Rickie and Rory

I deliberately put Rickie's name before Rory's in the title of this post.

Rory McIlroy is on a tear, and he won his second successive major and third successive tournament on the PGA tour. How often has a player won two consecutive golf majors? How often has a player won two golf majors in a year? The answer is that both of these feats are rare, but have been accomplished several times over the years by a number of golfers.

Here is a list of all major winners. 

Rickie Fowler did something this year that is much, much rarer. He finished in the top-5 in all four major tournaments. This has happened only 5 times since 1934 - a span of 81 years. The only other golfers to have accomplished this feat are Jack Niklaus and Tiger Woods and they have done it twice each.

Golf is not a sport that can be dominated by one or two players the way other individual sports like tennis can be. Therefore Rickie's feat is quite astonishing. The fact that he did not convert one of these top-5 finishes is disappointing, but takes nothing away from the consistency he has demonstrated. Well done Rickie - I hope you get a big one soon.

RIP Robin Williams

Robin Williams died this week, but not before giving us loads of laughs. He made the manic frenetic style his own and gave us many moments of joy.

His stand up routine on the invention of golf is a classic. RIP Mr. Williams.

Two life lessons from golf

Over the years I have enjoyed the game of golf immensely, and have learnt some interesting lessons during this journey. Two of the most valuable lessons were taught to me by two very interesting individuals.

Radhika Tulpule Kanitkar is a fantastic athlete, a two time women's national tennis champion and the most qualified tennis coach in India. She runs her own tennis academy in Pune. Radhika plays at the same golf club where I play, and therefore I have had opportunities to watch her play golf, and have played a few rounds with her as well. For someone who plays so little golf, Radhika is a hell of a good player, and taught me the first valuable lesson in golf, which is to maintain an even keel, whether the going is good or bad.

One autumn afternoon a few years ago I watched her make par on hole number 10 at Poona Club golf course, and that par summed up her attitude. She hit a good drive, and had a wedge to the green. The lie was good, she took a couple of practice swings and then duffed the shot - the ball travelled less than 10 yards. Most golfers would have hurled a few expletives at themselves, or cursed under their breath at the very least. However Radhika promptly turned around, smiled at the caddy with an expression that said "What was that?". She walked to the ball again, addressed it, and hit a perfect pitch to about 1 foot from the pin. Once again, she turned around, and smiled at the caddy with an expression which said "What was that?". She did not expect to put the pitch shot that close, just as she did not expect to duff the previous one. The duffed shot did not get her down, and the great shot did not put her head in the clouds. Radhika recognizes that ups and downs are part of playing sports, but one does best by trying hard, and maintaining an even keel.

The second valuable lesson came from Dr. Date, known to all golfers in Pune simply as Doc. I wrote a blog post about Doc a few years ago. Doc taught me to be relentless. One can never count Doc out of a round. He doesn't give up, and he doesn't let up. Every shot has his full attention, and it is the most important shot in the world.

The Doc way is to never give up, to believe that your next shot will be a good one. And the Radhika way is to do your best and not worry too much about the result - good or bad. These are valuable lessons not just in golf, but in every walk of life.

Thanks Radhika and Doc.

Putting is not about technique

By and large I have been a good putter throughout my distinguished (ha ha) golf career of 8 years or so. However when I have a bad putting day, my friends tell me that I have a decelerating stroke, that my practice stroke has no resemblance with my actual shot etc.

So I went ahead and changed my putting stroke about a year ago - using the Brandt Snedekar punch as the inspiration. My putting seemed to improve a little bit, and then settled into a comfortable pattern again.

Every once in a while I experiment with a few things on the practice green. A line on the ball for alignment, move the ball forward or back in the stance, lighten my grip etc. However nothing seems to impact the results for any length of time. I have now come to the conclusion that putting is totally about feel. Hit the ball to get it into the hole. Forget about technique. Period.

Hinge and hold for chipping and pitching

When it comes to golf technique, there are millions of videos and other resources available to the golfer. If you google for "golf chipping video", you get more than 2 million search results!

Like the average golfer I often look at videos to seek help and improve my game. Every now and then I come across a tip or video which provides a mental or physical cue so clear, that it is very easy to identify with it. Some time ago, I had posted a video to fix the "coming over the top" problem with a similar cue.

A few days ago I came across a video made by the short game magician Phil Mickelson. Phil is big on the "hinge and hold" technique for chips and short pitch shots. This video provides a physical cue that is very easy to understand.

One can immediately see a big difference in how a chip shot "looks" when played by a very good player versus when it is played by a mid to high handicap club golfer. I think the key to this difference is the "hinge and hold".

Here is an illustration of some Tiger Woods shots with the same technique.


If you have used this technique, please share your experiences in the comments here.

Choking - a lesson from Malcolm Gladwell

In the last few months I have played more high pressure match play events than I did in the previous 6 years. Most of these are events organized by groups of like-minded golfers, and played over two days in a Ryder-Cup-like format. There's team T-shirts, logos, strategies, and after event parties. But most important of all  there's highly competitive match play golf, and most matches go down to the wire.

