River Ridge Golf Club - West Houston, Katy Texas

Tips From Our PGA Pro, Trey Birchum:

Random Thoughts

Ask and the golf gods shall grant you…

...a 36 hole major championship final day- now that’s cool....There are going to be some very good high school golf teams in the Katy area for the spring 2009 season- a heads up now- there may be 4 or 5 kids from the Katy area alone playing in the state tournament next spring with a chance to win it....A note to parents- when you’re out playing with the young ones and enjoying getting to spend some time with your kids, please keep in mind that you are teaching them as well, whether you realize it or not. So is it really necessary for you to pull the cart up 2 inches from the bunker and 2 feet from the green so you can putt out? Just asking....Best of luck to all the local football teams this fall; coming from a family of coaches, that is one job I can honestly say does not get enough credit. If you ask almost any successful person, man or woman, most of them will acknowledge a coach or educator that was a positive and difference-making influence in their life. Thanks for all that you ladies and gentlemen do for our kids and our future. “Hey, the pay’s not great, but at least you get to work a lot of hours...” Thanks for the soapbox, folks. See ya next week.

Waterfalls

Do you ever have problems reading greens? Are you just not sure how or if that putt breaks? Try this if nothing else works for you…

Imagine you are standing at your ball and tossed a bucket of water onto the green in front of you. Which way would the water run off? Because that is how your putt will break. If you’re playing early enough in the morning, you can see the spots underneath humps and ridges where the dew and water from the sprinklers has accumulated. There is your lowest point- you know the water is going to run off in those directions. Now try to envision that back to your ball and you can pick a line. Of course you still have to have the correct speed to make it, but at least you’ve given yourself a chance of having your ball take a peek at the bottom of the cup.

What’s the right club?

Do you know how far you hit your irons? The reason I ask is because I consistently see amateurs hitting their iron shots short of the green. When I ask them what they used for their 150 yard shot that they left short and in the bunker, I inevitably hear 7-iron or 8-iron…

Here is the issue; if you had hit that 7 or 8 iron on the screws, you possibly could be pin high. That is about as far as you could possibly hit that club. Now think about this..How many times during a round (or in your life, for that matter) have you hit a shot perfectly on the center of the clubface? Probably not as many times as you’ve missed it, right? So why when you are figuring distance do you figure for a perfect shot when you are likely NOT going to hit it perfect? If instead you took the yardage to the back of the green or just past the flag and took the club for that distance, you’ve given yourself room for error. If you hit it perfect, you’re on just past the pin. If you miss it slightly, you’re still on the green below the flag. If you miss it badly, well..you missed it badly and you need to call me for lessons. Try it your next round and see what happens.

What are these long things for?

What does your lower body do during the swing? I’m not asking what is it supposed to do, I mean what is it really doing? Do you know...have you looked? I promise you a whole lot of you would be surprised if you saw it on video or really looked in a mirror.

I see a lot (to clarify- almost all) amateurs who slide their lower body from side to side in their swing. Since I see that so often just looking out on the range, I’m going to throw a word out there for all of you to repeat like a mantra: ROTATE. I repeat.. ROTATE. That means to turn, like a coil, like a bed spring, like a rattlesnake about to strike. Not do some kind of Justin Timberlake stage move slide from your right foot to your left. That’s not rotating or turning or coiling. That’s just a decent dance move that may help your social life but robs your power, distance and control on the golf course. And while I realize that some of you may need help with your social life and/or dance moves, I charge a lot more for that than to teach you to play golf.

What are you looking at?

The question for you this week is what are you looking at when you play a hole? Are you looking at the pretty trees and creeks? Do you just see the bunkers and the green in front of you? How many of you look at your tee box? ...

I mean really look at it. How many times have you lined up a shot by aligning yourself with the angle and/or cut of the tee box, hit it and ended up 20 yards away from the fairway. You then proceed to have a minor attack of self-flagellation, curse yourself out for such a bad shot and head down the cart path. Guess what- you didn’t hit a bad shot. In fact, you probably hit a relatively good shot. Exactly where you were aiming, 20 yards right of the fairway. Because you used the tee box to line yourself up on the tee. Let me let you folks in on a little secret...Course designers are diabolical. Part of their job and intention is to throw you off and make you think more than you would like. And tee box alignment on a hole is a large part of the process. The next time you play, stand behind each tee box and see where it aims you. You’ll be surprised at how many holes on any given course aim you into trouble off the tee- that is what the designer intended. You have to think a little to play this game; you can’t just hop out of the cart and hit. Well, I guess you can...but if you play that way, don’t complain too much about your score; the course is only partly to blame.

All Pro Golf

I had the pleasure this past week to play in our State Pro/ Assistant Tournament with our Assistant Professional Jim Apple. We played Horseshoe Bay Resort in Marble Falls and had a wonderful time. I would like to state for the record that Mr. Apple is a very good player who had the burden of carrying his less than stellar Head Professional around for more than a few holes, and he did an exemplary job…

I would also like to state that there is a ridiculous amount of extremely good players in this great state of ours. I don’t know if any of you have had the pleasure to play the courses at Horseshoe Bay, but I’m telling you they are not easy courses. And some of the pros in the event absolutely lit it up, to the tune of almost 25 teams finishing under par in a 2 day Best Ball format. Take that, coupled with this week’s Chronicle story about the excellent state of junior golf in the Houston area, and I’ll go out on a limb and tell you that you golf is flourishing in Texas. It is my honor and privilege to be a small part of such a great game at a great time.

My golf game needs an exorcist.

