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Richard’s Quick Tip:
Two Putter Railway Track
Maintaining a square to square putter head through the ball on
short putts. For these putts, the putterhead should ideally move
straight back and straight through, remaining square to the line
of the putt at all times (as the putt gets longer so the
putterhead starts to move on more of a curve, coming back
slightly inside the target line.
To practice this put two clubs on the ground slightly more than a
putterhead’s width apart. They must run parallel to each other
and run towards the hole. As you make your stroke keep the
putterhead inside the two clubs for the entire stroke. Do this
at least 50 times to groove that straight back and straight
through movement.
Comments from subscribers:
This subscriber has a difference of opinion with Joe’s advice
last week to Adam, about a lost ball.
While I too admire his buddy's sportsmanship, I must disagree
with your advice. He had a lost ball, simple as that, and he should have
(a) re-teed and played another ball; (b) or withdrawn from the match, if he
didn't feel right about not taking the penalty, effectively disqualifying
himself. Not signing his own card certainly wouldn't have disqualified both of
them, as you suggest.
I firmly believe, if you are going to play the game, especially
for money, as he indicated they were, that you need to learn and apply the
rules, as he seems to want to do. What could possibly be wrong with that?
While I "understand," philosophically, what you are saying, there just
is
no such thing as "recreational rules" in golf. Maybe there should be,
but that is an entirely different discussion. And if you advocate, as you
have more than once, applying so-called "recreational rules," where
do you
draw the line, especially in a match for money? Is it then okay to take a
"mulligan"? Is it then okay to use your "foot wedge" if you
get
unlucky and land in an old divot in the fairway? And on and on. Where does
it end?
There are several of the rules I don't agree with, and I feel
should be changed, or discarded altogether, and I am even becoming more of
an advocate for two sets of rules, one for "recreational rounds," however
that might be defined, and one set for professional golfers. However, until
that comes to pass, I just feel you should learn the rules as they exist, and
apply them. I have always felt it gave me more satisfaction in my game,
knowing the score I shoot, whatever it is that day, is a "real" score,
according to the rules.
I am far from a professional golfer, and certainly not even
scratch, but I can't count the number of times I have been in a tournament,
witnessed an infraction, and heard comments such as, "We have never played
it
that way," or "That just isn't fair," et cetera, when, if those
people had
learned the rules, applied them in their weekend matches, they wouldn't find
themselves in that position.
Just my two cents worth.
Bob
Hi Richard - Great tips about foot work, I do have an issue
about your point regarding the left heel at the top of the back swing. If
the left heel is raised up as you suggest the tendency is for the golfer
to raise up his entire body or get a body tilt that leads to swaying. I
always concentrate on keeping my left heel on the ground but bending my
left knee to ensure a full weight shift.
Thanks!
Bob F.
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Quote of the week
"Good humor is a tonic for mind and body. It is the best antidote
for anxiety and depression. It is a business asset. It attracts
and keeps friends. It lightens human burdens. It is the direct
route to serenity and contentment."
Grenville Kleiser
1868-1953, Author
===============================================
Golf quote of the week:
It is almost impossible to remember how tragic a place the world
is when one is playing golf.
Robert Lynd
=================================================
Questions and Answers by Teaching Pro Mr Joe DeLorenzo THANK YOU
for taking your time to answer these Joe.
Joe is also available for private lessons. "For private or group
lessons in Chicago's northwest suburbs, contact Joe at
golfwithjoey@yahoo.com
A Bit of Golf Trivia:
Which rule does Tiger Woods say is the worst rule in
golf? (answer below)
Joe,
What is your opinion on why Tiger’s game was not so
great last year?
Tim
Hi Tim,
Have you seen his new bride? That’s gotta be a bit
distracting. His primary swing thought is probably
“The heck with golf for awhile, I can’t wait to get
home”.
Joe
Joe,
Why do you think Tiger Woods wants to change his swing
from time to time?
Sid
Hello Sid,
Tiger is not the only one. Jack Nicklaus admitted to
be always tinkering with his swing, and so did many
others, maybe even everybody. We humans are easily
fooled into thinking that once we are swinging good,
we will always swing like that forever. We forget that
a golf swing involves hundreds of different body
muscles, all of which get stronger or weaker every day
in different combinations, and therefore your swing
changes without you even realizing it. Therefore we
all must get used to the idea that a golf swing is
never permanent, you will always have to find ways to
adjust. Many times you will hear of a golfer having to
“manufacture” a swing in the middle of a tournament
because his or her old swing was not working anymore.
