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Week of August 20, 2007
Practice is usually the farthest thing from most casual golfers minds. In fact most of us avoid it like the plague. We would much rather be playing.
I recently read in a golf magazine that all of us should be practicing six hours a week. But, if you are like me, when I get to the golf course I look at the driving range and practice green. Then I look at the course and too often bypass the practice areas for the first teebox.
Yes, we need to play. We need to experience the reality of the course. We need to keep track of our scores and establish our handicap. Playing regulary is an important part of keeping your game in shape.
Practice, however, helps you to improve your game.
Realizing that most of us can't or won't practice six hours a week, I would suggest this as an alternative. No matter how much you practice, whether it be one or ten hours a week, use your time wisely.
Practice where most of your shots are. That means chipping and putting. Use at least 50 percent of your time on and around the practice green. Then if time permits use 20 percent of your practice time hitting fairway type shots with irons and fairway clubs. Then use the 20 percent left hitting tee shots.
If you aren't putting much practice time in, resolve to take at least one hour each week to practice. As your game improves, you might just convince yourself that the work that goes into practice sessions is outweighed by the increased fun and satisfation of playing better on the course.
Week of July 15, 2007 Each Thursday evening I go to All-Star Sports for my weekly golf seminar. Usually there is a little time when I get there to observe the hackers. If there are ten people on the range, there is never more than on or two who are actually hitting anything remotely close to decent golf shots. Most are hitting slices, hooks, are topping the ball, are chunking the ball and often they just plain miss it all together. And they are doing it as fast as they can so they can buy another bucket of balls to hit incorrectly.
The next time they are on the golf course they wonder why they are playing poorly, after all they went to the range and hit 200 balls. They should be getting better. Right? Wrong!
I had an excellent practice session on the range Friday with seven balls. I was waiting for a student and gathered up seven balls from just in front of the hitting area. I had made a small change in my grip while driving and had played one round using it but decided I would try it out on the range while waiting. I hit six of the finest drives I have hit in a long time. One I hit badly and made my corrections. I put my driver away knowing I was on the right track with the grip modification.
So, what makes a good practice session at the driving range?
A good practice session is one that builds confidence. Confidence comes from hitting the clubs you are working with well. I have three types of range practice sessions.
3 Ball Session - Starting with your shortest club, hit three balls. If you have two or three good shots, put it back in the bag. Move to the next club and hit three more. Any club that is giving you less than two good shots, keep it out of the bag. Finish with the driver. Three drives only. Then go back to the shortest club and hit three with it. Continue this until all the clubs are back in the bag. Finish with the driver for three to six more shots. Finish the session on a good hit with the driver. If you have balls left in the bucket, give them to someone.
Problem session - This is a session when you have one or two clubs that you aren't hitting well. When you get to the range, take out only those problem clubs plus a short iron, a pitching wedge or nine iron. Warm up with six to ten shots on the short iron. Concentrate on your setup and especially your tempo. Then go to the problem clubs. Hit as many balls as you need with the problem club. Experiment with your grip, stance and the ball position in your stance. Once you have hit three good shots with it, you are done with that club. Go on to the next. If you have balls left, give them to someone.
Tourney session - At a lot of tournaments, the range is open with free balls. The thing to remember is that thirty minutes before a tournament is not the time to work on your game. It is the time to warm up. Hit no more than three balls with each club and call it good. Most times I don't get through my entire bag. After I hit three or four clubs really well, I am done. I do always hit a few with my driver. There is nothing worse than standing on the first tee, in a tournament, in front of people and knowing you haven't hit your driver yet and you really don't know what it is going to do.
The real key to a good practice session is to know what you are going to the range for. Hitting a hundred balls badly is not a good practice session. Hitting three balls with each club or fixing a problem club is a good practice session. Another key is to take your time. Take a practice swing. Check your backswing and takeaway. Take time to watch the ball. Take time to think about what you are doing. There is no rush on the range. The goal is to improve your game. When you have accomplished your goal, if you have balls left, give them away. Let someone else waste their energy hitting badly.
Week of March 6, 2007
During the past couple of months, when I couldn't play golf due to the horrid Kansas weather, I have been studying and experimenting with my posture. Every golf instructor will tell you posture is important. We seldom are told exactly what good posture is.
Let me try to explain.
