By: Dave Pelz
I’ve been involved in what seems like an endless schedule of golf projects lately, some with my good Southern California friends from Cleveland Golf. During a recent video shoot for Cleveland’s innovative 2135 putter, we had some down time and I was reminded of the company’s recent ad campaign with the theme that golf was all about a “Journey to Better.” I love that. We’re all at some point on that journey. Maybe we’re not all exactly where we’d like to be, but hopefully we’re enjoying the journey and putting in the right kind of work to improve our skills and scores.
One of the great things about the journey is that we never have to stop learning new ways to score better and handle tough situations on the course. For example, you know you’ll get your fair share of bad lies on the golf course but how often do you practice hitting out of them? How often do you practice greenside bunker shots? Do you have a go-to pre-shot routine and ritual when you putt? How well do you control distance on your wedge shots? How reliable is your chipping technique around the green?
If you don’t like your answers to some of those questions, I encourage you to meet my staff this winter at Cimarron Golf Resort in Palm Springs or Strawberry Farms Golf Club in Orange County. These guys all have close to 20 years of experience helping golfers follow a proven system for better scoring. Golfers lose 80 percent of their shots to par inside 100 yards. We can help you hit your short game shots more consistently and closer to the hole and we can show you how to putt well consistently, even under pressure.
Check out www.pelzgolf.com and discover the ways we can help you on your journey to better. Okay, the sales pitch is over but I want to leave you with a challenge I think will really help your game. Take 12 golf balls and place each one three feet (probably the length of your putter) from the cup on a putting green. Place each ball in a different position as if they were the 12 “hour” positions on a clock, so you have 12 three-foot putts that all break a slightly different way. Stroke all 12 putts and record how many you make out of 12. Take note of how the putts break as you “move around the clock.” Do this drill a second and a third time (or more) over a period of days. E-mail me at [email protected] and let me know if you improve your make percentage the more times you do this drill and if you think it helps your green-reading. Thanks and good scoring to you!
