Articles

 

 

Chipping

 

 

Chipping can be defined as a shot with maximum ground time, minimum airtime.  It is a versatile shot that can be played around the greens, out of trees or for a penetrating shot under the wind.  There is no wrong club to use when chipping.  You can use a hybrid or sand wedge. However, there are higher percentage club selections for certain situations using the same technique.

To set up for a chip, realize that you are setting up to putt (conventional style).  There are two slight modifications and you are done.

Set up with a narrow, square stance.  Move the ball back towards your rear foot.
Keep the butt end of the club pointed at your belt buckle and lean your spine forward so that your head is in front of your hands, hands in front of the clubhead.

Leaning forward towards the target should level your shoulders allowing the club to make a more descending blow into the ball.  Also, keep your wrists quiet and firm.  This eliminates scooping the ball and catching a lot of grass between the face and the ball.

Now simply maintain this stance and use your putting stroke (again no wrists).

Choose the least amount of loft you can get away with.  You want to get the ball on the ground as soon as possible so that the ball can roll like a putt.  This gives you the best chance of controlling your distance and also allows you to play the break and potentially make more chips.

You can see the photo (below or to the right) shows the difference between how a sand wedge and 8 iron are aimed and played on a green with a bit of right to left slope.  Both shots are good but the 8 iron is a higher percentage shot because it requires less precision on the hit.

 

Backspin

 

Often students ask me how to get backspin.  It is the elusive stuff the pros use to make the ball dance as if it had English, where the ball backs up like a yo-yo on a string.  It is referred to sometimes as bite, check, even juice. It has nothing to do with some secret that only the pros know.  For the ball to back up there must be certain factors in place, these are loft, speed, clean and precise impact and accommodating greens.  In fact, everyone has the ability to spin the ball, only some do it better than others and here is why.

For the ball to stay in the air it must have backspin.  To impart backspin we are trying to get the loft of the club under the ball without hitting behind it.  Simply put; the more loft, the more spin.  That is why the wedge is the easiest club to spin. It has the most loft and thus the most backspin.
 

Speed when coupled with loft greatly increases the amount of rpm (backspin) on the ball.  The loft of the club is equivalent to the launch angle.  The faster the swing is the higher the ball will fly and thus descend at a steeper angle. The more vertical the ball falls to the green the more the spin will cause the ball to back up.  A lower lofted club will send the ball on a shallower angle like a rock skipped across a lake with no chance of stopping.  We want clean contact with the handle slightly in front of the ball to compress it allow the loft and friction of impact to impart backspin.
 

There is a misconception that the grooves on the clubface create spin. Grooves can have an affect on the amount of spin but not necessarily from the width of the grooves but from the sharpness of the edge.  Remember that grooves run horizontally.  Yet some of us can still curve the ball an extreme amount with our driver.  So why all the fuss about the width of grooves?  The purpose of grooves is to act as a trash can and collect water and debris much like the tread on a tire moves the water of the road so there is tire to pavement contact.  The wider the grooves are the more grass and matter that will be collected and not get between the face and the ball.  When we do get a lot of trash between the face and ball we get a "flyer," a shot that comes off hot with low amounts of spin.  Grass is 90% water and the more grass between the face ad the ball, the less friction.  The cleaner the contact between the face and the ball the more spin we get.
 

Another factor is the green.  To see the ball spin you need the green to be soft and receptive, sloped from back to front. You would want to be hitting into the grain rather than with it.  The green's speed should be fast rather than slow. You want to hit into the wind rather than with it.

Now, if all the factors are in place, that being a lofted club, a clean lie, an accommodating green, and a slight wind in our face, the rest is up to you.  Make good contact with a full swing and you are sure to see some boogie on the green. Just remember to hit long to allow for the ball to back up.

The shaft needs to remain at the same angle through impact and not "scooped."  Trying to help the ball in the air will not add spin, only loft without spin.

