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Miss Hitting

By on July 11th, 2011

Hello everyone, it’s nice to see our Facebook Page growing and I hope you are getting some benefit from the golf tips. This week we will talk about MISS HITS.

Weight Distribution: If you are hitting a lot of wood shots on the heel or have the dreaded shanks with your irons, check your weight distribution both at address, and during the swing.

At Address: You will get some conflicting advice from different teaching pros. Some will tell you to put your weight back on your heels and keep it there, others will tell you on the balls of your feet. I am in the middle of these two ideas. When you are at address your weight should be back just enough so you can RAISE YOUR TOES INSIDE YOUR SHOES. If you are too far forward (can’t raise your toes) it can cause you to fall forward through impact, which can cause the shanks. If your weight is to far back at address it can cause you to come “over-the-top”, (an outside-to-in swing plane).

In Swing: Now that you have your weight set its important that your weight never comes any further forward, it can come back a little more in the forward swing but never any further forward. At the finish of the swing all your weight should be on the outside and towards the heel of your left foot (right handed player), your belt buckle is pointing at your target, and if I were standing behind you I could count how many spikes you have on your right shoe.

Coming off the Ball: Or I also call this “coming out of your posture”.  About 95% of the armatures I see suffer from this. The symptoms are usually hitting FAT or THIN shots but any miss hit can come from this. The cause is an early release of the club in the downswing (the club head gets ahead of the hands). To successfully strike the golf ball you rise up out of your posture as you are approaching impact. In order to consistently strike the ball well it requires excellent hand-eye coordination. This is why you may hit a lot of fat or thin shots and only sometimes good shots. To fix this swing fault takes a lot of work and I recommended you see your teaching professional (me) for specific instruction and drills. If you want to try something on your own; practice with your head “fixed” into position and your eyes glued to the original ball position for as long as possible (do not look up to see where the ball went). Use ¼ to ½ swing when practicing this.

Skying: Skied or also known as ballooned shots are the result of hitting down into the ball too steeply. There are a few swing faults that can cause this, the most common being a too early wrist cock in the back swing. The cure to this swing fault is to start the backswing with the SHOULDERS and not with the arms and hands. As you start the backswing with the shoulders keep the club head low to the ground then start cocking the wrist, also known as “a one-piece take away”.

Topped Shots and a lot of other faults are often caused by the “reverse weight shift”, also called the “reverse pivot”, or “hanging back on your right side”. Work on getting your weight almost entirely over to your left side before the club meets the ball at impact. A swing thought that seems to help a lot of my students is “club back, weight back, club forward, weight forward”. One more thing you could try; as the club is coming down into impact the weight is moving to the left side, take a step with the right foot towards your target, this drill moves the weight fully to the left side. This is a tough swing fault to eliminate and a lesson from a professional is generally the best solution.

We covered some of the most common swing faults and there causes and some possible solutions. If you’re having difficulties with your game or swing call and schedule a lesson; I or any of the teaching professionals at the Meadows are here to help in any way we can.

Later,

Al Pehrson, PGA Professional

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Back to the Basics

By on June 15th, 2011

Hello everyone and welcome back. Now that the golf season is in full swing…..pardon the pun. I hear this statement a lot about this time of year; “I started out playing pretty well at the beginning of the season but now I lost it and I’m not hitting the ball well anymore”. When this happens it’s always time to get back to the basics and check some fundamentals.

If you are consistently playing poorly beware of over-experimenting. Gimmicks may work for short periods but in the long run there is no substitute for fundamentals. Check in this order (preferably with the help of your teaching professional):

  • Your Grip
  • Your Aim / Alignment
  • Your Posture

Usually the fault will lie at ROOT in one of those areas. Only after you’ve satisfied yourself that it doesn’t should you consider actual swing changes.  If you have been following my blog (golf tips) you have heard me say time and time again… “These three basic fundamentals MUST BE PERFECT every time you swing the club.” If you look under my 2010 blogs you will find step by step guidance for each of these fundamentals. Check them out, better yet print them and review when you are on the range, it will be time well spent.

