Poor mental decisions could ruin your golf game

5 MENTAL MISTAKES YOU SHOULD NEVER MAKE ON THE GOLF COURSE

Most golfers lose way too many shots to poor mental decisions and not knowing how to systematically approach each shot and control their emotions to maintain confidence. This article will show you the 5 most common mental game mistakes that most golfers make and how to eliminate them.

1) Don’t analyze your swing, or think about it while swinging

2) Don’t think about your score (unless you really have to)

3) Don’t beat yourself up, be your own caddy and remember it’s just a game

4) Don’t just aim at the fairway or green – have a very precise target in mind

5) Don’t forget about your routine

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This is a guest post by David MacKenzie from Golf State of Mind

SOURCE: practical_golf.com

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How to win your next Member / Guest!

11 KEYS TO ENJOY—AND WIN—YOUR MEMBER-GUEST

Member-guest season is upon us. At many clubs, events have been delayed until a little later in the year, but you might be asked to sign up for yours soon. Member-guests are something we look forward to for months, one we want to fully enjoy, even in these unusual times.

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The Open for the Ages

R&A to fill Open Championship void with virtual battle of the ages

Jack Nicklaus never had the opportunity to face world number one Rory McIlroy at the Open Championship but the R&A has brought the champions from different eras together at St Andrews using archive footage and modern technology.

With golf’s oldest major cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the R&A has launched ‘The Open for The Ages’ which will see McIlroy, Nicklaus and other past champions such as Tiger Woods and Seve Ballesteros “compete” over the Old Course.

The virtual tournament will be played through a combination of seamlessly edited archive footage, modern graphics and fresh commentary, with the winner decided through a data model based on career statistics and voting by fans.

The event, which runs from July 16-19 – the original date for this year’s Open – will culminate in a three-hour final round programme that will be broadcast globally through The Open’s social media channels.

“Golf is one of the very few sports where this concept can be created and brought to life,” Martin Slumbers, chief executive of R&A, said in a statement.

“The way in which the sport is filmed allows us a truly unique opportunity to re-imagine history and bring together the greatest players from many different eras on a scale which has not been done before, either in golf or in other sports.”

The Open, which was due to be held at Royal St George’s, is the only one of this year’s four majors to be cancelled because of the pandemic.

SOURCE:  ESPN.com

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Attention Professional, Amateur, and Senior Golfers . . .

West Kentucky’s Best Run Golf Tournament

Drake Creek Golf Club

SATURDAY & SUNDAY | AUGUST  1st & 2nd

$125 Amateurs and Senior Amateurs | $250 professionals

Includes green fees, cart fees, prize fund, tee prizes,
two lunches, and unlimited practice rounds week of tournament.

Call 270-898-4653 to sign up with credit card.

WINNERS FROM PREVIOUS YEARS

AMATEUR CHAMPIONS

2008 Brandon Tucker, Madisonville, KY
2009 Seth Blann, Bowling Green, KY
2010 Josh Rhodes, Paducah, KY
2011 Michael Odenthal, Rockfield, KY
2012 Patrick Newcomb, Benton, KY
2013 Brock Simmons, Murray, KY
2014 Brevin Giebler, Cape Girardeau, MO
2015 Nick Thompson, Paducah, KY
2016 Derek Riley, Calvert City, KY
2017 Gabe Wheeler, Cape Girardeau, MO
2018 Gabe Wheeler, Cape Girardeau, MO
2019 Clayton Bradshaw, Mayfield, KY

PROFESSIONAL CHAMPIONS

2008 Justin Fetcho, Illinois
2009 Brett Jones, Paducah, KY
2010 Rick Cochran, Paducah, KY
2011 Cameron Carrico, Owensboro,KY
2012 Rick Cochran, Paducah, KY
2013 Rick Cochran, Paducah, KY
2014 Rick Cochran, Paducah, KY
2015 Patrick Newcomb, Benton KY
2016 Nick Newcomb, Murray KY
2017 Rick Cochran, Paducah, KY
2018 Tyler Phillips, Clarksville, TN
2019 Gabe Wheeler, Cape Girardeau, MO

SENIOR CHAMPIONS

2012 Sherwood, Paducah, KY
2013 Tommy Thomas, Paducah, KY
2014 Tommy Thomas, Paducah, KY
2015 Eddie Trevathan, Gleason, TN
2016 Eddie Trevathan, Gleason, TN
2017 Ron Underwood, Sikeston, MO
2018 Tommy Fike, Almo, KY
2019 Tommy Fike, Almo, KY

