Even the best swings can have bad results with poor alignment…

The first time I read Jack’s book ‘Golf My Way’ (almost thirty years ago!) I noted how he used a leaf (or some other form of ‘intermediary target’) to help him create an imaginary target line on the ground extending from his ball through a ‘closer target’ and out to the ball’s final destination (the fairway or green).  For me it made all the difference in the world to find proper alignment by looking down where my ball was instead of trying to square up the shot by looking over my left shoulder.  I haven’t hit a single shot in golf since reading that book without using a closer target on the ground as a reference for alignment.  Find a leaf, a distinct blade of grass, a broken tee, an old divot or anything else that is on or very near your intended target line within a couple of feet in front of (or behind) the ball and use it to align the face of your club and your stance without having to look up again until you want to see how close you just hit it to the hole.

Enjoy hitting it where you wanted to more often…

Dave

The expression is… ‘the dog wags it’s tail’ not… ‘the dog flings it’s tail violently’.  The arms need to work in harmony with the body turn to hit great golf shots…

To hit solid square faced golf shots, we need to recreate the triangle formed by the hands and shoulders that we created at address back at the golf ball.  I have seen far too many swings where the shoulders turn back through the ball far too quickly for the hands and arms to get caught back up in the race back to the ball.  The result is the thin or topped shot as the target shoulder is too high at impact, or the pull/ slice that the ‘open’ shoulders create.  The shoulders pulling the arms back toward the ball needs  to be accompanied by the trail arm ‘pushing’ the hands back in front of the chest towards the  moment of truth.  As the hands arrive back in front of the chest, the forearms naturally square the clubface and we create the extension through the ball that delivers maximum club head speed.  In short, we need to wait for the hands and arms to get back to the ball before the shoulders have gone well past.
An excellent drill to keep the arms and body turn working together is to take ½ to ¾ swings with a PW or 9 iron with head covers or golf gloves tucked under the armpits.  The secret is to not drop them as you swing back and through.  This drill synchronizes the arms and body turn and keeps the arms extended with the hands out in front of the chest.  We need to ‘swing’ the arms, not ‘fling’ them.

See you on the range, Dave

You will need a dumbbell or a medicine ball to do this exercise.

Step 1: Stand in an athletic position with your arms straight and hanging down in front of you, holding your medicine ball or dumbbell.

Step 2: While you lunge forward with one leg, rotate your upper body to that same side, holding the medicine ball or dumbbell straight out at chest height the whole time.

Step 3: Return to your original starting position and do the opposite leg.

Step 4: Try to repeat each side 10 times and do 3 sets.
Try to keep this exercise in your daily routine and you will see immediate results

Acceleration is the increasing speed at which the clubhead moves through the ball and is important not only for hitting shots of substantial distance, but also for short putts. In fact, if you find that you’re missing too many short putts, the cause may be failure to accelerate the putterhead. Here’s a drill that will help.

On your carpet, set up a hole or target that will permit you to set up for a flat and straight putt. Place a sand wedge perpendicular to the line of the intended putt so that the face is down and the thinner part of the shaft is on the line of the putt. The shaft should lie just at the edge of the cup or target.

From a distance of three feet, putt to the hole with sufficient speed so that the ball will hit the shaft, pop into the air and fall in the hole. If you decelerate the putterhead through the stroke, you’ll generate insufficient speed for the ball to overcome the shaft in front of the hole. However, smooth acceleration of the putter will produce enough speed to hole the putt over the shaft.

This drill should be part of your regular practice routine, as it will teach you to accelerate the putterhead and give you confidence to make those short putts that are critical to good scoring.

Good luck, Joshua

The golf season is fast approaching, and if you want to have a good season this year (better than last year, at least!), here are a few things you can do to prepare. No, I’m not talking about cleaning the mud off your golf clubs. These are things to help you get your body ready for golfing.

Rotational flexibility, hip flexibility, lower back muscles, and shoulder strength all play a role in each golfer’s swing. And working these areas will also help you avoid getting spasms in your leg or back muscles during a long day on the links. If you have been cramped up in an office desk and chair all winter, then this is even more important.

You can perform many of these exercises during your lunch break, or at home in the evening in front of the television. You also don’t necessarily need to break a sweat doing most of them. The rotational power in your torso relies on the hips, buttocks, thighs, abdominals, and lower back muscles all working in coordination. So begin by stretching those core areas.

Try the following exercises: abdominal crunches, gentle trunk rotations, gentle torso twists, lower back stretches such as “cat” arches and hunches, hamstring stretches, and side rotations using resistance.

If you are like me and tend to spend the winters being inactive, make sure you begin gently. The risk is that you will overdo things at the beginning, and injure some of your core areas, causing you to push back that first tee-off date. Begin each session by warming up for a short while using some aerobic option such as walking, riding a stationary bike, or a rowing machine.

Participating in these exercise will help prepare you body for the upcoming golf season.

See you soon, Joshua.

