the GOLF BLOG of HYPE....by one man

Well, well, well....another day, another year already started.

What resolutions have I decided to work on this year? There are definitely a few but nothing I'm going to spell out here except for my golf related choices.

Let's list at least a few items to work on this year regarding my game;

1. Practice consistently, mid to short irons, dial-in my distance with each club.
2. Practice putting skills (which I normally haven't done much of).
3. Work on getting the ball on the clubface properly ALL the time when hitting. NO MISS-HITS.
4. Increase my flexibility through exercise, which will create more distance.
5. June/July, new set of clubs.
6. By end of summer reduce my index to a solid 3 handicap or less.

When you go to the driving range to hit balls remember 2 important things;
- range balls are almost always limited flight balls (they don't go as far as normal)
- golf mats may not be the best alternative BUT they make you concentrate on swinging smoothly and picking the ball cleanly with the clubface, not digging into the turf.

I've noticed that the major loss in my game from lack of consistent play over the last 12-18 months has been distance. My ball flight has not moved much, I still either hit it straight or pull it just a little left, but my distance has decreased by as much as a full club length. That's been very frustrating and completely my fault due to less time at the range and on the course.

My putting has always been very good from distance control to reading of the greens. I need to improve my accuracy and can accomplish that through time spent on a practice green, something that I've never really done before.

To play consistently takes a real concerted effort since I have very few friends that golf. This means that I have to get motivated to play as a walk-on single almost all the time, which means I have to usually get up early and to my chosen course early in order to get on the singles list. This is also a big part of my not golfing much the last 12-18 months. As much as I love to golf it's always more fun to be able to golf with friends.

Golf is a singular sport from a participation standpoint, but a social sport from a public perspective. That's why most people enjoy the game so much. You get out of it what you put in to it. I've always excelled at singular sports from track and field, to tennis, to racquetball, and obviously the great game of golf.

List out what you want to accomplish with your golf game this year and start working towards your golf goals. If you're in an area where there's snow for the next few months, work on your putting in your hallway, get a practice club you can swing, clean and re-grip your clubs, empty your golf bag completely and clean that out. Keep golf in your mind one way or another and when the weather gets better you'll be more excited and prepared to play.

Play well.

When people ask me what the weather is like in California I like to tell them that we have two seasons...Summer and Rain. I live about 30 miles from some of the most famous beaches in the world and the year round weather here is very moderate and tolerable almost all year. And yes, we do have cold weather, well, cold for us. It does get down into the high twenties - low thirties, but for a very short period of time. Winter is a regular length season for us just like everyone else, it's just that we don't have to shovel snow where I live and we only have to wear warm jackets for a few months of the year.

Golf is a year round activity here and in most of California actually. So the ability to stay fairly sharp and on top of your game is good. We've been pounded pretty well off and on the last few weeks with equal amounts of storms and sun.....and that's typical for us. I feel for the North and Eastern parts of the U.S. where the golf season is typically over around November for about 4-5 months. Whew...no thank you.

I'm supposed to golf tomorrow with some friends but the weather is supposed to be like today, cold, wet, and windy at times. Cold..about 48-50 degrees, wet...light rain off and on all day, and windy but not too windy. This storm has been coming in from the North so it's a cold one. I'll have to wait until the morning and see what the weather guy says.

I golfed last week and played pretty decently for not having gone out in a while. Shot an 81 with a triple on the front. My round could very easily have been 5-6 shots less. I'll chalk it up to a bit of rust but mostly to my new swing I've been working on; I'm working on more consistency with my ball striking, direction, and with it all comes added distance. I was 8 over on the front and 1 over on the back including 6 pars in a row and finishing with an eagle on the long par five 18th.

I'll let you know if I go and how I do. I'm enjoying getting my new swing in place and am looking forward to a very good year on the course.