GolfNewsRI

An assembly of some short reviews and thoughts about golf, but first a short review.

I played both Omni Mount Washington Hotel golf courses this past weekend. The 18-hole course is a Donald Ross layout with spectacular views of Mt. Washington and the Presidential Range, as well as the hotel. The course was in tremendous shape, on par with a private course.

The rough was thick and they let the fescue grow in. The greens were running a 10 on the SpeeDonmeter™. For a hotel guest, the Saturday greens fee with a cart was $99, not too shabby. It was my second time playing the course and it’s a gem.

The 9-hole course was in great shape as well. The first hole is a par 5 from an elevated tee that goes over the road leading to the clubhouse. I hit a really good drive that reached a pinch point in the fairway and was sitting in the first cut of rough, then a 6-iron short and left of the green, chip on and a two putt for the par.

Some ongoing foot issues (corn, right pinky toe) led me to play the rest of the round barefoot. Some iron shots were chunky and I’d like to believe it was that little bit of height change from being shod to shoe-less but I digress. Greens were also in great shape and there are some narrow holes.

Also, had trouble discerning where the fairway was on the 7th hole. Tees were pointing one way and my mind was telling me this doesn’t seem right. After driving, discovered the hole was probably 30 degrees to the right of where I was hitting (no one was in front of me the entire round). Between the Owl’s Nest and here, you can’t go wrong.

Other musings…

If you don’t follow John Sherman (@practicalgolf on X), you should. He wrote a book called The Four Foundations of Golf. His forte isn’t swing mechanics. He opines more on strategy, better ways to practice, and thoughts and expectations. I think he has helped my game in a few different ways, one being…

Tempo. He writes about studies being done on videos of professional golfers (or film for the legends). They discovered that most great golfers have a backswing to downswing ratio of 3:1. I purchased an app called Tour Tempo that gives you a choice of different voices/tones that sound out that ratio. I used the 24/8 tempo and I have to say it has allowed me to make better contact with the ball. My backswing has slowed somewhat which allows me to turn at the correct time.

I spied a reel on Instagram from Bryson DeChambeau (at least I think it was Insta) where he said at the moment of impact with his irons, his feel/thought is he could drop a golf ball on his lead foot with his lead hand. My interpretation is that shaft lean stays (or hands are ahead of the club) at impact with release immediately following (although release shouldn’t be a conscious thing, it should just happen). Maybe many of you are saying, duhhhhh. But I think I lot of people struggle with the concept, which leads to…

ProSendr. It’s a training aid that goes on your right wrist. A plastic/composite flap extends over the top of your hand to your knuckles. When you address the ball, there is space between your hand and the flap. When you hinge in your backswing, your hand should be touching the plastic and stay that way until you impact the ball.

In my opinion, this is the best training aid on the market for how that hinge should feel. It also comes with a rubber sphere that attaches to the ProSender, which you hold between your forearms. This keeps your arms “connected” through the swing.

Finally, I’m really looking forward to marshaling at the U.S. Senior Open in Newport. Hopefully there is good weather throughout the week.