Golfers Need Many Talents

So you think that Golf is easy?

O.K., So I toss a little white ball on the ground and puck it with a fat-headed metal stick till it falls in a hole…..how hard can that be?

The Journey Begins:

A friend of mine contends that every round of Golf is different even if played on the same course on the same day in the same conditions and I agree with him 100%. Golf is one of those sports with so many factors involved so as to make it almost quantum and chaotic by nature. I have often felt like a sea captain, driver in hand standing two meters behind a teed ball and overlooking the sea from the port as I prepare to launch my vessel on a fantastic journey. Bending to the ground to remove a pinch of grass between thumb and forefinger then standing erect to momentarily survey the terrain before tossing the light green strands skywards to get some indication of the winds movement. This ancient ritual alone bonds me with my long dead ancestors who lived before our advanced tools of navigation. Watching the grass gives the golfer and idea of the winds strength and direction. Do these current wind conditions allow me to drive straight or should I play right and let the ball be carried back around by the strong breeze? The Golf game now enters the realm of applied mathematics or physics. Each Golf club representing a different distance and height depending on the stance one takes, the individual grip and swing of the golfer (and strength thereof) and the pivot or openness of the golf club face etc. Another factor could be the mental or nervous stress. Are you playing alone or in a tournament? The patience of a vicar and the courage of a G.I. can also be invaluable assets in your Golf arsenal. Relatively happy with your drive you leave the safety of the tee and the voyage begins.

In Full Sail:

Personally I find electric Golf carts a nuisance and distraction unless of course you are handicapped or elderly but Golf trolleys are fine in order to avert back damage through long years of carrying Golf clubs for hundreds of miles. So being in a good health condition is also a requirement for the game of Golf. Striding down the fairway you reach your golf ball and it is plugged in sponge-like ground. Taking out your archeology tools you begin to excavate. Then enters the new aspects of law and conscience as fair play and sportsmanship are required dropping the Golf ball the prescribed distance in accordance with the rules of the game. How good is the new placement and how far away from the green are you? Has the wind changed? Oh! Oh! A wide bunker and tall tree stand in the trajectory path so I need to play a high Golf shot. I don my aviators cap and prepare for flight. Having plotted in a course both long and high the Golf ball leaves the grass runway and sails high out of the metaphoric airport. Pausing momentarily I watch as it lands safely on the green.

Reaching Your Destination:

The adventure so far has proved rather predictable leaving you with a comforted feeling of smugness. Arriving at the green you prepare to enter the next phase of this multi-personality game of Golf. Bending to one knee you survey the grooves and texture of the landscape like an experienced engineer. Walking the distance between Golf ball and pin to check for any obstacles that may be laying on the surface the physicist/mathematician returns to calculate the angles and force need to complete the journey. The putter strikes the ball firmly and the echoing hollow plink sound closes a chapter in the days book.

Epilogue:

True, you may be familiar with every ridge, nook and cranny of a course which you regularly frequent but the constantly changing conditions such as weather, seasons, personal fitness/mental level, course upkeep (pin position/tee distance changes), skill level, playing style, Golf club brand etc. can make each round of Golf a unique experience.

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Golfing In The 21st Century

It’s interesting to see that Golf isn’t being left behind as technology develops. In fact, as with most other areas in life, inventors are striving to make life as easy as possible for golfers. There are now golf balls with built in tracking devices which can be found using a handheld gadget, this must surely be a super cost saver when it comes to golf balls. This in-built chip can also measure your distance and direction. WOW! Another exciting gizmo which has taken the internet by storm is a device which helps you find golf balls in the rough. It looks similar to Mister Spocks tricorder from Star Trek and is sure to intimidate your opponents. Another fantastic futuristic golf aid is the swing tempo checker which works mush like a musician’s metronome and keeps you in the beat. Long gone are the days of hitting the links with a leather bag filled with wooden “woods”, iron “irons” and basic balls. We now live in an age where we try to make everything easier than it was in the past. And with this new-fangled technology comes the pride of being able to do things which would normally be out of your scope. What a wonderful age we live in where the fool can be king with the use of simple smoke and mirrors. I know that there is a body patch to alleviate everything now including “Stop Smoking” patch “Lose Weight While You Sleep” patch “Make My Kid Less Hyperactive” patch but I eagerly await the “Eliminate My Slice” patch or the more desirable “Eagle Every Hole” patch. Until then I guess it’s off to the driving range and putting green to do some old-fashioned hard practice.        

