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(47).."PRE SHOT ROUTINE"

Many pushed and pulled shot can be caused by poor alignment and can definitely be reduced with a good consistent "Pre Shot Routine".

Imagine a railroad track, with two rails and the wood ties in the middle. The ball is on the one rail that goes straight to the target. That's called the "target line."

Your feet should be positioned on the other rail, which runs parallel and to the left of the target line.

Here's a good pre-shot routine you should follow each time you hit a golf shot:

1. Start behind the ball and pick out a piece of grass, broken Tee or anything about 2 to 4 feet in front of the ball that is directly between the ball and your target. This establishs the target rail that will run from your ball through the piece of whatever to the target.

2. Now walk around the ball and start your address by keeping you feet together and approximately parallel to the target rail. Lay the club on the rail, lining the club face square to the piece of whatever so if you looked down the rail the ball, the piece of whatever and the target would all be perpendicular to the club face..

3. Separate your feet on a parallel line to the target line. You do not want your feet pointing at the target, but parallel to the target line and pointing a little left of the target.

4. Relax and get comfortable, without changing your position.

The pre-shot routine is the most important part of the golf swing and is often the most overlooked. It does no good to make a "perfect" swing if you are not lined up to the target.

In fact, if you do not line up properly, you will almost always compensate in your swing to make up for your poor alignment. Two wrongs don't make a right. Never bypass this step.

Once you've established a "pre shot routine" and are properly aligned, you can work on correcting the swing flaw that makes the ball go to the right or left and be assure it is not because of poor alignment.



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(48).."GOLF BALL MYTH"

The 80 compression golf ball is for women and seniors.... On a hot day 100 compression golf balls carry further....80 compression balls come off the club face faster.....Boy! What a bunch of crap.

Compression is probably the most misunderstood measurement in golf ball design. Many people have no idea of what compression is and what it means. In the early days of golf, the term compression was originally used as a measurement for golf ball quality. It was actually used to reference the tightness of the windings around the center core of a three piece ball - the tighter the windings, the better the ball performed. This created a long-standing perception that compression affects golf ball distance and performance.

Because golf ball technology uses newer heat-resistant threads with newer and better winding equipment for three piece balls, golf ball compression has become merely a condition of feel, I repeat, FEEL.

Now with the availability of the consistent quality of a two piece ball, compression as a measurement of quality is just about obsolete. Today the word "compression" in the golf ball industry relates to a value expressed by a number in the range from 0 to 200 that is given a golf ball. This number defines the deflection that a golf ball undergoes when subjected to a compressive load. Compression simply measures how much the shape a golf ball changes under a constant weight.

As golf balls come off the production line, all three-piece balls and some two-piece balls are measured for compression and rated. A standard weight is applied to each ball - one that doesn't compress is rated 200; a ball that deflects 2/10ths of an inch or more is rated zero. Between those two extremes, for every 1/1000ths of an inch that the ball compresses, it drops one point from 200 and the compression rating is then established.

Most balls have compression ratings of either 80, 90, or 100; the lower the compression, the softer the feel. Not every ball marked 80, 90, or 100 is exactly that rating. The actual rating can fall roughly within 3-5 points on either side of 80, 90, or 100. Any balls that fall out of this range are usually discarded, sold as range balls, or sold as X-outs.

There have been several published texts to prove that golf ball compression relates more to feel and your own superstition than its performance. The conclusions were, if you take different rated golf balls which have the same construction, aerodynamics, and cover material, and use an automatic golf swing machine such as the Iron Man, the yardage difference between the balls hit were negligible, less than two yards.

Do yourself a favor and find a ball that you are comfortable with and feels good when you hit it and play it. Do not let the compression hype interfere with a good feeling shot, just because Ralph says SO.



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(49).."THE KNOCKDOWN SHOT"

.... You don't have to be a pro to learn to play a knockdown or "punch" shot. All it takes is to choose the proper club, alter your set-up slightly, and shorten your swing a bit.

Since you're going to have to swing easier than normal to keep the ball from climbing into the air, you'll have to use more club -- one or two more than normal.

Next, play the ball back in your stance, between the middle of your stance and your right foot, with about 70 percent of your weight concentrated on your left foot. You'll feel as though you're leaning slightly into the ball. Carry your hands forward, so the vision of your left knee is blocked by your left hand.

Make your normal body turn on the back swing, but don't allow your weight to shift to your right foot as you normally would. Instead, keep the 70 percent of your weight on your left foot.

You'll feel like you're making a reverse pivot.

Finally, swing smooth and easy, and stop your follow-through short, with the shaft of the club parallel to the ground. Don't release the club over your shoulder as you would in a normal swing, as the ball will climb higher into the air.

With a little practice, you'll find this shot is not difficult to play. The wind will not affect your shot if you learn to hit the ball underneath it!



