me.
Cons
There is a lot of information and material. You could try and do too much at once because there are simple concepts to work on for every part of your game. This is not intended to re-make your entire game. Its designed to help you score better.
I would recommend you take advantage of the game tracking software. This was a key for me because it told me that I drove the ball well enough to break 80 and I actually putted well enough. However, my chipping was not up to par.
So Click Here! if you want to break 80 soon.
Now, if only these guys would write a how to break 70 book!
I used to be one of the "If only" guys in the bar after the round. You know "If only I had more time to practice, If only I drove the ball better, If only I could putt, If only I didn't duck-hook the ball into the water on 18 then I could break 80!
You see my problem was I didn't have a plan. I tried every tip that came along. One week I foucs on driving, the next week chipping, then irons, and always, always putting. There was no real discipline and in some cases I was working on the wrong things. It turns out I actually drive the ball pretty well for my abilities but I still spent a lot of time working on that part of the game when I should have been focusing on chipping and iron play if I wanted to break 80.
I won't bore you with the all the details of my first time breaking 80. My foursome is a little sick of that story anyway. But I will tell you this. The last hole at my home course is a relatively easy par 5. But there is water all the way down the left side. I came to this hole only needing a bogey to shoot 79. I'd been in this position several times before but always managed a hooking a ball into the hazard, take my double bogey and yes post 80. But the How to Break 80 program made me think about this situation differently and I actually birdied the hole to shoot 77. My first time breaking 80 and I shot 77! I'm still excited talking about it.
So if you're struggling to break 80 you might want to consider this program. You can probably get there on your own but if you want a blueprint for how to break 80 quickly then this is it.
Pros
The material is presented by someone who understands where you're coming from. Even tour pros used to say they didn't want to take a putting lesson from Ben Crenshaw. He was such a naturally gifted putter that he probably didn't struggle with some of the the putting isses that other good golfers go through with their putting. The instruction is presented clearly and concisely with lots of photos so its easy to see the concepts. Its also simple. No, physics of the swing information to give you paralysis by analysis. In fact, its the opposite. One of the keys I learned was to be comfortbale with my own swing. I didn't have to change everything to break 80. I just had to learn how to make what I already had work better for me.
Cons
There is a lot of information and material. You could try and do too much at once because there are simple concepts to work on for every part of your game. This is not intended to re-make your entire game. Its designed to help you score better.
I would recommend you take advantage of the game tracking software. This was a key for me because it told me that I drove the ball well enough to break 80 and I actually putted well enough. However, my chipping was not up to par.
So Click Here! if you want to break 80 soon.
Now, if only these guys would write a how to break 70 book!
How to Fix a Slice
Are you hoarse from shouting Fore? Are you embarassed when you have to grabs three clubs and go looking in the woods for your ball? Has your dreaded slice cost you another nassau?
Don't worry, my friend Dave has devised a simple 4 step, 4 drill program that will get you back in the fairway with just one bucket of balls.
I didn't think I would ever need a product like this because my tendency is to go left. But a little while ago that tendency turned into a vicious snap hook. So I started doing everything I could to hit the ball the other way. I changed my grip, changed my stance and wouldn't you know it I developed a nice slice and lost about 30 yards in the process.
So then I tired everything I thought I knew about hitting the ball left and nothing worked. I was desperate because I was paying out every weekend and no one wanted to get paired with me. With me as your partner you not only lost money but you were stuck in a cart that was always in the rocks, hills and trees on the right side.
I came across Dave's simple method and voila! I was cured after one bucket of range balls. Actually for me it happened after just two of the drills but I won't say which two because everyone is different and the other drills may be better for you.
The nice thing is that its been a few months now and the slice is still gone. If there is one drawback its that I go left sometimes. I still have some alignment problems from all of my slicing but the ball is going pretty straight now.
If you want to get rid of your slice and start seeing the left side of your course try Dave's 4 simple steps and drills. Click Here!
Don't forget to take the golfpoll down below on the blog!
Don't worry, my friend Dave has devised a simple 4 step, 4 drill program that will get you back in the fairway with just one bucket of balls.
