Hope for the Bogey Golfer: A S.Y.S.T.E.M. to Improve Your Game

By Robert M. Gullberg

Most golf enthusiasts have read Harvey Penick's Little Red Book (1993) in which Harvey shares lessons and teachings from a lifetime of teaching golf. As a lifelong history buff, I enjoyed reading his "pearls of wisdom" about golf. This one from Jack Burke, Sr. in 1943 impacted me the most about improving your game: "Get a system of some kind in playing. Any kind of a system beats trusting to luck."

S.Y.S.T.E.M. is a system that I have developed over many years. It eliminates luck. It gives bogey golfers a practical strategy to defeat the two main enemies in golf: the golf course and the mind. Get the strategy and read this e-book. It also has nuggets of advice from all kinds of golf professionals. In just over 80 pages, Hope for the Bogey Golfer takes all the complex concepts of playing golf and reduces them to eight essential keys that you can easily adapt to your game. In these guiding key principles, S.Y.S.T.E.M. will show you how to hit more solid shots, make more putts, and hit more targets. S.Y.S.T.E.M. will be explained in detail to you, and no doubt you will improve your game.

I know that you will find this 80 page practical e-book informative, interesting, and thought provoking. I invite you to read Hope for the Bogey Golfer. If only one section helps you, then eureka!

As an avid Midwestern golfer raised playing golf in northern Illinois and southern Wisconsin (where there as many golf courses as anywhere else on the planet), I am convinced that most bogey players will never improve irrespective of what they try. Well, you needn't be "most golfers."

Bogey golfers abound on this planet. The golf game is full of them. In fact, the vast majority of the 60 million or so golfers in the world are bogey players (averaging one over par on each hole) or worse. They look on with awe at the professional golfer who shoots par or better and wonders why they can't do that? They are frustrated with not improving their bogey game. They play golf regularly or sometimes sporadically, but they spend more time "spoiling a good walk" than anything else. They insanely buy the newest clubs or new balls to see if maybe that will improve their game.

If you are serious about getting rid of your lousy shots that cost you strokes on the scorecard, then this e-book is a must read.

Robert M. Gullberg/Racine, Wisconsin

• Language: English
• Publisher: BookBaby
• Release date: Jan 1, 1900
• ISBN: 9781682225981

Robert M. Gullberg

Dr. Robert Gullberg is originally from Park Ridge, Illinois and has practiced Internal Medicine in Racine, Wisconsin for over three decades. His father was a dentist and practiced for over 40 years, many of those years as a volunteer at the Pacific Garden Mission in Chicago, Illinois. Both of his parents- Robert C. and Adrienne, as well as brother Jim, and sisters Lin and Lauri have been believers and influenced him in the Christian faith. In high school, he received the "Good Will Award" his senior year. He attended Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois and graduated with a degree in Chemistry. Four years later, he graduated from the University of Illinois Medical School . As a senior in medical school, he got a glimpse of global missions when he worked in a missionary hospital in Herbertpur, India near the Nepalian border for three months working with Dr. Simon Satau. From the University of Illinois, he headed to Evanston Hospital and completed a residency in Internal Medicine. Next was a two-year Fellowship in the study of serious Infections at Northwestern University Medical Center in Chicago. After his post graduate fellowship, he arrived in Racine and married Janet Henricksen two years later. He and Janet are blessed to have four God-believing children. Dr. Bob's journey with the Lord began as a 13 year-old at the Northwest Covenant Church in Mt. Prospect, Illinois. There, Pastor Engseth led him to the Lord. While attending Maine East High School, mentorship from Dave Veerman of Campus Life followed. Son City at South Park Church with Bill Hybels as Youth Pastor was part of his growing experience. When college began, Craig Domeck took him under his wing in Campus Crusade for Christ. Medical school followed, and some warm fellowship with regular Bible Studies was part of the weekly spiritual diet. While in Rockford, Illinois on a three year medical stint, he attended the Evangelical Free Church. Dr. Dave Norquist was a special friend, and quality time was spent with the Christian Medical Society group, as well as with Eric Anderson, his travel mate to India. Post-graduate training followed at Northwestern University, and Bible studies with cross-healthcare students kept him active in God's word. Small group studies with Peter Jaggard, MD, Doug Smith, Steve Bundra MD and many others were regular. When Bob arrived in Racine, Wisconsin to start his medical practice, the late Dr. Jim Peterson and Dr. Don Cohill mentored him for years. Presently, Dr. Bob is active at an evangelical church in southeast Wisconsin. He tributes Pastor Jerry Worsham ( of Grace Church in Racine), Reverend John Schindler, and Pastor Joel Lindsey for having an impact on his life from the pulpit for a span of three decades. Pastor Rusty Hayes was a trusted accountability partner for years while he was at Grace also. Dr. Bob has led Bible studies for decades on all sorts of topics from Genesis to Revelation. He has had the opportunity to do short term medical work in several remote areas of the world doing medical missions; including Honduras, Haiti, and central Africa. God is at work in every nook and cranny of this globe. He has been a practicing internist for years and has kept busy trying to take care of a full load of patients. There are occasions on a daily basis to see God work his miracles in his patients. One of the goals of the author is to get know the Bible like he knows his profession of medicine (however, the more he knows in these areas, the more he realizes that he has a lot to learn)! He hopes your goal is similar; to know the heartbeat of God through the Scriptures.

