2020 October

I just played one of my final rounds of golf for this year. It was a perfect autumn day, the sun was shining and there was a light breeze. How could I ask for more? Well as it turned out this was the day that my body decided to hook my drives. I just couldn’t shake it until I finally discovered the magic in my swing.

We arrived at a par 5 dog-leg to the right. I watched carefully as each player setup and executed their best fad. One hooked his shot, one completed a dead straight shot beyond the bend in the fairway and one sliced into the trees. It was my turn and I was concerned that I had been hooking most of my drives. The moment of truth had arrived.

I setup with a slightly open face on my driver and took and open stance. My backswing was wide and looping at the top so that I could nail that shot dead center up the fairway. A fad would have been nice but a hook would have been deadly. As it turn out I hit the longest drive of the foursome and with a slight fad. I pared that 512 yard hole with a 5 foot putt. Success!

Get Out of Your Rut
When your game is going sideways, why not setup for change:
1/ If you are mishitting your shots, slow your backswing down by counting 1, 2, 3 as you (1) start your takeaway, (2) as you rotate your hips and spine and (3) as you set your wrist lag.
2/ If you are hooking, setup for a fade and check out the results.
3/ If you are hitting your chips fat, put more pressure on your leading foot
4/ If you can’t control your approach chip with a wedge, try punching your shot with an 8 iron for a chip and run.
5/ If you can’t reach the green without risking a shot in the water or sand, just select a club for the perfect layup and then pitch or chip it close for a 1 putt.
6/ If your lag putts or chips are missing to the left or right, spend more time checking out the slope of the green and pay more attention to the roll from the shots by others. Get in the game!

If you find yourself complaining out loud about your consistent bad shots, do something about it. Break out of your slump. Get back in the fairway. And make your next shot count.

Turn every round of golf into a learning experience. Learn from your mistakes and change your swing or your club selection to improve your game. Enjoy your great shots and stop trying to hit the longest shot in your life with every club in your bag. It so much easier to layup and then hit the perfect short iron shot. Practice with your GOLFSTR+ for 6 swing fixes. Buy one today at www.GOLFSTR.com .

Golf Truism #30: Always limp with the same leg for the whole round.

Golfers at any level benefit from every round that they play. Unfortunately we all have mishits or shanks or poor side hill lies where we only get upset with our game. Wouldn’t it be great to have a second chance to try every one of your poor shots over again? Why not play the occasional round of golf where you take a mulligan for every one of your poor shots. Then add up your score and appreciate how low your score can be.

You learned to play golf hitting buckets of balls at a driving range on a flat surface or mat. So how will you ever learn to improve your game on the rolling terrain of a golf course? Or in the rough? When you play a round of golf, the pressure is on and you really don’t have time to learn from your mistakes. Wouldn’t it be ideal to take corrective action to fix your swing or setup to improve your shots?

SOLUTION: Play a Self-Training Round of Golf
Of course you can’t enter your score for your handicap when you take a number of mulligans. The real benefit is that you can:
1/ Figure out how to hit balls from a poor lie or from a side or downhill lie.
2/ Practice hitting a draw or fad to land your ball where you want it to land.
3/ Avoid the anger that builds up when something goes wrong with your swing.
4/ Enjoy seeing how well you can actually hit the right shot. [Of course, the old saying goes, any idiot can hit the second try.]
5/ Best of all, you can total up your score with all of your great shots to see how low your score can get. It will build confidence in your game.

Playing a practice round will let you make all of those short putts that never reach the hole. Gives you that second chance to get out of a sand trap. Lets you find the perfect direction to aim off your side hill lie. Try out a more lofted club on a downhill lie to actually make your shot count. And best of all you can make that chip with confidence to cozy your ball up to the pin for a 1 putt green.

Mark down the score using your best ball when you take an alternate shot. You will really be pleased to see your score drop by 10 to 30%. When you add up your score at the end of your round, you will really be pleased to know that you have that low score capability in your game.

Practice playing a round wearing your GOLFSTR+ to improve your straight arm swing. It will change your attitude and help you focus on improving your next round. Understand your mistakes and fix them on the spot. Buy one today at www.GOLFSTR.com

Golf Truism #29: The more your opponent quotes the rules, the greater the certainty he cheats. 

Your setup for every shot on a fairway may need adjustments. Every course is rated with a SLOPE. It is drastically affected by the rolling terrain of the fairways. Every time that you find your ball on side sloping ground or a forward or backward sloping surface, you need to make adjustments or your will lose control of your shot.

