End of the Week Tip: Improve Ball Striking

One of the most important things needed to play good golf is to be able to hit the center of the club face (aka the sweet spot) with some regularity. The benefits of hitting the center of the club are many, but none as big as it simply feels good when you make solid contact.

If you can improve your ability to make center contact, you can begin lowering your scores to levels you may have never imagined.  Here are some things to consider when trying to improve your overall ball striking:

·       Pre-swing fundamentals like grip, aim, alignment, and posture can be difficult if you’ve never had instruction to guide you.  But compared to the intricacies involved in a full swing, pre-swing fundamentals are a simple, necessary step to make sure your ball striking won’t suffer.  A lesson with your local PGA professional is well worth the investment just to make sure your game isn’t suffering from simple, fundamental mistakes.

·       Find the sweet spot.  It still amazes me how many golfers there are that aren’t sure when their ball hits the center of the clubface.  When feel isn’t providing enough feedback, it is important that you find a way to see where the ball is hitting the clubface.  Impact tape applied to the clubface has been used for a long time to get proper feedback, but it can be expensive and can influence the feel you get at impact.  Try covering the clubface with a dry erase marker or foot spray (like Dr. Scholl’s) as an inexpensive way to see where the ball is contacting the clubface.

·       Get in shape.  You may have the best golf swing in the world, but for it to hold up for 18 holes, especially under pressure, your body needs to be in good condition.  Today’s stars on the PGA Tour prove this point day in and day out.  Golf specific fitness programs like the Titleist Performance Institute are great ways to get in golf shape.  But if you’re unable to start those programs, simply walking the course more often will begin building your endurance.

End of the Week Tip: Reduce Tension with the Waggle

I had never really heard of a waggle before I read Ben Hogan's Five Lessons. Then I realized it was something that I had been doing all along and didn't know it.

On the PGA Tour, Jason Dufner is known for a very long, pronounced waggle before every full swing.  His waggle has been praised and criticized by many, but in my opinion it plays a crucial role in his success.

A waggle can be defined as any movement made before the swing to reduce tension in your body.  Tension can be a killer of any golf swing, so having a waggle (of some kind) is important to creating consistent golf swings.

Here are a few tips to help you reduce tension in your swing:

·       Use a waggle.  There are many different ways to waggle the club before you swing.  Dufner’s method is a very big waggle that is repeated as many as 10 times before he actually swings.  Any method you choose is fine as long as you can feel the tension escaping your body.

·       Avoid freezing over the ball.  Many amateur golfers tend to freeze over the ball before they swing.  Just like a free throw in basketball begins with a slight bend in the knees, the golf swing needs an igniter.  Any time you freeze over the ball, tension creeps in and makes it difficult to repeat your swing.

·       Monitor your grip pressure.  The waggle is a great way to maintain a proper grip pressure.  When your grip pressure is too tight, your wrists become locked and immobile.  Another great test for grip pressure is to take your grip, hold the club in front of you parallel to the ground, and make circles with the clubhead using only your wrists.  As long as the club stays secure in your hands (no slipping!) and you can make the circles, then you have the proper grip pressure. 

End of the Week Tip: Create Speed for Distance

One thing all great long hitters have in common is excessive club head speeds.  Here are a few keys that you can follow to try and elevate your club head speed and increase your distance:

·       Understand the importance of kinematic sequence.  I know that sounds technical, but if you’ve ever tried to throw an object as far as you can, you’ve likely used kinematic sequence and didn’t know it.  Kinematic sequence is simply the order your body moves.  For a golf swing, to reach maximum club head speed your downswing should begin with the lower body, then upper body, and finally the club.  This creates a whip like effect in the club head which will increase your club head speed.

·       Wrist hinge. I’ve seen too many players on the lesson tee come in worrying about how or if their wrists are hinging.  Truth is the weight of the club will do the heavy lifting/hinging for you.  In other words, allow your wrists to hinge on the backswing, and think nothing of them on the downswing.  The torque you’re creating by moving your body in the correct sequence will be translated to the wrists as long as they are passive and somewhat tension free.    

