play the 17th at TPC Sawgrass

When I was a golf professional with the TPC network, I played the Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass twice.

Since everybody asks, "what did you do on 17?" I'll give you my mental play by play as the best as I can remember it.

FIRST TIME:

• Oh, the green is bigger than I expected.
• Flag is front right, just like the final round. Cool.
  
• 8 Iron? I've been hitting it short and right. Better go with 7.
• 7 from 140? Maybe 8. No ego man, go with the 7.
• Uh Oh. Its my turn. I can do this.
• Got it. Start your routine.
• Did the wind just switch?
• Too late now. You've started your backswing.
• Keep going.
  
• Blocked it again.
• Uh oh. It's not gonna make it. No way.
  
• No splash?
• It must be in the bunker.
• I'm dry! I'm dry!

Fast forward to the green

• I'm in the bunker.
• Better take an extra ball from the back just in case I skull it.
• Better make a joke about it just to cover up the nerves.
• Man, this bunker is tiny! Who would hit it here?
• Don't skull it. Don't hit it fat.
• Start routine now. Do it, man.
  
• Wow, that's perfect!
• You got a two-footer to make 3!
• You can do it.
• You can, really.
• Head still. Follow through.
• I just made 3 on the 17th hole at TPC Sawgrass!
  

SECOND TIME (I'll get to the highlights:)

• You made three here last time.
• Downwind - 8 or 9?
• Let's go 9. Rip it.
  
• Uh Oh. That's thin.
  
• Splash.
• Don't do that again. Hit 8.
• Wow, that looks good.
• Wow, that looks stiff!
• That's a tap-in.
• I just made a one-putt four on the 17th at Sawgrass!
• Could have been much worse.

For the record, I shot 82 both times I played at TPC Sawgrass. It is my favorite golf course I've ever played.

then try to find a course that doesn't have at least one good hole

Today I gave my second golf lesson of the year. After the lesson, I decided to sling my clubs over my shoulder and play one of my favorite short "loops" at Nittany Country Club. - the 5th, 8th, and 9th holes.

Nittany Country Club is a small, private club in Central Pennsylvania. It has a Bellefonte (pronounced "bellfont") mailing address, but it ironically hides down a narrow road near one of the smallest post offices I've ever seen. (I should post a picture of it. I've seen golf course halfway houses larger than this post office!) Depending on who you ask, Nittany Country Club is either in Zion, Bellefonte or Mingoville. Small town, small golf course.

As I played the ninth hole today, I realized that this short, quirky 3000 yard golf course (that you play twice to play 18) features some holes that I really, really enjoy for their subtle challenges and unusual features.

• The first hole has an extremely wide fairway but an extremely narrow entrance to the green.
• The second hole has perhaps the smallest green I've ever seen.
• The third hole has two greens - a short uphill par five the first time, a short, severe dogleg right the second time.
• The fourth hole is a long par three looking down over the beauty of Central PA
• The fifth has perhaps the second smallest green I've ever seen. Half of it is sloped so severely it will never see a hole location.
• The sixth is a short par five that I just can't seem to reach in two.
• The seventh is a short par four featuring a very, very tight tee shot and a large tree to left about 100 yards out. (Its even named after a member who demands it's removal!)
• The eighth is a short par three with two triangular mounds framing the entrance of the green. They don't interfere with your shot - just your view of the green. Never seen anything quite like it.

The ninth is as good and as stern as any hole I've played anywhere. Large trees frame the tee shot on this uphill dogleg left that plays about 440 yards. Into a cool early spring breeze today, it took a solid drive, a punched four iron (yeah! I laid up!) and a short pitch with a lob wedge to earn my my two-putt five.

This hole makes me reminds me of something I've known for a while; It is very difficult to find a course, no matter how rural or "low-end," that doesn't have at least one really good hole on it. At Nittany Country Club, its the ninth!

Any comments about your favorite hole on your ordinary course?

try living in the North!

Living in Central Pennsylvania, I could have it worse, but, man, do we have a long winter!

