MISCELLANEOUS
(259).."FAT SHOTS"
Let's make things simple: if you're hitting fat shots, your swing is bottoming out too early. The golf swing is essentially U-shaped and the bottom of your U is occurring before the ball, causing you to hit the ground first. You're chunking it. Chili-dipping it. Laying the sod over it. Hitting the big ball before the little ball. (The big ball is Mother Earth, by the way.)
Tour pros' swings are exactly the opposite. Their swings bottom out after the ball. They hit the ball first as the club head is descending, then take a shallow divot. Here's a drill to help you do the same: on the practice tee, put a tee in the ground an inch or an inch and a half in front of the ball. Sink it into the ground about as deeply as you would if you were
teeing up a 4-iron on a long par 3. When you swing, your goal is to hit the ball and knock the tee out of the ground. With some practice, you'll soon be hitting the ball first and then taking a shallow divot. You'll strike the ball much more crisply and solidly, and notice dramatic improvements in both distance and accuracy.
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(260).."WEDGES 101"
How Wedges Work
All wedges are characterized by high lofts (typically 45-60 degrees) to increase trajectory, and significant sole weighting to help you penetrate sand or grass. Most are also heavier overall. But that's where the similarities end.
Each wedge type has its own characteristics, making it suited to a particular distance or lie.
One important characteristic is bounce angle. As the name implies, this feature enables the club head to "bounce" out of the sand or rough without digging in. If you look at the sole of a sand wedge, for instance, you'll notice that the trailing edge hangs below the leading edge.
Bounce is the angle formed by the leading edge and the ground. This tiny angle (maximum 16 degrees) doesn't sound like much, but it's what makes it worthwhile for you to carry a good sand wedge in your bag. Without bounce, you may just stay in that bunker forever. And in general, less experienced players should use a club with more bounce in soft or fluffy lies. Trust me.
One major development has been the introduction of the "gap" or "dual" wedge. As some manufacturers decreased the loft of the typical pitching wedge to increase its distance (a little sleight of hand), they created a "gap" (10° loft spread vs 5° loft spread) between it and the next longest club, the sand wedge. This gap resulted in a distant control problem between the PW ans SW.
Pitching Wedge
This club has typically 45-49 degrees of loft and is used for longer approach shots (about 110 yards for men, 90 yards for women). Because it's most often hit from the grass, it has minimal bounce (2-5 degrees). In fact, a lot of bounce would be undesirable in this club, because it would make it more difficult to get the leading edge under the ball, causing you to skull it.
Gap Wedge
This club has typically 49-54 degrees of loft and is used for shots of about 100 yards for men, or about 95 yards for women. Bounce is typically 5-12 degrees. But don't pick a gap wedge at random. Choose a loft that divides the "gap" evenly between your pitching and sand wedges and only if the loft gap is more than 6°s. For instance, if you have a 45-degree PW and a 55-degree SW, buy a gap wedge with 50 degrees. Get it? Also known as a "dual" or "attack or A" wedge.
IMPORTANT....Getting the correct loft is not all that is required. The Gap Wedge must be the same length as the PW and SW to function as designed with "your" clubs.
Sand Wedge
This club has typically 54-57 degrees of loft and is used for shots of about 90 yards maximum for men, or about 80 yards for women. It also has the most unique clubhead of the bunch, with lots of bounce (10-16 degrees) and another feature called heel-toe camber. This is what gives the sand wedge an oval shape on the bottom of the face. Finally, sand wedges have more sole width (the distance between the leading and trailing edge). All these features are designed to reduce the risk of digging in.
Lob Wedge
This club has 57 or more degrees of loft and is used for shots of about 65 yards maximum for men, or 60 yards for women. These clubs, also called "finesse" wedges, are for "touch" shots around the green that need to get into the air quickly and land softly. Bounce is minimal (0-10 degrees), because in these situations there is generally very little room under the ball, and a tiny error can make the club bounce off the ground and cause a skulled shot. It has less sole width and a sharp leading edge. One reason many players like this club is because it allows a full, unimpeded swing to cover a short distance, rather than making you rely on an abbreviated swing. The ball flies short and high.
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(261).."GRIP IT & RIP IT"
Most power tips have to do with the physical components of generating speed and power in the golf swing. For this issue, the power tip is a mental one.
What I refer to as "bringing your power to the tee" is more of a frame of mind than a matter of swing mechanics or technique. To hit your longest and straightest drives, you must be mentally geared up to unleash your potential power. This holds true whether you're playing a $2 Nassau with your buddies or competing in the finals of the RE/MAX World Long Drive Championship.
