Swing Solutions

Guys, let’s face it, playing like Tiger Woods is just a pipe dream for recreational golfers. Unfortunately, every time we hit into the rough or behind a tree or take a long shot over a lake, something snaps in our brains. We forget who we are. Instead of saying “what would Tiger do?” we should back off and go for the safe shot to the fairway. Learn to play the game within YOUR capability.

In the Ryder Cup we saw players, like 48 year old Phil Mickelson playing out of his league. Nerves played a big part in his downfall and they affected his 29 year old, first time Ryder Cup partner, Tony Finau. On Day 1, he was so nervous that he missed 2, gimme-range putts. Let this be a lesson to all of us. Nerves can kill our games.

In a golf blog called the Morning Read they reminded us that the total prize money at stake for the Tour Championship was $39 Million. Total prize money for the Ryder Cup was Zero Dollars.  As it turned out the pressure of glory for your country was more pressure for Phil than the money.

Jim Furyk chose Phil as one of Captains picks based on his past performance as an inspirational team leader. Le Golf National Course is a short 7200 yards so he felt that Phil would be avoiding the use of his driver. After all, Phil was ranked 192 out of 193 players in driving accuracy this season. Phil crumbled in the alternate shot format on Day 1 with his playing partner DeChambeau. They were 7 shots behind after shooting 40 on their first nine holes.

Troy Mullins, long ball champion, uses a loose grip to get rid of her nerves and hold her lag in the downswing.

Nerves play an important part of YOUR game too. Aim for a safe location with reasonable expectations. Get rid of those nerves and hit it like Troy Mullin’s who hit a 402 yard drive to win a national long ball championship. As she says, just “hit it like a girl”. I found her slow takeaway and rhythm in her swing video to be a great inspiration:
1/ Start with loose hands, especially in your trailing hand.
2/ Good body rotation without swaying and with a straight leading arm.
3/ She starts her takeaway similar to Dustin Johnson by starting an early wrist cock.
4/ Let your hips lead your downturn through the ball as you hold your lagging wrists,
5 Load on your leading foot as you impact with your ball.
6/ Just think about your target and swinging through the ball.

Troy’s slow takeaway allows her to keep her swing rhythm as she accelerates through the ball. Check it out in the following video.  Practice with GOLFSTR+ for every swing in your game and buy one today at www.golfstr.com

Check out the Golf Digest 2 minute Video of Troy Mullin’s swing.  We can’t run it from this blog so copy and paste the following link in your browser. https://video.golfdigest.com/watch/troy-mullins-shows-you-how-to-hit-it-like-a-girl

Increasing your club head speed is the most important way to increase your driving distance. Cocking your wrists to create “lag”, so that you can release your wrists at the bottom of your swing, is the best way to increase your club head speed.  Unfortunately too many recreational golfers don’t know the tricks to create and hold lag in their backswing. The normal way to create lag is at the top of your backswing.  But there is another way to create lag and to learn to hold lag in your downswing for a powerful release.

Most pros like Adam Scott and Rory McIlroy make a wide straight arm takeaway followed by a wrist cock at the top of their backswing as their trailing elbow bends near their side.  The good news is that there are tricks that you can use to create lag and to release lag at the right time.

Dustin Johnson starts his wrist cock (for lag) before he starts to rotate his shoulders and leading arm.  His leading arm is still pointing dead straight at the ground and his club head is well back from his ball in his backswing.

I noticed that Dustin Johnson, Michelle Wei and many others on the European Tour start their wrist cock as they start their takeaway. The face of their club has already opened almost 90 degree from their setup point by the time that their club is horizontal to the ground. From that point they lift their straight leading arm to the top of their backswing.  Creating lag, if you start your wrist cock from the bottom of your swing, may be easier for you too. I find that this method helps me feel and hold lag as I start my downswing by dropping my arms (without releasing my wrists) for more power and distance. NOTE: (Avoid bowing your wrist like Dustin Johnson at the top of the swing as it just adds complexity that you don’t need in your

Dustin still has the same amount of wrist cock before his leading arm is horizontal.  He finishes his wrist cock for lag at the top of his swing.

swing according to Hank Haney.)

