Rules of the Road: Updated Tips and Tricks from a decade of Golf Trips

The golf trip to Southern Pines in August 2020 will mark my 8th consecutive year as a golf trip captain. Add in random long weekends and overnight golf excursions that pop up from time to time, and I’ve spent a lot of time chasing this crazy game far and wide. Each trip has been fun…

Hitting into the Sun – My White Whale of Golf Conditions

On my journey from hacker to avid amateur golfer, conquering the weather and various environmental factors encountered on a golf course was nearly as big a hurdle as poor alignment, a bad path on the takeaway, and coming over the top on the downswing. Along the way I have cast out most of the old…

Yeah, go ahead and tend the flag for me, will ya?

Ego and insecurity can be terrible, debilitating handicaps in the game of golf. Just two days and four holes into 2017, I received my first embarrassing dose of involuntary humility. A welcomed weather anomaly resulted in above average temperatures, allowing Bryan and I the thrill of playing golf in Central Kentucky on January 2nd.  The…

Elusive Glory: How Hitting a Fade helps me consistently Compress the Golf Ball

You can’t be just a little bit pregnant. Forgive the terrible colloquialism, but I find this is the best way to describe the dichotomy that is my golf swing.  Either I’m consistently compressing the ball with a good swing. Or I’m not.  There is not any middle ground, really. When I’m putting good swings on…

A more satisfying way to putt: Stop reading too much break. And don’t leave it short!

I predominately play golf on daily fee and municipal golf courses.  Every once in a while I’ll be fortunate to receive an invite to play a private course in our area, or I’ll take a golf trip a couple of times a year and play some really nice courses. Always, without fail, the greens are…

Keys to My Swing – It’s the little things

“Swing your Swing, I know I did.” That was the punchline of a Dick’s Sporting Goods golf commercial of recent vintage, with Arnold Palmer extolling the virtues of individuality and uniqueness in every golfer’s swing.  Certainly, no one has done it quite like Palmer in the 60 years since he burst onto the golf scene.…

Terrible fashion choice, great practice aid

I’m 35 years old, and much to The Wife’s chagrin, I still have several items of clothing that date as far back as my freshman year of college in 1997.  I’m proud that I can (mostly) fit into those ragged old t-shirts and sweatshirts, stretched collars and sleeves aside. Admittedly, I’m in significantly better shape…

The 9th Golf Lesson – correcting the overcorrections

I fully acknowledge that I am susceptible to sometimes wanting it too much.  This applies to my golf game just as much as the rest of my life.  I try to keep perspective; sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. I knew going into this swing reconstruction process was just that, a process, which would require…

The 7th Lesson – Swing Path, scared straight

My golf game’s evolution simmered this spring, but has begun heating up along with the Central Kentucky temperatures.  It’s been an excruciatingly volatile process, with intermittent stretches of feeling in control and striking the ball really well giving way to an inability to get off the tee box, and back again. The inconsistency of my…

The Confidence Conundrum – From the Range to the 1st Tee

Wednesday was a great day on the practice range.  Everything clicked and my swing found its slot. My legs were strong and my arms and wrists were relaxed. My four golf lessons culled together and culminated to produce a tension-free, repeating golf swing. I wanted to hit every club in my bag, because even the 3-iron…

The Third Lesson – Loosen Up and Cock the Wrist

I actually took my third golf lesson before leaving for Hilton Head, but completing my workload before bailing out-of-town prevented me from getting a column about it posted. The third lesson built upon the first two of course, and luckily didn’t leave me completely helpless once I made it to the golf courses down South.…