Golf In New York City Blog

When you get there (preferably early, around 8:30 a.m.) have a plan. This will save a lot of milling around the clubhouse area deciding what do to: follow a specific player or group; walk the course; or grab a seat in the grandstand. Free pairing sheets are distributed at the entrance will tell you who is teeing off when and on which nine. For practice rounds consult the appropriate scoreboard at the course.

Here our ideal plan – not because it’s necessarily better than any other, but just to start you thinking about how you might adapt it to suit your preferences.

Unless you’re a TV cameraperson or commentator, a blimp pilot, or a tournament official or volunteer, there are only two ways to follow a golf tournament in person: follow a particular group through 18 holes, or plunk yourself down in some good viewing spot and watch the passing parade. Of course, you can come up with your combination of both options, depending on how you feel that day, the nature of the golf course, the size of the crowds, the weather, or your horoscope for the day after.

Our plan’s first step is for you to pick a group of golfers to follow (most often three to a group). Keeping in mind that crowds tend to follow the “name” golfers, you should usually pick someone whose name you recognize but who is not likely to draw a huge crowd. Then follow his or her group so you can see more and get closer to the action. Following Tiger Woods or John Daly may be glamorous, but you are likely to see less and walk more. Once you have selected a group, off you go, following along for the first nine holes.

When your group finishes their first nine, wish them well and head back in the direction you came from, about a hole or two from the clubhouse. The idea is to find a good vantage point, not too far from a refreshment stand and a restroom, where you can watch the rest of the field come through.

Since you are walking half the course and hopefully are traveling light and have left your cell phone at home, try to find some natural (preferably soft) seating or a viewing grandstand. That’s our plan, and we hope it helps in putting yours together. To further help in your planning, we’ve listed some of the good points of sitting and walking.

Sitting

If you’d rather not walk the course, there are some definite advantages to sitting in one spot. For example:

• Sitting on a comfortable beach chair is undeniably easier and probably more relaxing than walking the course and trying to keep up with a group. You’ll get a good spot if you get out there early.
• You’ll become an expert on the hole you’re watching. Binoculars may be a help on long par 4’s and 5’s.
• You’ll get to enjoy the surroundings between groups. There is something relaxing about the ebb and flow of activity while watching, say, from behind a green. Staying in one spot also lends itself to getting to know your fellow sitting spectators, perhaps more so than walking, and also the volunteers posted at the hole.
• You’ll get to see at least a good part of the field as they pass by your spot, and you can compare how different players handle the same hole.
• At Wykagyl for the Sybase Classic, a good spot is behind the 8th green. It is shaded by trees and affords a terrific view of the second shots as the women pros come over the hill and into the green. The 9th hole is to your left, and restrooms and refreshments are a relatively short (but steep) walk up the hill to the clubhouse area.
• At Westchester for the Barclay’s Classic, a superb spot is to the golfer’s right of the 11th hole, under a huge tree. You can see where drives end up on this difficult par 4 and the long second shots it requires to a well-trapped and sloping green. Be prepared for second shots rattling around in the big tree. Restrooms and a refreshment stand are steps away, and during lulls in the action you can view golfers coping on the 16th green after tee shots on a long and difficult par 3.

Walking

• You’ll get some good exercise. Just so you don’t overdo it, remember that a course of 6,800 yards covers almost 4 miles just from tees to greens, and you can add another mile just getting from one hole to another through l8 holes. If the layout is hilly, of course, that adds to the effort and both Wykagyl and Westchester are mountain goat courses.
• You’ll get a feel for the course, and you can enjoy some varied scenery on the way. Sure, golf courses are not truly natural environments, but for the urban or suburban dweller, they sure beat malls and parking lots, which incidentally don’t supply habitats for plants and animals.
• You’ll see how the players in your group handle different situations and how each manages his or her game and the course. You’ll also get a good idea of the way the round is going for the players and how each handles adversity or success.

A side benefit of following a particular group is that you may, depending on the size of the gallery, get to know, at least in passing, relatives and spouses of the players, which will make the experience just that much more enjoyable.

