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Payne Stewart's "Perfect Set-up" Hack + Top 3 College Course from the Same Man Behind Augusta National
Wild Golf
March 29, 2024
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In today’s newsletter…
✅ TIPS & DRILLS: Payne Stewart was a joy to root for, and his father had a profound impact on his game. Today, we share his dad’s super-simple drill to perfect your set-up distance from the ball.
✅ COURSES: We’ve highlighted a number of college courses recently. Well how about one more for March Madness- a Top 3 College Course that was designed by the same architect who gave us Augusta National!
✅ STATISTICS: Everyone thinks the pros are master escape artists from trouble. Our stat of the day suggests otherwise. You be the judge!
✅ TRIVIA: We close with a hilarious prank that Payne Stewart pulled on David Feherty after a hotel key mix-up. Last chance to win a Limited Edition Taylor Made TP5 Pickle Jar of balls!
Have a great weekend!
TIPS & DRILLS
Payne Stewart’s “Perfect Set-up” Hack
Need help determining how far to stand from the ball? Look no further
To Recap…
Payne Stewart’s father was a wise man. If you’ve ever struggled with how far you should stand from the ball, this drill is your answer.
-STEP 1: Take your stance with your club centered behind the ball.
-STEP 2: Holding the club in your lead hand only, let go of the grip.
-STEP 3: If the grip lands just above your lead knee, you are the perfect distance from the ball. If it lands any higher on your leg, you’re too close to the ball, and if it lands at your knee or below, you’re standing too far from the ball.
This might sound simple, but it’s actually rather easy to notice small shifts over time in your swing and set-up. It never hurts to give your set-up a check from time to time.
COURSES
Can’t get an Augusta Invite? Play Alister MacKenzie’s Top 3 College Course Instead
One of the more accessible MacKenzie courses out there
University of Michigan Golf Course
Ann Arbor, MI
It’s March Madness, so we figured why not continue our theme of stellar college courses. One of the best college courses in the country sits in the shadow of the Big House where the Wolverine football team plays on Saturdays. The University of Michigan Golf Course was designed by the brilliant architect behind Augusta National & Cypress Point, Alister MacKenzie. Currently ranked by Golf Digest as the 3rd best college course in the US, it may not seem overly long at 6,700 yards, but it certainly offers plenty of challenge with numerous uphill approach shots and classic MacKenzie bunkering throughout. Just watch out for tailgating fans and windshields in play on game days (kidding of course, the course is closed on game days).
Rates: $145 weekday prime & $170 weekend prime
(includes lunch + a U of M hat or towel!)
Check out this slideshow from golf photographer @pjkoenig
STATISTICS
Stat of the Day: Average Tour Pro Score from Recovery Situations
presented by…
from Mark Broadie’s book “Every Shot Counts”
The Stat: Tour pros average bogey 80% of the time from recovery situations (think trees or awkward stances - e.g. 1 foot in a deep bunker and 1 foot out).
The Takeaway: We all tend to believe that the pros are magicians at getting out of tricky situations, hitting it through a 3 foot window gap in the trees or knocking a plugged bunker shot from 150 yards to 10 feet. Well that’s just not true. In reality, they are masters at taking their medicine and chipping out to put themselves in the best possible situation to get up and down for bogey.
Don’t always try to hit the “hero shot” - it can often put you in an even worse situation than your original shot did.
TODAY’S TRIVIA
Like Pickles? Answer to Win a Limited Edition TaylorMade TP5 Pickle Jar of Balls
(1 winner chosen on 3/31/24 across all March trivia entries, 1,000 respondents minimum)
Payne Stewart once pranked David Feherty by putting what inside Feherty's hotel room? |
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