Tips for greater distance

Dreaming about Killing your tee shot for tremendous distance may be easier than you think. If you want this dream to come true, try holding the club more in your fingers and less in the palm.

When the club is held more in the fingers the ball goes farther. To demonstrate this, pick up a baseball and hold it in your palm, then throw it as far as you can. Next, throw a baseball as far as you can holding it in your fingertips. I'm sure you will find the ball goes much further from your fingertips.

Here are two drills to do consistently that will make you more comfortable with a finger grip:

1. Finger Curls

• Bend and Straighten the fingers from the middle knuckles

2. Holding Tee Drill

• Place tees between the base of the thumbs and forefingers, and hold them in place for extended periods of time
  

These drills make you more comfortable holding the club more in the fingers by keeping the thumbs from clenching the club into the palms.

When you watch your drives fly farther down the fairway, you won't be dreaming!

Now go out and play better golf!

A guy stands over his tee shot for what seems an eternity: looking up, looking down, measuring the distance, figuring the wind direction and speed. Finally his exasperated partner says, "What's taking so long? Hit the damn ball!"

The guy answers, "My wife is up there watching me from the clubhouse. I want to make this a perfect shot."

"Forget it, man," says his partner. "You'll never hit her from here."

This month we are discussing a drill on how to eliminate excessive arm movement during the swing.* In order to achieve the optimal tempo and generate the most power, your shoulders and arms need to move/work together. Follow this drill and feel how the upper and lower body should work together:

1. Put your feet close together, almost touching.
2. Take your normal posture and place the ball in the center of the stance.
3. Keeping the hips, waist and legs still, turn the club away from the ball with your arms and shoulders. Keep the hands quiet during the takeaway, and don't pick the club up with the arms.
4. Turn the club away, emphasizing the arms and shoulders working together. Find a comfortable rhythm and create contact with the arms following the body, rather than leading.
5. Make sure the arms are always in front of the torso. You don't want the club to be pulled or pushed back by the arms. Simply allow the arms and shoulder turn to work together.

With this drill, the tendency to do too much with the arms will be eliminated when you do not allow the arms to out-work the body's turning motion. You will sense a small amount of natural weight shift taking place between the feet. Don't fight this movement; allow the body to turn naturally and be sure to finish this drill with the weight shifted onto the target foot after impact.

Now go out and play better golf!

"caddy, I'd move Heaven and earth to break 100." "Concentrate on Heaven, sir. You've already moved enough earth."

Swing Plane continued

Several other reasons exist for swinging off plane. Picking the club up with your hands or rolling the club face open during the swing are two.

Keep in mind that a taller player has a naturally steeper swing plane than a shorter player, and a shorter player has a naturally flatter swing plane than a taller person. While your shoulder turn and arm swing are related, a good backswing requires a left arm swing that's on a slightly higher plane than your shoulders. This arm angle allows your shoulders to have more of a free passage to the ball on the downswing. If your left arm swing is off, you'll automatically be on the wrong plane and your swing will be off.

Below is a drill to check to see if your swing is on plane:

• Take a club and assume the proper posture, and swing to the top of your back swing.
• Hold that position for a second.
• Loosen your grip and let the shaft fall.
• If the shaft hits you on the top of the right shoulder, your swing is on plane.
  1. If the shaft hits you on the head or neck, your swing plane is too steep.
  2. If the shaft falls behind your back without hitting your body, your swing plane is too shallow.

Employing a simple move at the top of your backswing ensures that you're taking the right swing plane as you start into the downswing. As you begin your downswing, shift your weight onto your left foot while at the same time bringing your right elbow back down to the side your body. Remember to retain the angle of your wrist as you complete this move. It's the seat of power and the key to maximum distance. As the weight shifts to the left and the elbow drops down, the club falls automatically into the right slot for the correct swing plane. This movement flattens the swing ever so slightly, and it's the ideal position from which to swing the club down at the ball since it delivers the club head squarely to the ball.