Book preview

Introduction to S.Y.S.T.E.M.

Most golf enthusiasts have read Harvey Penick’s Little Red Book (1993) in which Harvey shares lessons and teachings from a lifetime of teaching golf. Tom Kite and Ben Crenshaw, both now on the senior tour and past their prime years, were students of Harvey. As someone who has always loved history, I enjoyed reading his pearls of wisdom about golf. This one from Jack Burke, Sr. in 1943 impacted me the most:

"Get a system of some kind in playing (golf). Any kind of a system beats trusting to luck." Harvey Penick’s Little Read Book, Maxims, p. 90

Some years back, two of my sons were starting to play junior golf and at their young ages were showing some passion and aptitude for the game. I had been playing for several decades but considered myself a bogey golfer. My mission became to play golf with them as much as I could and show them the ropes of this challenging game. I knew that even as a bogey golfer, I could give them some tips. On family vacations, the clubs often went with us. My wife was sure to ask me, Are you going to play golf with the boys when we’re in Florida on spring break? I knew then that I had it made as a golf Dad!

One night back in those years, believe it or not, I had a dream. In the dream, I was playing golf with my young sons giving them some basic teaching. The acronym S.Y.S.T.E.M. came to me in the dream.

S

hape

Y

our

S

hot

T

o

E

xact

M

easurement

Wow! I woke up from the dream with my heart pounding. S.Y.S.T.E. M. definitely captured the main components of the game. For the next several months, I formulated a game-plan. I realized that golf was a precise game requiring a knowledge of precise, distance measurements. I taught my sons the keys of shaping shots, being accurate in distances, picking exact targets, and doing the proper preparation and practice. But I also focused on keeping the game fun for them.

I also realized that golf had a huge mental component. After all, golf has always been a game requiring confidence, which I thought would impact S.Y.S.T.E.M. The mind game in golf must be harnessed, and S.Y.S.T.E.M. would help to do that. (The mental game is Key #7 in S.Y.S.T.E.M.)

To this day, my sons have gone on to become excellent golfers, and they enjoy the game immensely. They love the competition and have fun along the way.

The strategic plan of action for golf called S.Y.S.T.E.M. will help your driving, long irons, short irons, short game, putting, and the mental game. You see, golf is really five games in one. That’s what makes it so tough. Most bogey golfers never put all five pieces of the puzzle together during their round. On one day, your putting is seemingly consistent, but your bunker play stinks. Your iron play is just O.K., but your driving was right down the middle. The next week, you sliced two of your drives OB, but your iron play and short game saved you.

Candidly, you need to have a strategy for each part. A system to help you improve, and then you will have more fun playing this game. Guaranteed.

I’m the typical bogey golfer. I make a good amount of pars, with an occasional birdie thrown in. But I have my share of bogeys with an occasional double or triple bogey. After all, golf is a game of ups and downs. I make no bones about it. You shouldn’t either. Most golfers are bogey players at best, or even worse, averaging 100 or over on an 18-hole round. That doesn’t mean that you are a duffer or a hacker. A duffer is a bogey player plus then some. If you are a hacker, and shoot consistently well over 100 or 110, then no doubt that you will also benefit from reading this book and applying S.Y.S.T.E.M.

