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Archive for July, 2009

The Wind Is Your Friend

The wind is an ever-present challenge virtually every time you play golf. And whether it is merely a gentle breeze or a strong and gusting wind, you have to know how to play it.

Playing Into The Wind

When playing into the wind, you should take a bigger club and swing it easier - the ball flight will penetrate the wind far more effectively. Don’t make the common mistake of taking the same club and just trying to hit it harder - because that never works.

Playing Downwind

When playing downwind, take a less weighted club and swing easier. Don’t take the same club and try to ease up on the shot - you will probably miss-hit. Also, consider taking a 3 wood off the tee, rather than a driver. The extra height will allow you to benefit more from the tailwind and thus gain distance.

Playing The Crosswind

When playing with a crosswind, tour professionals will often work shots into the wind. For instance, hitting a draw into a left-to-right wind because they feel it gives them more control over distance and spin.

Learn From A Pro - Luke Donald’s Open Clubface

On most pitch shots, it is advisable to adopt a slightly open clubface at address. This is because it is easier to control your ball flight and have some finesse in your game if there is some loft on the clubface.

Also, it allows you to commit to striking down and through the shot, without the fear of over-shooting the green.

Look at great pitcher of the ball, someone like England’s Luke Donald.

His swing is blessed with a wonderful sense of rhythm and timing right down through the bag. And it doesn’t matter if he is pitching from 80 yards or half that distance - he always commits to the shot fully through impact.

Keep in mind that it is not a hard hit, rather, it is a positive and committed strike delivered with a sense of the arms and body working together. It is very controlled.

Notes:

- Keep a firm left arm at impact.
- Hands lead the clubhead into the ball.
- Focus on the back of the ball for solid ball/turf contact.

The Proper Open Set-Up For The Sand Wedge

In order for you to utilize the bounce effect of the sand wedge, you must adhere to a couple of simple setup rules that will affect the shape of the swing.

1) The stance must be open. That is, the feet aligned to the left of the target.

2) The clubface must be open. That is, aimed to the right of the target.

Forming The Grip: It is hugely important that you open the clubface and then form your grip. If you do it the other way around, the clubface will tend to return to square at impact, completely ruining the shot

Flexed Knees: Knees are flexed at address and should stay that way during the swing.

Hands Alignment: The hands can be slightly ahead of, or even level with the golf ball for a regular greenside bunker shot.

Weight Distribution: The weight should favor the front foot, but only slightly.

Clubface: You can afford to open the clubface on a sand wedge more than you realize.

Putting Drill: The Perfect Short-Putt Drill

Below is an exercise which I consider to be the perfect short putt drill. It is best to practice this putting drill on a relatively flat portion of the green - the straighter you can putt the better.

1) Place the putter on the ground and place two tees on both sides - one on the heel and one on the toe of the putterhead. There should be a gap left of about 1 half an inch on either side. This gap can be reduced as your confidence builds with the drill.

2) Now place a ball down and simply hit putts, with the goal to swing the putterhead through the gate formed by the two tees.

If your stroke is at all crooked then either the heel or the toe of the putter will collide with one of the tees through impact. In this way, the drill forces you to make a straight stroke.

If you miss a lot of putts during this practice drill, check the aim of the putterface at address. It could be that it is not square.

Ernie Els’s Extended Arms

Ernie Els is one of the greatest ball strikers in the game - his seemingly effortless and beautifully rhythmic swing disguising serious power and great compression of the golf ball at impact.

It’s one of the many reasons why his iron shots fly so pure, straight, and far!

There is much in Ernie’s swing that every golfer can learn from, such as the way his arms are fully extended as he swings the clubhead into and through the ball. This helps him carry good speed into the ball and deliver that all-important descending blow.

To emulate Ernie’s positive move through impact, visualize your right arm extending fully toward the target and the clubhead traveling low to the ground after the ball. This will encourage you to swing freely through the ball and extend your arms like Ernie does.

* The right arm should be fully extended at impact.

* Keep the clubhead in line with the target through the shot.

