June 2015 – GOLFSTR

Why not increase your odds of sinking more putts? Almost half of your strokes in a round of golf are putts. Fewer putts per green is the easiest way to lower your score. Stop your shaking hands & wrists, avoid mishits on the toe or heel and eliminate short putts (100% of them never go in).

The solution is simple: Fix your line-up, setup, swing motion on your target line, impact and putting distance to increase your odds for success. All of this is wasted if you don’t get a FEEL for the speed of the greens that you are playing on before each round of golf.

Reading the break and distance to hit the putt can only be learned by YOUR “FEEL” for the green speed. You need to learn this on the practice green before you play. Dry or wet conditions, height of the grass and roll of the grass will all have a major impact on your “feel” for the speed of putts on each day on each course.

Now let’s consider each area of putting that you CAN control.

Jordan Spieth using shoulder rock and straight leading wrist for putting excellence to win the US Open.

Line-up: Stand BELOW the hole or your ball to determine if you are putting up, down or across a slope. Determine the intensity of the break by ranking the slope as “1”, “2” or “3” (minimal to major break). It’s easier to see the slope of the green LOOKING UP HILL. Choose a target point on the green to aim your putt (DEPENDING ON THE INTENSITY OF THE BREAK) and line your toes up parallel to that line for your practice swings. Make sure that you make a few practice swings to get the feel for the swing that you expect will get your ball 10 to 18 inches past the hole. That is aggressive putting. According to the US Open commentators, aggressive putting won it for Jordon Spieth.

Setup: Ensure that the ball is just in front of the center-line between your feet. Hit the ball on the upswing of the arc of your swing to ensure that is rolling and not bouncing at the point of Impact.

Swing Motion: Swing with your shoulders and spine to avoid any shaking motion in your small hand and wrist muscles. Practice with GOLFSTR+ to learn to lock your wrist flat with your forearm. Use the rocking motion of your shoulders and spine to create your swing. The large muscles in your back will give you a smooth takeaway and swing.

Follow-through: Your body acts like a pole so your spine and shoulder rotation will cause your putter to arc around the “pole” (possibly causing the ball to spay right or left depending on your point of contact in the arc). To hit the ball straight up your target line, finish your swing by swaying your hips and putter slightly up the target line. [Try finishing the swing by releasing the putter with your trailing hand and letting your leading hand swing up the target line or just end your swing by pointing up the target line.]

Impact: Focus your eyes on the grass before the ball to ensure that you hit it on the center-line of the putter head. Swing directly up the target line to avoid any side spin off the head of the putter

Distance: Hit past the hole by 10 to 18 inches to minimize the impact of the contour break or surface bumps as the ball slows down. If you rate the slope as a minimal break of “1”, you should account for minimal break when you plan to hit through the break at the hole. Dustin Johnson would have tied the US Open if he had hit his last short putt straight at the hole and through the break.

GOLFSTR+ is great for putting practice and 5 other swing solutions.  Buy it today on our website:  www.golfstr.com

Try to figure out the right backswing speed and downswing speed for YOUR GAME. Recreational golfers try to match the swing and distance achieved by a professional golfer but that’s not realistic. The pros that we see on TV have a club swing speed of 120 MPH and hit consistent drives about 300 yards. Unfortunately you are not practicing golf and exercising 5 to 7 days a week. You need to set some realistic goals.

We all want to hit longer drives; with more consistent connection and more greens in regulation. Choose a tee which is reasonable for your level of play so that you are NOT trying to crush every drive and every approach shot.

Why not plan for a realistic goal and setup your swing to achieve it.  Hitting the ball consistently can cut strokes off every hole. Slow your swing down and enjoy the success of making better connection with your ball.

Swing Thoughts for the Pros:
Hank Haney recently pointed out that the ratio for the backswing to the forward swing for professionals is fairly consistent at a 3:1 ratio. This is interesting but it may not be a good swing thought for recreational golfers. Ryan Moore has an extremely slow backswing as he deliberately positions his club. Nick Price has a frantic back and downswing but it does not get him any further down the fairway than Rory McIlroy or Dustin Johnson. [According to Hank, every extra mile per hour of club head speed you generate gives you an extra 2.5 yards in distance.]

