erinehold@pc-medical.com
As Education Chairperson for 2008-2010, I have decided to contribute a monthly" golf tip" article. I hope this will be helpful in pursuing a more pleasurable golf experience. I would also like to encourage input and feedback, so I might address your questions and/or comments to make this forum more useful.
This month's tip, "When it comes to your pockets, make it simple."
How many of you, during a round of golf, have walked onto the putting green and
fumbled around in your pocket for your ball mark or ball mark fixer? Or you are
on the tee box and you are searching for your tee. How many times have you
reached for your ball marker, only to have the entire contents of the right pocket
and then the left pocket fall out helplessly onto the green. Oops!! Darn!!
I recommend a simple solution for knowing where all of your golf accessories reside.
Pick a pocket, I use my right. And into this pocket should go the following items
and only these items: one ball marker, one ball mark fixer, one long golf tee and
one short golf tee. All of these items feel very different from one another and can
easily be located in the pocket you have chosen. One pocket, one of each item,
simple.
As for requiring an extra marker, on occasion, you can use the one on your golf
glove snap. Most golf gloves have them. If you use a ball marker on your hat, that's
even better. You have even less stuff in your pocket. Anything to help make this
game simpler is a good thing. Oh yeah, and don't forget to keep your head down!
Until next time, happy golfing.
Download February Golf Tips (pdf)
This month's tip, "Where is your head, when putting?"
I was golfing with a friend recently, who just had a putting lesson. One of the items
pointed out to her, during her lesson, was that she was standing too far away from
the ball and reaching with her putter. This in turn created a swiping motion at the
ball, as opposed to a relaxed pendulum type back swing and follow through.
So, next time at putting practice, take note of where your head is positioned. Are
you standing with your head in an upright position and behind the ball? Or is your
head/eyeballs directly over your golf ball at address. Not only will this help with a
smooth pendulum type putting stroke, it will also give you a better visual line on
your putt.
Keep swinging and keep your head down! Until next time, happy golfing.
Download January Golf Tips (pdf)
This month's tip, "When the ball is below my feet, how should I play the shot?"
An awkward lie is a stance that is not level with the ball. This can come in many
forms and I would like to address "ball below your feet". A ball is considered to be
below your feet, when you stand on a side hill and the ball is down the hill from you.
"Ball below your feet"-- First rule to remember when the ball is below your feet is
to keep your knees bent. You will need to bend your knees or squat a little more
than usual and maintain this knee bend throughout the swing. Take a practice
swing to see if you are making contact with the ground. This will be how you gauge
how much knee bend you will require. Choose the club according to your distance
and your stance should be normal to the club you choose.
Second rule is to keep your weight on your heels. The tendency with this lie is to fall
forward during your swing, so keep your weight on your heels.
Third rule is to aim slightly left of your target (for right handed golfers). The
tendency with this shot is to push it to the right, so aiming slightly to the left will
compensate for this slight fade.
So, remember to "keep your squat", "weight on the heels" and "aim slightly left" for
this shot when the ball is below your feet. Oh yeah, and don't forget to keep your
head down! Until next time, happy golfing.
Download June Golf Tips (pdf)
This month's tip, "When the ball is above my feet, how should I play the shot?"
An awkward lie is a stance that is not level with the ball. This can come in many
forms and I would like to address "ball above your feet first".
"Ball above your feet"-- This is when your ball is on the side of a hill and the ball is
directly above your feet. Most often, this lie will require you to choke down on the
club you choose, so you do not hit the side of the hill hard, prior to making impact
with the ball. A single practice swing will let you know, if you need to choke down.
Choking down on a club effectively makes the club shorter and reduces the distance.
So, choose a club that gives you greater yardage than the actual distance you have to
the pin. The rule of thumb is for every inch you choke down, you loose 10-15 yards.
The second thing to remember is to lean your weight forward. The tendency, with
this side hill lie, is to fall back during your swing. So, keep your weight on the balls
of your feet.
The third thing to remember is to aim slightly right of your target (if you are right
handed). Most golfers, in this lie, will have a tendency to pull or draw the ball
slightly, due to the changed angle of the club face.
So, remember to "choke down", "club up", "weight forward" and "aim slightly
right" for this shot when the ball is above your feet. Oh yeah, and don't forget to
keep your HEAD DOWN! Until next time, happy golfing.
Download May Golf Tips (pdf)
This month's tip, "What should a practice swing accomplish?"
Almost everyone who plays golf, uses a practice swing prior to hitting the shot. This
is a good practice and should be executed with a purpose in mind.
A practice swing should be limited to one or two swings. It should be executed when
you are facing your ball in the correct address position, since the contour of the
ground will be similar to the actual shot you intend to hit.
A practice swing should mimic the swing you intend to use, when you address the
ball. This means, it should have the same rhythm, mechanics, velocity and follow
through you intend to execute. For example: your drive off the tee would be a full
swing with all of the parameters mentioned above, as compared to, a chip shot
which would also have these parameters and is not a full swing but an abbreviated
swing that you intend to use. A practice swing will help set your swing references.
