The Packed Parking Lot

As we drove around the corner leading into our favorite course my wife said, "Oh jeez, look at all the cars in the parking lot." The adjoining driving range was closed for the season, but because of the unseasonably warm weather the course was hopping. She went on with concerns about a tournament and wondered if we could get out. Drawing on my experience of managing high volume golf courses, I assured her that there would be no problems. We were a foursome that included our two boys, ages five and two. This was our family outing for the week and we were not going anywhere else.

We grabbed our gear, snacks and drinks and started toward the group of people collecting behind the 18th hole. The variety of people made the atmosphere inviting. There was a lot of jabbing while others told tall tales of high flying shots and low roped bullets. A clank at the 18th sounded like chained tires in the snow as the crowd stirred in disbelief at the hole-out from some 30 yards. As we made our way through I could see the first tee. There was a single player loosening up posing like a windmill as he stretched his back. Once I got through the crowd I could see his approach.

The first is a short par 3 down a subtle slope to the left. He needed only to manage a smattering of trees that were widely scattered between he and the hole. Then he made his move. He started from well behind the tee markers side stepping toward the line. He was right handed as he wound up turning his upper body away from the target. Once his momentum reached max speed toward the target his lower body came to a screeching halt as his whirling arm and hand released a stinging disc down the right side. It bent around the first set of trees on the right with a gentle bend to the left landing within scoring distance. He had a great start. This wasn't his first day at the Sedgley Woods Disc Golf Course.

We play disc golf almost every weekend, spring through fall. Today, just several days before New Years in Philadelphia the temperature was above 50 degrees. My experience is always the same. Complete satisfaction! A perfect blend of exercise, sport, exploration, and child rearing. I have skied and golfed since I was five years old. I have done a little backpacking and even bagged a few "fourteeners" while living in Denver. Throw in a mountain bike and a pair of trail runners and I'd say I've dabbled with a fair share of outdoor sports. Disc golf fills the void for outdoor activity with an edge.

Complete satisfaction!

A perfect blend of exercise, sport, exploration, and child rearing

Maybe it's the desire to lower my standards regarding course conditions. Maybe the time needed. Maybe the cost. Maybe the thrill of the hike or jog which is more exploratory than ruled by etiquette. It's okay to be loud. It's okay to run on the greens (there are none). There is no pressure from behind. There is rarely any wait despite the course being full. And while my two year old was slung on my back for 12 holes, he trailed and wandered along with us for the final six. It was muddy. Boots and sneakers were a mess. The atmosphere was completely relaxing, aside from the occasional stress of losing a disc, which is only slightly more expensive than the Titleist balls in my golf bag. The time was almost thoughtless. If nothing else, I was mindful of where my kids were, never out of sight and most often out of danger of a high flying arrant disc.

Yes, there are disc golf professionals, and serious tournaments that mirror the regional golf pro ranks. But, even that group is completely inviting for a family of four to take part during the day. There is no worry of un-raked bunkers, missed pitch marks on the green, and no worry of waiting. The emphasis is not particularly on the length of time. It is on the amount of time we need to play. Playing through a group or vise-versa has no stigma on a disc golf course. Not once in seven years playing at the same course have we encountered any stress related to the pace, regardless of whether we were slow or fast. And we've been both. 

This idea makes me think about recent efforts by the PGA of America and golf associations to pick up the pace at your club. I wonder if that is actually hitting at the core. I agree the pace needs to increase. But does that mean the experience should be better for some and not for others. Should a foursome of friends that know they will play comfortably in four and a half hours be pushed, ridiculed or reported. If the foursome behind typically play in 3:45, this is a recipe for disaster, conflict, and ill feelings. I, for one, don't like conflict.

The PGA tour is partially at fault. I know, I know... they are playing for a gazillion dollars. But I don't think that should factor in at all. None. The game has a time limit and that rule is broken every weekend. If it seems like a gray rule, they simply need to enforce it. What if my free throw routine was three minutes long? I would never run the court. Or my pitching routine was five minutes? I would never play in any league. 18 holes of golf was never meant to be played in six hours. Or even five, but I've played courses that warranted that amount. So, again, it's not simply about the time allotted. It's about the time my group needs to finish the round, within reason. There's that gray color again. Where is the line drawn?

The reason there is no pace of play issues at my local disc golf course on a packed Saturday afternoon is because everyone is cordial. There is no stigma with letting someone play through. Those that are playing through are patient. It happens fast and early in the round if necessary. It is seamless because all players involved play together for a short time moving their disc forward, a process I have always suggested on the golf course. It's a version of "ready golf" for about two minutes. Too often the slow group stops to wait, further slowing themselves down and increasing the backup behind them. Is simply pushing people to play faster really the answer?



Do you have thoughts about the pace of play at your club? How about the PGA Tour? Do you play disc golf? Leave a comment and let's chat about it. HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Low-Straight-Push

The proper bowing effect of the hands and wrists combine into a feeling of downward extension at impact. This is essential for solid ball striking. This is true for a chip, pitch, punch or full swing. At the core is the ability to delay the hands as long as possible. And when the hands become active they unload in a de-lofting fashion. Think about how the club face "opens" away from the target when the swing starts. The club must "close" in order to be square at impact. But simply closing the club face, by itself, does not accomplish the proper angle of attack into impact. Loft must be reduced resulting in the club head remaining low after impact.

