Joe,
I HAVE HEARD A LOT ABOUT THE SUBJECT ...BUT NEVER AN EXPLANATION OF WHY SOME TALENTED ... BLIND GOLFERS CAN SHOOT IN THE 80s. I WILL BE INTERESTED IN YOUR COMMENTS.SINCERELY;JOHN AFFLECK

Hi John,
For those of us blessed with the gift of sight, it is hard to imagine doing anything blind, or deaf, or without one of your limbs. However, anyone who is in love with life has made up their mind that they are going to enjoy life any way that they can. Imagine yourself suffering an accident and losing your sight. You would have a choice of sitting around feeling sorry for yourself, or instead finding friends who are willing to help you maintain your love for golf by taking you to a practice green and lining you up for a putt. Imagine feeling the thrill of tapping the putt and hearing it fall into the hole. Those of us who have good sight should try closing our eyes and feeling this, not only is it pretty cool, but it also helps you concentrate on trusting a proper stroke without looking up too soon. It is said that whenever a person loses one of their senses, all the other senses compensate by becoming more keen. Then imagine you (as a blind person) are taken to a practice range where you can execute a swing without visual distractions, and feel the thrill of hitting the ball right on the sweet spot. Your friends give you feedback on the results of your shots. Then you can go onto a course and your friends can guide you the same way. If you can contact the ball cleanly every time, and your friends can make all your distance and alignment decisions for you, then it is possible that you could get no worse than a bogey on each hole, and therefore shooting in the 80’s is within the realm of possibility.
Joe

Joe,
Thanks a lot for your reply. I never thought I would ever get online free golf tips. My Names are Johnson Omolo I work and live in Kampala Uganda. I HAVE BIG TROUBLE WITH MY GOLF SWING. Most of the time on my down ward swing to hit the ball the club face is closed. We have no good golf teacher in Uganda. The guy teaching golf was a 4 handicapper who turned pro. I cant tee off with a wood.Johnson

Hello Johnson,
You are not the only one who has trouble with the golf swing, everyone else does also. It is a never ending struggle, so enjoy every small success. In order to help you, we would have to view your swing, but we don’t mind making a few suggestions. The easiest method to solve general problems is to view the Body Golf videos. For more specific problems, like your closed club face, make sure you are using the correct grip, and control your wrist action down the target line, because those who roll their wrists too much usually end up with wild shots. Why do you say you cannot tee off with a wood? What is the result? Maybe that particular wood does not fit your swing? Let us know more details.
Joe

Joe,
Why are the impact and address positions so different in swing sequences? It doesn't look like they return to address. The hips are open, the spine angle is more, the head is further behind the ball, the hands are forward. It is completely different to address. Why do people say you have to return to address at impact, when impact is so obviously different. The other thing is, if you drop your right shoulder, your spine now has a bend in it halfway up your back. If you make a turn from here your head must lift up.-- Doug Kercher

Hello Doug,
You are correct in saying the positions are obviously different. I do not believe it is reasonable for the impact position to look exactly like the address position because at address nothing is moving, while at impact your weight is actively shifting from your back leg to your front leg and your hips are in the midst of turning. Different people have different ways of explaining things, so interpretations will also be different, especially cause and effect. I do not believe dropping your shoulder is a cause, it is an effect from the way you start the downswing. Instead, I prefer the cause to be getting your back elbow in front of your hip, which will accomplish the same thing without lifting your head up.
Joe

Honest, I did not make this up. I really did read this recently in a magazine. The author has got to be the ultimate purist instructor. My comments are in parentheses( ). Here goes: “At the top of the backswing for right handed golfers the left shoulder must internally rotate (as opposed to externally rotate?) and horizontally adduct (what does that mean and how do you do that?). This requires flexibility in the left posterior rotator cuff muscles (what about the anterior, should I shut them down?) and scapular muscles (I wear a scapular but it does not have muscles). The right shoulder needs to abduct (is that the same as adduct?) about 75 degrees (I will need to see a digital readout as I swing, I don’t think I can move that precisely) and externally rotate about 90 degrees (I think I am going to sprain every muscle in my body) to be in the ideal position (and then after all that you top the shot anyway). This also requires rotator cuff strength and shoulder capsular flexibility” (at least my cap is flexible). (This guy has got to be kidding, does he really think people are going to understand and implement that?)

Joe,
Why doesn’t my wife share my excitement when I tell her I got a birdie on the last hole?