You can't go deep if you're filled with fear or anxiety about the outcome of the shot. You can't hold on to the club through impact, instead of releasing it down the target line. You can't try to steer the ball, instead of allowing it to work toward the target. And you can't come to a tight driving hole and start staring at the OB stakes on the right or the water on left, instead of narrowing your focus to an intended landing spot.
I agree with instuctors like Jackie Burke Jr. and Jim McLean when they discuss the topic of being a "little reckless" with the driver, and their thoughts about golfers that allow fear or anxiety to dictate a shot. Nor can they become over analytical during the golf swing. They have to just let things happen. They have to trust themselves and then allow their athletic instincts to take over from there.
As the saying goes, "just grip it and rip it". That often can be more of a mental challenge than a physical one.
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(262).."ON COURSE PRACTICE"
It never hurts to practice on the course. One of the best ways to get in some quality practice work is to go out alone in the evening or at other times when the course is not crowded and play two or three balls by yourself. Practice playing from different situations. This is a good time to practice those fairway bunker shots or those shots from the rough and other areas that you can't practice on the range.
You can even create your own scramble by playing three balls and hitting the best of them, a game that can tell you a lot about your potential.
I like to play the worst shot of the three. This helps me find the shots that I need to work on to improve my game. This also helps my mental game, because you have to think about, the rules of golf involved, is going through the trees worth the results of clipping the tree or is playing an out shot is the best option from were I lie.
You can also play a two-man competition against yourself by hitting two balls all the way around and keeping score. Whatever routine you choose, practicing on the course is a vital step in bridging the gap between the practice tee and the actual round.
As always, when playing this way and some one comes up on you, step aside and let them play through.
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(264).."TOPPING THE BALL"
Topping the ball means that you hit the top half of the ball and it squirts 20 or 30 yards (or feet) forward. It can be caused by a breaking of the wrists, just prior to impact, which sends the clubhead on an upward path before it strikes the ball, grip pressure or sliding back during the back swing. The good news is that these can be fixed.
WRISTS
If your wrists are breaking before impact it could be ball position.
FIX
Keep the ball in the middle of your stance at address so you strike the ball when the club is at the bottom of its swing arc. When the ball is too far forward in your stance you are hitting the ball on the upswing (and you are trying to lift the ball into the air) or after the club head has past the bottom of its arc and is on its way up.
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(265).."PRODUCTIVE PRACTICE"
When it comes to "Intelligent Practice Methods", comparatively few golfers, even among some of the better club players, know how to practice the right way. Like a round of golf itself, practice sessions should be properly planned and organized. In competitive play, accuracy and not distance is of paramount importance, and the golfer will do well to remember this when he works on his shots, whether he be practicing on a driving range or a practice fairway at his club.
Never practice without a target. You must give yourself some sort of standard by which to judge the success of your efforts. Many golfers say that they can hit a ball a mile on a driving range, but they don't realize they are spraying their shots every which way. I think blinders are given with each bucket of balls at the range. Thoughtless practice sessions not only are valueless but foster bad habits that may be hard to correct later.
I recommend that any golfer practicing his woods and long irons visualize an average fairway in his mind and work to confine his shots to that limited area. Most fairways are at least 40 yards wide, so I advise you to pick out a tree or some other marker and establish a 20-yard tolerance on either side of the target. With your irons, limit the area of tolerance proportionately allowing, say 15 feet on each side of your chosen target for a five iron. With this system, you should be able to become a much more accurate player than if you practice just to display power.
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(266).."FOLLOW THROUGH"
I see so many golfers slice the ball, restrict and rob them-selves of distance by not following through with their golf swing.
The follow-through is the result of the prior body movements. After impact it's just a matter of releasing all tension and letting centrifugal force finish your swing. Centrifugal force will keep the clubface travel and clubface angle in the proper position. After the ball leaves the clubface, there is nothing you can do that will affect the flight of the ball. When you restrict your follow through not only do you manipulate the face of the club at impact, you de-accelerate your swing.
The reason for good extension in the follow-through is to keep the clubface accelerating at impact! Another reason that the slice is so common is that many players try to keep the clubface angle square to the target through and after impact. This actually opens the face, resulting in a left to right spin to the ball (slice).
Trying to keep the clubface angle square to the target after impact breaks down the left wrist, restricting the left arm rotation. These faults set up a chain reaction creating other faults. The lack of arm rotation affects both clubface direction and angle, resulting in both loss of accuracy and distance.
Remember, your swing is going at such a high speed at impact that it's a physical impossibility for you to even attempt to make any adjustments. So commit yourself to doing the right things properly in your setup and takeaway -- because after that, things are out of your control.
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(267).."FOUNDATION"
Solidify Your Swing's Foundation
A consistent golf swing requires
a smooth tempo and good balance. Just as a house needs a solid foundation, so does your golf swing.
