Tips on Repeatable Swings

Tiger Woods hits his irons straighter and more accurately than most pros. By swinging the club exactly the same way, he’s able to repeat his golf swing again and again and again. The more he repeats his swing, the more often he generates predictable results. For Tiger, predictable results mean more tournament wins and higher earnings. For the rest of us, it means better scores and lower golf handicaps.

Building a repeatable swing is ultimately the goal of all golf instruction. The secret to producing a repeatable swing with your irons is keeping the clubface square to the swing path. Failing to do so forces you to make compensatory moves to return the clubface square to the ball.

Five other keys to building a repeatable swing are

Staying connected:
One common factor among good players, in addition to low golf handicaps, is “staying connected” during the swing. In other words, good players feature a one-piece takeaway from the ball, which I often stress in my golf tips and golf lessons. Staying connected means that everything-your club hands, arms, and shoulders-moves away from the ball in unison as you start your backswing, ensuring that the clubhead travels on a wide arc away from the ball.

Set the club on the correct plane
A repeatable swing sets the club on the correct plane. To do so, hinge or cock your wrists as you move into the backswing. As your arms continue to swing upward and your body to turn, the wrists point the clubhead skyward while your left shoulder replaces the right shoulder at address. The angle of the shaft to the ball stays the same and the clubhead remains square to the swing’s path.

Swing into the top slot
As the top of the backswing, your club moves into “the slot” position, where the club’s shaft is horizontal to the ground and parallel to the target line. Also, the clubface’s angle matches your arm angle. Known as square or neutral, this is the ideal position to aim for at the top of the backswing. In addition, your original spine angle and your head position remain the same as at address. Your shoulders are turned 90 degrees, while your hips are turned 45 degrees. Most of your weight is over the right foot and you feel resistance in your right knee and right thigh.

Retain the force of the swing
Settle your weight smoothly back on your left side and start to unwind the upper body, as you move into the downswing. Also, drop your right elbow (for right handers) down to your side. This flattens the swing slightly. (This is Herb Pennick’s “Magic Move,” which I’ve previously covered in my golf tips.). As you shift your weight to the left side, your right heel comes off the ground slightly. Try retaining the 90 degree angle between your left wrist and the club’s shaft as long as possible. Your hands lead the club into the ball at impact.

Open your shoulders at impact
It’s a common belief that your shoulders should return to a square position at impact. I always address this point when giving golf lessons. In fact, your shoulders should occupy a slightly open position at impact, ensuring that the club has the room needed to travel on the correct path through the ball. In short, your body has to “get out of the way” for consistent ball striking with your irons. Finish with a balanced follow-through.

Also, important in building a repeatable swing is striking the ball cleanly and crisply. Work on this drill to improve your ballstriking. It’s a staple of my golf instruction.

• Start by assuming the ideal impact position at address with one of your irons. Start by shifting your weight onto the left side (for right-handers) and lift the right heel off the ground a fraction. The hips and shoulders are slightly open with the head over the ball, creating the feeling of a good impact position. Now, move into the back swing, shifting your weight to the right side. Return your weight to the left side, swinging the club down and through at impact. Move through the swing to a balanced position, with your weight on your front foot.

Practice this drill again and again and again until you feel yourself swinging the club the same way. Building that repeatable swing produces accuracy, consistency, and a lower golf handicap. Yours may not look like Tiger’s but it can produce more consistent and better results.

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How Green Maintenance Affects Your Game

I don’t often mention green maintenance in my golf lessons. Nor do I often discuss it in my golf tips. That’s because golfers want to talk about hitting the ball instead. But the care and feeding of a club’s greens-how they are mowed, watered, fertilized- can have a major impact on a player’s golf handicap, especially if he or she plays the same course a lot.

Speed is the key factor when considering green maintenance. Usually, players want a superintendent to increase green speed. It’s probably the most frequent request about greens. Occasionally, players want a superintendent to decrease green speed, but these requests are few and far between. Misjudging the speed of a putt can add strokes to a score, as I’ve mentioned in my golf tips.

