The Correct Posture

photo credit: foxypar4   One of the most popular sayings in golf is “keep your head down,” it could not be farther from the truth.  Keeping your head down can create a slouch and be detrimental to good balance. 

The correct spine angle in the address position is critical in maintaining good balance during the swing.  Stand taller and tuck your chin in slightly which will keep your head in line with your spine.  This position will keep your back straight which allows you to swing freely through the ball.

Some habits can’t be broken easily and a change in your address posture can take patience and perseverance.  Maintaining the correct posture in the address position will result in more accuracy, greater distance and most importantly, lower scores.

Set-up Adjustments

photo credit: Jim Epler   There are separate address positions for irons and the driver, knowing the difference can result in lower scores. 

With the drive, spin rate and trajectory are critical, therefor, it is important to “sweep” the ball off the tee on the upswing.  Spin creates lift and greater height which results in more shot distance.  With iron shots, the ball is forced against the turf with a descending clubface. 

Tee the ball off your left heel with a driver and make sure the handle of your club is behind the ball.  Your spine angle should be slightly away from your target and set your back knee slightly inward.  With irons, play the ball in the center of your stance, your chest should be centered with the ball and your hands set slightly forward.

Acquiring the “Touch”

photo credit: Rob Inh00d   To score well you need a good sense of touch.  Using heavy grip pressure is an ideal way to destroy your sense of feel for your golf shots.  In order to increase your sensitivity, grip the club just firm enough so it will not fly out of your hands during your golf swing.

Many PGA Tour players prefer thinner grips because it allows them to have a greater feel for the clubhead.  This is especially true in the short game and putting where the sense of touch is critical.

Unlike the game of yesterday, golf today has turned into a “muscle” game where strength seems to have taken on more importance than the ability to be creative around the greens.  Some would argue that the game has suffered because of the emphasis on length rather than accuracy.  The debate goes on.

Are Tournaments Boring You?

photo credit: jc.westbrook   Watching golf on TV can be totally boring even to the most staunch couch-potatoes.  How many times can you watch a tour player make a 10 ft. putt?  When one of the players is colorful enough to do something worth watching, they get sanctioned or fined by the USGA.  When Tiger Woods’ fist pumps are the only exciting event, things have really deteriorated.

Why not play a tournament with equipment they used in the 50s and 60s?  Why not have an event with teams consisting of LPGA and PGA players, or Champions and PGA Tour players?  The PGA Tour needs to “spice things up” to make tour events worth watching again.  The days of Arnie, Jack, Gary and Lee are long gone!  Their absence created a void that still exists.

Rule 28. Ball Unplayable

photo credit: nsaplayer   Rule 28.:  The player may deem his ball unplayable at any place on the course, except when the ball is in a water hazard.  The player is the sole judge as to whether his ball is unplayable.  If the player deems his ball to be unplayable, he must, under penalty of one stroke:

(a)  Play a ball as near as possible at the spot from which the original ball was last played: or  (b)  Drop a ball behind the point where the ball lay, keeping that point directly between the hole and the spot on which  the ball is dropped, with no limit to how far behind that point the ball may be dropped: or (c)  Drop a ball within two club-lengths, of the spot where the ball lay , but not nearer the hole. 

When proceeding under this Rule, the player may lift and clean his ball or substitute a ball.

USGA Honors Arnold Palmer

photo credit: cliff1066   On September 10, 2009, Arnold Palmer celebrates his 80th birthday.  The USGA has created a ”digital memory book” that will allow all of Arnie’s fans to leave a birthday message or a personal note of congratulations in the form of a message, video or images.  You can submit yours at www.USGAmuseum.com/arnoldpalmer.  The best submissions will be included in a bound volume to be presented to the King.

This writer’s fondest memory of Arnie was during a PGA Tournament at the Canterbury Golf & Country Club in Beachwood, Ohio.  Standing near the fairway, Palmer’s drive came to rest directly in front of me.  When Arnie arrived at his ball he was only a few feet in front of me.  The thing I remember most about him was the size and strength of his hands and forearms.  Happy Birthday Arnie, thanks for all the wonderful memories!

Sand Shot Fundamentals

photo credit: bradleypjohnson   One of the primary reasons why amateurs have difficulty playing sand shots is because they don’t open the face of their sand wedge.  Make sure your face is open.  When playing a shot from the sand (explosion) you must aim your body approximately two steps left of target and swing along your body line.  Position the ball off your left instep of your lead foot.  Your natural swing arc should enter the sand behind the ball and bottom out directly under the ball. 

The distance of the shot depends largely upon the proximity of where your clubhead enters the sand behind the ball.  For short explosions enter the sand farther behind the ball.  For long explosions enter the sand closer to the ball.  Don’t quit on the shot, make sure there is a full follow-through.

www.Lostgolfballs.com

photo credit: danorth1   After 20 years in business, Eric Ewe marketing manager, says “we’re doing well because  people are looking to cut their expenses.”  The used golf ball business has exploded since the downturn in the economy.  “Rather than paying $50 or $60 for a box of new balls, the company sells balls that are like new for much, much less,” Ewe said.  Www.Lostgolfballs.com web-site was launched 5 years ago and has sold more than 237 million balls. 

The company works with about 2,400 courses and hires contractors to search forests and lake beds and send abandoned balls to a center in Houston, where they are washed, inspected and graded.  “Every ball is sorted based on scuffs and damage,” says Ewe.  The site grew a whopping 93% in the fourth quarter of 2008.

Swing Speed

photo credit: nsaplayer   Golf’s most powerful physics equation is speed equals distance.  A one mile increase in swing speed results in 2.5 more yards of distance.  Golf club aerodynamics is an important concept in determining swing speed and shot distance.  Improving the speed at which the clubhead moves  through the air will produce more ball speed. 

Streamlining the clubhead shape and pushing up the crown slightly are two ways to create more speed.  New clubhead face construction and shaft length and weight may also be determining factors.  New technology will bring great advances in the swing speed capabilities of drivers. 

Balancing the aerodynamic drag that comes with head size, against the increase in off-center hit performance that comes with such size, is one of the many trade-offs that are analyzed.

Golf Calculator

photo credit: craiglea123   Don’t tell me your age; you probably would tell a falsehood anyway.  Lets use golf math, its quite simple and it takes less than a minute, besides, its fun.  (1st) Pick the number of times per week that you would like to play golf (more than once but less than 10).  (2nd)  Multiply this number by 2.  (3rd) Add 5.  (4th)  Get the calculator and multiply it by 50.  (5th)  If you have already had your birthday this year add 1759. . If you haven’t, add 1758.  (6th)  Now subtract the four digit year that you were born and you should have a 3 digit number. 

The first digit was your original number (how many times you want to play each week).  The next two are your age.

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