Tips for the Early Wrist Cock Technique:

Light Grip: To avoid tension in your arms and hands, I recently watched a long ball champion say that his leading hand grip is a 4 out of 10 and his trailing hand grip pressure is much lighter.

One Continuous Motion: Make sure that your wrist cock takeaway is in one continuous motion as you continue lifting to the top of your backswing. [Don’t cock and then lift.]

Your Backswing Rotation Should be Inside:  Your backswing could be completed in a single plane which is identical with your downswing plane. If your takeaway is wide and high, you can avoid pulling your shot by looping your club at the top to shallow out your downswing from the inside (to the outside) as you impact your ball.

Keep your Trailing Knee Bent in your Backswing: Don’t try to get more rotation by straightening out your trailing leg. You will lose total control of your direction and most likely push your shot.

Limit Your Backswing: Accept your limited spine rotation. As you age, your flexibility may be limited. Don’t try to create more rotation by bending your leading arm but you can lift your leading heel slightly.. A three quarter backswing will still give you a powerful long hit as long as you release your lag at the bottom half of your swing.

Starting the wrist cock lag at the start of the takeaway has improved driving consistency and power for Dustin Johnson and many other professional golfers. Use your GOLFSTR+ to ensure that you 1/keep your leading arm straight, 2/keep your wrist flat at the top and 3/to make sure that your lag is completed at the top of your swing. Buy one today at www.golfstr.com

On May 2, 2018 I released a blog titled: Is Tiger Over the Hill at 42?   In that blog I made the following statement:

Prediction:  Tiger Will Win (if not this week, soon)
Tigers returns to Quail Hollow and the PGA Tour’s Wells Fargo Championship this week in Charlotte, N.C. His last win was on this course in 2007. It was his 57th career victory. The then-31-year-old Woods finished with a 13-under 275, the lowest score in the history of the tournament at that time. I’m expecting at least a top 3 finish this week for Tiger.

Tiger’s victory walk on the 18th at the Tour Championship was one for the history books. It’s Golf the way it used to be appreciated.

My prediction has finally come true.  With that Tour Championship win yesterday he almost won the FedEx Cup at the same time if Justin Rose had not made that birdie on the 18th hole.  How exciting for both of them.

This is a major milestone for golf and will only add to the attention for the Ryder Cup.  Did you see the size of the audience.  Looked like the good old days of Jack Nicklaus & Arnold Palmer or even Ben Hogan.

I hope you are all back on the bandwagon?

There is nothing more frustrating than missing putts up to 4 foot. You are standing directly over your ball and you can see the hole directly in front of you. This is especially frustrating when you know that your firm putt should not break to the left or right. Why are you pushing, pulling or slicing your putts?

At the BMW Championship Tournament, Justin Rose sank 45 out of 45 putts under 5 feet before his final putt during the playoff hole. He pulled his putt left and lost the tournament. I noticed that he setup for every putt with his bulky rain shirt tucked under his left elbow. The extra tension on that final putt must have caused him to tighten up and he pulled his putt. Possibly his tight left arm caused the pulled putt.

This may have been Phil Mickelson missing another short one. The pros know how to avoid missing a short putt and you should too.

Tension in your grip and tension in your arms will prevent a straight putt every time you get into a must make situation. Just focus on hitting a straight putt at your target point.

Putting Tips
1/ Don’t stand over your ball for more than 3 seconds thinking or preying. Take your practice swing to loosen the rocking motion in your shoulders and then make your putt.

2/ Don’t Slice or Pull Your Putt. Our bodies are designed to swing a club or a putter around our bodies. That motion causes a slice if you slide your putter face off the ball as you rotate by the ball. To swing your putter straight up your target line, focus on rocking your shoulders to force your putter to swing directly up your target line.

3/ On short or long putts try swinging with both hands to impact and then release your right hand from the putter to allow the putter to swing up the target line while holding the putter with your leading hand. Only the point of impact counts when you are making your putt on the center of your putter face. NOTE: Justin Rose putts with a loose claw grip on his trailing hand. It’s a great way to let your leading hand take control of the direction of the swing of your putter as you rock your shoulders up your putting line.

4/ Always plan to putt 10 to 15 inches past the hole to allow your ball to bounce over ruts and damage on the green near the hole. Because you are making a firm putt, plan for less break

5/ Always take a practice swing or two to get your motor running (to get your body moving) and to get the feel for the right amount of swing to pass the hole.

