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Hooray for Peter Kostis! I was very happy to see someone finally speaking out against some of golf’s dumbest rules. I wish and hope more golfers will do the same. The general purpose of having rules and officials for any sport is to promote fairness. Allow me to illustrate this with a true story example from a baseball game where a batter just hit a “walk-off” game winning home run, but while circling the bases, suffered an immobilizing leg injury. Since the rules say you cannot assist a teammate to run the bases, and you must touch home plate to score the run, it looked like the home run was not going to count. However, the other team helped that runner get around the bases because there was nothing in the rules that prevented the opposing team from doing that. Why did they do that? Because they accepted the fact that they were beaten fair and square by that home run, and circling the bases was only a formality. This is a tribute to the human spirit and this is what good sportsmanship is all about.

Now if the Rules Of Golf could put fairness first, then the officials can earn their pay by simply deciding if any infraction resulted in gaining an advantage. If no advantage was gained, logic and sportsmanship would indicate there is no good reason to assess a penalty. Now purists might say this is against the sanctity and integrity of the rules. I say this attitude could not be more wrong. There is no integrity in forbidding sportsmanship. Instead that would be the height of arrogance to put such sanctity ahead of common sense and fairness. Intentional infractions deserve a penalty, unintentional infractions that have nothing to do with the skill of the game do not deserve a penalty.

There are so many examples of bad rules. You can fix a ball mark on the green, but not a spike mark. Neither one belongs there. But this allows the unscrupulous to deliberately put several spike marks around the cup so the following players cannot have the same chance to make a putt. So a person who demonstrates sportsmanship by fixing spike marks is assessed a penalty, even if that act demonstrates real integrity and fairness for the following players.

How can you say to pick up the pace while also saying to slow things up by forcing a player to go back and replay a shot from its original spot or hit a provisional ball? Peter Kostis's idea correctly solves this issue and eliminates the need to ever have to play a provisional ball. This also simplifies rules for OB, lost balls, and unplayable lies. Peter, let's hear more of your ideas, don't stop now, keep it up!

Enough of this purist attitude that all rules are sacred, let us move into an enlightened 21st century under the banner of fairness and continuous improvement by doing away with senseless rules that have nothing to do with the skill of the game. Those who disagree should turn themselves in to the police station every time they drive one MPH over the speed limit. And if they don’t want to do that, then they lack integrity and are therefore hypocrites.

Being a right hander, I scoffed at tips that said to use your left hand for control. However, since I like to tinker with my swing, I had a contest of left hand control of the backswing vs. right hand control, and the left hand won, including pitches, chips, and putts. CAN'T WAIT UNTIL NEXT YEAR because father time has been eroding my scores. NO I AM NOT DONE YET, LOOK OUT 2011 !!!

Standard chip techniques say to use an open stance and play the ball back of center to promote a descending strike. This may work for most golfers, but many have problems skulling or chunking the ball and also have poor distance control with this method because the ball takes off too low and too hot. Here is an alternate method for those experiencing this type of trouble:

Try a closed stance with a ball position forward of center, and use a pronounced forward press. This allows a descending strike with less chance of skulling or chunking. For distance control try using the same comfortable backswing all the time (maybe 2 or 3 feet long), but just change clubs depending on the desired distance.

TARGET GOLF AT ITS FINEST

Located east of Elgin, Rolling Knolls is the ultimate in target golf. Although the holes are generally short, you are not likely to score any better here than on longer courses because trouble is lurking everywhere. Bring a lot of golf balls so you don’t run out of them in mid round.

A quick look at the scorecard shows par is only 65, but before you start chuckling it really should be 70 because on five of the holes most people are not likely to hit the green in regulation. The estimated scores shown below are based on a typical golfer who usually shoots somewhere between par and bogey.


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Hole 1 – par 4 only 240 yards. Fairway is so narrow you are unlikely to hit it. If you do thread the needle, water on the right sticks out into the fairway to catch many drives. The green is crowned, so if you do not hit the center, it usually rolls off the side. 5 is a likely score here.