Later,
Al Pehrson, PGA Professional

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Head Movement

By on June 1st, 2011

Hello everyone and welcome back for another great tip….. This week we are talking about Head Movement. Keeping your head still is the Number 1 fundamental of golf; some professionals may call it “keeping your swing center”. For the purpose of this discussion I will just call it Head movement.

Many golfers who move their head during the swing don’t believe they are doing so because they can’t actually feel or sense it happening. Pronounced head movement at any point from takeaway to impact is a sure shot wrecker.

Because it is difficult to self-diagnose, it’s worth having your pro or buddy check you out periodically. Ask him or her to watch for up and down movement as well as lateral motion. Keeping your eye on the ball and keeping your head steady is not necessarily the same thing, I can move my head at least a foot and still keep my eye on the ball. Another way to check it yourself is to have the sun at your back and watch your shadow as you swing at a tee peg.

Here’s a tip to help you learn to keep your head steady throughout your swing, it will also help improve your footwork: On the practice tee hit full shots with a medium iron (5 or 6) while keeping both feet firmly grounded. This will minimize any tendency to sway your upper body. The key to the action is rolling the ankles – The left inward going back and right inward coming down (do not raise the heels).

If you tend either to top shots or hit a lot of them fat, have someone check out how your head is behaving. If it’s wobbling in any direction make keeping it steady your number one conscious swing thought for a month.

One last thought about head movement; keeping your head still is an age-old maxim, but the fact is it rarely happens even in the finest swings. Video analysts proves that good players heads usually move a little back and down as they hit through the ball. Nevertheless, I believe the thought of “keeping the head as steady as possible throughout the swing” is solid counsel, because it helps prevent swaying the entire body either going back or coming down. Both of those motions will get you in deep trouble unless you can compensate for them every time.

Keeping your head still throughout your swing will improve your ball striking, give it a try.

Later,
Al Pehrson, PGA Professional

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Grip Pressure

By on May 23rd, 2011

This week’s golf tip is an excellent one to develop and practice. Last season I talked about Grip Pressure when putting. Grip Pressure is also crucial in the full swing; here is what you need to do.

When you set up to the ball use very light pressure to place your hands on the club and align the club face to your target. Prior to takeaway firm up your grip pressure (if you see your forearm muscles flex, it’s too firm). The last part is critical……You must maintain the same grip pressure throughout the swing. Most of you will “grab” the club like a vise when you start your downswing. Remember, tension in the golf swing will always produce errant shots. It is also important to not let the hands get loose through impact. If you are hitting the ball solidly but not as accurately as usual, check your grip pressure after impact…Again; maintain the same firm grip pressure throughout the swing, you will hit better shots.

Later,
Al Pehrson, PGA Professional

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Grip, Set-up and Alignment

By on May 9th, 2011

Hello everyone, this week’s tip is short and sweet; if you are in good health, play a couple of times a week or more but you can’t regularly break 90, I would bet your problems are in your Grip, your Set-up, and/or Alignment rather than the way you swing.

Also a factor is which tees you play from; you will enjoy the game a lot more if you play from the right set of tees. Here at the Meadows we have five sets of tees to choose from, it is a difficult golf course and is of championship quality. So you can enjoy your experience at the Meadows here is a breakdown of what tees I would recommend for you based on your handicap.

  • Black tees “the tips”: 7,144 yards, Rating 74.6, Slope 146. Play these if you are a scratch or up to a 4 handicap player.
  • Blue tees: 6,668 yards, Rating 72.3, Slope 142. Play this tee if you are a 5 to 10 handicap player.
  • White tees: 6,318 yards, Rating 70.8, Slope 139. Play this tee if you are 11 and up handicap player and not a senior.
  • Green tees: 5,823 yards, Rating 68.5, Slope 134. Play this tee if you are a senior with limited flexibility and lack distance. A lot of you seniors should still be playing the white tees.
  • Gold tees: 5,293 yards, Rating 71.2, Slope 131. This is the ladies tee, but I know some ladies that should play the green or white tees.

