Golf Smarter – Episode 699 – Gary Nicol

Gary Nicol joined Fred Greene on the Golf Smarter podcast in the first part of The Lost Art of Putting podcast.

Click here to listen to the podcast.

Golf Unfiltered – Episode 213

Both Gary Nicol and Karl Morris joined Adam Fonseca on the Golf Unfiltered podcast to discuss The Lost Art of Putting.

Click here to listen to the podcast.

how to become more consistent at golf

Want to be more consistent? Stop worrying about consistency!

how to become more consistent at golf

“If only I could play more consistent golf!” If I have heard that statement once in the past 30 years of coaching, I must have heard it a thousand times.

The idea of consistency is seen as the ultimate golfing nirvana. The very quality we are led to believe we should all aspire to. Yet, is this concept realistic and, perhaps more importantly, is it even necessary to get the most from your game?

Looking broadly at statistics from the very best players in the world then we run into some strange contradiction when viewed through the narrow lens of consistency.

The very best in the world hit on average around 12 to 13 greens per round. So in effect they miss every third green they attempt to hit. They miss roughly one in every three fairways they aim at. The putt conversion from outside of just 10 feet is less than 50 per cent. I have also read that many players win the bulk of their money in any given year in three to four weeks. Not always three weeks in a row but their three biggest weeks in a year make up the bulk of their money. A lot of weeks of ‘failure’ interspersed with a few highlights. Not one of these statistics seems to back up the idea of consistency as being the be all and end all.

How to become more consistent at golf: The truth

Even the best golfers on the planet hit a lot of poor shots, they have a lot of results they are not happy with, and they have to deal with a lot setbacks. Yet, they are the ones practising and playing all of the time. This is what they do for a living. We turn up on a Saturday for our medal at the club having hit 50 balls at the range on Wednesday night and we expect to be consistent.

I have said this before but golf on TV, as good as it is, paints a totally unrealistic picture of the game. We are watching the best players having their best weeks and also what you see is a selection of the best golf that day. The holed putts, the irons gripping the green and then spinning back to three feet. We don’t get to see the players who are struggling with their game that week. We don’t watch the struggles of the players on the cut mark. We can easily be led into believing that everybody is firing bullets at every green and holing putts from all over.

The reality, as I have come to understand, is that we should strive less to be consistent and far more to be adaptable. Adaptability for me is the Holy Grail of the game. The ability to adapt to what you have today that may well feel totally different to what you had yesterday.

Paul McGinley alluded to this in a recent podcast I did with him on my Brain Booster series. He said that if he could have his time again in his playing career he would go less in the search of perfection and be far more prepared to go with what he had for this unique day. Some days that may have been a fade whilst other days it could have been a draw shape.

The fact is that every day we play golf so many things are different. The weather is different, the course is different, we are different. What felt so good in our swing yesterday now feels like such a struggle. That beautiful flowing rhythm disappears and today we feel like we are snatching it from the top.

The key is to be aware of what we have today. If the swing feels way out of sync and you are struggling off the tee then get the thing in play with a 3-wood or an iron. If you are struggling with your approach play then, just for today, the only thing that should be on your radar is the middle of the green. If you are having issues with your timing then take one more club and aim to rein in the hit impulse.

There is tremendous satisfaction to be gained from getting the ball around the course in a decent score when you are being challenged and don’t have your A-game. Be proud of those days when you have managed what you have really well because as you get better at limiting the high numbers, you lay the foundation for the low scores to sneak up on you.

From Archerfield to Australia

It has been a busy and interesting June so far for co-authors of The Lost Art Of Putting, Karl Morris and I.

In addition to our day to day coaching commitments, we have been spreading the word to a wider national and international audience.

While Karl continues to work with a number of players who are reaping the rewards of the smart work they are doing together, he has also been traveling the length and breadth of the country presenting his first class “Breakthrough” programme to golfers at clubs all over the UK.

Karl’s podcast, “The Brain Booster” is gaining an enviable reputation as not only one of the best resources for great information, he appears to have the knack of attracting some excellent guests. If you haven’t tuned in or subscribed to this podcast yet, I strongly suggest you do. There isn’t a week goes by that I don’t glean some kind of useful nuggets from Karl and his guests.

They say variety is the spice of life and from my own personal perspective, I can honestly say that is what makes what I do so fascinating and enjoyable.

My work of late has been anything but dull. A combination of individual and group coaching sessions at Archerfield along with hosting putting Master Classes and TrackMan long drive events for corporate clients has made sure of that.

I am very fortunate in that I have the opportunity to work with golfers from all over the world who seem more than happy to make the journey to Scotland’s Golf Coast to spend some time with me. If you have ever been to Archerfield, you will understand why the journey is worthwhile. It really is a world class destination.

