2016 October

Have you ever mishit a shot and instantly said to yourself that you should’a, would’a, could’a? Golf is a thinking person’s game. If you have played golf for any length of time, you will know exactly what you should have done to create the perfect shot. Wouldn’t it be better to have thought out the shot that you wanted and committed to a setup and swing thought to make it happen?

Hank Haney said that every pro has a swing thought based on his or her big miss. They know what they are trying to correct for any wind condition, pitch, draw or fade that they are trying to achieve.

You can’t play this game well without thinking through the shot, deciding on your landing position, deciding on the direction of your backswing and the execution of your down and follow through. Don’t listen to the CRAZIES who tell you to block out all thoughts and just swing. You really should take a practice swing to feel the shot that you are about to take. Then you can relax your body and mind and hit the shot that you want.

Examples of the Thought Process for Each Type of Swing

1/ Driving off the Flat of the Tee Box: You know if your natural swing creates a draw or a fade. Determine your landing area and then setup to create your normal swing with a controlled backswing and follow-through to launch your ball for distance.

2/ Fairway Shots: Know your distance, choose your club depending on the wind and then sort out your swing and grip based on the flat or the slope or side tilt of the ground where you are standing. Your setup to compensate for the resulting direction of the ball is key for your success. Even more important is the adjustment that you make with your grip (up or down on your club to compensate for ground height) and the position of the ball in your stance for a clean hit off the imperfect surface.

3/ Hitting out of the Rough: If your ball is lying down in the rough you have no choice but to accept that fact that you are going to “take your medicine”. You should choose and iron to get out of the rough and back on the fairway. Forget making it to the green with a once in a lifetime shot. Make sure that you land your ball in a location where you can make the perfect shot to land your following shot close to the pin. Hank Haney advises that you open your stance, position the ball a bit forward of center in your stance and swing with a more downward direction for a “cut shot”. Minimize the amount of grass that you hit before connecting with the ball by cutting down and through the ball. It won’t fly as far but it can get you out of trouble.
Note: Hitting a draw shot out of the rough is very difficult as it required that you place the ball back in your stance and swing from the inside to out. You are bound to hit some tall grass before the ball and spoil your shot. Don’t try for the miracle shot. Take your medicine and get out of the rough.

4/ Short Grass Putting Stroke: When you are within 30 yards of the hole, with a lie in short grass and no hazards in front of you, use any club that you feel comfortable with and putt it. Yes, use a putting stroke with a locked leading wrist to avoid fat or thin hits.  Just swing like a pendulum with a fixed distance from your shoulders to the ball. There is no need to cock your wrists in the back swing. Just learn to hit with any club to gain confidence in the distance that you will hit through the air and the distance in roll out on the green.

Practice each of these shots and learn the right technique with GOLFSTR+ for drives, chipping, putting, pitching and lag training for more power. A great Christmas Gift for any golfer, delivered now through the end of 2016 in a gift pack. Buy one today at www.golfstr.com

If you are working on more distance, but your scores are going up, you may want to change your strategy to hitting more fairways and greens. I was surprised to see a great article by Peter Sanders recently in a GOLFWRX Blog that attempted to explain Jordan Spieth’s recent lack of success in winning the Tour Championship. After a very successful 2015, Jordan declared that he wanted to get more distance out of his drives in 2016. This turned out to be a problem for him and may be a much bigger problem for you.

 

This is a YouTube video of Jordon Spieth during 2015 when he rose to the Number 1 Golf Ranking in the World.  Control of his drives turned out to be a primary contributor to his success. 

In 2016 he is averaging longer drives but it is not paying off.

Jordan’s average driving distance increased in 2016 but his consistency and accuracy dropped. Sanders summarized how Jordan was 12 strokes off the lead in the FedEx Tour Championship. His drives were putting him in more problem areas so he lost strokes to the leaders in his Approach to the Green and Around the Green. His drives in 2016 were averaging 299 yards (17 yards further than in 2015) but his accuracy for fairways hit dropped from 64% to 50%.

If you are hitting your drives further but they are landing in the rough, on uneven ground or behind low hanging limbs you have to scramble to hit the green on your next shot. Hitting longer drives, especially for the recreational golfer, is not the best solution to lower your scores.

NOTE: Recently the Long Drive Championships were shown on the Golf Channel. Most of the contestants missed the fairway in about 75% of their attempts. Now you can understand why these guys are not on the pro circuit. In the game of golf long bombs in the rough will kill your game. The harder you swing the higher the odds are that you will be playing your next shot from the rough.

Strategic Golf Will Cut 10 or more strokes Off Your Game
1/ Determine the swing speed for your driver which will allow you to finish in balance and holding your finish to watch your ball flight.
2/ Focus on a driver swing to LAUNCH your ball with a consistent controlled draw or fade by hitting in the upper center of the face of your club. Think of Dustin Johnson’s power when he unloads and launches his club from the inside to outside but limit your power to land it in the fairway.
3/ Hitting short of a hazard or sand trap is a safe option if you want to cut strokes. Reduce the risk and lower your score.
4/ When you are within 30 yards of the hole in the fairway or short rough, practice pitching or chipping using your clubs like a putting swing (with your shoulders and not your wrists) to get within 1 putt of the hole.

Are you breaking 90 on every round of golf? Use these tips to play bogey golf along with some pars to shoot in the 80’s. Breaking 100 is nice, breaking 90 is fun and breaking 80 is the wonderful feeling that we all strive for.

