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."

Luck???

Moses, Jesus, and an old, bearded man were out playing golf one day. Moses pulled up to the tee and drove a long one. It landed in the fairway but rolled directly toward a water trap. Quickly Moses raised his club, the water parted and it rolled to the other side safe and sound.

Next, Jesus strolls up to the tee and hits a nice long one directly toward the same water trap. It landed directly in the center of the pond and kind of hovered over the water. Jesus casually walked out on the pond and chipped it up onto the green.

The third guy gets up and sort of randomly whacks the ball. It heads out over the fence and into oncoming traffic on a nearby street. It bounces off a truck and hits a nearby tree. From there it bounces onto the roof of a nearby shack and rolls down into the gutter, down the downspout, out onto the fairway and right toward the aforementioned pond. On the way to the pond, it hits a little stone and bounces out over the water and onto a lily pad where it rested quietly. Suddenly, a very large bullfrog jumped up on the lily pad and snatched the ball into his mouth. Just then, an eagle swooped down and grabbed the frog and flew away. As they passed over the green, the frog squealed with fright and dropped the ball which bounced right into the hole for a beautiful hole in one.

Moses then turned to Jesus and said, "I hate playing with your Dad."