Hole 2 – par 4 under 400 yards, but it plays much longer than that. The second shot is blind to an extremely elevated tiny green, so it is not reasonable to expect to hit this green in 2 shots. Thus, this should be a par 5. If you miss the green to the left, you may be OB. If you miss to the right, it will bounce down a bank into the trees. 6 is a likely score here.

Hole 3 – par 3 under 200 yards, but the green is guarded by trees and traps, and it does not hold a shot. The only way to hit this green is to roll it thru the two front traps. Thus, play it from the back tees as a par 4. 4 is a likely score here.

Hole 4 – par 5 dogleg right. It takes a long accurate drive to reach the dogleg, and even if you do, you might be stymied by a tree in the middle of the fairway. The green is reachable on your 2nd shot, but you are not likely to hit it due to huge traps fronting it. If you play it out to the right to avoid the traps, you cannot hit it too far or else you will be in a dry creek bed. 6 is a likely score here.

Hole 5 – uphill narrow par 4. Unless you hit a really long drive, it is a blind shot to the green guarded by two large traps. 5 is a likely score here.

Hole 6 – downhill narrow par 4. A decent drive gives a lovely view of the green, which slopes away from you, so many shots end up on the back fringe. 4 is a good score here.

Hole 7 – long par 3 guarded by two large traps. The tee box is very long, so you can choose to play this from the front as a par 3, or from the back as a par 4, you are not likely to hit the green from back there. 4 is a likely score here.

Hole 8 – very short par 4, reachable with a perfect drive. However, it is very dangerous with trees surrounding the tiny green, and watch out for water on the left side of the fairway. 4 is a good score here.

Hole 9 – one of the most bizarre holes you will ever see. Short downhill par 3 with trees in front of the green, so you must choose to go over the trees or thru them. If you miss to the right, the ball will go down a steep bank into a grove of trees. The hilly terrain makes it an optical illusion to read a putt. 4 is a likely score here.

The sum of my “likely” scores for the front nine is 42. Don’t feel bad, the back nine is much shorter and easier, or is it?

Hole 10 – par 4 with OB on left, trees, trap and water on right, and in front of the green. A good drive is a must. A second shot missed to the right is in the water. The green is small and severly sloped. 5 is a likely score here.

Hole 11 – a gorgeous short downhill par 3 over a creek. The green is a little crowned, so unless you hit the center, your ball might roll off the side. 3 is a good score here.

Hole 12 – par 3 with nowhere to hit the ball but the left side of the green, which is severely sloped toward the creek on the right. Miss to the left and you are in the trees. A small trap guards the front so you cannot roll the ball onto the green. 4 is a likely score here.

Hole 13 – short par 4 strictly target golf. A short iron from the tee must be perfect to carry to the fairway, with water in front and on both sides. The 2nd shot must also be perfect to hit the very shallow green which is guarded closely in front by the creek. 5 is a likely score here.

Hole 14 – uphill par 4, very pretty and very dangerous. Drive must thread the needle to get thru the chute of trees on both sides. Second shot is tricky to a highly elevated and heavily trapped green. If you hit above the hole, you may find your putt rolling off the front of the green. 5 is a likely score here.

Hole 15 – downhill par 4, extremely narrow, trees on both sides several traps in front of green, which can be reached with a perfect drive. 4 is a good score here if you can stay out of the trees.

Hole 16 – easy par 3, no obstacles, traps are far enough to the side. 3 is a likely score here.

Hole 17 – longer par 3 with water on both sides and guarding the front right of the green. There are two tee areas, one of which is partially blocked by a tree. Tee shot must be perfect if you want par. Since few of us are perfect, 4 is a likely score here.