All our swings are a continuous works in progress, and
those who understand how to make adjustments have a
big advantage over those who insist on swinging only
one way just because certain swing thoughts used to
work in the past. In other words, your swing thoughts
may be the same, but your muscles are responding a
little differently they did in the past.
Joe
Joe,
Thank you for all your emails and believe me all your
information and tips are a constant source of
motivation on the continual path of improvement. Is
there a recommended club, scale weight (ideal weight)
for an experienced 76 year old male (my coach) playing
at presently to a 13 handicap. He read in a Seniors
Golf book that 13 oz was the recommendation. What is
your opinion and recommendation? The second question
involves golf etiquette. How do I ask an opponent to
move from my line of sight on the putting green,
without causing WW3. I either need skills to block
out these interferences (which I don't have) or a
prayer that stops people taking things personally.
Please help me.
Big hugs and prayers
Fay
Hello Fay,
Recommendations are not guarantees. Any “ideal” weight
for a club must be tested by you. Maybe that will work
for you and maybe it won’t. There are so many other
factors at play such as shaft flex and torque, kick
point, loft, lie angle, length, etc not to mention
your own physical characteristics and swing speed.
Rather than getting overly technical on these matters,
I think you should try different clubs and simply
compare results. These types of specs are more
important for those who play every day and want to
become scratch golfers. Those of us who play less
frequently are not likely become scratch golfers, so
if you want to lower your handicap, put more emphasis
on chipping and putting. Even scratch golfers do not
hit the green every time, but they can get “up and
down” from almost anywhere. That means even if you can
hit the ball just has well as a scratch golfer, but
you cannot get up and down, your handicap will still
be double digit, so why waste your time worrying about
club specs? As for your second question, you are
always going to be playing with people who stand in
the wrong place, so you might as well get used to
that. There is no single phrase that you can use to
ask them to move that is sure to avoid offending them.
Some people will understand and others will think you
are a jerk for asking. The most diplomatic phase to
try would be one that puts the blame on yourself, such
as “I’m sorry for asking, but I get the Yips when
anybody stands there, it’s not you, it’s me.”
Joe
Joe,
I AM 55 YRS OLD MY BIGGEST PROBLEM IS MY DRIVER I
SOMETIMES CAN
DRIVE 250-275 YDS STRAIGHT BUT MOST OF THE TIMES I
SLICE.
I NEED A DRILL TO HELP ME FROM COMING IN WITH AN OPEN
FACE.
THANKS CARLOS
Hi Carlos,
The best drills for this can be seen in the Body Golf
Slice Busting videos. Many people assume that if they
hit their other clubs fairly straight, then they
should also be hitting the driver straight. However,
drivers have lower lofts that reduce underspin to get
more distance, so any spin is likely to be sidespin,
which translates into slices or hooks depending on
which way the ball spins. That makes drivers much
harder to control than other clubs such as fairway
woods because the added loft of the fairway wood
produces more underspin which cancels out some of the
sidespin thus reducing slices at the expense of a
little distance. You have to decide whether or not you
need the extra distance on any given hole. If there is
too much danger left and right, don’t use the driver
until you can trust it to go where you are aiming. If
you are hitting all your other clubs straight, try a
different driver, one that is heel-weighted to reduce
slices (or put some lead tape on the heel of your
current driver), you may even hook it without changing
your swing.
Joe
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Answer to the above trivia question – Tiger says
having to hit out of a divot in the middle of a
fairway is the worst rule in golf.
Jody, my Evil Twin, what do you think about this?
Answer: I agree with Tiger, golf is supposed to be a
game of skill, not a game of luck. If you are skilled
enough to hit a drive in the fairway, you deserve to
have a good lie, otherwise why have a fairway? You
should not be penalized by having to play out of a
divot while your opponent misses the fairway and
happens to have the advantage of a better lie in the
rough, that just makes this a game of luck. If you
like games of luck, go to a casino. Shot making skill
(being able to hit the fairway) should be rewarded
with a decent lie, instead of being penalized. Every
sport changes rules when it makes sense to do so,
including golf. For example, in the past a ball that
plugged on a green had to be played as it lies, which
means you could not mark it, clean it, and place it,
you had to hack it out of there. Imagine what that
does to the green. If mud sticks to your ball, too
bad, you have to putt it that way. If they were able
to change that rule, then they can and should change
the rule for divots in the fairway, or any other rule
that has to do with luck instead of skill. Don’t get
me started on more such rules, I could go on forever.
