Set Up For A Perfect Downswing

This is a simple comparison of two completely different backswing positions. The purpose of the backswing is to give yourself a chance to make a proper downswing.

The backswing on the left is a common problem among golfers. If you look closely, there are three major problems that will cause an "over the top" downswing, causing a ball flight with slice spin.

1) Width. Look how close his hands are to hit head on the left view, and how much space he has to work with on the right view. The right view will give his hands and arms a chance to fall down on plane in the downswing. In the left view, there would have to be many compensations in order to get the club into the proper position, and compensations equal inconsistency.

2) Position of the right elbow. In the left view, the elbow is more in a baseball position ("elbow up") and this causes the player to push the club forward in the downswing, contributing to the "over the top" move again.

3) Position of the club and clubface. In the left view, the club has gone too far past parallel, and the clubface is wide open. You can also see this by looking at the left wrist which has a slight cupping. In the right view, you can see the club pointing slightly left of target and short of parallel with a perfectly square clubface and flat left wrist.

From the position on the right, he has a chance to make a proper downswing and start striking the ball from the inside creating the draw spin that everyone desires.

If you need help finding the proper backswing position, please feel free to contact me. I would love to help you!

A Birthday To Remember

For the past two years, I have been invited to host a birthday party on the golf course. Caden Varner is one of my juniors from Prestonwood, and he loves golf. He has requested me to host his birthday party for the last two years and I love it!

Caden and his friends are only about seven years old, but they have a passion for golf that you wont find in most grown-ups. I mean, who would have their birthday party on a golf course in 102 degree Texas heat at age seven? Shouldn't he be at the water slides, or the bowling ally? That is certainly what I did when I was seven, I think...

But Caden wants a golf birthday party, so I provide. Even though its 102 degrees, these eight party goers lasted they entire two hours I was there, and spent another 45 minutes playing golf afterwards! They love the game, and I can only hope the passion stays with them their whole life!

First exercise was frisbee golf. They didn't know it, but they way I had them throwing the frisbee mimics a proper impact position in the golf swing. So even though they were throwing a frisbee, they were learning how to find a proper impact position as well!

Next was water balloon bunkers, where the kids learned the proper way to get a ball (balloon) out of a bunker. If the use the sand to lift the ball out of the bunker, the water balloon does not break. But if they catch balloon (ball) first, they will find themselves splashed with water. They really love this game!

Then, because it was 102 degrees, it's only natural for the water balloon bunker game to turn into an all out water fight! Above is me dumping a bucket of water on the birthday boy.

We ended the party with a fun an educational putting obstacle course game where the kids learned the rules of the putting green, had to wear funny hats, and also received some instruction on their putting.

Also, thank you to my wonderful wife Courtney for helping with the event!

The kids all had a great time, and I can't wait until next year's party!

Happy Birthday to Caden!

In honor of The Open this week....

This post is meant to give you a few pointers on how to play in the strong wind you might see at the British Open....or Texas...

First and most important is the old saying "when it's breezy, swing it easy". There is nothing more true when playing in the wind. I watched Luke Donald's press conference today and he said he hit a 114 yard 7 iron because of the wind. Any more club would have lofted too high into the wind, so he hit a smooth 7 iron. This is exactly the play that good players will make, and average amateurs will not. Average players will try to hit a hard wedge or 9 iron and almost always come up very short.

Playing in the wind is very tricky because it takes a lot of feel to judge the wind strength and direction. How much will the ball be blown to the right after I hit it? How strong is the wind into my face? 2 club wind? 30 yard wind? How do you know??

The feel comes from playing in the wind often, but one trick is to watch the flag stick and how it is blowing. As a general rule, if the wind is blowing hard enough to have the flag looking full, the wind is somewhere between 20 and 30 mph, so that would equal anywhere between 2 and 3 clubs depending on the shot you choose to hit. So use this as a starting point, and don't be afraid to play and practice in the wind to develop your feel.

2 ways to play in the wind:

1. I've heard Jack Nicklaus played this way for a while. He would judge how much wind there was and how much it would move his ball in the air, and he would hit a standard shot aiming to a point where the wind would blow it to the target. No special stance, launch angle or club selection, just estimating the wind direction and strength. I don't recommend this approach.

2. This is the way I suggest to play in the wind and the way almost all modern players play. KEEP THE BALL LOW. The only time I get the ball in the air is a downwind shot, and even then I am careful because the wind can knock the ball down instead of push it forward. The key to keeping the ball low is to take more club and swing smooth. Slower club head speed means lower ball flight and more control over the shot. To keep the ball low swing smooth, choke up on the grip of your club, play the ball a bit further back in your stance, and abbreviate your follow through. Use one or a combination of more than one of these factors in order to produce the shot you need to hit.

Don't be afraid of going to play or practice in the wind. However, if you are practicing in the wind, practice your wind shots, and not your standard shots. If you are playing in the wind, try not to get too frustrated, the more you play in the wind the better feel you will develop and the better you will be able to manage your game. So watch the British Open closely this week and watch the different trajectories of the shots hit by the players if the wind is blowing, and the different swings they use to produce those trajectories.

Putt Like The Pros

For those of you who missed this months Golf Magazine, there is a great article on how the best putters in the world put versus how amateur golfers putt. Some facts are intuitive, and some may surprise you, but all of them will be good for your putting statistics.

The first key involves the length and acceleration of your stroke. The majority of the best putters on tour have putting strokes where their backswing matching their follow through in length. Also, studies show that the putter (at impact) has stopped accelerating, but has not started decelerating, they are calling it a "flat spot" in the stroke. This is important because it will determine how well you can control your speed on different lengths of putts.

The second key for for your forearms to be aligned square to the target. It makes less of a difference if your feet are aimed at the target if your forearms are aligned properly. Most amateur golfers' right forearm sits too high and aims the forearms to the left of the target (hence the cut stroke). For proper forearm alignment, feel like your right elbow is tucked into your right side.

The third key is that all most great putters have an arch in their putting stroke and the putter approaches the ball from an inside path. There are very few good players that have strokes that cut across the ball and end up left of the target line. It is very difficult to have a "straight back, straight through" stroke, so let the putter swing naturally for better results.

The fourth key is to let the putter release. The old way of thinking is that golfers need to hold their leading wrist in front of the putter blade the entire time, even after the ball has been struck. It is much more effective, for speed and accuracy, to let the putter release past your hands after impact.