Hole 18 – unhittable par 3. Several years ago this was a par 4 with the green too close to the clubhouse, so they built a new green in the fairway which is like trying to hit a table top. It is about 4 feet higher than the fairway with steep banks and traps on all 4 sides. The only way this green can be hit is on a wet day with soft ground, so 4 is a good score here.


The sum of my “likely” scores for the back nine is 37. Yay, I broke 80, assuming I did not ever have to take any penalties or chip out of the trees, which is not very realistic here. If you can play an entire round here without losing a ball, I would have to say buddy, YOU GOT GAME!!!

Some people think The Yips are incurable. Maybe they are right, but for some people there are some worthwhile things to try. Most of the references to The Yips refer to putting, but you can also get The Yips for other parts of the game like chipping, pitching, and the full swing. Recently I saw on the Golf Channel's show on the 2006 PGA, Henrik Stenson had the full swing yips and to cure them he closed his eyes and trusted his swing mechanics. I personally have the Pitching Yips, whenever I take the club back all I can think of is I hope I don't chunk it, shank it, or skull it, and of course that brings my probability of success down to 1 out of 4, not very good odds.

Then I tried Henriks's suggestion first on putting, and it worked great because there is little chance of a mechanical error on a putt. By trusting my stroke, the visual distraction was eliminated, making it easier to follow thru straight toward my target every time. Then I tried it on pitches, by starting my backswing with my eyes open and then closing them. To my surprise, by trusting my stroke with my eyes closed, I hit several pitches perfectly. However, the next day, brimming with confidence, I tried this again and whiffed the ball completely. Shocking disappointment, thinking I am so screwed, thinking nothing will ever work. I think it may have been due to lack of trust in executing the swing without looking. Some time later, I found another mental tactic that seems to work, and that is from the movie Caddyshack, BE THE BALL, in other words, just stare at the ball while swinging without being distracted by swing thoughts.

The lesson here is to think about how the stroke should feel with your eyes closed, and then execute that stroke with eyes closed and feeling the same feel as before, and not quit too soon, keep concentrating all the way until the follow thru is completed. This takes total concentration, which you cannot afford to lose, so if you cannot maintain this level of concentration then this method may not be for you.

Question - what are the main things to look for in the way the pros swing?
Answer - They take the club back wide and high, then the downswing is inside out, and the follow thru ends with all the weight on the front foot. As strange as this might sound, Jim Furyk (the man with the loopiest backswing) executes this just fine, which proves the only purpose of the backswing is to arrive at a strong hitting position at the top, no matter how weird the backswing may look.

Don't believe everything you hear about how to put backspin on a ball. A recent TV show illustrated this with father and son teams playing in the same foursome. The pros shots hit the green and stopped on a dime, while the non pros shots hit generally the same area and kept on rolling forward to the back of the green or onto the back fringe. The reason is simple. Pros replace their irons whenever the grooves get worn, while others cannot afford to do that. So quit telling me that a properly struck chip shot is going to check up, it is not going to happen unless you have new irons and also are playing on pro quality green conditions. Most chips by non pros are not going to check up, they will just skid and keep running. On full shots, pros can hit a severly bunkered green and back the ball up to wherever the pin is. The rest of us may hit the green with a similar looking shot, but then we will be chipping from the back fringe instead of putting. Unless you are rich enough to frequently replace your irons, this is not a level playing field.

Beware of what some instructors tell you...

Recently I was in a major sports store's golf department to try out a demo driver against their simulator machine. Before I could even take a swing, the so-called pro was trying to adjust my grip. Rather than argue with him, just for the heck of it I went along with his suggestions, and have come to the conclusion that some instructors think that any suggestion applies to all golfers, and we students must be identical robots who should all function the same. The guy told me that my right hand was in too strong a position and that would cause shots to go to the right, and that point was not even up for discussion. Now since I am a certified instructor, I already know that the opposite is true, a stronger right hand position will send the ball left, not right. So I followed his suggestion to try a weaker right hand and sure enough the ball went way right, and I tried to explain to him why, but he just got mad. Then with my stronger right hand position, the shots went straighter and he got even madder.