The unloading act leading into impact has the effect of compressing the hands, especially the right palm as it braces for impact. A reasonably proper grip places the palm of the right hand more on top of the handle and the pressure is downward keeping the hands relatively low through impact.

TEST IT

While holding a club with a generally good grip take the set up and simply apply more pressure with the pad of the right thumb. Don't swing it. Simply apply the pressure. The toe of the club will naturally move a little left and the hands will press forward, de-lofting the club. 

Zach Johnson

If you are going to have a fault, be ahead of it and de-loft the club. The ball will launch low. De-lofting the club requires the opposite action of flipping the hands, typical of the average golfer. Learn to de-loft the club head regardless of where the body's overall weight is. It is very difficult to hit a ball hard and low when the weight is too far back or away from the target. Maybe even impossible. I find most students can resolve this fact by reacting to the feedback from each shot. The pattern of the ball flight's trajectory will represent the success. Don't sneak onto your back foot and try and add loft. That process is counter to solid ball striking. While practicing this approach I would expect a lower ball flight that is either perfectly strait or a low strait push shot.

Below are two related posts and the original Golf Digest article featuring Zach Johnson.

Punch It
Anchor The Turn
Zach Johnson How To Get Back To The Ball

Wild Bill Mehlhorn

I received a signed copy of Wild Bill Mehlorn's book, Golf Secrets Exposed in 1985, from a college recruiter. He was recruiting players for Florida International University. At 16 years old I had no idea who Wild Bill Melhorn was. Back then Florida seemed like a foreign country.

"Whether you are young or old, thin or fat, whether you move fast or slow, if you walk, run, dance, or swim, whether you throw a ball or hit one. Whether you swing an ax or cut grass with a grasswhip you never think of how you move any part of your anatomy. Why should golf be any different."
  - Bill Mehlhorn

"The best I ever saw from tee to green was Bill Mehlhorn"

  - Ben Hogan, Golf Magazine January, 1975

Face Angle and Swing Path

To change the typical shot pattern or curvature of the flight of your ball, first learn the combination of face angle and swing path that typically creates the curvature. This is the beginning of understanding your own swing. The next most important factor is to understand the relationship of the initial starting direction of the ball. The initial direction of the ball flight is directly related to the club face angle at impact. Generally, where the club is aiming at the moment of impact is the direction the ball starts. How it then curves is the relationship of the path to that club face angle. While the intended target and your success in aligning toward it is also imperative, the beginning of your understanding of your swing starts with path and club face.







Understand and embrace your golf swing. Own it. Even if it's peculiar, quirky, or eccentric.

Skiing From The Back Tees

I stood at the top looking down the chute. We had crossed the rope 100 yards back leaning into the wind. It was windy all day until we cut through the trees off the top of the Four Points lift. It was my third experience crossing the boundary line at this mountain. Unfortunately, it would prove to be just as disappointing as the first two. Skiing out of bounds at Steamboat Springs was legendary within my circles. But I must have missed those opportunities.

The trek was more pulling versus skiing. As we rounded the bend, we were reminded of the importance of being quiet and to tread lightly on our skis. Avalanche danger was real and we were on top of the massive snow pack that overlooked our destination, like a large white orb that blocks and skews the horizon line.

All photos in this article were pulled from
http://www.onthesnow.com/colorado/steamboat/ski-resort.html

The disappointment did not set in until we traversed down to the top of the "Chutes". Even though it was beyond the ropes it had a name, however ominous it was. Our intended path was looking straight down a massive 300 foot dropping slope that appeared like a large ice slick made for a sled. Straight down hill and no powder to speak of. We trudged through mounds of snow getting to the outcropping that would act as our starting gate. The whipping wind slowed. There was simply less snow on that side of the mountain, contrary to all the tall tales around the fire at the lodge. "Best powder ever. It's always deep and light."

Since my early experiences skiing at Steamboat, the Chutes
are no longer out of bounds. 

Not today. Fast and furious with nothing to pad the skis in to. The goal today was to keep upright for 300 feet. The trees at the bottom would slow things down. Or at least the powdered tree wells would provide a backstop, but only if there was others to pull you out of the hole that was more like freezing quicksand.

Powdered tree well danger. That is another story.

"Skiing from the back tees," was a phrase coined by a friend of my father's. In our circles growing up it seems everyone skied and golfed, all at a better-than-average ability. Competition was just as great on the slopes as it was on the golf course. What began as a description of always demanding the toughest black diamond slopes, soon became double diamond. Usually steeper with unending moguls. But as I have aged and changed so to have the back tees. Slopes are steeper. Cool is being dropped off by helicopter. Golf courses are longer. Technology has advanced. Physical fitness is more priority. At the top levels, airtime is the preferred extreme.

I grew out of the "X" generation, always thinking that we were so extreme. Then came the "Y" generation that simply asked, why not fly further? Why not question everything and force the extremes of previous generations. In the two recreational activities that I grew up immersed in, the levels at the top have continued to expand, as has most everything else.

The PGA suggests a "Tee It Forward" program to help promote and increase the pace of play. Not to mention, that if most check their bravado at the door, they will have more fun. But I can not help but think of how many times my father and I played a new course and demanded the back tees. We wanted all it could dish out. Occasionally we were throttled by the demands of an unfamiliar mountain course. Just as the outer bounds of a ski mountain had the upper hand on most days. Thankfully, both experiences were always worth the pain. both mentally and physically.