This month alone, I have had clients visit from all over the UK and Ireland and from as far afield as Israel. I also had the opportunity to spend three days with some great people from Austria who were not only keen to develop new skills, they were fantastic company and fun to be around.

Over and above all of the day to day things we do, Karl and I continue to collaborate on a couple of different projects. I have always been a great believer in professional collaborations and partnerships. Two minds are almost always better than one.

Almost a year after launching The Lost Art Of Putting at the Aberdeen Standard Investments Scottish Open just along the road at Gullane, we are happy to announce that the first draft of our second book, The Lost Art Of Playing Golf is with the editors. It is now up to them to check our spelling, grammar and punctuation and put our musings into some sort of coherent order.

Once we are all happy with the content and layout etc… the plan is to release this at the end of August. If you enjoyed The Lost Art Of Putting, we are confident you will love this!

As if that wasn’t enough to fill our diaries and our days, we have been doing some filming at Archerfield in glorious Scottish sunshine with Peter Finch who has an incredible 200,00 subscribers to his YouTube channel. While we hope the content will be helpful and fun to watch, we know that some of the drone footage Peter shot of Archerfield will be absolutely spectacular! We understand this content will be available fairly soon, so keep your eyes peeled for that.

On the back of the success of our putting book, we decided we should create a video version as we are continually asked for it. Once again we were blessed with good weather during two days of filming with Craig and Michael from the Sports Publications team, who we know will do an exceptional job. This digital download will be available in a couple of months. Look out for further information on social media and the website.

Every day is a school day and we should all welcome new opportunities and experiences with open arms. Well Karl and I did just that last week when we did a live webinar for the Australian PGA. If you don’t know what a webinar is, which I didn’t until recently, it is basically an internet seminar.

We were asked to present our thoughts on The Lost Art Of Putting to 144 Australian PGA Pros, a record number for them apparently. While it was an enjoyable experience, it was also somewhat surreal in so much as we were talking to people on the other side of the world. While we knew we had an audience, we were essentially presenting to a webcam on a laptop.

When presenting to a “live” audience that you can actually see, you are able to get some kind of idea of the level of engagement you are achieving. This however, was entirely different. Without actually seeing anyone, it really was tough to know. Thankfully, judging by the number of questions we were asked, we know at least some of our audience stayed awake until the end!

To top it all off, I was invited on to the @OntheMarkRadio podcast by host Mark Immelman. Mark is a very engaging and knowledgeable golf coach and we had a really enjoyable 45 minutes talking about The Lost Art Of Playing Golf and the many benefits of being creative on the golf course.

Listen to Gary’s appearance on OntheMarkRadio below
Spotify | iTunes | Google Play | TuneIn

In other news, Gary Woodland won the US Open at Pebble Beach but as the broadcast didn’t finish until 3am GMT, we had to rely on highlights to see the final outcome.

Woodland appears to be a real classy individual and an exceptional golfer who played a variety of different shots, all unique and all appropriate to the task at hand. He showed tremendous imagination, artistry and the ability to get the job done when it mattered.

Congratulations to Gary Woodland and his team with a special mention to our good friend Pete Cowen who has been sharing his wisdom with Woodland over the last few months. Keep up the good work guys.

Until next time.

On The Mark Podcast – Gary Nicol

Gary Nicol joined Mark Immelmen on the On The Mark podcast to discuss the “Art of Playing Golf”.

Click here to listen to the podcast.

Rory wins with freedom

It has often been said that Rory McIlroy at his best is better than just about anyone else on the planet’s best.

Having stayed up past my normal bed time to watch his victory procession at the RBC Canadian Open last night, it was easy to see why.

Going into the final round tied for the lead, it would have been easy for Rory to feel his way into the round and make a push for the win as the day progressed. However, that does not appear to be in his nature.

With five birdies in his first seven holes, McIlroy made the turn in 30, leaving the field trailing in his wake. Rather than try to defend that lead, he put his foot to the floor, making further birdies at the 11th, 12th, 13th and 14th and an eagle at the 17th, his only glitches being dropped shots at the 16th and 18th en route to an incredible 61 and a seven shot victory.

Rory split fairway after fairway, hit his iron shots almost the perfect distance hole after hole and holed putt after putt. It really is a joy to watch a top professional in complete control of every aspect of their game.

Yes his golf swing and putting stroke look as good as perhaps they ever have but what was even more impressive was the freedom with which he played. What we witnessed in the final round in Canada was a master class in creativity and shot making. The variety of shots he played was simply awesome.