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Sign Up Now for the Big Senior

Thursday, July 23 9:00 am shotgun

Pick Your Format · Cash Prizes

2-Man Scramble or Individual Stroke Play

8:15am Sign Up and Pay | 9:00am Shotgun Start

Entry Fee $40 Cash per player

Includes Green Fee, Cart, Lunch, and CASH Prizes ($22 course and cart fee and $18 cold drinks and cash prizes)

We are sorry but COVID restrictions have eliminated lunch for this event.

Field will be flighted after play
Cash payout to 25% of the field

Age 55-64 Yellow Tees
Age 65-74 Red Tees
Age 75+ Forward Tees

JUST CALL to register, Cash required on Thursday to play
CALL NOW AND SIGN UP – – – 270-898-4653

This event is hosted by the Riverside Men’s Golf Association.
It is not affiliated with Drake Creek Golf Club
or the PGA Staff at Drake Creek Golf Club.

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Sign up now for the Member-Guest Tournament

Saturday and Sunday | July 25 & 26

Shotgun Starts

Saturday at 1:00 pm | Sunday at 12:30 pm

2 person – 6-hole scramble | 6-hole four ball | 6-hole alternate shot

Open to all Drake Creek Members (men & women) and their guests

$65 per player / $130 per team*

entry fee includes – range balls on tournament days, light lunch both days, tee prizes, prize pool, practice round during week of tournament, cart and green fees. Number of Flights will be determined by the number of entries.  Equal prizes will be awarded in each flight. *plus tax

JUST CALL to register
CALL NOW AND SIGN UP – – 270-898-4653

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Will this be Justin’s year at Muirfield?

Justin Thomas trying to get a handle on Muirfield Village ahead of Dublin Double

DUBLIN, Ohio – Justin Thomas has a strange case of the Jekyll and Hyde thing going on at Muirfield Village Golf Club.

In six visits to Jack Nicklaus’s emerald gem for The Memorial, he’s missed the cut in 2015, 2016 and in his most recent visit, in 2019.

In his other three starts, he tied for 37th in 2014 and finally got into contention with ties for fourth in 2017 and eighth in 2018.

Go figure.

We’re talking about the No. 5 player in the world who won the 2017 PGA Championship and the FedEx Cup and was the PGA Tour Player of the Year. Is just one of four players to win five times, including a major, in one PGA Tour season before his 25th birthday, the others being Nicklaus, Tiger Woods and Jordan Spieth. He’s been No. 1 in the world.

At 26, he’s won 12 Tour titles, including two this season in the CJ Cup at Nine Bridges and the Sentry Tournament of Champions.

But Thomas can’t get a consistent grip on Muirfield.

“There’s obviously some things that I need to figure out about this golf course and things I need to do better,” Thomas said Tuesday at his sometime nemesis.

He hopes he gets things ironed out quickly as the course first hosts this week’s Workday Charity Open and then next week’s Memorial.

Adding to his 7,500-yard equation is the fact the course will play much differently this week than next in an effort to relieve stress on the course that will bear nearly 800 rounds the next two weeks. That means Workday will feature slower green speeds (around 11 on the Stimpmeter) which will allow for new pin placements, some never seen before; shorter rough (3½ inches); and multiple tee boxes.

“I’m taking these practice days probably a little bit more seriously and trying to figure out why I haven’t done as well those years,” Thomas said. “Obviously not playing well is a big part to do with it, but I still feel my game is good enough where I should never miss a cut a couple times at a place that I feel fits my game like this one does.

“But I’m not going to go out there and spend six hours hitting from different places I’ve never hit before. I only have so much time in a day where I can be focused and pay attention and get a lot out of it. The important thing is I’ve played the course enough and I’ve hit it a lot of different places on this course before to where I know a lot of it for the most part, but I’ll just go check out some of the little changes here and there.”

Thomas tied for 10th in the Charles Schwab Challenge when the PGA Tour returned after a 13-week break because of COVID. The following week, he tied for eighth in the RBC Heritage, then missed the cut at The Travelers Championship.

