Pre-shot routine? I close my eyes.

This week I’ve been getting out and about – on the course? Well yes, despite the weather, but also on Twitter (where I am now following amongst others my golfing heroine Catriona Matthew) and looking around the golf blogs. One post that has caught my eye is by Andy Roberts writing on Golf Magic about the  importance of pre-shot routine– that series of actions we do before each shot that gets us in the mindset to hit (we hope) an absolute cracker. I was particularly taken with the photo of Aaron Baddely with his eyes closed.

This cheered me up a lot, because after I’d been playing golf for a couple of years, my regular partners asked me why I closed my eyes on my back-swing, and didn’t it make hitting the ball that much more difficult? Now until this was pointed out to me, I hadn’t really being aware I was doing it, and so I can’t honestly call it a pre-shot routine but more of an unconscious habit. (And I’m guessing Mr. Baddely does it before addressing the ball rather than afterwards!) But if it doesn’t help me hit the ball better I don’t think it does any harm. For a while I did make an effort to keep my eyes open, but I find it’s something I fall back into and haven’t noticed any ill effects in terms of ball-striking.

So why do I do it?

Eyes wide open for a chip

Well there’s an element of concentration. It’s not so long since I was a beginner and prey to many swing-thoughts. If you’re set a hard exam question what do you do? You close your eyes to think about it. So that’s maybe where it came from. But reading Andy’s article made me think that maybe if anything it’s the opposite. Addressing the ball I usually still have a swing-thought of some kind – maybe the aspect I was working on in the last lesson, and I think that in closing my eyes I might actually blot out what’s going on in my head and let the body take over. Which must be a good thing.

Yesterday for instance in cold conditions and with an incipient back-ache I wasn’t swinging too well and was trying on each shot to improve my body movement.  None of which worked particularly well. But as it got towards the end of the round I made a conscious effort to relax and not think about it. I caught myself closing my eyes on the back swing – and hitting some much better tee-shots.

But going back to that old pre-shot routine, I think mine does need some attention. Long shots are fine, but I have particular problems with bunker shots and putting where the set -up is quite different. Maybe I need a set routine for those occasions.

Or I could try just closing my eyes!

Yikes, is it the yips?

Yesterday’s disaster was compounded by an attack of putting nerves. I’m not sure if this is true ‘yips’ but it’s bad enough. I can do long putts, but if there’s anything at all at stake, short putts defeat me. I don’t think I’ll abandon my White Hot Odyssey putter, but replies on the Golf Monthly Forum have reminded me of a number of things to try, including changing my grip. A lot of people find that putting with the left hand lower lessens interference from the wrists, though in my case I think the interference may be from the brain! Still, the effort of concentrating on a new stroke might be enough to drive out the demons.
Whatever I decide, the main thing is to practise more, especially before a round. Of course I’m not alone with putting problems. Monty is notorious for losing things on the green. I know how he feels, but can’t help feeling he has less excuse than me for not practising!
Picture credits here

Short game, long game

I’m interested in Dave Pelz’s observation that high handicappers should concentrate on the short game rather than constantly striving for more distance. It ties in with a criticism of top women golfers (which has really got Golf Chick fuming) as being less adept around the greens than men. You can see the basic idea. If for whatever reason you’re always going to struggle with distance, why not polish up the rest of your game? I know of one golfer who played off less than 10 and freely admitted his distance was unimpressive, and I certainly know of (very) high handicappers who can freak out partners with much better swings, just by their artful use of the chip and run. Cutting my handicap this summer has definitely come from improved iron shots (which for me is anything less than 120 yards) and it’s so-o satisfying to chip inside your partner!

But who wants to practice the short game, and when you do, where can you do it? Practising short shots from a mat is pretty useless, and very few clubs I have been to have a practise area where you can really chip or pitch in conditions that mimic the course. (Practice putting greens disallow chipping; chipping and pitching greens have poor surfaces.) Pro’s will offer a short game lesson, but very few courses are quiet enough to provide the opportunity to go away and work on what you have learned.
Maybe we need more of the big name players (women and men) to remind us how important the short game is, and the club manufacturers to stop obsessing over distance. As it is, you feel pretty much of a weirdo sloping off at dusk to the first green with a bagful of balls…