In effect, you're actually employing two swing planes to hit the ball correctly, and one is slightly different than the other:

1. The first comes from executing the correct takeaway.


2. The second comes from dropping down your right elbow just before the downswing.

The second is a slightly different swing plane, but is crucial. It runs right through the correct angle of your spine, the natural axis around which your shoulders should turn to enable you to deliver a clean, crisp blow to the ball with a square club head and good power.

Swinging on plane is crucial to achieve power and clean golf shots. Check your swing plane, correct any flaws and practice to create a repeatable on plane golf stroke!

Now go out and play better golf!

Jim and Bob are golfing. Jim slices his ball deep into a wooded ravine and climbs down in search of it.

Jim spots something shiny. As he gets closer, he realizes that the shiny object is an 8-iron in the hands of a skeleton lying near an old golf ball.

Jim calls out to Bob in an agitated voice, "Hey Bob, I got trouble down here."

Bob calls out, "What's the matter Jim?"

Jim shouts back, "Throw me my 7-iron. You can't get out of here with an 8-iron."

Hit Short

This week's lesson is entitled, "How Playing Short will Save You Strokes ". It's a pretty simple tip really, but it will help you to lower your scores.

This week, again, we'll be focusing on your approach shots. What you should get out of this lesson is that short is usually better regarding approach shots, and I'm going to explain a few reasons why I believe this to be true.

Let's set the scene. We'll use the same example throughout. Let's say that you usually hit your 8 iron around 150 yards, and you are 160 out. Now, most golfers would probably grab their 7 iron here, and think to themselves, "I'll just take a little off this, and I'll be right on the pin".

Problem: Most recreational golfers don't have the ability to add and take off power from their swings.

You should focus first, and foremost, on mastering one swing, including the tempo, speed, and power that it takes to perfect that one swing. Once you start trying to swing a little easier or a little harder, problems start to sneak into your round. You are trying to play for the pin and instead, you end up in the bunker on the right side of the green, and now you've just turned a par hole into a double bogey.

The difference in distance between your 7 and 8 iron should be about 10-15 yards. The Point? Hit your 8 iron every time in the above situation. Don't mess with your swing. Go with what you trust. Hit the 8 iron 150 yards, and let the ball roll onto the green. At that point, anything can happen. You may end up 2 inches, 2 feet, or 20 feet from the pin, but at least you're putting.

Benefit 1: If you mishit the ball a little further than usual, you're still in good shape because you played a little short in the first place. If you hit the ball a little short, you're still okay, because chances are, you're sitting in the middle of the fairway, maybe on the fringe.

Benefit 2: If you go to the right or the left, since you played the shorter club, you're not going to be as far right or left as you would have been with the 7 iron. This could mean that you are still on the green, or it could mean that you are on either side of the fairway. But chances are that you are still in decent shape.

Summary: When you're trying to decide between two clubs, take a second to look at the hazards around the green. If there's a bunker or some water guarding the front of the green, then sure, it may be a good idea to take the larger club. But other than this exception, you are almost always better off, taking less club. You'll stay out of trouble, and that is the key to lowering your overall score.

On the short 5th at Massachusetts' Brae Burn Country Club, a golfer complained bitterly, "My sonofabitch partner cheats!"

"How do you know?"

"he just hit out of the rough with a 3-wood."

"So?"

"I really stepped hard on that ball!"

Swing Plane

Swing Plane.* The concept of plane confuses some players. Many are unclear about what it is, and its impact on your golf swing. Whether you understand the concept of plane or not, swinging off plane is never good.

Focusing on two points - spine angle at address and the position of the left arm on the downswing - clears up the confusion about swing plane and explains its effect on your golf swing. The most common reason for swinging off plane is adopting the wrong spine angle at address.

SETTING YOUR PROPER SPINE ANGLE

• Stand erect with your chin up (not head down) and form your grip with the club head right at eye level.
• Slightly flex your knees forward (don't bend your knees, just a slight flex).
• Tip forward from the hips - not the waist - keeping your head in line with your spine (chin up).
• Finally, lower your arms so they point directly straight to the ground. The club head will fall into the proper ball position. For most golfers you will feel as if you are too close to the ball.

Here is a great test to see if you have the proper upper body tilt:

Once you’re all set up, let go of the club with your right hand and extend your arm and fingers. Reach for your right knee with your right middle finger, for proper upper body tilt, your finger should touch half an inch above your kneecap.