The bottom line is that we are all built differently. There are hundreds of small muscles and hinges working in tandem to make a golf swing, and none of these muscles and hinges behave the same way from person to person, just like fingerprints being different. In my case I need a stronger grip to make the ball go straighter, maybe not the case for other people. Some self righteous instructors do not seem to realize that, so be careful not to take everything they say as gospel.

Are expensive shafts worth it?
I have 3 answers, no, hell no, and finally no. I have proved this myself with an inexpensive stiff steel shaft (Dynamic Gold) with a knock off clubhead. It hits the ball just as far and straighter than several store bought clubs with big name graphite shafts and big name clubheads. Do not fall for the marketing hype.

Joe,
I hit the ball better than my buddies, but I never seem to score lower because they putt better than me. I hate too much putting practice because my back gets sore if all I do is putt for awhile. Other than more practice, are there any tips I can try?
Patrick

Hello Patrick,
You must be the poster child for the old saying "Drive for show and putt for dough". There are no guarantees, but here are several ways that might help - Let’s assume Golfer A and Golfer B have similar putting strokes and they can both seem to read a green equally well, but Golfer A makes more putts and 3-putts less often than Golfer B. How can this be?
Golfer A uses a putter design that is weighted at the toe and at the heel, but not in the center. Golfer B uses a straight blade. Since they both have similar strokes, they both miss the sweet spot on the putter by the same amount. Golfer A gets more consistent results due to a larger sweet spot.
Golfer A has confidence in the read and can concentrate fully on executing the stroke. Golfer B changes the read as he/she stands over the ball (why bother with the original read in that case?). This can result in a tentative stroke due to worrying about the read instead of executing the proper pace of the stroke.
Golfer A putts at a spot on the green on the way to the hole, a spot that is close enough to hit every time. Golfer B does not use an intermediate target.
Golfer A improves touch for distance control during practice by noticing how far the backswing goes for certain distances, and then steps off those distances. Golfer B just relies on feel without thinking about the exact distance. As a result, Golfer A’s second putt is usually 1-2 feet long, while golfer B’s second putt is usually 3-4 feet long.
Golfer A’s putter has a fat grip, Golfer B’s putter has a skinny grip. In both cases, any accidental hand rotation will cause the putter face to rotate off line. Due to the fatter grip Golfer A’s putter face will rotate less than Golfer B’s putter.
Golfer A observes the terrain while walking up to the green from 100 yards on in, and can see which way water would most likely drain off the green, because this is the way all putts will break if you are not sure of other reads. Golfer B only reads putts after he/she gets on the green.
Golfer A uses a posture that does not cause back pain, and also uses a longer putter to avoid hunching over too much. Golfer B, you might as well try that, you have nothing to lose.
Joe


Joe,
I am thinking of getting a video lesson, but that is a bit expensive. Does video golf instruction always work?
Jeremy
Hi Jeremy,
It seems like a valid concept, right? Compare your swing side by side with a pro who has a similar build as yours. On the surface, that seems to make sense, and it has helped many people improve to a certain level. Others, however, have not been able to benefit as much from this. If you are built like Jim Furyk, would you try to copy his swing? Consider the following factors. Human beings have inner workings that are as different as fingerprints, even for people that have similar builds. Their hinges all behave differently, hands, wrists, elbows, shoulders, hips, knees, ankles, etc. It may be asking too much to assume you someday will make your swing a carbon copy of a pro’s swing. The pro swings every day, and probably hits more balls daily than you ever will in a week. The pro is probably blessed with better than average athleticism, eyesight (depth perception), and hand-eye coordination. Some instruction seems to take this for granted. Even if you are a pretty good athlete and you have good eyesight, you still can’t assume that your depth perception and hand-eye coordination are the same as anyone else’s. Just as good eyesight is a gift, hand-eye coordination is also a gift. The two gifts are related, but are not exactly the same. A person can have good eyesight, but poor hand-eye coordination. The only way to improve hand-eye coordination is to practice, practice, practice. However, golf is an expensive game, so unless you make a lot of money, your opportunities to play or practice may be a lot more limited for you as opposed to others who can afford to play or practice every day. As a result, your ball striking pattern on your clubs is going to be a lot more random than the pros, who can hit the sweet spot on the clubface almost every time. Meanwhile the rest of us, even when we think we are swinging well, are still occasionally hitting it fat, thin, off the toe or heel, etc. So are we all doomed to mediocrity? No, just try to understand that ball striking is more important than making your swing look pretty. You may not want to take the same full backswing as your body-type pro. The further back you go, the more trouble your hinges can get you into. Look at the way Dana Quigley, Allen Doyle, and Moe Norman have become successful with much less than a full swing, almost a half swing. Even Tiger has his "stinger" swing when he needs to keep the ball in the fairway. When all else fails, the shorter swing is a good way to begin improvement.
Joe


