Golf Essentials (for Weekend Warriors)

My Parents are the Best Humans in the World

This is a segment of a keynote presentation I did at Golf Academy of America in Orlando. I talk about a phase of my college and amateur golf career where I had a debilitating bout with the putting yips.

I told my dad over a pizza that I was going to quit golf forever.

For context, quitting golf for me at that time was not really feasible.

I had earned a golf scholarship at Florida Southern College - by the way we won the Division II NCAA National Championship that year. I was also the defending champion of the Maine State Amateur...at the age of 19. There were a ton of expectations around my golf...my life was all about golf.

My parents matter in this equation for one simple reason - they were cool with what I wanted to do. That's it.

No convincing. No discussions on the costs of my education. No chats about what all their friends at our home club would think.

It was cool either way. I had support.

Fast forward the tape 4 years to me wiping my face full of tears, thinking of that slice of pizza with my dad, standing with my brother Jake on the 1st tee at Shinnecock Hills in the US Open Championship.

Cheers my friends.

Scrambles are a Whole Different Animal - You Can Cheat! 

So, I'm teeing it up in a scramble golf tournament tomorrow. I wanted to share some thoughts, especially for beginners on how to navigate your day and have a great time. 

First rule is to inoculate the group. Here's what I mean. Don't act like a rock star if you aren't one...they'll all see right through you. Better to own your "beginner-ness" and bring value to the group in some strategic ways. 

Second rule is that certain kinds of cheating is allowed. Bring all the clubs you want. Change out balls for distance and feel. If you hit a shit shot, pick it up and nobody cares. 

If you're a Beginner, Don't Worry About the Long Ball

The long ball isn't the way you're likely going to bring value. In fact, as the day goes on, it's totally cool if you don't even bother to hit your tee shot if there's already someone out there in perfect position. Here's a quick driver tutorial if you need one...as well as my latest driver podcast rant. 

Laser Focus on the Short Game

The short game - putting and chipping is where you've got your best shot to be the hero. Roll one in the hole from 20 feet and you'll bring a roar from the gallery, high fives and laughs for the whole day.

Reverse engineering, when you get to the golf course, don't spend the whole warmup time on the range. Hit a few balls, but go to the putting green and hone your putting and chipping skills. Let the big boys handle the long ball...short game is your best chance to contribute. 

And as a last Resort...

Depending on the group and the game, think about some other things you can bring along to deliver value. Here's a quick list:

• Booze

• Snacks

• Music (speaker and phone)

• Funny clothes

• Extra clubs - there's no 14 club limit in a scramble

Just be yourself, be humble, and you'll have the time of your life.

Big-Time Misconceptions about Sidehill Lies

After you’ve been playing golf for some time, you’re bound to hear this rule of thumb:

If the ball is below your feet, play for a slice. If the ball’s above your feet, play for a hook.

Well, that statement is only half true. Literally.

Ball Above Your Feet: Play for a Hook

In the case where the ball is above your feet, it will indeed tend to hook. That’s because when you set up the club with the toe of the club higher than the heel, the club face itself does actually point to the left. Try it by imagining hitting a shot with your sand wedge with the ball waist high. The club face is “looking” well to the left.

Now, try that same imaginary shot with your 3-iron. You should notice that the face isn’t pointing as much to the left. So, the degree that we account for the hook depends on the loft of the club we’re using AND the severity of the slope we’re talking about.

In practice, find a side slope and hit some shots with different clubs. Use an alignment stick to make sure you’re aiming in the exact direction you think you’re aiming. Take note of how much hook you can expect with each club. It’ll be different as you progress through the bag.

Ball Below Your Feet: Play it Straight

On the other side, when the ball is below your feet, the converse is not true. You can play these shots straight away without accounting for a slice. This is because even on the most severe sideslips, you’ll never address the ball with the toe of the club lower than the heel of the club. You might flex your knees in the address position, but you won’t tilt the club up to the extent that it’ll affect ball flight. Play it straight!

So, the old rule is misleading many golfers for exactly half the sidehill shots they hit. Hope that helps you!

Look for Feedback Every Time You Practice

Here's your hour of practice broken down for you.

