The most powerful word in Golf

[@paulhorrocks4868]

It’s easy to lose focus when you’re on the course, thinking too much (over thinking). I’m still working on your advice Simon and will keep you posted on my progress. I really do appreciate the value of this video👍🏻👏🏻🏌🏻‍♂️⛳️. Love your laugh, when you hole a putt, it’s very infectious 😂😂😂

[@thehairygolfer]

You do lose focus Paul. It's easy to say it and difficult to do it. I've had a few laughs recently with long putts. It's just so unexpected. What I like is hitting 2 awful shots and then getting up and down. Thankyou. Get out of jail card used. Cheers

[@michaelswisher8630]

Great video. I am a 73-year-old American living in Austria. I am now playing the best golf of my life. I used to break 90 maybe 1 round out of 10. Now I hit in the 80's 9 times out of 10. The reason for this is that I have practised chipping and pitching a lot, really a lot, and have become very good at it ( well, for an old amateur, that is). I would also recommend to anyone looking to break 90 consistently to take at least 2 lessons with a pro and do exactly as he tells you. Don't spend money on that new driver, spend it on lessons. The reason for at least 2 lessons is that you will inevitably falll back into the old bad habits. You mention carts. In the U.S., at least 90% of golfers use carts (buggies) and it is killing the game there. When so many use carts it slows the game down tremendously. Plus, you get practically no exercise and you don't really experience the course in a meaningful way. I love playing in Europe where that percentage is reversed (actually you are spot on when you say 99 % of players walk). P.S. Sorry for the rambling post.

[@thehairygolfer]

Fantastic golf. Playing in the 80's is really good golf, if I may say 'at your age'. I hope I will be able to copy you in years to come. Agree on the short game and multiple lessons. One lesson and it's never going to stick even if you got it in the first place. I like a short game lesson (having one tomorrow) just because you learn so much from that at the important end of the game. Golf carts can be intimidating even if the drivers are not intending to be intimidating. They just appear behind you from nowhere and they don't want to play at walking pace. I always thought the rule was if you had 4 guys you put a hooker and a slicer in each cart to slow it down. Thankyou for the long comment, I love hearing what other people are doing and I like to learn from them. Cheers

[@kevinmcanulty2593]

most powerful word in my golf vocabulary is "IF" great video raising very good points, thanks

[@thehairygolfer]

If only is so funny after a round. Had a mate do that and he figured if he could of kept the ball in play it would of been a 76 or something low. But he didn't. Question is what do you do with If only?

[@leemeadows5764]

Love the idea of being aware of the negative spots on the whole, but focus on the positive spot to land your ball whilst on the shot. Nicely done sir

[@thehairygolfer]

I'm off to Thailand soon, no shortage of water, jungle and sand to focus the mind there. You have to find positive thoughts or you are lost. Plus a dozen balls. Cheers

[@leemeadows5764]

Enjoy your visit and if you get chance would love to see some videos while your there Simon

[@thehairygolfer]

@@leemeadows5764 My last one before I retire, I have a very good wife and I have no complaints. It can't go on forever. Need a lottery win! I fly out on a friday night and land on Phuket at 7pm on saturday. 7 hour time difference now our clocks have gone back. Sunday would be lazing around and trying to get over some jetlag (takes me a week) but I'm going to the nearest course to use the range amd the putting green, then I booked a tee time. Greenfee, caddy and golf cart plus taxi for £91 on a sunday isn't bad. I'm expecting to play poorly. 15 rounds of golf and some excursions. Cheers

[@malthuswasright]

Possibly your best video. The human brain is great at translating "don't" into "do", so you end up hitting into the hazards you really didn't want to hit. And playing for bogey is absolutely fine. Incidentally if someone catches me up on 16 onwards, generally I don't worry about hurrying because the amount of time they would gain if I called them through is negligible.

[@thehairygolfer]

Thankyou. You're right there, don'ts become do's in a blink of the eye. We all fail at it from time to time. I was playing along quite happily and then this cart appears at what seemed to be 100mph. I let the pressure get to me of people being in the fairway waiting before I had even walked onto the green.