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(50).."WHEN TO PRACTICE"

The best time to practice is right after you play.



If you ask most golfers what they do on the practice range, many say they follow a routine. They begin with a wedge or 9-iron and work up to a driver.

My advice is to avoid getting into any routine when you practice. You need to practice the shots that are giving you problems, and those shots will change from day to day.

The tendency of most players is to practice with the clubs they like and avoid the ones they don't. You won't fix your problems this way.

The best time to practice is right after you've played, while your body is still warm and the problems you experienced are fresh in your mind. Provided your round has not drained every ounce of your strength, this is when practice is most effective.

If you're really not having any problems but just want to go to the range for a workout, it's a good idea to break down your typical round of golf to see which shots you need to practice the most. For example, in a regulation round of golf, a scratch player would hit approximately 14 drives, four fairway woods, four long irons (2, 3, 4) eight medium irons (5, 6, 7), six short irons (8, 9, PW), four chip shots, two bunker shots and 30 putts for 72.

Based on those numbers, he or she should spend almost half the time on the putting green, about a fourth of the time hitting tee shots and the rest of the time divided among all the others.

Break down your own rounds, see which clubs you use the most or the shots you've been having problem and you'll know what to practice.



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(51).."SET MAKE UP"

Question: What is the best set make up for an average player? I like my driver, hate my 3 wood and like my 5 wood. I'm fine with my irons until I get to No. 4 and below. I seldom take them out of the bag because I never hit good shots with them. Should I eliminate the clubs I don't like or should I learn to use them, even though I think it's futile?

Assuming that you're going to adhere to the 14-club limit, you want to assemble a set with which you use all the clubs and have no "distance gaps." The short and medium irons are fairly easy to hit for most players. The problem usually occurs, as you've found out, when you get down around the 4-iron.

To illustrate how to pick the set that suits you best, I've made up a list of clubs and yardages. These yardages may not apply to your game, but you'll be able to apply the same principle.

Woods
Driver - 200 yards
3-Wood - 190 yards
5-Wood -180 yards
7-Wood - 170 yards
9-Wood - 160 yards
11-Wood - 150 yards
13-Wood - 140 yards
15-Wood - 130 yards


Irons
2-Iron - 190 yards
3-Iron - 180 yards
4-Iron - 170 yards
5-Iron - 160 yards
6-Iron - 150 yards
7-Iron - 140 yards
8-Iron - 130 yards
9-iron - 120 yards
P. W. - 110 yards
S. W. - 90 yards


The idea is to pick a set that gives you a consistent distance spread from club to club. If you do not hit your 3 and 4 irons then take them out of the bag and replace them with a 5 and 7 wood. This will at least close any distance gaps created because of the not used clubs. As you can see, there's an overlap between the woods and irons all the way from 130 to 190 yards. If you're not comfortable hitting a 3-iron, eliminate it and add a 5-wood.

The same goes for all the others, down to the 15-wood, which goes about as far as the 8-iron. If you have trouble with the irons, take them out of the bag and add the corresponding woods. The same analogy holds for the woods.Most players find the lofted woods easier to hit than the long irons because of their larger heads and added lofts.

When I custom fit clubs one of the important factors I consider is set make up. There are no rules when it comes to choosing the set make up that best suits your game. The object of the game is to have fun, not to beat yourself up.

At my shop, I fit players with the clubs that are the easiest to hit, with no yardage gaps between them. This makes the game more enjoyable, and that's what it's all about!



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(52).."OVERSWINGING"

.....Overswinging is very common among players striving for more distance.

Mathematically a longer arc should create more club head speed. Not so,unless done correctly. Overswinging will definitely throw the clubhead in a very poor swing plane.

How far should you take the club back? Only as far as you can turn your shoulders-with balance. If the club goes back farther than the shoulders,the left wrist will break down. This will not only open or close the club face but will take the pulling action away from the legs,thus allowing the shoulders or hands,or both to take over and dominate the forward swing. This type of motion puts the club in an outside-in plane (Over the top).

How does a player cultivate the proper length of back swing? We are all individuals and our muscle coordination is not the same,therefore it would be foolish to try to force the club to a parallel position at the top of the back swing. Trying to take the clubhead to parallel will not only shorten your distance it will wreck your accuracy as well. So returning to the earlier premise:The club should not go back any further than you can turn your shoulders.

How can golfers learn this? By feel, Keep the left wrist in a flat position in relation to the back of the left forearm and back of left hand. This will allow the wrist to hinge naturally,not break,which will allow the club to go back only as far as the shoulders turn. Practice this drill daily,and before you know it your muscles will get conditioned and trained to stretch further under control to create the arc you desire without over swinging.