The spine angle forms the natural axis around which your shoulders should turn at a 90-degree angle. The spine angle you set at address is critical because it decides the shape and plane of your swing.

If a player tilts too far over at address, the flatter spine angle causes the shoulders to "tilt" during the swing. As a result, your left arm comes off your chest during your swing, your backswing becomes upright, and your swing plane is too steep. Fat shots, deep divots, and pulls and slices are symptoms of a steep plane.

If a player leans too far back at address, the more erect spine angle causes the shoulders to flatten during the swing. As a result, your left arm squeezes too tightly against your chest, your backswing becomes flatter, and your swing plane is too shallow. Hitting behind the ball, thin shots, and loss of power are symptoms of a shallow plane.

Setting your proper spine angel is sure to improve your game. Check your set-up each time you practice and when you hit the course you're sure to hit solid shots!

Now go out and play better golf!

On the 1st tee of Chaska, Minnesota's Hazeltine national country Club, a complete novice asked his caddy,

"how does one play this game?"

"See that flag, sir? Just hit the ball in that direction."

The novice uncorked an absolutely incredible drive.

At the green, the caddy couldn't believe his eyes- the ball lay only 3 inches from the cup. He jumped up and down excitedly.

"What do I do here?" asked the player, coming up.

"Get the ball into the cup, sir!"

"NOW he tells me!"

Putt for Dough

Most of us amateurs miss a good percentage of putts from 10 feet and in.
Fortunately there are things we can practice to help.

try this:

Pick a straight putt. This is important because if it curves you will not know if you had the right speed.
You will want to pick about a 4 foot putt. Then using 10 balls, pick a number of how many you will sink in a row. For simplicity just start with 1. Then as confidence grows increase the number. Go all the way to 50 in a row. If you miss you start back at 1 again. This is the best way to increase confidence. Now with that being said, make sure your stroke is straight back and straight through with the club head aligned straight at all times.

You must use only your upper body and arms on a putt. Arms and Shoulders only!!! Do not come up out of the putt early.

A good way to test how you are doing on this is to Hit and Hold. By this I mean take your stroke and hold on the follow through for at least 5 seconds. check that your head and body are still down and your clubface is still straight. Any movement of your head or the clubface will cause you to miss.

Remember, straight back and straight through> Arms and shoulders only. Like a Pendulum.

Now go practice.

Tournament formats and golf bets

Definition: Criers and Whiners is a game of do-overs, or mulligans that can be used from any point on the course. In Criers and Whiners, handicaps are converted into free shots that are used during a round.

Say a player has a handicap of 14. Rather than applying the handicap in the proper manner, the player is instead given 14 free shots to use at any point on the course, at any time. Hit a bad shot off the second tee? Hit it again. Now you've got 13 left.

The game can be played with full handicaps (as in the example above) but it most common to use only three-fourths or two-thirds of handicaps. That forces the player to be judicious in using his replay strokes.

Two other conditions usually apply: The first tee shot of the day may not be replayed, and no
shot can be replayed twice.

Definition: Defender is a betting game or points game for groups in which one member of the group per hole is designated as that hole's "defender." The defender's job is to get the lowest score on his hole; the other members of the group are trying to beat the defender.

Before teeing off, establish a rotation (for a threesome, A is the defender on the first hole, B on No. 2, C on No. 3, back to A on No. 4, and so on) for the Defender.

When the Defender successfully defends his hole - that is, gets the lowest score - he earns 3 points and the other players lose 1 point. If any member of the group beats the Defender, the defender loses 3 points and each other player gains 1 point. If the Defender ties for low score on his hole, the defender gains 1 1/2 points while the others lose a half-point.

Defender can be played just for points and bragging rights, or a dollar value can be assigned to the points and money divvied up at the end of the round.

Definition: Greensomes is a competition format that is a variation of foursomes (2-person teams, each playing one ball). In Greensomes, both players on a team tee off, the best of the two tee balls is selected and that ball is then played alternate-shot until holed.

In regular foursomes, the 2-person team would play alternate shot for the full hole, i.e., only one tee ball would be hit.