Invariably these games create a lot of pressure. Particularly as we get to the business end of the event, and the last few groups remain on the course.

As I was playing these events, I was aware of the risk of choking under pressure, and I was reminded of a brilliant article written by Malcolm Gladwell about panicking and choking.

When we choke, we get very deliberate about our physical movements, and go back to an explicit mode of learning. Here's how I would explain it in the context of a high pressure round of golf.

You are in the middle of a very tight singles match. The result of your match could determine the fate of the event, and there's a gallery walking with you. Your match is all square on the 15th tee, and you hit a terrible pull-hook into the trees while your opponent puts the ball in the middle of the fairway, and has a wedge to the green - you are sure he will make par. You walk to your ball and decide that you need to play a low punch through a gap in the trees and get close to the green and try and make up and down. As you start addressing the ball, your heart rate goes up. From the corner of your eye you spot your team captain watching with about 20 others. You start thinking about the position of your elbow on the back swing, your wrist cock, and whether you are keeping your head still. Your movements become mechanical as you start thinking about technique. The fluidity from your swing is gone. You hit a shank, but fortunately the ball clatters around in the trees and ends up in the fairway with 95 yards to the pin. As you address the ball with your wedge, your heart is pounding. You tell yourself "Play a good shot idiot! You can't let your team down!". You become even more deliberate with your back swing - "low and slow" you tell yourself. "Remember to start the trigger movement with your hip". Finally you take your shot. You top it, and put it in the water body behind the green. You get this knot in your stomach, but you are determined not to let the match get away. One down with three to go. As you look at your opponent, he has this serene look on his face. You think "My god, I have to pull myself together!".

The lesson I have learnt from Gladwell's article is that I have to trust my swing and technique completely under pressure. I have to focus on the "what", and let my instinct guide my body on the "how". Years of playing and practicing has already taught my body how to swing the club, and how to chip & putt. The worst thing to do under pressure is to get more deliberate about technique. You have to let instinct play its part. This approach has worked well for me so far.

You can read the full article at: http://www.gladwell.com/2000/2000_08_21_a_choking.html

Happy golfing!

Tiger Woods - early signs of greatness

I got this video of Tiger Woods in my email a few days ago. It was shot when he was 14, and it is quite amazing the way his father and Tiger talk about his future in the world of golf.

A few things grabbed my attention in this video

• Tiger was a scratch golfer at 14 years old, and according to his dad his short game at that age was as good as a touring professional - wow!
• There was no doubt in their minds that Tiger would win on the tour
• Tiger's game was built from green-to-tee. No wonder he is one of the best short game players on the PGA tour

Lessons in humility

I recently did a few sessions called "Management lessons from golf" for the management team of one of my ex-companies. I remember telling the participants that in my experience golf is the best teacher of humility ever invented by humans. Period.

The demands of precision, and the need for mental strength make golf a tough sport, and therefore tough to master, and play consistently. Ups and downs in performance are normal, and even unavoidable for ordinary mortals. Periods of good play can be followed by awful play, and then for no apparent reason the game picks up again. A change in technique can sometimes result in a spectacular improvement, but the improved performance disappears shortly thereafter.

This sport is not very good for one's ego. The moment you feel on top of the world during a purple patch, golf has this uncanny knack of getting you in the chin with a Mike Tyson uppercut.

The reason I was reminded of this today was that for the last two months I played some of the best golf of my life. During most rounds I couldn't do much wrong. Somewhere at the back of my mind I knew that Mike Tyson was lurking around the corner, but I just pushed that thought away. Midway through my previous round big Mike finally landed the uppercut, and he followed it up today with a pretty good left hook.

This coming weekend I will start the process of picking myself off the floor, figure out what I need to do differently, and try again to see if my game comes back. If not, there is always the round after that. Mike might be busy taking care of another golfer with a bloated head, and perhaps I will be able to sneak in a good round behind his back...

Fix for coming over the top

I have struggled with the "coming over the top" problem all my life. Alright, not my ENTIRE life, but all my golfing life, which is 6 years.

My coach did all he could to help me fix it, but it would come back. The main problem was that I needed to have a cue that I could understand in terms of the feeling I should get on the down swing. That never happened.

Until I came across this video by Dave Marsh on youtube recently. "Drop your hands" is such an incredibly simple tip that I understood it right away, and have played much better golf since I started trying it on the course.

If you have an "over the top" problem with your golf swing, you must check out this video. Happy golfing!

These guys were good

A few weeks ago I did a two hour workshop for the management team of a global software giant. The title of the workshop was "Management Lessons from Golf". I was a little sceptical about doing a workshop like this for a group of non-golfers, since I was not sure how they would relate to the lessons without having ever played the game.

Fortunately my fears were unfounded. The session was a big hit with the group. It became a vehicle for them to get a better understanding of the sport, its amazing lure, and the reason so many people play the sport around the world. I was also able to share the lessons the game has taught me over the years. All in all a very good session.