First, when you are in a good posture position, your hands hang down comfortably. They are not in line with your club. This also promotes a more proper positioning of your hands on the club.
When your posture and placement in relationship to the ball is correct, you should be able to lift your toes without losing your balance and falling either forward or backwards.
Balance left to right generally is more right for the driver, woods and some hybrids. It is generally more to the left as the clubs get shorter. The five iron is generally an equal balance situation. But, don't get carried away with your weight shift. Too much weight on the right foot can cause a slice as it can cause the right shoulder to dip. Conversely, too much weight on the left can cause chunks into the ground.
The most important adjustment I believe most golfers need to make is with their hips and spinal position. Once you are set up over the ball push your buttocks to the rear and straighten your back as much as possible. When you first start using this position it feels tremendously awkward. It will allow an easier fuller turn and lets you swing through and get the club face square.
Finally, let's talk about the head. Not the club head but your head, specifically your chin. When you are set up over the ball, if you are looking directly at the ball, your chin can get in the way. This is especially true for older and stockier golfers. When your chin gets in the way, your forward shoulder will push into it on your backswing and either turn your head or dip your shoulder to compensate and end up with a less than desirable shot. So lift that chin up two or three inches. You will be looking at the ball from the bottom of your eyes. The only problem here is if your wear bifocal glasses. It is a small thing to overcome compared to the flexibility and stability you gain from keeping your shoulder from banging into your chin.
All of the ingredients that go into good posture do add a lot of things to remember when you set up. Work it into your setup routine like this - 1) Hands hanging comfortably 2) Check weight by lifting your toes 3) Distribute weight based on club being used 4) Push buttocks out and straighten your back and finally 5) Lift your head. Then swing away.
Watch out for the Gators
December 8, 2006
While playing Northshore Country Club in Corpus Christi, Mike Clark and I were humored by the 'Watch out for the alligators signs'. At first we thought they were kidding. After seeing a dozen or so of those signs, we knew they weren't kidding.
A hole or two later, I hit one into the gunge. I could see it. It was only a couple of feet into the tall stuff, unplayable but retrievable. As I began to reach for my ball, my buddy Mike Clark yelled, "Watch out for the alligators."
I pulled my hand back and got a club to retrieve my ball. There was no gator there but they lurked all over the course.
The course you play has gators too. Golfers who hit the ball solidly most of the time, have a decent short game and can putt often wonder how their score got so high. It was gators. When we miss that two foot putt, it was the gators. Hit one over the water and see that dismal splash, it was the gators.
The gators most of us face rest between our ears. We don't take the time to really figure out the right club to use on an approach shot. We forget the ball is slightly below or above our feet. We feel uncomfortable over the ball but don't step away and re-set. We have a grip that is too strong or too weak. We swing too hard or too soft. We look away from the ball and hit it thin or fat.
The way to beat the gators is to take a little time before we swing. Analyze the shot. Select the correct club. Make sure our setup is correct. Make a good, balanced consistent swing.
Every golfer in the world occasionally pars a hole. The reason they can't par every hole is the gators. You must realize there are gators on every hole of every course you play. If you know they are there you can use the gator bait between your ears to keep the gators in the swamp and off your scorecard.
Week of November 27, 2006
We have all said it a hundred times. "Drive for show, putt for dough." We all know how very important the short game, chipping and putting, are to having a decent round of golf.
Yet so many of us don't practice the most important part of the game religiously. Yes, we go to the range where our weapon of choice is usually our driver. We ignore the most important and most often used two clubs in our bag, our chipper and our putter.
The importance of using these clubs to their best advantage was pointed out to me last Wednesday at MacDonald Golf Park in Wichita, Kansas. I played a round with three of my golfing buddies. Two were 30 handicappers and one was a 16. The 16 played to his handicap with an excellent 40 on the back nine.
My high handicap partners struggled with scores far above their handicaps. Time after time the difference between a bogey and a triple bogey boiled down to their chipping and putting. In addition to often needing more than one chip shot to get on the green, they often failed to get a chip near the hole to give them a reasonable one or two putt. When the short game isn't working, you can almost guarantee two extra strokes a hole.