Greensomes is essentially a 2-person scramble off the tee, then alternate-shot into the hole.

Definition: Last Man Standing is another name for a Flags tournament. Each golfer begins the round with an allotment of strokes - usually his or her full or partial handicap plus the par of the course being played - and plays until those strokes are used up. The golfer who advances farthest around the course before using up his allotment of strokes is the winner.

Definition: Three Club Monte is a golf format that requires the players to pick just three clubs to use during their round. All players are allowed their putters in addition to the three other clubs they choose. The choice of clubs can't be changed during the round - once you've chosen a 3-wood, 5-iron and 9-iron, for example, those are the only clubs (other than putter) you can use during the round.

Three Club Monte is a good game to play in order to learn and practice half-shots, knock-downs and so forth.

Definition: Thirty-Two is a side bet for golfers that focuses on putting. It's essentially a challenge from one golfer to another to avoid a three-putt.

Let's say your buddy is facing a long, difficult putt. You invoke the thirty-two side bet. If your buddy three-putts (or worse), he owes you two units of the bet. If he two-putts (or better), you owe him three units of the bet. (If the bet is $1, for example, and he three-putts, he owes you $2; if he two-putts, you owe him $3).

Definition: Gruesomes is a 2-person team game that is more common as a betting game but is also sometimes used as a tournament format.

In Gruesomes, both members of the team tee off - and then the opposing team selects which drive they have to play. Needless to say, the opposing team is likely to select the worst - or most gruesome - of the two drives.

Following selection of the tee ball, the teams play out the hole in alternate shot fashion. The player who hit the "gruesome" tee ball also plays the second shot.

An American, driving erratically from a grass bunker, hit and killed a cow in the adjoining pasture.

"my God," he cried, running up, "I'm terrible embarrassed! Can I replace her?"

"Dunno," replied the farmers boy, "How many gallons a day do you give?"

Hitting a 460 CC driver

The key to hitting the ball farther with the modern driver and golf ball (which spins much less off of a flat face than balls of the past) is high launch combined with a low spin rate. Our goal is to get enough spin to achieve lift, while minimizing (hopefully eliminating) drag.

Assuming that you have a driver with enough loft, here are four things that you can do to increase launch and decrease spin rate, thus increasing your distance off the tee:

Tee the Ball Higher
The old adage has always been that the top of the driver should be about halfway up the ball when it is teed up. However, with a 460cc driver, I like to see you set the ball high enough on a peg such that the top of the driver is no more than one-third of the way up the ball. Of course, this means that the standard 2 1/8-inch tee will not be long enough to accommodate. You will need a tee at least 3 inches in length, but likely a little longer than this.

Move the Ball Forward in Your Stance
(Towards your left foot for a right-handed golfer)
The notion of playing the ball off of your left heel is no longer valid. We want to hit the ball on the upswing, thus increasing launch angle and decreasing the ball's spin rate. In order to do this, we must move the ball forward in our stance. For some golfers, it will be enough to play the ball off of your big toe, while for others it may be necessary to move the ball all the way up so that it is positioned outside of your left foot. Experiment with different ball positions – but, whatever you do, move the ball forward in your stance!

Set Up to Hit the Ball on the Center of the Face
Most golfers set their driver on the ground at address. This results in a high percentage of driver shots being hit on the heel-side of the face, especially when we tee the ball higher. Test yourself this way: The next time you are at the range and set up to hit your driver, once in the address position stretch your arms out and move the club up to the ball's height. Notice where the ball is going to contact the face of your driver? On the heel side – or possibly the hosel – of your driver.

This is a very common problem for golfers – and it's an awkward adjustment. The solution is very simple, however. Instead of setting your driver behind the ball such that the center of the face is aligned with the ball, move backwards a couple of inches (towards your back) such that the toe of your driver is aligned with the ball. Now do the test again. Stretch out your arms and pick the club up to the ball's height. Is the ball aligned with the center of the driver face? If so, put the club back down and fire! If not, keep moving back until it is.

Don't worry that once you set the driver down it doesn't align with the ball. The ball isn't on the ground - it's three inches above the ground!