We're starting off on the range with a great drill to help your arms stay connected with your body as you rotate. We run into a lot of problems when we lift our arms away from the body during the swing. Start off with some short swings with a towel stretched across your chest, held under both arms. Try to make small 9:00 swings without losing either end of the towel in the backswing or the follow through.

This drill does a great job of giving you the feeling of staying connected. Do the drill at home in your spare time as well.

Next, we're going to experiment with hitting shots of different trajectories. Use an alignment stick on the range to ensure that we're aiming in the exact direction that we think we're aiming. Always be very diligent with your setup and club face. Start with your sand wedge and hit a normal shot at the target. Next, with the same club, try to hit one low at the target. Then, hit one high. Do this for each club in your bag...or skip clubs if you prefer.

Try to notice what your tendencies are. Perhaps when you try to hit the high shot, the ball tends to hook...or when you hit the low one, it tends to go out to the right. This is really helpful information when you get onto the golf course. When there's trouble left, you can use the shot that you know won't hook the ball.

Then we're heading over to the bunker to work on the standard bunker shot for 10 minutes. Lay the club open so that the grooves are pointed at your left toe. Simple 9:00 swings will do the trick.

Finishing on the putting green, use your alignment stick with a perfectly straight 4-5 foot putt. With the help for alignment, make sure that your putter face is square to the target, as well as all your body lines and shoulders. Make smooth strokes, trying to hole 25 consecutively...or pick a number in line with your experience level.

One of my strongest presentations to date. Lots of continuing dialogue and positive feedback from the audience on this one...Here's my keynote speech at The Golf Academy of America’s Orlando Campus. The talk is geared for the students (all ages) at the school getting educated on careers in the golf industry - golf instruction, golf operations, tournament play, and golf management.

The first 20 minutes is mostly my personal background and stories - growing up in Maine, how I got into golf, and the work that I put into my game. Also, how I was able to raise some money to play on the Canadian PGA Tour, qualify for the US Open, and make a cut to earn a check on the PGA Tour.

In November of 2009, my life changed course dramatically. I moved away from traditional golf operations at green grass facilities. That's when I began building a personal brand and startup companies for myself - which would never have worked without my time in the "trenches" as a practitioner in the biz...executing and empathizing . I believe strongly that the future will place enormous importance on personal brand and an online presence in particular.

I then get into statistics and outlook on the golf industry and where my partner John Brown and I see things heading. With our new venture, KPI Golf Management, we're aiming to help underperforming golf courses turn around their operations and fight for their existence.

I touch on how to deep dive into club budgets through detailed financial auditing as well as procurement strategies that deliver quick wins for facilities.

There are a variety of strategies we'll deploy to help us accomplish this. All of which are taking into account overall macroeconomic trends (we've been riding a huge tailwind in recent years) as well as generational shifts in the game (baby boomers are playing more than half of overall rounds).

John and I believe that the traditional method of structuring golf instruction is broken. The way the lessons have been delivered over the years have been designed to serve the instructor first, not the student or the facility.

I explain why we believe that golf lessons should be offered for FREE. Lessons are the ultimate gateway drug for newcomers to the game, as well as an incredible means of retaining older golfers longer before they age out of the system.

I also tell a few stories about my playing experiences in the US Open, and inform the group of my 6-year mission to earn a round of golf with Gary Vaynerchuk in New York...

This episode is all about bunker play. In basic terms, we handle bunker shots a lot like pitch shots, but there are a few important variables we'll need to learn to account for.

First, everything is determined by the lie. Learning to assess what you're capable of from different lies comes with practice and simple trial and error.

If the ball is sitting down, we need the club to dig into the sand. If we've got a good lie, we'll want the club to slide into the sand.

Digging: We need the club to do more digging when the ball is sitting down.

Sliding: We need the club to avoid digging when we're in soft sand.

Bounce angle is part of the anatomy of a sand wedge where the leading edge of the club is raised off the ground. We can moderate bounce by opening or closing the face.

Open Club Face: More bounce, less digging, soft sand, good lies.

Square Club Face: Less bounce, more digging, hard sand, poor lies

I like the comparison of a peeler taking the skin off of a carrot - we don't want the club to dig so much that it stops dead. Conversely, we also don't want the club bouncing off the sand, or the peeler failing to grab any skin at all.

My bunker line drill is a great way to practice and learn about how consistent you are with impacting the sand (or turf).

