18 Handicapper Golf Tips

  • last year
In the third episode of Game.Improved, Nick Dougherty offers a lesson to 18-handicapper Andy Edom
Transcript
00:00 - Hello everyone, Neil Tappan here from Golf Monthly,
00:02 and welcome to the final episode in our three-part series
00:05 in which we're gonna try to help
00:07 some amateur golfers shoot lower scores.
00:10 In this episode, we have Andy Edom,
00:12 who plays off a handicap of 18,
00:14 and he's gonna get the chance to play some golf here
00:16 at Wentworth with Nick Doherty,
00:17 and then head to the range for a one-on-one lesson.
00:21 Hopefully, there should be some advice,
00:22 both on how to play, how to build a strategy
00:24 for the golf course, but also some tips on how to practice
00:28 and how to swing it a little bit better
00:29 that will help Andy, but also might help you too.
00:32 Right, let's get started.
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00:36 Okay, so Andy, thanks for joining us here at Wentworth.
00:49 What's your handicap, and just give us a sense
00:52 for where your golf is at right now.
00:54 - My handicap's 18.
00:55 It's a little bit variable,
00:57 'cause I don't get out that often and play that often,
00:59 so I tend to feel that I manage the ball around the course
01:02 more than anything else.
01:03 - Okay, so then what are the strengths,
01:07 what are the weaknesses in your golf game?
01:08 - Definitely strengths would be wedges and short irons.
01:13 Generally speaking, the longer the club,
01:14 the more wayward I can get.
01:16 - Right, and when we're talking wayward,
01:18 are we talking right or left?
01:19 - A little bit of both, that could be true.
01:21 - Right, okay, so what are you looking then?
01:22 So you've got access to Nick,
01:24 what are you looking for in terms of advice
01:26 to help you play?
01:27 - Just to basically straighten me out a little bit,
01:29 help me hit the ball a little bit straighter.
01:31 I know I can feel there's certain parts of my swing
01:33 that aren't right, it's just the order
01:36 in which to correct that.
01:37 - Yeah, okay.
01:39 Well, I think you're with the right person today.
01:40 Right, let's head out onto the golf course and meet Nick.
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08:57 - So then Nick, let me ask you,
08:59 somebody of Andy's level in the game,
09:02 what strategy advice would you offer?
09:03 - Having a plan for what you're gonna be all about
09:05 in the golf course is more important.
09:07 I think for players of the handicap when you're at 18,
09:10 you're in that beautiful zone where some days
09:12 you can, it can be a game changer of a day,
09:15 but you always have the chance to go in
09:17 and have one of those shocker days as well.
09:19 So I think making it nice and simple,
09:21 have a plan with your coach is really good.
09:23 So Andy's a great example of this.
09:25 Have a plan for how you're gonna make the improvements,
09:27 but when you go out, go out to play well.
09:29 There's so many things at 18 handicap you can dabble with
09:32 and play with and try this and try that.
09:35 My experience is most of the time we get worse,
09:37 too much going around our heads,
09:39 and then we end up going,
09:40 "Oh God, I'm thinking about too much."
09:41 How many times have you heard,
09:42 "Oh, I'm thinking about too much."
09:43 Well, don't.
09:44 Have your plan, stick to your plan.
09:46 And strategy, you save so many shots around,
09:48 take a joy from thinking like a top level pro.
09:51 You might not be able to hit Rory shots,
09:53 but you can think like him.
09:55 So that means when you go in there
09:57 with your three wood in this stuff,
09:59 is Rory going in there with his three?
10:00 'Cause if he ain't, you shouldn't.
10:02 And I think that's one of the things we can say
10:03 is that you won't necessarily always be able
10:06 to hit the shot you want to,
10:07 but we can make the right decision about it.
10:09 And knowing where your strengths are as well,
10:11 picking, being more responsible in what we pick,
10:14 having a good strategy that takes some of the risk away.
10:17 And for an amateur golfer at 18 handicap,
10:19 that could be like, "Let's not hit the hero shot
10:21 "because that's screaming an eight if it doesn't come off.
10:23 "Let's play it smart, let's make a nice five."
10:25 And it takes discipline that,
10:27 because of course we all want to hit the shot
10:29 that allows us to, you know,
10:30 the shot that makes us feel a million dollars.
10:31 But if it's in a comp,
10:33 if you're having a lot of remakes, whack away.
10:35 If you're in a comp and you're serious
10:37 about wanting to improve your handicap, do that.
10:39 Do the right thing and start making the right decision
10:41 because it's what the top players will do.
10:43 - Yeah, so there you have it.
10:44 If you want to get better at golf and who doesn't,
10:47 then you've got to commit to it.
10:48 You don't have to be technical,
10:49 but you do have to commit to what you're trying to do.
10:51 Hopefully that helps.
10:52 Okay, so there you have it.
10:53 That's our look at Andy's game
10:55 and Nick's tips to help him improve.
10:57 Obviously with Andy,
10:58 he needs to make some technical improvements,
11:01 but what's great about the advice that Nick is offering
11:03 is that yes, it's clear to see those technical improvements
11:06 that need to be made,
11:07 but the advice needs to be as simple and practical
11:10 and usable as possible.
11:12 Hopefully that's what Andy got from it.
11:14 If you're in a similar category with your golf game,
11:16 then using some of that advice to help you as well
11:18 should really make a big difference.
11:20 But that's it for now for Wentworth.
11:22 Thanks very much for watching.
11:23 We'll see you next time.
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