You may look at the above and say “there is no way I should be playing the white tees; I always play the blue tees”. Keep in mind The Meadows is not an easy course to play, lots of water, lots of sand, and a lot of uneven lies in the fairways. Because of the difficulty of the course there is a “handicap adjustment” that applies to your individual handicap. For example; if you are a male, play from the white tees, and your USGA handicap is 12. Your Meadows handicap would be 15. Play the right tees and you will enjoy the game a lot more.

Later,
Al Pehrson, PGA Professional

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Spin

By on August 16th, 2010

Hello and welcome back for another tip. I have been asked many times, “how do you get the ball to spin backwards or stop right away on the green”? Being able to spin the ball more like the Pro’s is a function of:

1.      Descending Blow at Impact

2.      Speed of Impact

3.      Accurate Impact

All three of these elements must take place in order to spin the ball backwards with a wedge. This is a technique most mid and high handicappers have not perfected. So let’s take a look at each element and how we go about creating “spin”. It is a subject that is better taught one-on-one with a teaching professional. Even so, it is difficult for the average player to make the ball “dance” so do not get discouraged, but give it a try.

Descending Blow at Impact

Most mid and high handicappers try to lift the ball into the air rather than letting the club do its job, they “release” the club to soon. This is why you either top it, chunk it, or in the case where you do hit it correctly, the ball keeps rolling after it hits the green rather than a bounce or two then stopping.

So how do you create a descending blow at impact? I like to explain it by saying; “with your forward swing you need to get the handle (grip end) of the club to the ball first!”

When the club head gets to the ball first you are creating more loft, and an early release. This puts forward spin on the ball rather than backspin, you are trying to lift the ball into air rather than letting the club get the ball into the air. Now, if a ball lands on the green with enough height (i.e. a wedge) it is going to stop quickly. It will not spin back but will stop and jump forward a bit.

Getting the handle to the ball first sets you up for a descending blow and pinches the golf ball between the club face and the turf, as the ball leaves the club face it creates backspin rather than forward spin.

Speed of Impact

Simply put, the higher the club head speed at impact and a more descending blow (face angle), the more backspin that is created and the more the ball will spin back.

Accurate Impact

The ball is struck in the middle of the club face; it also means the club head meets the ball before it meets the turf. If there is any grass between the club face and the ball (ball in the rough) it is impossible to create backspin to the point of the ball backing up when it hits the green, unless you happen to have Phil Michelson’s talent.

Summary

A good teacher will help you improve your technique, ball position, as well as the arm position through impact. You also need to a lesser extent the right ball, and remember to increase your cub head speed and hit it with confidence. You can’t wish spin on the ball, or whistle to make it spin back, if you can master the technique its fun to make the golf ball dance.

Hope this helps.

Later,
Al Pehrson, PGA Professional

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Uneven Lies

By on July 22nd, 2010

Welcome back, continuing on our quest to improve your game; this week we will discuss “uneven lies”.   All uneven lies create a tendency for you to err, resulting in incorrect distance, faulty direction or both. Most golf is practiced on “flat as a pancake” terrain, but hardly any of it is played there. Here at the Meadows you find yourself faced with these uneven lies in most of your approach shots to the green, knowing how to play these shots is essential to scoring well. In this segment we will discuss what to do when you are faced with an uphill, downhill, or side hill lie (ball below or above your feet). We will look at each scenario and give you some tips that will give you the confidence to execute these difficult shots. Here are the basic considerations and adjustments for these shots:

The Downhill Lie

This shot requires more concentration than any of the others. With this shot you will have the tendency to push or push-fade the golf ball because it is difficult to square the club face at impact and gravity is pulling your swing center ahead of the ball. You may also have a tendency to hit behind the golf ball, skull, or top it. Figure 1 is a severe downhill lie, you should rarely encounter this shot but it gives us some excellent visuals. So, how do we play this shot?