[@scottthescrew]

Loving the use of “6 IORN” at 12.27. Nobody’s perfect even if your golf is looking really good in this video. 😉

[@thehairygolfer]

You just made me go back and look at that, it's not the first time I have stuffed up and wont be the last.......I think I called a par 5 a par 4 in one voice over. It's my age!

[@stuartcaldwell2262]

Well done Simon. I have a playing buddy to whom I would love to force feed this video.

[@thehairygolfer]

He would enjoy the next 2 as well. Risk and Reward and 'If only'. We all play the if only game after a round. I tried for 2 years to get a mate to change his irons. He had big game improver irons with a lot of offset. I reckon his hooks with the irons cost him 6 shots a round. How do you miss a 6 iron par 3 green by 45 yards left and lost ball almost everytime you play it without considering your mate might just have a point? I gave up trying.

[@ZaxDrumsGolfandMore]

I totally agree with what you said about saying don't cause it usually happens!! I try to concentrate on the shot at hand!! Great advice Simon!!🏌‍♀⛳😀👍

[@thehairygolfer]

The ball goes to the last place you think of. Never fails!

[@ZaxDrumsGolfandMore]

@@thehairygolfer That is how the brain works unfortunately!! Have to reprogram it!!

[@thehairygolfer]

@@ZaxDrumsGolfandMore Get an Elon Musk implant!

[@TimC887]

Great advice! I can remember "back in the day" (late 1980's) when I was still a higher handicap golfer and how I struggled with my driver. I ended up in some of the worst situations. And we all know what happens from these spots on the course! lol But one day i had just shot something in the high 40's on the front nine by driving it out of play too often. On the back nine I decided to just hit irons. 3 iron off the tee and take it from there. Well, I kept it in play and grooved that irons swing for an even par 35 on the back. I could go more into how I think hitting it in play is the most important thing in golf, but that's a topic for another time. Cheers!

[@thehairygolfer]

It's funny how well you score if you leave the big stuff alone. You can't reach the trouble plus with loft the success rate is far higher. You might make some par 4's out of reach but you still have your ball. Playing 3 clubs and a putter always returns some seriously good score. Bizarre! Well done indeed.

[@harrychristie5392]

Great view of golf and life as we get older, keep up the great work my friend

[@thehairygolfer]

Thankyou very much Harry.

[@robertcourt8593]

I've really condensed the amount of you tube golf I watch now. I watch your stuff and a few other bits that really relate to me or my game. Do, don't, I think the way our subconscious works is that we will produce a shot that largely mirrors our last thoughts before we play it. It's OK to tell yourself "don't put it in the water" just make sure it's not your last thought before you swing. Get the donts out before you pick your target and once you've got the target that's the only thing you think of over the ball. I think most of us rush our decision making before we step in and then we're still questioning too much over the ball. To break 90 I play matchplay against bogey. So long as you don't make too many triples if you win the match you'll most likely break 90.

[@thehairygolfer]

Funny you should say that. I've just had a prune of channels. Some were dead anyway, owners given up on the dream. I find the ball tends to go where you last thought of. Making a positive decision on what you want to do helps no end. I hope I hit the fairway does not hit the fairway. The place I make mistakes is when I think I'm good enough to chase a score when playing poorly. If it's a bad day chasing will only make it worse. Cheers

[@robertcourt8593]

​@@thehairygolferit's really hard to stay patient when it seems to be falling apart. Was listening to a Scott Fawcett podcast the other day and he said something along the lines of if your scoring average is 72 and you start double double your average on that day isn't going to be 72 you have to accept that today your average is going to be 76. That's why I like playing matchplay against bogey. I was 4 down through 11 a couple of weeks back, playing awfully and I had a putt on the last to tie (I lost 😂) but at least I stuck in there, made a few pars coming in and managed to get my score from looking like it was going to be 100+ back to 95. Not where I want to be but my worse score this year has been 96 and a couple of years ago 96 was little more than a pipe dream!

[@robertcourt8593]

​@@thehairygolferi steer away from anything swing related now. If it had any relevance to me I'd have gotten better much quicker than I actually have.

