If this is your first issue, welcome.
If you’ve been following along, thank you — I truly appreciate it.

This week, we’ve got a little bit of this and that…

Let’s get into it.

Let me ask you something…

Who was the first golfer that looked at a scorecard and thought:

“You know what this game needs?
More birds.”

Because that’s exactly what happened.

It Starts With a “Bird”

Back in the early 1900s in the United States, the word “bird” meant something excellent.

So when a golfer made a great score—say a 3 on a par 4—someone said:

“That was a bird.”

And golf, being golf, responded with:
“Done. That’s official now.”

No debate.
No rules committee.
No 47-page PDF.

Just one good shot… and a nickname that stuck for over a century.

Then Things Escalated (Quickly)

Now golfers had a term for one under par.

Which meant, of course, they immediately needed one for two under.

Did they go with something logical?
Of course not.

They went with:
Eagle.

Because if one bird is good… a much larger, more aggressive bird must be better.

This is the kind of decision-making that also leads people to aim directly at water.

And Then… We Lost Control

Now we arrive at three under par on one hole.

At this point, a rational person might say:
“Let’s slow this down.”

Golfers said:
“Absolutely not.”

Someone—somewhere—decided the next step up the bird ladder was the Albatross.

A bird so large…
So rare…
That most golfers have a better chance of organizing their garage than ever making one.

And yet here we are… casually using it like it makes perfect sense.

Let’s Call It What It Is

And if you’ve ever made one…

You’ve told that story more times than I’ve told someone to stop holding the club in their palms.

Bonus: Because Golf Is Never Normal

Originally, the term “Bogey” meant par.

Let that sink in.

At one point:

Golf doesn’t evolve… it just quietly shifts the goalposts and watches you suffer.

Final Thought

Golf is the only sport where:

But that’s the beauty of it.

Because no matter how the round is going…

One good swing…
One good hole…
One birdie…

…and suddenly you’re thinking:

“Yep. I’ve got it now.”

Make a birdie—enjoy it.
Make an eagle—mention it at least 12 times.
Make an albatross—call me. I don’t care if it’s 3 or 4 in the morning.

We’re talking about that one immediately.

If you’ve only ever had a bird on the bbq, maybe follow along and learn a few things…

👉 Subscribe to The Golf Scene
Each week: quick reads, better decisions, and fewer “what just happened” moments.

👉 Subscribe Here

Last season, I was out playing with a friend, sharing a cart.

He hits his drive… and it ends up about 10 feet behind a massive oak tree.

Not beside it.
Not slightly blocked by it.

Behind it.

We drive over, take a look, and it’s immediately clear:

He has zero chance.

No angle.
No window.
No miracle shot.

The tree — combined with the geometry of the hole — completely eliminated any realistic path to the green.

So, like any good playing partner…

I left him there and drove off to my own ball.

After hitting my shot, I turned around to watch what I assumed would be:

Instead…

He hits a shot that lands in the middle of the green.

Middle.

Of.

The.

Green.

Now, I’ve been around this game a long time.

And my very first thought wasn’t:

“Wow, what a great shot.”

It was:

“Foot wedge.”

For those unfamiliar with this highly unofficial piece of equipment…

The foot wedge is when a player subtly (or not so subtly) nudges their ball with their foot to improve the lie or angle.

In this case:

A quiet little adjustment…
Three or four feet to the side…
Suddenly opens up a beautiful view of the green.

Amazing how that works.

Of course, there was no mention of this on the scorecard.

No penalty.
No confession.
Just a very confident walk back to the cart.

📖 Rule of the Week (The Part We’re Supposed to Follow)

Under the Rules of Golf, you are not allowed to improve:

Which means…

👉 Quietly moving your ball with your foot so you suddenly have a clear shot

Is, technically speaking…

Not encouraged.

(Also known as: a penalty. A very real one.)

🎯 The Reality

The foot wedge is:

And, just to be clear…

Completely against the rules.