It’s all very well hitting the ball 330 yards down the middle of every fairway and knocking the paint of the flags with iron shots but ultimately you have to hole the putts to put a score together. Rory did just that with consummate ease. His pace putting was outstanding. Yes he got the lines right but line is nothing without the appropriate pace.

With the US Open at Pebble Beach only a few days away and The Open Championship at Royal Portrush on his doorstep next month, Rory must be among the favourites for both.

His run of form in 2019 is nothing short of astonishing. He has played in 13 PGA Tour events, finished in the top 10 eight times and won The Players Championship and the RBC Canadian Open.

When Rory is on form, he is on fire.

This is great news for golf fans in the UK as he has committed to play in the Aberdeen Standard Investments Scottish Open the week before The Open Championship where Scottish and Irish golf fans will no doubt flock to see the 30 year old from Hollywood in their thousands.

Rory McIlroy is box office and golf is in a good place when he is in control of his golf ball and his script, the golfing world takes note.

In his press conference after wining in Canada, he was asked if he was surprised to win after missing the cut last week, he replied “No. That’s golf. What people don’t understand is that playing golf at this level, the margins are so fine. I never get too carried away when I’m playing well and I never get too carried away when I’m not. Something like this is always around the corner. My form this year has been great.”

Talking very openly, he continued “This is affirmation of what I can do when I play with complete freedom and trust myself and my game.”

If he continues with that mindset, who knows what he can achieve in the coming weeks. Having been to numerous Scottish and Irish Opens over the years, I know how much these fans love their golf and the support he will receive will be off the charts.

Irish golf is in good hands at the moment with a number of their top players playing some great golf at the moment. Shane Lowry finished T2 in Canada and Graeme McDowell bravely holed a 30 foot par putt to finished T8. G-Mac’s putt meant a whole lot more than a top ten finish. It also ensured he qualified for The Open at Portrush, his home course.

McIlroy confessed to watching leaderboards throughout the final round, largely to see how his good friend G-Mac was getting on. Thankfully, this didn’t distract him too much and he was genuinely delighted to know that his countryman will be joining him at Portrush.

The courses and conditions at both the Scottish Open and The Open itself will both demand that players control their golf ball and themselves. Shot making and creativity will undoubtedly be in high demand as will the ability to hole putts when it matters.

Graeme McDowell has very kindly said that a lot of the concepts in “The Lost Art Of Putting” and the work he has done with co-author Karl Morris have helped him regain his confidence on the greens and we look forward to watching him and everyone else in the last two Majors of 2019 in the coming weeks.

Exciting times ahead.

Get creative like Tiger – you’ll soon see your scores come down

I recently got back from a two-week trip to China to do Mind Factor training for more than 120 coaches.

It is a fascinating country to see. Mission Hills in Shenzhen, near to where we based the first training, has 12 courses and the number of permanent caddies is in the thousands.

The speed at which things move over in China is a true force to behold. Within golf it was wonderful to see the enthusiasm brought to the table by the mainly young coaches eager to progress their ability to coach the whole game and not just the swing.

While I was over there I had the good fortune to meet Rudy Duran, Tiger Woods‘ first coach, pictured below sitting alongside me.

create golf shots

Rudy was in Shenzhen to organise and oversee some junior programmes. We got chance to sit down and record a podcast for my Brain Booster show. He was a fascinating man to listen to.

He told me that the first he saw of Tiger was when his mother, Tida, brought him to see if he could be part of his junior program. He was five years old at the time and they went straight out onto the tee for a lesson.

He had with him a 2-wood which, to Tiger’s late father Earl’s great credit, had been made to fit perfectly.

Rudy remembers the scene vividly as he hit balls one after another almost perfectly. They only went about 50 yards but they were perfect mini golf shots with a hint of a draw.

He said he knew straight away this little boy was going to be something special.

They began working on his game and even at the age of five it was all about golf shots not golf swings. Rudy would work with Tiger around the greens and play chip shots with different trajectories – high ones, low ones, shots that stopped, shots that ran out. He just loved to create different golf shots.

They never really talked about the golf swing. Tiger wouldn’t have known about the position at the top of the swing or when he set his wrists. If he wanted to play a certain shot shape, Rudy indicated that he may have offered some suggestions as to how the club might feel through the ball to affect the flight of the shot but it was never technical.

The sessions were all about creating an environment of fun and learning. They spent a lot of time on the golf course. Tiger loved to play and compete.

Rudy created ‘Tiger Par’ so the par of the hole was adjusted relative to how far he hit the ball at that point in time. As he began to hit the ball further the ‘par’ was adjusted accordingly. At the age of five he went out and shot 8-under against his par, choosing all his own shots and picking all of his own clubs.