 

Dealing with the Heat

 

 

It is summertime again and the temperature is stuck at 100 degrees.  Here are a few tips for dealing with the heat:

• Use two gloves.  Take your glove off and alternate each with each shot, while wiping your hands off in between.  This way they will last longer than using just one for the entire round.

• Drink plenty of water and sports drinks.  Don't wait until you are thirsty.  You are trying to stay hydrated.  Sugars from colas don't help, so save that for the 19th hole.

• Wear a hat and sunscreen.

• Pull your collar up.  You'll look cool, and feel cooler.

• Wear light colors.  Choose fabrics that wick away moisture.  

• Wet a towel at the cooler and wipe your face and neck for instant relief.

• Play late in the afternoon.  Usually, there won't be anyone in front of or behind you.  Most public courses offer discounted prices after 4:00 PM, also.

Even though there may be some heat, don't let that prevent you from hitting some good shots and enjoying a nice round.  

 

Finding a Teacher

 

Golf is a game you can play your entire life.  With that much time to practice, it only makes sense that you should get progressively better.  After all practice makes perfect, right?  Wrong.  Only perfect practice makes perfect.  So when do you need take a lesson?

Here are a few questions to ask yourself.

1. Do you slice?
2. Do you struggle with one aspect of the game?
3. Do you take advice from friends with equal or lesser ability and not get better?
4. Do your scores not seem to be getting any lower?
5. Are you more frustrated after practicing on the range than when you started practicing?

If you answer "yes" to any of these questions, then you need to take a lesson.

SLICE
First, a slice is a weak shot.  It does not go far.  It is not solid.  And it does not hold up in the wind.  The only time that you should play a slice is when you can already play a hook or draw.  After all, the best players in the world have fought a hook at some time in their career and you don't.

STRUGGLING IN ONE AREA
If you struggle with a certain aspect of the game, you need to turn your weakness into your strength.  That way all aspects of your game can be well rounded by improving in all areas.  It doesn't make sense to practice what it is that you are already best at.  Often times people are better at one area and lesser at another area but don't know why they struggle.

INSTRUCTION QUALITY
If you want to lower your scores, seek qualified advice.  Don't listen to someone that can't beat you.  Often I see friends helping each other out with their swing, which is great.  But I never have understood why a person wouldn't seek the best advice possible.  What I usually hear is one person telling the other about what he is working on in his own swing or what he doesn't like about the other's swing or something that is totally wrong for that person's mistake - never anything that would have an immediate impact and improvement on the other person's game.

Golf is a game designed for your enjoyment but most people only become mad and enraged after a casual round. Taking a lesson from a qualified teacher does a few things for you.  It allows you to have another pair of eyes to help dissect your swing.  It allows you to have your questions answered by a professional.  Most importantly it gives you something to work on when you practice, so that you are practicing with a purpose, and not just out exercising or trying new things that will only make you worse.

Most people have had bad experiences with a lesson somewhere in their history.  They may have been told that they had to get worse before they could get better.  This simply is not true.  That is only a cop-out when the instructor is out of guesses.  When I go to the doctor I don't want him to say that I have to get worse before I get better.  I want to improve now.  The best players in the world get help with their swings, so should you.

FINDING A TEACHER
So how do you go about finding a good teacher?  Ask around.  Look for someone who teaches a lot, not the guy behind the counter working part-time.  Talk to the instructor and find out what his theories are.  Watch him or her teach a lesson. Look at their attitude, personality, and demeanor.  Talk to their students.  And do not be afraid to ask questions during your lesson.  If they can't tell you the reasons why you are about to make the changes you are going to make, then they are only guessing and hoping for results.  After all, you want to trust what it is they are telling you.  You have to have a plan.  What is it you are trying to fix; your swing or your ball-flight?  Don't make changes just to look better.  Make your weaknesses your strengths.  Stay committed and stay patient.  Give the instructor a chance.  Just as you can only be as good as the information you are getting, your instructor is only as good as what you pour in to your practice and how well you stick to your plan.  Schedule a follow-up lesson so that you can have a check-up.  This is important because it allows you to know if you need to continue to work on the correction or if you are over doing it.  To change your scores you have to change something that you are doing. A good instructor can help you make the correct changes.

