Tips From the PGA Championship

Golfers love to play this game, but they also love to watch golf on TV to find nuggets of knowledge that they hope will improve their game.  The PGA Championship was fun to watch and gave a few great ideas for those sitting on the sidelines.

Every Round has it Ups and Downs

The PGA Championship was a real wake-up for golfers.  Don’t get frustrated when you play a great round of golf followed by a poor round of golf.  It may be caused by the wind or the phase of the moon, but your luck seems to change day to day.  Inconsistency for the pros seems to be the same as we experience as recreational players.  If you watched all 4 days of the PGA Championship you can appreciate the UPS and DOWNS experienced by McIlroy, Zalatoris (so close), Bubba Watson (fun while it lasted), Rahm (#1 was out of it), Spieth (hot and cold), Fowler (getting hotter), Pereira (double bogie on the 18th) and Justin Thomas (winning the Playoff from 7 back).

Never Say Die: Justin Thomas was 7 behind at the start of the final round and won in a 3 hole playoff.

Rory Practicing Shots to Take Off Back-SPIN

When you are making an approach shot to a green with a steep slope off the front, you CAN’T afford to hit shots with a lot of back-spin, especially at Southern Hills where many greens are setup with a drop-off on all sides.  On the practice range they highlighted Rory practicing by choking down about 4 inches on clubs and hitting balls back in his stance to eliminate backspin.    

Tiger Using the Ball Logo for Tee Shots

I always setup my ball on a tee shot so that the logo is diagonal to my target line.  Of course, I’m giving myself a mental image to swing from the inside to outside for a draw shot (to avoid slicing the ball).   Tiger was seen setting up his Bridgestone logo on the face of his ball exactly where he wants his impact.  He was even placing the logo below the equator of the ball when setting up for a wedge shot on a par 3 tee shot.  Of course, he was planning his downswing to undercut his ball.

Cameron Smith is Human

After putting on an amazing display before the Masters, he is finally showing us how he can miss short putts too. 

That tournament reminded us that you will never win if you take this game too seriously.  Only the brave and relaxed players survive in golf.  Practice with your GOLFSTR+ to build confidence.  Buy one today at www.GOLFSTR.com

Thought for the Day:  Did you ever notice that it’s a lot easier to get up at 6:00 a.m. to play golf than at 10:00 to mow the yard or go to church?