He didn’t hit the ball much further than 50 yards but around the green he was just like a mini tour pro. His short game was phenomenal, mainly due to the fact that he had such a creative imagination.

As Tiger got better and better at the game he and Earl began to look at all areas to improve. Earl had a friend from his days in the military, Jay Brunza, who was a Navy psychologist. He would caddie for Tiger and he helped him to develop an understanding of the role of the mind in becoming the best player he could possibly be.

Far from being the obsessive father he has often been portrayed, Earl just created the opportunity for Tiger to develop. (According to Rudy, Earl was just as interested in his own game and how he could play better as he was in Tiger.)

create golf shots

Rudy explained that his own coaching has evolved over the years and now he spends very little time telling students what to do. Instead he just gives them options to explore. Options that allow the player to develop their own game as opposed to trying to fit them into a model he might have in his mind.

It is all about the shots we play not the details of how the swing looks, Rudy said. A fade is not a bad shot. It may be inappropriate for this particular moment but if you can remember how it feels to play a fade then you have the shot for when you need it.

Building awareness of your own game is a vital skill to develop.

You need to uncover your way to play. You also need to have the freedom to explore by having a better relationship to poor outcomes.

Those in the coaching business need to provide an environment allowing exploration and a willingness to test out what happens with the ball when we apply the club in certain ways.

It was a wonderful experience to share ideas with a coach who helped one of the greatest players of all time to develop. Rudy was very humble and he made it clear that for him it was all about “drawing out the talent” of the individual as opposed to “putting in lots of information”.

A great message for us all.

Golf is good for business

We all play golf for different reasons.

Some like the challenges this great game provides, both mental and physical. Others appreciate the health benefits and the opportunity to spend time in the great outdoors in good company.

The feel of a well struck drive. The sound of a sweetly struck iron shot. The sense of relief when successfully pitching over a bunker from a tight lie and the satisfaction of creating a putt that disappears into the hole for a welcome birdie. All valid reasons for putting your clubs in the boot of the car and heading for the course.

Golf can be a great escape from the daily grind of home and work life and the responsibilities that come with them. There are a multitude of reasons why we should get off our backsides and head to the golf course.

Apart from the simple pleasures and occasional frustrations that we are sure to encounter along the way, GOLF IS GOOD FOR BUSINESS.
You only need to look at your TV screens Thursday to Sunday to see professional golf tournaments around the world being sponsored by internationally recognised companies. Why? Quite simply because it works. It is worth their while.

As an ambassador for Aberdeen Standard Investments, I have seen how much time, effort and money these guys have put into golf at all levels over the years. Without them, there may well not have been a Scottish Open on the European Tour or a Scottish Ladies Open which is now a co-sanctioned LET / LPGA Tour event. So as golf fans, we should all be enormously grateful for their incredible input.

Why do they invest so heavily in golf? Again because it works.

In years gone by, big brands and multi-nationals were well known for their lavish, no expense spared golf days with 100 invitees. The problem with that was, inevitably the hosts rarely had the opportunity to spend any time with more than a handful of their guests.

While these big events may be a thing of the past, smaller more bespoke, intimate and more personal events are very much in evidence in today’s business world.

Since setting up TPEGS.com with my business partner, former Ryder Cup player and highly respected SKY golf analyst Andrew Coltart, we have hosted an ever increasing number of golf events for a wide variety of businesses with great success.

While our clients range from relatively small local businesses to international conglomerates, they all have similar goals and intentions. They all understand the value of looking after clients, both existing and potential, in a professional  but relaxed environment. Where else do you have the opportunity to spend a few hours with your most valued clients to discuss and hopefully secure that life changing deal?

Only last week, we hosted an event at Archerfield Links for a long term client who have worked closely with in the past. Our client has recently moved from one company to spearhead the wealth management business of AAB – Anderson, Anderson & Brown, a fast growing accountancy firm based in Aberdeen. Why did they want to do this? Because it works. It is good for business.

This event was very special for a number of reasons. Firstly, we were at Archerfield, where the golf courses, accommodation, practice facilities and welcome are truly world class. Secondly, the sun shone for two days, so smiles and sunscreen were very much in evidence. Last but not least, we had sixteen great people to spend some quality time with.

After drinks on the terrace and a lovely lunch in the clubhouse, we hosted a short game and putting clinic in the afternoon, where we introduced our guests to some simple and effective concepts about how to get up and down more frequently. Armed with a copy of “The Lost Art Of Putting”, newly acquired short game skills and lots of positivity, our guests checked into the magnificent Archerfield House.