UNDERSTANDING CHANGE
Impact causes or determines your shot pattern.  The swing leads to impact.  Your hands, arms, shoulders, etc. affect the swing plane, which is the golf swing. What typically happens is that you are trying to get the club to do something different to affect your impact and thus hit better shots.

POST LESSON
What happens after you've taken a lesson?  Any changes that you have made should have been to change your ball flight.  Now you have a plan, something to work on and practice.  Spend time implementing that plan on the range, not on the course at first.  Give yourself a chance to see some change in your ball flight.  That is why you took a lesson in the first place.

Those changes probably feel weird or awkward.  Remember that you are not trying to feel comfortable.  You are trying to feel correct.  Repetition will have the change feeling comfortable soon, so stay patient.  After the change is starting to feel better and your shots are flying straighter, it's a good time to go and play.  There are only three ways you could respond to your change: over doing the change, the correct amount, or not doing it enough.  If it is correct, then you can work on other areas of your game.  If your shots start going back to the old patterns, then you need to exaggerate your correction until the ball flight gets back to where you want it.  Your swing is like a car; a little scheduled maintenance will keep you in top shape, so schedule a follow-up lesson.

 

 

How to Practice

 

There are two reasons to go to the range: for improvement or for fun.  If you go for the latter, you need not read any further.  I am not saying that practice should not be fun but this article is written for the player who wants to develop their game.  Here are some do's and don'ts when at the range.

DO'S

• You should stretch.

• Have a plan taht focuses on the short term and the long term.

• Practice the shots that give you trouble.

• Stay focused.

Stretching is good for immediate and long-term injury prevention.  Stretching can play a large part in increasing your distance by keeping you loose.  Tight muscles are slow and conversely relaxed muscles are fast.  The more flexible you are the more your can coil and build up energy to release and thus more clubhead speed.  One can not swing too fast.

Compile a record of your statistics from your rounds and look for a pattern of weakness.  That could be too many putts, penalty shots, poor strategy, etc.  Assessing the weaknesses in your game is the first step towards improvement. Success comes from having a good plan that targets your weaknesses or mistakes.  Remember golf is a lifelong sport and you have the choice of staying at your current level or working to get better.  Practice to improve your weakness.

Have a plan for each practice session.  Make your weakness your strength.  It doesn't make sense to practice what you are best at.  Seek out a qualified instructor to help develop a plan for you.  Correct your flaws and spend some time practicing each aspect of the game.

Take a break after 30 shots or so.  This way you can stay focused and not fall into a slump.  Watch that you don't follow up a few bad shots with more bad shots by hitting more range balls.  If you find yourself struggling, slow down, concentrate on making a better practice swing, then try to recreate that with the ball.  Golfers have dominant mistakes or tendencies and when you get tired your muscles will go back to those dominant habits.  Your progress can drop towards the end of your practice session if you start to get tired.  Now we are taking a step in the wrong direction erasing any progress we may have made.

DON'TS

• Don't be concerned with your how far you hit on the range.

• Don't try things that are not relevant to your mistake like tips from friends or unqualified people.
• When you hit range balls you should be concerned with your technique and ball flight and not distance.  You don't play the same ball as they have on the range.  Range balls can be heavier than legal balls and hence may fly farther.  Also, range balls are cheaply made and lack consistency.  Exposure to the elements and temperature changes will surely affect the liveliness of the ball.  Each ball is probably of different age and the wearing down of dimples will affect the consistency of the ball flight.  The yardage markers usually are not accurate and probably not measured from where you are hitting from.  Focus on ball flight and your technique.