The term “green speed” is technically inaccurate. The device measuring “speed” -the USGA Stimpmeter -gauges the distance a ball rolls when released at a controlled speed on a putting surface, not the ball’s velocity. To talk about green speed then is a bit of a misnomer. Nevertheless, we continue to use the term when talking about greens. (I even use it when giving golf lessons.) A green with a relatively long ball roll is considered “fast.” A green with a relatively short ball roll is said to be “slow.”

Ball roll relates to relationship between the initial energy when a putter strikes the ball and the resistance between the ball and the turf’s surface, or friction. As the ball rolls across the green, its surface slows it down thanks to friction. A green with high resistance slows a ball down more than a green with low resistance. Moderating friction changes a green’s speed.

Environmental factors, such as humidity, can moderate friction and change a green’s speed. For example, high humidity increases green speed, a consideration when playing on a hot day. Soil type also influences green speed. Greens made predominately of clay are faster in spring than their sandier counterparts. While superintendents have little or no control over these factors, they have minimal impact on your game.

Management practices, on the other hand, like mowing or irrigation, can make a profound impact on a green, both short-term and long-term. Below is a summary of how some popular management practices affect green speed.

Mowing:

An effective way of increasing ball roll in the short-term, mowing has a significant impact on green speed. Decreasing mowing height by only 1/16 inch can increase ball roll from 6 to 10 inches. A similar response occurs when you “double cut” a green (mowing it a second time, perpendicular to the first cut) which can increase ball roll 6 to 12 inches. Mower type also influences green speed. Greens cut with a walk-behind mower are generally 6 to 8 inches fast than greens cut with triplex mowers.

Irrigation

Dry greens are faster than moist or wet greens. Withholding irrigation or decreasing it before an event requiring faster greens will increase ball roll 4 to 8 inches, depending on soil type.

Rolling

Rolling golf greens isn’t new, but it’s growing in popularity thanks to new research and better equipment. Depending on the type of roller you use, you can increase green speed from 4 to 10 inches, with minimal compaction problems on sand-based greens

Topdressing

Light frequent topdressing with or without vertical mowing or core aerating is common. Topdressing decreases speed for up to 1 week after application, followed by an increase of from 4 to 8 inches (above the speed before topdressing.) Vertical mowing has a similar effect. Core aeration reduces speed initially, and if you don’t topdress to fill in the holes, decrease it long term.

Fertility

Decreasing nitrogen fertility will gradually increase ball-roll distance. A decrease in nitrogen fertility of only 10 percent can increase ball roll 8 to 12 percent. The effects may take up to a year to see, however, depending on previous fertility practices. Plant growth regulators can increase ball roll from 4 to 8 inches, depending on product, rate, and frequency of application.

Keep in mind that these factors do not operate independently. Modifying one may require compensation by modifying another.

Next time you play your favorite course be aware of these factors and how they affect a green. Take them into account when putting. Doing so might just help you improve your round and your golf handicap.

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The Key to Hitting from Down Slopes

In some of my golf tips I tell the story about playing a course which had severe fairway undulations. I could see where the course would be discouraging for recreational golfers. I seldom had a flat lie on the course. In fact, it was so hilly, I was almost always hitting from some kind of slope. More often than not, I was hitting down hill.

If you’ve ever played a course like this-and you probably have-you know how tricky hitting from a downhill lie can be. It’s especially difficult for recreational golfers, who are sometimes intimidated by a downhill slope and/or have little experience hitting from this type of lie. The resulting effort isn’t pretty and does nothing to lower the player’s golf handicap.

Hitting from a downhill slope is primarily a matter of making the right adjustments. I cover these in my golf lessons and golf tips but, obviously, there’s nothing like hitting from a down hill slope to learn how to do it.

Here are the 4 adjustments I recommend:

Tailor set-up for slope
Position ball back in stance
Swing with the slope
Chase ball down the slope

Keep two things in mind when faced with a downhill lie: (1) a shot from a down slope tends to fade right and (2) the slope affects the club’s loft.