6/ Stare at your Target Point near the hole and then stare at Your Ball: Staring at your target point gives your brain an optical feeling for the distance and direction that you need to swing.

7/ Always putt by keeping your eye focused on the back edge of your ball to prevent your head and shoulders from lifting and turning if you look up at the hole as you swing. DON’T FOLLOW THE SWING OF YOUR CLUB WITH YOUR EYES and DON’T LOOK AT THE HOLE DURING YOUR PUTT.

8/ Focus on hitting the ball on the dead center of your putter. Off center hits will change the direction of your ball. NOTE: Your putter may not be perfectly balanced for your swing. By making 10, 3 foot putts in a row you may find (like I did) that you need to hit slightly inside or outside of your putter center line to complete straight putts.

After you choose the direction of your putt and determine the amount of swing to pass the hole you only have to hit your ball on the center line (or balance point) of your putter. Practice with a flat leading wrist using your GOLFSTR+. Buy one today at www.golfstr.com

I developed GOLFSTR to break my habit of bending my leading arm in the backswing and then swinging over the top causing a slice. It really does take a lot of effort to change. GOLFSTR+ gave me the reminder that I needed, especially as I played while wearing it for 18 holes. The key for my success [AND FOR ANY BENT ARM SLICER] is to limit your backswing, lag your wrists and swing from the inside to outside across your ball. Unfortunately old habits are hard to break so you SHOULD list your tips AND READ THEM OFTEN to avoid falling back into old habits.

This blog was written for golfers who want to avoid Bad Banana Slices.

If you swing from the outside to inside, you will create the Big Banana Shot.

The more confidence that I build with great shots the more I build up the threat of an occasional BIG BANANA SLICE. It sounds easy to just swing with a straight leading arm but when your game is going well, the Bogey-Man jumps on my back and asks for a little more power. That’s when the bent arm and extra backswing returns to create a tremendous slice, right out of the blue. What were you thinking?

Fortunately I have learned a few things to keep my mind under control:
1/ Write down Your Tips for Success: In very brief points, list the special things that you do in your setup and swing for each type of club. It may only be 1 tip for each club but when you know how to correct a swing flaw or habit, write it down and make that correction for every swing.

2/ Limit Your Backswing: I don’t have a lot of flexibility in my spine but I need to use the rotation (avoiding shifting to the back foot) that I have in order to generate power. Leaving your weight on your trailing foot is a shot killer.  [If you can’t shift your weight to your leading foot during your follow-through, try setting up with a narrower stance.]

3/ Lag with my Wrist for a 90 Degree Bend: Power comes from lagging your club by cocking your wrist and letting it release at the bottom of your swing. Don’t rush your backswing. Make sure that you create lag at the top of your swing even if you only create a ¾ or ½ backswing. Learn to lag using your GOLFSTR+ to feel your trailing arm pulling your leading wrist to a 90 degree bend.

4/ Down Swing from the Inside to Outside: Especially on my driver and fairway woods I have to start my backswing with a wide takeaway. This forces me to loop my club at the top of the swing so that my club drops slightly to the inside. Brooke Henderson won the Ladies Canadian Open this year using that motion. The commentators highlighted her move as “a little unconventional” but it really works for her and it works for me too. [It can lead to a push or a pull so make sure that you don’t raise your trailing heal as you swing through impact.  Of course you have to lift your trailing heal as you finish your swing.]

You can’t change your swing thoughts without writing the points down and then practice them at the range. Slightly looping your driver at the top of your swing requires attention. Don’t swing in autopilot. This is a game for focused golfers. Buy a GOLFSTR+ today to get your game back on track at www.golfstr.com

Knowing that you CAN choke when you are under pressure is half the battle. When you know that you are in a critical situation, expect the “choke” and beat it. Use your past experience to seize the moment and take charge of your mind to win this game against yourself. It will also impact the rest of your game.

I realized the importance of avoiding the choke, when I was in a life and death situation on the golf course recently. I had a 150 yard shot to the green but my ball was about 6 feet behind the base of a very large tree. I could see that a perfectly straight shot to the green would miss the left side of the trunk by about 6 inches. I knew that my worst miss would be to tighten up, shorten my swing arc and toe the shot into the tree (which could bounce anywhere including into my head). I COULD NOT CHOKE.