“I didn’t really have many expectations coming into the first three events because I knew I was going to be rusty,” he said. “It was good to play some good golf. I just felt like I had just a bit of a bulky putter and I was disappointed to play so poorly at Travelers. But I just had a week off, got a little rest and tried to just enjoy the time off because I realized pretty quickly how much of a grind golf is, even without fans and all the adrenaline rush. It definitely wears on you, so it’s important to get your rest.

“I expect to play well and have a chance to win, but that being said, I need to get a little bit more comfortable and execute a lot better for that to happen for what’s happened in the past.”

SOURCE:  golfweek.com

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Sign Up NOW: Adult/Youth Golf Tournament

Join Us Sunday, July 12th

12:30 pm –  lunch & registration

1:30 pm – shotgun start

9 Hole Modified Alternate Shot

Entry Fee $50 Per Team

includes green fee, cart, lunch and prizes

Two Person Modified Alternate Shot
Forward tees for younger divisions
Flight based on junior golfer’s age

CALL 270-898-4653 to sign up with via credit card or REGISTER ONLINE

PAY ONLINE TO GUARANTEE YOUR SPOT

Fast and Easy – No Surcharges

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The Biggest Junior Tournament in West Kentucky

The Biggest Junior Tournament  in West Kentucky

· Drake Creek Golf Club ·

MONDAY – July 20th

Tee Times Start at 7:30 AM

Entry Fee
$45 for 18 hole participants
$35 for 9 hole participants

Boys and Girls ages 8 to 2020 High School Graduates

AGE DIVISIONS

– Age 8-9 Open Division/Caddies Allowed/Special Tees

– Age 10-11   9 holes boys and girls

– Age 12-13   18 holes boys / 9 holes girls

– Age 14-15   18 holes boys and girls

– Age 16-18   18 holes boys and girls

TOURNAMENT NOTES

Lunch provided to each participant

Entry DEADLINE is July 16, 2020, or until field is full

Field will be limited to first 80 paid entries

All golfers must walk and are responsible for their bag

Entry Fee is not refundable after July 16, 2020

One Practice Round on July 13-17  A tee time is required.

You Must Arrive at least 30 minutes prior to your starting time.  

CALL 270-898-4653 to sign up with via credit card or REGISTER ONLINE

PAY ONLINE TO GUARANTEE YOUR SPOT

Fast and Easy – No Surcharges

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WHO WOULD YOU WANT TO SEE?

Michael Jordan, Steph Curry, Charles Barkley and all the other big names we would want to see tee it up with Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson

Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson have always made it clear this new partnership in made-for-TV matches would not be a one-time thing. On Sunday, they gave us the second installment, adding Tom Brady and Peyton Manning to the mix for The Match: Champions for Charity, which raised $20 million for coronavirus relief.

A few times this week, Mickelson has floated more ideas, most notably to the Los Angeles Times and the Dan Patrick Show. But who might be next? Who would we want to see tee it up with or against Tiger and Phil? We asked around and got some interesting responses, including the ultimate match. (Hint, think Michael Jordan and Charles Barkley).

Ian O’Connor, ESPN.com
Tiger Woods/Charles Barkley vs. Phil Mickelson/Michael Jordan
I might have gone with Brady and Belichick before Peyton Manning stole my Belichick thunder Sunday, but Jordan and Barkley would bring a ton of star power and tension to the table. It might take some convincing of MJ, since he apparently is no longer on speaking terms with his ex-good friend Chuck. But that strange dynamic would only add to the spectacle. Phil would loosen up Jordan, and Barkley would loosen up Tiger. Barkley would need a bunch of strokes to make this work, since he makes Brady seem like Ben Hogan. But coming off his “Last Dance” tour de force, Jordan would be feeling a lot of pressure on that first tee, as it has been a long time since he competed live with millions watching his every move. Can he keep it on the planet with Barkley needling him about his past big-money golf losses and a winning percentage, as an executive, that’s not in Jerry Krause’s ballpark? A lot of people would tune in to find out.

Tom VanHaaren, ESPN.com
Tiger Woods/Michael Jordan vs. Phil Mickelson/Steph Curry
I would’ve stuck with the rivalry theme and put Michael Jordan against Isiah Thomas, but we all know now that Jordan wouldn’t have played if Isiah was invited. I’ll see myself out. In all seriousness, the golf would be fun to watch, the trash talking would be outstanding and having Jordan and Mickelson on opposite teams means we also might get some added excitement from side bets. This match would have the star power needed to draw a big audience, and while it isn’t a rivalry, it would combine the old-school NBA with the new school in a fun competition. To follow up the success of the Brady-Manning match, you would need to go over the top and this matchup would check all the boxes to make for entertaining TV.

