The Lazy Golfer’s Companion

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CASUAL GOLFERS ARE KEEN SUPPORTERS AT THE GAME.

With Matt he would be reserving judgment because after another skinny one, Matt had pitched to the fringe and fired a putt that rocketed in off the pin. His fluky par won the hole over two bogeys and a double. They had all left the green happily. Things would certainly improve once they got into their game.

How different it could all have been. Bob’s dream when he stood on the first tee (sorry to be picking on him but he’s a good example of a typical club player), was to crack a drive quail-high 250 yards down the middle. The reality we know, but with a little common sense he could have played the hole much better, while making the best of what he had in terms of swing and ability.

First, arriving “just in time” without a chance to loosen up virtually guarantees a cranky shot. That is not to say you should spend half an hour on the practice ground before every round: in the time-stressed 1990s few have time to spare and club golfers mostly hate practising. And indeed, how many golf clubs in the UK have decent practice facilities of any sort? But virtually everyone has played tennis at some time. Would you consider going straight onto a court and with your first movement hit a serve in the first ‘scoring’ game, even if it’s a friendly match? Of course not. You’d have a short knock-up first – and that is what club golfers should do, even if it’s a few putts on the putting green and a couple of chips.

Second, Bob did not use the grey matter between his ears which constitutes a large part of the simple game of golf. He had been in a bunker at the first nine times out of ten, yet he still aimed straight down the fairway. Knowing he always sliced, he should have teed up on the right hand side of the tee and aimed at the left hand rough where Doug ended up. With his usual swing, he would probably have ended up in the middle of the fairway and very likely have hit the ball twenty yards or so further.

Third, no one can swing fluidly, if they have umpteen swing thoughts jostling in their minds. You can never get a natural-looking, effective, repeating swing that way. At the most, you can hold one swing thought for the day (“Swing slower” is often a good one).

Fourth, Bob’s second shot to the green was a combination of nonsense and vanity. Once you’ve got off the tee, it’s the second shot that make the difference in scoring for the player. Underclubbing is the major fault (as it often is on long par three holes).

Finally (although there are many other lessons to be learned from this role model performance) Bob took his driver off the first tee. Now it’s all very well hitting your drive at the start if you’ve hit quite a few on the practice ground before the game. But in Bob’s case, driving off with the most difficult club in his bag did not make sense. Added to which his driver had a swing weight and lie designed for a six foot four, athletic 20-year-old, which Bob certainly is not!

And that brings us to one of the most important factors for the club golfer, the ‘tools of the trade’ – your golf clubs.