Joe,
Why do they make drivers that have the face lined up for a pull when you rest them on the ground, what good does that do?
Pedro

Hello Pedro,
The idea is to help cure a slice. If you take your normal grip while the driver is resting on the ground, and then you raise it off the ground and line up the clubface to the target line, you have effectively rolled your hands to a stronger grip, which eliminates one of the main reasons people tend to slice. Of course there are other reasons for slicing too, but many people find this to be helpful.
Joe

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.

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

Joe,
I cannot find a Taylormade ladies 11 wood which I would like to own. I assume this is because they only make these in hybrid clubs now. I guess I will need a hybrid with a loft of 25 degrees. My question is do I hit the hybrid with the U swing the way you do a fairway wood, or do you swing it like an iron? Thank you so much.
Elva Delks

Hi Elva,
Wow, an 11 wood must have a lot more loft than 25 degrees, I would be afraid the ball would pop up and hit me in the nose. Anyway, I have found that most people are not very successful using a different swing for fairway woods, except for maybe single digit handicappers. If you are in that group you must be a very good ball striker. If not, I would recommend using the same swing for all fairway shots, which would be to hit down at the ball as you would with an iron.
Joe


Joe,
I have a golf rule question: Yesterday my friends and I played golf and when one of my one friends hit his drive the ball broke into several pieces. What is the rule?
Mickey

Hi Mickey,
Under Rule 5-3, you are allowed to play the shot over again with no penalty.


Joe,
I really am reluctant to spend a lot of money on having my swing analyzed to see what types of shafts might be best for me. Is there a more simple method to figure this out? Also, what is likely to happen if I use the wrong type of shaft?
Ned

Hi Ned,
One way would be to use the 150 yard shot as a benchmark. If you usually use a 9 or 8 iron for that distance without overswinging, then you probably should use stiff shafts. If you use a 7 or 6 iron for that distance, you probably should use regular shafts. If you use a 5 iron or more, you might do better with a more flexible Senior or Ladies shaft. The amount of flex in a shaft will vary from one brand to another, so the same amount of flex might be called stiff for one brand and regular for another, so this can be confusing. Sometimes you must ask yourself what is most important to you, distance or accuracy. A more flexible shaft may add distance along with wildness. A stiffer shaft may make you more accurate, but with less distance. To answer your last question about what would happen if you use the wrong shaft for your type of swing, a slower swing speed with a stiffer shaft will produce lower shots with less distance. A higher swing speed with a shaft that is too flexible will produce higher and wilder shots. Try to attend demo days at a driving range where you can compare results from different types of shafts and brands, and see what works best for you.
Joe


Joe,
I was vacationing in Florida recently, and I was freaked out by a large alligator sitting next to a pond beside the fairway. My shot just missed him and he turned to look in my direction. I have heard for short distances that alligators can run faster than humans. Luckily I was riding a fast cart that day, but what if I was walking?
Scared by Allie

Hi Scared,
All you have to do is run faster than only one other person in your foursome.
Joe

Joe,
Since golf offers many pleasures, which is your favorite sight, a ball hanging on the lip of the cup and then falling in, or a flop shot over a bunker that trickles down next to the pin, or a low rising drive that splits the center of a narrow tree-lined fairway?

