MISCELLANEOUS
(54).."GET SOME RHYTHM"
The best time to practice is right after you play.
I believe rhythm is one of the most important areas
of the golf swing.
With it, you can get away with many swing faults
and still hit some reasonable golf shots. Without
it, you are a walking time bomb. Disaster is just
around the corner.
Good rhythm starts with good practice habits.
When you practice I recommend you change your clubs regularly. Hit no
more than 10 - 15 shots with any one club. The more
balls you hit with the same club the more inclined
you will be to try to hit a little further,
increasing the chance of a loss of rhythm.
If you are having trouble gaining rhythm, try to
count in your head, during the swing, like 1,2,3,4
in a regular beat, much like a metronome. You can
also use a word phrase "Mary had a little lamb" or
what ever word phrase matches your best feeling
swing rhythm.
Practice your golf swing with your eyes closed.
This enables you to feel your swing better as there
are no visual distractions. You are more aware of
changes in speed or jerkiness in your swing.
I like doing the following exercise. I find a
quiet spot and close my eyes. I try to visualize
and feel what my best swing is like and try to do
5 of these swings. I've found that my best feeling
swing is the one I do before I hit the ball ie. "the
practice swing". Have you ever noticed how good the practice swing feels and then the very next swing (At the ball) feels like crap? That's because you are relaxed,comfortable and most
important not trying to kill the ball.That's the
swing I focus on and have adjusted my word phrase
to match. I've also found that when I am keying on my word
phrase that I avoid thinking about the mechanics of
the swing and the good feeling, rhytmatic swing just happens. This has resulted in better consistency, which makes Tom a very happy camper.
Follow these steps and you should see an
improvement in your rhythm immediately.
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(55).."UP & OVER"
Here I stand broken hearted, 100 yards from the pin
and this great big "@!^@*" tree right between me
and the pin. The problem is I can not hit under the
tree , yeh a bunch of bushes, I am not to impressed
with the thought of punching back out to the
fairway, and I am not quite sure if my 100 yard
club will clear the tree.
What's a fellow to do
????
Next time you find your self in a similar
situation try this little trick, Lay your 100 yard
club on the ground with the club head (face up)
right beside the ball and the shaft pointing at the
pin. Now simple place your foot on the face of the
club until it stands up, rotate your foot until the
shaft is pointing at the pin.
The golf shaft now
pointing at the flight path the ball will take when hit with that particular club and you can now see if it will clear the tree. Of course you still have to
make a good shot, but at least now there is one
less negative thought since you know the ball will
clear the tree.
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(56).."NO GRASS"
....A thin lie demands careful set-up !
...Lies with not much grass under the ball can
be a problem, but here's are some things you can do
to decrease the chances of boning the shot when you
find yourself hitting from a no grass bald spot.
Choose a wedge other than your sand wedge, because
they will have the least amount of bounce angle
and the proper amount of loft to produce a good
shot.
To guard against hitting it fat, place your weight
in your front hip and stand closer to the ball so
your club shaft is more vertical and your clubhead
is on its toe, reducing the bounce of the club.
This way you lessen the chance of snagging your
clubhead because less of its surface is exposed to
the ground. Your upright posture also causes you to
raise your hands at address, protecting your wrists
from over cocking.
Since the heel of your club is slightly off the
ground, position the ball toward the toe of your
club where you'll want to make contact.
Striking the ball on the toe is not only safer but
the slightly off-center hit produces a much softer
shot that allows you to swing more aggressively and
guard against quitting on the shot.
Note that except for the reduced wrist action, once
you're set up correctly, your swing is the same as
it is for a normal pitch shot.
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(57).."USE YOUR EYES"
A golfer can have the touch of Phil Mickelson but
without the proper set-up he may never realize it.
Assuring the golfers eyes are in the proper
position at address will let him achieve the proper
set-up and ultimately the short game we all desire.