  • Play the ball slightly back of the middle of the stance.
  • Set-up perpendicular to the ground, but resist being pulled down the hill past the ball.
  • Tilt the shoulders as much as possible to match the slope of the ground. This makes it easier to “stay with the shot”.
  • The club will be de-lofted, this will cause the ball to go lower, hotter, and roll farther. If the yardage calls for a 6-iron, hit a 7-iron.
  • Take a controlled ¾ swing rather than a full swing
  • Aim to the left an amount commensurate with the slope to allow for a “push” shot. If you are a better player you may try closing the face a little rather than aiming to the left.
  • Take a few practice swings to get a comfortable feel, and then make a controlled swing following the level of the ground (figure 1).

Figure 1

The Uphill Lie

The most common tendencies from the uphill lie are pulling, chunking and under clubbing. This is due to gravity attracting the player toward the player’s right (right handed golfer). It is difficult for the golfer to transfer his weight to the front foot as he normally would. When the weight stays back, the swing path travels left, causing a pulled shot. In addition the slope of the terrain tilts the golfer’s stance upward, adding loft to the club causing the ball to go higher and a shorter distance (figure 2).

Figure 2

To overcome these tendencies we use these set-up guidelines:

  • Set-up perpendicular to the ground (try to match your shoulder angle to the ground slope).
  • Put more weight on your left side to resist gravity’s pull.
  • Play the ball near the middle of the stance to make it easier to contact.
  • If the yardage calls for a 7-iron, hit a 6-iron to get the ball to the target.
  • Choke down on the club for better control
  • Aim to the right an amount sufficient to compensate for the slope. The better player may try opening the face a little rather than aiming to the right
  • Take a couple of practice swings to adjust to the different condition, and then make a comfortable, controlled swing.

The Side Hill Lie – Ball above your feet

Figure 3

When the ball is above your feet, on the side of a hill, the three most frequent errors are; chunking, pulling and hooking (figure 3). The higher the ball is above your feet the more right of target you need to aim. In addition the more lofted the club, the more right of target you will need to aim. Here are some solutions you can use to offset these tendencies:

  • Stand as perpendicular to the lie as possible so the body position in relation to the ground approximates a normal lie.
  • Your weight should favor the balls of your feet.
  • Choke down on the club so the club can clear the ground.
  • Position the ball near the middle of the stance since weight transfer won’t be as strong.
  • Keep the distance from the ground to the base of the neck constant to maintain balance.
  • Allow for the pull or hook by aiming to the right. Remember, the steeper the ball lies, and the more lofted the club, the more you must compensate.

Side Hill Lie – Ball below your feet

Playing a shot when the ball is lying lower than the feet is one of the harder shots in golf and it’s easy to understand why. With the ball below the feet the tendency is for the ball to be topped, it’s difficult to “stay down with the shot” with this type of lie. You will also have a tendency to push or push-sliced your shot (figure 4). To make the proper compensations for a ball positioned below the feet you should:

Figure 4

  • Go the full length on the grip.
  • Stand close enough to the ball to easily reach it with the club head
  • Angle the body close to perpendicular with the ground, but sit deeper in the knees at address.
  • Keep your weight more on your heels
  • Stay in posture through the shot, don’t pull up or fall forward
  • Aim to the left an amount relative to the tilt of the clubface and allow the ball to go to the right.

How much should you aim right or left on these shots? The answer will come from practice. Here is a tip that you give you a starting point:

  • Select the club you are going to hit.
  • Mimic with the palm of your hand in the air the club’s loft and the soling of it on the uneven terrain.
  • Note the amount of deflection the face presents from the target line
  • Compensate that amount plus a little more for the curve of the shot and swing naturally.

Here is a quick guide you can cut out and take with you to the practice range or course

——————————————————————————————————————————————

Ball above your feet Ball will go left, pull, hook, chunk shot Aim right, weight on balls of your feet
Ball below your feet Ball will go right, push, push slice, top or blade shot Aim left, weight on heels, stay down
Uphill lie Shots travels high and short 

Shot pulls left and hit behind

 Aim right, lean into hill, follow terrain
Downhill lie Push, push fade shot to right 

Hit behind, skull or top

 Position ball back, sit more in knees, follow slope

Hope this helps you for these challenging shots.

