This Week at WorldGolf.com: May 31, 2006

Wanna lower your score? Play from the reds

"Duh," you say. But it's not as simple as it sounds.

Chances are you're one of the millions of driver-obsessed golfers out there, dropping $400 on a club and about as much blasting practice range balls with it.

I recently attended a "Max Driver-fitting" demonstration at Miles of Golf, a golf megastore in Michigan where, for $90, a sophisticated machine measures every nuance of your swing from sidespin to flight path. This thing will show how your swing is altered when wearing Polo vs. Izod shirts! All of this to find out which driver you'll be blowing your money on the least.

What's scary is the service is five times more popular than the store had planned.

Like all our old, sweet grandmothers who always ensured we ate our veggies and never had a cookie without a tall glass of milk, it's my duty to remind everyone that all this time could be spent on the short game.

This is where the red tees come in. Yes, the same red tees most male golfers declare you must pull out your other club if you fail to drive it past.

Once or twice each fall, my high school golf coach, Harold Simons, would have everyone on the team spend one practice playing from the reds. Picture that, a bunch of insecure, teenage boys playing from the ladies tee. "Ridiculous," we said as we rubbed our chins, trying to show off our peach fuzz. Naturally, we all assumed we'd finish around even par.

Wrong.

What coach "Si" knew was that we weren't going to come in with scores much lower, because our games 100 yards and in weren't good enough to take advantage of the shorter distance. Most of us came in hovering around our usual scores and got the message: Time to start honing our wedge play and putting.

Try it one day, while it's still relatively early in the season and you might be able to make it nine holes without getting caught. You'll be shocked and will get the message to spend a little less time with your sexy clubs and more with the money sticks.

As always, WorldGolf.com welcomes your comments.

How to make your summer
golf vacation a hot success

You're on that Arizona, Las Vegas or Palm Springs golf vacation, pumped over the unbelievable deals you're getting. Then you step outside the hotel and it feels like a furnace. All need not be lost - with a few concessions and a little preparation, you can enjoy great budget golf despite the scorching sun. There are plenty of myths about heat-beating strategies, now here's the reality. Five cardinal rules that have not been sun-screened by any tourism bureau or travel agency.

Also: Plan your golf trip with WorldGolf.com

Golf for Beginners: Golf tips for slow play
and muzzling the "mad dog" in your group

This week's podcast is personal! Both Barry and I got a bit agitated over several less-than-nice people who played with us (and we're being kind) so we try to help our listeners by answering the question, "What do you do if you're stuck playing with a grump?" We also dole out some golf tips on how to both speed upslow play and how not to be angered when you're the person playing behind the turtles up ahead. Lastly, it's trivia time. Who created the sand wedge?

Also: Subscribe to our RSS feed to get each week's show

Stripes & plaids: Awful (or
lucky?) golf clothes live on

What is it with these guys, with the striped golf shirts and plaid shorts? Clothes that went out of style when Ben Hogan was playing. They can't all be color blind; they have to notice how poorly they dress. Are all their mirrors broken? How can their wives let them out the door in the morning? Yes, you thought it, we said it. Well, Bill Giering went undercover, joined their ranks and has an answer for BadGolfer.com readers.

Blog: FL course owner submits a Penthouse Forum-worthy course review