Fundamentals Part 3: Take-away

The take-away is one of the most important positions in the golf swing because it immediately decides if your swing has the possibility of being on plane. Yes, it is possible to start off plane and re-route the club to be on plane coming into the ball (Jim Furyk), but it is not the most efficient or easiest way to swing.

From your address position hinge and unhinge your wrists vertically to get the feel of how the club will hinge on the back swing. Then when you are ready to swing, feel like your hands are arms are moving straight back while your shoulders turn slightly back and the club hinges vertically in your hands. This will produce an on plane take-away that will set you up for the rest of your backswing.

Here is a picture of KJ Choi to show a proper take-away:

Notice the club head is in line with KJ Choi's hands and the club shaft is pointed parallel to his target line. The wrists are starting to hinge up and shoulders and hips have turned the proper amount. The club head is NOT back behind his body or way out in front of him. 

This is the start to a great backswing, which will set up your downswing and allow you to make proper contact with that ball. Practice this take-away many times at home before you take it to the course. 

On another note: 

What happened to Tiger yesterday? Did anyone else see him block his tee shot 30 yards right into the water on number 3? Unreal.

Hopefully my winning pick of Nick Watney stays in the game, tough match today versus the #1 player in the world though, Lee Westwood.  

My favorite part about the match play tournaments is that you see everyone play, not just the top players who are on their game all week. Notice how many bad shots and missed putts your saw yesterday and will see today. Just goes to show you that professional golfers are not perfect, their mistakes are just easier to manage then the amateur golfer.

Good Luck!

Teaching the Teacher Experience: Distance Wedges

I had the pleasure of attending Tim Cusick's Teaching the Teacher seminar the past couple days. Tim is the Director of Instruction at Four Seasons Las Colinas and is regarded as one of the best teachers in the country. I had been excited about attending this seminar for the month leading up to it, and it did not disappoint.

In the following days, there will be blogs about different aspects of this seminar because it is not possible to fit it all into one. In this blog, I want to talk about one of the best parts of the seminar for me, and that was watching LPGA and Korean Tour player Ilhee Lee hit balls and take a lesson from Tim.

Ilhee is 22 years old and has recently moved to Dallas from South Korea to work hard on her game with Tim and to play more events on the LPGA Tour. She has a beautiful, graceful swing and a wonderful personality go to along with it. She works very hard on her game, and especially on her short game. Ilhee was 88th on the LPGA money list last year, and even though her swing looks almost perfect, the real reason she is that high on the money list is her short game, especially her distance wedges.

Distance wedges are very important to all golfers, and even more important to very good golfers. (See Phil Mickelson Blog as an example). Ilhee showed off some of her wedge shots and it was amazing how tight the grouping of balls was that she would hit to a certain yardage. How does she do it? A good system to swing the club the right length, and lots of practice....

Here is the system, and how it can work for you...

Il Hee has 3 wedges: a pitching wedge, sand wedge, and lob wedge

She makes swings based on her body. For example, one swing may be from hip to hip, meaning hip height on her backswing and through to hip height on her follow through. That produces a consistent yardage. The next height would be her chest, and the next her shoulder. That means she has three different heights for backswing and follow through, with three different clubs. That automatically covers 9 different distances from inside of 100 yards.

Knowing exact yardages and swings from 9 different yardages from inside 100 yards would improve the average golfers handicap by at least 5 strokes. It takes some time to figure out, but once you have the yardages down, it will benefit you for the rest of your golfing life.

Here is how to understand how far those wedge shots go:

You will need a friend, wife, or pro at your course, a laser range finder, and an open driving range.
Take each club and hit five solid shots from each height of your body (hip, chest, and shoulder) and have your partner run out to where the balls landed and laser back the yardage. You will get three yardages for your first club. Repeat the process for each of your wedges and you will end up with 9 distances (12 distances if you carry four wedges).

Write all these yardages down on a sheet of paper, or on a bag tag attached to your bag and keep it until you have memorized the 3 different yardages for each of your wedges. I promise your scores will immediately fall if you put in the time to measure out how far each wedge goes using the different body parts as a guide to swing length.                                                                          
                                                                                            Ilhee hitting pitch shots
Good Luck!

Tiger Says, "It Clicked"

Word has it that when Tiger was practicing on Monday, he said that his swing "clicked".

What is the significance?

Hank Haney says that every time Tiger said "it clicked" while he was working with Hank, he would go out and win the next tournament.