·       Many golfers that try to swing faster actually make the club head swing slower!  Consider purchasing a basic (inexpensive) swing speed radar that simply measures your club head speed.  Another great form of feedback is the sound the club makes through impact.  The louder the whoosh, the more club head speed you have created.

Bonus: Want more on creating speed for distance? Click here to check out a great article by Mike Bender that he did for Golf Digest. 

End of the Week Tip: Improve Lower Body Stability

Lower body stability during a full swing is crucial in making solid, consistent contact with the ball. Tour players are great examples of how stability is key to a repeatable swing. How many times have you ever seen a Tour player lose balance on a normal full swing?  

Here are a few tips to help you maintain lower body stability and make solid contact with the ball:

·       You must begin with good balance in the setup to have a stable lower body.  Use an athletic posture with your knees slightly bent for balance.  Not sure if you’re balanced?  While in your posture just before you swing, lift your toes up off the ground. Then move your weight forward so your heels come off the ground.  The last step is to gently put your heels down and stop shifting your weight when you feel pressure on the balls of your feet, just behind your toes.

·       Limit lower body rotation on your backswing.  If stability is an issue, then there’s a good chance you turn your lower body away from the target too much on the backswing.  Ideally, your lower body should turn no more than 45 degrees when at the top of the backswing.  Having trouble getting the feel of a proper lower body turn?  I use 3D motion technology like K-Vest to help my players find the proper lower body turn.

·       Always end with a good, balanced finish.  There’s a reason why all the best ball strikers on Tour hold the famous pose at the end of every full swing.  If you can maintain your balance to your finish, chances are you remained stable enough in your lower body throughout the swing to hit a good golf shot.  As a general rule, I have my students hold their finish with their weight on their lead leg and body facing the target for at least 3 seconds after every shot.

End of the Week Tip: Drain Long Putts

For the average golfer the likelihood of making a putt outside 30 feet in length drops to about 1%.  There are however things that can be done to increase your chances to make, or get very close to making, longer putts. 

·      Make solid contact. This means contacting the sweet spot of the putter with the ball.  Off center hits will not only lack speed, but will most likely roll off your intended line making it nearly impossible to drain long putts.  Use the gate drill where you put two tees in the ground the width of your putter and practice making putting strokes through the tees without hitting them.

·      Control your tempo.  Not every golfer will have the same tempo in their swing, let alone their putting stroke.  For example you may prefer a longer, slower stroke while others prefer shorter and faster strokes.  Find a tempo that feels right to you and practice it with a metronome.  The metronome will help you maintain the same tempo while keeping your stroke in rhythm.

·      Pick a line and commit.  Green reading is an imperfect system, but most golfers are better at reading the greens than they think. Avoid second-guessing your line by changing it at the last second. Once you pick your line, set the putter on that line and go with it. Whether you prefer to putt to a spot or can visualize the curve of the ball to the hole doesn’t matter.  Just pick your line and go.

End of the Week Tip: Troubleshooting Your Game

We all have our good and bad days on the golf course. When things are good, we seem to find ourselves not having to think about much at all.

But when our shots start going astray, we quickly fall into the trap of over-thinking and maybe trying to change the swing in the middle of the round, which is even more dangerous.

A round of golf is not the time to experiment with swing changes, so what are you supposed to do when things start going wrong?

The next time you’re on the course and things go wrong, use these three tips to get back on track:

AIM: If you are playing in a tournament or a tight match with your buddies, then you may not have the luxury of having somebody else check your aim before you swing. Learning to aim happens on the range by having a solid pre-shot routine. Make sure you are using your routine that you have practiced on the range. The routine I use begins by standing behind the ball, identifying my target line and setting my grip. I then walk up and set the clubface on the target line, pointing the clubface at an intermediate target a few inches in front of the ball. The last thing I do is set my feet to match the clubface. Build this routine with repetition on the driving range and you can easily recall it on the course.

TEMPO: Think of a two-word phrase with the first word having two syllables, then the second word having one. For example, Ernie Els. Start your swing with the first syllable. You should reach the top of the backswing with the second syllable, and then make impact with the third syllable. When your practice swings are feeling good with the proper tempo, address the ball and repeat. The ball will simply get in the way of your good swing.

