I was lucky enough to catch a little television interview with Ben Crenshaw the other day and the 3-minute video feature on him that followed. I’m glad I did.

If you’ve been watching the Masters this week, you already know that Ben is holding his own, and holding it against some much younger players. True, he isn’t leading, but he’s doing very well. And this isn’t too surprising. He already has two green jackets and years of experience. But during the interview and the feature on him, I learned a few things about his current style of golf and I thought I’d share that with you.

First of all: I had only admiration for Crenshaw when he said (with a straight face) that he can no longer drive as far as the younger players. He can’t match a Tiger Woods drive and he knows it. What I admired about him was that he didn’t let this get him down in any way. He accepts the fact that he’s older now and not capable of doing what he did in the past, but even so, he won’t allow that to dampen his spirit or his competitiviness.

Second: Knowing he can’t drive the ball as far as the younger guys, he concentrates on making the best drive he can and keeping the ball in play, while trying to set himself up for his next shot. In other words, he’s playing “smart” golf rather than “power” golf. This comes with years of experience and (more often than not) it shows.

Third: Now, this is the part that I enjoyed the most. Again, knowing he can’t out drive the others or even stay even with them in distance, Crenshaw is concentrating on his short game, and this is especially true with his putting.

It’s amazing how “equalizing” a course becomes once the players leave the tee area, and Ben Crenshaw is proof of this. Once they leave the tee, it doesn’t matter how old he is. Doesn’t matter if the other players are stronger, faster, or more agile. In fact, I’d even go so far to say that Ben Crenshaw has the advantage (because of his many years of experience) over the younger players once those drives are made!

Time and time again, Ben has shown us how important it is to stop and think as you read a green. He understands the importance of geography and how a ball will roll. He made one putt last week where it looked as if he was aiming five feet to the left of the cup. He hit the ball, it rolled waaaaaay off line and then turned and dropped into the cup. That was an amazing putt!

So, if you’re one of those players who cannot power off a 300 yard drive, don’t sweat it. Keep you drives straight and under control. Play them for positioning your next shot and practice, practice, practice your short game, especially your putting. No other club in your bag can save you more strokes than your putter. Just ask Ben Crenshaw.

Robert Partain has been an avid golfer for over 40 years. He publishes a golf blog that is updated 4 times a week with golf tips, techniques, and information.

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I was playing in an exhibition with Billy Casper in 1969 at a course in Kenosha, WI. Billy was at the top of his game and I was invited to play because I had won the Wisconsin State Open. He was amazing. He had never seen the course before and had to ask where the holes went and what to aim at. All his drives went where he was told to aim. All his shots went where they were supposed to go.

On the back nine, he hit an iron to an elevated green. The pin was cut to the left part of the green and his iron shot was a little long. His ball ended up in a bunker beyond the green. I got to Billy s ball just before he did and the shot he was faced with made me shutter. He had a downhill lie in the bunker, the lip of the bunker he had to get over was about five feet high, the pin was cut close to the edge of the green just beyond the lip of the bunker and the green was sloping away from him quite strongly. Not a pretty picture.

Billy is a very fast player and before I could finish my comment to myself about the shot, he jumped into the bunker, waggled and hit the prettiest bunker shot. It just cleared the lip of the bunker, and had so much backspin that it skidded to a stop just inches from the pin. I thought, WOW but said, Nice shot.

A few years later when I was playing on the PGA Tour and had gotten to know Billy, I asked him about that shot. He paused for a few minutes and said he really had no recollection of that shot. I mumbled something and changed the subject.

That whole story has always interested me. I thought the shot was something special. It was so ordinary to Billy that it never even made it to his memory bank. He really was one of the best for a while. He never lost a tournament he could win.

John Toepel is a Veteran PGA Tour Player, instructor, author, and professional speaker. He is also the discoverer of Concept Golf, the quickest way to immediate, life-long lasting improvements to anyone’s golf game. To learn more about Concept Golf, including the most comprehensive golf instruction system ever, “The Concept Golf Perfect Shot Making System”, please visit http://www.conceptgolf.com/PSMS.htm and Discover the Par Golfer in You!

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One of the most common concerns expressed by golfers is how come I can hit the ball so well on the range but have a difficult time replicating this on the golf course ? When left on their own to try to figure this question out, many people look at their on-course behavior, thinking and playing for the source of the answer. Frequently, the answer lies more in their practice behavior than it does in their playing behavior.

It is necessary to hit a lot of golf balls in order to become proficient at golf. However, in addition to hitting bucket after bucket of practice balls, what is also imperative is that the type of practice that one undertakes approximates as much as possible the actual experience of playing the game. Watching people s typical practice involves seeing them hitting ball after ball on the range- frequently using the same club and hitting to the same target over and over and over again. This is not real golf. Why then would you practice in this manner? The key is to practice more like you play!

Here are 4 easy ways to make your practice sessions translate to better golf while playing.

1. Change targets frequently. On the golf course, you rarely hit two balls in a row to the same exact target. Practice hitting to a different target with each shot. This has application whether with the full swing, pitching, chipping, or in the bunker. Each shot is thought through and executed as a unique entity- just like on the course.

2. Change clubs frequently. On the golf course, you rarely hit two balls in a row with the same club. If you regularly hit your 7-iron three or four times in a row on the course, your game is in big trouble! However, this is how people practice. Changing clubs regularly- say every second or third shot- is a good way to approximate what it feels like to be on the course.

3. Use your pre-shot routine more frequently. Preparation for each shot on the course and preparation for each shot on the range are generally vastly different for most players. This creates a rhythm that s different, a thinking process that s different, and a result that s different!

4. Putt using one ball. You are not given the luxury of hitting the same putt two or three times on the course. Yet many people drop two or three putts and stroke the same putt over and over to the same target. Practice using just one ball- with a full read- to create an environment that s similar to the golf course.

It is true that early in the process of learning one s swing it is sometimes helpful to hit the same club to the same target without a pre-shot. However, once you are ready to go play, make sure that you re preparing yourself to deal with some of the same sensations that you have on the golf course!

Jeff Troesch, MA, LMHC is an internationally recognized expert in the mental side of golf. As the former Director of Sport Psychology for the David Leadbetter Golf Academies, Jeff has worked with thousands of golfers nationwide and brings a wealth of experience to seasoned golf professionals as well as the recreational golf lover. You may contact Jeff directly through his website, http://www.fitnessforgolf.com.

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