ShortOffTheTee

I didn't call anyone an idiot. Most of the golfers I play with show very little imagination with their bagful of sticks. They anticipate hitting their so called stock shots with each club and moan and groan when they don't pull them off as expected. At best, 50% of their shots actually achieve acceptable outcomes but they stick to the same old, same old. I don't call this idiotic but it is rather unimaginative and very conformist to the norm.

I took up skiing this winter - mid December - and its the only sport/activity that I have attempted to learn since my teenage years. As you all know, I regard myself as a damn good golf coach, but having taken lessons from various ski instructors, their teaching methods have been quite an eye-opener for me regarding the KISS concept. I dare say there are some - lets baffle him with science and he'll think I'm cleverer than most - out there, but the four instructors I have used so far have kept it very simple. To a man/woman, they have brought me to a skill level that I never thought could be attained in such a short time and although, performance-wise, there are peaks and troughs, traveling on red slopes at 40+ mph within 5 weeks (45 hours on the slopes) rarely falling or losing my balance seems remarkable. The instructors don't dwell on stance and posture because they know most if not all students get it on their own. They don't methodically tell you how to grip your sticks/poles, they know you have a good natural tendency to do that instinctively. Balance isn't something that can be taught and they seem to understand that fully. They basically give a few pointers regarding ski positions and which edges to use along with good pole planting and let gravity take care of the rest Therefore... Is skiing a harder or easier sport to learn than golf? Is it physically and mentally more or less challenging than golf. Why do skiers begin to look pretty graceful after a few weeks and many golfers, no matter how long they play, never fall into that bracket? Why didn't the ski instructors use super slow motion video and trackman to help me get to a particular proficiency level? In truth, are we over complicating golf which in comparison is a rather simple sport to learn? I say we should adopt a KISS approach to our game and perhaps golfers will then have as much fun on the fairways as skiers are having on the pistes.

If you read the two sentences after that sweeping generalisation, you will notice that I did explain what I meant by 'use correctly'. I will however concede that my explanation was rather brief.

So why is it then, that it's the player who can putt well, who will always sort the men out from the boys?

Having taken part in another similar post, the fact that we play 40% of the game with the putter and we feel we need 13 for the other 60% just seems wrong. If we can apply feel to the use of the putter then why can't we be more versatile with the other clubs in the bag instead of trying to emulate the pros who dedicate much more time to finessing distance and tragectory etc???

IMO the only club in the bag that that most of us tend to use correctly is the putter. Using something that is referred to as touch, we adjust the swing length to the corresponding length of putt. I think golfers should apply 'touch' to every club in the bag and for most players that would probably mean carrying less clubs.

Hi Dave, there's a big difference between a 30 and 12 handicapper but FYI, I have mostly carried no more than 9 clubs in all, 5 irons, 3 woods and a putter. I used to play off 2, so I am familiar with sub 80 rounds, but the years have caught up on me and as my name suggests I don't get the ball out there as far as I did in the past

I agree that a tour pro or top amateur can justify carrying a bagful of irons but to attempt to convince Tailgater, a self confessed 100+ player, that he should attempt to play the same game as the more accomplished player is just plain ludicrous. I would advise all players who shoot 80+ to consider what the OP suggests.