The sad thing is that no special equipment is required for practicing your short game. Chipping practice can be conducted in the back yard. If your yard is large enough to pace off 20 to 30 paces it can be used as a practice chipping facility. The often clumpy grass even gives you the feel of being around a real green. My practice area is 30 paces long and I mow an area in the corner of the yard shorter simulating a green. I got a bicycle flag to stick in the ground giving me something to aim at. From the flag, I have markers every ten paces out to my 30 paces. A complete practice session consists of hitting three balls from each location starting at ten paces. Then I repeat it three times. That is only 27 chips per session and only consumes ten or so minutes. This exercise, done two or three times a week will give you the touch for the distances you most often chip from and will trim strokes galore from your game.
For putting the drill is equally easy. A good putting green inside is berber carpet. Lay a quarter down on the floor and putt at it from various distances. One thing to remember...All putts are straight putts. The green make break but you need to be able to putt straight. The best way to do this is to put a line on your practice ball and align it with the direction you are putting. If the line wobbles, you are not striking the ball squarely. If the line on the ball stays straight as it rolls then you are striking the ball squarely and it will roll straight. Master the straight putt this winter indoors and watch the strokes roll fall off your scorecard.
Week of November 20, 2006
If you aren't carrying a hybrid iron or two in your bag, you are probably giving away a few strokes each round.
I recently added a four-iron hybrid to my club selection. I found that the distance and accuracy I had with it enabled me to almost eliminate the use of fairway woods. It is my club of choice for almost every second shot on par-5 holes and comes in useful for the longer par-3 holes.
Hybrids was a topic of discussion during a recent PGA Tournament. The commentators, including one PGA professional, all agreed that all professionals and amateurs should be carrying the hybrid clubs.
The question is why.
First, they are easier to hit consistently than fairway woods. Using a three or five-wood requires an almost perfect lie. Hybrids can be struck well from less than perfect lies with consistency and accuracy. Although they won't dig you out of a hole, they can be hit from moderate rough or from thin lies better than woods.
They give you distance. The four-iron hybrid I carry is almost always good for 180 to 200 yards. I don't need a fairway wood if I can hit my hybrid that far. I recently tried a 3-iron hybrid and got even more distance.
For some reason the accuracy and consistence is better than woods. Over the last several months using the hybrid, I have seen greater consistency both in ball striking and accuracy than I experienced with woods. Some of my golfing partners who use hybrids are seeing the same result.
The real plus is that you don't have to spend an arm and a leg to purchase them. Hybrids can often be found in the $40 to 50 range. Last week I found some on sale for $29.99.
Add this to your Christmas list this year.
Week of November 13, 2006
This past weekend, I played the final Men's Club Tournament of the year. We used a points format where a bogey was one point, par - two points, birdey - four points and eagle was eight points.
I have been playing pretty well lately and was expecting to do well at this season finale. Instead I psyched myself out.
Instead of concentrating on each individual shot and making them, I was thinking about the score, the points and just about everything else. My lack of concentration caused me to miss several birdie opportunities with the putter. It also caused me to chip terribly. Normally, chipping is the best part of my game but it wasn't Saturday. I couldn't chip close for any short putts. I even skulled a couple completely off the green.
One of my playing partners, Mike Clark, had been having trouble with his driver the past couple of weeks. He kept it in the bag all day and used his 3 - wood instead. He was down the middle long enough to reach the par - 4 holes easily. When he didn't, he chipped close. After making a chip in birdie and dropping a long par putt one the number one handicap hole and sinking another long birdie putt, he was unstoppable.
Mike went on to shoot a ten over par 81. It was his best round of the year and put him in first place in our flight.
The difference was confidence and concentration.
You can't make a good golf shot when you are thinking about the score, the next hole or if you have lost confidence in a particular club. It is hard to push all of those thoughts out of your head but it is essential when playing any kind of tournament.
Week of October 30, 2006
Feeling uncomfortable when you set up for a tee shot may mean that you are set up wrong. It happens to all of us occasionally. We are all set up to hit our drive and something just doesn't feel right. When we go ahead and hit the ball it often does something we had no intention of doing.
We were probably set up wrong.
The setup is the most important part of the golf swing. Without a proper set up nothing else happens correctly. So when you get that uncomfortable feeling (My wife calls it the Heebie-Jeebies), step away from the ball, take a deep breath and set up again.
Pay particular attention to your grip, posture, stance, weight distribution and the position of the ball in your stance. Most often, when I get that uncomfortable it is related to my grip which in turn affects my weight distribution and causes the club to strike the ball with a closed face causing a hook or pull.