Here is one of Hanks more recent tweets: HankDHaney Hank Haney 

I read where John Cook said it all clicked for Tiger on Monday with his swing I remember when that happened with me, he should win next week

I think I might agree. Tiger is showing all the signs of a player getting used to a swing. He goes low some days, meaning very low under par, and the next day he can post a 74. Some days he feels very comfortable, and others he needs to go straight to the range to figure things out.

The only concern I have is how his short game will hold up. It seems he has been putting a lot of time into his swing and has a bit of a rusty short game as a result. The good news is that the next event is match play format, which may play right into Tiger's paws. He is still very intimidating, and I think especially so in match play.

I don't know if I would put money on it, but I have a feeling Tiger will play well next week! Should be fun to watch anyway!

Fundamentals Part 2: Grip and Setup

This section contains some of the most important information about the golf swing. Having a proper set up and grip is essential to having a solid and repeatable golf swing. Here are some of the more important factors in the setup:

-Feet are about shoulder width apart, but comfortable. Front foot slightly turned out, back food perpendicular to your target line.
-Knees should be flexed but not too much, and your upper body should be bent over from the hip sockets.
-Back should be relatively flat with your butt sticking out slightly.
-Arms should hang naturally from the shoulders.
-Weight distribution should be even and resting mostly on the balls of your feet.
-Club should be pointing toward your belt buckle.

Grip

How you grip the club is one of the most important fundamentals in golf because it is the only contact you have with the golf club, so it needs to be good. I will be explaining the grip for a right handed golfer.

Left hand first:

The club should be held in the middle of your left hand, not in the fingers and not in the palm. The pad of your left hand (on the pinky side) should rest directly on top (spine) of the club as the grip runs along the life line of your hand and out between the knuckles of your pointer and middle finger. You should be able to see two knuckles of your left hand at setup, and the "V" formed by your thumb and pointer finger should point towards your right shoulder.

Right hand:

Look at your right hand and find where each finger connects to your palm, this is where the grip will lie in your right hand. Your hands will fit together naturally with your left thumb fitting nicely between the palm pads of your right hand. The "V" formed by your right thumb and pointer finger will also point towards your right shoulder.

Connection of the hands:

I prefer my students to use either an interlocking grip or an overlapping grip and grip pressure should be light but not too light, maybe a 3 or 4 on a scale of 1-10. Lighter grip pressure lets the wrists work properly and gives you a chance to release the club at the right time.

Make sure these two fundamentals are correct, and you will have a much better chance at making a proper golf swing.

Good Luck!

When it's breezy, swing it easy

The windy season is blowing into Texas, so it's time to give y'all (you all, for non-Texans) some pointers about how to play in the wind.

Facts about wind and golf:
-Hitting directly into the wind will accentuate any spin on the golf ball.
-Hitting directly downwind will minimize the affect of the spin on the golf ball.
-High downwind shots can sometimes come up short because the wind knocks the ball down instead of sending it farther.
-Players should swing smooth/easy in the wind (I will explain why).
-The wind can effect short shots and even the roll of a putt!
-The only way to really tell which way the wind is blowing is by looking at the tree tops.

So, why swing easy when it's breezy?
-Swinging the club slower and smoother reduces the MPH (miles per hour, duh) of your golf club. When the MPH of your golf club slows, the amount of spin you can impart of the golf ball goes down and the trajectory of the shot will be lower. Having less overall spin on the golf ball means the ball will be less effected by the wind and therefore will not miss so far left or right.

For example... You normally hit an 8 iron 150 yards and you have a shot of 145 yards into a 10 mile per hour wind. Most players first instinct is to hit the 8 iron a little harder to recover the extra 5 yards taken away by the wind. WRONG CHOICE. Swinging harder means you will produce more back spin which will make the ball shoot straight up in the air and come up short. A better play is to take a controlled three-quarter swing with a 7 iron, which will produce less backspin, a lower ball flight, and will travel the distance you want.

Tips to keep the ball low:
In order of ease of execution
1) Grip up on the club. This will effectively shorten the shaft of the club. You will lose a few yards of distance, but the ball will fly considerably lower with more control.
2) Abbreviate your follow through. An abbreviated follow through will also take some yards off the shot, but will keep the ball flight low and reduce the amount of spin on the ball to make up for those yards.
3) Move your ball position back. Moving your ball position closer to your back foot will take loft off the club at impact and keep the ball down. This is the most difficult to execute because you still produce backspin and you start to mess with swing shape and angle of approach concepts which may impart more sidespin then intended.

If you swing it easy when its breezy, you will have a huge advantage over your playing competitors who are trying to overpower the wind.

Good Luck!