A practice swing is especially useful when you are in an awkward lie. These are
plentiful at muni, since the course is very hilly. When you are in a awkward lie,
your practice swing should help give you an idea of where your club strikes the
ground. You may find that you are hitting the ground "fat" which would indicate
that you either need to switch to a shorter club or you need to choke down on the
club you have. Or you may find that you are hitting the ground much farther back
in your stance, which means you need to move your stance forward to make the
correct location of impact with the ball. All of this takes practice, but if you start to
pay attention to your practice swing, it will help you to execute your intended shot,
with better impact and results. Happy golfing.
Download April Golf Tips (pdf)
This month's tip, "follow through on your short shots".
Most of us amateur golfers have a tendency to be timid around the green, as
opposed to aggressive and bold. Some of our many thoughts inside of 50 yards
might be "Don't hit it thin, or it will run through the green." or "I just want to plop
it on the green and let it run to the hole." or "Don't hit it too hard, I am not that far
away." All of these thoughts, if you notice, are timid, negative thoughts.
What we should be thinking is "this is going in the hole" or "land it 3 feet short of
the pin and hit the pin." This would be a more bold and positive approach. You
want to attack the green not shy away from it.
To put these thoughts into action, I recommend you follow through on all of your
short game shots. From your sand wedge, to your pitching wedge, to your putter,
FOLLOW THROUGH. All too often I will watch golfers take a few practice
swings, with a wedge, and have a nice relaxed follow through. Then they address
the ball and every muscle in their body tightens up and the swing becomes short,
abbreviated and decelerated. With this type of swing you will not get the ball to the
hole. I believe most of us would rather the ball runs past the hole than to come up
well short. So be bold around the green and swing freely.
Download March Golf Tips (pdf)
This month, "Use a Mantra for focus".
When I was competing at the Nationals, in Aloha, Oregon, I was extremely nervous. I knew I wanted to do well for the Santa Barbara Chapter and thought this might be the last time I would make it this far.
After reviewing the course layout and scorecard, I knew this was a course I could do well on. It suited my game. It was relatively short and required precision shots to score well. I HAD A CHANCE!! However, this did not take the nerves away; it only made it worse, due to my expectations.
I finally realized that to control my nerves, I needed to focus on one thing, when addressing the golf ball. I choose to use my Mantra as my focus point. Over the years I have developed this Mantra to help with my golf game. I have a tendency to sway during my take away, over-swing and lift my head. My Mantra addressed all of these short comings and helped improve my game. So the Mantra I developed was, "shoulder turn, half swing, keep your head down!"
During the two day tournament, when I would grab my club, I would start the Mantra in my mind, repeating it over and over again. Once I was over the ball and at address, I would say it one more time, "shoulder turn, half swing, keep your head down!" and as I said "down" I would start my back swing and have complete focus on the ball. It worked to keep the nerves at bay. I even managed to place, with a score of 80 and 79.
I believe every one should have a Mantra to help with the focus part of your game. I have heard many, including "Tick-Tock", "1,2,3 and 4", "weight forward, head down". It helps to choose a Mantra that addresses one of your quirks or deficiencies. So, create your Mantra and improve your focus.
Download February Golf Tips (pdf)
This month, I would like to address "Reading a Puzzling Putt".
I am sure you have all experienced this putt. You stand or kneel behind a putt and you read the putt as you are looking at the hole. It occurs to you that you cannot see the line. You KNOW there is a break on the putt, but you are puzzled about the line.
Keep in mind that reading a putt begins about 40 yards from the green. As you approach, you should be looking at the contour of the green. This will give you some confidence in what the slope and movement of the green might be. Put this in your memory bank.
Now that you are looking at this putt, remember what the slope and movement looked like, as you approached the green. This should tell you the break, either to the right or the left. This will give you a point of reference.
So, you have now decided that the ball will break to the right, but you still cannot see the line. Walk to the side of your putt line so you are facing the line at 90 degrees. Look at the line your ball will travel on. Is the slope coming toward you, or is it running away from you? This will help confirm which way your putt will break and how much. Try this next time you are looking at a "puzzling putt" and it just might help.
Download January Golf Tips (pdf)
This month's tip, "Preparing your approach shot".
Someone once quoted that "the approach shot is the most important shot in golf."
Hummmm? Well it is. If your approach shot lands within 10 feet of the pin, you
have a good chance at a one putt. If you miss the green, you are approaching the
green again. Having said that, I would like to go back to the shot prior to your
approach shot and address this strategy.
For some of you, preparing for your approach shot begins on the tee box. For
others it could be one or two shots after your tee shot. The idea is to be aware of
when you are 2 shots away from the green. This is the shot that will set you up for
your approach shot.
