Some Game and Blog Updates

- This past week I played and shot the following scores (68-74-75-69-79-74-70). Here's some of my statistics:

Fairways Hit - 76/95 = 80%

GIR - 90/126 = 71.4%

Putts/Round - 32.0

Putts/GIR - 1.84

Scramble % - 39.4%

Average Score - 72.7

I had a few struggles with my putting this past week and my short game. Was struggling with chips around the green, one day I would be hitting everything too hard, then the next day I would be hitting everything too soft. But, I was very pleased with my putting.

- I was looking to purchase the SmartStick Golf Training Aid (http://www.smartstickgolf.com/). I think this is a fabulous training aid because it can help with having one of Homer Kelley's 3 imperatives of the golf swing, straight plane lines. In my swing I tend to take the club down a little steep and when I'm swinging well, I'll shallow out the downswing before impact. But, if I'm off, I still get a bit too steep and troubles occur.

Anyway, the major problem with the SmartStick is the price ($225). So I decided to purchase the GTA Laser II


You can find it at (http://golfjustlikethepros.com/GTA%20Laser%20ll.htm) for only $26.95. I'm a tad bit skeptical on how it will work. Particularly the battery life, but more of where the lasers are situated, althought I think it should be pretty darn accurate. Once I get it and try it out, I'll make a quick review of it.

- I also bought the Taly. It's a highly recommended product by Lynn Blake. I was a bit skeptical of it at first since I thought it was more designed for 'swingers', but according to Lynn 'hitters' can use it as well and it also works well with 'right forearm tracing' and the 'right forearm takeaway.'

To quote Yoda:

For my students and me, the Taly is all about keeping the clubhead behind the 'clown's nose', i.e., behind the Hands and the Flat Left Wrist, through Impact and all the way into the Follow-Through (Both Arms Straight position).

If you do this, then Lag Pressure becomes a 'given', and Plane Line Tracing virtually automatic.

So if the GTA Laser II doesn't work, then hopefully the Taly will. I plan on bringing this aid to my next lesson with Ted Fort for some help with it. The Taly can be found at http://www.talygolf.com/ for about $70.



- Next month I hope to purchase the Bushnell 1500 RangeFinder w/slope. The latest versions are the Pro V2 and the Bushnell 1600, but I hope to get the 1500 on Ebay for about $250. The V2 sells for $400 (with a $50 rebate) and the 1600 goes for abotu $480. Playing up in the hilly North Georgia area, I think it's imperative to have a Rangefinder with slope. Of course, you can't use it for Tournament play. I'll have a review for that after I get one.

- Over at Brian Manzella's forum a poster asked for some 'putting tips.' Here's mine.

1. Just like the swing, there is no one way to putt the ball. Think of some of the greatest putters of all time. Locke, Crenshaw, Casper, Nicklaus, Tiger all had distinctly different putting styles. Just as it sounds crazy to listen to somebody who says you must grip the driver a certain way and swing it a certain way, it's really crazy to think you need to address the putter, grip the putter and stroke the putter a certain way because the history of the game shows differently.

2. D-Plane is alive and well in putting. It's really simpler than most golfers make it. Give me a golfer who can consistently be at 0.0 degrees to their target at impact over a guy that has inconsistent putterface angles, but a 'perfect' stroke.

3. Junk Pelz's '17" past the cup for optimal speed theory.' Mr. Geoff Mangum has thoroughly debunked this theory and speaking from experience it's a great theory if you want to hit the ball too hard.

4. Head swivel. Learn it and use it and watch your aim and speed/touch improve.

5. Learn to understand the 'fall line' and how the topography of the green tends to effect the putt. A lot of times it's easy to get fooled on the break by just reading the putt from behind the ball because the hole may not be cut properly and that can cause an illusion of it breaking one way when it actually breaks the other way. But, if you understand the fall line you can be much more accurate with your reads. Furthermore, understanding that downhill putts tend to break more and uphill putts tend to break less because of the velocity the ball is traveling.

Here, Mr. Geoff Mangum drops some knowledge.



I also suggest Mangum's 'Optimal Putting' e-book at www.puttingzone.com and David Orr's putting videos, particularly the 'How to Read Greens' video at www.orrgolf.com.





3JACK