"is this Harry's secretary? I forgot to ask him which course we're playing on this afternoon."

"Sorry, Mr. Nash is out of the office all day on business."

"You're supposed to say that, but which course will we be on?"

"Sorry, Mr. Nash is out on a business call."

"O.K., O.K. Just tell me. Is his call Three or 18 miles from the office?"

Stay in the Shot

There is a term that commentators on television will often say. He came, or she came, up and out of the shot. When you hear that, it usually means that the ball has gone to the right.

So, let me tell you an example of what ‘up and out of the shot’ means, and then I’ll give you a golf technique that you can use for your own golf game.

In the downswing, both knees stay bent during the bottom of the hit. And as the golf club passes you, the arms have to get out in front of you before you can turn through.

Now, here’s an example of a player that comes up and out of the shot. As they start down, they get out in front and their body unwinds. And they get tall in the hitting area and the spine comes up and you’ll see a push to the right.

So, here’s the golf technique. If you push to the right and you think there’s a chance that you may be coming up and out of your shot, you’ll hit it weak to the right.

A great little practice is for you to keep a little more weight on your right side and let the arms pass you before you turn through.

Thanks, and have a great day.

A golfer yells, "Fore!", takes six, and writes, "5"

The Backswing

I’m going to give you some great golf backswing advice that’s going to help you a lot with your backswing. There are two mistakes that you can make in the backswing. And then I’m going to tell you the correct way to do it.

The first mistake is, if your shoulder doesn’t move and doesn’t turn backwards, then your arms will run into it and the shoulder will tilt up in the air. And if you do that, the golf swing will look too vertical, and you’ll hit the ground and you’ll hit a lot of shots off to the right.

On the other hand, some of you think so much of turning that you turn your right shoulder and your hips together, and the golf club gets way around inside.

So, for those of you that do this, you’ll wind up hitting a lot of tops because the club won’t swing back down.

So, let me give you some golf backswing advice. This is the correct way. After you’ve addressed the golf ball, the right shoulder starts turning backwards. And that way, this enables the golf club to swing up on the correct plane.

So, if you can move your shoulder out of the way and don’t turn your bottom much, the golf club will move up on plane as you turn away from the golf ball.

Try that the next time out, and I guarantee you that will help you.

Thanks and have a great day.

"Caddy, why do you keep looking at your watch?" Not my watch, sir! My compass.

Why You Must Hit Down on the Ball to Make It Go Up

Golf is a difficult game. Yet to so many of the uninitiated it might seem incredibly simple. The objective is to strike a ball ... that is just sitting there. After all, how tough can it be? It's not like baseball, or tennis, where the ball is moving as we attempt to make contact with it. It's not like hockey, where someone is trying to knock you down. And if it is, rethinking your choice of foursome should perhaps be the bigger priority.

Why is it then, in golf, that this stationary ball is so difficult to hit? Why do we even miss it completely at times?

Golf is difficult - deceptively so - due to our perception of how to get the ball airborne. We want the ball to go up, and our natural inclination is to hit up at it. However, we need to hit down.

Part of this initial deception in golf lies in the fact that the ball is round, and our clubface is lofted (angled back). On first look it might appear that our goal is to slide the lofted clubhead under the ball, striking its lower half on the upswing, and thus driving - or lifting - the ball into the air. However, it is critical to note that the golf club has not been designed to get under the ball to lift it. It has been designed to strike the ball as the clubhead is descending - on the downswing.

The face of the club will then contact the surface of the golf ball just prior to reaching the bottom of the swing arc. As a result, the ball becomes trapped between the descending clubface and the ground. The ball compresses. Because the face of the clubhead is lofted, the ball - rather than be driven into the ground as a downward hit might imply - will spin backwards up the clubface, decompress (adding energy to its escape) and climb into the air. The angle at which the ball climbs (trajectory) will be directly related to the loft of the club we have chosen for the shot.

Unfortunately, until the technicalities of hitting down are fully explained, hitting up seems, on the surface, more logical. If we want something to go up, we tend to hit up at it. If I gave you a tennis ball, and a racket, and asked you to hit the ball up into the air - what would you do? You would lower your racket and strike up at the tennis ball. And the tennis ball would go up. It's logical. So why wouldn't it be logical with golf too?

