Tournament formats and golf bets

Definition: Criers and Whiners is a game of do-overs, or mulligans that can be used from any point on the course. In Criers and Whiners, handicaps are converted into free shots that are used during a round.

Say a player has a handicap of 14. Rather than applying the handicap in the proper manner, the player is instead given 14 free shots to use at any point on the course, at any time. Hit a bad shot off the second tee? Hit it again. Now you've got 13 left.

The game can be played with full handicaps (as in the example above) but it most common to use only three-fourths or two-thirds of handicaps. That forces the player to be judicious in using his replay strokes.

Two other conditions usually apply: The first tee shot of the day may not be replayed, and no
shot can be replayed twice.

Definition: Defender is a betting game or points game for groups in which one member of the group per hole is designated as that hole's "defender." The defender's job is to get the lowest score on his hole; the other members of the group are trying to beat the defender.

Before teeing off, establish a rotation (for a threesome, A is the defender on the first hole, B on No. 2, C on No. 3, back to A on No. 4, and so on) for the Defender.

When the Defender successfully defends his hole - that is, gets the lowest score - he earns 3 points and the other players lose 1 point. If any member of the group beats the Defender, the defender loses 3 points and each other player gains 1 point. If the Defender ties for low score on his hole, the defender gains 1 1/2 points while the others lose a half-point.

Defender can be played just for points and bragging rights, or a dollar value can be assigned to the points and money divvied up at the end of the round.

Definition: Greensomes is a competition format that is a variation of foursomes (2-person teams, each playing one ball). In Greensomes, both players on a team tee off, the best of the two tee balls is selected and that ball is then played alternate-shot until holed.

In regular foursomes, the 2-person team would play alternate shot for the full hole, i.e., only one tee ball would be hit.

Greensomes is essentially a 2-person scramble off the tee, then alternate-shot into the hole.

Definition: Last Man Standing is another name for a Flags tournament. Each golfer begins the round with an allotment of strokes - usually his or her full or partial handicap plus the par of the course being played - and plays until those strokes are used up. The golfer who advances farthest around the course before using up his allotment of strokes is the winner.

Definition: Three Club Monte is a golf format that requires the players to pick just three clubs to use during their round. All players are allowed their putters in addition to the three other clubs they choose. The choice of clubs can't be changed during the round - once you've chosen a 3-wood, 5-iron and 9-iron, for example, those are the only clubs (other than putter) you can use during the round.

Three Club Monte is a good game to play in order to learn and practice half-shots, knock-downs and so forth.

Definition: Thirty-Two is a side bet for golfers that focuses on putting. It's essentially a challenge from one golfer to another to avoid a three-putt.

Let's say your buddy is facing a long, difficult putt. You invoke the thirty-two side bet. If your buddy three-putts (or worse), he owes you two units of the bet. If he two-putts (or better), you owe him three units of the bet. (If the bet is $1, for example, and he three-putts, he owes you $2; if he two-putts, you owe him $3).

Definition: Gruesomes is a 2-person team game that is more common as a betting game but is also sometimes used as a tournament format.

In Gruesomes, both members of the team tee off - and then the opposing team selects which drive they have to play. Needless to say, the opposing team is likely to select the worst - or most gruesome - of the two drives.

Following selection of the tee ball, the teams play out the hole in alternate shot fashion. The player who hit the "gruesome" tee ball also plays the second shot.

An American, driving erratically from a grass bunker, hit and killed a cow in the adjoining pasture.

"my God," he cried, running up, "I'm terrible embarrassed! Can I replace her?"

"Dunno," replied the farmers boy, "How many gallons a day do you give?"

Hitting a 460 CC driver

The key to hitting the ball farther with the modern driver and golf ball (which spins much less off of a flat face than balls of the past) is high launch combined with a low spin rate. Our goal is to get enough spin to achieve lift, while minimizing (hopefully eliminating) drag.

Assuming that you have a driver with enough loft, here are four things that you can do to increase launch and decrease spin rate, thus increasing your distance off the tee:

Tee the Ball Higher
The old adage has always been that the top of the driver should be about halfway up the ball when it is teed up. However, with a 460cc driver, I like to see you set the ball high enough on a peg such that the top of the driver is no more than one-third of the way up the ball. Of course, this means that the standard 2 1/8-inch tee will not be long enough to accommodate. You will need a tee at least 3 inches in length, but likely a little longer than this.

Move the Ball Forward in Your Stance
(Towards your left foot for a right-handed golfer)
The notion of playing the ball off of your left heel is no longer valid. We want to hit the ball on the upswing, thus increasing launch angle and decreasing the ball's spin rate. In order to do this, we must move the ball forward in our stance. For some golfers, it will be enough to play the ball off of your big toe, while for others it may be necessary to move the ball all the way up so that it is positioned outside of your left foot. Experiment with different ball positions – but, whatever you do, move the ball forward in your stance!

Set Up to Hit the Ball on the Center of the Face
Most golfers set their driver on the ground at address. This results in a high percentage of driver shots being hit on the heel-side of the face, especially when we tee the ball higher. Test yourself this way: The next time you are at the range and set up to hit your driver, once in the address position stretch your arms out and move the club up to the ball's height. Notice where the ball is going to contact the face of your driver? On the heel side – or possibly the hosel – of your driver.