Answer: Here are two possible reasons – either she birdied that hole twice herself this week, or she had a wager on your opponent.

Joe,
Is it better to make adjustments until you can hit the ball straight every time, or just allow for hooks or slices?
Harry

Hello Harry,
This is a matter of opinion. Of course, hooks or slices that are too severe should be corrected, but my preference is to allow for fades or draws as long as they are fairly consistent. Not very many people can hit the ball straight every time. Ben Hogan used to say it was an accident to hit the ball straight. One day on the practice range Ben saw the notorious straight ball hitter Moe Norman, and said “accident” after every one of Moe’s shots, and finally gave up and said to Moe “Just keep hitting those accidents”. Realistically, there are not very many Moe Normans out there, so those who try to hit every shot straight are likely to succeed only part of the time, and most of the time they will have to guess whether their misses will be to the left or right. Those who can draw or fade consistently already know which side they would be most likely to miss, so they only have to guess at the amount of left or right movement, so this makes it easier to avoid the side that has trouble. They can aim at one side of the fairway or green, and if the shot happens to have very little movement it will end up where they aimed, and if it has more movement than expected, they are still in play on the other side of the green or fairway. Assuming your course has equal amounts of trouble on the left and right sides, half of the trouble on the golf course is eliminated, so the margin of error favors those who can consistently fade or draw.
Joe

Joe,
I do not understand instruction on that says to keep the clubface square to the target during the backswing. If the body is turning, it is hard to picture what is square. At the top of the backswing the clubface is supposed to be parallel to the leading arm. That is certainly not square to the target. Please explain.
Pernell

Hello Pernell,
What a great question! This is a swing thought that can help prevent wild shots, and there have been many different attempts at describing how this works. Some even say while your body is turning to keep the clubface aimed at the target. To me that seems like the clubface will shut, and will cause a pull unless you compensate on the downswing by opening the clubface to square at impact. I think you would need to have perfect timing in order to do that. Others say to concentrate on proper wrist cock by keeping the leading wrist flat to the arm at the top of the backswing, and this does work for some people while others cannot seem to grasp that. Another idea is to stop your backswing half way when the club is parallel to the ground and check that the toe is pointing straight up. Examples of this are Chris DiMarco and Mike Weir during their pre-shot routine. Here is my attempt at another way to describe this. Without a club in your hands, place your back hand on an imaginary grip and notice that the palm is more or less facing the target and therefore is parallel to the clubface, and you can make your wrist bend and twist in several directions (which you do not want if you want to keep the clubface square). Now do the same thing but control your wrist flex in a way that keeps your palm on the same plane as your forearm. If you can make your wrist behave this way during your swing, then you can feel the clubface staying square no matter how much body turn you are using, thus simplifying the swing thought.
Joe

Joe,
I HAVE PLAYED GOLF FOR OVER FORTY YEARS AND STILL HAVE TO BATTLE A REVERSE WEIGHT SHIFT. IT CREEPS INTO MY SWING REGARDLESS OF HOW GOOD OR BAD I HAPPEN TO BE PLAYING ON ANY GIVEN DAY. HAVE ANY SURE FIRE CURES?
Regards,
Dick

Hello Dick,
Old habits are hard to break, you have to try to replace them with new habits. I would start with the double clubber drill as shown in the Body Golf videos because while you are doing this you can feel how your weight is shifting, which allows you to adjust until you shift your weight correctly. This also makes it easier to establish good tempo. Usually this tempo is lost when you overswing, and that can lead to improper weight shift. Here is another thing to try. As you address the ball, tilt your spine so that your head is even with the inside of your back knee. This makes you put your weight on your back foot, and keep it there during your backswing. Then to start your downswing, push off the inside of your back foot to get your lower body weight going forward. The Body Golf videos also have drills called the toe-drag and the step-thru to help you ingrain this move.
Joe

Purist Corner:
I hope I see this guy on the golf course some day, I am going to catch him with all kinds of rule violations. On second thought that might lead to never ending retaliations. It was a dark and lonely night. I was driving up to a stop sign, no other cars in sight. I thought I came to a complete stop before proceeding, but a purist police officer pulls out from behind a sign, pulls me over and says I rolled thru the stop sign. Rather than argue that point since it was his word against mine, I tried the “no danger” ploy since there were no other cars or pedestrians around, but no, a rule is a rule, so I got a ticket. When I went to traffic court, the officer did not show up, so since the rule said he had to be present, the case was dismissed. I guess sometimes the rules work in your favor, but I did lose a half day of work because of this nonsense. Although the purists are out to get me, I shall continue to resist the errors of their ways, and I shall prevail!