Not having a strategic plan like S.Y.S.T.E.M. will keep bogey golfers playing bogey golf or worse. Apply the keys in this book and you will improve on your technical skills and mental approach. According to Golfsmith, the average golfer shoots around 100 for 18 holes. That’s bogey golf. Assuming you three-putt maybe half the greens, you have 55-60 non-putt strokes per round to improve on while on the course.

S.Y.S.T.E.M. will remove some of the frustration out of your game. It will help you make golf a fun walk rather than a good walk spoiled, as novelist Harvey Wilson quipped in 1905. You’ll have fun improving if you use the eight S.Y.S.T.E.M. keys that are detailed in this e-book.

Having fun while you’re playing comes from scoring better. If only one or two wonderful shots during a round bring the weekend golfer back for more golf the following week, you will be ecstatic after applying S.Y.S.T.E.M. to your game. S.Y.S.T.E.M. will help you with your all-around game, and shave off some shots from your scorecard.

You will need to break away from what I call golf insanity. This is when you try to improve your game by purchasing more expensive equipment, different and more expensive golf balls, or hiring different instructors who endeavor to change the mechanics of your swing. When you eventually leave these golf instructors, which is usually the case, your golf swing will likely revert to what it was before. You don’t want to end up with three or four putters in your garage and five drivers, trying to find the holy grail. Are late night infomercials about the latest golf gadget going to help the bogey golfer?

S.Y.S.T.E.M. is what makes this book unique. I have developed this strategy over years of trial and error. It comes from assimilating many golf concepts into a straight-forward on-course strategy. It will force you to manage every golf hole, rather than have the hole intimidate you. It will help you have a battle plan for your game. One of the biggest mistakes that I see bogey golfers make is that they lack tactics for defeating the complexities of each hole on the course. S.Y.S.T.E.M. will allow you to be more calculating, and allow your subconscious mind to control your conscious mind (the beast within you which allows fear to take over) much more than it does now.

What do I mean by calculating? To calculate means to make a deliberate analysis. U.C.L.A.’s John Wooden, one of the winningest college basketball coaches of all-time, puts it this way in one of his best quotes ever: Failing to prepare is preparing to fail. Simply stated, S.Y.S.T.E.M. will help the bogey golfer prepare. Many bogey golfers fail to improve because they don’t intentionalize their game. They don’t have a specific plan for their round, hole by hole.

S.Y.S.T.E.M. will allow you to play within the confines of your own swing. The mechanics of your particular golf swing don’t need to be changed. Your setup might be adjusted, but that is a different issue than changing your swing. Over the years, I have seen golfers go to swing coaches or take lessons and struggle, struggle and have more struggles. Students make changes because of well-meaning teachers. The changes rarely stick, and instructors inadvertently mess with your swing. As an example, look at Tiger Woods. Granted, he has had numerous physical injuries. How many swing coaches has he had since the year 2000? At least four or five. And they all have a different philosophy about the golf swing. Tiger’s mind is spinning so much, no wonder he gets caught up with old swing styles when he is trying to change to a new one. He blames old swing thoughts when he hits one 30 degrees off target. These physical changes in his swing appear to be affecting his mental game, at least lately. Maybe, someday, he’ll be back.

Key Principles of S.Y.S.T.E.M.

I have broken down the S.Y.S.T.E.M. into eight key principles. 1) Addressing the ball 2) Long game-driving, hybrid shots and long iron shots 3) Short game-wedges, chipping, and pitching 4) Putting 5) Course management 6) Difficult situations on the course 7) The mental game, and 8) Before and after a round. Follow these eight S.Y.S.T.E.M. keys and you will be on your way to an improved game, which automatically will allow you to have more fun on the course.

At the end of this book, I provide three examples of applying S.Y.S.T.E.M.

You don’t want to be another bogey golfer who gives up on the game, do you? You don’t want to be another golfer who has relegated his/her golf clubs to the garage because of being sick and tired of the state of your golf game. So pay attention. Apply the S.Y.S.T.E.M. to your game so it sticks.

S.Y.S.T.E.M. Key #1: Addressing the ball

There are 16 important sub-categories to discuss regarding the larger topic of