The tendency to fade is a by-product of the slope. There’s little you can do about it. Even if you hit the ball perfectly, it will tend to fade right, so learn to deal with it as best you can, as I emphasize in my golf lessons.

Club loft is different. You can deal with it easily enough. On a steep slope, hitting a 7-iron becomes more like hitting a 5-iron, necessitating an adjustment in club selection depending on how far you are from the green. How much of an adjustment is hard to say. And golf instruction sessions don’t help, either. Only personal experience can tell you just how much to make.

Also, tailor your set up to the slope. That means making sure your spine is perpendicular to the slope and your weight on your front foot, a weight distribution you must maintain throughout the backswing. As a result, your shoulders will tilt downward to match the lie of the land. These changes ensure clean contact with the ball, positioned toward the back of the stance.

Another problem with downhill lies is trajectory. To generate height, hit down and with the slope, as if you’re chasing the ball downhill. Chase it for as long as possible by forcing your right shoulder to follow the ball to the target.

Also, don’t let the transfer of weight get out of control at impact. Stay as balanced as possible, finishing the swing with a nice, smooth follow-through. Clearing your left hip as you swing down and through the ball helps with the follow-through.

These changes in your set-up and swing, as I point out in my golf lessons, almost mirror those needed for uphill lies.

With uphill lies, the weight is on the back foot, the ball is positioned forward in the stance, and the tendency is to pull the ball left, which is caused by a golfer’s hands getting overactive through impact. Also, concentrate on making a wide takeaway. This change counteracts the tendency to narrow your backswing, which often occurs on an uphill lie.

Whether uphill or downhill, you must control weight transfer and you must swing down and with the slope. You also must control your head, keeping it behind the ball at the point of impact.

If you make the changes I recommend in this golf tip the next time you play a hilly course, you’ll find yourself hitting better shots from a sloped fairway. You’ll also find yourself developing more and more confidence playing a hilly course-and confidence never hurt anyone’s golf handicap.

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Water Hazards in Golf

Water hazards probably account for more penalty strokes than anything else in golf. But water hazards-as dealt with under Rule 26-often lead to controversy when interpreting the rule. So I’m careful to review the topic in my golf lessons and discuss it in my golf tips.

The controversy stems from interpreting where the ball last crossed the water’s edge. Since the decision affects where you take a drop, it makes sense to have a good understanding of the rule, especially if a match is on the line or your working on a personal best.

The Rules
Golf’s rules define a water hazard as “any sea, lake, pond, river, ditch, surface draining ditch, or other open water course (whether or not containing water), and anything of a similar nature.” Courses mark water hazards with yellow stakes and lines. But the rules don’t stop there, as I mention in my golf tips and during my golf lessons; they also discuss a lateral water hazard.

The rules define a “later water hazard” as part of a water hazard “so situated that it is not possible, or is deemed by the committee to be impracticable, to drop a ball behind the water hazard in accordance with Rule 26-1b.” In other words, it’s a water hazard that doesn’t lie between the tee and the green. The course marks these off by red stakes or lines.

The Remedies
If you hit into water you do one of four things:

1.You can play the ball as near as possible to the spot from which the original ball was played.

2.You can drop a ball behind the water hazard, keeping the point at which the ball entered the water’s edge, directly behind the hole and the spot where the ball is dropped. There’s no limit to how far back the ball may be dropped, as long as the point of crossing lies between the drop and the hole.

3.You can play the ball as it lies in the water hazard.

4.If a ball goes into a lateral water hazard, you can drop a ball away from the hazard but within two club lengths of the point from which the ball last crossed the water. However, the ball can’t come to rest any closer to the hole than the point at which the original ball crossed the hazard.

The Controversy
A major source of controversy is establishing where the ball last crossed the hazard, not where the ball entered the water, which could be relevant in situations in which where a ball lands on the ground, then rolls back into the water.