For every swing in your game you may need help to Swing Like a Pro.  Buy a GOLFSTR+ for 6 swing solutions at www.golfstr.com

The following article was published in September 2016,

EDITOR’S PICKS, by Vic Williams  GOLF TIPS MAGAZINE:

“Bill Curry had had enough. Three decades of marginal golf had seeped into his soul and threatened his love for the game, so he got a lesson and discovered the biggest bugaboo in his swing: A bent left arm going back, which robbed him of power and caused a decided out-to-in motion. Simple, right? And common, too. But discovery and maintenance are two different things. Curry couldn’t cure that swing fault on his own so he set out to design a training aid that would remind him to keep his leading arm straight and knock strokes off his card.

Three years later he had GOLFSTR — a small, curved, clear plastic device with one end bent at a roughly 30 degree angle. By strapping it to his lower forearm with the bent end pushing against his upper bicep, he got immediate feedback when the arm broke down. The improvement was immediate and gratifying.

But that’s not the end of the story. Once Curry put GOLFSTR into production and showed it to a few teaching pros, they almost immediately came up with five more swing-straightening functions, simply by switching arms, changing positions on either arm and altering the direction of the bent end inward or outward. For instance, by moving GOLFSTR to the trailing bicep and placing the end just below the elbow, you’ll achieve a perfect 90-degree “lag” angle going back. Move it further down the same arm and the bent end will prevent too much wrist break during full shot and chip shot takeaway, while the same set-up on the leading arm (with the end bent outward instead of inward) will prevent that nasty “flip” in the chip or pitch follow-through — with the same stable-wrist effect for putting practice, too.

Our favorite is the 90-degree lag set-up (#6 in the image), but testing found us strike the ball with more accuracy and consistency through the bag. And we love the fact that it’ll fit in a trouser pocket, and that it comes with a removable and versatile rubber tip that helps solidify contact between gadget and arm or wrist. Now GOLFSTR has attracted the notice of some big-name teachers, and rightly so. It’s a winner.”

Post Script:   GOLF TIPS MAGAZINE is a great one for you to consider a subscription as it really does give you a lot of great tips.

GOLFSTR+ is a great Christmas present @ $29.99 for every golfer on your list.  With 6 swing fixes, every golfer needs one.   From now until the end of 2016 every order for 2 or more GOLFSTR Training Aids will be sent in Retail Packs.  Email sales@golfstr.com for discounts of up to 40% for orders of up to 8 of these amazing training aids.    Buy now at  www.golfstr.com

Do you ever wonder why Hank Haney releases so many swing blogs telling us to swing faster not harder? This is really confusing. Sean Foley is another pro with a better description to get more distance: “Increase your club head speed” (using lag and delayed release). For most recreational golfers the John Daly approach to “grip it and rip it”, just does not work. To swing SMARTER for more power and distance, you have to let your hips BUMP forward to start your downswing as you hold your wrist lag.

So many golfers don’t understand the importance of lag or how to create lag. I’ve seen macho golfers create just as much whooshing sound in their back swing as they do in their down swing. Their high speed backswing is NOT helping. Your Hip BUMP and LAG are the keys for more power and distance during your transition.

Rhythm and Transition:
If you rush your transition at the top of your swing, your swing plane will be from “OVER THE TOP” and outside to inside causing a slice. You will also lose your timing to BUMP (or sway) your leading hips up your target line as your club head starts to change from the back to the down swing. If you don’t rush your transition you can feel your body sway slightly in the direction of the hit at thetop of your backswing. The BUMP, positions your body forward to move your swing arc forward and bottom out your fairway metals, hybrids and irons in the turf AFTER YOU HIT THE BALL.

Patrick Reed has a minimal BUMP as he starts his swing with his hips and pull down with his arms well before he releases his wrists.  (His impact at the Ryder Cup was incredible.)

Lag Trick:
Lag is your ability to hold the 90 degree angle between your leading arm and your club shaft until you release your wrists to whip your club head through impact. [That is where your SMART SWING SPEED comes from.] If you have poor flexibility and can’t hold your lag position, just loosen your trailing hand grip. (Ben Hogan practiced with a 2 fingered trailing hand grip and you should too.) When you loosen your trailing hand grip, it’s easier to pull and hold the shaft to a 90 degree bend from your straight leading arm.

Avoid Thin or Fat Hits:
To maintain a consistent distance from your neck to the ball throughout your backswing and return to the point of impact, you need to keep your leading arm straight throughout the swing. Don’t straighten your back or bob your head during the swing. During the downswing first focus on the bump and rotation of your hips, then shoulders and finally the downswing of your leading straight arm.

Crack the Whip for Club Head Speed
Don’t swing faster, swing smarter by slowing down your backswing, creating lag and releasing your wrist lag as you reach your point of impact. Yes, crack the whip. To learn this trick, turn a club upside down and hold the shaft with both hands. Try swinging it to create a whooshing sound at the bottom of your swing. To create the whoosh you need to cock your wrists (don’t bend your leading elbow) when you wind up. Now swing and practice creating the whooshing sound at the bottom of your swing.

Now hold your club correctly and swing to create the same whooshing sound with the head of your club at the bottom of your swing. You can’t create the sound without cocking your wrists and releasing them at the bottom of your swing. Your arms don’t have to move any faster but your wrist release will create the speed of your club head. That’s where your club head speed and power come from.

Practice with your GOLFSTR+ to keep your leading arm straight and to hold your lag. Swing smart for power. Buy one today at www.golfstr.com