Happy Sunday everyone.
Let’s get into it.
Today’s quote:
“Of all the hazards, fear is the worst.”
— Sam Snead
Spend Less Time Over Putts
I’ve talked about Brad Faxon more than once in this newsletter, and for good reason. He is a big proponent of simplifying pre-putt routines, and spending as little time over the ball as possible.
Christopher Powers over at Golf Digest shared a great video featuring a Brad Faxon lesson that improved his putting.
Powers writes, “Faxon is big on letting your natural athleticism take over when you putt, and I'm at my worst when I'm standing over the ball too long, thinking too much and getting too technical. This video might help solve that same issue for you.”
Here is the video:
“Look once. Set up. Look Twice. Go.”
Remember that.
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Fix Your Alignment. Fix Your Slice
If you’ve been a longtime subscriber of The Scoring Letter, you may remember my post on the power of vision in the golf swing. If not you can read it here:
The vast majority of golfers slice the ball, and most don’t realize a huge reason for it is their alignment—and more importantly, their vision.
I recently posted this picture of Chris Gotterup’s alignment as a quick fix for slicers:
Many amateur golfers simply slice the golf ball because they stand closed to the target and then swing left across their body because that’s where their target appears when they turn their head to look at it.
They incorrectly stand on their target line instead of their toe line.
If you stand on the target line, your vision will tell you that the flag is behind you. So you will swing across your body in order to compensate — hence the slice.
If you stand correctly, your target will look like it’s off to the right (for a right-handed golfer). It will feel like your vision is playing tricks on you, but you are actually aligned correctly.
Mike Malaska has a fantastic video on this topic that I think everyone should watch.
Learn to Love Nerves
Every golfer knows the feeling of standing over a putt nervous, cycling through the relaxation checklist: deep breathing, visualization, whatever mental trick you have to calm the nerves, etc…
But what if trying to escape the nerves is a mistake?
In a recent Golf Digest piece, sports psychologist Dr. Carly Hunt argues that golfers shouldn't avoid nervousness or force confidence. Instead, she suggests actively seeking out the nerves.
She states “The next time nerves spike, stand tall, bring a slight smile or calm expression to your face, look up and around, and tell yourself, ‘I can hit the ball near the target even when I’m nervous.”
Instead of fighting to suppress anxiety, this approach flips the standard advice on its head: invite the nerves in so they lose their power over you.
Learn to love pressure.
That’s it for today. Hope you all have a great week and get out and play!
If you have any questions, comments, or feedback, please don’t hesitate to email me at tourswingstommy@gmail.com. I read everything.
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