My preferred shot is a draw but that would definitely hit the tree. Recognizing that I could not afford to choke, I setup for a fade and hit the perfect 6 iron. I cleared the trunk and landed on the green. The critical issue here was that I knew that I had to stay loose and make the shot exactly as I knew how to make the shot without that tree getting in the way.

On the final hole of The OPEN in 1999, Jean Van de Velde choked on many shots and lost his lead and the tournament. Choose the shots that you know how to make.

Improve Your Odds of Winning
The best way to avoid choking is to put yourself under pressure conditions to prove to yourself that you can make the right shot. You need to be under the gun a lot so that you get use to the pressure putt or chip or approach shot (over a sand trap or over water).

1/ Challenge yourself to play putting games or chipping games against yourself. Focus on sinking more putts or chipping within 5 feet of a spot or the pin.

2/ At the range, don’t just hit balls with different clubs. Always pick a target flag and a shot shape. Hit a draw and land near the target. Hit high shots, low shots and use different clubs to make the same shot.

3/ When you play golf with your friends you need a little pressure. Play for few bucks on the front 9, back 9 and overall. Or play a game that we call “Greenies” on all of the par 3’s (you can play it without a handicap). Your drive has to stay on the green and the player with the closest to the hole has to par to win a buck from each of the other players (double for a birdie or if you miss your par you have to pay a buck to anyone else who landed on the green).

Realize that a choke shot happens when we think too much and lose our rhythm or cadence. I notice this most when golfers rush their chip because they are not using the weight of their club head with a normal swing arc. By shortening our backswing we end up rushing our downswing and hitting a fat shot. The same problem happens when we stub a putt. Don’t change your swing cadence.   Make a full swing to a balanced finish for every shot.

Always compete against your friends with small competitions so that you will be ready for your important pressure shots. Learn to focus on every shot when you practice with your GOLFSTR+. Buy one today at www.golfstr.com.

Missing a putt by 1 inch is just as bad as missing it by a foot. If you can’t read the break near the hole, you will never make those 3 footers or those 10 footers. The best way to lower your score is to cut your number of putts as they count for almost half of your strokes on every round of golf. .

Our blog released August 20, 2018 covered the important rules for putting. We also mentions using your putter as a Plumb-Bob (PB) to determine the break for your putts. I have received so many requests to clarify PB that I decided to explain the 2 important factors for PB: Calibrate Your Putter and PB only measures the angle of the slope where your putter is hanging from your hand.

I couldn’t find an image with Justin Rose but here is Rickie Fowler Plumb Bobbing incorrectly (I suspect) from behind the his ball.

Special NOTE to Justin Rose
I often see Justin Rose and other professional golfers on TV using their putter as a plumb-bob to determine the slope of the green. They are wasting their time trying to PB from behind their ball because they are only measuring the slope where they are standing.

ONLY PLUMB-BOB A PUTT NEAR THE HOLE IF YOU REALLY CAN’T TELL THE SLOPE OF THE GREEN NEAR THE HOLE. The most break occurs as your ball slows down at the hole, so plumb-bobbing by standing on a line from behind the hole to your ball is the most important slope that you should be measuring. Of course the changing slope that you see on your putting line to the hole is also important as it will throw your ball in different directions as it roles along that path. Always check the changing slope by observing it from the low side of the slope to estimate the impact on your putt line.

This is a good shot of Kenny Perry. I hope his putter was calibrated to drop straight down when the face is pointing at the hole.

1/ Calibrate Your Putter
Every putter head is weighted differently and is attached to the shaft differently so the putter will not always hang perpendicular to the ground. If you don’t determine your correct eyeball and the correct direction to face your putter when it is perfectly perpendicular to the earth, you should NOT EVEN TRY to use your putter to plumb-bob.

