Tag Archives: Golf Academy

Putt Like Gary Player

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We are blessed with many great golf courses here in the Pinehurst, N.C. Area. Today the challenge was at one of my favorite courses, Hyland Golf Club in Southern Pines. The course is in great shape and the greens are fast. The slope on this course is 141 from the blues, 133 white and 124 from the gold. So, as you can see, the course is a tough one, but really well maintained and the owners are great and appreciate the golfers who play here. Today my issues were totally with my putting. I had a difficult time getting the speed down, so I need to spend some time on the putting green. Here’s a nice video from the Golf Academy with some putting techniques used by Gary Player. Happy golfing from this average golfer!

http://www.golfchannel.com/media/school-golf-putt-gary-player/?cid=twitter-gca-v-gary-player-putting-051515

Hyland Golf Club, Southern Pines, N.C.

Hyland Golf Club, Southern Pines, N.C.

Drive It Like Graeme McDowell

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As this average golfer watches another day of rain in the northeast, all I can do is count down the days to arriving in Pinehurst and watch some golf videos to hopefully keep some of the golf rust away before arriving in Pinehurst. Pinehurst spoils those of us fortunate to play there. Keeping the ball straight down the fairway off the tee almost always leads to a good score. If you look back at most bad holes, it generally always starts off the tee. So, no matter how you tend to shape your tee shot, here’s how Graeme McDowell compensates for the shape. Happy golfing from this average golfer!

http://www.golfchannel.com/media/school-golf-drive-it-graeme-mcdowell/?cid=twitter-gca-v-drive-it-like-mcdowell-041515

Bottle Up Your Slice

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All golfers know that there are days when you get into a funk with you game. I’ve said to my golfing buddies on more than one occasion, it seems like I’m starting this game all over! Other days, I can play without the funk. I guess it’s called being inconsistent, but that’s part of golf. My goal is always to be more consistent in my game and to try and correct issues that arise on the course. Recently, for whatever reason, I started slicing the ball off the tee after being fairly consistent down the middle for several rounds. So, here’s a video from The Golf Academy that I used to help make the slice correction. Happy golfing from this average golfer!

http://golfchannelacademy.com/dana-rader-bottle-up-your-slice/?scl=shared

Drive It Like Sam Snead

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This average golfer played a round of golf today at Stone Hedge here in Pennsylvania. Stone Hedge is located near Tunkhannock, Pa. north of Scranton. The course has a beautiful setting in the Endless Mountains as it is known. In a future post, I’ll give your more details of the course. Although it is a nice course, I am spoiled by the great golf available in Pinehurst, North Carolina and I am looking forward to heading back there in late June. Getting off the tee as we all know sets you up for a good or bad hole every time and today I was fortunate to be getting off the tee quite well. I have always read with interest about Sam Snead and his thoughts on driving the ball. Here’s a nice video from the Golf Academy that talks about how Sam approached his drives. Happy golfing from this average golfer!

http://www.golfchannel.com/media/school-golf-drive-it-sam-snead/?cid=twitter-gca-v-driving-it-like-snead-040415

Clubhouse at Stone Hedge

Clubhouse at Stone Hedge

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Approach to Par four 6th at Stone Hedge

Clock Your Wedge Distance

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Playing golf in Pennsylvania has gotten off to a slow start as the weather hasn’t been very good. I did get in a few rounds at the Scranton Muni course and also a round at a course called Panorama. More on those courses in a later post. For now, it seems that I practice more than I play since leaving the wonderful golf mecca of Pinehurst, North Carolina! I’ll be back there in late June for summer golf which isn’t that far off. You can never practice the short game enough and for me, getting the right distance on the wedge is sometimes a challenge. I’m either short of the green or over past the flag. Here’s a video from the Golf Academy to help with the wedge distance. Happy golfing from this average golfer!

http://www.golfchannel.com/media/school-golf-clock-your-wedge-distances/?cid=twitter-gca-v-clock-in-wedges-050115

