Una mirada al golf amateur (III)

A look at amateur golf (III)

After three days without writing, I decided to continue with my comments about golf, although to tell the truth I have a wide variety of topics to discuss in this great community.

I really liked the idea of talking about the first anniversary of winning our third World Cup in Qatar on 12/18/2022. It is something that we Argentines will never forget but that is also a problem, many members of the community are no longer attracted to this topic, so I left it aside, although last night I saw the first half of that grand finale, I still do not understand how France he was able to tie the match; Throughout that period and a good part of the rest of the match, our team's demonstration of superiority was overwhelming, it was only thanks to that enormous player called Kylian Mbappé that they managed to score three goals. Well, enough Hector!

On Saturday, as has been happening with good continuity, I went to practice golf with my son-in-law, we are having a good rhythm and soon we will take the next step which is to play 18 holes, it is not that we have not done it before, but it is preferable that the novice, in this case my son-in-law, first acquires better regularity in his shots, that way he becomes less frustrated and enjoys more. It's ugly to have to go look for the ball between the trees and in the leaves with every shot, seeing that the fairway (unobstructed path between the tee box and the green) is always wrong.

Therefore, practice is essential and you don't just have to practice long shots with the different clubs, although I must admit that hitting well and seeing the ball's flight is fascinating. There is also a lot of practice with the short game (around the green) and the putter. Professionals rightly say that a tournament is won by playing well around the green and the putter, surely, they know more than us so we have to listen to them.

The putter is the only club whose face does not incline, it is completely straight, that is, a right angle (90°) is formed between the shaft and the face of the club, unlike all other clubs that range from 9° or 10° the driver increasing the inclination up to 60° or more degrees in the shortest club with the greatest ball lift, the latter is generally called a wedge and players usually carry more than one in the bag with different degrees of inclination and bounce). The most common is the pitching wedge (PW), which is generally the most standard and is included in the sets that are sold complete, then we have the gap wedge GW), the sand wedge (SW), and the lob wedge (LW), some Now we will talk more about them and what they are used for in the game.

Today I am going to talk a little about that club that defines whether the score will be good or not so good, the club that costs the most work for all golfers, both amateurs and professionals: the putter.

I have already mentioned that, unlike all the other clubs that we can incorporate in our bag, there are hundreds, if not thousands of different designs, not only in the length of the shaft but in other components such as the grip or handle and the head format and weight. You will see only one here, which is the one I own and its design resembles an empanada. I liked it when I saw it and bought it; That is a huge difference between amateurs and professionals, we buy what we like and those who play for money and fame try dozens until they decide on one that best suits their way of hitting, their height, their perception. However, it is widespread to see many professionals change their putter like their underwear, it is the most eloquent sign of not being comfortable with any model, although deep down it hides their lack of inspiration with the essential club when it comes to hole the ball in the hole.

It is very common to see many players who hit the ball very well reach the green in a couple of strokes, several are capable of using only 2 strokes to travel more than 400 meters between the start (tee) and the finish (green), without However, then they use 2, 3 or more strokes to hole it traveling only a few meters, it seems ridiculous, but that's how difficult it can be when the putter fails.

These shots are influenced by a good number of factors of all kinds: emotional and physical speaking of the player himself, but also external issues such as the weather, the design of the green, the cut, and the type of grass that was used.

Speaking of the emotional aspects, I have gone from playing tournaments where I got very nervous (and even though I was playing for a small trophy of little commercial value), as time went by, I got a little more used to it, although I must admit that it is never Playing just to play is the same as doing it in a tournament and even worse when it is for teams where my performance influences the efforts of others. Imagine what goes through the mind of a professional player where a single putt can define winning a tournament that represents a bag of millions of dollars, advertising contracts, fame, and recognition. We can prepare our whole lives for a moment like this, but when it comes it is not easy, concentration and mental strength are essential factors behind a putt of less than one meter that is holed in practice 99.9% of the time.

The putter is the most difficult club to master, have no doubt, that is why practice is very important, as well as "reading" the green well, that is, seeing the rises and falls of the distance, and the calculation of force and the necessary direction with the sole objective of seeing the ball disappear into the hole.

We will continue with this talk another time.