Archives for May, 2022

Tips From the PGA Championship

Golfers love to play this game, but they also love to watch golf on TV to find nuggets of knowledge that they hope will improve their game.  The PGA Championship was fun to watch and gave a few great ideas for those sitting on the sidelines.

Every Round has it Ups and Downs

The PGA Championship was a real wake-up for golfers.  Don’t get frustrated when you play a great round of golf followed by a poor round of golf.  It may be caused by the wind or the phase of the moon, but your luck seems to change day to day.  Inconsistency for the pros seems to be the same as we experience as recreational players.  If you watched all 4 days of the PGA Championship you can appreciate the UPS and DOWNS experienced by McIlroy, Zalatoris (so close), Bubba Watson (fun while it lasted), Rahm (#1 was out of it), Spieth (hot and cold), Fowler (getting hotter), Pereira (double bogie on the 18th) and Justin Thomas (winning the Playoff from 7 back).

Never Say Die: Justin Thomas was 7 behind at the start of the final round and won in a 3 hole playoff.

Rory Practicing Shots to Take Off Back-SPIN

When you are making an approach shot to a green with a steep slope off the front, you CAN’T afford to hit shots with a lot of back-spin, especially at Southern Hills where many greens are setup with a drop-off on all sides.  On the practice range they highlighted Rory practicing by choking down about 4 inches on clubs and hitting balls back in his stance to eliminate backspin.    

Tiger Using the Ball Logo for Tee Shots

I always setup my ball on a tee shot so that the logo is diagonal to my target line.  Of course, I’m giving myself a mental image to swing from the inside to outside for a draw shot (to avoid slicing the ball).   Tiger was seen setting up his Bridgestone logo on the face of his ball exactly where he wants his impact.  He was even placing the logo below the equator of the ball when setting up for a wedge shot on a par 3 tee shot.  Of course, he was planning his downswing to undercut his ball.

Cameron Smith is Human

After putting on an amazing display before the Masters, he is finally showing us how he can miss short putts too. 

That tournament reminded us that you will never win if you take this game too seriously.  Only the brave and relaxed players survive in golf.  Practice with your GOLFSTR+ to build confidence.  Buy one today at www.GOLFSTR.com

Thought for the Day:  Did you ever notice that it’s a lot easier to get up at 6:00 a.m. to play golf than at 10:00 to mow the yard or go to church?

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Consistent Golf with a Straight Leading Arm


I developed GOLFSTR+ to help me remember to keep my leading arm straight in my backswing. If you bend your arm in the backswing it will always be difficult to consistently swing down to the ball with the exact same arm length. A bent leading arm causes topped balls or fat hits or hits off the toe of your club.


You will never see Tiger Woods swing with a bent leading arm because he still has the flexibility for a full rotation with a straight leading arm in his backswing. He, like every other professional golfer, knows that his leading arm is HIS YARD STICK to his golf ball. He has a straight leading arm in his setup and again at impact and that gives him a consistent impact with the ball.

Driving distance champions have longer backswing but hit a low percentage on the fairway. Accuracy with a limited backswing must be a critical solution for your game.


Aging Bodies Lose Flexibility
What are aging bodies supposed to do when they can’t create a backswing like Tiger and all of the other pros. Bending your elbow will often result in a swing over the top causing a sliced shot or hits off the toe of your club. If you eliminate the top of your bent arm backswing, you can also eliminate premature casting at the top.

3 Solutions to Keep Your Leading Arm Straight.
1/ Lift your leading heel slightly to allow for more rotation of your hips without shifting your body back. Jack Nicklaus and many other pros did this. Why can’t you?
2/ LIMIT YOUR BACKSWING to the point where your leading arm is NOT BENT and your FLAT LEADING WRIST is cocked for lag. Your power comes from the weight transfer to your leading hip but even more important the release of your wrist lag at the bottom of your swing.
NOTE: Even the pros normally complete a backswing with their leading straight arm just above horizontal when hitting irons. YOU DON’T NEED A JOHN DALY BACKSWING for you irons or your driver.
3/ Train your mind to limit your backswing using GOLFSTR+. Wear it while you play 18 holes to train your mind to limit your swing. [Unfortunately, it’s not legal to wear during a competition.]

These 3 images are from Adam Young Golf showing 3 levels of backswing. Older golfers should limit your backswing like IMAGE #1 to keep your leading arm straight.

Don’t compensate for limited rotation by shifting your head and shoulders. [Note from Tiger: When he loads onto his right hip in his backswing, his next thought is to turn as much as he can into his left hip. That keeps the club out in front of him and helps him hit fades. When he doesn’t load properly, he springs up and out of his posture, the club gets too far behind him, and it adds pressure on his back.]