🏁 Closing Thought

Was it the right play?

Absolutely not.

Was it effective?

100%.

And that, my friend, is the story of the commonly used foot wedge…

Don’t worry — your secret is safe here.

This next part is where we usually say something that can actually improve your game.

If you’re enjoying this and want it delivered every week:

👉 Subscribe to The Golf Scene
No fluff. Just ideas, insight, and the occasional reality check.

👉 Subscribe Here

Contact (C1)
Club Path (C2)
Club Face (C3)
Centeredness of Hit (C4)
Club Speed (C5)

That’s it.
That’s the golf swing.

After 500 years of people buying miracle training aids, watching YouTube at 1:30 in the morning, and trying to “keep the lead arm straight and the head down while keeping their eye on the ball while transferring weight to the lead side all while praying they just hit the ball”… it still comes down to five things.

Five.

Not 37 swing thoughts.
Not whether your glove matches your shoes.
Not whether your driver shaft was blessed by monks in the mountains of Japan.

Just five things.

Get all five close to tour-level numbers and congratulations — you’re probably playing golf on television while some announcer says things like:

“What incredible shaft lean…”

…which still sounds vaguely inappropriate no matter how many times they say it.

Get reasonably close to good model numbers and you’ll probably shoot in the 70s or 80s.

Move further away from those numbers?
Well… now you’re introducing yourself to strangers as:

“I’m normally much better than this.”

No you’re not.
You just had three good holes in 2019 and built an entire personality around them.

Here’s the important part:

I honestly do not care what your swing looks like.

Want to swing like Jim Furyk and look like you’re escaping a swarm of bees during your backswing? Fine.

Want to swing like Bubba Watson and appear to be violating several laws of geometry? Fine.

Want to swing like Jack Nicklaus? Fine.

Want to swing like Moe Norman and stand far enough away from the ball that people become uncomfortable? Also fine.

Because despite how wildly different those swings looked, they all had something in common:

At impact, the numbers were very, very good.

That’s the secret golfers miss.

Golf is not an art contest.
Nobody gets bonus points because their swing “looks buttery.”

The golf ball does not care.

The ball only responds to:

That’s it.

The golf ball is basically the world’s harshest employee review, and unlike today’s media — it simply reports the truth.

Immediately.

And often publicly.

So when a student comes to me, I’m not trying to rebuild their swing into some robotic clone of Adam Scott standing beside a mountain lake at sunset.

I evaluate the numbers.
I identify which of the 5Cs are breaking down.
And trust me — sometimes it’s not just one.

Sometimes the swing looks like a crime scene.

But before we even get into drills, positions, rehearsals, or trying to stop your driver from launching screaming worm-burners into the adjacent postal code, I first want you to understand what is supposed to happen.

Because if you don’t understand the task, the drills become random nonsense.

You start doing things because:

“A guy on Instagram said this adds 30 yards.”

That guy also claims he made $400,000 trading crypto from a hammock in Bali, so maybe let’s slow down a little.

And of all the 5Cs, the most important is Contact (C1).

That’s why it’s C1.

As in:

Because without solid contact, the other Cs can only help so much.

You can have:

…but if you hit the ground six inches behind the ball like you’re attempting archaeological excavation work, none of the rest matters.

Good golfers hit the ball first.
Then the ground.

Bad golfers hit:

As though missing the ball was part of the strategy.

Usually.

So before you obsess over:

Fix your contact first.

Because in golf, nothing good happens until the contact is correct.

If that rule opened your eyes to your opponents sudden miraculous shots…

👉 Subscribe to The Golf Scene
Each week: quick reads, better decisions, and fewer “what just happened” moments.

👉 Subscribe Here

Join the Conversation

Enjoying The Golf Scene so far?

👉 Have a question about your swing?
👉 Something you’d like me to cover?
👉 Or anything in this issue that stood out?

Just hit reply and tell me what you’re working on — I read every message.

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:

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 continue the discussion of the 5C Golf Performance System