The easiest way to deal with this type of problem is to determine the point where the ball was last on, or over, dry land, before it crossed the hazard. Next, determine if the point is between the red or yellow stakes. If it is, you can decide on the best course of action from that spot.

The additional dropping option for a lateral water hazard, however, means that the ball can sometimes be dropped on either side of the hazard, as long as it is within two club lengths of where the ball crossed the edge of the hazard and no closer to the hole. That can make a difference when you finally determine where to drop the ball. Unfortunately, no golf instruction can help you make that decision.

Hitting out of the water is rarely an option-and it’s not a choice I recommend in my golf lessons and golf tips-but it has been known to happen. Payne Stewart chose to play the ball from a water hazard during the final hole of his 1989 Ryder Cup Match with Jose Maria Olazabal. The attempt failed and he lost the hole and the match. Think carefully before choosing this option.

Grounding the Club
If a player chooses to hit from the water hazard, he or she can’t ground the club at any stage of address. Grounding the club may be unintentional, but it’s still a breach of the rules and subjects the player to a penalty-two-strokes in medal play and the loss of the hole in match play. The rule resembles that covering the grounding of a club in a bunker.

Knowing the rules governing water hazards won’t necessarily lower your golf handicap. But it will give you an idea your remedies next time you hit into the water. Since you can be penalized for violating the rules, think carefully before deciding. If you’re in a tournament and you’re confused about what to do, don’t hesitate to talk with officials.

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Bunker Technique Made Simple

Although hitting from a bunker is straightforward once you learn the basics of stance and posture, the thought of hitting into a greenside sand trap unsettles many golfers. Improving your technique reduces the fear of bunker play and builds self-confidence in your shot-making capabilities.

Assuming the texture of the sand is similar, and the ball is not plugged, the technique for hitting out of a greenside bunker remains the same for shots up to 30 yards (27m). The key to making this shot, as I’ve explained in my golf tips, is hitting the sand about 1 to 2 inches behind the ball, throwing the sand forward with the ball. For longer shots the only thing that changes is the swing’s length. Rhythm and tempo remain the same.

Below are 5 points I cover in my golf lessons on bunker technique. They’re the focus of my golf instruction once I’ve reviewed how a wedge works and the fundamentals of stance and posture.

1. Move Arms Away in Unison

Having taken a slightly open stance, resist the temptation to get too steep early in the takeaway. Keep the wrists passive as you sweep the club away. Try to synchronize the arm swing and body turn. In other words, make the first part of the takeaway a one-piece movement. Also, make sure the clubhead follows the path away from the ball parallel to the line of your toes.

2. Rotate and Open

Rotate your left arm and wrists as the swing continues, as if you were looking at a wristwatch. It’s a visual I often use in my golf instruction to help players remember to make the move. It opens the clubface and helps maximize the bounce effect on the sand wedge at impact. Also, start hinging your wrists as the clubhead passes your right thigh. Keep your head still, turn the left shoulder in under the chin, and turn your back to the target.

3. Turn to the Top

As your body turns, you should feel as if your clubhead is pointing toward the sky and your wrists are cocked. Keep your head and body centered over the over the ball. Swing the club down on a slightly flatter plane, with good rhythm and tempo, as always. This is a key move any time you swing a club.

4. Make the Right Contact

Hitting the right impact point is critical when playing from the sand. In golf lessons I tell students to visualize the ball sitting on top of a tee instead of the sand, then focus on clipping the tee beneath the ball, which just happens to get in the swing’s way. Executed properly, this move will throw the ball out of the bunker with just the right amount of sand.

5. Create a Controlled Explosion

As the club comes down in the downswing, you should feel your hands drag left, pulling them across the ball through impact. Make sure that your right hand doesn’t cross over the left and that you clear your left hip as the club comes through. If the stance and clubhead are open sufficiently, the ball will fly straight, with a high trajectory.

Of course, the technique for longer bunker shots differs slightly. The key with longer shots is in the follow-through. Use a full finish for long bunker shots, and a short finish for shorter bunker shots.

