Category: Lessons
Golf doesn't come naturally to most people. There's an awful lot about the game that is simply counterintuitive -- like hitting down to get the ball up. The best way to deal with this is to get golf lessons from a PGA professional. But barring that, there is a great deal of useful information available for you to read that will help your game.
The Plane Truth For Golfers DVD Review
Plane Truth For Golfers DVD Set
Grade: A
Teachers’ Comments: The book and DVD are musts for any golfer who struggles with the game.
Jim Hardy’s The Plane Truth For Golfers is perhaps the best golf instruction book I’ve ever read. And the new DVD is the perfect companion piece.
Hardy’s basic thesis is that there are there are two separate and distinct types of golf swings: the one plane, and the two plane swing. Both are equally valid and equally effective. The trouble comes, Hardy says, when elements of the one swing are mixed with the elements of the other.
It’s a terrific theory—and everyone that I know who has read the book says that they have benefited from it. Hardy himself says that he expects that if you are able to isolate the elements of just one swing, you will see an immediate improvement. You can read my entire review of the book here.
If I had one criticism of the book when it was first released, it was that some of the concepts were difficult for me to visualize. What it really needed, I wrote in my review, was a DVD. Apparently, someone was listening, because Hardy has now released a three disk set.
Donald Offers Hope For The Rest Of Us
Luke Donald’s victory at the Honda Classic this last weekend was a victory for the everyman—the guy who can’t hit it 330 yards off the tee and reduce every par four to a drive and a wedge.
Ok, so he still averaged 290, but that was 64th out of 73 weekend players.
But where Donald won the tournament was in keeping the ball in play—like golf was meant to be played. He hit 70% of the fairways and greens. In the second round, he hit 13 of 14 fairways from the tee, while in the third round he was 15 for 18 in greens in regulation. Twenty five percent of his approach shots landed within 15 feet of the hole.
Now THAT’s how to win a golf tournament.
And there’s a lesson in this for us weekend hackers: keep the ball in the fairway and work on your short game. Both of those are things that your average golfer can do.
Betting on Golf: The Nassau
I recently got an email from a reader who wanted to know what a Nassau was, and whether he should let his buddies talk him into playing one.
The answer is 1) the Nassau is a type of bet and 2) it can be a lot of fun if you put some limits on the game
In fact, the the $2 Nassau is probably the most popular betting game in golf. It’s a two-sided bet: player against player, or team against team. Nassaus lend themselves to a variety of team play formats. Scramble, four ball and alternate shot matches are common. Teams also can decide to play with, or without handicaps.
The Nasssau gets its name from the Nassau Country Club on Long Island, where the format was invented in the early 1900s. The game also is known as “2-2-2”, and “Best Nines.”
The Plane Truth For Golfers Review
UPDATE: I’ve added a review of the Plane Truth DVD
The Plane Truth for Golfers
One of Golf Digest’s Top 50 Golf teachers, Hardy theorizes that there are two successful—but fundamentally different swing types: the one plane, and the two plane. The one plane is the swing of Ben Hogan and Sam Snead, while famous two-planers include Tom Watson and Hale Irwin.
Five Ways To Improve Your Game
The Boca Raton news has a short, but good article on five surefire ways to improve your golf game.
