A Lesson Learned: Play faster, play better

A Lesson Learned: Play faster, play better










Christopher Hawkins, PGA July 7, 2013 10:19 PM



Right now, one of the 'hot topics' in the golf world is pace of play - as it should be. But for all the talk about "Tee It Forward", "Time for Nine" and "While We're Young" (all great programs) - nothing makes golfers walk a little faster and get their rounds in quicker than the threat of bad weather or losing daylight.

So it didn't really surprise me when the Tour was able to finish on Sunday despite the last group not teeing off until after 5 pm and the sun scheduled to set around 8:30. It's not ideal but as the commercial says, "these guys are good." And if they (and the Tour) want to avoid a Monday finish, the reclubbing and extra reads don't appear near as often.

Of course, pace of play is never about one group. No matter how aware you are of playing faster, you can only go as fast as they group ahead of you. Isn't it amazing how they played faster too (again, no one likes the early Monday wake up to come back to play just a hole or two.) And at the local course, it's quite understandable that when you pay for 18 (or 9), you'd like to get your money's worth.

So this week's "A Lesson Learned" is a few simple tips to help you play well while playing faster.

* Playing faster does not mean swinging faster. Picking up the pace means everything that goes on between shots. Your swing tempo does not change.
* Keep your focus on your shot. Don't let the race against the sunset or coming rain distract you from your objective.
* Go through all your proper preparations and pre-shot routines. However, do them while your partner(s) are hititng their shots. When it's time for you to hit, you should be ready.
* Between shots; as you walk to your next shot, the cart or to the next tee, that is the time that a faster walk or even a jog might be in order.

I recently readthe story about the foursome who played four rounds in four time zones- all in one day. Amazingly, as a foursome walking, they played each round in under two hours!

An added bonus is that when you spend less time looking at other golfers and what they are doing, and you spend that time focusing on your game and your pace of play, you will be surprised at how much better you tend to play.

Obviously, we can't have a setting sun or a looming deadline on every group on every course, but the lessons learned from golfers when they are looking at time issues can apply for all of us for all our rounds.

Christopher Hawkins is a PGA instructor at John A. White Golf Course in Atlanta, GA. You can follow him on twitter at@chrishawkinsPGA

Inside the Ropes: Abbreviated schedule suits Stricker

Inside the Ropes: Abbreviated schedule suits Stricker









Tom LaMarre, The Sports Xchange July 7, 2013 11:30 PMThe SportsXchange


For Steve Stricker, the John Deere Classic this week probably will be one of his four majors in a season that's shaping up as semi-retirement.



That's because he's not playing in the 142nd Open Championship at Muirfield.



When Stricker, 46, announced his abbreviated schedule at the start of the year, he said was tired of all the travel and would play only the majors and the three World Golf Championships that are contested in the United States.



Stricker probably doesn't believe he is missing much of a chance to claim his elusive first major title because a tie for seventh in 2008 at Royal Birkdale and a tie for eighth in 2007 at Carnoustie are his only top-10 finishes in 13 appearances at the oldest championship in the world.



"It's always fun to come here," Stricker said last year at TPC Deere Run, which is less than a three-hour drive from his home in Madison, Wis. He also is a University of Illinois alumnus. "And I get a lot of support here, and (I've) kind of been adopted by the local community here as one of their own.




The John Deere will be Stricker's eighth tournament of the season, so if he sticks with his plan to play only 11 events, he has the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational, the PGA Championship and one other start remaining this season.



The chances of his playing in the fall seem slim because he has an elk hunting trip scheduled for September.



"Golf is not the thing in my life as it once was. That was the reason why I scaled back. So I'm excited to go home. I'm excited to do some different things at home and get some time away again and ... (be) ready to play when I come back."



In addition, he has created a charitable foundation with the help of American Family Insurance that also keeps him busy.



"What I told Nicki was if I could just make enough money to pay our yearly expenses as a family, I'm fine with that," said Stricker, who has earned $2,187,146 on the PGA Tour this season, plus endorsement money.



I wanted to not have it be about me anymore."



Stricker was tied for second, one stroke out of the lead, headed to the final round in the U.S. Open at Merion before he hit two balls out of bounds on the second hole and carded a triple-bogey 8. He wound up with a 6-over-par 76 that left him in a tie for eighth.



"Not the (Sunday) start I was looking for. I felt good, felt relaxed. I was excited for the day. Just the nature of the game, I guess. It puts you in your place rather quickly at times. I'm not over this yet, but it won't take me long."

Golf glance

Golf glance









Tom LaMarre, The Sports Xchange July 7, 2013 11:30 PMThe SportsXchange



COMING UP

PGA TOUR: John Deere Classic at TPC John Deere in Silvis, Ill., Thursday through Sunday.

TV: Thursday and Friday, 3-6 p.m. EDT on the Golf Channel; Saturday and Sunday, 1-2:30 p.m. EDT on the Golf Channel and 3-6 p.m. EDT on CBS.

LAST YEAR: Zach Johnson hit his approach shot from 193 yards with a 6-iron to within inches of the hole for a birdie on the second hole of a playoff to defeat Troy Matteson. Johnson, who grew up not far away in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and considers the John Deere his hometown event, claimed his ninth victory on the PGA Tour after tying for third at TPC Deere Run in 2011 and tying for second in 2009. It appeared that Johnson would win in regulation after two-putting for a birdie on the par-5 17th hole, but Matteson holed a 60-foot eagle putt on the same hole to tie for the lead and missed a 15-footer to win in the 72nd hole. Johnson missed his own 15-footer from the fringe on the final hole of regulation. On the first extra hole, both players drove into the same bunker and hit their approach shots into the water to card bogey 6s. Matteson missed a 43-foot birdie putt on the second playoff hole.



CHAMPIONS TOUR: The 34th United States Senior Open Championship at Omaha Country Club, Omaha, Neb., Thursday through Sunday.

TV: Thursday and Friday, 4-8 p.m. EDT on ESPN2; Saturday and Sunday, 3-6 p.m. EDT on NBC.

LAST YEAR: Roger Chapman of England, who claimed his first victory on the Champions Tour two months earlier in the Senior PGA Championship, came from four strokes down in the final round to win by two shots over Corey Pavin, Bernhard Langer, Fred Funk and Tom Lehman at Indianwood Golf and Country Club in Lake Orion, Mich. The 53-year-old Chapman joined Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player and Hale Irwin as the only players to win the U.S. Senior Open and Senior PGA Championship in the same year. Langer, who won two majors on the PGA Tour and has two more on the Champions Tour, entered the final round with a four-stroke lead, but he closed with a 2-over-par 72. That opened the door for Chapman, who followed three 68s with a 66 in the final round, taking charge with four birdies in the last 11 holes.



LPGA TOUR: Manulife Financial LPGA Classic at Grey Silo Golf Course in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, Thursday through Sunday.

TV: Thursday and Friday, 12:30-2:30 p.m. EDT; Saturday and Sunday, 2:30-5:30 p.m. EDT, on the Golf Channel each day.

LAST YEAR: Brittany Lang earned her first victory on the LPGA Tour in the inaugural event by holing a six-foot birdie putt on the third playoff hole to defeat Hee Kyung Seo of South Korea. Lang made birdie on all three extra holes, while Chella Choi of South Korea dropped out with a par on the first playoff hole and Inbee Park of South Korea was finished after a par on the second. Lang, who closed with a 67, had a chance to win in regulation but missed a birdie putt, as did Choi (63), Park (69) and Seo (67). It took the 26-year-old Lang, who left Duke after her sophomore season, seven years to win on the LPGA Tour, and she also became the first former Blue Devil to win on the circuit.