Pop And Drop Or Chop And Roll?

One of my favorite parts of the game of Golf is the short shot around the green. These can make or break your scoring and need just as much practice as your drives, long irons and putts. Let’s imagine the scenario that you have had a sweet drive which whistle-sailed from the tee and landed square in the middle of the fairway. You then extract a mid-range iron from your bag and drop the ball just short of the green. Upon reaching the ball you realize that it’s one of those hairy short shots that can be very hard to decide which route to take. You have landed a few inches from the edge of the green in grass that is a little too long to allow the use of a putter. It’s time to make a crucial decision.   

1. Do I Pop and Drop?  

2. Do I Chop and Roll? 

These are two distinctly different types of shot using two very different clubs. One must also take into account the condition of the green.  

Is it flat or bumpy? Is it wet or dry?And if it’s wet, how wet is it?Or adversely, if it’s dry, how dry is it? How far away is the pin?How much green is there behind the pin? 

So having taken all the factors necessary into account, it is now time to play the shot. 

1. The Pop and Drop. 

The Pop and Drop is played using a sand wedge with the face of the club as open as possible. Your stance should be a little lower than a normal swinging stance and a little more like a putting stance. The shaft of the club will be leaning back at about an angle of 60° which may feel a little awkward for a while, but once you get used to it and see the results it brings, it will quickly become more comfortable. Now, the backswing and follow through for this shot should be of equal length depending on the distance of your shot while retaining the 60° angle with the club at all times. This shot gives a lot of height and little roll after the ball lands. In fact if played properly there should be almost no roll, hence the name. 

2. The Chop and Roll. 

The Chop and Roll is played using a 7 iron. (”WHAT, ARE YOU CRAZY?” I hear you say. Yes a little, but that’s beside the point.) So, taking an identical stance to the Pop and Drop shot, only this time the club shaft should be tilted forward at an angle of 45°. Again it may feel like advanced yoga for a little while but it takes time to get familiar with these club positions. Remember to keep the shaft at 45° during the shot and again the backswing and follow through should be of equal distance depending on the length of the shot and moistness of the green. (You need a little more gusto on a very wet green as the water acts as a brake mechanism.) The only difference between this shot and the other is that you need to give a little chopping motion against the ball and ground on contact. This must be very subtle and should not be a stop or affect the follow through. I tend to prefer this shot because the chop allows the ball enough height to get over the grass but the ball then rolls along the green as if it had been putted. It’s also worth noting that if I add a little Chop to the Pop and Drop I then get a Chop and Drop which puts some “backspin” on the ball.  

Once these short shots have been mastered they will become an integral part of your game, reduce your average and bestow a wonderful feeling of satisfaction. 

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The Curse Of Divots And Plugs.

I decided to go for a round at the public links course today and came back in a demonic mood and minus a few tufts of hair. (Not that I can afford to lose anymore) The weather was glorious and I was playing above average but the fairways and greens resembled fox-holed battlefields. Recently, we’ve had a really wet spell and it looks like many of the “players” were too lazy to poke their plugs and bung their divots, but now it has gotten very hot very quickly and the devastation has become painfully apparent. Sacrilege at the most sinful level, if you ask me. Drives were landing in moonlike meteor craters, chips on top of grass toupees (or scalps) and long putts zigzagging the greens like drunken ball-bearings in a tilted pinball machine. If this tropical spell continues and the ground dries up even more the damage may become irreparable. I saw a number of attendants and green keepers busily watering and hoeing but I could see from their faces that they were fighting a losing battle. O.K., as I said we had some monsoon weather for the last few weeks but if you are going to play in the rain then at least play by the rules. It may be tempting in a heavy shower to duck under a tree and leave a divot or run to the next tee and leave a plug mark in the green but remember that your fellow golfers will have to play on the course that you leave behind. 

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