The most common shot around the green is the lower
chip that rolls out like a long putt. When you
address this particular shot your weight is
predominantly on the front leg, but your eyes
should never be in front of the ball. In other
words , you never want to feel as if you are
looking back to the ball. The perfect position for
the eyes would be directly over the ball. A good
way to check eye position is to take a normal
stance for this shot and place another golf ball on
the bridge of your nose. Now drop the ball and see
where it lands in relation to the ball in play.
Ideally it will strike the ball in play on the
inner half, but never in front or outside the ball.
A high soft shot, commonly known as the "lob shot",
is needed anytime you miss the green in the wrong
area, or "short side" of the pin. The address
position for this shot is achieved with the weight
toward the back leg. With this in mind you must
position the eyes further back as well.
Imagine the putting stance of Jack Nicklaus. Jack
places his eyes behind the ball but on the same
line to ensure he sees down the putting line. This
is what you want to achieve in the high, soft lob
shot. If the eyes start behind the ball, without
exception the weight will be behind the ball also.
Use the same test to see where your eyes are for
this swing as above.
While there are many more techniques involved in
executing these shots, the proper eye position will
get you in the set-up to allow you to hit good
shots more often.
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(58).."BALANCE"
Maintaining your balance is important in all sports. In golf, better balance throughout your swing insures a solid shot/proper hit. It also means you're in control. The golfer in control is holding all the aces when competing against other golfers who may be slightly out of balance.
Here are two ways to improve your balance which in turn will improve your ball contact and control, easily leading to lower scores.
1. This way of staying in balance simply requires you to limit the amount of force you use when hitting the ball. Too many golfers think they need to use all their strength to hit the ball and this causes severe control problems.
The majority of golf professionals will tell you they only use about 75% of their strength when hitting and/or swinging at the ball.
So in order to do this simply go to the driving range and try to develop the feeling you are only hitting and/or swinging at the ball with 75% of your power.
There are a couple of ways to do this,
A. Practice hitting balls with a 3/4 back swing
B. Practice hitting balls shorter distances, say 25% shorter.
2. This one really works: You simply wear the slickest soled regular street shoes or boots possible, whenever you practice. (NO spikes or spike less golf shoes allowed.)
The smooth soled shoes or boots need to be so-o-o slick that you can actually slide down a "minor" grassy slope. Sort of like when walking and sliding on ice.
Note: If you only have tennis shoes try wrapping your shoes completely in plastic (saran wrap, bread bag etc)and then lay another sheet of plastic (window, garbage bag, etc) on the ground where you would normally take your stance. Then by standing on it, in your plastic enclosed shoes you proceeded to hit practice shots.
Bare feet on wet grass works also.
It's amazing how fast you learn to swing within yourself, keep in balance and maintain control when NOT doing it could cause you to fall on your butt.
That is exactly why this is such a great way of learning to maintain your balance while swinging the club in golf. This method is so-o-o successful because you don't need to think about anything other than hitting the ball.
Here's the great news, you will soon notice that your shots are going just as far or farther then they were before because you now hit more shots "dead solid perfect." That's what maintaining balance is all about --- better ball control and solid contact.
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(59).."WOODS OR IRONS"
There are a number of players who are confused and frustrated with their ability to perform with the long irons. As the irons get longer, they become more difficult to hit.
The majority of those who have trouble with the long irons will be glad to know that their troubles are based more on physics than their lack of ability. For those of you who fear fairway woods and love a long iron, please don't feel that anything is wrong. This is a plus. Keep using the clubs that produce the best results for you. The reason that there are so many fairway woods out there is because they fill the void for those who have trouble hitting long irons. This leads us to the question, why does a fairway wood seem so much easier to perform with?
If your club head speed does not reach approximately 70 mph you will have difficulty with long irons. There must be sufficient speed to get lift with those clubs that do not have enough loft or mass (long irons). Usually the breakdown with players begins with a five iron and down depending on the speed produced and ability.
