Joe,
What is the most important move a golfer can make during a golf swing?
Ira
Hello Ira,
If I tell you, I will have to shoot you. Oh, all right, here it is, early Merry Christmas. You will get a lot of different opinions on this question, but here’s mine. On the downswing, move your back elbow to your hip before you strike the ball. This one move will help other good things to happen, without even having to think about them all. It helps your lower body weight shift from the right leg to the left leg. It promotes a proper swing path, which is a little bit inside out. It helps you to hit downward at the ball. It helps you to delay the wrist break until you really need it, like the power of a whip. Watch the slow motion replays of the pros on TV, and you will see they all do this elbow move, no matter how different their swings otherwise may look.
Joe,
Why do pros preach fundamentals, yet their swings all look different?
Alan
Hi Al,
There is a difference between fundamentals (what everyone should do) and mannerisms (individual peculiarities). Most of the mannerisms occur on the backswing, because the backswing’s only purpose is to arrive at a strong hitting position at the top, and if you can do that it may not matter how you get there (right, Jim Furyk fans?). From there, the fundamentals take over, and the downswing happens so quickly that you may not notice the pros’ similarities (lower body weight shift and moving the back elbow in front of the hip before ball contact). Once the ball is struck, the differences in the follow thru positions again are mostly mannerisms (right, Arnold Palmer fans?).
Joe
Joe,
Do you think swing aid devices are any good? I have tried a few and they did not help much. Also they are rather expensive. What do you think?
Elbie
Hi Elbie,
Some folks claim they help, but I would rather spend my money on greens fees.
Here are 4 swing aids you can buy really cheap at your local hardware store
1. Get a good sized hammer with a grip about the same size as your club grips. With this you can work on your swing indoors without hitting the ceiling. The weight of the hammer head will simulate the weight of a clubhead.
2. Get an ordinary yardstick to use as a putting aid. There are a number of things you can do with this. First, pick a target and get into your normal putting setup and have someone else place the yardstick flat on the ground flush against the face of your putter, then stand back and see if the yardstick is properly aimed at your target. Most people are consistently off to one side. Then step back and aim the yardstick at the target and line up your putter face flush against the edge of the yardstick, and you will be aiming properly (does it look right or wrong when you stand over the ball?). Then replace the yardstick with a ball and putt the ball at the target. Most people again are off consistently to one side, but it helps to understand your tendencies. Another thing you can do with the yardstick is to view your stroke directly over the yardstick to see how steady your stroke is compared to the target line.
3. Get piece of PVC pipe, diameter 3 / 4 inch, 18 inches long. On any smooth rug (or actual putting green), try to putt the pipe in a straight line. If your putting stroke is faulty, the pipe will spin. The direction of the spin tells you if your stroke tends to push or pull the putt.
4. Get a foot-long piece of soft pipe insulation tubing that has a slit on the side. Wrap this around your putter grip and have a contest to see if you putt better with a thicker grip. The theory is that any unwanted hand rotation during the stroke will translate into the face of the putter moving off square. The amount of this movement off square is reduced with a fatter grip due to the ratio of hand movement to the circumference of the grip. This may also improve your chipping as well because it reduces unwanted wrist action on the downstroke.
Sunday, July 06, 2008
Joe,
I hit some of my clubs great, and others not so great, is it my clubs or the way I swing?
Harry
Hi Harry,
Sometimes I see people trying to change their swings just because they are having trouble with one or two of their clubs, even when they are hitting the rest of their clubs OK. Being able to hit most of your clubs OK is an indication that their swing is not that bad. Changing your swing to fit a certain club (especially drivers) could be a big mistake, a never-ending battle. There are many variables in clubhead shapes, weight, lie angles, shaft length and flex, grip sizes, etc., and the way all these factors come together can cause different behaviors from club to club, even in a matched set because of tolerance buildup. Keep the clubs that you hit well, and experiment with other clubs to replace your “trouble” clubs. You might even consider taking your best-performing clubs to a pro shop to have the specs measured, which will give you a basis for good decisions on getting other clubs if you can afford them. Borrow from your friends and try their clubs on the range. Visit some stores that allow you to try demo clubs. Some stores will allow you to try demo clubs out of the store with no commitment if they don’t meet your satisfaction. Try to attend “Demo Days” at ranges whenever they are advertised, because they will let you hit a variety of their clubs free of charge, and compare the results you get from different shaft types, flexes, lengths, swingweights, and other specs. Give yourself the best chance to succeed, before you try a swing change that may be unnecessary.