Certainly - on the surface anyway - hitting down at something you want to go up, is not logical. And until it becomes logical, your muscles may resist as a result. Gaining a firm understanding of the golf swing - and especially the mechanics of "hitting down" - is vital to programming muscle memory. And good muscle memory in golf is essential, so you can stop worrying about your swing, and concentrate on the game itself.

ON the 6th at Belle Isle Course near Lynchburg, Va., a golfer found his ball wedged firmly between the roots of a large pine tree. " Son," he asked his caddy, "what kind of a shot do you think this situation calls for?" I think I know sir, replied the caddy, reaching into his bag for the bourbon.

I once heard a story about Jack Nicklaus' reaction to a missed putt. A fan, the story goes, said to Jack after missed a short putt, "Sorry you missed that one, Jack." Jack's response was: "I didn't miss the putt. It just didn't go in."
Jack was right. He hit the line and speed he wanted, so in his mind everything was fine. This mental approach protected his self-image and allowed him to move on without dwelling on it like many of us do after missing a short putt. By doing so, he prevented the miss from affecting his self-confidence on future putts. In other words, he just let it go!
Getting mad at yourself over a lack of performance is non-productive and can erode your confidence. The human body is not a machine. Some days it works better that others, and for many different reasons.
So when you see yourself starting to get mad or losing your focus, think to yourself, "I did the best I could, given all the circumstances," and let it end there.
My point is simple: Stop putting yourself down.
Think about the things you are telling yourself on the course. Ever heard the expression, "What you eat, you are?" Well, "what you think, you are."
Everything you tell yourself is programming, so make it productive. Choose carefully what you think about. Don't work against yourself.
Most negative dialogue is a bad habit that you can change. You start first by listening to what you are telling yourself, recognizing the negative and working to put an end to the negative. Once you start, it's easy to change your internal dialogue to focus on the things you want to achieve.
Here's an example:
The old you: "I hate chip shots." Or, "I always chunk my chip shots."
The instant you hear yourself starting up the negative stuff, say to yourself, "stop," and don't allow yourself to finish the negative thought. Now change that negative into something productive.
The new you: "I want to get this chip close." Or, "I am going to make this."
Tell yourself what you want to do. Whether you make a good chip is not the point. What is the point is that over the long run, your new, positive dialogue will take you to a new level of play throughout the whole game.


"Why are there no worms in any of my divots caddy?" Probably all hiding under the ball, sir.

Chin Up

If you're driving the golf ball poorly and not very consistent, let me give you these two golf swing instruction pearls. They go hand in hand.

And I promise you this will help you find out if your problem with your driver is in the backswing.

For you to become a really good driver of the golf ball and consistent, the shoulders have to turn. The only way they can turn in the backswing is if you have your chin up and not down.

Most mistakes that I’ve seen with amateur golfers in their difficulties of driving the golf ball is their posture.

Their head is too far down. The only thing your shoulders can do is go up in the air. You won’t have the ability to swing the golf club around you. You won’t have the chance of your shoulders turning.

So, the best golf swing instruction I can give you is, the next time out, after you’ve addressed the golf ball, gone through your routine and you're almost ready to swing the golf club back, simply lift your chin up in the air an inch or two. And don’t forget that your shoulder should turn in the backswing.

If you have your chin up, the shoulder can turn around it. From there, you can really let it fly in the downswing.

Again, chin up, not down, promotes the shoulders turning in the backswing.

Try that the next time out and I promise you it’ll help you.

Thanks.

Golf is for backward Americans: They talk nothing but golf at the office and nothing but business on the links.

STOP PUSHING!!!!

Try this:

Tee up a ball, and take your stance with your feet 12 inches apart. Try hitting some drives like this. The narrow stance will make your lower body less likely to turn too aggressively on the downswing. You want to feel your arms swinging down and releasing past your body.

A good release keeps the ball from going right. If the arms and wrists are tense, they block the natural rotation and release of the club. To release tension, hold the club up in front of you, and make circles in the air using only your wrists. If your wrists are loose it will be easy to do.