The extra moment it will take will not slow up play nearly as much as a bad shot that gets you into trouble or a lost ball.
Week of October 23, 2006
Last weekend I played in the Prairie Trails Men's Club Stroke Play Tournament (see Bogey Blog for the full story). It was wet, cold and windy.
About halfway through my first match the rain picked up and my glove and grips were so wet that holding my clubs properly through the swing proved nearly impossible. I always keep five or six golf gloves in my bag but after only nine holes, I was running out of gloves and they weren't particularly helping with the grip anyway.
I stopped at the pro-shop to get a couple more dry gloves and they suggested winter gloves. These proved to be a major improvement over a conventional golf glove. In addition to providing extra warmth to both hands, they provide extra grip. While using them over the next 30 holes of golf in the rain, I did not have the club turn in my hand one time.
Even though the gloves were both drenched with rain water after just a few holes, they kept my hands warmer in addition to the improved grip. They are, of course, more costly than regular gloves. The investment will return itself many times over with less hand slippage, additional comfort and lower scores while playing in inclement weather.
Week of October 16, 2006
During the lessons and seminars I have been teaching and while playing with a variety of skill level golfers, one error I see more than any other is over-swinging.
Many golfers over-swing in one of two ways. The first is putting too much wrist and backswing movement into their swing. They often get to the top of a good backswing and then cock their wrists even more. This brings the club past horizontal and often pulls it off a good swing plane. The problem is that then adjustments are made on the back-swing to get the ball back on plane. This often results in an excessive wrist swing at the bottom of the swing and can also cause a loss of balance, timing and tempo. The final result is inconsistent hitting.
The second way many golfers over-swing is by swinging too hard. These hard swings often result in long drives that may go just about anywhere.
During the course of a week, I play with a lot of older golfers. One characteristic of almost all of their swings is the moderately slow tempo of them. Many of these slower club speed golfers are almost always right down the middle. One of these fellows played a round with me last week. Although his swing is slow, it is very smooth and he gets good distance off the tee-box, actually amazing distance. He is plenty long to reach any green in regulation. And he is down the middle on a high percentage of shots. His missed shots are closer than many golfers. Last week we were on hole 14 before he got a double bogey and he threw a few pars in to come away with a mid 80 score. He is 79 and would beat many 20 or 30 somethings because of his steady, consistent and down the middle abilities.
Week of October 9, 2006
Have you ever had a golf club turn in your hand when you struck the ball? You might have thought you toed the ball or weren't holding it tight enough.
This question came up recently at a golf tournament. Some of the ladies who were playing the ball down throughout the tournament were complaining about their clubs turning. Several indicated that they had cleaned their club-heads before the tournament but none had cleaned the grips.
If this happens to you, the problem could be dirty grips.
Over the course of a golf season, sweat and oil from our hands build up on the club grips. They get slick and are far more likely to turn in the hands, especially when hitting from the rough where grass grabs the club-head significantly.
Take time to clean those grips periodically. Warm soapy water and a clean towel to scrub and dry the grips works perfectly.
If your grips still seem slick or cleaning has not helped the problem, it might be time for new grips. Your local golf course can assist you with new grips for a reasonable price.
Also take a look at your golf glove. Most golfers wear their glove until a hole tears in it. That is entirely too long to use the same glove. They get slick just like your grips after use. The life of the golf glove can be extended by washing it with the laundry and drying it in the dryer. This is at best a temporary solution but can extend use for short periods of time.
Week of October 2, 2006
Have you ever had one of those rounds where everything is going pretty well and all of a sudden, you hammer one way left with a huge hook? Or perhaps it went hard right and then sliced.
When I am with other golfers and a shot is made like that they always ask, "What the heck was that?" Or, "What the devil did I do there?"
Understanding what causes those errant shots can help you improve your game and add consistency to it. To understand why your golf ball goes in weird and unusual directions, it is imperative to know and fully comprehend ?Ball Flight Laws'.
The initial direction of the ball's flight is determined by the club-head/hands path. A straight ball means the club-head path was straight. Initial left direction means an out to in swing and an initial right direction means the club-path was in to out. What the ball does after the initial direction depends on the club face. A closed club face causes a left hook. An open club face causes a slice and a square club face allows the ball to go straight.
Knowing what causes the ball to do what it does will enable you to do some self-diagnosis while you are on the course and improve your game.
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