Answer: All those are nice, but my favorite sight which gives me the most pleasure is my opponent throwing a club. The full backswing, the delayed wrist action, the flowing follow-through, followed by that unique whirring sound, reminiscent of a passing flock of birds, this is a real thing of beauty.

Joe,
My friends tell me my biggest problem is that I overswing, but I feel natural on my backswing, so this is hard for me to correct. What should I do?
Chris

Hello Chris,
Habits can be hard to break, so let’s try a different approach. Next time you are on one of those driving range mats with the permanent rubber tee, go to the top of your backswing and pose like a baseball player waiting for a pitch. If your backswing is too long, you will not feel that you are in a strong hitting position. Adjust your posture as a baseball player would until you feel in a strong position to begin your swing from the top. Make sure your weight is on your back foot. From this position, see if you can strike the rubber tee every time. If you cannot, then adjust your posture at the top, for example, you might find that you can strike the rubber tee every time if your backswing is shorter and your tempo is not too quick. If you can view yourself in a mirror it will help. Good luck.
Joe

Joe,
The golf magazines say if you hit a chip or pitch just right, it will check up for you, and I have watched pros do this in a local tournament, but on the same course I tried chipping from the same spot and the ball refuses to check up, it just keeps on rolling. I even tried high spin balls but I see no difference. So what is the secret of making the ball check up?
Kevin

Hi Kevin,
The average golfer cannot do this for several reasons. Even if you played the same course as the pros, there is a difference between tournament conditions and everyday conditions. Tournament conditions are a bit more plush than the everyday public conditions. High spin balls can only make a difference if conditions are right, and only if the grooves on your clubface are new. Once the grooves get a little worn, you cannot spin the ball as well, no matter what you do. The pros can afford to replace their irons a lot more frequently than the average golfer, and they will not use a set once the grooves get worn, but the average golfer cannot afford to replace irons so often. You can conduct an experiment by comparing chip shots with a distance ball and a high spin ball. If neither one of them checks up, then either the green is too firm or your grooves may be too worn. It may help somewhat to keep your grooves clean with a stiff wire brush, but most people may be better off not counting on much spin, just do the bump and run instead.
Joe

Joe,
What is your take on the controversy of a golf channel announcer’s comment that the only way to beat Tiger is to lynch him?
Tim

Hi Tim,
In today’s world of political correctness, it is too dangerous to tell a joke anymore, and that is sad. Kelly Tilghman is a delightful announcer and there is no way she meant any harm. Tiger even said this was a non issue, yet some other people insist on making a big deal out of it. I might be politically incorrect for saying this, but there is a phrase in The Bible which says to watch out for people who have a morbid craving for controversy.
Joe

Joe,
I am amazed how the pros on TV can sink so many long putts, no matter how many different courses they play on with different types of grasses. I know whenever I travel and play different courses, the different types of grasses and speeds really mess me up. How do they adjust? Is it just natural ability or else what is their secret?
John

Hi John,
The best way to understand is to attend a practice round before a tournament and watch what the pros do on the greens. They take the time to stroke putts on all quadrants of each green while their caddies take notes. So even if they have never played the course before, during the tournament they have a pretty good idea on how each putt will behave, no matter where the pin placement is. The general public does not have this luxury, you might get kicked off the course for slow play if you try that. Therefore it is much more difficult for the average golfer to sink putts because they have no help at all in reading greens, it is just a guessing game. You can own the greatest expensive putter and have the best possible putting stroke, but if you do not read the green correctly, you will not make very many putts. Even if you do read the green correctly, but hit the putt at the wrong speed, the amount of break will be different and you might miss it anyway. If you have ever played in a scramble event, you will have noticed a lot more putts being sunk because everyone on your team gets the benefit of watching the first putt and therefore having a lot more confidence in the read. Those of you who do not play in scrambles, the next time you are on an uncrowded course, whenever you miss a putt, try it 3 more times and chances are pretty good that you will sink one of them because your confidence in the read improves with every putt.
Joe