In my 10 years of teaching students of all levels, I have found that making the needed adjustments concerning grip type and grip size gives you the best chance of realizing improvement very quickly. If the grip is too small and slippery, you will tend to hold on much too tight, creating a host of swing problems. If your grip is too thick, you will find in most cases that your missed shots will be in the form of a fade or slice.

If you use what are considered standard size grips by most manufacturers, chances are their grips are too small.

Now is the perfect time to get your clubs in working order, be on the lookout for this probable situation and contact your local CPGA Professional for assistance in this matter.

Talk to you soon, Joshua

1. Move up

Having trouble achieving a mental breakthrough? Try playing forward one set of tees, in order to alter your comfort zone and lower your scores. Playing a shorter course will instill a “go-for-par” or birdie mindset that will stick with you when you return to your accustomed tees. If you can’t score any better from the forward tees, consider it a message that you need extra work on your short game!

2. Play like you mean it

If you’re going to take the time to play, do it seriously and focus on each shot. Never make a careless swing during a serious round! Of course, this doesn’t mean you can’t have fun – it just means you should turn up the focus a notch. Use the driving range for working on technical skills, and the golf course for focusing on the real target: lowering your score.

3. Use proper equipment

I’m not saying you should spend thousands of dollars on equipment. But if you’re using an older set that isn’t fitted properly, you may be needlessly holding yourself back.
Getting custom fitted is easy and painless with free, web-based fitting tools or just contact your local CPGA Professional.

4. Put more focus on the short game

Chipping and putting account for more than half the strokes in a typical golfer’s game. Consequently, you should devote most of your practice to your short game. I like to use a football analogy here: It’s great to be able to advance to the two-yard line, but it won’t mean a thing if you can’t make it into the end zone!

5. Write it down

It’s easier to improve if you can document your hits and misses. Where do you hit good shots, and where do you hit poor ones? Did you hit right, left, or on top? How many putts of less than five feet do you miss? Keep a journal and consult it periodically to unearth patterns and discover areas that need work.

This season give it a try and let me know how it works,

Talk to you soon, Joshua

One of the keys of getting out of greenside bunkers is to keep the clubface “open.” When you close the face, you get a lower trajectory and the golf club tends to dig in the sand. Here’s a trick to help you achieve this: Imagine that the clubface is a mirror, and that you’re going to see your reflection in it at the finish of your sand shot. This will ensure that you take the club all the way to eye level and that you’ve kept it open all the way to the finish.

One more trick is to visualize that your ball is sitting on top of a $5 dollar bill. The idea is to try and pick that $5 dollar bill off of the sand with your club. This concept will give an excellent idea on where the club face should enter the sand and where it should exit the sand when making a greenside bunker shot. Always remember to follow through.

Good Luck, Joshua

Aim the club face (of your most lofted wedge) at your target and aim your body 45 degrees to the left (for righties). Your clubface should now be lying wide open giving it extra loft. Your ball position should be inside your left heel.

When executing this shot, you need a soft grip and relaxed arms. The back swing is going to be more vertical than your normal swing. You should feel your wrists hinging sooner on your back swing. Allow the club to swing down softly to the golf ball so the clubface gently slides under the ball. This will produce a high, soft ball flight. Remember, this shot is typically only a 30 yard shot or less.

You will have to swing a little bit harder than normal to get the ball to the hole because you are lofting your club so much more than usual. Swinging harder will decrease your margin for error – and remember, don’t forget to follow through. Your chances of hitting the ball thin and skulling it over the green is greater thereby requiring you to keep your head down and still. Try it, you’ll be glad you did!

Have fun, Joshua

A full shoulder turn is an important aspect in maximizing distance with all your clubs. Unfortunately, flexibility is needed to make a full shoulder turn, and that is a common thing for most players to lack. Without a full turn, your swing can fall into two categories. Either your swing is all arms, or a combination or arms and minimal shoulder turn. While both of these types of swings can produce results, they tend to lack repeatability and consistency.

If you have ever heard of someone talking about a one-piece takeaway, this is where it comes into play. A one-piece take away starts with the shoulders moving, the arms and club then follow. Ideally your swing should start with the movement of your shoulders, not your arms. For a more consistent swing you need to incorporate a one-piece takeaway into your routine.

This drill will help you achieve greater flexibility in your shoulders and also help develop a one-piece takeaway. Grab a wedge, and place one hand on the butt end of the grip, and another on the face of the wedge. Setup in your normal address position and start swinging the club back and forth. Turn your shoulders to their maximum point, and hold the position for 10 seconds, then go to your maximum follow-through position and repeat. Repeat this five times; with practice you will begin to see a difference in your shoulder turn.

During this drill you will notice how your arms and shoulders are anchored. If your shoulders turn, your arms must follow; this is the feeling you want to have during each of your takeaways. This is how a proper one-piece takeaway feels. The more that you practice this move the easier it will become.

Give it a try,

Joshua