Once you are two shots away from the green, look for the placement of the pin on
the green. Is it back or front, is it left or right? Know the pin placement. If the pin
is in the back right hand side of the green, you will want to hit your next shot to the
left side of the fairway. If the pin is on the left side of the green you will want to
place your shot to the right side of the fairway. The idea is to have a straight shot to
the pin, on your approach, with lots of green to work with and no hazards between
you and the pin.
All golfers have heard the term "short siding yourself", that is what happens when
you set your approach shot on the same side of the fairway as the pin. You have no
green to work with and it is nearly impossible to get the ball to stop on the green.
So, next time you are approaching your approach shot, try this out. I hope this
helps.
Download February Golf Tips (pdf)
This month's tip is "Picking a line for your shot".
Some if not all of us, have a difficult time with alignment of our shots. You think
you have yourself lined up for your shot only to have it miss the target by 20 or 30
yards. It only takes inches to translate to yards once the shot is hit. There is a
simple technique that everyone can use, to reduce your wayward shots. It does
work, but only if you use it all of the time. Make it part of your routine and trust it.
I personally use it on every single shot I hit and it is part of my routine.
Whether you are approaching your next shot in the fairway or teeing the ball up on
the tee, you can use this technique. Stand 5 to 8 feet behind your ball and visualize
the line for your ball flight. In your mind, see the line a few feet in front of the ball.
Pick out a blade of grass, broken tee, a leaf or some item you can line up to. This
spot is 2 feet in front of your ball. DO NOT remove your eyes from this spot.
Address and align your ball, to the spot. Once you have addressed the ball, DO
NOT look at your target, in the distance. This will give you a false reading on your
alignment. You will then second guess your alignment and start moving your feet
and your body to compensate.
If you want to get use to this technique, try this while working on the driving range.
Stand behind each shot, pick a target, visualize the line and pick a spot 2 feet in
front of the ball. Make this part of your routine and I promise you that this will
help. But here is Beth's disclaimer; I cannot guarantee that your ball will hit its
target, if you slice, hook, chili-dip, top-it or chunk-it. Happy golfing;-}
Download March Golf Tips (pdf)
This month is “ball position in your stance”.
If you have taken a lesson or read any golf magazines, most likely you have been told about ball positioning in your stance. The long and short of it is that if the club is longer, as in your driver, it takes a longer swing path. This translates to making proper/square contact with the ball, later in your swing. In other words, it takes a longer time for your hands to come through and finish your swing. In this case, you would have the ball position forward in your stance, or closer to your left big toe, for right handed golfers. This gives you ample time to finish your swing. The principal would then apply as your clubs get shorter. The ball position would then move closer to the middle of your stance. All sounds good in theory, right???
But what I have noticed is that there is not one swing that is the same and everyone finishes their swing in a different place. So you must experiment to find your ideal ball position. You can spend a lot of money trying to change your natural swing or you can work with what you have and get some pretty good results, pretty quickly with a few tips. So here goes the tip. . . . . . . .
If you have a ball flight that consistently flies to the right, which is a slice or fade, then you may want to move the ball further forward in your stance (closer to your left foot). This will give your hands and your clubface a chance to finish and bring the ball closer to a straight flight path. You can continue to move the ball forward in your stance until you start to pull the ball left, at this point you have gone too far. I recommend that you try this little trick to either get rid of a slice or get rid of a pull. A little doe-c-doe with your ball and you will be hitting straighter and longer shots in no time. Have fun trying this out, it really does work. It’s all in the physics. Happy golfing ;-}
Download April Golf Tips (pdf)
This month, "It's the shot, not the score that counts."
The Santa Barbara Chapter returned this week from the Sectional championship in
Tucson, Arizona. We had some interesting weather to say the least. Monsoon rains
on Thursday evening that dumped 4" of rain. The Dell Urich course, that we
played, went from a hardpan send the ball anywhere you wished course, to a
narrow course with a lot of water hazards. The course proved to be interesting and
the competition went on. While speaking to players after the event, I heard low and
high handicap players make the same comment. "Boy, I was shooting for a bogey or
a par on every hole." "I could have scored a 4, if I had made that chip and instead I
took a 7."
These comments made me realize how many players keep an eye on their score
throughout the round and some times every hole. They are driven by the score.
Let's call this approach, "scorecentric".
I would like to introduce another approach to the game of golf called, "shotcentric". This concept is pretty simple and it is the approach that I take while golfing. While
contemplating your shot, focus on the type of shot you wish to make and what that
looks like. Where do you want the ball to finish? Once you have decided, use your
routine and address the ball. Focus, keep your head down and execute that perfect
golf shot. If your focus is the perfect golf shot, (and we all know what that feels
like), you will find yourself enjoying the game more and hitting better golf shots.
Get out of the habit of adding your score as you go. Add at the end of the round.
If you execute the perfect golf shot, every time you address the ball, the score with
take care of it self. "Hit perfect golf shots and the score will come."
Download July Golf Tips (pdf)
by Beth Rinehold
June 2009
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