Joe
Joe,
There are so many styles to grip a putter. Which is the best putting grip to use?
Greg
Hi Greg,
There are many acceptable grips to choose from. The most popular is the reverse-overlap, but you can also try regular overlap, ten-finger, stronger left hand control, stronger right hand control, shoulder control, and the “claw” (different variations used by Mark Calcavecchia and Chris DiMarco). One way to test what is best for you is to use a square tiled floor as a guide. Using a putter that has an aiming line on top, position that line along a floor tile line and take a stroke, while watching how the line on the putter follows the tile line. Whatever grip/stroke keeps you closest to the tile line may be best for you. It is normal for the backswing and the follow to travel slightly inside the tile line. The next step is to place a ball along the tile line and see if your stroke can keep the ball rolling along the tile line. You may be surprised to find that you have a tendency to pull or push your putts. If you cannot keep the putts straight along the tile line, then try to keep the putter square to the hole all during the follow-thru. Have another person behind you to verify whether or not you are pulling or pushing your stroke off line. Also where the tile lines intersect, you can use the vertical tile line to check that your clubface alignment is perpendicular to the target line. First hide the tile line with a piece of paper, address the ball, and have someone pull out the piece of paper. You might be surprised to find you were not as correctly aligned as you had assumed.
Joe
Joe,
What is the logic behind the old saying that a Harder Swing can result in Less Distance?
Herb
Hi Herb,
A harder swing has less chance of hitting the “sweet spot” on your clubface. An easy swing that hits the sweet spot will send the ball farther than a hard swing that misses the sweet spot. It stands to reason that an easy swing will hit the sweet spot far more often than a harder swing. A hard swing may also cause improper weight shifting, which may reduce your clubhead speed. Proper weight shift from the top of the backswing starts going from the back foot to the front foot before the downswing begins, setting up the power of a whip without extra effort. Annika Sorenstam does this perfectly.
Clubhead speed at impact is the sum of arm swing and wrist snap. A hard swing usually starts the wrist action too soon when the downswing begins, so there is no more acceleration added from the wrist by the time the clubhead gets to the ball, resulting an “all arms” swing and slower clubhead speed. For maximum distance, you must save the wrist action until just before impact. This is best demonstrated with a ping pong ball and paddle. How far can you hit the ping pong ball with an all-arms swing compared to using both arms and wrist? Watch the slow motion replays of the pros on TV, and you will see the wrist snap is held back until the last possible instant. That is why most of the pros may look like they are swinging very easy, but they still generate a lot of clubhead speed with that last-second wrist snap.
Joe
Joe,
Why do water hazards sometimes have red stakes and sometimes yellow?
Yali
Hello Yali,
If the stakes are red, it is a Lateral hazard so you can drop near the point where the ball entered the water. If the stakes are yellow, you have to drop BEHIND the spot where the ball entered the water, along the line to the hole. Let’s say you are playing on the west coast and you hit a ball in the ocean, you might have to drop in Australia if it were not for the lateral hazard rule which uses red stakes. If it were up to me, I would change the wording of the rule to get rid of the phrase “behind the spot” to allow dropping at the nearest relief point no closer to the hole, then we would not need two separate rules. For the benefit of Purists who object to my reasoning, I would take away the lateral rule and make the Purists drop in Australia.
Joe
I hit some of my clubs great, and others not so great, is it my clubs or the way I swing?