I didn't think I would ever need a product like this because my tendency is to go left. But a little while ago that tendency turned into a vicious snap hook. So I started doing everything I could to hit the ball the other way. I changed my grip, changed my stance and wouldn't you know it I developed a nice slice and lost about 30 yards in the process.
So then I tired everything I thought I knew about hitting the ball left and nothing worked. I was desperate because I was paying out every weekend and no one wanted to get paired with me. With me as your partner you not only lost money but you were stuck in a cart that was always in the rocks, hills and trees on the right side.
I came across Dave's simple method and voila! I was cured after one bucket of range balls. Actually for me it happened after just two of the drills but I won't say which two because everyone is different and the other drills may be better for you.
The nice thing is that its been a few months now and the slice is still gone. If there is one drawback its that I go left sometimes. I still have some alignment problems from all of my slicing but the ball is going pretty straight now.
If you want to get rid of your slice and start seeing the left side of your course try Dave's 4 simple steps and drills. Click Here!
Don't forget to take the golfpoll down below on the blog!
The Golf Polls Are Open!
Through my work in the golf industry I have interviewed thousand of golfers on a variety of subjects. I thought it would be interesting to questions of readers of this blog from time to time and then report back later in the blog.
Most golfers are very passionate about this game. As a result, we spend a lot of time thinking about golf, practicing golf and playing golf. There are a lot of things that compete for our leisure time but we choose to spend a large part of that leisure time on golf.
So the question is:
Why do you play golf? Send your top three answers to this question at golfpolls@gmail.com (Please put: "Why I play golf?" in the subject line?)
Once enough of you have responded I will report back here with a summary of the findings.
Most golfers are very passionate about this game. As a result, we spend a lot of time thinking about golf, practicing golf and playing golf. There are a lot of things that compete for our leisure time but we choose to spend a large part of that leisure time on golf.
So the question is:
Why do you play golf? Send your top three answers to this question at golfpolls@gmail.com (Please put: "Why I play golf?" in the subject line?)
Once enough of you have responded I will report back here with a summary of the findings.
The Golf Fitness Guide
This is a product review of something all you other golf nuts will want to hear about. The golf fitness guide helped me get back 20 yds in distance that I had lost. It all started when I went on a weight loss program. I dropped about 30 lbs. in 6 months. At first I didn't notice how much it was impacting my overall distance. At first I was a half club shorter, then a full club and finally a club and a half. Finally one of my buddies (Scott) pointed out that he lost a lot of distance a few years back when he lost weight. He was kind of happy becuase he was outdriving me by 15 yards for the first time in years. So now I was really depressed. Do I start eating more and regain my distance but have a hard time walking the course? I'm still not really sure why you lose distance when you lose weight but now that I think about it I've seen it happen to quite a few people. Someone should research that.
Then I came across the golf fitness guide. This guide is over 200 pages of exercises, stretches etc. all designed with golf performance in mine. I've taken more than one lesson where the pro asks me to get into a position that my body just won't allow. 90 degree shoulder turn with 45 degree hip turn, yeah right! Well I can tell you that I am a lot closer to that now.
The fitness guide is designed to get you into the best golfing shape of your life. You'll feel more athletic and more confident over the ball.
I can't say I'm 20 yards longer than ever but I can say I got back the 20 yards I lost while I was losing weight. (and I didn't have to buy new clubs!)
If your a golf nut like me you'll want to check this out. http://www.golffitnesstheguide.com/.
See you in the fairway!
Then I came across the golf fitness guide. This guide is over 200 pages of exercises, stretches etc. all designed with golf performance in mine. I've taken more than one lesson where the pro asks me to get into a position that my body just won't allow. 90 degree shoulder turn with 45 degree hip turn, yeah right! Well I can tell you that I am a lot closer to that now.
The fitness guide is designed to get you into the best golfing shape of your life. You'll feel more athletic and more confident over the ball.
I can't say I'm 20 yards longer than ever but I can say I got back the 20 yards I lost while I was losing weight. (and I didn't have to buy new clubs!)
If your a golf nut like me you'll want to check this out. http://www.golffitnesstheguide.com/.
See you in the fairway!
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