Below are two exercises that I use in golf lessons to help students improve their bunker technique:

• This exercise establishes how the sand wedge should really work. Stand in a practice bunker without a ball. Adopt your normal bunker stance and take several swings down into the sand. The object is to get the feel of the clubhead dragging through the sand, not digging into it. After a dozen shots, try hitting a ball. Pick out a spot where you want the ball to land and then go for it. Repeat the exercise until you’re comfortable with the feel of the wedge splashing through the sand.

• Focusing on a spot where the clubhead hits can divert attention from where it emerges, resulting in a fluffed shot. The “Two Lines” exercise helps eliminate the tendency to lose focus. Stand in a bunker and take your normal bunker stance. Draw two lines in the sand about 6 to 7 inches apart. The lines represent the length of the sand you should carve from under the ball. Line up several balls between the two lines then hit them. The clubhead should enter the sand where the first line is and emerge where the second line is.

Practicing these two exercises while keeping the 5 points in mind will help build better bunker technique. As you become more and more comfortable with hitting out of a bunker, you will increase your self-confidence. And that, as I often tell my students, leads to better play and lower golf handicaps.

Learn about types of bowling balls and bowling technique at the Bowling Lessons site.

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Flexibility and Your Golf Game

Flexibility exercise for golf is a critical component to performing a repeatable, powerful, and mechanically sound golf swing.  Senior golfers are the prime target to benefit the most from flexibility exercise for golf.  With a declining level of both flexibility and strength, the muscles of the senior golfers are not as pliable and responsive to the physical demands of the golf swing.

The golf swing requires a higher level of flexibility to produce maximum power.  Turning your upper body (shoulders) 90 degrees, while maintaining less than half that with your hip turn takes a tremendous amount of dynamic strength and flexibility.

It always surprises me when I speak to a golfer and really spell it out to them.  I’ll even go through the swing visually and explain and certain points where physical restrictions can ruin your golf swing.  I think the combination of my showing the golfer and explaining it really hits home for them.

It’s tough via an article like this, or any of my websites to get the golfer to understand these physical demands on flexibility (and strength).  I can, and will do my best to always explain it in a way that gives you a good visual.  

The sooner you realize flexibility exercise for golf is a necessity, the sooner you will see improvement.  I’ve been fortunate enough to experience total “golf transformations” with the golfers I’ve worked with.

Testing them before they started, on backswing range; follow through range; initial posture set up and restrictions: I’ve seen miraculous results with golfers.  The senior golfers are the ones who see the biggest improvement.  That’s mostly based on their initial level of fitness when they started.  

That’s why I always tell golfers I come intact with…”it’s NEVER too late!”  Never!  Everyday that goes by is another day you’ll have wished you would have started.  Don’t let one more day go by.  Get started right away!

Now…to define flexibility exercise for golf you just need to take a look at the golf swing.  Get in your golf posture right now, and bring the swing down into phases.  Imagine taking a club back just a couple of feet.

Where do you feel the tension so far?

If you’re really paying attention to your body, you will feel the back of your legs (hamstrings), your left hip, the back of your left arm, and even your lower back.  This is if you are a right-handed golfer.

Now take it back further.  Where do you feel it now?

You’ll start feeling tension in your right shoulder, your core (from rotating), more in your upper left back muscle and shoulder.

Isn’t it amazing to slow the swing down and realize how restricted you are?  It’s a wake-up call to embark in flexibility exercise for golf right now.

I don’t want to spend 5 more pages going through the entire swing, but hopefully you get the idea of the muscles that need to be stretched regularly to release the tension in your golf swing and improve the power you can produce.

The key now, is to start stretching those ‘golf muscles’ we just talked about.  Get back in your posture, make a partial swing and stop.  Take that position just a little farther and hold for 15 seconds.  You can literally do this throughout the entire swing.  This is called static (holding) stretching.  You will definitely want to incorporate some dynamic (moving) stretching as well.

I hope you new realize the importance of flexibility exercise for golf.

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