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Golf Potpourri
by
Mac Stevenson
It’s Time to Review Your Golf Journal
Keeping a golf journal/diary has many benefits. Assuming you’ve
followed former advice and kept a journal during the past golf
season, now is the perfect time to read it and think about swing
thoughts and practice routines that worked for you last summer.
These thoughts will be fresh in your mind when you start the new
season that’s on the horizon. And--if you haven’t kept a golf
diary in the past--it’s the perfect time to start the sound
practice of keeping a golf journal throughout the golfing year.
Keeping a diary doesn’t mean you have to make an entry every day,
just when you feel you have discovered something that will be
beneficial to remember for future reference.
If you’re a serious golfer--regardless of your handicap--there’s
a simple way to improve your game.
Following the winter layoff, you undoubtedly go out and play from
memory with little thought to small details. As the new season
progresses and the weather warms, you become more serious about
your game. Problems raise their ugly heads. Perhaps you’ve been
pulling a lot of irons or pushing too many tee shots. Or you may
be hitting behind a lot of pitch shots.
When you’re having trouble with one particular shot, it’s good to
go to the driving range and try and figure out what you’re doing
wrong. And that’s when you start “thinking” golf.
Whether it’s the result of lessons from your pro or just working
by yourself, you discover a key swing thought that improves your
game. As an example, if you’re hitting behind your pitch shots,
it might help to move your hands forward at address. Or make sure
you keep most of your weight on your left foot.
Whenever you discover a swing thought that really helps on a shot
you’ve been having trouble with, enter it in a journal when you
get home; make the notation while the new thought is fresh in
your mind. You might discover the key on the driving range or
during an 18-hole round. All that’s required is a $.50 spiral
notebook--nothing fancy.
Just enter the day, month, year and a subject heading. Then write
something like this: “My drives and full- iron shots have been
inconsistent. After thinking about it, I decided to widen my
stance slightly to make it harder to sway. It helped today.”
All of us have periods of poor putting; even the pros go through
putting slumps. And you try all kinds of adjustments--grip
change, stance alteration, just about anything you think might
help until you hit on a key thought that works. Be sure and enter
that new method in your journal because it might help you a year
or so in the future, when you’re going through another putting
slump. And these mind keys are unique to your personality;
they’re not something you’re going to find in a book.
Make entries when something’s going real bad, not just when you
find a solution to a problem. That way you’ll recognize the
problem if it recurs in the future. When you discover what you’re
doing wrong, enter that too.
After you’ve made numerous entries concerning personal thoughts
about your game, it’s fun and beneficial to read through your
journal periodically. If you’ve been keeping a journal,
now--while the winter wind is howling outside--is the perfect
time to review your journal. You’ll be amazed at how often a tip
is recalled that you entered in your journal and had forgotten.
If you don’t keep a journal, the good and bad thoughts will
vanish from your memory and a valuable reference will be lost.
And best of all, it takes very little time and effort. You can
enter the most complex of thoughts that have occurred on the golf
course in just a few minutes.
You’ll be amazed at how quickly your personal swing thoughts add
up in your journal. It’s great fun to review your written
thoughts from time to time, and it will help you play better
golf.
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Richard’s Thoughts
Moving Your Head
I have touched on this before, but from the emails, feel I need
to expand a little.
The head is the keystone around which the entire golf swing
circles. When you lift, jerk, or otherwise move your head, you
set up a terrible chin of events during a golf stroke. With head
movement the easy turn of the shoulders into the shot is
restricted. A majority of bad drives go off to the right because
a moving head doesn’t give an adequate pivot point for a good
swing.
Think of the head as an axis or hub around which the swing
revolves. The less it moves the better. It may take you a while
to develop a comfortable chin position, and you may have to do
what Jack Nicklaus does-point you chin slightly to the right as
you start your swing. This slight alteration from a straight up
and down head position will help you get a better pivot and more
accurate swing.
Until next week…good golfing!
Dr Richard Myers
www.thinkandreachpar.com
www.superbabysitting.com
864.675.0038
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