* The legs provide a solid platform for the powerful unwinding of the body and a free swing of the arms.

How To Properly Set Up For Your Tee-Off Shots

On the tee, good alignment is paramount. The principle of perfect aim and alignment could not be simpler - imagine a railroad track running down the fairway. The golf ball rests on the outer track, which point straight at the target.

This is where you aim the clubface.

The inner track runs parallel left of that target line. This is where you align your feet, hips, and shoulders. Collectively, this is known as perfect parallel alignment; it determines the path of your swing and is thus an essential requirement of powerful, straight driving.

Hip Alignment: Bend your upper body forward from your hips. Your hips should be aligned parallel left of the target.

Relaxed Shoulders: Your shoulders should be relaxed, with your arms hanging freely, and aligned parallel with the target.

Target Line: The clubface should be square (at right angles) to the target line. Think of the outer track of a railway line.

Feet: The line formed by your feet should be in parallel alignment to the target. Feet should be shoulder width apart and the weight should be on the balls of the feet in readiness for the swing.

How To Hit A Draw

Shaping a draw involves moving the ball through the air from right to left for the right-hander, and left to right for the left hander.

1) Aim the clubface straight at the target, as if you are hitting a straight shot. Then align your feet in the direction that you want your ball to start off, without adjusting the clubhead.

2) Now make a normal backswing following the line of your feet.

3) Pay extra attention to rolling your right hand over your left hand through the hitting area to promote a good release of the clubhead.

4) Follow through to a well balanced finish.

The opposing angles at address, and the resulting path of attack and the clubface positioning at impact, impart the necessary sidespin and cause the ball to start off in one direction and curve away through the air.

A Swing Lesson From Jim Furyk

The fairway metal off the tee is a smart play; it gives you respectable distance and the extra loft on the face offers a greater level of accuracy than a driver. You can hit more fairways, which is a positive thing.

Once you have decided to hit a fairway metal off the tee, the key is making sure you don’t try to make up the distance that, in the back of your mind, you know you’re losing through not hitting a driver.

That’s an easy mistake to make, but not one made by Jim Furyk.

Furyk’s swing may not be picture perfect, but there is no one better at maintaining good rhythm and playing for position rather than for power. He believes in his swing, he knows exactly how far he hits the ball with that club, and he never pushes for more distance. That’s why he hits more fairways than probably any other top player in the game.

So, when you’re hitting a fairway metal off the tee, think position, not power. That’s the whole point of the club!

Putting Drill: The Perfect Long-Putt Drill

One of the best ways to improve your judgement of pace on long putts is to rehearse this simple, yet effective practice drill:

1) Place a handful of tees in the ground, starting at about 20 feet and working away from you at intervals of about 3 feet. Use as many tees as the space on the green permits.

2) Now putt the first ball to the first tee, the second ball to the second tee, and so on.

The idea is that you get one chance at each putt, just as is the case on the golf course during a real round of golf. You can mix things up a bit by hitting putts randomly to the various tees.

This simple drill is so effective because it trains you to see a putt and then translate those visual messages into a feel for distance.

Chipping Grip Techniques

One of the golden rules of chipping is to make sure that the hands lead the clubhead through the hitting area, thus guaranteeing that all-important descending angle of attack.

This is a crucial point of understanding for amateur golfers: if the hands stay ahead, a clean and consistent strike is far more likely.

If, however, you allow the clubhead to overtake the hands coming into impact, the arc of the swing effectively bottoms out before it reaches the golf ball. In that instance, a miss-hit is virtually assured.

Keep The Forearms “Soft”

As you probably already know, any tension in your hands, arms, or body destroys your chances of hitting solid, consistent golf shots. This is also the case with chipping.

To prevent this insidious fault from creeping into your action, try to make sure your forearms stay soft as you swing the club back and through. That thought alone effectively “oils” the swing with a lovely smooth rhythm.

It also helps to keep the acceleration smooth through the hitting area, so that the ball comes off the face not too “hot”, but on a soft and easily controllable ball flight.