Opening Note
Welcome to The Golf Scene — Your Weekly Golf Fix.
Opening Note
You ever hit a shot… and immediately know it’s wrong?
Not “slightly off.”
I mean pack your bags, we’re going on a journey wrong.
Yeah… me too.
Want to know why that happened?
Yeah, me too.
(Just kidding — I already know.)
If this is your first issue, welcome.
If you’ve been following along — thanks for being here.
Let’s get into it.
Caricature of me, David Govan. Thanks GPT.
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In This Issue:
🧠 From the Obscure: The Tin Cup On A Chain
📜 Rule of the Week: Where Can You Tee Your Ball?🏌️
🏌️ Life: A Green Is Like An Iceberg
⚙️ Equipment Insight: Rangefinder vs GPS vs…Whatever You’re Doing
⚡ Quick Tip: Clean Your Shoes — Seriously
🏌️ Swing Insight: Contact = Mission Critical (Not Carl Sagan’s Book Contact)
From the Obscure
The Tin Cup on a Chain
Would you drink from a galvanized steel water jug…
hidden inside something that looked like a giant wooden birdhouse?
No bottles.
No paper cups.
No sanitizer.
Just one tin cup… attached by a chain.
For everyone.
We did.
Thirty-degree heat.
You’re cooked.
Not “a little thirsty”…
I mean seeing mirages on the fairway thirsty.
You’ve already looked at a sprinkler head and thought:
“Honestly… I’ve had worse ideas.”
And then — off in the distance — you see it.
That wooden box.
Part birdhouse.
Part mystery.
Part public health concern.
Inside it… the jug.
Hanging from it… the cup.
Rusty chain.
Zero hygiene.
Absolutely no questions asked.
And there’s a lineup.
That’s the best part.
A lineup… for one cup.
Guy in front of you?
Just finished a cigar.
Guy before him?
Let’s not even guess.
You grab the cup.
No rinse.
No wipe.
No hesitation.
You just drink.
Because in that moment…
Nothing else matters.
Not germs.
Not logic.
Not long-term consequences.
Just water.
Different time.
Different standards.
And somehow…
we all survived.
Rule of the Week
Where Can You Tee Your Ball?
Let’s clear something up.
Most golfers think the teeing area is:
“Somewhere between those two blocks.”
Close.
But not even close enough to help you.
According to the R&A and USGA, the teeing area is:
Between the outside edges of the markers
And up to two club-lengths behind them
And yes — outside edges.
That’s where you measure from.
Now here’s where it gets fun…
Your ball has to be inside that area
Your feet? They can be anywhere
Anywhere.
You could be standing in the parking lot…
as long as the ball is in the right spot.
And yet…
What do most golfers do?
Walk up.
Drop a tee right in the middle.
Stand in the worst patch of turf imaginable…
Right where:
The grass is gone
The ground is beat up
And someone just took a divot the size of a dinner plate
Then they hit the shot and wonder why it felt terrible.
It’s a mystery.
Meanwhile, the smart player is doing something very different:
Moving back
Finding level ground
Avoiding the minefield of broken turf
Picking a better angle
Same hole.
Same rules.
One player gives themselves a chance…
The other one is basically teeing it up in a crime scene.
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Golf Life
The Green Is Like an Iceberg
A golf green is like an iceberg.
And yes… I mean Titanic-level iceberg.
What you see on the surface?
That’s maybe 10%.
The other 90%…
Is doing all the work.
Now here’s the difference.
With the Titanic, what was below the surface was the problem.
On a golf green?
What’s below the surface is the reason everything works.
Because under that smooth, simple-looking putting surface is a carefully built system designed to control water, firmness, and consistency.
At the base:
Drainage systems — pipes moving water away so the green doesn’t turn into a swamp after a rainstorm.
Above that:
Layers of gravel and sand — allowing water to move through efficiently while still supporting the turf.
Then the root zone — a precisely blended growing medium that balances moisture, stability, and root development.
And on top?
The grass.
Carefully selected.
Carefully maintained.
Cut to a fraction of an inch… so your putt has a chance of doing what you think it should do.
Then comes the daily work:
Aeration (so the soil can breathe)
Topdressing (to keep the surface smooth)
Rolling and mowing (to control speed)
Irrigation (to keep everything in balance)
So when you stand over a putt and think:
“This looks simple…”
You’re right.
It is simple.
And that’s the point.
Because all the complexity — everything that makes that green roll true — is hidden underneath.
Unlike the Titanic…
What you don’t see isn’t the danger.
It’s the reason you can play the game at all.
Equipment Insight
Rangefinder vs GPS vs… Whatever You’re Doing Now
Let’s be honest.
