A tip that worked!

[LegalEagle]

I used to golf fairly regularly. In fact on was on the varsity golf team in high school. But that was the last time I played, for five years. So far this very limited season I've had rounds of 115, 109, 91 and 90...the later two were from today. (After the 91, I had to make sure it wasn't a fluke)

It was nice playing close to what I used to play. I've always had a nice fade to the ball, but it had turned into a "nice" big slice since coming back to the game. I have this little booklet from Golf Digest called 13 ways to cure your slice. I flipped through it this morning and one of the tips stuck with me...skip stones off water and then use that feeling when you swing. It worked!

I still can't hit any of my woods and as a result I've been using my 3 iron off the tee. On the first tee today...I split the fairway and as time went on I got my little fade back. While straight was nice, I feel like the fade is more natural for me, so it is just a matter of trying to place the shot.

Just thought I would share my (hopefully continued) return to at least moderately well played golf.

Next on the to do list....hitting woods...learning to actually chip (right now i just treat it like a putter - it works sometimes)

[Knockglock]

  LegalEagle said:

I used to golf fairly regularly. In fact on was on the varsity golf team in high school. But that was the last time I played, for five years. So far this very limited season I've had rounds of 115, 109, 91 and 90...the later two were from today. (After the 91, I had to make sure it wasn't a fluke)

Skipping stones off water, thats a very interesting tip. I might try that. What exactly did it say about the skipping stones feeling?

[Jesh]

When I think about it, the only thing I can think about is the wrist hinge.

[Zeph]

Helps promote the lower body to lead, not rushing with the arms and late acceleration. To throw a ball or skip a stone or swing a golfclub is pretty much the same basic movements, it's just that we don't do it naturally with the club.

[LegalEagle]

Here's exactly what it says: "Try skipping some rocks off the surface of a pond. This action gives you the feeling of a shallower angle of attack during your golf swing - flatter to the ground and more from inside the target line."

It just helped me get the right feeling for the swing through the ball.

[LegalEagle]

  Zeph said:

Helps promote the lower body to lead, not rushing with the arms and late acceleration.

Actually...yes...exactly what I was feeling now that I think about it.

[Zeph]

Skipping stones or throwing balls, they are all great ways to get the right feelings. When on the range, I often pick up a number of pebbles, cut up pieces of wood or something of the sort which I skip into the air. I throw a couple of these objects, then pick up the club and hit a ball, trying to mimic my action from before. Everyone is able to hit a golf ball far with the proper motions, our brain is the finest machine on earth. It's just that when we get a club between the hands, all of those natural instincts fall apart. A person having a talent for the game is one I'd say is able to do this naturally. Working on squaring up the clubface is not that hard, but the fundamentals to hitting it good are all there, but we aren't able to make use of them like we do when skipping a stone.

Here's another drill I though of one day. Find a table, any table, a little lower than the height of your arms when they hang down naturally. Find a football, soft ball or something like that and place it on the table. Now, take your golf stance, you may use the left hand, right hand, or both and take a swing at the ball. Without the club, the body will know exactly how to move in order to hit the ball as far as possible. The lower body will lead, hips turn open arms stay in front of the body. You may not get a lot of use from the wrists, but the weight of the body will do the work. To get the wrists into action, hold a small blunt object to hit the ball.