You might be astonished to learn that no major publishing house has approached me on what I’m about to reveal. You might be chagrined to learn that I picked up the information on my own, with a wee bit of help from the players (girls and boys) that I coach in paradise (western New York.) I’ve put together a great succession of ball-striking rounds from Heaven, and deemed that the preparation and changes invested in my game have borne fruit. I therefore wish to share what I have learned over the past eight months with you.

1/ Get stronger. After receiving clearance from the official RonMon medical personnel, I got stronger. I added bench presses, military presses, seated rows and pull downs to my non-existent exercise regimen, along with leg curls to strengthen my hamstrings. I also did a boatload of calf raises on the household steps. I’m 42 this Friday, so we’re not talking about a Tiger workout. In fact, I typically restrict my own weight-lifting to two muscle groups a day. Fortunately for me, Mrs. Mon invested in a terrific universal weight setup some ten years ago, and I hit it before or after work for about 10-15 minutes.

2/ Find your optimum swing path. I was Jim Furyk before Furyk was Furyk. My perfect swing path is not Tiger’s, is not Bruce Lietzke’s, is not Lorena Ochoa’s. I have a friend with a pro shop and a clubface-angle reader. Last October, I stopped by to hit balls and started paying attention to my clubface angle. With a traditional inside to outside path, my clubface was way open; by going up and out, then back down from the inside, I squared up the face considerably. Last Sunday, I played the best Hogan round of my life, with 15 greens in regulation, 2 fringes, and one foot-off-fringe. The fact that I putted like a chihuahua sprints kept me from breaking par, but the feeling from tee to green was theretofore unknown.

3/ Get a big driver. I picked one up from a company whose name mimics that of a greek goddess. I purchased it after banging the same driver that belonged to a former player, and came to understand truly the changes that technology has wrought. There seem to be about four companies that make a life-altering driver, so limit your search to them. Sorry to be so frank, smaller companies.

4/ Trust yourself to go low. This is the area that I cannot master. I have put myself in position to go under par on a number of occasions this year, but cannot break through. As such, any suggestions from y’all would be welcomed, tested, and discussed in future blog entries.

In addition to the 72 at Holiday Valley, and the 15-green 80 at Peek’N Peak (site of the Nationwide Tour’s Peek’N Peak Charity Classic), my 9-hole rounds with the team this Fall have registered on the Richter Scale at 5-6 greens in regulation, 37-39 on the scorecard. My index is currently 5.3, and dropping. Good luck in your quest. I’ll keep you posted on my own.

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