Fundamentals Part 1: Ball Position

Many rumors fly around about the correct ball position in the golf swing. But in reality, the ball position only moves a total of about 4 or 5 inches depending on the width of your stance, assuming you are hitting a normal golf shot.

For all your shorter clubs the ball shouldn't be further back than the middle of your stance. As you move up to the driver, the ball should be teed directly in front of your left heel (for a right handed golfer). And all the other clubs will fall in between the wedge and driver position.

The above ball positions are for "stock" shots. If you have to play an extreme shot - low, high, or curving - these ball positions can change. Especially when chipping comes into play. On a standard pitch or chip, I like to see the ball position just back of center to make sure the player contacts ball first, then turf.

As for distance away from the golf ball, players should stand at a comfortable distance from the ball, and have enough room between the butt end of the club and their pants to swing their fist through without hitting anything.

Good Luck!

Shankapotamous?

My Swing Feels Like an Unfolding Lawn Chair 21 sec - Aug 13, 2009 Uploaded by wwpascoe youtube.com

I know that "shank" is a dirty word to most golfers, but to most good golf instructors it's really no different than slice, hook or chunk...

The shanks seem bad to the golfer, but they are actually one of the easiest faults to fix in the golf swing, if you know what your doing. For example, a lot of times when I am working with a student, the changes that we are making cause a few shanks here or there but you might catch me saying "great swing" or "thats very close". Im not saying that to boost your confidence after a horrid shot. It is true, you are probably on the right track to success. 

One student I had recently made a pretty significant swing shape change, and he shanked about 15 shots in a row. He was on the right track with his swings, so I let him keep hitting the shanks and I kept telling him that it was OK and that he was doing great. When I sensed his frustration was growing too big, I added one small tip, and he didn't shank another ball the entire day. I didn't add the tip earlier because I wanted his focus to stay narrowed on the key swing change. It really is that easy, and I can probably fix your shanks without even seeing your swing!

There are 3 swing faults that cause a shank, so work through these until you find the one that is causing your shanks...

1. You are set up too close to the ball at address - When you are set up and ready to hit take your right hand off the club and try to swing it between the butt of your grip and your pants. If your hand passes easily, you are at a proper distance. If your hand does not fit, adjust your stance so your hand can pass through easily.

2. You are moving closer to the ball while the swing is in progress - Usually this move comes during the backswing when your body shifts over the ball. It is easy to check for this mistake with a mirror directly behind you down the target line, or have a buddy watch your forehead to make sure it is not moving closer to the ball at all during the swing.

3. Your swing path to too drastic from inside out or outside in - Meaning, you are coming in at such as sideways angle that "el hosel" gets in the way no matter what you do. To correct this, put a alignment stick on the ground about 6 inches behind your ball aiming straight at the target. Make a slow motion swing to analyze whether you are coming from outside to inside, or inside to outside. Then use the stick to guide your backswing and downswing so that they are "on plane" longer and you will have a better chance of catching the ball solidly. 

Or take the Tin Cup approach (not recommended by your pro) - You can turn your hat around backwards, put all your change in your left hand pocket, stick a tee behind your ear and tie your right shoe in a double knot... that may work too.

More than anything, the "shanks" is just scary for most golfers. Maybe because its embarrassing, or maybe because the ball doesn't go anywhere. Either way, next time you hit a hosel rocket, remember to try these three fixes first. And don't sweat it, it's not as bad as you think!

Good Luck!

Winter Practice Sessions

Winter is a notoriously bad time for most golfers. The rust on your clubs match the rust on your golf swing, but there are things you can do to keep the rust off while the weather remains uncooperative...

Slow motion swings with a weighted club is one of the best ways to train your body, even in good weather. Having a mirror to monitor where your swing positions are is a great advantage as well. Think about a proper setup, most instruction books or DVDs have proper setup technique. Then continue on with your swing in SLOW MOTION checking positions in the mirror. Refer to any notorious golf instructor for proper swing positions. 20-30 slow-mo swings a few times a week is all you need to remind or even train your body to swing properly.

Another great way to keep the rust off your game is to go to Walmart or Target and buy a pack of whiffle golf balls for a couple bucks. Use them to chip inside your house on your carpet. The only thing you need to focus on is chipping the ball solidly and making sure you are hitting "ball-turf". Meaning, you catch the ball with the wedge first, then continue on to make contact with the turf, or carpet. Now, I'm not saying take a divot out of the carpet, but just a nice brush of the carpet AFTER contact with the whiffle is perfect. Pick a target (a box, cup, doorframe, etc.) and see how many times you can make the shot, but make sure your focus is on proper impact. I have my fiance, Courtney, do this all the time because she wants to improve but has little time to go to the range after work. This helps her focus on proper contact on her chips which will translate into proper impact in her full swing when she gets a chance to go to the range and hit real golf balls.