Joe, what improvements would you like to see in golf course design?
Answer: I'd like to see the fairways more narrow. Then everyone would have to play from the rough, not just me.

Joe,
have a constant problem of hitting behind the ball. Any suggestions??Jarry

Hello Jarry,
Typically there are two reasons for this. First is proper weight shift. Some people have trouble swaying to the back foot on the backswing or failing to move their weight to the front foot on the downswing. The simplest way to overcome this is to start by tilting your spine so that your head is almost even with your back knee. This helps you to get your weight on the back foot early without swaying. Then on the downswing, just push off the inside of your back foot to get your weight going forward. The other reason for fat shots is head movement. Keep your head as steady as possible during the swing. Jack Nicklaus’ instructor used to grab the back of his hair to make his head stay steady. It is OK for a little lateral movement, but never up and down. I hope this helps you.
Joe

Joe,
What do you think of the baseball grip and how would you know if the shaft on your driver is too stiff or has too much flex?
Eugene

Hello Eugene,
Some folks think the baseball grip is the same as the ten finger grip, but I say they are different. When you grip a baseball bat you normally wrap your thumbs around the handle, but I would not recommend that for golf. However if you instead place your thumbs along the shaft it becomes the ten finger grip, no interlocking or overlapping of the fingers. After using the overlap grip for about 40 years, I switched to the ten finger a few years ago because I got better results with it. Sensei Mark also uses this grip. You have to experiment and find which grip works best for you. As far as the right shaft for you, if your swing speed is under 100 mph, use a regular shaft. A stiff shaft is for those who have higher swing speeds. This is not a hard rule because some people want the stiff shaft anyway if they are willing to give up some distance to get better accuracy, the theory being that a stiffer shaft reduces the variables called flex and twist. To complicate matters further, the amount of flex will vary from one manufacturer to another, for example medium from one brand might be the same as stiff from another brand. Graphite shafts also use terms like “firm” or “high modulus” just to add more uncertainty. How do you know which is best for you? If your shots are too high or too wild, try a stiffer shaft. If your shots are straight or too low, but you want more distance, try a regular shaft.
Joe

Joe, My question is how do I get backspin on my ball? I see the pros get a lot of backspin and a lot of "average golfers" get some backspin on it. How do I do it and what clubs are being used? I seem to get a little when I chip with my sand wedge (Cleveland 56 degree) but it is only very short chips and nothing consistent. Any insight on this would be greatly appreciated. Keep up the great work and news letter.
Ted

Hi Ted, Backspin looks really cool on TV but understand that the conditions the pros are playing on TV are very plush. The conditions on most public courses are not always conducive to shots being helped by backspin. You may have seen some TV events where the conditions were “firming up”, and backspin was not working so shots were bouncing over the greens, well that would be like most public courses. Anyway, if your course has better than average conditions, and you want to maximize the effects of backspin, you must keep the grooves in your irons very clean, and those grooves cannot be worn out. The ball you use should be the soft and high spin types, not the hard distance balls. You must strike the ball with a descending blow in order to impart maximum backspin. This can be illustrated with a ping pong ball and paddle. The more aggressive the swing, the more backspin will result. That is why you do not see much backspin on partial swings like pitch shots, but you mostly will see the ball back up from full swings with the most lofted irons.
Joe

Purist Corner:
I just DQ’d a local store, who probably also lost a few other customers due to a purist clerk. At the express checkout counter, there is a sign that says 10 items or less. One lady had 11 items in her cart due to a 2-for-1 sale, and she was told she must go into a different lane, all of which were crowded. She pleaded if she changed lanes she would probably get home 20 minutes later. The clerk said too bad, a rule is a rule, you are in the wrong lane. She then tried to put aside one of the items so she would be within the rule, but the clerk said “don’t do that because we would have to restock it”. The next person in line (guess who that was?) finally had to say “Oh good grief, just ring up the extra item before I call the manager”. I was considering an additional penalty of two strokes to the clerk’s head, but I decided the DQ for future business would suffice, and also might keep me out of jail.

Joe, if you could get a personal lesson from any of the greatest golfers living or dead, which one would you choose?
Answer: The living one, of course, duh!