Frankly, I do like it. I love golf but it is good for me, my family, my students, and my sanity to get away for a few months. I don't travel South to play; I just wait it out.

Recently, however, I transferred my clubs from their hibernation corner in our bedroom into the trunk of the car. I've heard the practice green at a nearby golf course call my name and I think I'll soon reply with a visit. In the back seat, I've placed two extra jackets (a legitimate need through May) and a new hat that I ordered from VistaPrint.

The hat is fairly symbolic for me. Prior to that and for several years, I always wore a personalized cap that was provided for me by a major manufacturer through my job. As a TPC golf professional, this manufacturer was very, very kind to me and provided, frankly, anything I asked for free of charge. When I lost my job, however, I also lost that arrangement. It is time to move on.

The hat reads:

Earn "Income for Life" from Home
www.website.ws/kbpga

The website links to a promotion piece provided by Global Domains International, a stable and growing company that offers one of the best opportunities online. Those that work online are almost certainly familiar with GDI, but the average person "on the street" has never heard of it. I don't do my best work hiding behind a computer screen, so hopefully I can drum up a conversation or two.

Back to Golf!

Here's a few suggestions regarding getting back into "the swing of things." (get it? swing? punny, I know)
You've heard all of them before, but they are worth repeating:

• Stretch - a lot!
• Swing a weighted club
• Chip and pitch a lot to work on your balance, tempo, and feel (I'd give you that advice in October, however)
• Schedule a series of lessons with your PGA professional. This is the time of the year to make swing changes. Do it before the season really gets established and while you're re-learning your feel and swing anyway.
• Check your equipment, especially your grips, to be sure there isn't something in your bag that keeps you from playing better.

As always, I welcome your comments and questions.

All the best!

then tell tell me: does video instruction really help?

I know its even risky to mention this, but I have to ask:

Is video instruction really valuable for the average player? The guy struggling to break 100? The guy looking to lose the slice, gain 20 yards, and do so with moderate effort in minimal time?

We all know the upsides of video. Aside from a great "upsell" for the professional, video instruction offers the following:

• A dream come true for the visual learner.... if he can get over the shock value: ("Does my swing really look THAT bad?")
• The opportunity to compare yourself "frame by frame" to somebody who plays for a really, really good living.
• The chance to see the motion of your club as it moves through impact. After all, there is nothing more important than that.

Although I don't use video instruction, I'm not opposed to it in theory. I think it can be tremendously valuable if used properly. I don't use it simply because I don't have it, and from a "business" standpoint it doesn't make sense for me to really seek it out. If you use video as a STUDENT, let me give you the following suggestions:

• Don't be discouraged. Your swing probably won't look as good as you expect it to, but that's OK. There is a lot more to being a good player than being a good swinger.
• Don't play "traffic cop" and let your instructor set priorities with you. If you want, you can find something "wrong" with a position in just about everybody's swing. If the top players aren't an exception, then neither are you. Remember, there is a lot more to being a good player than being a good swinger.
• Don't become a pretty-boy swinger with pretty fundamentals at the expense of a solid short game and course management savvy. As I like to say, there is a lot more to being a good player than being a good swinger.
• Remember that the top instructors get into heated debates about what grips, positions, and swing philosophies are correct. You will, to some degree, be subject to your instructors biases. Thankfully, there is a lot more to being a good player than being a good swinger.

I look at it this way. Most of the greatest players in history never used video as they learned the game. They learned to understand their contact and ball flight tendencies, and they based their learning around those results. I understand that times are changing and the top players use video as a resource now, but I doubt that any of them would tell you that video can replace the feel and understanding of ball flight principles.

As an instructor, I've always done my very best to teach a student to be able to see a ball in flight and answer this two-part question:

"According to the ball flight, the club path was__________ and the clubface was____________."

If a student couldn't answer that question accurately, quickly, and with confidence, then we weren't ready to move on to talk about body parts, positions, and theory. I'm convinced many students out there have never answered that question accurately, quickly and with confidence - therefore, they aren't ready for video anyway.

Please leave a comment or email me at kbless@pga.com

All the best!

KBPGA