Fairway woods, by design have more mass and because of this mass have the center of gravity low and at least 3 inches from the face. These characteristics have a tremendous benefit to produce lift when speed is lacking. For example, if a club was traveling at 60 mph with a 4 iron, there would be very little lift and very little carry as opposed to a 7 wood. So, for the many of you having trouble with those long irons, don't be afraid to give those fairway woods a try. Not only will they be more consistent and easier to hit. They will hit higher longer shots if your swing speed is slow. You may be pleasantly surprised with your success.
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(60).."PUTTING RULER"
Good putter's have two consistent factors during their putting stroke. One, the hands are slightly ahead of the putter and the ball at impact. Two, there is little to no wrist action in the putting stroke.
In a bad putting stroke, the wrist will break at impact, and the putter face passes the hands. A great drill to develop these two movements is the ruler drill.
Ruler Drill:
The only devices needed are a 12-inch ruler and your wristwatch.
1... Slide the ruler through your watch band and place it on the outside of your forearm and hand.
2... Now take a stroke and keep the ruler in place so that the
arm, wrist and hand work in the same motion.
This drill will develop an awareness of keeping the hands ahead of the putter and the ball at impact. Also, it will eliminate the wrist action during the putting stroke.
Good luck and putt well
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(61).."THE DANCE FLOOR"
You have probably noticed many of my golf tips are about putting and for good reason. Believe it or not, 40% or more of the strokes you make take place on the putting green. (Dance Floor).
Two things simply amaze me when it comes to putters.
1...The club responsible for that many strokes receives the least amount of quality practice time.
2...As important as the putter is, it receives the least amount of attention when it comes to custom fitting. Below I have added a "Putter Fitting Page" under "Things to see at Custom Golf". A visit there might be
worth while.
Here are a couple things to help groove your putting stroke.
1 ... Try putting a empty spool of thread around the floor. If your putter blade is not exactly square at impact, the spool will definitely let you know.
2 ... A 12" ruler under your wrist watch, lying from your fore arm to the top of your left hand will give you instant feed back if you are breaking your wrists.
3 ... Put a peice of 3/4" masking tape on the face of your putter. Set up for a putt...If you can see white move the butt end of the putter forward until the white JUST disappears. If you do not see white move the butt back until you do and then back forward until the white JUST disappears. This assures that the putter face is exactly at 90 degrees when you putt the ball. You will not beleive how well the ball will roll. Putters come with 3 to 7 degrees of loft and you would be amazed how many golfers knock their putt up off the green when they putt. Just watch your friends putt some time from the side.
4 ... An easy check to see if you are moving your head is to set up for a putt with your head slightly touching a wall. Any movement during the putting stroke and you'll know it..
5 ... Here's an Arnold Palmer tip. On a smooth floor (cement, wood,linoleum) throw down a nickle and putt it around the floor with out scuffing the floor or missing the nickel. When you can putt a nickel around the room, try a dime... Just kidding, however it will demonstrate just how hard it is to make a perfect putting stroke every time.
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(62).."THE CHICKEN WING"
The Flying Elbow -- or Chicken Wing is a common problem which can happen not only on the downswing, but also on the back swing.
If your arms move the club away from the ball without also turning your body, your right elbow will stay on top of your left and your elbows will begin to separate. To correct this, begin the swing by turning your body and arms together. This is referred to as the one-piece take away. Your right elbow should fold close to your right hip and your left arm should stay extended.
If your elbows separate because of an improper take away, by the time you reach the top of your back swing, your right elbow will be pointing some were else besides the ground and you'll really be out of position. When your right elbow points behind your body it resembles a chicken wing and causes a drop in the left shoulder. This is caused by picking the club up too steeply on the back swing, which was caused initially by not turning your body to begin the swing. It's a chain reaction that leads to disaster.