Later,
Al Pehrson, PGA Professional

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Putting

By on July 13th, 2010

Hello again, this week we will talk about the great equalizer, putting. Putting is a different game; there is nothing similar about putting to the full swing in golf. The sad thing is a two-foot putt counts the same as a 300 yard drive. There is no recovery opportunity from bad putting. When you miss a short putt, you add a stroke to your score and have to putt again. It’s pretty simple; if you don’t putt well, you don’t play well!

There are a million different ways to putt and no one way is better than the other. The way best suited for you is what we want to find out. In putting we have many variables and personal preferences, just take a look at the professionals on television. We have long putters, belly putters, short putters, claw grip, reverse overlap grip, left hand low grip; I could go on and on.

There may be no single element of overall putting technique that every great putter agrees upon, but there are certain principals that the majority of them support:

  • Eye line over or slightly inside the ball
  • Set the club face square to the target
  • Position the ball forward of center
  • Keep the body motion limited
  • Use an accelerating stroke
  • Be comfortable
  • Make solid contact by hitting the ball in the putter’s “sweet spot”

What’s Important in Putting

It is not the mechanical requirements that separate the poor from the great putters. With practice, anyone can develop a solid, repeating, mechanical stroke. There are requirements beyond the mechanical stroke that you must master. A successful putter must also have the ability to:

  • Judge Slope
  • The Sensitivity to feel the proper speed
  • The courage to act on your decision once it has been made

Simply stated, what you must do to produce a successful putt is:

  • Roll the ball on the correct path
  • Do so at the right speed

I like the stroke to be a little inside on the back swing and straight down the line in the forward swing. It is also important for your hands to continue to the target, you want your arms and putter to travel at the same speed, and to continue down the target line.

Grip, Aim, and Set-up

Figure 1

The most popular and widely used putting grip is the reverse overlap (figure 1).  Some other popular grips are the left hand low (figure 2), and the claw grip (figure 3). The key is to find a grip you are comfortable and confident with. Your teaching professional can help you decide. Your grip pressure can be very light, to firm. The important thing is to not let it vary during the stroke; you must maintain the same grip pressure throughout the putting stroke.

Figure 3

Figure 2

If you follow the advice and procedure below I can almost guarantee your putting will improve.

Treat all putts as though they are straight putts. Once you have determined your line, find your target. Your target is seldom the hole itself. Your target is one foot beyond the hole if it’s a straight and level putt. If it’s a straight downhill putt your target will be somewhere short of the hole. If it’s a straight uphill putt it will be somewhere beyond one foot past the hole. Side hill or breaking putts are still straight putts. Due to the slope of the green, gravity is going to pull the ball left or right. You must determine how much the ball will break based on the slope, the speed of the green, and the distance.

Figure 4

Take a look at figure 4, his target is the dot left of the hole, you must focus on your TARGET not the hole.

Second item; Aiming accurately may be the most difficult and most important element in the mechanics of putting. 90% of putting has to do with “face angle”. Because of this, I teach aiming the same way in putting as I do in the full swing; I use “spot aiming” for mid length and long putts. If you have been reading my earlier blogs we talked about this in the one titled “Alignment”. Once you have chosen your intended line find something a foot or two in front of the ball along that line to “aim” at; a dead grass blade, an old divot, etc. Do not even look at the hole or your “long range” target at this point. Align your putter face, feet, and shoulders square to your “short” target. You look at your long or actual target just before you make your stroke.

The last point I will make here is; allow for more break in the putt then you think. Most amateurs will miss their putts on the low side of the hole because they do not read enough break in the putt. Next time you are on the course count how many times your putts are missed on the low side verses the high side of the hole.

Figure 5

Take a look at figure 5; this is a proper “conventional” set-up. Ball is forward of center, eye line over the ball or slightly inside, weight focused and stabilized on the left foot. Club face, feet, shoulders and arms square to your target, and you are comfortable.

Distance control

Just as in the full swing we want to create “acceleration” to and through the ball. I often times see just the opposite; deceleration. Deceleration: in anticipation of making contact with the ball, or from fear of missing the putt. It’s a stroke killer. Your nice smooth practice stroke should be your actual stroke!