Inside a building hold your putter with 2 fingers in front of you and close ONE of your eyes as you line up the straight line of ONE SIDE of the shaft of your tapered putter shaft with a door frame about 6 to 10 feet away from where you are standing. Try turning the putter and changing your open eye to determine the PERFECT MATCH to line up THE LEFT OR RIGHT SIDE of the shaft with the door frame. [In my case I use my right eye (left eye is closed) and position my putter face directly at the door and only line up with the left side of my putter shaft.] You have to remember: 1/the eye, 2/the direction of the putter face and 3/ the side if the putter shaft to use every time you PB. [Don’t include the grip as part of the putter shaft.]

Not sure who this is but it is a great idea to get close behind the hole and down low to see if your putter shaft end up left or right of the ball to find the HIGH SIDE OF THE SLOPE near the hole.

2/PB to Determine the Break at the Hole:
Make sure that the slope on your putting line behind the hole is similar to the slope at the hole. Stand about 3 to 5 feet behind the hole and visually line up the hole with your ball [without using your putter]. Then hold your putter up, to line-up with the hole at the BOTTOM of your shaft. If the top end of your shaft ends up on the left or right side of your ball then that is the high side of the slope. Your ball will curve down from that side of the green as it slows down near the hole.

Would someone please pass this blog to Justin Rose and ask him to call me if he doesn’t understand this. Don’t forget to practice putting with a flat leading wrist straight up your putting line for consistency using your GOLFSTR+ . Buy one today at www.golfstr.com

Learn to sink more putts by watching the success and failure of the pros during any tournament broadcast. Of course the cameras are not always set up to let you see the break of the green.  But we can all learn from putts that are short of the hole and putts that pass the hole.

Your ball reacts differently for putts that are across the slope, uphill, downhill and any combination of these conditions. Learn to treat each putting situation with a different respect.

Learn from the Roll of Every Ball on the Green
> Pay attention to the direction of the roll for each ball as it lands on the green.
> Balls landing with side-spin will give you a misunderstanding of the break.
> Putting strokes which swing across a ball will give you a side spin and a false impression.
> Perfect putts hit the center on your putter face with top spin up your target line.

TIGER pays attention to Rule #1, #2 & #3. He loves to sink Money Putts and you will too!

#1 Rule: “Every putt that rolls short of the hole will never go in.”
#2 Rule: Most foot traffic and putter club head impressions are near the hole” and will redirect putts as they slow down.
#3 Rule: The most break for every putt occurs within 18 inches of the hole as it loses speed.

To minimize the impact of these Three Rules, your putting goal must be to pass the hole by 12 to 18 inches to give every putt a chance to sink, minimize the impact of surface distortions and minimize the final break. If you hit the ball with enough speed to pass the hole, YOU SHOULD ALWAYS PLAN FOR LESS BREAK.

Putting Across the Slope:
If the break is minor and your putt is short, eliminate the break with your firm putt (+12″ to 18”)
For putts over 3 feet with an obvious slope, you need to visualize where the ball will break and adjust accordingly.  Only the best putters can sink these putts.

Putting Uphill: Plan for less break (if there is any slope) and hit with authority to pass the hole.

Putting Downhill: Figure out the direction that your putt will break. (Do this by standing below the hole and use your putter as a plumb-bob to determine the high side of the hole. After you line-up the hole to your ball, hold your putter up to line up the putter shaft with the hole and your handle end of your shaft most likely will end up on the left or right side of your ball [that’s the high side of the slope].  Your ball will break from the high side. )

In every tournament that you see on TV, during the closing holes, you will notice that most players hit putts that are short of the hole. The fame and money at stake is making them more nervous. They lose their confidence and you can too during pressure putts. Paying attention to this problem can give you the confidence to putt with enough power to pass the hole by 12 to 18 inches.

Confidence and a flat leading wrist putt directly up your target line on the dead center of your putter face will create a perfect putt every time. Practice with GOLFSTR+ to learn to putt without breaking your wrist during your putt. Buy one today at www.golfstr.com

I just returned from a tour through Europe and finished in Venice, Florence and Rome admiring an amazing number of statues. They reminded me of the importance of the finishing pose for every golf swing. It should be in balance and motionless like those statues. We all need to be aware of this critical ending for every swing and the reason why it’s so important.

If your ball has already been hit during a split second at the point of impact, why would any follow-through motion of the club have any effect on a ball that’s already piercing through the air?

