So you think you can golf?
All of us who golf would like to improve, no matter what level you play at. For those of you who are more serious about it, I have two questions:
1. Self-diagnosis or swing coach?: For many years, mostly when I was a kid and teenager, I had a swing coach (several different ones over the years). For the past seven or so years, I’ve been on my own (although once or twice I’ve taken a lesson). One of the things I don’t like about finding a new swing coach is that sometimes the pro is not a good teacher, or, even worse, the guy has only one “style” of swing in mind and tries to get you to fit their one swing. I’m not a teenager or Tiger Woods, so I can’t spend hours on the range totally revamping my swing. But I do see benefits in getting pro analysis now and then. I was just about to take a lesson this summer with a new guy, but the guy’s number was not available at the range where I practice. So I decided that I’m smart enough to figure out why I hit some of my bad shots. Sure enough, after watching my ball flight, I did figure out my swing path was a little messed up. So far, the results have been pretty good.
My question is: do you have a swing coach or do you self-diagnose your own swing?
2. Range or course? I’ve always loved to practice on the range and beat balls, but maybe my problem is more on the course when I revert to old habits. How many of you practice more on the course or on the range?
Here’s a funny story from Monty about how little he hits on the range: “I haven’t worn out my body bashing balls,” Montgomerie said last week in Ireland. “Actually, I can prolong my career longer than others because I haven’t bashed myself up.” Monty said he hits about 150 balls during a typical round — assuming he shoots around 70. He said Sky Sports sent a reporter to count how many balls Vijay Singh hit in a typical day at the U.S. Open.”Just short of 1,000 in the day,” Montgomerie said. “That included 400 putts after he finished. He’s older than me by four months. But he’s unique. He is one end of the scale, and I am the other. That’s a 700- or 800-ball difference in a day. You multiply that by six days’ play in a week. He does very well.”
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