Whether you walk or sit (or both) is up to you. The important thing is to get off the couch and out in the air in person.

Enjoy the show.

Call an old golf buddy! Relive the memories. He or she may become a new golf buddy for life.

Give your old clubs to a child or to a junior golf program! Are you really going to use them again? Most kids need clubs. The local golf shops can have them cut down to size, If necessary.

Attend a tour event. We have many in new york. You can watch close up how the professionals play and pick up some pointers.

See your swing on video tape! This can be a real eye opener. Preferably watch your swing in slow motion. If you are really daring, compare it against some of the tour professional’s swings.

Attend a golf school there are many available at many dIfferent price ranges. Most are in great locations. This will be a golf improvement vacation. You will improve by totally dedicating a few consecutive days to instruction. Try to find a school that is compatible with the swing style your golf coach endorses.

Take a series of lessons! If Tiger needs instruction so do the rest of us. We all need coaching. Pick a golf instructor and stick with them. There are many fine local PGA or LPGA professionals in our area. Take a lesson periodically to make sure your game is heading in the right direction.

Analyze your game! At a minimum, after each round count how many fairways you drove your ball onto, how many greens you hit in regulation, and how many putts you had. More statistics will help you to improve your game. This will let you and your coach know exactly where your game needs work.

Someone recently asked me to summarize the golf swing in five words or less. I stopped for a minute and thought, how could I possibly describe something that takes just over a second to perform and uses almost every muscle in the body in only five words.

I thought for a while – thinking if I had to answer this question to get into golf heaven, what would I say? Then, I blurted out, Two Turns and A Swish!

Could the golf swing be that simple? Do we complicate the movements we must complete to strike a golf ball properly? Is golf instruction too analytical? What does “Two Turns and a Swish” really mean?

The first “Turn” is the rotation of your upper body. Your shoulders turn around your spine approximately 90 degrees away from the target. For the right-handed golfer, the left shoulder ends up under the chin. A proper turn will push the arms, hands and club, back and up on the correct swing plane. As you turn, your weight shifts onto your back foot. The first turn also creates the coil or wind up in your backswing.

As soon as your shoulder reaches the chin the second “Turn” begins. Do not worry about where the golf club is. Let the momentum move the club and your arms. The golf club can still be going up as your second turn begins.

The second turn is the rotation of the hips. For the right-handed golfer, the left hip initiates the second turn. Ben Hogan described this turn as if someone is standing behind the golfer (facing the golfers back) and holding one end of a rope. The other end is attached to the golfers left hip belt loop. As the golf club nears the top of the swing, the person pulls gently on the rope initiating the second turn.

This second turn is an early twist. The hip does not move towards the target. Instead, it twists or rotates around. The second turn pulls your weight onto the front foot and pulls the club down and around. It creates the centrifugal force that straightens the arms and insures solid contact with the golf ball.

This turn is similar to the athletic move that can be observed in great players in many sports. Watch a baseball pitcher throwing or a tennis player serving or a football quarterback passing and you will see the hip pulling the arm, racquet, or football forward. The second turn is the hardest part to learn for the average golfer.

Finally, we need the all-important “Swish.” The swish is created by centrifugal force. Imagine a whip. The handle of the whip is moved relatively slowly. The handle moves past a certain point and “crack”. The end of the whip is pulled forward very fast.

This is how power can be created in the golf swing. Turn back with the shoulders. Turn forward with the hips. Allow the golf club to swish through the golf ball. Do not decelerate the golf club. Allow the club to swish through the ball.

A whip is not made with a steel bar. Whips are made with light, flexible, and tension-free material. To get a good loud swish, your arms should feel light, flexible, and tension free when you start your golf swing. The momentum created by the swish will lengthen your arms as you swing through the golf ball. More relaxed wrists will allow for a greater snap and better release.

Sometimes it’s hard for me to believe it can be that easy, but it is. This is certainly the best way to simplify those ever-present swing thoughts. The next time you head out to the first tee, your only thoughts should be “Two Turns and a Swish.”

Good Golfing!

By Bill Castner, PGA