Joe,
Do “hot” irons really help?
Hank

Hello Hank,
No, actually the concept seems rather stupid. The term “hot” irons refers to a marketing ploy that says you can hit these irons as far as the pros. That’s a lie because the loft angles of the hot irons are lower than normal. In other words, a hot pitching wedge can hit the ball 150 yards because it has the same loft as a normal 8-iron. The reason I call this stupid is because now you have no club to use for the distances between the hot pitching wedge and the sand wedge, unless you buy a “gap” wedge or “attack” wedge which has the same approximate loft of a normal pitching wedge. The manufacturers think this is pretty smart because now they can sell extra wedges, while they are playing with your egos because it is cool that you can hit your irons as far as the pros, it’s a macho thing. To make matters worse, if you get the extra wedge, you would have to remove some other club from your bag to stay within the 14 club limit. A normal set of irons should have about 4 degrees loft difference between clubs. If you are able to put aside the macho mentality for a moment, understand that irons are intended to be control clubs for specific distances, they are not intended to be power clubs, so who cares what number club you have to use for a given distance, as long as your results are consistent? Lower lofted clubs tend to be less accurate, so “hot” irons, in my opinion, can soothe your macho ego, but they are not likely to help your scores.
Joe

Joe,
I like my set of clubs and I hit most of them OK, but not all of them. I am trying some swing changes to hit them all the same, but nothing seems to work for all the clubs. Any ideas?
Ira

Hello Ira,
Being able to hit most of your clubs OK is an indication that your swing is not that bad. Changing your swing to fit a certain club (especially drivers) could be a big mistake, a never-ending battle. Sometimes a piece of equipment itself can be the culprit. 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. 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. Used equipment stores such as Play It Again Sports or Second Swing have a huge variety and may allow you to return clubs 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,
What causes a person to constantly hit off the toe of the club and what can be done to correct the problem and/or exercises to correct. Thanks
Butch

Hi Butch,
There are a number of things that could cause this, of course I would have to view your swing to be sure. I will assume you have this problem with all your clubs, otherwise take the clubs that you hit well and have the specs measured, and replace your problem clubs with those having proper specs for your swing. Are your divots deeper at the toe end? If so, your clubs’ lie angles may be too flat. If your clubs are okay, then let’s look at your setup. To start your setup position, set the clubhead on the ground behind the ball before you take your stance, and then without reaching, take your stance. If you find yourself reaching, that may cause toe shots. Also check your weight distribution, is it balanced, or do you feel more of your weight on your toes or on your heels? If you are not evenly balanced, that might cause toe shots. Is your swing arc flat or upright? Sometimes an arc that is too upright can cause toe shots. As far as exercises, my favorite is the double clubber, as shown in the Body Golf videos, because it not only instills good tempo, but it also allows you to view the path of your clubhead thru the hitting area. Good luck, and let us know how it turns out.
Joe

Here are your golf horoscopes, what’s your sign?

Aries - I have good news and bad news for you. First the good news, yes there are golf courses in heaven and they are far more spectacular than any course on earth. Now the bad news, you have a tee time of 8:30 am tomorrow morning.

Taurus – To avoid stress, expect to have a certain number of bad shots per round, and put them out of your mind. Once you have used up that number, and you are still on the first hole, then you can stress out.

Gemini - No matter how bad your last shot was it won't be your worst.

Cancer - After playing your best round of golf you can be sure that your next round will be one of your worst. The probability of this coming true increases with the number of people you tell about your great last round.

Leo – Your golf cart will run out of juice at the farthest point from the clubhouse.

Virgo – The slowest people in the world will be the ones in front of you, and the fastest will be the ones behind you.

Libra - Any golfer that hits into your group is guaranteed to be bigger than anyone in your group. And, what is truly amazing about this law is that the opposite is also always true. Any time you accidentally hit into a group in front of you, it will consist of at least one person over 6 feet 5 inches and 270 pounds.

Scorpio - The person you would most hate to lose to will always be the one who beats you.

Sagittarius - Regardless of how bad you cheat throughout the round, the last three holes will automatically adjust your score to what it really should be.

Capricorn – The more expensive ball that you buy, the more powerful will be its magnetic attraction to water.

Aquarius – You will be inconsistent, but not all the time. The best wood in your bag will be your pencil.

Pisces – Some days you will hook it, slice it, chunk it, blade it, whiff it, and on other days, for no reason at all you will really stink.

Joe,
what do you do when purists confront you to insist there should be no rules differences between tournament golf and recreational golf?

Answer: I tell them to check out my buns as I walk away.