Short putts, four feet and closer. Your stroke should be; back swing very short and more follow through (straight back, straight through). A good teaching aid is a three foot long 2×4.

Medium and long putts; In the forward stroke we need to keep the amount of energy (force) we use the same. We want to swing forward as hard as we can, without increasing grip pressure. The length of the backstroke is the only variable we need to change or deal with for distance control (read that again, if you can master this your 3-putt greens will drop significantly). For long putts we are looking to get the ball in a three foot circle around the hole, the 3-foot circle is your focus not the 4 ½” hole. If the putt should go in that’s a bonus, but were not anticipating or expecting to make it. Here are a few statistics to illustrate why:

  • 3-foot putt; we will make 97 to 100% of the time
  • 4-foot putt       90%
  • 5-foot putt       75%
  • 6-foot putt       55%

The “Yips”

Some of you may be dealing with the yips. Its cause – fear of missing. The fear of missing putts comes from having missed putts and remembering the misses! We seldom have the yips on long putts because we are not expected to make them. Its when the putt is short and your faced with bogey or double-bogey you feel greater levels of self-imposed pressure; the pressure to “not fail”. So what’s the cure?

  • Employ a selective memory. Forge the bad experiences and shots , focus on the good ones.
  • Get things in perspective. Making or missing a putt has little influence on mankind or the course of history. A miss will not cause you to lose your life, health, family, etc…
  • Change putting styles
  • Change putters
  • Develop a routine that totally occupies the mind, example; a counting system that you hit the ball on 6:

1)      See the line

2)      Rehearse the distance

3)      Square the face

4)      Set the feet

5)      Exhale, and

6)      Stroke the ball

  • There are some very good books on the subject, one that I like is “Your 5th Club” by Dr. Bob Rotella.

Equipment

Choosing the right putter is very important, when you set-up to the ball and your looking down, your putter needs to SCREAM CONFIDENCE! Knowing that every putt you stroke is going to fall into the hole.

Selecting a putter is a very subjective exercise, what looks good to you looks horrible to someone else. Do you get a blade, a mallet, a heel shafted, or center shafted putter, the options seem endless. Here are a few tips to narrow your search:

  • If you typically play slow greens choose a heavy putter with a little more loft (standard putter loft is 4 degrees). Fast greens, lighter putter, less loft.
  • If you “forward press” (like Phil Mickelson), you need a putter with more loft. The more you forward press the more loft you are taking off the putter. Just the opposite if your hands are behind the ball at address
  • If you are LEFT EYE dominant you may perform (putt) better with a center shafted putter verses a heel shafted putter. The exception to this is if you have difficulties squaring your club face, if so, stick to a heel shafted putter.
    • Here is a test you can perform to determine your eye dominance:

Place a golf ball on the ground. At waist height form a circle with the thumb and forefingers of both hands. With both eyes open, center the golf ball in the circle. Now without moving your head close each eye individually. Whichever open eye has the golf ball centered in the circle is your dominant eye.

  • A good starting point for what length your putter should be:
    • 6’2” and taller             35 – 36”
    • 5’8” to 6’2”                 34 – 35”
    • 5’8” and shorter          33 – 34”

Teaching Aids

Figure 6

I like two of them. Figure 6 is Dave Pelz “Putting Tutor”. It features guide lines to help aim your putt on your chosen line for your putt. It also has two marbles at the front edge, which tel you whether or not you’ve made a good stroke and started your putt on line, or not. If you dislodge a marble, it means your ball started off-line.

Figure 7

Figure 7 is the Momentus “inside down the line” putting aid. I am an avid believer in this putting concept. The putter goes a little inside during the backstroke, after contact with the ball the putter head continues straight forward toward your target or down the line.

Figure 8

I also like the idea of an alignment line on the ball (figure 8). It is one more thing to assist you to get the ball started on your intended line.

Drills

I like Phil Mickelson’s 3-foot and 6-foot circle drills. The 3-foot drill incorporates my “short back swing, more follow through” (straight back, straight through) stroke I spoke of earlier. Phil calls it his 25/75 stroke, back 25% through 75%. Place a number of balls in a 3-foot circle around the hole (figure 9) (use a standard length putter to measure). You don’t leave this drill until you sink 100 balls without missing (just kidding).