Practice hitting some shots with your feet close together (about six inches apart). This forces you to maintain better balance, tempo, and rhythm and will prove effective when you go back to hitting from your normal stance.
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(268).."PROPER STANCE = BETTER DRIVES"
DRIVER + PROPER STANCE = BETTER DRIVES
What I'm about to tell you regarding the stance for hitting your driver is going to feel much different than what you're used to with your iron shots. Don't let this bother you. If you're someone who struggles with a driver, then a significant change might be just the ticket.
In order to facilitate the desired upward strike with the driver, two things must happen in the stance. First of all, the stance must be wider. At least shoulder width is a good guideline for this part of the stance. The wider stance essentially puts you farther behind the ball at address, which helps you to hit up on the ball.
The second important element is to place the ball forward in your stance, somewhere between the heel and instep of your target-side foot. Placing the ball forward in your stance also will make it easier to hit up on the ball. You can imagine that a ball well back in the stance makes it almost impossible to hit with anything but a descending blow, which is disastrous for a driver.
This next point might very well be the difference between a lifetime of great driving and a lifetime of looking for balls in the bushes. Upon adopting a wider stance with the ball placed more forward, you must make sure that your shoulders are still facing down the range (parallel to the target line, hips & toes). This is the area where many golfers part ways with the game's best players.
In keeping your shoulders square while you adopt a wider stance and the new ball position, you will feel much more behind the ball at address. And guess what? You will be! Don't fight this very unusual feeling. With a little practice, the new stance will feel more and more comfortable, and it will make striking the ball properly and more consistently.
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(269).."STOP THINKING"
What do you think about on the course? Often, good players mess up by thinking about the wrong things at the wrong times.
One of the worst times to be deep in thought is when you're ready to hit the ball. Keep things simple. Do all your arithmetic as you approach your ball. Make a checklist of the factors that influence the shot: distance, lie, wind, elevation, and pin position.
Then, choose the club and the type of shot you think best under the circumstances, and make a mental commitment to those choices. Once you're over the ball, focus on one thing, whether it's the flagstick, a target spot on the green or in the fairway, or one specific swing key. "Take Dead Aim"
Then pull the trigger. Don't think. Just do it. You've spent countless hours honing your swing and have hit thousands of good shots in the past. So trust yourself, stop thinking, and you'll be pleased with the result.
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(270).."BRUSH THE BALL"
Here's a great drill that will help you develop more power and start you in the correct swing plane. Place a ball about 8 or 9-inches behind the ball you are going to hit toward the target and about one ball width inside the target line.
Setup to the forward ball.
Swing back and brush the ball away and hit your original ball toward the target. Be sure you do not sway to brush the ball, just push the club back. This is such a great drill because it promotes a nice wide move away from the ball as well as a proper back swing path.
If you are taking the club too far inside or outside, or you pick the club up, you'll never brush the ball back. It also helps with your rhythm as you gradually brush the ball back. Practice this drill and master your game.
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(271).."GO UP A CLUB"
Practice with more club than you need.
If you are looking for more distance with your irons, try an approach that is pure "backwards logic" in its approach. Let's say that you hit your 8-iron 130 yards and you are bound and determined to increase that by 5 to 10 yards. If you exhaust 100 range balls trying to hit your 8-iron to the 140 mark, you will probably never get there. Your tendency would be to just to try to swing harder and harder. You could end up losing yardage.
Instead of trying to hit your 8-iron to the 140 marker, hit your 6-iron. Let's say your normal 140 yard iron is your 7-iron, so the 6-iron is "one more club". you are going to hit it to a 140 yard target. Take full swings and don't choke down on the grip. You will soon find that you have to swing very slowly to keep the ball from flying past the target. After a number of slow, smooth swings you will probably find that you unable to hit the ball that short no matter how hard you try. You will try to hit the 6-iron as though you are hitting high, easy pitch shots, yet still they go past the pin. It is simply too much club. You will begin to view the swing as a slow, easy entity. You will find your sense of timing and your awareness of the clubhead have improved immensely. You will relax because you are Over-Achieving, not Under-Achieving.
Once you've reached the point of not being able to keep the 6-iron from flying far past the target no matter what you do switch to your 7-iron making certain that you transfer the exact same slow, smooth tempo. You should find that the 7-iron goes easily past the pin as well. Keep hitting the 7 until you are unable to keep it short to the target. Now, pick up the 8-iron and put your normal swing on it. With any luck you will find that you have added at least five yards to your previous standard. It may be more.
If you had started your practice session attempting to hit the 8-iron to that distance you would have never been relaxed enough to maintain that smooth, even tempo.