Joe,
I am getting contradicting information about different ways on how to hit chip shots. None of them seem to work for me. Is there only one right way to chip?
Charles

Hello Charles,
Different people have had success with different methods, so you may hear or read some conflicting advice about which method is best (most methods agree on proper setup and ball position, so we will skip that). They all have one thing in common. No method will work unless you keep your hands ahead of the clubhead at impact and keep the face of the club pointed at the target during your follow thru. If you can do that, then the main issue becomes distance control.

Here are 3 chipping methods for distance control, find the one that works best for you.

Method 1 - use the same stroke and tempo for all distances, just change the club to adjust for longer or shorter shots. This usually works best for those who have enough confidence in their stroke that they never hit it fat or thin, they can hit the sweet spot every time.

Method 2 - use only 2 clubs to chip (one for minimum loft, one for maximum loft) depending on the amount of loft and carry needed to clear the taller grass. Use the same backswing, but vary the tempo or acceleration depending on the distance desired. This usually works best for those who have a good sense of touch.

Method 3 - use only 2 clubs to chip depending on the amount of loft needed. Vary the length of the backswing for distance control, and keep a consistent tempo. This usually works best for those who do not have enough confidence to rely on touch.

Joe,
I thought it was supposed to be a Fundamental to have the club pointing at the target at the top of the backswing, but I see photos of Phil Mickelson, John Daly, and even the great Bobby Jones pointing the club way across the line. How do you explain that?
Pete

Hello Pete,
In my opinion, that is a mannerism, not a fundamental. It sure does look picture perfect when someone can point the club straight at the target, but that is no guarantee to result in a good shot. Starting from the top of the backswing, what happens next is an inside-out swing path, which the body turn brings to a square path at the point of contacting the ball (like the knob on a swinging door). When you think about the plane for an inside-out swing path, pointing it across the line at the top only helps to put the club on that plane, so I do not see anything wrong with that, as long as your position is consistent and your results are good. If, however, you have a hook problem, then you might be pointing it too far across the line, but most people slice, so this idea may help to cure it. However, one good thing about pointing the club at the target at the top of the backswing is this. It establishes a consistent point of reference which you can photograph and go back to if you get into a slump. If you go across the line, this point of reference is a little harder to view because you cannot be sure how far over the line is good for you. In the final analysis, I think it is more important to view the position of the clubface no matter how far over the line you go. The clubface should be parallel to the angle of your leading arm.
Joe

Joe,
I can hit the ball better than my buddies, but they usually beat me because they putt better. I don’t understand why I cannot putt as well as my buddies if they are not as athletic as I am. Help!
Harold

Hello Harold,
Sometimes we overlook the little things. Any one of the following points might make a difference. For example, are you more like Golfer A or Golfer B?

Let’s assume Golfer A and Golfer B have similar putting strokes and they can both read a green equally well, but Golfer A makes more putts and 3-putts less often than Golfer B. How can this be?

Golfer A uses a putter design that is weighted at the toe and at the heel, but not in the center. Golfer B uses a straight blade. Since they both have similar strokes, they both miss the sweet spot on the putter by the same amount. Golfer A gets better results due to a larger sweet spot.

Golfer A has confidence in the read and can concentrate fully on executing the stroke. Golfer B changes the read as he/she stands over the ball (why bother with the original read in that case?). This can result in a tentative stroke due to worrying about the read instead of executing the proper pace of the stroke.

Golfer A aims at a spot on the green on the way to the hole, a spot that is close enough to hit every time. Golfer B does not use an intermediate target.

