The Sand Trap .com

“Casting” is releasing the club from the top of the swing. Your wrists unhinge early, and your club resembles a fishing rod “casting” a lure to a pond behind you. Casting results in loss of power and accuracy.

To stop casting, think of your body as a hurricane. Your arms are like the outward arms and your body the middle of the storm. As the head stays still (the eye of the hurricane), the body uncoils. The arms follow behind but at extremely high velocities. Your upper body effectively pulls your arms and thus, the club, into the ball.

This tip was inspired by the January 1 entry in Bill Kroen’s “Golf Tip a Day” calendar. He’s also written a book, which you can find at Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, and other book retailers.

From this weekend’s telecast of the Mercedes Championships comes a fantastic, yet simple tip – a wider putting stance helps to keep one’s balance in windy conditions.

For the pros playing last week and for those going to the Sony Open this coming weekend in Honolulu, windy conditions are the norm. The trade winds (from the northeast) and the kona winds (from the southwest) are typically 5-15 miles per hour. When bad weather arrives, usually indicated by the kona winds, it can get even worse. Even placing your ball on the green and getting it to stay put can be difficult at times.

So in those times of increased breeziness, open your stance a few inches or more. The last thing you want to do is fall over on a putt.

Today’s Tip of the Day is actually several, and it’s brought to you by MJ of MJ on Golf. Here is a sampling:

• The 4C chain of golf – Consistency, Concentration, Confidence and Commitment. All are related and if any one weakens, your game falls apart.
• Single-Axis golf is much easier to learn and allows one to reach their potential faster.
• The timing and tempo required to shoot par using the traditional finger grip swing is beyond the genetic capabilities of the vast majority of golfers.
• “I want to be like Moe.”
• If you have to think about your swing while on the course you haven’t practiced enough.

And, finally…

• Beware of the tip mongers. Their tips are often based on their perception, not reality, and can be contradictory to your game.

Check out the complete list at mjongolf.com.

Whenever you talk to a PGA Tour player about the shots they play, undoubtedly they’ll mention that they look at the lie of the ball before doing anything else in determining shot selection. Is the ball sitting up? Sitting down? Sidehill? Is there a tuft of grass beside the ball? Did I land in a divot? Is the grass thin here? Is the ball resting on some hardpan?

Amateur players rarely consider their lie until they’ve gotten into their pre-shot routine and addressed the ball. At that point it’s far too late to make any decisions or changes. I know of some amateurs who determine their next shot before the ball even comes to rest from the previous swing!

Start every, and I do mean every analysis of the proper shot selection with an inspection of the lie. The quality of the grass, the height of the ball, the cleanliness of the ball (any mud on it?), and innumerable other factors have a great impact on the type of shot you can play.