The Stylish Traveler
With the US Open in our backyard—the Congressional is only an hour’s drive away—my thoughts turn to the fabulous frustrating game of golf.
I’m a perennial lesson taker and sucker for every golf gadget. Dozens of swing contraptions crowd my closets. Fitness books and exercise DVD’s demonstrating stretch routines a Yogi would have trouble achieving line my office shelves. And, I’ve taken countless lessons at golf academies and fancy resorts. All with the goal (dream?) of reducing my handicap.
Amazingly, my best lessons were given to me on a recent Crystal Caribbean cruise. I realize learning golf on a cruise sounds a little nutty—swinging a club as the ship rocks and rolls—but believe me, this guy knows what he is talking about. His tips made a lasting difference to my game.
In honor of the US Open (I’ll be there tomorrow and tell you more later) here are my favorite golf tips given to me somewhere between Barbados and Curacao.
“Practice doesn’t make perfect, it’s perfect practice that makes perfect,” says Joseph K. Herbert, PGA Golf Instructor. “The practice ground can be your promised land if you practice properly,” he adds.
When Herbert isn’t teaching on board a Crystal ship, he is Director of Golf Instruction at Arrowhead Golf Club in Colorado, one of the top 100 golf courses in America.
Herbert believes most problems begin on the practice range so he developed a series of easy-to-remember pointers. Usually when I take lessons I return home with a bunch of jumbled thoughts. Not this time. Here are my picks for the best of Herbert’s practice instruction. I’ve dubbed them “Herbert-isms.” If I can successfully implement them into my routine and follow his Ten Commandments of Golf Course Management, Paula Creamer just may have something to worry about.
HERBERT-ISMS
SET GOALS: Make your practice competitive. Set a goal to get six out of ten balls within five feet of the hole when practicing bunker shots or land eight out of ten drives between two designated targets.
CREATE CONTESTS: Practice with someone of similar or higher skill levels and have contests. Play closest to the cup, best accuracy to a certain flag or least strokes to get up and down.
PRACTICE WITH ONE BALL. Use only one golf ball around the green, no pile of balls. Play just the one ball from a variety of locations until it is holed as is required during the play on the course.
PRACTICE AS YOU PLAY. Shoddy practice habits produce shoddy results and poor play on the course. Treat each practice shot as though you were on the course and it really matters.
AIM. ALWAYS HIT TO A SPECIFIC TARGET. Hitting balls is exercise. Playing to a target is practice. Aim is so crucial to the end result you should take time to aim during random practice sessions.
FOCUS ON YOUR WEAKNESS. Focus on the areas of your game that need the most work, avoid the temptation to randomly hit a bucket of balls. That’s just feel good fun.
MUSCLE MEMORY. Do a few memory drills a few times a week in the house—just two to five minutes a day. Most people don’t practice and expect miracles after one lesson. To stay consistent you need to spend two to three hours a week playing and/or practicing. There is no such thing as a quick fix.
JOE’S TEN COMMANDMENTS OF GOLF COURSE MANAGEMENT
1. Respect the game of golf and its traditions
2. Reduce expectations or learn to eliminate them altogether
3. Take pride in displaying the highest level of composure
4. Eliminate negative self-talk
5. Be nice to yourself, as a good caddy would be
6. Develop a positive and enthusiastic attitude
7. Learn to play without keeping track of your score in your mind
8. Develop a consistent-pre-shot routine and the discipline to use it every shot.
9. Plan your shots with precise intentions within the capabilities of your skills
10. Put forth your best effort on every shot.
For more information about Joe Herbert http://www.goprojoe.net
http://www.crystalcruises.com
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