Drinks on the lawn, no jacket required but sunglasses essential, preceded a wonderful dinner and chat about golf, business and life in general around the table. A few ‘Tales from the Tour’ kept our guests entertained throughout.

The obligatory putting games in the drawing room followed. Evidently these are significantly easier after a few glasses of very nice Malbec as they kept everyone in exceptionally good humour. Snooker challenges and a couple of small wagers followed before our guests headed off to their rooms. After all, they were playing golf in the morning.

After a hearty and healthy breakfast, it was off to the range to warm up before  playing the picturesque Fidra Links, which incidentally is fantastic condition.

In addition to a team Stableford competition, Andrew and I provided both a TrackMan long drive comp and ‘Beat the Pro’ challenge on a couple of the par 3s. This of course was all enhanced by calm conditions and more sunshine and smiles.

To conclude proceedings, we gathered in the clubhouse for a light lunch and prize-giving before we all headed our separate ways with promises to keep in touch and continue discussions from the previous 24 hours.

Judging by the feedback we have since received, we hope to develop long lasting friendships in the coming weeks, months and years.

The icing on the cake for us was when we received a message to say “Thank you for hosting our golf event at Archerfield, which as always, exceeded our expectations. The whole experience was first class. Everyone thoroughly enjoyed the two days and it provided us with an excellent opportunity to spend some much valued quality time with our guests.” Fraser Porter, CEO, AAB Wealth.

Whatever your existing reasons for playing golf, whether they be escapism, health benefits or the pure and simple pleasure of playing the game for it’s own sake, you can now add the fact that golf is good for business.

18Strong Podcast – Episode 234

Gary and Karl joined Jeff Pellizzaro on the 18Strong podcast to discuss The Lost Art of Putting

Max Homa

Max Homa – Relentless

With more and more statistics available than ever before, we now know that the age old cliche “Drive for show and putt for dough” doesn’t always ring true but sometimes it does.

The way the modern game is played, the players who tend to drive the ball long and (relatively) straight and hit their wedges close are generally found near the top of the leaderboard on professional Tours around the world.
Week after week, we see big hitters filling our TV screens as we sit back and enjoy spectacular displays of ball striking from the likes of Dustin Johnson, Brooks Keopka and Rory McIlroy.

That said, it’s no use bombing it 350, before wedging it inside 10 feet if you can’t hole putts.

Last week on the PGA Tour, little known Max Homa went home with the Wells Fargo Championship trophy along with a rather large cheque for $1,422,000, holing lots of putts along the way.

I say little known because until last week, he hadn’t done a whole lot in his short professional career to grab many headlines. I first heard of Homa when I listened to an excellent No Laying up podcast last October, when he was the guest. What I learned from listening, is that Max Homa is an extremely humorous, self deprecating and humble individual who sounds like he would be a lot of fun to be around.

After last week’s performance at the Wells Fargo, I think we can safely add fantastic putter to that list.

His strokes gained stats for the week were pretty impressive, perhaps with the exception of his short game where he ranked 41st, gaining 0.05 strokes on the field.

Homa by his own admission has had his issues with the driver over the last three or four years but last week, he was 18th best, gaining 2.82 strokes. His approach shots to the green were pretty good, ranking 12th, gaining 4.58 strokes.

It was on the greens where he made the biggest impact, leading the way in the putting stats, gaining an incredible 9.89 strokes. Data courtesy of – GolfStatsCoach.com.

Any time you are number 1 in strokes gained putting, you will have a pretty good chance of winning.

As we all know, there are no guarantees in golf but holing more putts than your fellow competitors never does any harm.

At the start of the week, Max Homa was ranked 417th in the world, so I doubt there would have been a whole lot of “smart” money riding on his performance.

Even on the morning of the final day, he was not hot favourite despite being joint leader overnight. However, true to his mantra – RELENTLESS – which he apparently has tattooed on his arm, Max Homa was just that in his pursuit of victory.

His story is one of persistence. One he has chosen to take control of in his relentless quest to become the best possible golfer he can. Yes he has had to deal with some pretty serious setbacks and bumps in the road along the way.

In 2017, he played 17 events on the PGA Tour and made only 2 cuts en route to amassing a meagre $18,000.

Undeterred, he set out on the Web.com Tour in 2018 with the goal of regaining his PGA Tour card and through a combination of seeking out good advice, hard work, determination and good golf, he succeeded.

This in turn allowed the 28 year old from Burbank, California to play the PGA Tour again and achieve a life changing win and move up to 102nd in the world rankings.

Is it possible that you too could take control of your story and your putting?

To find out how, pick up a copy of The Lost Art Of Putting.