" Now that I'm wealthy enough to afford lost balls," complained an older golfer, I can't hit them far enough to loose them."

Timing is Everything!

Let’s spend a couple of minutes talking about one of the three most abused and misunderstood golf swing fundamentals, timing. It’s an important term but it’s misused a lot. So, let me explain to you what timing is, and then it’ll draw you a lot closer to understanding when you're struggling.

Timing is your ability to swing your arms and hands back to the golf ball as your hip turns out of the way. And the reason it has to turn out of the way is so the arms and hands can pass your body and wrap around you. That’s the definition, no more, no less.

Now, I have gone to the golf course many days where I’ve hit the ball beautifully, solid, straight right. So, my timing was off a bit because my body was turning out in front of my golf club and that was sending it off to the right.

Now, the correction would be to slow the bottom half down and speed up the top part. There have been days where my timing has been off because the arms and hands were quicker than the bottom.

How do you correct that? Speed up the bottom and it’ll catch up with the arms and hands, and that will help that.

Now, how do you fix your timing? That’s probably the most difficult question in the game of golf. How do you get your timing back? I believe that if you can’t hit your pitching wedge, you probably aren’t hitting your 5 iron and your 5 wood and your driver.

So, I love to send people out to the practice facility to hit thousands of pitching wedges and work on their golf swing fundamentals. That, to me, is the easiest way to find your timing.

Now, let’s say that your favorite club in your golf bag is your driver and you're driving the ball beautifully. Then go hit a thousand drivers. Or maybe it’s a 5 wood or a 5 iron. Whatever club you're struggling with, stay way away from that one.

Go to the club that you're doing well with. And if you're not doing well with any of them, then go to a pitching wedge.

Now, the next question most difficult after that: How do you know when your timing’s off? I believe that your timing is off when your miss/hit pattern is not consistent. One’s fat, one’s thin, one’s top, one’s good, one’s to the left, one’s to the right. That’s a great indication that your timing’s off.

Find your favorite club and go to the practice tee and hit ten thousand of them and remember when you hit the golf ball to think of the golf swing fundamentals.

Thanks and have a great day.

"Idiot! Your ball hit me in the eye! I'll sue you for 5 million dollars!" I said fore' I'll take it!

Are you Postured?

Of course, when you’re learning how to play golf there’s a million different ways to address the golf ball because there’s millions of different people that play the game. But there are some absolute musts that you have to try to do to try to get in different positions at address.

Now, bad posture would be where the knees are too straight: no bend at the hip and the back is too straight. This doesn’t work, I promise you. This posture, you probably would hit a lot of pop-ups with your driver and hit the ground a lot with your irons.

The complete opposite would be where the knees are flexed too much and you're bent way over at the hips and you slouch your shoulders. This doesn’t work either. This one creates hitting ground behind it and topping.

So, there’s somewhere in the middle where one of these postures has to be about right, so let me give it to you.

Slightly flex your knees. Put two index fingers on your hip bones, and tilt over your belt buckle or tilt over your waistline. But don’t let the shoulders slouch. Keep the shoulders back.

From here you can then turn and the golf club will be on plane.

If you try this when learning how to play golf, I promise you, this will help you.

Thanks.

"How should I hit this put, caddy?" Try to keep it low, sir.

Lead Tape?

There are two reasons golfers add lead tape to their clubheads. One reason is a good one, and works; the other reason is a myth and does not work.

For the bogus one first: Adding lead tape in an effort to change the center of gravity of the head (to make the ball fly higher, lower, more to the right or left) simply will not work. The CG has to be moved at least a quarter-inch for the golfer to notice a flight change in the ball with the same clubhead. To move the CG by a quarter-inch requires no less than the addition of 10 4-inch-long strips of half-inch wide lead tape, all placed in the same area of the head toward which the CG movement is desired.

The right reason for using lead tape is to increase the swingweight of the club; i.e., to increase the feel of more weight or "heft" in the clubhead.

For that purpose, one 4-inch-long strip of half-inch wide lead tape will increase the swingweight of any club by one point, as in from D0 to D1.