While doing research on the topic, I came across this youtube video about top US athletes from other sports taking up golf for the challenge it offers. Why do hall of fame athletes from other sports take up golf? You will find the answer in this PGA Tour video on youtube.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5-3_2ANwOJU


 

Golf is a funny game

There is something profoundly strange going on with my golf game lately, and it probably is a good illustration of life in general.

I am playing the best golf of my life right now. For almost 4 years I worked on my game, tried hard, but the game just continued to frustrate me. There were days when I couldn't drive to save my life, while on other days I would chip or putt like an idiot. All in all, I remained pretty much where I was, barring minor improvements.

Over the last 8 months I have been unable to play more than once a week since I have had a full time job. This has meant that I play less often, but look forward to the weekend game all week. It has also meant that I don't practice at all. I just show up for my weekend game and play. Bottomline - I think less about my game, have minimal expectations about the score, and enjoy it more.

And all of a sudden, I have started playing a lot better. I have played 3 of the best rounds of my life in the last 2 months and I have not put in any work on my technique at all.

I have heard lots of people say that golf is a mental sport like no other. My recent experience tells me that perhaps they are right.

Moe Norman who?

Someone has described Moe Norman as the best golfer in the world that no one has heard of. I play golf, watch golf, follow golf, and I had never heard of this guy until yesterday. And for good reason. Moe did not have a very successful career as a professional golfer.

Moe was a Canadian golfer considered by some to be the best ball striker ever! He had a very unconventional swing, but could apparently make the ball talk.

Here is a nice ESPN video about Moe.

Birdie Barrage!

My acquaintance R. Murthy was one of the competitors at the PGTI Golf championship at Poona Club Golf Course last week. On the last day of the tournament Murthy fired a 9-birdie round to tie for first, but eventually finished second after losing the first playoff hole to Shankar Das.

Murthy scored a TOTAL of nine birdies in the round but it got me thinking about what the record is for the highest number of CONSECUTIVE birdies in a professional golf round.

Well, I hope you are sitting down when you read this. The record is held by Mark Calcavecchia, who scored 9 consecutive birdies during the second round of the 2009 Canadian Open. NINE IN A ROW!

Here's a blow by blow account of the historic feat:

http://www.pgatour.com/2009/tournaments/r032/07/25/calc_birdie_chart/index.html

Golf Tips for the Young!

Now that my little 8-year old boy Siddharth is playing golf regularly, it is good fun to go out and play with him occassionally. Siddharth recently won a junior club tournament, and also was runner up in a couple more - not a huge deal since these were local club tournaments with fairly limited participation. However these wins have charged him up, and he is excited about playing on a regular basis.

More than his increasing golf skills, what I like about Siddharth is that he has his feet firmly on the ground. He doesn't make a big deal about his golf, stays away from showing off his prizes (in fact he hides one of them in his wardrobe!). As a matter of fact he is downright shy talking about his good rounds. Recently his grandmother asked him about one of his good rounds and his response was "So what?".

Whether Sid becomes a good golfer or not, only time will tell. But I do hope he stays humble. That will certainly stand him in good stead whatever he does.

Here is a hilarious golf video I came across recently about a father and son on the golf course. Enjoy!

Mr. Relentless

Ian Poulter was Mr. Relentless at the Volvo World Match Play Championship that concluded at Finca Cortesin, Spain, last weekend.

I watched quite a bit of the action on television and was mesmerized by the skills of this charismatic Englishman. He was in trouble in many of the early rounds, but got through with some incredible match play golf, and a lot of magic with his wedges and putter.

I have often heard that what separates the really good golfers from the pros is the ability of the pros from inside 100 yards. Ian Poulter put on a show from inside 100 yards in this tournament. I did not track the stats, but he probably made 80% up and down from 50-100 yards in the two matches before the finals. For those who have played golf seriously, that is absolutely incredible.

Mr. Relentless was playing the long hitting Belgian Nicolas Colsaerts in the semi-finals. Poulter clawed his way back into the match down home-stretch with some clutch play, particularly with his wedges. The match was tied after 18 holes and the players had to go to a playoff. What happened on the first playoff hole was a microcosm of Poulter's play in the tournament.

Hole#18 at Finca Cortesin is a 568 yard par-5. Both players hit good drives. Colsaerts had about 250 yards to the flag for his second shot, Poulter was much further back. Poulter knew that Colsaerts would go for the green in 2, and would make it there comfortably. He could have gone for the green as well, but chose to lay up and leave himself his favourite wedge distance to the pin - about 100 yards. Colsaerts promptly struck a 4-iron, threading the needle through the narrow space between the two green side bunkers and put his second shot about 20-25 feet from the pin, needing a 2-putt for birdie. Poulter hit his third shot (a wedge) to about 6 feet. Both players made birdie and eventually Poulter won on the next playoff hole.

What was interesting about this sequence of events was Poulter's decision to layup and then calmly make up and down from there. I saw him do this innumerable times through the event. His wedge play was absolutely unbelievable.

Well done Mr. Relentless!