The correct position is often called the hold-the-tray position, because if done properly, your right arm will be in a position in which you could hold a tray over your right shoulder. Your right elbow should point down toward the ground, your left arm should still be fully extended, and your wrists should remain flexible so that at the top of your back swing, the shaft of the club is parallel to the ground, if your body will allow it.
On the downswing, the left elbow can also cause a problem. As the club head moves through impact, your right hand should roll over your left hand. This is called the release of the hands. If your left hand stays on top of your right hand through impact, not allowing your right hand to roll, you'll lose that snapping motion and produce more of a scooping motion through impact, robbing you of most of your power. Your left elbow will fly and will be pointing done the fair way at ball impact. This lack of release is known as blocking, and will most commonly produce a shot that goes to the right.
Flying elbows, both right and left, put quite a strain on the joints of the wrists, elbows and shoulders. A golf swing is much easier to make if you allow these joints to bend the way in which they were designed.
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(63).."WORKIN DA BALL"
Sometimes you will hear a player referred to as a great "worker" of the ball. That is, a player who can deliberately make the ball curve in either direction depending on the type of shot they want to play.
These types of shots are part of what makes golf so fascinating....and frustrating. The truth is that most of us should forget about trying to "work" the ball and stick with our natural ball flight. This is not to suggest that if you have an over-exaggerated fade or draw, which are just a slice or hook that stay in the fair way, that you shouldn't try to correct the problem. You should see your pro about that. But, given a fundamentally and mechanically sound golf swing, you will likely have a propensity to curve the ball in one direction or the other. This is known as your "bread and butter" shot. Jack Nicklaus knew that if he needed to get his drive in the fairway under pressure, he could do so just by letting his natural fade swing take over. Aim down the left side and let it happen.
Many of the great pros stick with "old faithful" even when it may be more advantageous to try and curve the ball in the opposite direction. Tom Lehman hits a natural right-to-left draw and would probably fall over in shock if he ever managed to slice one off to the right. On the other hand, Bruce Lietzke is famous for his uncannily consistent left-to-right fade. Even with potential danger on the left side, he will still aim a few yards left of the fairway and let his natural fade bring the ball back to center. He will never, under any circumstances, deliberately try to work the ball the other way. And why should he? Golf is about consistency and if you can hit 99 out of 100 shots with a fade, why would you try to do anything differently?
The biggest danger in trying to deliberately work the ball in the direction opposite of your natural shot is that players tend to over-manipulate their body in an effort to change their swing. This leads to inconsistent ball striking and, in the long run, a much poorer result than if they took their natural route. For example, a player who naturally hits a fade, while trying to hook the ball, will often try to manipulate the clubhead by rotating their hands through the hitting area rather than letting the clubhead release naturally through the centrifugal force of the golf swing. The result is rarely a desirable one. The other obvious danger, of course, is the old "double cross". This is when a player, say, with a natural fade sets up right of the target line (for a right-handed golfer), attempting to play a draw. If the shot fails to come off as planned and the natural fade occurs, the result will be a shot that starts right of the target and winds up even further right. Most golf holes are designed to penalize a shot that is that far off target and the end result is usually not very good.
There are a whole host of other awkward maneuvers a player will attempt while trying to deviate from their natural golf swing, most of which are unsuccessfully executed. Changing your grip is also not a recommended means of altering your flight pattern. If your grip is fundamentally sound, you will not benefit by changing it from shot to shot. Modifying the grip is one of the most uncomfortable changes a player can make. It takes time before a new grip will feel comfortable and experimenting with this should be left to the practice area. Stick with the grip and accompanying swing that is most comfortable to you and that you know you can execute the shot without altering them. Your confidence will remain sound knowing that you have the necessary tools to execute the shot you have chosen. Putting yourself in a position where you have any doubts about your ability to pull of a shot will almost always lead to disaster.
There are changes you can make in order to alter the flight of your ball without changing your swing or grip. I will discuss these next week.
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