2022 August

Good starting points for every putt are to determine the perfect target line and to develop a smooth swing which impacts your ball on the center of your balanced putter face. You can’t afford to have a hitch or a yip in your putting stroke. You also need to understand the changing speed of greens, as you play 18 holes on every course and on every new day that you play.

Good Golfers Strategically Sink More Putts.
1/ Before every round, you need to practice your putting to get a feel for the speed of the greens on the course that you are about to play. Practice short, long and breaking putts.
2/ The speed of greens change throughout your round as the course dries out during the day or during the onset of fog or rain. Adjust your swing speed accordingly.
3/ Short putts never go in the hole. You should only plan for putts to die into the hole when you are making a downhill putt. On relatively flat putts you should always add enough energy in your swing to pass the hole by 12 to 18 inches to (a) give yourself a chance to sink the putt, (b) minimize the break at the hole as you ball slows down and (c) avoid imperfections of the green near the hole by sloppy golfers.
4/ Your arms and wrists need to be locked solid during your backswing and follow-through as you should only create the swing arc with the rocking motion of your shoulders. Practice your putting with GOLFSTR+ to lock your leading wrist to swing your putter up your target line like a pendulum.

NOTE: Prove that you can swing a putter on a straight line by putting 5-foot putts on a flat putting surface. Try putting with your eyes focused on the spot where the ball is lying (without moving your head during impact) and then try to make the same putt with your eyes closed. If you can’t make these putts, you must be moving your wrist instead of rocking your shoulders.

Key Components of Each Putt
1/ Look at the line of the putt from above and primarily from below the hole to determine the expected break. [If you are plum-bobbing to determine a fine amount of break near the hole, make sure that you are checking the break with the hole between you and the ball –NOT from behind the ball.]
2/ Practice your putting motion only by rocking your shoulders with enough speed to pass the hole and break from the high side.
3/ Focus your eyes on the hole and then trace back to your ball along your target line.
4/ Keep your eyes on the SPOT at the back of your ball (until AFTER impact on the exact center of your putter face) as you swing directly up your target line.

Sensing your putt distance and rocking your shoulders to putt up your target line are all made easier when you practice with GOLFSTR+ to lock your leading wrist. Buy one today at www.GOLFSTR.com

Thought for the Day: It’s difficult to decide which is more stressful – hitting 3 off the tee or lining up your 4th putt.

I recently read an article about equipment changing trends on the pro tour. Obviously, what the pros do will most likely not impact your game. They use all the latest technology and financial support to make any changes that will give their swing an edge over other pros. I just wanted to share the tidbits that I found in a GOLF.com blog and by observing success changes which can apply to recreational golfers without spending a fortune.

Shorter Driver Shaft Length
This year the PGA set a new limit on driver shaft length at 46 inches. The interesting fact that I found is that Cameron Smith is known for his putting expertise, but his recent focus has been on hitting more fairways so that he can hit more greens in regulation. At the US Open, he was using a 44.5 inch shaft to add more direction control for his drives. A drive that is 20 yards shorter in the fairway adds a lot more value to your game than one that is longer but sitting in the rough or behind a tree.

The Bryson DeChambeau Syndrome
Adding muscle, bulk and a full set of single length irons were supposed to be a great new trend to improve accuracy and length control. Not only did Bryson end up injuring himself with his over speed training but his game whet sideways. With his increasing scores he found that the only way to increase his income was by joining the LIV Tour. I don’t think we should be following Bryson as a trend setter.

Putting Solutions
Every putter can sink every putt. You ONLY have to choose the right line and swing with the right speed. Easier said than done. Tony Finau just added a more distinctive Center Line on his putter head to help with the line up and impact for ever putt. He won a recent tournament putting with his trailing hand on top of his leading hand. That just reminds us how important it is to make sure that our line up is good but even more important is that you impact your swing EXACTLY ON THE CENTER LINE of your putter face.

