10 Decisions RUINING Your Golf Game (that everyone makes!)

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[Music] Now, success on the golf course can begin with what you eat and drink. And I’ve put it here in the video because of its importance. But I’m not here to preach. So, please consider these more recommendations than demands. And of course, we are all different. Now, it’s all about balance. But before the round, let’s be having a look at proteins and healthy fats. So chicken, fish, eggs, that type of thing. You have complex carbs. So oatmeal, porridge, sweet potatoes, yams, they’re the same thing. Now, hydration cannot be overstated. Let’s keep our water intake up. And of course, caffeine in moderation is shown to improve performance. Trust me, I’ve tried it works. Probably the main thing to avoid really are going to be simple carbs. So this is your sugary drinks which will cause a real spike and then a crash in your energy levels. So just try and avoid that type of food and these types of items. Now during the round, let’s focus on portable hydration and snacks. So water again is an obvious winner, but fruits like bananas will give you a nice release of energy. Things like nuts, protein bars can also work as well. As way of an example, just imagine we’re out on the golf course. What do you think you would eat and what you shouldn’t eat here, Jacob? Tell me. Talk to me. I mean, I would eat that. But should you? No. No. No. Yes. There you go. You’re learning. You’re learning already. Cheers. So, golf is meant to be fun, uh, believe it or not, and playing from the wrong TE’s can actually make a round pretty miserable. You want to be choosing TE’s that challenge you and then can build your confidence as you can still hit greens in regulation. Also, golf is fantastic because it’s adaptable. The fact is I wouldn’t be able to run onto the same football pitch as Messi and get the same experience because he would absolutely destroy me all over the pitch. However, on a golf course, you can choose a tea box based on your current ability level, which will allow you to experience the course in the best way possible. The average male golfer’s carry distance with a driver is 225 yards, but this varies significantly based on skill level and age. For example, a 15 handicapper averages about 236 yards, while a low handicap amateur averages closer to 250. Now, we have more averages and because of these averages, we can suggest on what TE’s that golfers can play off. So, a high handicap golfer, so 21 plus 190 yards average on their drivers. So, we’re going to be looking at the forward T- boxes here. Mid- handicap from 13 to 20, 205 with the driver, a mid- handicap, so 6 to 12, 220 to 240, and a low handicapper, so five or below, they usually average just over 250 yards. Now, a PGA Tour Pro, they average 290 yards off the tea. So, those are the only guys who really should be playing off the backs. So, use the TE’s to your advantage, but also use the TE’s to enjoy this game a little bit more. Now, in my opinion, I think you should always walk a golf course whenever possible. It gets you out in nature. It gets you in contact with the turf and it keeps your fitness levels up. This is why I love playing Lynx courses because they were built such a long time ago that the only way that you could get around those courses is to actually walk. Now, you have an option of carrying a golf bag, which I do on a regular occasion. If you are playing on a resort course or a lot of courses in the states that were built rather recently, you also have the option of taking a cart when we’re out filming. Like this is the option that we tend to use more often than not because we have a lot of equipment to bring with us. The middle ground and the one that I use the most and the one that I absolutely love is to use a trolley. Now, I’m partnered with Stuart Golf, and I think that’s the best one out there. It follows me around the golf course. I don’t have to worry about it, and I get that connection with the course. I’m out in nature whilst also not having that fatigue. So, for me, that is the best option and the best of both worlds. Or get on tour and get yourself a car. [Music] Now, not every hole that you play needs a driver. When you’re planning a hole through, a key part of course management is to go from the green backwards. So, looking at where the pin is, where the green is positioned, where you want want to be coming in from with your second shot and how that affects what you do off the tea. I love hitting driver. Having a good driving game is one of the key components to being a very good golfer. However, there are times when you need to look at a golf hole and decide how to be a little bit more strategic. So, for example, this is the 12th hole at Gloria on the old course, and it’s just it’s just a a beautifully tight and tricky hole. The pine trees framing it all the way down to the green. It’s a tiny dog leg from left to right. Now, there’s a few things that you need to be aware of. So there’s a bunker on the right hand side which I can clear with a minimum of hitting a four iron. But then the fairway pinches in as a couple of rogue pines start to encroach towards the fairway. Now what this means is I need to make sure if I want to go for this green into two on a par five, I have to give myself room to play certain shots. So, if I hit this ball too far to the left hand side, I’ll have to play a little bit of a draw around the trees. If I hit it too much to the right, I might have to fade it under the trees. So, ideally, I want to be leaving myself the ability to go straight through that gap. Now, from this angle, that means I have to be aiming this T-shot at this pine