If you are working with an instructor on some changes in your swing, stay committed to those changes.  It can be easy to lose the feel of what you are working on.  If this happens don't abandon what you are working on and start trying other things.  Tips that do not target your mistake will only make your practice more difficult and will also lead to frustration.

Notice there are fewer don'ts, we want to be positive.  Thinking about what we want to do rather than what we don't.  The mind doesn't recognize negatives.  When we think about where we do not want the ball to go, that is usually where it winds up.  Start thinking about what you want to accomplish, rather than what you don't want to happen.   If your plan is correct, the lower scores will come.  Be patient and stick to your plan the results are worth the effort.

 

Putting: Distance vs Direction

 

 

In putting there are only two objectives: distance and direction.  One is no good without the other, however, direction pales in comparison to distance.  Think about it. How many times have you had a putt be right on line only to have it come up short?  Direction was perfect, not distance.  Or you had a putt hit the back of the cup only to save you from running it by five feet or more?  Again direction was perfect, not distance.

Direction is important (especially inside six feet) but without the proper distance it is of little consequence.  How hard is it to aim from twenty to forty feet anyway?  If you missed by two feet in either direction and your distance was good, then you would only have a two-footer left; hence you should never three-putt.  I rarely see anyone three-putt due to poor aim besides the hole is wide enough to let the width three balls in.

BREAKING PUTTS
The most common complaint I get from my students is that they have trouble reading the greens.  Their problem is usually related to distance control.  Distance is the key to breaking putts; and all putts break.  Unless you are 90 degrees above or below the hole, all putts break.  Architects build greens with slope (pitch) so that they can drain water. "Reading the greens" is simply knowing where the most influence is coming from.  The most influential factors are slope and grain.

Greens are three-dimensional, so there could be several slopes influencing your putt.  Always look for the overall contour of the green and surroundings, i.e. where is the natural roll of the land and where did the architect design the water to run off?  These two do not always go together and when this occurs you must take into account the grain.

SLOPE
Determine which direction the influence is coming from.  One way to do this is to bend down and imagine pouring a pitcher of water out at the hole.  Where would the water drain?  That is where the most influence will be.  Now that we know where the influence is, we have to match up the break with the amount of speed we intend to roll the ball past the hole.

GRAIN
Grain tends to run in the direction of the natural contour of the land; away from hills and towards places where creeks and ponds naturally occur.  Bermuda grasses are thicker leafed and tend to have more grain than other grasses.  The grass tends to grow towards the sun, which is strongest and last influence is to the West.  Also, the predominant wind can influence the grain.  Grain is not as prevalent today as it was forty years ago due to better mowing practices and different grasses.  To determine where the grain is growing, look at the cup and the side that is the most worn out is the direction that the grain is growing. The greatest improvement in the game today is better greens.

DISTANCE CONTROL
So how do you develop a feel for distance?  Where people tend to get off is that they do not putt with a consistent pace. First find a pace that you are comfortable with, adopt this pace on both sides of the ball so there is no real change in tempo.  Once your pace is constant, simply control the distance by the length of your swing.  The length of your swing should match up on both sides much like a pendulum.

For short putts, you do not need much swing so a short stroke on both sides should do fine.  On longer putts, lengthen your stroke so you will have more momentum at impact.  We do not want to hit the ball harder, we can do that without changing the length of our stroke. So now that we have a consistent pace or tempo to our stroke we simply match up the length of our stroke with the distance we are trying to hit the ball.  This would be similar to playing pinball.  The farther we pull back on the spring (a constant) the more momentum that we have to propel the ball with and the farther it will go.

A way to practice this is to take five tees and place them five feet apart.  Find an uphill place on the green so that there will be little break.  While keeping a constant pace try to hit each ball to the first tee without running it by or leaving it short.  Then do this to the second and third tee and so on.  Notice how the length of your stroke causes the ball to go different distances.  After you realize how you can control your distance, try putting to the tees in random order.  This way you can create feel.  Another way to practice distance would be to lag putts to the fringe from different distances, much like pitching pennies.