I also notice a change to a new putter style where the shaft connects to the putter exactly at the center of the face of the putter. In addition to putting with her leading hand lower on her grip, Brooke Henderson and other LPGA pros have started to use this type of putter. Brooke turned her game around with a few recent tournament wins by changing to this type of mallet putter. She must be on to something. You don’t need a $500 Scotty Cameron Putter to sink more putts.

Hybrid or Utility Wood
There seems to be a shift away from Hybrid’s toward Utility Woods (UW). I don’t know if this is an advertising gimmick to sell a new type of club but I know that a 7 wood and a 9 wood added to my wife’s game is really helping her hit more greens in regulation. She has better direction control than with her #4 Hybrid. The UW clubs have shorter shafts which give you better direction control. Why not try to choke down on your 5 wood and test out the direction control for yourself.

I am also seeing the promotion of Utility Driving Irons for distance and direction control. They have heavier heads and suggest that they will improve your direction control. They work for the pros, but I’m not convinced. Again, this may be another way to sell more clubs exactly the way they suggested that you should buy a complete set of hybrid irons a few years ago.

Try out any of these gear changes before you buy. Make sure that don’t change the basics of your swing to accommodate those clubs. Practice with GOLFSTR+ for flat wrist putting & any full swing club and learn to limit your backswing with a straight leading elbow which is so critical at the point of impact. Buy one today at www.GOLFSTR.com

Thought for the Day: You may need lessons if you had to re-grip your ball retriever.

Wouldn’t it be nice if you could change your setup for your driver and for your irons to hit more fairways and Greens In Regulation? That’s every golfers dream and I believe that Hank Haney has given us a few great setup ideas for more consistent hits with better direction controlled.

Hank Haney, Martin Chuck and Danny Maude have recently been bombarding blog followers with opportunities to purchase swing tips which will solve your inconsistent swing problems. They are promising to fix your swing using 1 to 10 balls at a practice range. I have not purchased their programs but wanted to provide the key tips that they shared on their promotional videos.

Basic Setup
I’m NOT going to detail the basic setup that you can find on any YouTube training video as the proper grip and stance should give you the proper distance from your ball for consistent hits. Whatever you do in your swing, your distance from you shoulders to your ball must be the same at impact as it was during your setup. Don’t pull your leading shoulder away from the ball before impact. Increasing the distance of your leading shoulder away from the ball will cause toe hits (which look like a major slice). Test for this problem by spraying foot powder on the face of your clubs as your impact should be on the center of the face.

Driver Grip Tip Setup
After you line up your shot and take your stance on a line parallel to your target line, rotate your club across your body and parallel with the ground, with the face of your driver pointing perpendicular to the ground. Adjust your fingers by holding the grip of your club in your fingers (not your palms), [You may want to rotate the face of your club 2 degrees forward to add draw to your shot). Without changing your grip; bend forward and rotate your club back down to your ball with your shaft pointing at your belt buckle.

Your swing will feel strange with this finger grip, but your result will be straight. You may want to use a swing thought of shallowing your driver at the start of your downswing to launch your club head from the inside and up my target line.

Iron Setup Tip
Grip your club in your fingers, similar to the driver tip, and make sure that you line up with your shaft pointing at your belt buckle (without any forward press or shaft lean). [You may want to try bending your leading knee slightly to place 60% of your weight on your leading leg as that’s where your want to be at the point of impact.] The low point of the arc of you swing needs to be just beyond your ball.

Gripping in your fingers with a shaft pointing directly at your belly will give you amazing direction control for every shot. Practice with GOLFSTR+ as a reminder to keep your leading arm straight throughout your limited backswing and downswing. Buy one today at www.GOLFSTR.com

Thought for the Day: A recent survey shows that of all jobs, caddies live the longest. They get plenty of fresh air and exercise, and if there’s ever a medical emergency, a doctor is always nearby.

At the end of televised rounds of golf, commentators attempt to glean nuggets of thoughts from the pros. Often they never really answers the questions but occasionally you really get a good insight into the success for their game. Instead of flipping your PVR fast forward, you may learn some good strategies by listening to the pros. Every successful golfer has their own game plan.