Three putts. Blocks into the woods. Fat shots. Thin shots. Hosel rockets. Anything sound remotely familiar? Sometimes I find myself getting so mad at how a shot ends up, that I forget to think about the process that led to the shot…

Did I visualize the shot? Did I get aligned correctly for the shot I envisioned? Did I set up in good posture? Did I make the swing I wanted to make? If you think about those types of things after a bad shot, you can usually pin the result on one (or multiple) things you did wrong before you hit the shot. Now lets make one thing clear; I’m not advocating going through a 30 point pre-shot routine checklist before every shot. I believe that 75% of the golf public takes too long to hit a shot now. But you have to have a clear, concise thought about every shot you hit and commit to that thought on every shot. Even if the thought is “Hit this 12-incher into the back of the cup,” you had better commit. Concentrate a little more on the process instead of the result next time out. See how it goes. It might make the results better, or at the least, easier to stomach.

Kids Are Cool

Our first junior clinic for the summer was this past week, and I have to say for the record that kids are cool. Watching their eyes light up when they hit a shot right for the first time or when they make a long putt is why I do what I do…

And it makes me less and less patient for the guy who spends half of his round cussing and throwing clubs around because he didn’t hit the ball perfect. Watching little ones whack it and chase it down the fairway before it’s finished rolling gives a whole new perspective on the game. This game is fun. Or at least it is supposed to be. But we get so wrapped up in what our score is or what the bet is that we lose all perspective. Lighten up!! That 3 footer you missed to blow the Nassau just isn’t that big in the overall scheme. Let yourself have a little fun while you’re out here.....isn’t that the point?

Have you been out to River Ridge lately?

The greens are perfect, the trees are thick and the fairways are playing fast. If you haven’t been out recently, you’re missing one of the best courses in the city in it’s best condition. Thanks to Bret Barclay and Glen Noska and their crew for giving us one of the finest facilities in the state.

Why Are My Golf Shots So Short?

Why Am I So Short? How long have you been playing that ball? Is it the same ball you were playing 2 years ago? If you have the same clubs and the same swing as two years ago, but you’re not hitting it as far, here is a possible solution. You are getting older…

I know you don’t want to hear that, but laws of physics and humanity dictate that it is true. So there is a pretty good chance that, since you are getting older, your clubhead speed is getting slower. If your clubhead speed is slower, the ball will not go as far. The differences between “Tour” balls like a Titleist Pro V1 and “Mid-Level” balls like a Precept are negligible in distance for the best players. But there is a substantial difference in distance for players with a 80 mph- 95 mph clubhead speed, which about 75% of the golfing public falls into. So try a different, harder ball next time out. See if you notice a difference not only in distance, but control. You may find that you just need to switch balls to get your old distance back.

The Cyborg, Tiger Woods

All hail the Cyborg Woods. All fall at the feet of our new leader. Sent from the future to decimate the hopes and dreams of all professional golfers, the Cyborg Woods will lead us to the new millenium…

Having all limbs intact and working is not crucial for the Cyborg Woods to conquer your puny earth golf courses. Once repairs on the frame and infrastructure to the machine are complete, the Cyborg Woods will compete for the Interstellar Championship hosted on Persei 9 moon of Jupiter in March of 2010. His leading competitors will be the Sun Monster of Mars with his flaming ball of death tee ball, and Hypno Frog from Venus and his incomparable short game and mental acuity. Mickelson, Scott, Garcia, etc. have proven to be no match for the Cyborg Woods and he must continue his galaxy exploration to find a worthy adversary. Updates will follow…

It’s Getting Hot!

It’s getting hot. I know you’re all shocked by that revelation. Yet I still have to remind players to drink plenty of water when on the course…

I know it’s fun to have a few adult beverages during your round; a lot of times, that is basically the point. But please remember to mix in a water or a sports drink from time to time to replenish some minerals and electrolytes. Believe me, I don’t want to call an ambulance for you, and you don’t want my big ugly face giving you mouth to mouth. Drink plenty of fluids and keep a wet towel handy to keep you cooled off. And oh yeah,....sunscreen.

Sit in the Chair

I was playing here last week and noticed how few flat lies Mr. Riviere gave us in the fairways of our beautiful little course…

I hit some frankly ugly shots before realizing that I was not in a posture consistent with the slope of the lies I was hitting from. The best tip I ever received about sidehill and downhill lies was to “Sit in the chair”. If the ball is below your feet, you sit in a short chair. If it is well above your feet, sit in a tall chair. The key is trying to reduce the amount of movement in your lower body when playing from an awkward lie. The less your lower body moves on these shots, the more consistent your contact with the ball will be. Give it a try.

Splash the Sand

I was watching a group of golfers play through the 9th hole here by the clubhouse last week; 2 of them were in the front bunker, and the 3rd in the left hand bunker…

The first one out of the front bunker almost hit me at the clubhouse with his bunker shot. The second one in the front bunker took 2 swings to get out. The third gentleman in the left bunker took a nice, controlled swing, I see sand flying through the air, and a ball landing 3 feet from the hole and run up to about a foot out. It reinforced for me the thought that, in a bunker, unless there are extreme circumstances, YOU HAVE TO HIT THE SAND!! I understand that hitting the ground and inch behind the ball is counter to normal thinking. I know that you have fears of not getting it out at all. Quit being afraid! That is what the club is designed for- to get the ball up and out. Trust your equipment- try to picture the ball being George Washington’s face as you splash a dollar bill sized piece of sand out of the bunker. Try it on the practice grounds a couple of times and you will realize that it’s a lot easier to hit a bunker shot than to try to pick a ball cleanly- you’ve actually got more room for error. Practice it a little and take it out on the course- let me know the results.

Fairways, greens and one putts.....

Trey Birchum
PGA Head Professional, River Ridge Golf Club
email: tbirchum AT riverridgegolfclub.com