Practicing by setting up square to a target, opening the club face, and hitting a few shots will reveal how far to the right the ball tends to come out. Transposing that angle to the other side...meaning aiming that much to the left will mean the ball comes out at the flag.

Questions: [email protected]

Here's your 1-hour practice blueprint for the day. The goal is to make best use of the limited time you have at the course. Here's what we're doing:

1. Ladder Drill (15 mins) - Short and mid-length putting with variability in distance. The game adds in some degree of pressure and challenge to keep it interesting. This is a great game to play with your buddies. Use one golf ball, hitting only one putt at a time with focus. Over time, if you set the drill up with the same distance increments, it'll serve as somewhat of a benchmarking tool for how your putting is improving.

2. Basic Up and Down Game (15 mins) - Play 9 or 18 holes of simple up and downs. Grab your 7-iron, your putter and one ball. Choose a different starting point and different hole each time. Mix up the distances, but keep them realistic. We're trying to work on the common chips and putts we're going to have on the course. Shoot even par and you're in great shape.

3. Alignment and Stance (30 mins) - On the range, we're working on ensuring that we're actually aiming where we think we're aiming. Be precise. Lay down a club parallel to your target line as a guide, then work your way from your wedges, to mid-irons, long iron, woods, then back again. We need to set up the same way every time if we plan on hitting consistent shots every time.

Enjoy...reach out if you have any questions: [email protected]

Today we hear from Carson in Rochester, New York. He's a 13-year old who's been playing golf for a couple years. As he's moving into junior tournament play, his questions and maturity are off the charts.

We cover:

• Judging and handling tough lies around the green

• Self awareness

• Practice habits

• Strategies for handling tournament pressure

• Aggressive vs. conservative play

• Distance wedges: Feel vs. Numbers approach

• Launch monitors and carry distances

• Making the most of your time indoors during the off season

If you want to be on a show or you have questions, hit me up on social media or shoot me an email at [email protected]

Cy Cyr has arguably become one of the world's top golf photographers...and we've know each other since we were 5 living in Maine. I wanted to know how I can be taking better pictures with my phone...and he didn't disappoint. Cy's been in the room with everyone in golf - Tiger Woods, Jack Nicklaus, Nick Faldo, Rory McIlroy...you get the idea. He shoots for Golf Channel, Golf Digest and others...so he knows his stuff.

In this episode, Cy shares some great stories through his career with the likes of Lee Trevino and Jack Nicklaus. I pick his brain a little bit to help the rest of us pull off some better photos at our family functions, friends, golf swings, and other stuff.

Cy also recommends a couple free phone apps that he uses to enhance his photos before publishing.

Check out Cy's work at cycyr.com. 

His work in corporate & portrait photography, golf course photography, product photography, and his portfolio of famous athletes he's worked with is stunning. 

In particular, I love his night photography work. He's been out to golf courses like Pebble Beach, Hazeltine and Royal Troon in the middle of the night to produce some stunning stuff.

This wedge play technique changed my golf life.

I was able to turn an absolute fear of 30, 50, 60 yard wedge shots into a strength of my game. These shots require a special approach that brings distance control and consistent impact with the golf ball every time. I'm super passionate about this part of the game, and I think this lesson is one that's going to help every single player out there.

In this episode, I start things out with some data to help convince you this is an area of the game that you really need to focus on. Dave Pelz figured out some important things using the scientific process - that these shots are the biggest correlation to money earned on the PGA Tour and they require their own kind of technique. 

For me personally, I absolutely feared these shots for a very long time - to the point of nearly quitting golf. Once I figured a way to make consistent contact and control the distance of these shots, wedge play became the hallmark of my game. 

The golf swing has many different sources of power - weight shift, body turn, coil, release of the club, hand action, etc. To control distance, we want to soften things up and limit our power to a single source. When we do this well, we're able to calibrate distance and make some great things happen around the greens. 

I'll fill you in on setup and swing technique to get you started in the right direction. 

• Narrow stance

• Noodle arms

• Your unique rhythm 

• Rotate without coil

• Maintain soft pressure throughout

• Ball comes off like a marshmallow

• Consistent impact every time

This technique is the absolute foundation of so many things we're going to talk about around the greens - pitching, bunker play, and even chipping. 

Listen in and get in touch if you've got questions.