Stop asking these three questions about golf.
Actually, I’m just kidding because we all do this.
But, I am asking you to think about these questions differently in this article.
How far do you hit your driver?
I once asked a tour pro this question.
His answer.
“Far enough.”
The more I think about this the more sense it makes.
Nobody on tour cares how far you hit the ball.
They just don’t.
They hit it far enough to comfortably reach all the greens in regulation.
Pros want to know how many strokes it takes you to get the ball in the hole.
Does anyone know or care how far Tiger Woods hit his driver in 2019 when he won the Masters?
Or Jack Nicklaus in 1986?
Nope and nope!
A lot has been made of Bryson Dechambeau’s new found length off the tee.
Especially after he won the US Open.
Did you know he did not lead in driving distance that week?
Stop asking the club champions at your course this question.
He / she knows, but he / she doesn’t really care.
I mean it’s ok if you’re just asking to make conversation I suppose, but most of the time golfers ask this question and think to themselves, “if I could hit it as far as this player, I could score as good as him or her.”
No, you and I wouldn’t.
We should all quit chasing length off the tee and start working on our swings and consistency.
The distance will come.
Why am I slicing the ball?
Good grief.
We’re slicing the ball because we are putting sidespin on it.
We’re putting sidespin on it by either slashing across it in an out to in fashion or we are hitting it with an open face.
Or worse yet.
Both.
The only way to fix a slice is to hit the ball with a square or closed club face or swing in to out.
There are a thousand and one drills on the internet to help with this.
When you search for “why am I slicing the ball” on google you get 7,570,000 results.
And you can find thousands of great videos.
Here’s our favorite by Rick Shields.
I guess my point is, we all need to stop asking this question and start working on fixing our slice.
We know why we slice.
If we don’t change anything we’ll keep on slicing.
That’s literally the definition of insanity.
Why can’t I break 100? Or, why can’t I break 90?
The answer to these two questions is the the same.
We’ve all heard the answer to both of them at least a dozen times.
Here’s the answer to both.
Again.
“You gotta work on your short game.”
Nobody wants to hear that.
Let alone, nobody wants to practice their short game.
We all know the excuses.
It’s so boring.
I find it repetitive.
It’s more fun to bomb drivers and crush 8 irons.
I don’t have time.
My short game is already good. (it’s probably not as good as it could be)
Football teams spend hours on blocking and tackling drills. Basketball teams practice layups and free throws. Baseball teams practice double plays, plays at second, third and home….endlessly.
Chipping and putting are the blocking and tackling of golf.
On a 6000 yard course nobody needs to hit the ball very far to get near every green in regulation.
If someone can get up and down once and use three strokes all the other times they will shoot 89.
Proper technique and consistency from 50 – 60 yards in will transform anyone’s game.
Check out, our TikTok channel for some short game drills that will improve your game.
Additionally, Chris Ryan golf on YouTube has some great short game drills as well.
If we all spent more time on our short game, we’d all improve.
There’s no doubt about it.
Bottomline: golf is about scoring. It’s not how you hit it, it’s how many times did you hit it.
To be sure, it’s a game of skill but at it’s most basic level it’s about technique and consistency.
Learn the proper techniques and then practice to get more consistent.
Good luck.
