Ball Position

Correct ball position is critical to good ball striking.

Setup is many things, and one of the most important of those is ball position. The ball, on woods and irons, should be positioned at different points in the swing relative to the bottom of the swing. This differs from player to player, but is typically centered to about three inches ahead of center. The shorter the club, the closer to center the ball is positioned.

To determine your correct ball position:

  1. Place two clubs on the ground forming a letter “t,” with one club parallel to your target and one perpendicular.
  2. Stand against the club parallel to the target line.
  3. Put the perpendicular one in the center of your stance.

    4. Start with the ball at center and move the ball forward between ¼ and ½ inch as you move down through your irons and woods. When you get to your driver, the ball should be three to four inches forward.

Run this simple drill every few weeks to stay in tune.

Isabelle Beisiegel Fails PGA Tour Qualifier

Coming in last among those who played all four rounds, Isabelle Beisiegel fails PGA Q-school.

Isabelle BeisiegelIsabelle Beisiegel failed to qualify for the PGA Tour this weekend at the Greg Norman Course at PGA West in La Quinta, CA. Beisiegel shot rounds of 84, 80, 80 and 79 for a 35-over-par 323 which placed her last among 78 golfers playing all four rounds. Seven golfers withdrew from the tournament.

After her relatively poor performance, however, Isabelle was disappointed, but not discouraged. “The biggest thing I am going to take away from this week is that strength and length were not a factor,” she said. “I already knew that, but now I have proof.”

Beisiegel, a native of Canada who played golf at the University of Oklahoma, said failing to qualify this year won’t stop her from trying the process next year or trying some one-day qualifying events for PGA Tour stops in 2005.

Tee Height

Experiment with your tee height to improve your shotmaking.

Yesterday I played 18 holes of golf on a 9-hole course. On the eighth hole, a 169-yard par three, I played a regular 6-iron that landed beside the hole and stopped rolling 25 feet away. The second time I played the hole, I teed the ball up higher to promote a higher, softer shot. The ball landed in nearly the same place, but stopped after rolling just ten feet.

Tee height can influence your driver and 3W as well. With your woods (or whatever they’re called these days!?), teeing the ball higher promotes a draw, while teeing the ball lower promotes a fade.

Experiment with tee height and you’ll improve your shotmaking.

Use the Whole Tee

Use the whole tee box to maximize your chances for a good shot.

The 156-yard par-three fourth hole drives you nuts. You hit your 8-iron 150 and your 7-iron 165: what club do you use? You factor the wind, the pin position, and you’re almost sure that you can hit your 7-iron, but you still think it’ll go too far. This is a time to use your noggin – and the rules – to your advantage.

The teeing box is as wide as the tee markers and two clubs (your longest club) deep. Tee the ball back two clublengths to more closely approach your 7I distance, and position the ball to the left or right to hit into whatever breeze might exist to take a bit of distance off. Then, swing with confidence!

Keep it Shut

We take a break to offer you words of advice: finding someone who cares about your golf game is difficult!

Today’s tip is very simple: keep your mouth shut. Very rarely does anyone want to hear about your golf game. Today’s tip is a humorous one from Dilbert.

Of course, the folks on this site are a rare exception! We love to talk about golf!

Awareness and Creativity

Good players use creativity and awareness of the situation to their advantage on the course.

I was late in watching The Big Break II on the Golf Channel again this week. These baseball playoff games lasting until midnight and later are killing me and my regular viewing schedule. Anyhow, I wanted to note something about this week’s competition. My absolute favorite challenge so far in this whole series was the elimination challenge from this episode.

Continue reading “Awareness and Creativity”

Putt Aerified Greens

Putt on aerified greens to groove a smooth-rolling stroke.

In the fall, many courses aerify their greens. Little (or not so little) holes are punched all over the place. Good putters still putt well on aerified greens, their balls seeming to float over the holes. Bad putters become worse.

What makes for a good putter on aerified greens? Find out. Your putting stroke on smooth greens will improve as well.

The Never Ending Season

Ernie Els is upset with Tim Finchem over the “never-ending PGA Tour season.”

A good read over at GolfToday concerning the never-ending PGA Tour “season.” A juicy little tidbit from the article reports how the Tour office sent Ernie Els a letter imploring him to cease his globetrotting ways. Needless to say, The Big Easy is pretty pissed off about it.

Way to alienate one of your top draws Finchem.

Wedge Distance

Pitching drills help you learn distance control.

You’ve got a 35-yard wedge shot, but have no idea how hard to hit your wedge. If you don’t have the time to apply the Dave Pelz school of thought here (four different swings, four different wedges, 16 distances), then there’s another way to help develop the feel necessary for these shorter shots.

Start with your highest wedge, and hit a ball about ten yards. Try to land your next shot with the same club on top of the ball you just hit. Try to land your next shot on top of the second ball. Keep working your way out until you reach about a 3/4 swing, then drop down to your next club and start over again. Work your way through the clubs you typically pitch or chip with and you’re well on your way towards learning the feel for your wedges.