I agree - this probably isn’t the smartest thing to do, but… Do you frequently find yourself running behind schedule and rushing to get to the golf course so you don’t miss your tee time? Or dashing from the parking lot to the tee and hitting your first shot without tying your shoes? How often do you use the first four holes to warm up for your round?

Ideally we would always have time to go to the practice area to get stretched out and hit a few balls before playing. But all too often it doesn’t seem to work that way. We end up “practicing” on the golf course, hoping we only need a small bucket of balls to warm up, and not a big bucket. A few days ago I saw a guy hurry to the tee, hit his tee shot and then comment, “Looks like I’m playing a fade today.”

Have you ever been faced with a shot and had a strong feeling what club you should hit? That little voice inside tells you, “This is a nice 7 iron! Just smooth it up there right next to the hole.” Then your playing partner, with his GPS device, tries to help by telling you the exact yardage, which turns out to be an 8 iron. Now what do you do?

Avoid falling apart when it really counts

I understand the new player asking about what their swing tempo should be, but I’m always surprised at how many experienced players ask whether they should change their tempo to swing faster or slower.

Confused yet? We’re only about two-thirds of the way to the ball.

Our Head Professional has a bumper sticker on his car that reads, “Life is Easy, Golf is Hard.” I had to chuckle when I first saw this, but then realized how much truth there was to the statement. I’ve often told people the more I learn about the golf swing the happier I am to play as well as I do.