Figure 9

The 6-foot drill is one to spend some time with because 6-feet is where the break of the putt is much more noticeable. Still use the 25/75 stroke, it is just a little longer. You have to read these putts perfectly, and have perfect speed to make them. Also remember at 6-feet you will typically only make 55% of your putts. If you want to score well get this percentage up.

Additional Important Thoughts about Putting

  • 60% of the break of an average putt is going to occur within 3-feet of the hole. Except in unusual cases the slope at the beginning of the putt has very little influence. This means study more closely the finish portion of the putt.
  • Judge the speed so if the ball were to miss it would finish one foot past the hole.
  • Off-center hits on the putter face have significant effects on the distance and direction the putt will travel.
  • X-out golf balls are generally the most poorly balanced and can affect a 6-foot putt by as much as three to four inches on either side of the hole.
  • On a putt 2.5 feet from the hole the permissible error in alignment is generous, plus or minus 4-degrees, indication these putts should be automatic – were it not for indecision.
  • Focusing on a spot an inch or two in front of the ball on the correct line helps to start the ball on that line and encourages hitting through the ball.

Hope it helps you’re putting, have a great day.

Later,
Al Pehrson, PGA Professional

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Relax

By on July 2nd, 2010

Hello, back again for another blog. This week we are going to talk about relaxing during your swing. Whether it is a putt, chip, pitch shot, or full swing, you need to learn to relax so your swing is fluid and nothing is held back.

First you need to realize that I am not talking about pure relaxation; this is something you cannot attain and shouldn’t in the golf swing. There is another type of relaxation that I am talking about – active relaxation. To be actively relaxed is to be neither limp nor tense, but to have live tension in the parts of the body that will be doing the work.

This active relaxation starts with the legs; the knees must be properly flexed and the legs must be supple but at the same time they must have live tension. There should be more tension from the knees down; the lower part of your legs should feel very springy and strong, loaded with elastic energy. The rest of the body will pick up this athletic temper from the legs. In fact, all the movements in your swing become easier and more integrated.

Let’s talk about tension in the grip since this is where most average players have too much tension and this transmits throughout the body. When you have too much tension in the grip it tightens the cords in the arms and renders them so stiff, and so deaf that they are unable to give you a muscular response when you start your swing. Too tight a grip will also immobilize your wrist……so relax a little. We want our hands to be “active”, the kind of pressure that makes your hands feel alive and ready for action.

Here’s one last tip that will help take the tension out of your swing:

You’ve addressed the ball, done your waggles, taken that one last look at your target, and you’re ready to pull the trigger and start the swing. Take in one last breath before you start the swing. As you start the swing exhale (exhale throughout the entire swing). Most players will hold their breath when making their swing and this causes tension throughout their body. Try it.

That’s it for this week, hope it helps you out.

Later,
Al Pehrson, PGA Professional

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Alignment

By on June 21st, 2010

Hello again, I hope you have enjoyed the first two blogs. We are continuing with the 3rd phase of PGA (posture, grip, and alignment). This is the last of the three; alignment, or the ability to aim properly.

Alignment and the ability to properly aim in golf is one of the most difficult things to master. It seems simple enough but there is much more to aiming then meets the eye, no pun intended. In golf you must aim the club face, and aim your body. If everything else in your swing is good; good grip, good posture, on-plane swing, etc. you will not get the ball to the target if your alignment is poor. You will miss the fairway with your tee shot, or miss the green on your approach shot, forcing you to get up and down rather than a one or two putt for birdie or par. Aim is one of golf’s most important fundamentals yet it takes the least amount of natural talent, but requires the greatest amount of attention.

So how do we achieve perfect alignment or aim? Let’s go through the various steps to help you achieve perfect alignment.

Pick your target and visualize your shot. Do not just look down range and say the fairway is your target. Pick something specific, a tree in the distance, a distant window of a house, etc… Now follow an imaginary line back to the ball. Find something along that line about three feet in front of the ball such as a dead spot of grass, a broken tee, a divot, or anything you can recognize as you start to set up to the ball. We call this “spot alignment”

Aim the club face.