The reason for this bit of convoluted logic is that golf balls fly farther when struck by a loose, long rhythmic swing (think of Freddy Couples and Ernie Els). Most of us tense up and swing harder when we want to hit the ball farther. HARDER DOES NOT MEAN FASTER. Fast ball pitchers are never built like Arnold Schwarzenegger.
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(246).."PRACTICE"
Practice makes... Permanent ?
Practice makes... Perfect ?
So, which do you think is a correct statement for time you spend at the driving range?
If you hit slice after slice from the practice tee, you shouldn't be surprised when you do it on the course. You've practiced it. In this case... Practice makes Permanent.
The good news is that it does not have to be the way.
It's really simple. If you have a swing problem, have a teaching Pro point out the faults that are causing the problem and then address these at the range. This will make your praactice mean something.
Always remember...you must treat the cause of ball flight problems and not the effects. In other words if you are hitting to the right don't aim to the left and compensate for your problem.... Find out why you hit to the right and fix it.
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(273).."LIGHTNING PUTTS"
How do you handle those lightning fast down hill putts? Do you hit off the toe to deaden the stroke?
Using the 'short putter' works better than a toe-stroke to soften the blow, because the ball is struck on the putter sweet spot, the face remains square and putts start on-line (where as toe-stroke putts tend to start to the right).
Here's how it works
Stand next to your ball and make several practice strokes as you normally do. Keep stroking until your mind's eye sees the perfect length and rhythm for your stroke.
Once this perfect stroke has registered in your subconscious, immediately set up over the ball and make a normal putt. Now lower your hands (choke up) at least three inches down the grip and make the same putt. Now try one gripping down six inches. You will see the shorter the putter, the less energy will be transmitted to the ball.
You'll be surprised how softly your putt rolls while staying on its intended line.
The faster the putt, the farther down the grip you go. If the putt is ridiculously fast and ridiculously fast putts do exist go all the way on to the bare metal shaft with your grip.
This will definitely help your consistency on those "killer downhillers."
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(274).."SQUARING THE FACE"
Recently, I began to fade the ball and couldn't figure out why the face was open and what to do to square up the clubface at impact.
Then, while sweeping out my shop I noticed the broom I was using was about the same length as my driver. I grabbed it like a golf club just for the heck of it and began to swing it like I would my driver. What a revelation. I could observe what caused my open clubface by the position of the broom head throughout the swing. (I also found out a tennis racket will also work for this drill)
Basically, the broom head became an exploded view of the clubface and was much easier to visualize and feel what I was doing wrong. In my case, I found I was sliding forward a bit too much in the downswing, and my hands and arms were not keeping up. I have heard the pros describe this as "getting stuck.", now I see what they mean.
In any case, when you've developed a problem getting the club face square at impact, take a few practice swings in slow motion with a broom that is the same length as your driver and observe what the broom face is doing. Once you've learned from this what is required to square the broom face, store that in your memory for your golf swing.
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(275).."SHAPING THE BALL"
Most golfers curve the ball one way or the other when they hit it, usually from left to right. Many simply play along with that curve. Slicers aim more to the left, while hookers more to the right. The problem with this approach is that these golfers don't know why their ball is curving in flight and therefore have no real control over it.
There is nothing wrong with curving the ball, but to make it effective and help you score better, you should know why it curves and how to make it do so. I am not talking about big slices or hooks, but draws and fades of varying degrees that you want when a pin is tucked into the corner of a green, a tree is dead in your line or you are playing into a strong wind, as shaping your shots also includes controlling their height. All are important in producing lower scores.
The golfers basic swing path should be the same for both the normal down the middle, draw and fade shots. This is a must if you wish to control the amount of draw/fade you impart to the ball. The draw/fade of the shots is determined by the angle of the club face at impact. At impact...Square face = back spin, straight ball flight. Closed face= = counter clockwise spin, right to left ball flight. Open face = clockwise spin, left to right ball flight.
The Draw
Again, without changing your natural swing path, you can draw the ball by setting the club face closed at address and aligning your body (feet, hips, shoulders) to the right of your ultimate target. Note: It is important that the last thing you do in this set up is grip the club to assure the face will be closed at impact. If you just turn the club with you hands to close the face, it will square up at impact and all you will do is hit the ball to the right. The amount of draw you get is something you must learn from personal experience and practice.
The Fade
Is exactly the same, except you set up to the left and open the face.
I should point out that you should have a consistent down the middle ball flight before you try shaping the ball, otherwise the most you will accomplish using the above is to compensate for a swing fault or an address problem. A consistent, controllable draw/fade shot is a great score dropping tool to have in your bag.
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