Going to parallel is not the answer to solid shot making,and power. Distance is the speed of the lower body pulling the speed of the motion of your left arm corresponding together to launch the ball towards the target.



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(53).."WEDGES ?"

Degree Gap between wedges- As manufacturers have decreased the loft on their irons to "increase" the distance that certain irons hit a golf shot, pitching wedges have also decreased in loft causing a degree gap between the pitching wedge and the standard sand wedge. For instance the average loft of pitching wedges has decreased from 50 degrees to 47 degrees, thus leaving about an 8 - 9 degree gap between the PW and the SW. This degree gap can equal a 25-30 yard difference making it difficult to hit shot in that gap distance. This problem has been the cause for the introduction of new "gap wedges".

What to look for when buying a wedge.

1. Look for a wedge with the appropriate degrees to help improve your short game. When buying a gap wedge make sure that it divides the gap evenly (i.e. if you have a 48 degree PW and a 56 degree SW buy a gap wedge with 52 degrees of loft.)

2. Approach wedge This wedge would be your gap wedge or your pitching wedge that you would use for longer approach shots. You probably want a wedge that is similar in design and feel to the rest of your iron set. Since you will not be playing many sand shots with the approach wedge, the bounce should be slight. Bounce is the degree angle that the leading edge of the sole is above the rear edge when the club shaft is held straight up and down. The higher the bounce angle, the more the leading edge of the club will be above the ground level as the clubhead is swung through impact. The higher the bounce angle, the higher the probability of skulling approach shots from firm fair ways.

3. Length Whether considering an approach wedge or a sand wedge, make sure that the length of the club is consistent to the rest of your iron set. In other words, make sure that it decreases in length by about a 1/2 inch from your next longer iron.

4. Sand wedges Sand wedges are designed to help players get their ball out of sand bunkers or heavy grass. Therefore there are specific characteristic for good sand wedges: They are heavier. This makes it easier for the club head to be swung through greater resistance, such as sand or heavy grass. Higher degree of bounce. Ideally, the club face should contact the sand a couple of inches behind the ball; the high bounce allows the flange (the under side of a sand wedge) to glide through the sand and plop the ball up into the air and out of the bunker.

Special Considerations- Players should assess their sand wedge needs before purchasing a wedge solely because it has the highest bounce angle or because it is the most aesthetically pleasing sand wedge. Bounce is very important and should be considered in relation to the individual player and the predominant kind of bunkers that he/she plays out of. Players should try to match their sand wedge to their sand-playing ability. Expert sand players take less sand behind the ball thus causing more back spin. These players should consider sand wedges with lower amounts of bounce and a narrower sole or flange. Beginner sand players that are more concerned with just getting out of the sand should consider sand wedges with a high degree of bounce and a wider sole or flange.

Standard loft degree for sand wedges is 56 degrees, but some can be found with higher lofts. I would recommend the standard degree unless your home course has many deep bunkers with fast greens that call for shots out of bunkers that get up into the air quickly and stop quickly on the green.

Lob wedges Lob wedges normally have 60 degrees of loft or more. These wedges are for "touch" shots around the green. These shots need to get into the air quickly and land softly. When trying to decide whether you need a lob wedge or not, consider the results that you get from around the green on your normal round. If you find yourself hitting shots that roll well past the pin or hit shots fat in trying to get them into the air, then you might want to consider a lob wedge. The bounce on lob wedges should be more than a gap wedge, but less than a sand wedge. Lob wedges come with different degrees of bounce and you should decide on the amount of bounce based on how often you might use it for sand shots.



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(68).."LONG PUTTS"

"Long putts are difficult for both professionals and amateurs. There are three things you have to remember to be a good long putter."

The first thing is to concentrate on the distance. The first thing I do every time is step off to the hole to see how far it is. The putt we're going to work on today is 25 steps so that's 75 feet. Then I stand out to the side of the putt and try to concentrate. Is it uphill or is it downhill? I'm working more on my distance rather than the line.

That brings up the second thing. Keep your mind uncluttered. What happens so many times is that our minds get so filled up with so many facts and so many things about the putt that we forget what is important. It's like driving a car. If you start looking at things along the side of the road, you forget what's important -- the car that's right in front of you. A mistake in your line can be six or eight feet. But with distance, it can be 25 feet and that's a lot bigger mistake.

The third, really important thing -- just stay relaxed. This will allow you to concentrate on your distance. This putt is about 75 feet with a two to three foot left to right break, so let's get at it and see what we can do. When I get over the putt, I already know my line. Now how big of a stroke is 75 feet? Take several practice swings to get the feeling of a 75 footer and go ahead and stroke at it.

When I practice longer putts my concentration is on my tempo and I use my toes as guides to different length long putts. 4 inches past my right foot to 4 inches in front of my left foot equals a 60 foot level putt and so on.



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