Putting with a better feel for distance will help to eliminate any three-putts.  Remember to play enough break so that when your ball starts to break it is breaking towards the hole and not running away from it.

 

 

Spine Angle

 

The spine angle is a fundamental part of a good setup.  Your spine angle should remain constant because it provides an axis for which your shoulders can turn around.  Your shoulders should turn 90 degrees to your spine.  It is the foundation for the swing plane.

When you change your spine angle (either front to back or from side to side) you change your plane.  Your spine angle can be likened to an axis.  Let's compare the earth and a globe.  The globe is on a fixed axis.  The earth's axis wobbles, thus the earth's seasons change.  We would like to be like a globe and stay in the same season as we turn our shoulders.

Beginning golfers often change their angle because they are trying to use their entire body to move the club and simply do not know how there shoulders should turn.  More experienced players get the club off plane and they are trying to put the club in a better position by changing their spine angle.  Either way the golfer will struggle with inconsistent shots when the spine angle changes.  However, if the club is coming down too steep changing the spine angle will prevent crashing the club into the ground and taking too much turf.  Here is a look at the different spine angle positions.

Front to Back
With the front to back, if you lean forward with your spine, the shoulders will turn steeply and the club will tend to swing more upright. Leaning forward will also cause you to be closer to the ball, resulting in hitting in the heel or too much ground.  If you lean back, the shoulders will turn more around and the club will tend to swing more around or flatter. Leaning back also causes you to be farther from the ball, resulting in misses off the toe or bottom of the club.

Side to Side
If you lean towards the target, the bottom of the swing will be forward  and tend to have deeper divots.  Remember the shoulders should rotate 90 degrees to your spine angle so l leaning left tends to swing the club too much outside on the backswing and steeply to the left on the downswing. The bottom of the swing is forward and is characteristic of a slicer.

Leaning right tends to swing the club too much around on the backswing due to the shoulders turning more around.  If you lean away from the target, the bottom of the swing would be behind the ball with shallower divots.  This position would cause the club to swing on more of an arc characteristic of pushes and hooks.

Correcting our spine angle might not correct our misses as mentioned earlier.  Ask yourself why would you change your spine angle?  Is the changing of your spine angle the cause or attempted correction for your mistake?  Example: If your swing was too steep, you would tend to hit too much ground.  In order to avoid hitting too much ground you might raise up with your body.  If you raised up the right amount (adding a mistake), then you can get away with a good shot because you cancelled one mistake with another.  Why would you want to maintain your spine angle if you swung too steeply?  The answer is you wouldn't.  People don't swing the club incorrectly on purpose, so without understanding your mistakes you have to do something to fix the problem and that usually means adding a mistake.  This leads to inconsistent results.  Typically, when there is a change in the swing plane it is followed by a change in posture before the consistency comes.

 

 

Topped Shots

 

There is not much more humbling in golf than a full wind up and a shot that rolls less than 20 feet.  A topped shot occurs when the clubhead obviously contacts the top of the ball, producing a low, rolling or bouncing result.  We have all heard the common reasons why we top.  We have all been told to keep our head down, that we "looked up" or "took our eyes off the ball."  Brace yourself.  "Looking up" does not cause a top.  There are several good players that "look up" before impact; Hal Sutton, David Duval, and Annika Sorenstam come to mind.  The other common response has always confused me because golf is the one sport where the rules (Rule 13-1) state that the ball must be played where it lies [be at rest].  If it is at rest, why do we have to keep our eye on the ball?  It is not moving.  Baseball, tennis and other racquet sports have moving balls that require hand and eye coordination.  Vision is not required for golf.  Blind people play golf and some play pretty well.

There are three different types of tops: a "steep" top, a "mis-radius" top, and a "shallow" top.  There are only a certain number of ways to produce each type of top.

Steep tops are those made on the way down with the bottom of the swing in front of the ball.  This can happen when you lean ahead and turn too far in front of the ball (coming over the top).