All irons have scored horizontal lines; some even have the bottom line filled in with white paint. On Wood clubs the top line on the face is the aiming line. Use this to help you square your club face to your intended line or target. Step in and place the head of your iron or wood directly behind the ball. I see some students set the club head as much as two to three inches behind it. Get it right behind the ball. Now square or point your club face at the target you picked three feet in front of you and don’t even look down range. Stay focused on aligning everything to this target.

Aim your body.

When we talk about aiming the body we are talking about aligning your feet, knees, hips, and shoulders. Aiming the body is far more difficult then aiming the club face. All your attention needs to be focused on this task as you set-up to the ball.

The aiming of the body is strongly influenced by what we see. There are great individual differences in visual acuity, breadth of field, depth perception, and the ability to aim at a target. Aiming in golf is a LEARNED SKILL, to some it may come naturally but for most it must be learned.

Figure 1

To learn how to aim properly you need to spend some time on the range. Look at figure 1; I use these for my students and for myself when I am on the practice range. The sticks are driveway markers; you can pick them up at Home Depot, Lowes, a hardware store etc. for about $2.00. They are small and easy to carry and leave in your bag, use them each and every time you are on the practice range and during your warm up before your round.

As you step in to address the ball, you have aimed your club face and taken your grip. Using the alignment sticks, align your feet so they are square and parallel to your club face and your target that is three feet in front of you. Now move up the body ensuring your knees, and hips are also square and parallel to your target.

I will talk about the shoulders separately because they are more critical in the aim and alignment process then the rest of the body. Good players (single digit handicappers) can get away with maybe opening and closing the lower body to assist in shaping shots. But the shoulders will ultimately determine or have a major influence on swing path. For this reason you must pay close attention to how your shoulders are aligned in your set-up.

Most students I see complain about missing their shots to the right. Some fade the ball and some have a bad slice they want to get rid of. For in a lot of my students (not all) I change two things; the grip, a little stronger (see my first blog if you have not read it), and the alignment of the shoulders. Most of my students will have their shoulders open to their intended target.

Figure 2

Take a look at figure 2; this photo is showing proper alignment (center photo), and misalignment of the shoulders (end photos). In most cases the misalignment seen in figure 2 is not this extreme.

To do a “self check” and see how your shoulders are aligned, take a look at figure 3, (turn the club the other way so the butt of the club is pointing down range).

Figure 3

After you are all set and ready to swing, stop and stay in your set-up and posture, then bring the club up and lay it across the front of your shoulders. The butt of the club will point to where your shoulders are aiming.

Turn your head and look, are your shoulders right or left of target? The key here is to get your shoulders aimed at your target, than take a picture in your mind. This is how proper alignment looks to YOU.  Remember earlier when I spoke about “Individual differences in visual acuity”, this is what I was talking about, and this is where we LEARN to aim properly.

We have gone through all the steps, let’s run through it from start to finish.

  • Stand behind the ball and pick your target and visualize your shot.
  • Follow an imaginary line back to the ball and pick a spot three-six feet in front of the ball.
  • Step in and place the club head behind the ball, then square it to your target and take your grip.
  • Align your feet, knees, hips, and shoulders to your target.
  • The last thing you do before starting the swing is turn your head and look at your target down range. Look back to the ball and swing.

Additional tip; do not lift your head to look at your target down range. Turn your head. If you lift your head, you may have a tendency to open your shoulders to your intended target.

That concludes this series of blogs on PGA (posture, grip, and alignment). Remember, these three elements need to be as perfect and consistent as possible. You could have a perfect swing but if your grip is wrong or your posture is poor, and your alignment is off, the results of your shot(s) will be poor. All three can be practiced in comfort of your home or office with the aid of a full-length mirror. If you practice each of these about 10 minutes a day, it will pay off in large dividends. Check back next week and I will have a short tip that will keep your body tension free during your swing.

Later,
Al Pehrson, PGA Professional