1/ Power and Distance:
In order to generate more distance in every golf swing you need to maximize the club head speed at the point of impact. You can’t accomplish this if you are stopping your swing just after the point of impact. Your golf swing can’t be a chopping motion. Your club needs to continue its motion on a continuous swing plane through the ball for maximize power.

The bottom of your swing is only halfway through your swing plane. You need to accelerate to the ball and then use the follow through to decelerate as you shift all of your weight to your leading foot to enjoy your ball flight.

2/ Momentum:
The transfer of weight from your trailing foot to your leading foot allows your club to reach the lowest point of your swing in the center of your stance. The momentum of your club is pulling your arms forward. The only way to finish your swing in balance is to allow the momentum of your club to pull the weight of our body to a perfect pose on your leading foot.

Adam Scott usually finishes his swing in a perfect pose. He knows when his swing (and balance) is off and his ball heads for the trees.

If you let your body momentum take over you will have that “graceful” feeling that took over Adam Scott’s body at the 100th PGA Championship. On day 3, standing at number 76 in the world and just 2 shots behind Brooks Koepka he noticed how easy his golf swing suddenly felt. Ron Green Jr. reported in GlobalGolfPost: “Grace” was a word Scott used to describe the feeling, a perfect word for one of the most beautiful golf swings.

He must have lost that feeling on the 18th tee of day #4 when his shot landed in the rough on the next fairway. He bogied that hole and ended in third place. Guess he lost his graceful feeling.

 3/ Direction Control:
Watch any golfer who is falling back or sideways as they finish their swing and you will realize that their swing plane is choppy or out of control. Gradual acceleration from the top, release at the bottom and a balanced finish will always generate better direction control as you swing on your intended swing plane. Visualize the slow motion swings that are replayed on TV during any tournament and make sure that you use your follow through to complete your swing for better direction control.

Practice with GOLFSTR+ with a plan to finish every swing in balanced pose on your leading foot. You will be amazed at the improvement in your game. Buy one today at www.golfstr.com

In a recent blog from Rotary Swing Golf, Chuck stated that most golfers struggle with two primary issues: Consistency and Swinging Too Hard from the Top (with the wrong body parts). I agree with his comments but he did not highlight the critical issues that prevent consistent hits. The golf swing is not a baseball swing where you bend your leading elbow and swaying back in the back swing. For consistency in golf you need a straight leading arm at the point of impact.

GOLFSTR+ is a training aid that trains you to hit consistent powerful shots with a straight leading arm.

I called this swing tip “Different Strokes for Different Folks” because some people can get away with a bent elbow in the backswing and then straighten their arm during the downswing at the point of impact. This is not easy to do and can create mishits when your emotions are out of control and you are swinging too fast.

Critical Focus for Your Backswing
For consistent hits, your backswing should include:
1/ hip and shoulder rotation (don’t sway)
2/ as you lift your straight leading arm and
3/ load with a wrist cock (creating lag) as you transfer weight to your leading foot.

Golf Digest used this image of David Leadbetter to illustrate a straight arm takeaway and a limited backswing.

Avoid a body shift and a bent leading elbow if you try to increase your backswing for more power. These moves are NOT helping the consistency of your swing. STOP your backswing when your leading arm is still straight. Most young players have the flexibility to rotate for a longer backswing. Older players lose this flexibility. Accept this FACT. Limit your backswing to the point where your leading arm is still straight.

Your down swing will naturally release through impact as long as you keep your leading arm straight. Let your club “shallow out” to swing up the inside to outside slot. It will prevent you from swinging over the top (causing a slice). [A simple trick to ensure that you are swing from inside to out is to slightly move your trailing foot back from your target line.]

Soft Hands
In baseball they refer to a light grip as “soft hands”. You also need soft hands in golf to avoid tensing up your arms. Soft hands creates power in your wrist release at the point of impact.

Brooke Henderson is a 5 foot 4 inch 20 year old who is a major money winner on the LPGA tour. When asked what she thinks during her swing, she said: “Swing as fast as I can.” She swings with a straight leading arm and her lagging wrists take her club down to a lower plane to help launch her ball. We would all like to average 270 yard drives that land in the middle of the fairway.

Learn to limit your backswing to the point where your leading arm stays straight for more consistent hits. Practice with GOLFSTR+. Buy one today at www.golfstr.com