Mis-radius tops are those where the clubhead simply does not get enough underneath the ball's equator.  This can be caused by having clubs that are too short, standing too far away, swinging too flat, coming out of your posture, or shortening your arms.

The shallow top is made by having the bottom of the swing too far behind the ball and contacting it on the way up.  This happens when the club flattens and the head is "stuck" behind the player.  It can also occur when a player tilts or leans back on their way to a reverse pivot.  Another way this happens is if the player casts the club early with their hands, which moves the bottom of the swing back.

Once you can identify your mistake and the cause for it you can target your correction and be on your way to playing better golf.

 

Wet Weather

 

 

When playing tournament golf you are bound to run into some wet weather situations.  There are some adjustments that can be made to help you keep your scores from getting drenched.  Two things you must concentrate on are the grip and your impact.

First, you must keep your grips from getting slippery.  Wet grips will cause you to lose considerable distance with off-center hits due to the rapid twisting of the club face at impact.  You can help prevent this from happening by using an umbrella or rain-cover on your bag.

The rules also allow us outside agents to help us with this area.  Let's look at the rules:

Rule 14-3 c.
i. plain gloves may be worn,
ii. resin, powder and drying or moisturizing agents may be used; and
iii. a towel or handkerchief may be wrapped around the grip

There are some pretty good rain gloves on the market today.  I prefer a handkerchief or towel.   When using a towel to keep your grips dry, realize that cotton towels absorb and retain water.  A better choice would be to opt for a micro fiber towel, which reacts much like a sponge when wrung out.

Let's discuss impact.  One can get away with hitting slightly behind the ball in dry conditions but not during wet weather. It is better to be a little thin with the impact.  Thin shots are particularly good in these situations because they will travel closer to your desired distance and are less likely to curve.  Fat shots should be avoided at all costs.  You can influence a thin shot with a shallower impact by chocking down on the club one inch and making your normal swing.  Also, narrow your stance one inch to make you taller than normal in your stance.  This will aide in making the bottom of your swing shallower.

During wet conditions it is likely that water will get between the face and the ball, which may produce a flyer (a shot with little spin) resulting in a shot that travels farther than planned.  Be sure to clean out the grooves prior to your swing. The grooves act much like the tread on tires by displacing water, grass, and debris.  The application of these alterations to your set-up will minimize the bad effects due to the weather.

Understand that the air is heavier during wet weather so be sure to take more club for each shot.  Be aware that the ball will not roll as far when it lands because the ground is softer.  You may have to allow one more shot for "your" par on certain holes due to the added length from the elements.

Wet weather gear:

• Umbrella

• Rain suit

• Rain hat and gloves

• Extra towels and handkerchief

 

 

 

The Setup

 

 

Many of my students ask me how far they should stand from the ball.  In golf, we never set-up to the ball instead we set-up to the club.  This is important to realize because the clubs are different lengths.  It is imperative that we have clubs that fit our posture.  All people are different heights, some with longer legs, torsos and arm lengths.  If we have the correct lie and length clubs then what we should do is let the length of the club dictate our distance to the ball.

STANCE
A good set-up starts with good posture.  Stand tall, with your feet shoulder width apart, and your hands on your hips. Bend forward approximately thirty degrees from your hip sockets (not your waist).  This will keep your spine more in a straight line.  The flatter your back is the easier it will be to turn.  Lean forward until your heels start to come off the ground.  Now, slightly bend your knees.  Your weight should be on the balls of your feet.  From this position let your arms hang down relaxed, they should hang under your shoulders.  Clap your palms together and hold that position.  Now that you have a good set-up, lower your right arm (for right-handed players) and take your grip.  You are done.

CLUB
Hold the club so that the butt end of the club is pointing at the seam of your zipper.  We measure the loft of the clubface when the shaft is at ninety degrees.  If the shaft moves forward, the clubface will open; when you square the clubface to the target line the club will have less loft.  If the shaft moves back (away from the target) the face will close; when we square it to the target line the face will have more loft.

