Debra and Dennis Bates were happy to give their granddaughter golf lessons.
Hello from my home state of Kentucky. I hope everyone is having a great summer and playing a lot of golf. I don’t have any 9-hole league results for the past month to brag on my ladies. Therefore, I will just talk or ramble on about golfing in general.
Akshay Bhatia, J.J. Spaun, Tony Finau, and Ludvig Åberg are names familiar to most golfers. One Saturday Dennis, my husband, was off somewhere and I think “I don’t have the golf tournament on! I need to see what’s happening.” Young me would never have dreamed about choosing to watch the game of golf for fun. I have come a long way baby! The biggest lesson I have learned is that golf is hard.
I am going to talk about overcoming the Seven Deadly Sins of Golf. We all know this stuff, but it is worth seeing in print.
- Don’t choke the club to death. Your hands should be on the club naturally, gently and comfortably. Keep your hands close together to act as a single unit.
- Don’t set up too far from the ball. Don’t let your weight get in front of the balls of your feet.
- Line up left of your target. Be sure you are lined up parallel to the target line, not the target.
- Allow yourself lateral movement on the backswing to transfer your weight to the left side.
- Don’t overcontrol your swing. Think about hitting through the ball so you hit the ball more solidly and harder.
- Trying to hit the perfect shot holds you back. Relax; tense muscles don’t do what they are supposed to do.
- Put yourself in the mood to play your best golf. Go to the practice tee and spend some time on the putting green. Golf is a game of self-control and a game of skill.
Now it’s time for a grandparent moment. Our granddaughter wanted some golf lessons, and her reluctant brother was along for the ride, so he got some instruction too. Here they are hitting some balls and enjoying the beautiful day. I hope they both take up this hard, rewarding game we play.
