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!

These guys are good!

Anyone who has played golf knows that it is a difficult sport. Others, who have never played it, think "What's the big deal?". I was one of the "What's the big deal" guys till about 4 years ago. Not any more.

Many years ago the PGA of America ran an advertisement campaign featuring some of its stars with the tagline - "These guys are good!". Serious golfers around the world know how good these touring professionals are. The videos featured some of the game's stars, doing some amazing stuff.

A few days ago I came across this fun video of some European Tour golfers taking on a weird challenge. I had a smile on my face watching it - hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

Doc

I played a round of golf with Doc a couple of Sundays ago. We were playing a 4-ball match and Doc and I were partners. Doc was struggling physically due to a painful ACL and knee. We arrived on the 16th tee on a downward spiral, having lost 3 of the last 4 holes. Hole#16 at Poona Club is a difficult par-3. There is a huge banyan tree guarding the right half of the green. The green is also guarded by three bunkers. The hole requires a precise long iron or hybrid shot - high enough to carry the tree and land the ball on the green. It is a tricky par for even the best golfers, and for mid to high handicappers, a bogey is a very good score.

Doc was our back-marker at 4-handicap, and as we arrived at the tee in the middle of a slump, he told me "This is a non-stroke hole, I have got to win it". Our opponents hit decent tee shots and had decent par opportunities - one was in the left greenside bunder, and the other one was pin high, a few yards off the green on the left. I promptly topped and pulled my shot, and abdicated any chance of making par. It was Doc's turn to hit his tee shot - normally he hits an iron on this hole, but on this day he decided to tee off with a hybrid because the tee box had been placed way back. Doc hit a high shot, but pushed it right and could not carry the tree. It hit some branches and landed short and just to the right of the huge tree. He cursed himself, and limped off slowly to find his ball.

Doc went first. He was about 25-30 yards from the green in a bad lie - the ball was in thick grass with wet soil underneath. He had to hit the ball low to avoid the overhanging banyan tree branches. He could not go at the pin due to the treen trunk. To top it all, he had to carry a green side bunker. Fortunately the flag was center left, so he had some green to work with, but not much. To even get within 15-20 feet of the pin, would have needed an incredible shot, and a big heart. Doc stuck it to 7 feet.

Doc holed the putt and made par. Our opponents both made bogey, and we won the hole. This was not the first time I had seen him pull off something like this. That is Doc for you - great ability, and an unbelievable will to win.

The man we all call Doc is Dr. V.T. Date, a paediatrician. He is about 6 feet tall, but doesn't look it because he walks with a slight stoop. He talks in a heavy drawl, smiles a lot, and is a very humble man. Doc runs a children's hospital with his wife in Pune. He took up golf when he was 45 years old. He is 58 now, and has already won two national senior open titles, four "golfer of the year" honours at Poona Club Golf course and countless club tournaments. My coach once recommended that I play with Doc for a month to learn how to play, and to sharpen the mental aspects of my game. All in all, Doc is a legend in Pune golfing circles.

Interestingly Doc is almost entirely self taught. He has perfected his swing by watching good players play. But Doc's attitude can never be taught. To believe in yourself and never give up, never let up. Slug it out. Leave it all out there on the course. What an unbelievable competitor!

Thanks Doc, it is always a pleasure to play a round with you!

A New Golf Facility in Pune!

My friends Parag and Aditya started a new golf academy at Sindh Housing Society in Pune yesterday. This is a very exciting development for Pune residents for several reasons.

One of the major obstacles to golf becoming more popular in India is the availability of facilities to learn and pursue the game. As an example, Pune, a city of about 4 million people, has only 3 major golf courses accessible to the general public. Of these there is only one public course - the Poona Club Golf Course. There are no driving ranges or practice facilities outside these golf courses. In contrast, a sport like tennis has at least 25 academies around town. These tennis academies run regular programs for juniors.

The Golf Academy started by First Tee Golf (website http://www.firsttee.co.in) in Pune is a step in the right direction.

The academy has a pitching range of about 100 yards, bays with nets to practice full swing shots, a chipping and bunker practice area, and a practice putting green.

First Tee Golf plans to run regular programs at this facility which will enable many more people to learn and enjoy the game. I know several people living in the Aundh/Baner area who would be absolutely delighted to have this facility available - it will save them a lot of driving time.

For me, this is great. My son Siddharth and I can drive about 10 minutes to the First Tee academy and work on sharpening our game.

Good work Aditya and Parag!