Bob Harig, ESPN.com
Tiger Woods/Phil Mickelson vs. Rory McIlroy/Justin Thomas
There are numerous ways this can go, but I like the idea of a pure golf competition with two of the game’s legends against two of the game’s young stars. And this time, let a Tiger-Phil pairing be a positive instead of a negative, as it was all those years ago during the Ryder Cup. To spice it up, make the competition true alternate shot or foursomes, not the modified version employed in the match with Manning and Brady. Having to play your partners’ foul balls makes for a stressful way to play golf and can lead to some interesting scenarios. Based on the way he handled his role as an on-course commentator, you can bet that Thomas will fully embrace the trash-talking spirit. And given McIlroy’s driving prowess, it could make for an interesting, competitive matchup. As for a location, how about Bandon Dunes to make for an impressive backdrop?

Charlotte Gibson, ESPN.com
Tiger Woods/Annika Sorenstam vs. Phil Mickelson/Karrie Webb
Why should the men have all the fun? Seriously, if we’re even entertaining the idea of Match III, this time women better be involved. Of course, it would be phenomenal to watch Woods and Mickelson tee it up with the likes of Jordan and Curry, but wouldn’t it be equally as phenomenal to see them tee it up with two Hall of Famers with a combined 113 LPGA Tour titles? This time, let’s leave it up to the two biggest rivalries in golf both past and present. Sorenstam and Webb have one of the best LPGA rivalries that dates back to the mid-1990s.

Who else has that type of history? Woods and Lefty. The parallels in their careers are uncanny. And yes, I know that Sorenstam officially retired in 2008, and Webb took a break from golf for a few years before returning to the Tour last year. But the world hasn’t witnessed a co-ed pairing like this since 2001 when Woods and Sorenstam started their storied friendship while playing the Battle at Bighorn, a made-for-TV event, that also featured David Duval and Webb. We’re long overdue for men and women to face off on the course in a big, made-for-TV event — and why not do it with some golf legends?

Michael Eaves, ESPN
Tiger Woods/Matt Damon vs. Phil Mickelson/Will Smith
If you’ve ever spent time on their Instagram pages, you would know that Phil and Will would make a natural pairing. Plus, they are two of the biggest stars in their respective fields, who have cashed in on their fame and performances like few others, despite a few flops on the biggest stages.

On the other side, Matt could bring a little something to the match that Tiger has clearly been reluctant to do in front of the cameras: NSFW trash talking! Those who have played privately with Tiger tell tremendous tales of his R-rated commentary, so with Damon as his partner, he can leave the F-bombs to the South Boston native.

And lastly, most importantly, Smith and Damon could make up for the utter disappointment that was “The Legend of Bagger Vance.”

Mark Schlabach, ESPN.com
Tiger Woods/Michael Jordan vs. Scottie Pippen/Phil Mickelson
They could call it the “Last Match,” because either Jordan or Pippen probably wouldn’t make it to the 18th hole in one piece, given what was said during “The Last Dance.” The trash talking would be epic. Like MJ, Pippen is an avid golfer. Jordan gave him his first set of clubs as a Bulls rookie so he could take his money on the course. Pippen and Mickelson are used to playing in the shadows of MJ and Tiger, so the matchup makes sense. With Phil and Jordan in the foursome, there would be some serious cash being thrown around, which would make it mighty interesting. If Pippen won’t play, I’d settle for Isiah Thomas and Phil.

Nick Pietruszkiewicz, ESPN.com
Tiger Woods/Chris Paul/Larry Fitzgerald/Mike Trout/Lexi Thompson vs. Phil Mickelson/Steph Curry/Patrick Mahomes/Justin Verlander/Danielle Kang
Hey, there are no rules here. So why not make it a one-day, Ryder Cup-style event? The Tiger/Phil Cup? Play three six-hole rotations of best-ball, alternate shot and singles. Look at those names … think they won’t have some fun? And all of them can play, too. Also, none of them are all that shy, so the trash talk should be strong.

SOURCE:  espn.com

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