If you want to see a crazy sloooow backswing that creates a perfectly controlled ball flight, check out Inbee Park. She just won the Women’s PGA Championship for the third year in a row. Her drives are shorter than most of the ladies on tour (she averages 237 yards). Inbee keeps her leading arm straight in the backswing (possibly she is practicing with GOLFSTR+). Her limited body rotation in her backswing (similar to most aging golfers) gives her shorter drives BUT with more consistent results.

My point here is that recreational players should take as much time as we need to wind up for a smooth transition. Any rush in the transition will mess up your tempo. I know that when I try for extra distance, I cut my backswing short and lose my tempo and distance.

Don’t try for 5 or 10% more distance which may destroy your swing and may result in a topped ball or a fat hit. Get that out of your mind. Go for a smooth transition and a relaxed acceleration through the ball to a balanced finish. Keeping your ball on the flat of the fairway is worth giving up a few extra yards for a drive that could land OB, in the rough, in a trap or behind trees. [NOTE: Inbee my hit shorter shots but they are in the fairway.]

Game Plan:
After you play a round of golf, look at your score card to see where you could have dropped your score by a stroke or 2 on each hole. Was going for the green from a side hill lie worth the risk? Did a major hook or draw around a tree payoff? Could you have played a safer shot out of a bunker? Would a lag putt have been a better idea than putting off the green? Don’t forget to practice with your GOLFSTR+ and get that swing under control. Buy it today at www.golfstr.com .

Rory McIlroy shot an 80 on his first round of the Irish Open. Considering that he shot a 61 a few weeks back at the Wells Fargo, you would think that he would be on his game. Royal County Down, where the Open was played, is just down the road from where he lived for many years and he must have played it over 200 times. His recent result was tragic. Or was it?

External Factors?
Is there something in our body clock or mental framework which we have no control over?   Why is it that Rory and so many and others like Ricky Fowler hit the winning formula on 4 days during one tournament and then they fail to perform on the next? Many have studied the effect of the phase of the moon on crime or barometric pressure causing headaches. Could there be a changing force like solar flares or magnetic fields in bracelets or special metals that purify our brains. All of this is crazy stuff or is it?

Rory shooting 80 on the first day of the Irish Open . . . and he was the host. Not Happy!

In short, our environment may affect each person differently but when you play the game of golf you need to be mentally focused. Pros that win get their minds in the zone every time they hit a ball. Visualizing the shot; committing to the swing; believing in their ability to make the shot and their ability to block out all external distractions. These seem to be the drives that we need for success. So get your mind TOTALLY on the game when you setup for every swing.

Be Game Ready:
Rory knows the course well and being Irish he wanted to do well, so why did his game let him down. We all ask ourselves this question of our own game more often than not. Where did the magic go? We may never know the real cause but we do know that if his mind and body are not willing, then his score will only go up.

Rory, being the host of the Irish Open, had a lot on him mind. Distractions both on and off the course are the last thing you need on your mind. The pressure to win must also be a major concern. Tiger Woods is another example of a professional golfer who has a lot of distraction and pressure to win (shot an 85, worst round in his life as a pro).  I really hope that it’s not their love life that’s messing up their games.  As a recreational player you may not have as much money on the line as the pros but you certainly have distractions to deal with.  Realizing that they may be destroying your game is a good starting point to clear them out of your head when you play.

Be mentally and physically ready to play: We can only suspect that Rory may have been exhausted or rushed during his warmup on his first day of the Irish Open. He did shoot a 71 on the second day but pressure to do really well can also create mistakes.

BOTTOM LINE: Arrive early to get game ready and be focused on YOUR game.
And of course you should practice with your GOLFSTR+. It’s a great solution to keep your mind and swing sharp. Buy it today on our website: www.golfstr.com