Harry
Hi Harry,
Sometimes I see people trying to change their swings just because they are having trouble with one or two of their clubs, even when they are hitting the rest of their clubs OK. Being able to hit most of your clubs OK is an indication that their swing is not that bad. Changing your swing to fit a certain club (especially drivers) could be a big mistake, a never-ending battle. There are many variables in clubhead shapes, weight, lie angles, shaft length and flex, grip sizes, etc., and the way all these factors come together can cause different behaviors from club to club, even in a matched set because of tolerance buildup. Keep the clubs that you hit well, and experiment with other clubs to replace your “trouble” clubs. You might even consider taking your best-performing clubs to a pro shop to have the specs measured, which will give you a basis for good decisions on getting other clubs if you can afford them. Borrow from your friends and try their clubs on the range. Visit some stores that allow you to try demo clubs. Some stores will allow you to try demo clubs out of the store with no commitment if they don’t meet your satisfaction. Try to attend “Demo Days” at ranges whenever they are advertised, because they will let you hit a variety of their clubs free of charge, and compare the results you get from different shaft types, flexes, lengths, swingweights, and other specs. Give yourself the best chance to succeed, before you try a swing change that may be unnecessary.
Joe
Joe,
There are so many styles to grip a putter. Which is the best putting grip to use?
Greg
Hi Greg,
There are many acceptable grips to choose from. The most popular is the reverse-overlap, but you can also try regular overlap, ten-finger, stronger left hand control, stronger right hand control, shoulder control, and the “claw” (different variations used by Mark Calcavecchia and Chris DiMarco). One way to test what is best for you is to use a square tiled floor as a guide. Using a putter that has an aiming line on top, position that line along a floor tile line and take a stroke, while watching how the line on the putter follows the tile line. Whatever grip/stroke keeps you closest to the tile line may be best for you. It is normal for the backswing and the follow to travel slightly inside the tile line. The next step is to place a ball along the tile line and see if your stroke can keep the ball rolling along the tile line. You may be surprised to find that you have a tendency to pull or push your putts. If you cannot keep the putts straight along the tile line, then try to keep the putter square to the hole all during the follow-thru. Have another person behind you to verify whether or not you are pulling or pushing your stroke off line. Also where the tile lines intersect, you can use the vertical tile line to check that your clubface alignment is perpendicular to the target line. First hide the tile line with a piece of paper, address the ball, and have someone pull out the piece of paper. You might be surprised to find you were not as correctly aligned as you had assumed.
Joe
Joe,
What is the logic behind the old saying that a Harder Swing can result in Less Distance?
Herb
Hi Herb,
A harder swing has less chance of hitting the “sweet spot” on your clubface. An easy swing that hits the sweet spot will send the ball farther than a hard swing that misses the sweet spot. It stands to reason that an easy swing will hit the sweet spot far more often than a harder swing. A hard swing may also cause improper weight shifting, which may reduce your clubhead speed. Proper weight shift from the top of the backswing starts going from the back foot to the front foot before the downswing begins, setting up the power of a whip without extra effort. Annika Sorenstam does this perfectly.
Clubhead speed at impact is the sum of arm swing and wrist snap. A hard swing usually starts the wrist action too soon when the downswing begins, so there is no more acceleration added from the wrist by the time the clubhead gets to the ball, resulting an “all arms” swing and slower clubhead speed. For maximum distance, you must save the wrist action until just before impact. This is best demonstrated with a ping pong ball and paddle. How far can you hit the ping pong ball with an all-arms swing compared to using both arms and wrist? Watch the slow motion replays of the pros on TV, and you will see the wrist snap is held back until the last possible instant. That is why most of the pros may look like they are swinging very easy, but they still generate a lot of clubhead speed with that last-second wrist snap.
Joe
Joe,
Why do water hazards sometimes have red stakes and sometimes yellow?
Yali
Hello Yali,
If the stakes are red, it is a Lateral hazard so you can drop near the point where the ball entered the water. If the stakes are yellow, you have to drop BEHIND the spot where the ball entered the water, along the line to the hole. Let’s say you are playing on the west coast and you hit a ball in the ocean, you might have to drop in Australia if it were not for the lateral hazard rule which uses red stakes. If it were up to me, I would change the wording of the rule to get rid of the phrase “behind the spot” to allow dropping at the nearest relief point no closer to the hole, then we would not need two separate rules. For the benefit of Purists who object to my reasoning, I would take away the lateral rule and make the Purists drop in Australia.
Joe
