Golf Tip

Golf Drill: Making Solid Contact

/ The Grateful Golfer / 5 Comments

Solid, consistent contact between the ball and the club face is paramount to great golf. I am always looking for new and innovative drills to share with The Grateful Golfer Community! Additionally, I think it is important that the drills are easy to duplicate and provide immediate feedback to the player.

At Golfshake.com, Steve Astle of the East Midlands Golf Academy talks though a drill that you can use on the practice ground to help you improve your ball striking. This drill improves the consistency of your ball striking making sure create a quality contact with the ball every time.

This is a great drill for me to use during my practice sessions in the spring of 2016. I have never used impact tape before and for the life of me cannot understand why! Before I rush out and buy some, have anyone of you used impact tape before? If so, are you pro or con?

I am a grateful golfer! See you on the links!

Golf Tip: Eliminating Trouble off the Tee

/ The Grateful Golfer / 8 Comments

Roundel Glen 06 Jul 14 (4)In my earlier golfing career, my biggest challenge in my game was staying in play off the tee. I have always hit the ball straight, yet my game continued to be hindered by poor tee shots. This frustrating challenge actually prevented me from maintaining a single digit handicap. Not knowing what to do, I ask the Club Pro, Gary Corriveau at Circle Pines Golf Course in Borden, Ontario.

Gary was always a great resource of information. He was approachable and always had time for players who had questions about improving their golf game. I remember talking to him about a particular hole at Circle Pine and explained my challenges off the tee. After listening to my diatribe, he patiently explained about teeing up on the side of the potential hazard; to avoid the potential hazard.

Gary explained how I would naturally adjust my alignment to avoid the hazard. He took 5 minutes to show me how my set up changed without me thinking about the potential challenges that faced me off the tee.

I have used and expanded this lesson over the years. I expanded this tip to include how I am hitting the ball on any given day. If I am pushing the ball (for some unknown reason) I tee it up on the right side of the tee box. This, without thinking too much, forces me to aim left to allow for my swing flaw. It opposite applies if I am pulling the ball.

Here is what Hank Haney has to say:

Adjusting where you stand on the tee box to avoid potential hazards is one of fundamental steps to great course management. Taking the time to understand your natural swing and using the above tip will also help. Course management is not just about club selection; it also deals with how to avoid trouble before you start. Standing on the right side of the tee box to avoid the potential hazards on the course will help lower your scores and reduce your frustration while looping the links.

I am a grateful golfer! See you on the links!

Golf Tip: Putting to Lower Scores

/ The Grateful Golfer / 8 Comments

Putting is the cornerstone of low golf scores. There is no golfer, amateur or professional, who has not questioned, dissected, or overhauled their putting stroke. As a golfing fanatic, who is always trying to expand my golf knowledge, I like to ask golf questions to, well, anyone who will listen.

A couple of years ago, I penned a 5 part series on how to putt. It dealt with several different parts of golfing and I think they are still valid. If you are interested, click here to start at Part 1.

So, here was my question from a couple of days ago:

I have to say I was a bit surprised by the results. I have always been taught to roll the ball 8 inches past the hole. Putting 8 inches past the hole will make sure, more often than not, that the ball will drop, but not so fast as to stay out if the center of gravity of the ball is on the inside of the lip of the cup.

Putting is a tough skill to master in golf!

Putting is a tough skill to master in golf!

There are many different views on putting. The 17-inch rule by Dave Pelz has guided many amateur golfers through the years. Personally, I find hitting the ball almost 2 feet past the hole a bit too aggressive for my game.

Other pundits recommend that just dropping the ball in the cup is the way to go. I find that by trying to hit the ball so it just drops in, my putt generally ends up short. There is nothing wrong with this approach, but the yips become more of an issue when I am putting tentatively.

The consensus from my Twitter question suggests that dropping the ball in the hole is what works for most of the respondents. Ultimately, it is up to the player and what they find most comfortable. personally, I am sticking to putting the ball 8-inches past the hole.

I would be interested in what your preference is: past the hole or just in?

I am a grateful golfer! See you on the links!

Golf Tip: Keeping your Head Still!

/ The Grateful Golfer / 6 Comments

Recently, I placed an image on Instagram with a caption: “keeping your head down through the entire golf swing is important for consistent low scores.” It was a quick note and I originally thought it was grammatically correct and to the point.

After a short while, Rick Williams from mindbodygolf, a valued member of the Grateful Golfer Community, suggested that keeping your head ‘still’ instead of ‘down’ was the correct message for a consistent golf swing and lower scores. His suggestion started me thinking and wondering if his suggestion of keeping our head still was indeed the correct message.

After much thought, I agree with Rick. To prove this change in wording to myself, I actually grabbed a club and swung it about 25 times. Through the entire process I focused on the position of my head and whether it stayed in the same position through my entire swing. This is what I found out:

  • My head is in the center of my stance during set up
  • My head shifts towards my back foot slightly during my back swing. Additionally, my head turns slightly to the right to make room for my left shoulder at the top of my back swing
  • As my down swing starts, my head returned to the middle of my stance, but remained behind the ball through impact
  • On contact, my head is still and centered until my right shoulder pushes my head to look for the ball

My conclusion about Rick’s comments is that my head does need to stay still, but does slide during my golf swing. An important message to follow this diatribe is that my head stays on the same plane and does not bounce up and down like a bobblehead.

Thanks Rick, my new message to all golfers is to of “keeping your head still through the entire golf swing is important for consistent low scores.”

I am a grateful golfer! See you on the links!

Golf Tip – Marking Your Ball on the Green

/ The Grateful Golfer / Leave a comment

Marking your ball on the green is as important as making coffee in the morning! There is a procedure to each that if performed properly can have a positive impact on your day. For most of us, marking your ball is a routine action that we give very little thought to when playing.

Here is all the basic details on how and why marking your ball is important:

As I reviewed the video, I was surprised by the first statement about one ball striking another on the green.  So I checked the rules and this is what I found:

Rule 19-5a. If a player’s ball in motion after a stroke is deflected or stopped by a ball in play and at rest, the player must play his ball as it lies. In match play, there is no penalty. In stroke play, there is no penalty, unless both balls lay on the putting green prior to the stroke, in which case the player incurs a penalty of two strokes.

I did not know this rule! During a competition I always mark my ball, so this rule would never apply. However, during our weekly matches we often leave our ball unmarked while one of us is putting. Well, I will stop that practice immediately.

On a side note, I always thank the player for moving his marker. It is my way of reminding the player to move it back. I realize that it could be construed as aiding another player, but I guess in the big scheme of things, I would rather win by shooting a lower score, not by the player incurring a needless penalty!

I am grateful golfer! See you on the links!