tree here. Trying to keep it on that line, maybe just a touch to the right. So, automatically in my mind, I’m seeing just a little bit of a fade, peeling off that tree, and trying to leave myself a gap in the middle of those trees. Oh, I’ve just pulled it a touch. Just pulled it a touch. That is going to be in behind that tree. Damn. Okay. So, it’s not too bad. It’s still fairway. However, as you can see, we have issues uh which if I don’t plan this through properly are going to end up in tissues. Now, as you can see, the pin is in the middle of the green. There’s a bunker off to the right hand side, which I actually don’t mind going in because I would back myself out of a bunker. So, I can go to the right hand side and I can just hit either like a chippy little drawn seven to try and get it short of the green so I can pitch across or I can try and hit a nice big draw to try and get back to the pin. I can also go a little bit straighter and trust that I can get under this tree and then over the second lot, but that is a little bit more of a risky maneuver. So, the plan on this par five was always to try and go for it in two. Does that plan change now because the difficulty of the shot has increased? And also, what are the negatives? Because if I overturn it, I could go in the trees on the left. If I block it straight right, actually if I block it straight right, that’s not the end of the world because all I’ll be doing there is getting in the semi- rough around the green. How do I feel on the shot? Do I feel I can get enough turn? Yes. So, I’m going to back myself around this tree onto the green. Oh my god, that is such a good shot. That looks about eight foot away. Honestly, I always say this like whenever we do videos like this, um, whenever I talk through a shot and I fully explain it to the camera, it always comes off better. Now, there’s something important to bear in mind with that shot, a hook with a hybrid, I have practiced and I understand what I have to do to create that type of ball flight. As far as course management goes, probably the sagest words of advice I can offer are don’t try and play a shot which you’ve never practiced. But if you have that shot and the other option is just to lay up to the side and you know you can play that rather than hooking it around the trees 40 yards, try and be sensible. I know it’s difficult, but try and be sensible. Do it for me. [Music] Now, within golf, the whole point is to get the ball into the hole in as fewer strokes as possible. However, one issue that many golfers do run into is simply aiming at every flag that you see. Now, we’re on a really tricky little par three here because of where the flag is located. And well, because there’s a lake, but the flag is 175 yd away. And to clear the bunker is only 170. So I’ve only got a very small gap to play with in between the edge of the bunker and the pin. Now, if you have a look to the left of the flag, that’s where the green extends away from the tea. Now, I like to think of this as a cone. So I have from my ball to the pin and either side of the pin I have a cone of dispersion. So if I miss a little bit left, a little bit right, I can end up just to the right fringe. Or if I miss left, I’m going to be following that bunker around and probably ending in the bunker. Now, if I aim slightly left of this pin, so you see where the flood light is in the background just poking over the trees. If that’s my aim point, all of a sudden I bring that side of the green a little bit more into play. And even if I hit a dead straight shot left of the hole with a club, which I know is going to be able to clear the bunker, I’m still only going to leave myself a 20 to 30 foot put. Pretty good. Lovely. middle of the green, safe, absolutely no danger there whatsoever. Now, something important to remember about approach. The further you leave yourself away from the flag, the less likely you are to hold this put and the more often you are likely to three put. This is where putting practice really becomes important. So from this distance, higher handicapped golfers will three put more often than any other type of golfer and they will lose an incredible amount of shots from 30 foot and over when putting. Oddly enough, once you start to get closer to the hole, so once you get within about 25 to 10 feet, the difference between high handicapped golfers and low handicapped golfers as far as two put and one put percentages actually isn’t that different. It’s a kind of weird statistical part of golf. However, once you then start to get within 10 ft of the flag, the differences become apparent again. From this type of distance, lower handicapped golfers, better golfers will one put more often and they will almost never three put, whilst higher handicapped golfers will often not one put and throw in the occasional three. What you need to be doing is practicing your longer putts, trying to get your pace right, so you three put less often and then practicing inside 10 foot. Statistically, the middle distances don’t bother with them. There you go. Excuse some time off. You’re welcome. So, I often find myself on a golf course with my drinks dry, wondering how amateurs can better improve their golf. Now, one of the ways which you may not have considered are the rules. Now, if you do not have a book of rules, please go get one. There are also apps that you can download because there are so many rules within golf that can actually benefit you on the golf course if you know what to look for. And certainly over the recent weeks, if you’ve been watching certain events online, knowing the rules can be important. So brush up. [Music] So I’d never recommend anybody changing their golf swing mid