One of the cool things about spending too much time on the driving range is that you eventually start to gravitate toward the other regulars. It’s a good way to meet other serious players and, most importantly, to catch some great tips. This one comes courtesy of a fellow range rat at my local course (thanks, Phil!). As you’ve probably heard many, many times, tension is a killer in the golf swing. I’m sure I’ve heard it from the likes of every famous teaching pro, and I’ve no doubt read it in various books and magazines. It’s virtually impossible to consistently hit good golf shots when you have tension that creeps into your hands and arms during the swing. It prevents smooth, free motion and can cause all sorts of problems. The photo at the top-left depicts a guy with more of a mental tension problem, not a physical tension problem, but it kind of makes me laugh so I couldn’t resist. But we’re definitely talking about physical tension creeping into your arms. Your muscles
Curing Fat Shots
Never let it be said that Twitter isn’t a great way to find helpful information. Recently, Dexter from Golf Tips & Quips tweeted a helpful YouTube video featuring Hank Haney giving some great advice on two causes of fat shots and how to cure them. As I watched, I saw Hank imitating the exact problem I suffer from and I thought it would be helpful to point it out here, since I don’t currently have any decent video of myself to share. Have a look at the video and meet me down below when you’re finished. As you saw in the video, there’s a problem with steep fat and shallow fat. The steep issue is the exact problem I’ve suffered from for a long time. I took some video last season that showed me doing exactly what Haney described. The only difference is, I don’t really suffer from fat shots (primarily) as a result of being too steep. I tend to hit the ball off the toe and pull hook it. Mainly, this happens because
Reading Lies on the Golf Course, Part I
A few weeks back, I was contacted by a reader who is interested in learning how to read lies and suggested the topic to me. I thought it was a great idea, so here we are. He pointed to a recent golf telecast where Nick Faldo, in discussing the new groove regulations for 2010, pointed out that players are going to have to do a better job of reading lies now. As most of you probably know by now, grooves in irons have been dialed back at the highest levels to try and reduce the spin that wedges and short irons can impart on the ball. In recent years, it became common for players to just bomb away off the tee, because they knew that their wedges would still provide high spin from the rough. Now, with grooves providing less help to players out of the fairway, Faldo made a good point, that reading lies will become more important. (Note that the new grooves won’t affect most of us for quite a while, but all
The Secret of Golf…
Sunday, I promised I’d share the secret of golf that I discovered in a lesson over the weekend. It was said that Ben Hogan supposedly was coaxed to share his “secret”, but that he kept the real secret for himself. Many now claim to know the lost secret move that gave Hogan’s swing the magic. Well, I’m afraid that it has nothing to do with angles or positions. If golf swings were meant to be a series of geometrical checkpoints, then players like Jim Thorpe, Jim Furyk, Lee Trevino, and so many others never would have made it to where they did. I asked on Sunday if anyone knows what I’m referring to. I will guarantee that the secret to the golf swing is something that any golfer has heard time and time again. The question is, do you realize the importance? I don’t think I did. Are you ready to know? Here it is: tempo. That’s it. The secret to consistency in golf is tempo. Of course, consistency is what leads to scoring and
Golf Ball Position at Address
There are two main schools of thought about ball position for full swings. The first is that ball position is around the middle of the stance for a wedge and moves slightly toward the left foot (for a right-hander) for each longer club, through the driver where the ball position would be somewhere near the left heel. The stance also widens slightly for each longer club. The second is a relatively stationary ball position near the left heel but with the width of stance narrowing a little more for each lower club. (Note that we’re talking about full swings here, not short game shots within 100 yards. Being a Pelz follower, I play those shots in the center of my stance.) I was introduced to the stationary ball position in a lesson several years ago. At that time I had been employing the moving ball position technique for several years. It took some getting used to, but my perception is that it made me a little more consistent. Essentially, the only thing that changes is
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