BALANCE: Maintaining balance to the end of the swing is the single most important element you need for consistency. The good news is that the work you have done on tempo can greatly improve your balance, so hopefully you’re finding it easier to balance right now. But if you’re not, slowing down the overall speed of the swing will be the only way you will recover your balance.  Remember this phrase:  If you can do it slow, you can do it fast.  But if you can’t do it slow, then you can’t do it.

These three tips should help you stop the major bleeding while you are on the course.

At the very least, by applying these things above, you will at least improve your consistency enough to identify what the bigger problem may be, making it much easier to get with your local PGA Professional and begin correcting any flaws you may have.

End of the Week Tip: Improve Your Posture

Winter time can really limit your ability to practice golf the same way you do when it is warm. Sometimes the weather can be so bad that there is no chance of getting out to a course or driving range. 

I believe that you can always be doing something that will improve your game and practicing your posture is certainly one of those things.

Poor posture can lead to several bad golf shots.  If you experience more miss-hits than solid hits, follow these basic guidelines to get your posture on track:

·       Posture is one of hardest things in the world to do correctly because you can’t see yourself in your posture when you play.  A great way to practice is to get in front of a mirror and try to mimic a picture of your favorite Tour player’s posture.  Then close your eyes for a few seconds to enhance the feel of a proper posture.

·       You want your body to be athletic before the swing begins.  Using examples from other sports, like a linebacker in football or a defensive position in basketball, can be a great visual to get your posture stable and more athletic.  Knees bent for balance, shoulders straight versus slouched, and bending from your waist with arms hanging naturally are just a few keys to an athletic posture.

·       Practice your posture separately from your golf swing.  This simply means shifting your focus from making a swing to making sure you have a good posture.  The slightest change in your posture can have a dramatic effect on your results.  When I teach, I enjoy using technology like K-Vest to measure my students and give them the proper feedback needed to fine tune their posture.  You don’t have to have a K-Vest to perfect your posture, but you will need feedback from somebody or something to make sure you are practice the right thing. 

End of the Week Tip: Suggestions on Adjusting to the Anchoring Ban

I'm back! I hope you had a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year and are ready to make 2016 your best golf year ever!

Every Friday I'll posting a new golf tip on my blog. Be sure to send me your suggestions for future tips by leaving a comment or sending me an email. Enjoy! 

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It’s official.  The USGA and R&A have banned the anchoring of the club, gripping hand, or forearm to the body during the putting stroke.  So now, thousands of golfers are left with putters that were designed with anchoring them in mind. 

Is your long, or belly putter now completely useless?  One thing the governing bodies made clear was that this was not an equipment ban.  Meaning you are free to use your unconventional putters however you choose, as long as it’s not anchored.

Here are some things to keep in mind if you decide to continue using a nonconventional putter in the post anchoring ban world:

·       A long putter is increasingly difficult to control without an anchor.  When the putter swings, the butt end of the club will have a mind of its own.  This will make keeping the clubface square to the target line at impact extremely difficult, resulting in putts that start offline.

·       You are allowed to “anchor” the club in a way that the grip fits against your forearm.  This wonderful exception may be your best use for an unconventional putter if you deal with the yips (if you don’t know what the yips are you don’t want to know).  It can also allow you stand a little taller to alleviate any back issue you may have. 

·       Nearly all of putting is about reading the greens (speed and direction) and confidence.  The equipment you use or the stroke techniques you have play a small part in you becoming a good putter.  As long as you take the time to practice reading greens and controlling your speed, you will develop confidence no matter what kind of putter you use.     

·       Be creative.  Creativity led to the use of unconventional putters and putting grip styles.  Go out and experiment different ways to use your unconventional putter within the rules.  Who knows? You may come across the next great thing in putting.  And if it’s really good, the USGA an R&A will ban it!!

End of the Week Tip: Curing the Dreaded "S" Word

The shank can lead to some miserable experiences on the course.  But if you know what causes them and are comfortable enough to fix it, you’ll have nothing to fear. 