round. I think when you start to get your head full of loads of swing thoughts, you stop playing golf, you stop visualizing where the ball’s going and you stop picking your target out and you start to get stuck in your head thinking of lots of different swing things. But if I did, if I did consider changing something, I would simply look at the basics. The first thing I would do is making sure a lot of people don’t get this. Making sure you’ve got a decent alignment. So picking a target out in front, that’s great. You’ve got clear intention. Picking a spot just in front of the golf ball, maybe a couple of feet and lining that club face up to that spot. But then if you’re a slicer, this is a typical example of somebody slicing constantly on a golf ball on a golf ball on a golf course. One of the things I notic in setup is is this upper part of their body here gets way ahead of the lower part. And it’s such a simple fix. So you start doing this, you start chopping down on the golf ball, you sky up in the air, pull it low left, slice across it. So simple things. Once you’ve got that alignment in place, you put the club in, just simply make sure that this section of the body here is slightly behind the lower section. And when you do that, two things happen. You start to square off your shoulders, but the other thing you’re doing is is you start to help yourself get into a more of a sweeping style blow, which is great for driver. So focusing on setup alone is probably what I’ I would start with. I wouldn’t start thinking about what I’m going to do on the down swing or the follow through and all those kind of things. I think that just really complicates things. So here I am. This is a good example here. So first shot of the day with the driver. Haven’t got time to focus on my swing. So I’m picking my target out. And what I’ll tend to do for myself is is once I’ve got myself inside, I’m really thinking about rhythm here. That’s one thing, one of my conscious things. It’s not complicated. It’s pretty simple. I feel I get a nice rhythm with this motion. Much more simple than a stack of swing thoughts. Although, [Music] so Pete’s got me out here and I haven’t really warmed up. So, I know I’m a little bit stiff and I’m not probably hitting on full power. So, the first thing I always do is I always got at least a club when I’m playing. And I would suggest you do the same. If you haven’t warmed up, you’re not going to hit it as far. It’s just a fact. So take at least an extra club so you can basically build yourself into the game of golf. Now here where you got the pin tucked away on the left hand side. I got 173 yards to go. Again, how am I hitting it? I’m not sure. But I’m going to be 100% aiming to that right side of that that green. The next thing I’m going to do is I’m just going to walk to the golf ball. And all I’m really doing here is I’m going to make some swings. And it’s a really good thing to focus. I’m going to pay attention to two things. Where my club is striking the ground. If it’s striking it way back here, that’s fine. I recognize that my body will start to naturally move forward. So, I’m building this feeling into my swing. Then, what I’m going to do once I’ve got that, I’m going to get myself set. I don’t overthink this. Visualize the shot. I’m visualizing the ball slightly above my feet here. Ball’s going to want to drift from right to left. So, right side of the green. Get myself set here. Couple little waggles. Visualize the shot and I go. Simple as that. Woohoo. [Applause] [Music] Now, if at all possible, you want to avoid playing with poorly fitted golf clubs. Now, I’m very lucky. I’m sponsored by Titus and I had one of the most in-depth comprehensive fittings on earth at the TPI facility in California. But if you’re getting new clubs, generally speaking, you should be able to find somewhere that can fit you into the correct specifications. So a fitting process should be taking you through the lofts, the lie, the lengths of your clubs. But that’s just the basic because we also need to know about gapping and a correct makeup. So for example, within my bag, I have three Voki wedges. Now, these are specialized tools. A lot of golfers can use them, but for me, it’s all about dialing in distance. And I go from a 60 to a 54 to a 48°. That’s because the pitching wedge in my set of T-150s is at 44°. Now, the T-150 irons are a little bit more forgiving than the standard muscle back. So, I’m a relatively decent ball striker, but even I still want a little bit of help with my irons, which we’ll get into in a moment. Now, I use a hybrid again for a little bit of forgiveness at 18°, a mini driver, potentially the greatest club ever invented at 13° as an option off the tea, but I can also hit it off the fairway. And then I have an 8° driver and of course a Scotty Cameron putter. And I would always recommend seeing an option or trying an option which is more forgiving. So, gives you more forgiveness than you think you might need. The fact is that golf is a hard sport and club technology has moved on a lot within the last 10 years and you can get some very forgiving golf clubs which still give you a good amount of feel and control. So if you are getting fit for new clubs, always try and always give consideration to something which is more forgiving than you think you might need. [Music] The golf’s frustrating, but where else would you rather be? Look at where we are. Gonna make some bogeies. You’re going to make some birdies, some euro steps, of course. Um, and you’re going to get frustrated. You’re going to hate the game. You’re going to have an 18th hole like I did. You never want to come back. Um, but you’re going to come back. You always come back.