Tuesday, March 19, 2019

How A Doorframe Can Help Your Golf Swing

By Keely Levins

Learn how to turn back, not sway.

Let’s talk about hip turn. James Kinney, one of our Golf Digest Best Young Teachers and Director of Instruction at GolfTec Omaha, says that from the data GolfTec has collected, they’ve found lower handicap golfers have a more centered lower body at the top of the swing. Meaning, they don’t sway.

If you’re swaying off the ball, you’re moving yourself off of your starting position. The low point of your swing moves back when you sway back, so you’re going to have to shift forward to get your club to bottom out where the ball is. That takes a lot of timing, and is going to end up producing some ugly shots.

So, instead, Kinney says you should turn.

“When turning your hips, you are able to stay more centered over the golf ball in your backswing and the low point of your swing stays in the proper position, resulting in consistent contact.”

To practice turning, Kinney says to set up in a doorway. Have your back foot against the doorframe. When you make your lower body move back, your hip will hit the door fame if you’re swaying. If you’re turning, your hips are safe from hitting the frame.

Remember that feeling of turning when you’re on the course and your ball striking is going to get a whole lot more consistent.

Source: Golf Digest

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Saturday, March 9, 2019

Rules Guy: What happens if I lose the ball I just marked?

The Rules of Golf are tricky! Thankfully, we’ve got the guru. Our Rules Guy knows the book front to back. Got a question? He’s got all the answers.

After marking ball on green and picking up ball, golfer or caddie drops ball, which rolls into water hazard, not retrievable. Replacement ball of exact brand and kind not available. What is penalty and how to continue?
—EARL HUSBAND, ODESSA, TEXAS

Ball lifted from putting green must be replaced. Must be exact ball. If not same ball, make/model no matter—substituting ball without authority under Rules. Two strokes or loss of hole is penalty. Also, One Ball Condition of Competition only encouraged for pros. Top-tier amateurs, too. Not for club play. Suggest: Grip ball tight!

Source: Golf.com

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Monday, March 4, 2019

New Golf Rules Strike Again As Golfer Assessed Penalty

Adam Schenk assessed with 2-stroke penalty for caddie error at Honda Classic

Adam Schenk was assessed a two-stroke penalty for a rules violation that occurred in the second round of the Honda Classic when his caddie stood behind him once he was in his stance on the 17th hole.

The penalty announced Saturday afternoon changes the bogey Schenk recorded on the par-3 17th on Friday to a triple-bogey.

Schenk finished the second round 1-over 71 with four birdies and two other bogeys on the fifth and sixth holes.

The PGA Tour released a statement Saturday announcing the decision and explaining of why Schenk was penalized for violating Rule 10.2b.

“The penalty occurred as a result of Adam’s caddie standing behind him once he took his stance, but not taking any action subsequently that would absolve him of penalty, for example backing out of his stance,” the statement read in part.

Schenk was tied for eighth place through four holes in the third round when the penalty was announced.

The PGA’s full statement on Schenk’s violation can be read below:

pic.twitter.com/yzVPZqg8J7

— PGA TOUR Communications (@PGATOURComms) March 2, 2019

Golf’s new rules, which include the one Schenk and his caddie were judged to have violated, have been criticized by fans and players since they went into effect Jan. 1.

Justin Thomas, who finished the third round at the Honda Classic 3-under 67, came to Schenk’s defense on Twitter shortly after the infraction was announced Saturday.

In January Haotong Li became the first player penalized under the new rule regarding caddies and alignment. He was hit with a two-shot penalty at the Dubai Desert Classic when his caddie was ruled to have been standing behind him while Li was putting on the 18th green in the final round. European Tour chief Keith Pelley called the rule “grossly unfair” at the time.

One of the most well-known challengers to the new rules is Rickie Fowler, who was penalized one stroke for violating the knee-high drop rule during last week’s WGC-Mexico Championship.

A photo was taken of Fowler mocking the rule Thursday at the Honda Classic as he squat down, held the golf ball behind his back and joking asked an official if he was following the new rule correctly.

This is the appropriate drop form, as demonstrated by @RickieFowler @NoLayingUp @the_woke_yolk pic.twitter.com/Hjh5PvgUTm

— Ryan John Kennedy (@kennedyryanj) February 28, 2019

Source: USA TODAY Sports

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Saturday, March 2, 2019

Introducing our NEW Thursday Golf League!

Friday, March 1, 2019

Take a ‘lie-detector’ test to improve your short game by Dave Pelz

BY DAVE PELZ

One of the things that separates Tour players from the rest of us is that the former are intimately familiar with their games. They know how different shots will unfold regardless of where the ball is sitting, especially around the green (where difficult lies abound). Not surprisingly, that’s where weekend players tend to cough up strokes.

There are four parts to every short-game shot. Failing in any area will almost surely lead to a poor result.

They are:

1. Judging the lie.

2. Selecting a club.

3. Predicting how the ball will react when it lands.

4. Executing the swing.

This article addresses the first — and perhaps the most important — part of the shot equation. If you can’t pull off good shots from bad lies, you’ll never reach your scoring goals.

In my opinion, the only way to develop this skill is through experience. Pros have the advantage of unlimited practice time, but you can begin to catch up with a simple three-shot experiment that I use in my schools. Its entire purpose is to open your eyes to the various backspin outcomes that can be created by the type of lie you’re facing.

For this “Backspin vs. Lie” experiment, you’ll need your lob wedge, a tee and three balls. Select a 20- to 30-yard shot around a green that forces you to carry a bunker but that provides plenty of room between the apron and the pin. Drop one ball into the rough, another into a normal fairway lie, and tee up the third so it’s about a half-inch above the grass (photo, above). The goal is to land all three shots in the same place on the green, about a third of the way from the edge to the flagstick. (Repeat any shot that misses the landing spot.)

Once you’re successful from all three lies, check the results, which should look something like what’s pictured in the photo at right. What you’ll notice is that the shot from the rough rolled out the farthest — the mass of grass that wedged its way between the ball and the clubface at impact killed most of the backspin. The shot from the fairway stopped short of the first, even though it landed in the same spot. That’s because you generated much more backspin due to the cleaner lie. And for the teed-up third ball, which had zero grass on the clubface to interfere with contact, you created max backspin and stopped the ball almost immediately after it hit the green.

Of course, you never get to tee up your wedge shots, but that’s not the point. What this exercise teaches is how lie effects spin, and that controlling spin is the trick to hitting short shots close. It’s an invaluable lesson. Try it from different distances using different wedges. The experience will turn you into a cagey vet in no time.

Source: Golf.com

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