The shank (by my definition for the sake if this article) is when the ball contacts the hosel of the club (where the shaft goes in the clubhead).  The most common result is a low, quick shot well right of the target (for a right hander).  You can shank any club in the bag, but most often it happens with shorter clubs, especially wedges.

Most shanks can be contributed to a temporary lack of focus, but there are some fundamentals and swing keys, if incorrect, that can make the margin of error very slim.

The first step to safeguarding yourself from the shank is to check and double check your set-up fundamentals.  The easiest test for this is to check your balance.  If your balance is in your toes or heels it is very easy for the club to move outside the ball during the swing.  So make sure your weight is balanced on the balls of your feet and you should be good to go.

Having the correct distance from the ball is another very important factor when eliminating the shank.  Get too close to the ball and the danger is going to be high.  Get the correct distance by making practice swings and pay attention to where the club hits the ground.  If you can hit the same spot over and over, you have likely found a good distance from the ball.

So let’s say you have a perfect set-up, but you still hit the shank.  This can happen when your arms swing away from your body and become disconnected through impact.  This is usually caused from a lack of upper body rotation.  To fix it, try this simple drill:

Place a towel across your chest under both arms.  Using a wedge, make half swings focusing on using your chest to swing the club.  The towel should stay under your arms from start to finish.  When you get comfortable hitting the ground in the same spot over and over, try it with a ball. 

*The next two weeks are Christmas and New Year's Day so I'll be back in 3 weeks. See you in 2016!!

End of the Week Tip: Playing In the Wind

It seems like when the weather this time of year is warm enough to play golf, the wind is always blowing. Hopefully you will take advantage of the warmer temps and go out there and deal with the wind. Here's how:

The number one most important rule when playing in the wind is one that you’ve hopefully heard before: “When it’s breezy, swing easy.”

It sounds corny, but it’s true.  The temptation to increase the power of your swing, especially when the wind is against you, can be overwhelming.  When you swing harder and are lucky enough to make solid contact, the ball will have more backspin, causing it to climb in the air and ultimately be taken by the wind. 

Another side effect of swinging harder is that making solid contact with the ball becomes less likely.  Even the strongest winds are less likely to influence the flight of ball as dramatically if you manage to hit the ball solid.

The most basic adjustment you can make in your strategy is club selection.  You won’t feel the need to swing harder against the wind if you simply take an extra club or two.  I can recall several times in my college golf career when the wind would alter my club selection.  There were some days I could hit an 8-iron on a particular par 3, and other days would have to hit as much as a 4 or 5 iron on the same hole. 

The opposite is true when you are downwind.  There is still no reason to swing harder, because all you need to do is use a higher lofted club to get the ball in the air to ride the wind.  However, remember that during downwind approach shots, your ball will not have the usual amount of backspin, causing it to release and roll more than normal after it hits the ground.

When you are faced with a side wind, knowing your typical ball flight and choosing the correct starting line (aim) becomes extremely important.  I am a firm believer that you should never aim where a straight shot would hurt you.  Put a premium on getting the ball on the green or fairway, even if that means you will be far away from the hole.  More often than not we aim too far in one direction to compensate for our ball flight and the wind and we end up hitting a shot opposite of our normal tendencies.  Remember, if you hit the ball solid, the wind can only affect the ball so much.

To hit the ball more solid when playing in the wind, follow these few swing tips:

·       Use a slightly wider stance to increase your lower body stability and balance.  Wind obviously can affect the ball, but it will also affect you balance if you have an unstable lower body.

·       Choke down on the club about one inch.  This lowers the trajectory of your shots, reducing the wind’s ability to affect the ball flight.  It also makes the club shorter, making it easier to find the sweet spot.

·       For the more advanced player, use a lower takeaway and finish position to keep the ball down.  This also reduces backspin when hitting shots into the wind.

Side Note:  Use caution when adjusting your ball position to compensate for the wind.  A common adage when the wind is in your face is to move the ball back in your stance to hit it lower.  However, by moving the ball back too much you will increase the amount of backspin and run the risk of getting the ball stuck in the wind.