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The strokes you take on the green during your golf game wind up being about 40 percent of your score. Wild, isn't it? We spend $500 on drivers to gain 10 yards and give it all away in just one or two three-putts and/or missed four-footers. As a corollary, we could use a 1970's laminated driver with some knock-off, found-in-the-garage irons and score the same as our most technologically advanced pals if we just shaved a few strokes off our putting game.

I know, "drive for show, putt for dough." is what the guys that can't hit the bomb are always saying. I know that the guy that pounds it farthest is "The Man". OK. I have been playing for over forty years and am on average one the longest hitters in the groups I hang with. That being said, my best rounds (and most Nassau wins) have been when I reign in the big swing and drain some putts.

Over the last twenty-five years my handicap has remained fairly constant around twelve to thirteen. That has been in the face of declining frequency of play and plowing through the fifty year-old barrier. How? Putting!

Putting is simply a combination of three key ingredients:

1. Mind
2. Reading
3. Execution

In this article I address the mind. No smoke, no mirrors, just how you mentally approach your putting.

Some years ago, I was reading some self-improvement books and came upon one that was something like "Learn While You Sleep". I just tried to find it by goggling and couldn't locate the exact book. That is not important. What is important is not the techniques taught in the book, but the concept that I came away with and have held ever since. The book was about letting your subconscious train your conscience during sleep, but I found that I could convince myself of certain things while fully conscious. This is the old "talk yourself into it" concept.

years after I read this book and while putting on a practice green, I drained a few 20 footers. I stepped back and realized that before I had made those putts, I expected that they were going to fall. The hole was huge, the ball was a bee-bee and my putter was a target rifle. Without realizing it, I had convinced myself of future success.

If you believe you will make the putt, you will have a great chance of making that putt. If you can't find that comfort, step back and gain the confidence. If you can't get it during that round, fine, get on the practice green later and gain it. If I did this with my garage-sale putter, lack of confidence, and intermittent jeering of pals, you easily can do it.

As positive as this article is, I hate to bring in the negative. I do so only to remind you of what you have felt so many times. "I can't make this putt but I hope to get it close enough so that I have a gimmee." "It's down hill with a good bit of break; hope I can two-putt it."

Horse manure! You own the green! Three-putt? That is what your opponents do. You are a putting machine. Your putts eat the holes up. Now go out there and prove yourself correct. Stayed tuned for the next two articles on reading greens and then the technique to swat that beebee in the bushel basket.

Randall Ulbricht works from home sharing information via several web sites, including:
Article Outlet and
Family Tree Templates

posted by 46124  # 11:59 PM 0 comments

What you will notice when you arrive at Territory golf Club and make your way to the clubhouse is a rolling prairie landscape. What you will also notice is wetlands and streams running through the property. What you won't notice is an abundance of trees. This is what you see about the property from the parking lot. Because looks can be deceiving, what you will later discover is the tale of two golf courses. All of the hole on the front nine, as well as, holes 10 and 18 are situated on rolling prairie with a compliment of native grasses in the rough and other places that you are not supposed to hit your golf ball. holes 11 through 17 are cut out of an oak forest that also features wetlands and streams along with some significant elevation changes.

Territory golf Club plays to a par of 72 and measures 6,921 yards from the back tee markers. The course rating, from the back tees, is 72.9 and has a slope index of 125. There are four sets of tee markers, which means there is an appropriate yardage for golfers of all skills.

The management team consisting of Brock Swanson, head golf professional, Dan Stang, golf course superintendent and Dan Dols, general manager make sure that the players experience is outstanding. The course condition and the pace of play make Territory golf Club a golf course that you will want to place on your list of places to play in central minnesota. My playing partner and I played our round on a weekend morning and completed our play in just less than four hours. There were groups in front of and behind us and the pace of play flowed nicely.

The greens at Territory golf Club are quite large, averaging nearly 7,000 square feet each and have significant undulation. These two factors make club selection as you approach the green critical. Just being on the green in regulation does not guarantee that you will have two putts for a par. My playing partner for the round described the greens a looking like "big potato chips" referring the random shapes as well as the wavy appearance as you walk onto the putting surface.

Another challenge at Territory golf Club is the sand traps. The traps can generally be described as large, deep and having steep faces on them. Getting out of the traps successfully should be your first concern, getting close to the pin should be of secondary importance.

The back nine plays longer than the front nine with number 10 and number 18 being the two longest holes on the golf course. The par-3 holes are longer-range holes with the shortest playing at 170 yards and the longest playing at 245 yards.

If you are looking for a challenging golf course to play in central minnesota I would certainly check out Territory golf Club in St. Cloud. You can call for a tee a time at 320-258-4653 or visit their website at http://www.territorygc.com for more details.

Dana Buttenhoff is an avid golfer and a native Minnesotan. After 20 years of golf and traveling around the USA, Dana would like to share the golf gems rural minnesota has to offer: http://www.minnesotaruralgolf.com

posted by 46124  # 2:15 PM 0 comments