BALL
The ball position comes last.  Let the ball position be dictated by the club manufacturer.  With a wood, the face of the club is ahead of the shaft so the ball is already ahead in your stance.  With a mid-iron, the shaft tends to go right down to the leading edge, so the ball would be in the middle of your stance.  With the short irons, the face is behind the shaft so the ball would already be in the back of your stance.  The ball position moves only a slight amount in the set-up.  If the ball does move an extreme amount it changes its location in relation to the arc of the swing.

Move your feet until you have the ball in the center of the clubface (concentrating not to lose the relationship between you and the club).  Placing the club behind the ball and then setting up to the club is not an incorrect way of setting up, however, there is no guarantee that it will be done correctly.  The set-up is one of the absolutes or fundamentals that promotes success.  If you set-up to the club as was explained above there is little chance of being off.

 

Shanks

 

 

Before you start panicking and think you have contracted some vicious disease, rest assured that there is a cure for the shanks.  There are only five causes for a shank.  We just have to determine which one is occurring to produce this type of shot.  First off, a shank is simply impact on the heel of the club rather than on the face.  Somehow the heel of the club moved closer to the ball than intended.  Let's examine the possibilities.

• I'm standing too close to the ball.

• My clubs are too long.

• My swing is too flat.

• My arms swung farther out to the ball than they should have.

• Somewhere I moved closer to the ball during my swing (lowering or leaning towards ball).

• My right shoulder moved outward on the downswing causing my arms to be too close to the ball.

 

Once you have established the cause or combination of reasons for the shank, you need to simply eliminate it / them from your swing.  Remember that if you were getting too close with the heel, you need to be working to get the heel farther away from the ball at impact.  One way to quickly change this is to put a tee on the inside of the ball and focus on hitting the tee rather than the ball.

 

Lose 25-65 Yards and Shoot Lower Scores

 

 

There are plenty of articles touting how most golf is played from inside 100 yards. It is more like inside 20 yards.  Think about it most putts and chips take place from inside 20 yards.  Many of my students want to improve their 50 yard wedge shots.  I simply tell them to eliminate that shot and not to waste time practicing that shot for these reasons:

Pin locations
Most American golf courses have well protected greens, which are usually elevated and sometimes surrounded by water and bunkers.  This course set up requires a shot that comes in with more loft and spin as opposed to a links style course where you have the option to bump and run the ball to the green.  If you choose to hit a shot from 25-65 yards away, you can't necessarily get the ball to fly high enough and more importantly have enough spin to stop it with control.

Bad swing mechanics
With a less than full swing, you may find your swing out of position to hit a good shot.  If you have a mistake that occurs early in your swing (get off plane), then you will have to make a correction somewhere later in order to get the club in better position.  When you make a much shorter swing you don't have time to make that correction.  The miss could be as bad as a five foot chunk, top or bladed shot.  The only option is to make a long enough swing to correct your mistake, but now you have a backswing that will hit the ball too far and you will wind up decelerating.  That can lead to problems in itself and less spin.

Confidence
What is you favorite club or the distance you feel most comfortable with?  Is it inside the magic 25-65 yards?  If so, play your game and have fun.  However, if you are like most people you prefer a full swing with a 9 iron or wedge.  Most people don't play to their strengths and try to lay up to their favorite club distance.  The old saying about close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades applies here, too.  Why wouldn't you try to get close to your favorite club?  You already have confidence with it since it is your favorite club, it will be a full swing and it is a shot you have practiced.

Next time you are watching a tournament I challenge you to find a player on the PGA Tour facing a shot from 25-65 yards. They choose not to have this shot for the reasons I have addressed here.  You should, too.

 

Getting Your Kids Started

Most parents would like to get their kids to learn golf. It is a game you can play all your life and use in business. It builds character and teaches etiquette.