[@thehairygolfer]

@@robertcourt8593 It's a good way of playing, to play against your handicap on a hole rather than the par of a hole. Some pars we simply cannot make but going against a bogey at least you can have a half. I like it.

[@thehairygolfer]

@@robertcourt8593 My thought is we have no idea what we are doing wrong so how can you fix mechanics watching a video? I do watch fitzygolfpro because he teaches in stories and less in mechanics.

[@nicted9308]

I wish some of the guys I play with on a competition day would heed this advice. I use driver on seven holes and a five wood on four just for position and one of the holes is a par five. The reason being on the par five is because it’s tight, so a five wood for position. I have to hold my tongue because I’m not allowed to give advice on a comp day. When I see guys pulling out driver on a tight hole I have to look away as I know what the outcome will be. A good video very well explained cheers Simon. 🏌🏻‍♂️

[@thehairygolfer]

Hello Nicted, I have the same feeling on the course but you can't say anything. I remember a short par 4 with a big tree in the fairway, if you hit 3 wood it goes to ground before the tree and rolls out the other side leaving you a 9 iron. People I played with would take driver just to hit a wedge instead. Of course they would hit the canopy and the ball could go anywhere. I just stand there thinking you've done that for 3 years and still haven't learned. Golf can muddle the mind! Cheers

[@nevillehubbard7347]

There's some great advice in that video, particularly about hitting "easy" clubs, rather than stressing over fairway woods and hybrids. As I struggle to break 90 at the moment, I will take this to the course tomorrow afternoon and, hopefully, see a difference! That's an interesting idea about over-borrowing lag putts too. I've never thought of doing that deliberately, but I get the theory. As for golf buggies, I couldn't agree more! They're a pain to play in front of!!! Whenever I use one I feel that it affects my game negatively as I lose that thinking time between shots, where I visualise my next shot, as I'm walking up to my ball. You've covered some interesting and thought provoking stuff this week, and stuff that we can all take to the course, whatever our handicaps. I've just got to remember to do it now, and not just reach for the driver on all of the par 4's and 5's!!!!

[@thehairygolfer]

There is a gentleman in the comments who plays matchplay against his handicap. A bogety basically. Now he doesn't have to stress over par 4's he can't reach. A very bright idea I had not thought of. Over borrow and the ball stops, under borrow and it slides away 5 feet. On grain a certain person found out it can go 20 feet if you under borrow!

[@nevillehubbard7347]

@@thehairygolferYes, so I read! The next time that I'm out on my own I'm going to try what Robert suggests!!! What a great idea!!!

[@thehairygolfer]

@@nevillehubbard7347 It's just a bogey so I'll do badly if I do it!

[@wanderingbrummie]

Nice video Simon. I’m a 21 handicap and for the last few games I’ve left driver in the bag and hit only 4 hybrid at most off tee, and the rest of the time not hit a club I thought could put me into trouble anywhere. I shot 15 over, 15 over and 14 over in consecutive rounds, and then last week just played the front nine, but covered them in just 2 over. Seemed so easy. Of course, thought I’d cracked it, so last night started off with driver, bang, OOB and 3 over on the first. Played rest of front 9 angry and walked off 10 over after 9. I swear I’ll never learn. The 2 over gave me hope I can actually play the game on a good day. But only if I don’t play like an arsehole and start hitting too hard.

[@kevinmcanulty2593]

play off same hc and 3 and 4 hybrids are most used clubs in my bag

[@thehairygolfer]

It is very hard to leave clubs out of the bag. But when you do it changes everything, can't reach the trouble, yo uare forced to play par 4's as a par 5. Give yourself a good pressure free number and hey ho you've got 12 feet and it drops. Good score incoming. I'm wondering what changes with the driver? Swinging too fast? Mental block? That is a problem you can solve. Swing the driver like the 4 hybrid maybe. Don't go for maximum distance. Is the shaft too stiff? Would a 12 degree driver help? Go buy the Pro a coffee and sit down and have a chat. Make it a plan for the spring to sort it out once and for all. Best of luck.

