Grouchy Golf Blog

Now, more than ever before, we see near-perfect "textbook" golf swings being televised from the world's professional golf tours. Names such as Tiger Woods, Adam Scott, Ernie Els, Charl Schwartzel, Louis Oosthuizen, Rory McIlroy and Michelle Wie come to mind when we think about the game's best swings. But there are many similarly great swings from the amateur ranks that are unknown simply due to their limited exposure. One of them is Jack Dirkin. But even if Jack follows Tiger's march to the PGA, it'll be well over another decade before you get to see his swing on a pro tour. That's because Jack is only 5 years-old! Is it crazy to think that a 5 year-old possesses one of the best golf swings in the world? Take a look at his swing below and let me know what you think!

Labels: Jack Dirkin

When I was growing up, my sport du jour was tennis. I started playing sometime in elementary school and became good enough to play on the high school tennis team. I still play to this day, albeit much less frequently. During most of this time, I've heard about the comfort wonders of Thorlo socks from countless tennis players. However, I never tried Thorlos because of sticker shock. I had become accustomed to buying the generic bulk pack white athletic socks at Foot Locker that averaged $1 per sock. So whenever I considered Thorlos, I asked myself, "can these socks be worth 10x the cost of normal socks?" My answer was always, "No friggin' way!"

But I recently discovered that Thorlo is running a promotion for a free pair of socks. While the socks are free, there is still a $4.90 shipping and handling fee so it isn't totally free. Nonetheless, this is a really good deal for socks that are normally $13.99. I submitted the order form for the padded golf socks and around a week later I was in possession of the socks that I had waited almost 30 years to try. I was eager to try them out and wore them for my next golf outing several days later. After 9-holes of walking, I can say that they are indeed the best athletic socks I have ever worn. The toe seam had always been a source of irritation for me but not so with the Thorlos. It's too early to tell whether these socks will reduce the occurrence of blisters, corns and other foot ailments, but I'm hopeful that they will. So, are these Thorlos worth $13.99 a pair? I'm still not sure since that still seems like a lot of moolah for athletic socks. But they are sure worth $4.90 a pair! Try them and see for yourself.

Watching my LA Kings' amazing march to the Stanley Cup this year was a revelation to me. Not about hockey nor the will of champions, but about the golf swing. I noticed that the hockey slap shot is quite similar to a full golf swing. The key is that a properly executed slapshot requires that the hands are slightly ahead of the puck at impact. This is the same principle that applies to the golf swing. It's no wonder that so many hockey players are great golfers, including Happy Gilmore!

They are so similar that I find it helpful to visualize a slap shot when I setup and swing a golf club. I imagine that the golf club is just a disproportionate hockey stick with a longer shaft and shorter blade. First, I picture that the leading edge of my golf club is the blade of a hockey stick and I align it square to the target. Second, I make sure that my hands are slightly ahead of the ball with the shaft leaning back to the ball like a slapshot. Lastly, I pretend that I'm Anže Kopitar blasting a slap shot past the goalie into the net for the win

Now pretending won't make you good at games like blackjack, but experience, trial and error, and reading some tips will definitely help. Hone your skills at blackjack for free at Bo Vegas casino by using their no deposit bonus promotion they have at the moment.

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Labels: Swing Tips