Find a FLAT Surface for Your Tee Shot
The simplest mistake that I notice is when recreational players don’t check out the slope on the tee. Premium courses ensure that the they get 3G Pitch Resurfacing every year but many club and public courses don’t pay enough attention to the flat surface on every tee. A side slope to the left will automatically force your ball to pull to the left and a slope to the right is just as dangerous. Find a flat surface to setup your tee shot to avoid pulls or pushes or slices.

Setup for any Shot
Clay at Top Speed Golf recently pointed out the importance of your body position for your setup:
1/ Ball position (forward or back in your stance) affects your angle of attack and shot shape. Practice and know what to expect from your swing.
2/ Let your arms hang to avoid stretching to reach your ball.
3/ Your stance width relates to your stability and power, You need a shoulder width stance for driver power, a narrower stance for irons and even narrower stance for gentle chip shots.
4/ Bend your back forward (don’t hunch forward) at your hips (and stick your butt out) for more power using any club.
5/ Shoulder tilt is so critical to ensure that your club path will add launch angle to your drives.

Adjust for Slope (side, up or down)
A. Your mind expects to make every swing on a flat surface. It is difficult for you mind to adjust for your swing on sloped surfaces. Adjusting for the 5 points listed above will all be affected. To help your mind adjust, make a full speed practice swing on the same slope where your ball is resting. You need to “customize and sensitize” your body and mind for the swing that you need to make. Then duplicate that exact swing without changing your swing speed.
B. You swing a golf club in an arc. Expect that a side slope to the left will pull your shot to the left. If the slope is to the right and you are standing above the ball, you are faced with more problems. You may have to bend your knees a little more (or widen your stance) to reach the ball and to keep your balance. Your club will not lie flat on a down side slope. A severe side slope can catch your hosel and twist your club before impact. Don’t expect a miracle shot. Prepare for the worst and take your medicine to reach a safe location for your next shot.
C. When you hit from any up or down slope, adjust your stance to ensure that you swing on the plane of your slope and your club will bottom out just after your ball. Use a higher lofted club for a down slope and a lower lofted club for an up slope to compensate for added or reduced angles.

Your clubs are designed to hit from flat surfaces. If you don’t adjust for sloped surfaces you can expect direction and distance control problems. GOLFSTR+ is a great training aid to help you learn the correct swing for every club in your bag. Golfing on sloped surfaces needs your special attention. Buy one today at www.GOLFSTR.com

Golf Truism #28: It’s not a gimme if you’re still away.

Golf is a strange game. Successful swings have evolved over the years. It really is surprising that we can almost recognize any golfer by their different profile and swing. They all have their quirks. Matthew Wolff and Bryson DeChambeau are 2 of the most quirky swingers but their risky swings are really turning out to be rewarding.

So what is this new quirky swing by Matthew Wolff doing? If you watched the US Open, you definitely saw that strange knee wiggle and looping swing by Mathew Wolff. He does a quick practice trailing knee bend to start his swing sequence. He’s actually feeling his impact position so that he can feel it before he swings. He knows where he wants to end up at the point of impact.

Matt also uses a wide takeaway (like Jim Furyk) with a loop at the top to swing from the inside to straight up the target line. His swing is risky because he doesn’t hit a high percentage of fairways but he certainly uses this power and swing motion to hit a lot of greens in regulation. Especially out of the rough.

Bryson DeChambeau’s collection of irons that are all the same length; adding on muscle for more swing speed and his leading arm-lock for every club in his bag are all new innovations. He starts with a FLAT WRIST and keeps it throughout the swing. He is just cutting down on angles for a square club face impact.

Why not try out something quirky to improve YOUR Game
1/Swing to Putt Straight Up Your Target Line: Release your trailing hand at the point of impact and swing your leading hand Straight UP YOUR TARGET LINE. (This is my favorite.)
2/ Trailing Knee Bend Wiggle: Find your point of impact with your trailing knee before you start your swing. (Ala Matt Wolff)
3/ Setup with a Straight Leading Arm: Moe Norman and Bryson setup this way for extreem direction control.
4/ FLAT LEADING WRIST: Either setup with a flat leading wrist or waggle your driver to flatten your leading wrist before you start your backswing (keeping your leading wrist flat). That flat leading wrist will force your trailing elbow to bend into your side for an inside to out swing.

Do the same old swing and you will get the same old result. Figure out what works for you and practice with your GOLFSTR+ to perfect your swing. Buy one today at www.GOLFSTR.com

Golf Truism #27: It takes considerable pressure to make a penalty stroke adhere to a scorecard. (golf is a game of personal honesty)