Impact And Follow Through

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This average golfer may just get out for a round of golf here in the Northeast today! It has been difficult not playing after a full winter season of golf in beautiful Pinehurst, North Carolina. Today will be a day to remove some of the rust after not playing for two weeks. I recently heard a golf instructor mentioning that one of the most common faults of amateur golfers is the follow through. I know that over the years, this has been one of my biggest faults…lack of follow through. My body wants to stop after impact and as most golfers know, that just doesn’t work very well. Here’s a nice lesson from the Golf Academy to help with the all important follow through that you can practice. Happy golfing from this average golfer!

http://www.golfchannel.com/media/night-school-impact-and-beyond/?cid=twitter-gca-v-impact-follow-through-040315

The Motion of the Club Drill

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This average golfer just returned from playing one of my favorite courses here in the Pinehurst area, Hyland Golf Club. Hyland isn’t an easy course, as the slope rating is 124 from the gold tees. I usually shoot in the mid 90’s here and today I shot 91 with a triple on a Par 5 due to a poor trap shot. Also, I was struggling with my club motion, that is, nice easy back swing but too fast coming down. As much as I try to prevent this from happening, it seems to be one of the hardest things to remain consistent with. I am always amazed when I do have an easy down swing just how well the ball flys off the club face. The old saying, let the club do the work! If you want the ball to go farther, don’t swing harder, just change to a longer club. I have committed to making this happen on my next outing Thursday at Seven Lakes Club. To prove my point, here is a nice video drill from The Golf Academy addressing this very point. An over due  “thanks” for reading my blog. Happy golfing from this average golfer!

http://www.golfchannel.com/media/school-golf-motion-over-position/?cid=twitter-gca-v-motion-over-position-041415

The Secret of How To Shape Shots

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If the weather holds out here in Pinehurst, this average golfer will be back on the links tomorrow trying to improve his game. As an amateur golfer, one of the things that I struggle with more than anything is how to shape a shot. In other words, how do I make that draw or fade when I need to. It seems that I can make that draw or fade when I am not trying to, but when I really want to make it, it is difficult to do. Here’s a video from the Golf Academy that helps you learn how to shape those shots when you need to do it out on the links. It may also give us a clue as to why we make those shots when we aren’t trying to. Happy golfing from this average golfer!

http://www.golfchannel.com/media/school-golf-shot-shape-secrets/?cid=twitter-gca-v-shot-shape-secrets-040115

Launch Drive and No Slice

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This average golfer takes to the links with a positive attitude each round, but usually I will have a trouble spot somewhere in my game by rounds end. That’s why we practice, analyze and correct our mistakes. Sometimes I’ll ask for help from a golfing partner when I can’t figure out a correction and if that doesn’t work, I’ll research for the next round or practice range. During my lastest round, I started hitting my drive lower than usual and that caused some troubles with up hill tee boxes. I found myself also having this same issue with my fairway metals. So, wanting to find a fix, I researched this video and hopefully it will help me launch those clubs better next time out. Happy golfing from this average golfer!

http://golfchannelacademy.com/kellie-stenzel-launch-it-high-with-your-setup/?scl=shared

Gary Sheffield Learns About Core Rotation

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This average golfer played at one of my favorite courses here in the Pinehurst area yesterday, Foxfire Grey Course. One of the bad habits that I often get into is swinging with my arms and not rotating that core part of my body that needs to give you the power in your swing. This was the case with me yesterday.  When you see the small golfers who can really get distance on their ball, it’s probably because they know how to rotate and use that core power. Here’s a great video from the Golf Academy to help you learn this rotation and impact with the core rotation. Happy golfing from this average golfer!

http://www.golfchannel.com/media/golf-fix-gary-sheffield-adds-15-yards-impact-tip/?cid=twitter-gca-v-sheffield-adds-distance-032815