I heard an interview with Brooks Koepka who described his swing thought as “no thought at all”. He knew the swing that was needed to execute his draw or fade or height of shot to avoid trouble or land on a green. His mind blocked out any other thought as he simple executed the swing needed to make the perfect shot to the point where he wanted to land his ball. He couldn’t explain any thought process as his mind seemed to go into a blank zone as he executes the shot that he wants.

In the AIG Women’s Open at Muirfield in Scotland, after the 3rd round when Ashleigh Buhai, a South African, was leading that Major tournament by 5 strokes she was asked about her success. She simply said that she “followed her process”. She simply stuck to her routine for every type of shot. She knew what she wanted to execute and simply blocked extraneous thoughts from her mind after she made her club selection, setup her stance and fixed her grip. She actually visualized her past successful swings and swing speed in the image of another great South African golfer: Ernie Els. He made a deliberately controlled backswing and release through the ball WITHOUT TRYING TO KILL HIS BALL.

Ashleigh was actually building confidence with ever swing by focusing ONLY ON HER SUCCESSES. When playing on links courses in Scotland, you can only control the direction and length of your shot. The surface of every fairway can throw your ball in any direction. You can’t be focused on the result of your last shot. You can only apply your mind on making a success of your next shot.

Buhai, the 84th ranked player in the world, was leading the Women’s Open. She ultimately landed in a terrible bunker and lost her lead but won it back in a playoff. One mishit almost lost the tournament, but she stuck to her process, blocked the thought of losing and won the tournament. You may never be in her position, but you should keep your mind on the perfect swing that you practice. GOLFSTR+ is a training aid that helps you practice 6 key corrections in your swing. Buy one today at www.GOLFSTR.com

Thought for the Day: The best wood for lowering your score is a pencil.

In a recent GolfersRX blog Christo Garcia recommend a driver swing setup that will help you generate longer, straight drives. When I tried his recommendation, I realized that his 2 suggestions were exactly what I have been doing subconsciously for my best drives. He suggested a STRONGER grip and keeping your trailing ELBOW CLOSE TO YOUR SIDE during the downswing, like Lee Trevino and Dustin Johnson. A stronger grip is easy to position during your setup, but the tight trailing elbow needs a flat or bowed leading wrist to create the inside swing path.

More Power for your Drives
The Garcia recommendation uses an inside to outside swing path so that your trailing elbow almost grazes your rib cage. I understood what he was trying to describe when he commented about Jack Nicklaus who liked to play with a “PALM UP CUT”. He was adding power to his swing by forcing his trailing hand to swing through the ball as if he is swinging a hammer with his strong trailing hand on the backside of his club and into a wall as he swung through the point of impact.

Dustin Johnson bows his leading wrist at the top of the swing in order to swing with a bowed wrist as he powers the back of his bowed leading wrist up his target line. That forces his trailing elbow to narrowly miss his side during the downswing.

Another Suggestion
If those 2 descriptions are not helping you understand how to swing with your trailing elbow narrowly missing your side, my personal option my help. As I approach the top of my backswing I remove any “cup” shape in my leading wrist by flatten my wrist. This shallows my swing path from the inside and up my target line. I’m not sure if my wrist is actually flat or slightly bowed, but I definitely shallow my swing plane and feel like I am hammering my club directly up my target line.

Slice Solution
Hank Haney highlights the fact that an open club face at the point of impact will ALWAYS create a fade or slice. If you are trying the “hammer” swing and experiencing fades or slices, setup with a 1 or 2 degree closed face on your club. That should create a slight draw or at least a straight ball flight.

If you want more distance with your drives you need to hammer them with more swing speed. Practice with GOLFSTR+ to keep your leading arm straight and hammer the club face of your driver up your target line. Buy one today at www.GOLFSTR.com

Thought for the Day: The greatest sound in golf is the “Whoosh, Whoosh, Whoosh” of your opponent’s club as he hurls it across the fairway.