1. But how do you get started?
2. What is the best age?
3. What about clubs?
   
   

Don't expect or demand a lot from your child the first time. Kids don't care about score or technique. They just want to hit the ball and have FUN, so let them. You'd be surprised how fast they catch on. They rarely get frustrated unless a parent tries to change them to do it a different way. The most important thing to remember is that golf is just a game. So keep it fun. Golf will hook them without our help.

As far as age goes, look for two things. One is the child's interest level and attention span. If it is something they want to do, they'll let you know. To play good golf you need speed, so your child must be strong enough to support the club and swing it fast while under control. There is no right or wrong age to start golf. Many good golfers took the game up late. Greg Norman was 16. Calvin Peete was 21. Larry Nelson was 23. They all had great careers. Paul Azinger never broke 80 until he was out of high school, yet he went on to win the 1993 PGA Championship. I have helped 3 yr olds that had an attention span longer than a lot of adults.

The biggest mistake I see with parents is (with all good intentions) they try to build a champion too soon. First off, no one likes to be told that their actions are all wrong. They need encouragement instead of correction. When your child wants help they'll ask for it. I have seen plenty of kids ask their mom or dad to watch them swing. That's what you want. I like to play games or challenges with younger kids. Putting is a great way to do this.

There have been plenty of kids that had all the talent, money, instruction, and support that never came close to what Tiger has accomplished even at a young age. Junior camps and clinics are great and especially playing with a friend helps. Just sit back and watch.

 

End your Slice Forever

 

 

The majority of my lessons deal with fixing a slice.  To fix something, first you must identify the cause.  The slice is caused by one and only one thing--an open clubface.  You can swing out to in or come over the top, but until you open the clubface it won't slice.  Let's identify the ways you can arrive at an open clubface.

Characteristics of a Slicer

• WEAK GRIP
• CUPPED WRIST
• POOR ALIGNMENT
• LACK OF LEAD FOREARM ROTATION
• POOR TIMING (Fast body / slow arms)
• LOSS OF POSTURE
• STEEP SWING
• TIGHT GRIP PRESSURE
• POOR PIVOT

Here is a way to address all these causes at the same time.  Learn to hook the ball by doing the following (for a right hander):  

• Move the ball back in your stance toward your right heel (yes, your right heel)

• Close your shoulders the same amount that you moved the ball back.

• Align your left ear over your zipper at address (lean right).

• Turn your grip to the right so that you can see three knuckles with your left hand 

• Relax the grip pressure in your hands and arms

• Take the club in and up

• Turn the palm of your left hand towards you at the top of your swing (bow your wrist).

• Hold your shoulders back and make an arms only swing by rotating the left arm counter clockwise.
• You may find it helpful to tee the ball up to promote more of a baseball (around) swinging motion.

This will straighten out that slice and get you back on the course.

Chicken wing

 

 

When we here the term "chicken wing," some of us think of buffalo sauce while others think of the mistake their friends always point out with their arm in the swing.

The chicken wing is the position at the top of the backswing where the right elbow comes away from the body and the club crosses the target line too soon as a result. It is not limited to just the backswing, you can chicken wing on the follow through as well.  The correction is simple but first let's look at what the causes and effects are.

Backswing
The right elbow becomes disconnected from the body because the left arm rotates counter clockwise in the backswing.

Follow thru
The golf club reverse rotates (clockwise) in the downswing and will open the face and produce a slice or a topped shot due to the left arm pulling away from the body.

Correction

To correct this mistake let's understand the function of the right elbow.  The right elbow should stay connected (in the same position relative to where it started) and support the club at the top of the swing.  Stand at address, simply fold the right arm up 90 degrees and turn your shoulders.  From here rotate the left arm "over" the right. On the follow through, do the opposite and rotate the left forearm counterclockwise.  This will cause the left arm to extend and fold into the left side.  Since the left arm is rotating counterclockwise through impact, the club will be moving faster and the face will be closing producing a longer straighter shot than that old weak slice.