Practicing these 20 foot chips and making weighted slow motion swings in your living room just 3 or 4 times a week and you will have a huge advantage over your golfing buddies when it's finally time to play again.

Good Luck!

*Please email me if you would like a suggestion on the better golf instruction books.

Four Keys To Great Putting

When you practice your putting (if you do), do you focus on something specific? Or do you just putt around without a purpose hoping to get something out of it?

You should be putting with a purpose while you practice. I'm going to explain the 4 keys to successful putting, and give a drill or two for each to help you out.

1. Striking the center of the putter consistently: Striking the putt in a different place on the putter face will make the putt go a different distance each time, and as you will learn in #3, distance control is pretty important.
Drill 1: Wrap two rubber bands about 3/4" to an inch apart around the sweet spot of the putter. The closer the rubber bands are, the more precise your contact will have to be. If you don't contact the putt in the sweet spot you will get immediate feedback from the rubber bands that you didn't.
Drill 2: The Gate Drill- Put two tees in the ground at address position, one just outside the toe of the putter and another just outside the heel of the putter. The closer the tees are to the putter, the more precise your strike will have to be. Hit putts making sure you do not clip the tees as you strike the put.

2. Starting the putt on its intended line: If you cant start the ball on your intended line, you have no chance at making a putt, this key is critical to putting well.
Drill: The two gate drill- The first part is set up the same way as drill 2 of Key #1, but in addition to the gate surrounding your putter, you need another gate no more than half way to the hole that is about 3 inches apart. Your goal is to stroke the putt without hitting the first gate, and make the ball go through the second gate without touching the tees. That way you know the ball started online.

3. Distance control: This is the most important part of good putting! There are hundreds of drills for distance control, but ill give you my favorite two.
Drill 1: From about 30 feet, place a club or flag stick about 18 inches behind the hole. But at the hole, but not necessarily trying to make the putt. Instead, just try to stop the ball between the back of the hole and the club/flag. You will be surprised how many putts actually end up going in!
Drill 2: Using 8 tees, put one in the ground about 15 feet from the hole, then put one on the exact opposite side of the hole at the same distance. From each side, in a straight line going away from the hole, place another tee in the ground every 3-4 feet. Start at the first tee on either side, and the goal is to putt the ball and make it stop no more than 18 inches past the hole. Once you do that, you circle to the other side of the hole and the first tee there, and putt to 18 inches. If completed, circle back around to the first side and putt from the second tee.. keep doing that until you have completed all 8 putts in a row. If you ever hit a putt and it does not rest between the front edge of the hole and 18 inches past, you must restart from the first front tee.

Competition Tip: The best tip I have received about distance control in competition is from Mitch Lowe (PGA), he told me: When you are getting ready for competition, make sure you will be ready if you are faced with a 40 foot birdie putt on the first hole.

4. Reading the green: Green reading is an art, you must train your eye in order to learn how to read greens correctly.
Drill: For 15 minutes while you practice, use only one ball, and pick a different putt each time. Before you putt, read the green as you would in competition and place a tee or a coin at your "aimpoint" or the high point of the break of the putt. After you putt, whether make or miss, evaluate the actual line and break point of the putt versus what you decided your aimpoint would be. This will help train your eye to reading greens better.

Combining these keys to putting with focused practice will knock strokes off your score in a hurry, guaranteed!

Good Luck!

No Rough in 2014 US Open

US Open to be played at Pinehurst #2 in 2014... interesting piece of information...


“Mike Davis (the USGA’s director of rules and competition) has told me the 2014 US Open will be the first to be played on a course with no rough. We wanted to make sure they were comfortable with what we were doing and they are. Some of the fairways are going to be 40 yards wide, but they say that is fine with them. Mike says they will not grow rough. Which will be unbelievable. I really hope it happens. If they get the fairways firm, the course will be just as difficult.”


Im not sure how I feel about this decision yet. Yes, it is different, and depending on the slope and roll of the fairways, it could play very hard. But for me, and for many other Sunday TV watchers, some of the best footage comes from watching professionals such as Tiger and Phil hack out of 8 inch rough with a lob wedge just to get it back in the fairway or try to get a little too aggressive and hit the 15 yard grounder that stays in the rough. I cant see how miles of fairway is a tougher test then the 8 inches of thick rough which is synonomous with the US Open, but we will see!