Category: Playing Tips

After receiving a bright pink iPod for the holidays this year, I was unable to decide how it could enhance my life. “Just another electronic toy,” I said to myself, kind of like my digicam or my new picture-taking LG cell phone. It stayed in the box for almost a week before I attached it to my iMac and diligently began to load it with several hundred songs.

Because of their intuitive interface and small size, iPod minis and iPod shuffles are easy to use while exercising. When listening to my iPod over watching the news, I seem to have more stamina. With my favorite tunes playing in my ears, I remain on the elliptical trainer 15 minutes longer and am not as tired when I’m through. I stand up straighter, pulling my shoulders back confidently while strutting my stuff through the weight room. I now look forward to exercising, as long as my iPod is sufficiently charged.

Of course, taking my iPod to the gym is an obvious use. But I wondered: could it also help me improve my golf game?

Continue reading “The iPod: My Key to Breaking 80?”

A ball sitting way down in deep rough may be one of the most disheartening sights in all of golf. This is a tricky shot because it is one of the few times in golf where power is really required. The most important thing to do is play smart. If the green is 200 yards away and you’re not confident hitting your 4-iron, it’s time to lay up. Also, remember that the ball will come out hot due to the low trajectory and lack of spin, so plan for some extra roll.

Now, set up with the ball slightly back in your stance. Take a ¾ back swing, and shift your weight hard to your left leg. A strong weight shift helps gain club head speed, ensures your hands will be ahead of the ball on impact, and helps achieve a low, boring trajectory. Thick rough will grab at the clubs hozel and try to close the face. So, to prevent a snap hook, be sure to hold onto the finish, no wrist movement through impact (like a chip). This will keep the clubface open as long as possible. With these steps in mind, getting out of thick rough will be a walk in the park!

Photo Credit: © Sign On San Diego.

You’ve pushed your approach shot and now you’re in a dreaded greenside bunker. To make matters worse, the sand is wet and firm. There are so many options: do you open the blade or close the blade, hit closer to the ball or further away?

Instead of automatically reaching for your 56° sand wedge, try your pitching wedge. The key to playing from wet or very firm sand is picking the ball as cleanly as possible. Think shallow swing and little divot.

Continue reading “Firm Sand? Pitch Your Way Out”

Grip strength can mean one of two things, either how tightly or loosely you hold a club or where your hands are positioned on the club. Finger strength is another thing entirely.

It used to be that after a long session on the range, my hands would be rather tired. While we only take 30 to 50 strokes on the golf course (putts don’t quite count), it’s not uncommon to take 100 to 200 (or more) strokes on the driving range when working on an issue.

Continue reading “Finger Strength”

We’ve all heard the axiom “practice makes perfect,” and so in an effort to improve our swings, we head to the driving range, armed with a jumbo bucket (or two) of range balls. And often we get so engrossed in hitting ball after ball that we lose track of time. But not in the usual sense. Typically, losing track of time means you took too long, but in this case it means not taking enough time.

As yourself, have you ever emptied your bucket(s) of range balls and asked yourself “where did they all go?” If so, you are probably not taking enough time to focus on each shot. We all know that focusing is important during a round, but we often forget that taking enough time to properly visualize each shot on the range is just as important. Spending more time and effort on each ball will yield greater results, making the improvements in your swing more permanent.

Next time you head to the range, get fewer range balls to hit, but spend more time on each one. You may be surprised to find out that less is more.

Gusty conditions can make for a heck of a challenge on the golf course. However, with a little understanding, you can learn to read the wind gusts to hit shots when they’re most likely to be unaffected.

As a general rule, gusts of wind last for about 750 to 1200 feet and can continue quite a bit longer. If you’re hitting into a headwind, it’s possible to choose an appropriate time. As a 25 MPH gust slackens against a flag 100 yards away, it will blow past you within about ten seconds. Because wind affects a ball dramatically more so towards the end of a ball’s flight than at the beginning, the ideal time to hit the ball is about six to seven seconds after you feel the gust. If you wait too long, the conditions may be still where you are, but another gust may have started by the time your ball reaches the peak of its flight.

Learn to read the gusts – and use the above as a general starting point – and you’ll score better in the wind.

The Golf Channel last night showed Dr. Gio Valiante, a regular guest on the show and the man behind fearlessgolf.net.

Last night, Gio was talking about the stress response as manifested by anger over a bad shot. Anger all too frequently forces itself upon us in the form of stress. Though some great players have found ways to make anger motivational, it’s rare. More frequently, anger turns on the stress response – mentally and physically – and bad play continues.

Gio’s suggestion? Laugh. Yawn. Make a silly sound. Do something to counter the stress response with the relaxation response. Stretch. Anything – relax yourself. You’ll free yourself from the grips of stress and put yourself in a better position to focus on the next shot.

When you watch professional golf on television, you’ll see players crouch behind their ball on the green, cup their hands over the sides of their face, and read the putt. On the tees, you’ll see players holding a club on the line of their shot. In the fairway, you’ll see players take practice swings or abbreviated backswings.

They’re reminding themselves to focus.

Part of a consistent pre-shot routine is the reminder that you “kick in” to focus. The golfer cupping his hands over the sides of his face is blocking out distractions, focusing on the line of the putt. Lining your shaft up with your target may serve as the reminder visualize the shot. Taking practice swings reminds a player to focus on the sidehill lie she’s facing.

Incorporate a “focus key” – something small that serves as your reminder to focus. It may be something small – wiggling your toes in your shoes as you stand behind the ball – or something larger – revising your pre-shot routine to incorporate time for visualization. Just focus.

The right knee is perhaps one of the most misunderstood parts in a golf swing. Visit any public course and you’re bound to see golfers of all ages, shapes, and sizes doing everything they can to abuse their golf swings by changing the bend in their back knee.

Today’s Swing Tip is this: your right knee bend stays about the same throughout the swing, right up until your heel comes off the ground towards the end of the follow through. On the backswing, you load up onto a coiled right side. You don’t straighten the knee, nor do you squat. On the downswing, the left knee separates from the right knee a little to start the weight shift forward.

Practice swinging your arms back and through in your living room, focusing on keeping the right knee flexed throughout.