This is a very common problem for golfers – and it's an awkward adjustment. The solution is very simple, however. Instead of setting your driver behind the ball such that the center of the face is aligned with the ball, move backwards a couple of inches (towards your back) such that the toe of your driver is aligned with the ball. Now do the test again. Stretch out your arms and pick the club up to the ball's height. Is the ball aligned with the center of the driver face? If so, put the club back down and fire! If not, keep moving back until it is.

Don't worry that once you set the driver down it doesn't align with the ball. The ball isn't on the ground - it's three inches above the ground!

"is this Harry's secretary? I forgot to ask him which course we're playing on this afternoon."

"Sorry, Mr. Nash is out of the office all day on business."

"You're supposed to say that, but which course will we be on?"

"Sorry, Mr. Nash is out on a business call."

"O.K., O.K. Just tell me. Is his call Three or 18 miles from the office?"

Stay in the Shot

There is a term that commentators on television will often say. He came, or she came, up and out of the shot. When you hear that, it usually means that the ball has gone to the right.

So, let me tell you an example of what ‘up and out of the shot’ means, and then I’ll give you a golf technique that you can use for your own golf game.

In the downswing, both knees stay bent during the bottom of the hit. And as the golf club passes you, the arms have to get out in front of you before you can turn through.

Now, here’s an example of a player that comes up and out of the shot. As they start down, they get out in front and their body unwinds. And they get tall in the hitting area and the spine comes up and you’ll see a push to the right.

So, here’s the golf technique. If you push to the right and you think there’s a chance that you may be coming up and out of your shot, you’ll hit it weak to the right.

A great little practice is for you to keep a little more weight on your right side and let the arms pass you before you turn through.

Thanks, and have a great day.

A golfer yells, "Fore!", takes six, and writes, "5"

The Backswing

I’m going to give you some great golf backswing advice that’s going to help you a lot with your backswing. There are two mistakes that you can make in the backswing. And then I’m going to tell you the correct way to do it.

The first mistake is, if your shoulder doesn’t move and doesn’t turn backwards, then your arms will run into it and the shoulder will tilt up in the air. And if you do that, the golf swing will look too vertical, and you’ll hit the ground and you’ll hit a lot of shots off to the right.

On the other hand, some of you think so much of turning that you turn your right shoulder and your hips together, and the golf club gets way around inside.

So, for those of you that do this, you’ll wind up hitting a lot of tops because the club won’t swing back down.

So, let me give you some golf backswing advice. This is the correct way. After you’ve addressed the golf ball, the right shoulder starts turning backwards. And that way, this enables the golf club to swing up on the correct plane.

So, if you can move your shoulder out of the way and don’t turn your bottom much, the golf club will move up on plane as you turn away from the golf ball.

Try that the next time out, and I guarantee you that will help you.

Thanks and have a great day.

"Caddy, why do you keep looking at your watch?" Not my watch, sir! My compass.

Why You Must Hit Down on the Ball to Make It Go Up

Golf is a difficult game. Yet to so many of the uninitiated it might seem incredibly simple. The objective is to strike a ball ... that is just sitting there. After all, how tough can it be? It's not like baseball, or tennis, where the ball is moving as we attempt to make contact with it. It's not like hockey, where someone is trying to knock you down. And if it is, rethinking your choice of foursome should perhaps be the bigger priority.

Why is it then, in golf, that this stationary ball is so difficult to hit? Why do we even miss it completely at times?

Golf is difficult - deceptively so - due to our perception of how to get the ball airborne. We want the ball to go up, and our natural inclination is to hit up at it. However, we need to hit down.

Part of this initial deception in golf lies in the fact that the ball is round, and our clubface is lofted (angled back). On first look it might appear that our goal is to slide the lofted clubhead under the ball, striking its lower half on the upswing, and thus driving - or lifting - the ball into the air. However, it is critical to note that the golf club has not been designed to get under the ball to lift it. It has been designed to strike the ball as the clubhead is descending - on the downswing.

The face of the club will then contact the surface of the golf ball just prior to reaching the bottom of the swing arc. As a result, the ball becomes trapped between the descending clubface and the ground. The ball compresses. Because the face of the clubhead is lofted, the ball - rather than be driven into the ground as a downward hit might imply - will spin backwards up the clubface, decompress (adding energy to its escape) and climb into the air. The angle at which the ball climbs (trajectory) will be directly related to the loft of the club we have chosen for the shot.

Unfortunately, until the technicalities of hitting down are fully explained, hitting up seems, on the surface, more logical. If we want something to go up, we tend to hit up at it. If I gave you a tennis ball, and a racket, and asked you to hit the ball up into the air - what would you do? You would lower your racket and strike up at the tennis ball. And the tennis ball would go up. It's logical. So why wouldn't it be logical with golf too?

Certainly - on the surface anyway - hitting down at something you want to go up, is not logical. And until it becomes logical, your muscles may resist as a result. Gaining a firm understanding of the golf swing - and especially the mechanics of "hitting down" - is vital to programming muscle memory. And good muscle memory in golf is essential, so you can stop worrying about your swing, and concentrate on the game itself.

ON the 6th at Belle Isle Course near Lynchburg, Va., a golfer found his ball wedged firmly between the roots of a large pine tree. " Son," he asked his caddy, "what kind of a shot do you think this situation calls for?" I think I know sir, replied the caddy, reaching into his bag for the bourbon.