TreeLight Golf Page

Articles

Rules & Strategies

• Have more fun: Play for Barbies!
  A simple scoring trick can make it easier to keep score and make things a lot more fun.
   
• The Stupidest Penalty in Golf (stroke and distance)
  Slow play is the curse of the weekend golfer. Compounding that problem is the stupidest penalty in golf.
   
• Pace of Play (and how to improve it)
   
• What's wrong with Distance Apps? (answer: nothing)
  Free apps give you a "plays as" distance based on elevation changes and weather-report wind speed.
  Why outlaw them?
   
• Why You Want "Inverted Stableford" Scoring
  It makes the game faster, and more fun. What's not to like?
  

The Swing

• Why You Want Ben Hogan's "Power Fade" (and how to get it)
• Swinging a Golf Club - Without Slicing

Putting

• The Art of Putting
  A colelction of notes on things that work for me.

• Three Great Putting Drills
  These drills give you the tools you need to score. And they're fun!

• Putting Games
  Ways to spend time on the putting green having fun with your friends.

• Golf is a Game of "Pretty Good"
  The multiple meanings of that phrase, and what it means to play that way.
   
• When a Ball Moves on the Green (the new rule)

Short Game & Recovery

• Lots to do, here. It's an important subject, with many shots to be saved or gained. But it's one with many variations!
  • Recovery: Fairway bunkers, high shot over trees, low shot under trees, behind a tree or shrub, next to a tree or shrub--and that's before thinking about intentional hooks and slices to get out of trouble.
  • Short game: Greenside bunkers (short and long shots), long pitches, bump and run, long chips, hop and stop, back-upper, off-green putts, off-green iron putts, off-green hybrid putts.)

Tee to Green

• Finding the Right Ball Position
  Ball position makes a lot of difference. Because of the way the swing travels in an arc, it makes the ball go low or high, and contribures to pushes, pulls, hooks, and slices.

• Keys to the Golf Swing
  What started as a short collection of notes is turning into a small book! (When all the keys are in place, the ball flies high, long, and straight. And that's a lot more fun!)

Psychological and Spiritual

• Golf and Fear: The Art of Relaxing Under Pressure
  Golf's real lesson may be in overcoming fear -- in learning the art of deep, internal relaxation in the face of pressure.

• Zen, Golf, and Freedom (will be available online after publication)
  Experiencing true inner freedom through golf.

General

• Golfer's Guide to Grasses
  What different grasses look like, where you're likely to find them, and how they affect your shot.
   
• Finding a Good Teacher (orignally published in Golf Today magazine)
  A "good" teacher is the right teacher--right for your ability level and for your swing. Finding one that's right for your ability level isn't all that hard. But finding one that's right for your particular swing is real trick. Even touring professionals have made fatal miscalculations in that regard, and some previously stellar performers are now struggling.

• Golf Resources  (old, incomplete)
  Stuff you can use to improve your game.

• The Daily Dozen Golf Exercises  (old, incomplete)
  A dozen exercises you can do at home to build a golf swing that will get your around the course in style. (Most of these exercises come directly from my lessons with Ed Tischler. Ed has a lot more to teach than I'll ever be able to put into words, so by all means read his books and set up lessons with him at the Pin High golf center in Alviso, California.)

Pictures

Photos from Pebble Beach, taken by golfing buddy Jim Holmlund. For more, go here.