If you’re still pacing off yardages…
we need to have a conversation.
Here’s the breakdown:
Rangefinder = Great
GPS = Good
Pacing it off = Confidence… with absolutely no evidence
A rangefinder gives you:
Exact distance to the pin
Slope-adjusted yardage (when allowed)
Immediate clarity
No guessing.
No pacing.
No “I think it’s about…”
GPS?
Solid option.
You get:
Front
Middle
Back
That’s useful…
but it’s still an estimate.
And then there’s pacing.
Sure.
You get to your ball…
look at the green…
start trying to figure out how far you are.
You think about it…
…then think about it a little longer.
Then you decide:
“I should find a yardage marker.”
And of course…
there it is.
Forty yards away.
Behind you.
So now you walk over to it.
Check the number.
Turn around.
Walk back to your ball.
Recalculate.
Second guess it.
Then you come up with a number you feel pretty good about…
Maybe you’re right.
Maybe you’re not.
So you walk off a few extra yards… just in case.
Back to the ball.
More math.
More doubt.
Now you’re standing there… staring at your bag…
trying to decide what club to hit like you’re sitting an exam you didn’t study for.
Finally, you look over at your playing partners…
…and they’ve got a birthday cake out.
One of them must’ve had a birthday since you started this whole process.
Eventually, you pick a club…
step up…
make a decent swing…
…and hit it 20 yards short.
All because somewhere in that calculation…
you forgot to carry the one.
Look — a rangefinder won’t fix your swing.
But it will eliminate one very simple problem:
Not knowing how far you actually have to hit it.
And in this game…
that’s a pretty good place to start.
Quick Tip
Clean Your Shoes — Seriously
If the bottom of your golf shoes are so packed with dirt, mud, and grass…
that they look like Elton John’s platform shoes from the Pinball Wizard video…
we’ve got a problem.
You’re not getting traction.
You’re sliding around without even realizing it — which means:
Less stability
Less consistency
And swings that don’t quite do what you thought they would
All because your feet are basically standing on four piles of compost.
Take 30 seconds.
Clean them out.
Use a tee. Use a brush. Use whatever works.
Because if your connection to the ground is off…
everything above it has a chance to go with it.
Swing Insight
Contact = Mission Critical (not so much in Carl Sagan’s book)
Let’s get something straight.
In golf, nothing matters more than contact.
Not your grip.
Not your stance.
Not your follow-through.
If you’re not striking the ball properly…
everything else is just noise.
In simple terms, good contact means:
Ball first… then ground. (C-1: Contact)
That’s it.
That’s the whole deal.
Now here’s where things go sideways.
Most golfers believe one of two things:
The club should hit the ground before the ball
Or the club should “pick the ball clean” right off the turf
Both sound reasonable.
Both are wrong.
And both lead to the same result:
Fat shots
Thin shots
And the occasional “I didn’t even feel that” shot
Here’s what’s actually happening.
The golf swing is not designed to bottom out at the ball…
It’s designed to bottom out in front of the ball.
Which means at impact:
Your hands are slightly ahead
The shaft is leaning forward
The club is still moving down
That’s how you compress the ball.
That’s how you get that solid, clean strike.
That’s how the ball does what it’s supposed to do.
Now here’s the part most golfers don’t love…
If your contact is poor, it’s usually not just a “contact problem.”
It’s a motion problem.
Weight stays back
No re-centering
Early release
Trying to help the ball into the air
Sound familiar?
And this is where it gets interesting.
When you fix contact…
a lot of other things start to improve automatically:
Distance goes up (C-5: Club Speed)
Strike improves (C-4: Centredness of Hit)
Ball flight becomes more predictable
All from one change.
So instead of trying to fix everything…
start here.
Ball first. Then ground.
If you can get that right…
you’ve already solved a big part of the puzzle.
And if you can’t?
Don’t worry.
You’re in very good company.
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Join the Conversation
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Closing
If you’ve made it this far…
👉 we’re probably in the same orbit.
My goal with The Golf Scene is simple:
To help you understand the game a little better,
make your bad shots a little less bad,
and maybe even help you enjoy it a bit more along the way.
Because let’s be honest…
👉 this game doesn’t need to be any harder than it already is.
If you found this useful (or at least mildly entertaining), feel free to share it with:
a friend
a playing partner
or someone who has more training aids than a touring circus
And if you’re looking to take your game a step further…
👉 I’d be happy to help — in person or online.
David Govan
PGA of Canada Professional
Golf Excellence Academy
Modern Golf Instruction
Creator of the 5C Golf Performance System
👉 GolfExcellence.ca
Ps — Next week I will get more in-depth into the 5C Golf Performance System.