[@wanderingbrummie]

@@thehairygolfer of course, golf being the annoying game it is, I’m now hitting my driver well but the irons have gone off, with a shank thrown in every now and then. I swear I’m not consciously doing anything different! How can you go from total confidence to dreading hitting a short iron in the space of a couple of days? Trip to the pro is definitely in order.

[@thehairygolfer]

@@wanderingbrummie Golf at it's finest! Always willing to trip us up. One of the causes of shanks is taking the club away on the inside. Just try and make sure the clubhead is still in front of you half way back. If it's inside your hands when level with the ground that could be the problem. A quick fix is to address the ball towards the toe of the iron, it's band aid for when you're on the course and might help stop a second one during the round. I've done that from time to time. Other than prayer might help. I had a semi shank on 18 on saturday, can't wait to look at the video and see if I can spot why.

[@lostnsixties6663]

Consistent ball striking is a good way to break 90 or 80.

[@robertcourt8593]

Consistent yes, but you don't need to be a great ball striker to break 90. I've done it and I'm not a good ball striker. As long as you can keep it in play and get inside 100 yards in regulation you can break 90 with a half decent short game. 80, I think is a whole other ball game.

[@thehairygolfer]

Can you teach me? I've had a very inconsistent year thanks to only playing weekend golf? I would give anything to be better!! 🤣🤣🤣

[@thehairygolfer]

@@robertcourt8593 80 requires no big mistakes and a few wedges that go close enough to get 2 birdies a round. You need a mental shift too, to have faith in yourself. You don't need to be that long off the tee. You can break 80 with a 225 drive.

[@stuartjames2483]

Love the premise of its not wrong to plan for a bogey and targeting in your mind great advice to break 90, bright shirt absolutely also need a pinapple bucket hat Maurice Flitcroft style... although your game today was actually breaking 75 wasn't it 😂😂😂

[@thehairygolfer]

I can't control the score. Those two 1 putts at the start kinda mucked it up. I don't think I added it up myself, some days you do and some days you don't. Nice angry birdie to finish the round after a complete horlicks on 17. I don't mind taking a good honest careful bogey as opposed to an aggressive double. Keeps the mind on an even keel if nothing else, we can do without an angry roller coaster on the golf course.

[@Golfing-AddiCt]

Here's a thing with a couple of golf cart bandits.... Before they affect you natural state of calm, let them play through, golf is not a race even though some seem to think it is, if you let them play through, your calm state remains and they are out of the way totally.

[@thehairygolfer]

It was at the end of the round. I didn't see them on the long 16 and then they caught up out of nowhere. Rather annoying. I will be in a cart for 3 weeks but then so will everybody else so it evens out. Cheers

[@andrewquinn6634]

That's funny, my 6 iron is my favorite club also. Interesting you carry a 5wood and a 3hybrid

[@thehairygolfer]

A good 6 iron goes a decent distance and it's easy to hit. Confidence is everything. The 3 hybrid is 19deg and a short shaft goes about 190. Maybe 195 on a real good one. 5 wood goes further. 18 degrees but a longer shaft so goes higher too. I was a member at a club for over 20 years that had long par 3's a few long par 4's and short par 5's. I built my bag around having lots of options with the long clubs as opposed to lots of wedges. So yes, I'm top heavy.

[@andrewquinn6634]

@@thehairygolfer I've been considering adding a 5wood because sometimes my 3hybrid doesn't quite get it there. I know many who carry both.

[@thehairygolfer]

@@andrewquinn6634 Sometime bag setup is dependant on the course you are a member of. For me top loaded works. I know a straight big hitter, really good golfer and has driver, 3 wood and 3 iron. He doesn't need lots of long clubs. As I get shorter I do appreciate my bag setup even more.

[@andrewquinn6634]

@thehairygolfer I also. My 3 hybrids have made all the difference. I hit more greens now than I did 10yrs ago.

[@thehairygolfer]

@@andrewquinn6634 I've got a video to make about hybrids. They are easier or a little more forgiving over an iron. I dropped my 3 iron 22 years ago and never regretted it.