Practice your straight leading arm swing using GOLFSTR+. Feeling GOLFSTR+ touching the back of your arm reminds you to limit your backswing. Buy one today at www.GOLFSTR.com

Thought For the Day: Why am I using a new putter?…… Because the old one doesn’t float.

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Don’t Swing Without Your Mental Image

Golf is NOT a “no brainer”. You can’t afford to setup and execute each shot without a mental plan and image. I have read blogs where the writer suggests that you should just choose your target and then swing without any mental preparation. Believe me, I have tried it and nothing could be worse. Every swing is unique for every condition that you face (wind, stance, ball location and the mental impact of your last shot).


Reading a recent issue of GOLF Digest, I was amazed at the detail that Collin Morikawa puts into every shot. I just wanted to share the thoughts that he quoted:
PLAN A: “When it’s critical to hit the fairway, I go with a little cut shape off the tee. My typical miss is to over cut the ball. It happens when my arms get disconnected from my body on the backswing [where his trailing elbow is almost touching his side at the top]. To make sure a cut doesn’t become a slice, I treat my arms and torso as one unit as I start back. Try it. You’ll feel like your backswing is abbreviated, yet fully wound.”

For his “little cut shot” to hit more fairways, Collin keeps his trailing elbow almost touching his body as shown in this photo.


PLAN B: “When I want to reach back for a few extra yards, I tee the ball higher and make a bigger turn, which makes my swing longer. I’ll some-times put my right hand on my right hip and mimic a backswing to rehearse this longer drive. I want to feel my right leg straightening and my right shoulder moving back and around my body [where his trailing elbow separates from his side]. If I copy that when I swing, I can really turn it loose.” [End of Collin’s quote.]


Collin has a mental plan for each shot. And you should have one too. I try to follow his plan A to keep my trailing elbow close to my body to force my backswing rotation. I have to avoid his plan B (for extra yards as that is where I get into trouble with wild slices).


Collin Morikawa really does have flexibility to rotate and keep his leading arm straight throughout his swing. Stay tuned for next week’s blog when I describe a great solution for the backswing for less flexible golfers. Keeping your leading arm straight is critical for consistent golf so you should be practicing with GOLFSTR+. It also gives you 5 more golf swing fixes. Buy one today at www.GOLFSTR.com

Thought For the Day: It’s amazing how a golfer who never helps with house or yard work will replace his divots, repair his ball marks, and rake his sand traps.

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Swing with a Lazy Wrist

Great golfers like Freddie Couples generate more power by swinging with a “lazy wrist”. As a matter of fact, you may not see the lazy motion in the takeaway, but powerful golfers lead their downswing with the butt end of their golf club. By adding lag and rhythm at the top of their swing, they automatically adds more power. Danny Maude’s (golf blogger) recent blog reminded me about this secret power builder.


If you are a rigid armed, fast swinging golfer, you will be surprised at how well you can swing if you loosen up. That’s right, put some rhythm in your swing and let your wrists do the work.
I mentioned Freddie Couples as one of the few golfers who has a swing where you can see him start his downswing with the butt end of his club while the head of his driver or iron still seems to be adding wrist lag at the top of his backswing. He is not rushing his swing, but his motion is the opposite to casting.


Casting at the top of your swing is where you lose most of your power. The only way you can add head speed is to “release” as the bottom of your swing to increase head speed and generate more distance during impact.

Freddie Couples loads his lag at the top of his swing (with lazy wrists for whipping action).


Danny Maude recently illustrated what I call “Lazy Wrist Action” by using a weak wrist takeaway like a waggle where your hands are moving the way you would waggle (in the opposite direction of the head of your club). As his hands approach the top of his swing, he lets the club head catch up and pass the wrists to add lag at the top of the swing as he pulls down on the butt end of his club and starts his forward hip press and rotation. Try to do this as you exaggerate the lag at the top and feel your wrists pulling the butt end of your club down.


Practice by waggling your club to get the feeling of leading your takeaway with your wrists (but you won’t actually do this for your swing). Then swing to the top and let the club add lag with your “lazy” wrists as you pull down with the butt of your club. Learn the feeling of letting your loose wrists create lag as you start your downswing.


You will know that the butt of your club is leading your swing when you whip the club head through the impact zone and hear the whooshing sound.


Save your power for the release of your wrists at the bottom of your swing. Learn the “lazy wrist” feeling in slow motion and then speed up the swing to feel the impact of a more powerful swing. Don’t forget to practice your straight leading arm swing with GOLFSTR+. Buy one today at www.GOLFSTR.com

Thought of the day: The pro-shop gets its name from the fact that you must have the income of a professional golfer to buy anything in there.

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