Simple Bunker Thoughts

In this post I am going to give you a little idea on how to take the terror out of bunker play.
I learnt this little thought pattern whilst I was doing my European Golf Teachers Federation(EGTF) coaching diploma.
The EGTF specialises in keeping the game as simple as possible recognizing the fact that the vast majority of golfers are not professionals. The coaching methods are geared accordingly.
Remember when learning how to coach you are being taught how to coach and how to get the message across in the simplest form, you are not being taught to play - and this does make a big difference in mindset - and mindset is what this game is all about.
However having coached bunker play this way to thousands of players I find it an invaluable when playing my own bunker shots. As a result I generally have no fear of going into a bunker.
The way we coach this is to ask the students what the bunker reminds them of.
The majority, about 99%, of students will answer: "the beach".
This is then followed with the obvious question of : "what happens at the beach?".
"We have fun" is usually the unanimous reply.
And that is half the secret - have fun when you are in the bunker.
Now you can't actually do what I am about to tell you in a bunker when you are playing a game but you can do it while practicing.
All right here we go:
For normal greenside bunkers pretend that your ball is the centre of a pizza - kids love pizzas so they associate easily with this.
To do this draw a ring around the ball the size of a medium pizza - this size will change as you get more practice and learn which size pizza suits the particular shot.
Now with your ball lying in the center of the pizza I want you to take a normal swing but have your club enter the sand at the front end of the pizza, slide your club under the pizza and try and scoop the pizza out and intact to land on the green - just as if you were serving it on a plate.
Doing this takes your mind totally off the ball with the concentration being on entering the sand at the front of the pizza, sliding the club under it and bringing it out at the end of the pizza. the ball will pop up on it's own accord. Practice this often with the same size pizza and the same swing. You will soon learn how far your favourite size pizza will go. To adjust distance simply change the size of the pizza - smaller for longer shots and larger for shorter shots.
When actually playing draw an imaginary pizza around your ball and swing with confidence.
Try it and don't forget to have fun.
I just remembered a lovely story I once read in Harvey Penick's Little Red Book: Lessons and Teachings from a Lifetime of Golf. Harvey was one of the greatest coaches that ever lived and you can get this book by clicking on this link. Get any of his books as they make for great reading.
This particular story is about a wealthy man who had heard about Harvey's coaching skills and travelled many miles to attend a lesson. When he got there he explained that his particular problem was bunker play and with that he started striding off to the practice bunker in anticipation of his lesson. Harvey stopped him in his tracks explaining that they should proceed to the practice fairway where Harvey would teach him how to stay out of the bunkers.
So if you have a fear of bunkers learn to stay out of them first and when all else fails treat it as if you are a kid at the beach.
Enjoy!

Hole-in-One Twice?

A point to debate.
I have during the course of my golfing career had a hole-in-one on two separate occasions. Obviously I am rather proud of these two fluke shots and the subject has come up on numerous occasions in the past.
What I would like to know is does one say:
"I have had two holes-in-one" or "I have had two hole-in-ones"?
My argument is for the latter as I have never had "two holes" in one. This implies that my ball went into two seperate holes with one shot.
The latter sounds correct to me as it describes the experience as a "hole-in-one" and I have had 2 of these.
Your thoughts would be appreciated.

My First Post

Welcome to my blog.
I have been motivated to start this blog because of encouragement from friends and family, my love for the game of golf, my frustration at not being able to coach anymore (because of my arthritis) and my desire to help the average golfer learn to enjoy the game.
Far too often I go out to play the game and expect too much of myself. We must accept that this is a recreational sport for most of us and as such many of our practice sessions are "live" - that is on the golf course in the course of a game. And frankly this is not where we should be practising. How many of us get into a motor vehicle and consciously think of turning the key, pressing the accelerator, changing gears, indicating, braking, checking the rear view mirror, registering the colour of the lights etc. etc.?
I would say very few, if any.
The reason being that we have done it so often that it becomes an automatic function.
Golf should be the same. It should be practiced outside of game time as often as possible. When you step up to hit the shot that it is called for the actual mechanics of the swing and the particular shot required should be automatic.
This is why the Pros are so good. They do not think of the shot mechanics, does it require a draw, a fade, a punch, where do they want the ball to land, how they want it to land, where it needs to roll to, what is the optimum spot for the next shot and so on. Once they have decided all those factors they simply step up and hit the ball.
You can bet your house on the fact that those little note books the caddies carry do not include technical elements of the golf swing but rather optimum landing areas, club distances, wind speeds, ground fall and so on.
So the first thing we need to accept is that unless we practice a lot shots will not be automatic for us and therefore our "margin of error" will be greater. Accept this and look to the next shot as a challenge and something to look forward to and enjoy.
Why go out and spoil what you have been looking forward to for so long simply because you are not playing as well as you would have liked? You're playing aren't you?
I remember once practising my chipping at my local club and a pro was also practising. I was obviously horrible at chipping and he couldn't take it any more so he walked over to me and said "Why are you not enjoying the most pleasant shot in golf?". Well hardly. I mean chipping is difficult isn't it?
However this pro then proceeded to explain a few things and got me to look forward to the chip shots, got me to actually start enjoying the unique challenge they presented. Just that single change in mindset improved my chipping. I went from a tense, panic stricken individual to a happy go lucky and confident chipper. I actually now look forward to chipping and don't mind in the least if I miss the green. Yes my chips don't always turn out as I plan but so what? It's not a war.
If you can adopt this same approach to the rest of your game you will be surprised how much more enjoyable it becomes.