Fairway Bunkers on World Golf Tour

This is my first post about the World Golf Tour. If you don’t already know, the World Golf Tour (wgt.com) is an incredibly addicting online golf game.

One of my only complaints about the game is how they treat fairway bunkers.

They key to playing fairway bunkers is accepting that you have to hit a recovery shot. In all of my experience, I have never had a better than 30% lie in the bunker. It doesn’t matter how softly your ball rolls into the bunker, you simply will not get a clean lie.

This can be frustrating and confusing because in real life you frequently can take a full swing from the fairway bunker.

So here are some simple rules of thumb to survive the World Golf Tour fairway bunkers:

Club selection

With a decent lie in real life you can often get any iron or hybrid easily on the ball… not so in World Golf Tour. So don’t try to be a hero. Continue reading

My Trip to Pebble Beach – Part 2 Spanish Bay

See part 1 of my trip to Pebble Beach here:

Day 2 on the Monterrey Peninsula and we had a morning tee time at Spanish Bay. Spanish Bay of course is not as well known as Pebble or Spyglass Hill, but it is a real gem. It shares many of the ocean views of Pebble, although with less dramatic cliffs.

Spanish Bay

It is a fun layout and a bit easier than Pebble and Spyglass.

Hole #1 is a 460 yard par 5 with the green on the ocean. I ripped my driver down the middle and then stuck a 3 iron about 20 feet from the pin and 2 putted for birdie. I finished the day with a respectable (for me) 86. Continue reading

Perfect Impact System Review

I’ve been playing golf now for about 6 years and have tried all sorts of things over the years to improve. New clubs, lessons, books, videos, magazines, trainings aids you name it… Some of these things helped my game but to put it bluntly, a lot of them were a waste of time and money.

That said it is really important to take advantage of the better instructional products out there. Figuring it out on your own is NOT a good option… at least it wasn’t for me.

If I was starting out as a golfer today, knowing what I know now, I would seek out more instruction as a beginner. I definitely developed some bad habits that set me back a few years by trying to figure it out on my own in the beginning.

Well about 2 months ago I came across the Perfect Impact System, an online video training course. Normally I’m pretty skeptical about buying things online but this one seemed to have a lot of good reviews and it came with a 2 month money back guarantee, so I thought what the heck.

Well I’m glad I did because the Perfect Impact System has been a real game changer for me, and I think a lot of you could benefit from it as well. Continue reading

My Trip to Pebble Beach – Part 1

Last summer I made the ultimate golfer’s pilgrimage… a trip out to the Monterrey Peninsula to play Pebble Beach, Spyglass Hill, and Spanish Bay. It was the trip of a life time and if you can swing it I would recommend it for any serious golf fan!

Now I’m not going to lie, it wasn’t cheap. 3 rounds of golf and 2 nights in the hotel alone was over $2,000. Plus you can plan on spending a bunch more on meals, a rental car (which you will need), and souvenirs.

We arrived at night and checked into The Inn at Spanish Bay. The hotel was great, with views of Spanish Bay and the ocean, great dining options, and a nice spa… Even if you aren’t into the spa you might change your mind after packing in 3 rounds of golf! The first night was early to bed because we had a morning tee time at Pebble!

Day 1 was at Pebble Beach and it was spectacular! It was a perfect day and the course is even more beautiful than in pictures. Also for a golf nut like myself, it was exciting to be walking the same fairways where so many great moments in the history of the game occurred.

Pebble Beach #6

Continue reading

Finally Went for a Club Fitting!

For years I have been reading about how I needed to go for a club fitting… but I’d been putting it off. I guess I thought of it like all the other things we are “supposed to do.” You know, like flossing or eating more vegetables.

Well turns out club fitting is really painless, and something I’d recommend anyone go do.

I went to my local pro, who had me hit balls off of a special lie board (basically a piece of hard rubber) that marks where the sole of your club makes contact with the ground. By doing this, he was able to determine that my clubs were about 2 degrees too upright for my swing. He explained that the rule of thumb is for every 1 degree too upright, your ball will fly 4 yards left of your target… which means every time I lined up to the ball I was really aiming 8 yards left! Continue reading