Most golfers will detect a difference in the headweight feel of a club when the swingweight is increased by 2 or 3 swingweight points, but only the most sensitive feel players will ever note the difference of 1 swingweight point.

When should you think about experimenting with adding lead tape to the clubhead? If you sense that you can't feel the presence of the clubhead in the swing, if you feel that you fight being "too quick" with your swing, of if you are experiencing a fairly high incidence of shots hit off the heel of the face, adding lead tape to increase the swingweight very well could help improve the problem.

"What's wrong with my game, caddy?" Lifting your elbow too much sir. On the 19th.

Check your Divot

I’m going to tell you a great way to become your best teacher.

The next time you go to the practice facility, pick out a nice green patch of grass. And after you have hit balls for 10 or 15 minutes, walk back behind the golf ball and look and see where your divots are going.

If these divots are going to the left, that means your club head is coming out to in and across the golf ball.

On the other hand, if after a few minutes of practicing you look up and see that you have divots going to the right, or that you're hitting the ball real thin, this divot would tell me that you’re swinging too much from in to out.

So, here’s a golf swing tip that will tell you how to correct it.

For those of you that find that the divots are going left, every time you get ready to hit a golf ball, simply put this club along your shoulder line and check to make sure that you’re not aiming miles over to the left. That’s probably what you're doing. You're standing with your shoulders aimed left and that’s why you’re seeing divots going to the left.

If you're hitting golf balls for a few minutes and you see your divots going to the right, your shoulders are probably way over to the right.

So, here’s another golf swing tip that will help you correct it.

For those of you that discover your shoulders are going left, put the ball back in your stance a little bit.

For those of you that find out that your shoulders are aimed way right, put the ball a little further forward in your stance.

Try those golf swing tips the next time you're out and I promise they’ll help you.

Bump and Run

I’m going to describe two very different golf shots to you. One is called a pitch shot with loft, and the other is called a chip shot with run. Now what’s the difference?

Well, first of all, sometimes the pin is in a situation where you have to go over an uneven lie, or you have to go over the edge of a bunker, or you have to go over a little tree and you need it to stop a little quicker.

So, you take out your loftier golf club, your lob wedge or your sand wedge. Put the ball in the middle of your stance, a little weight left and swing your arms up and down. And after it hits the green, it will slow down and stop because it has so much loft on it.

Now, for a chip shot, or a bump and run shot, it’s the same golf shot, but it’s done with a pitching wedge, or you could even use a 9 iron.

In this situation, the pin is in the back of the green and there is no trouble in front of you. So, you put the ball in the middle of your stance, put a little weight on your left leg, and swing your arms up and down. But because you did it with a pitching wedge, the shot takes off flatter and runs more.

Now, some of you get confused because the pin is in the back of the green and you want it to run, but you use your sand wedge or your lob wedge. That won’t happen. That won’t run.

So, make sure in the future when you need a running chip shot, use a pitching wedge and put the ball in the middle of your stance. And if you really want it to run a lot, put it in the back of your stance.

Thanks and have a great day.

"Late again. Sorry." You and your 'golf buddy' Harry both give me a swift pain.What's the excuse, this time?" Nothing but delays - all day. Harry's car had a flat on the way to the course. An enormous line waiting to tee off. The Thunderstorm. The hailstorm. The air raid alert. Harry dropping dead on the 12th green. . ." Harry dropping dead? " Yup, and after that, it was just hit the ball. . . drag Harry. . . hit the ball. . . drag Harry - all afternoon."

Cure that Slice

If you have been slicing the golf ball, this tip is for you. Here’s how to cure a golf slice.

The way I grip the golf club enables the club face to return square when it comes back down to the golf ball.

I don’t have any challenges slicing the golf ball. But if you've been slicing the golf ball and when you look down at your left hand and you don’t see any knuckles, your club face is probably wide open at impact.

So, the next time you go tee up, give this a shot. Turn your left hand over towards your right hand. Make sure you can see one or two knuckles and make sure both palms are facing each other. This is how you cure a golf slice.

With that, I guarantee you that the club face will now start to square up at the bottom.

Thanks and have a great day.

"Some people in Scotland even play golf in the snow." Paint their balls black? "Nope just wear warmer kilts."