Golfer A improves touch for distance control during practice by noticing how far the backswing goes for certain distances, and then steps off those distances. Golfer B just relies on feel without thinking about the exact distance. As a result, Golfer A’s second putt is usually 1-2 feet long, while golfer B’s second putt is usually 3-4 feet long.

Golfer A’s putter has a fat grip, Golfer B’s putter has a skinny grip. In both cases, any accidental hand rotation will cause the putter face to rotate off line. Due to the fatter grip Golfer A’s putter face will rotate less off line than Golfer B’s putter.

Golfer A observes the terrain while walking up to the green from 100 yards on in, and can see which way water would most likely drain off the green, because this is the way all putts will break if you are not sure of other reads. Golfer B only reads putts after he/she gets on the green.

Both golfers have the Yips, but Golfer A uses a belly putter, which reduces the effect of the Yips.
Good luck Harold, I hope this helps!
Joe

Merry Christmas - here are some free things to have some fun with. If the links do not work, just copy and paste to your browser window.


http://www.stmulligan.com

http://www.orbitzgames.com/puttputt

http://www.cincinnati.com/golf/golfquiz/html/brand.htm

Joe,
I cannot sink a 3 foot putt for the life of me. I have heard about the yips but this is ridiculous. I have tried just about everything. I need one more idea please.
Blane

Hello Blane,
Never fear, here is an idea that works so good you can do it with your eyes closed. First with your eyes open, take the clubhead back about 2 or 3 inches and stop. Before you complete the stroke, make sure the clubface is pointed directly at the hole, and convince yourself that your forward stroke is going to keep the clubface square to the hole all the way during the follow thru. The reason this works is because some twisting may be taking place during a continuous backswing and forward stroke. By stopping after the backswing you can be fairly sure that no twisting has taken place, and you can remind yourself that you are not going to allow any more twisting during the forward stroke. If you can get your mind to believe it can feel keeping the clubface square, you can close your eyes before the forward stroke and you will make the putt just about every time because there are no visual distractions that might be causing your yips. In other words you cannot look up too soon if you are not looking at all. Just feel the clubface staying square.
Joe

Joe,
My buddies and I like to make silly little bets on trick shots. I am two down to them so I am counting on a sly dog like you to give me two ideas on how to get back at them.

Answer: On the putting green, bet that you can get two balls into the hole from 20 feet with only 3 strokes. They will think you must hole one of the putts so they will take the bet. Then you put both balls together against the face of your putter, so a single stroke will send both balls close to the hole, and hopefully from there you will have two tap ins. Next, bet that one swing with your wedge can make a ball pop straight up in the air and you will catch it in your hand. Then stack one ball on top of another, since balls have dimples this is not hard to do. Then hit the bottom ball with your swing and the top ball will pop straight up in the air and it should be easy to catch. OK readers, now it is your turn, have you got any other trick shots to share with us?

Another Season Comes To A Close
This is a sad time of the year in the northern midwest. Where did the summer go? How did time slip by so fast? The cold air is already slipping down from Canada. The fall colors have gone. We probably have already played our last round of the year. No more Indian Summer, even global warming is not helping. Even if it were warm enough one more day, there are so many leaves fallen to the ground that it is hard to find your ball in the middle of the fairway, but then most of us are not used to being in that position anyway. All we have left of the season are memories of some remarkable shots, like the awesome majesty of a moon-shot popup drive, the graceful curve of a banana-peel slice, the feeling of helplessness as the ball heads toward the water hazard, the perfect symmetry of ever-growing circles of ripples created by your ball, the impressive rooster tail from the morning dew being ripped apart by a sizzling worm-burner, some almost-good rounds, and plenty of laughs with good friends. That last part is the best. There is no better therapy for life’s daily stresses. Hurry, 2008.

Point and Counter-Point:

Purist Point - Prayers are not allowed on golf courses. If you call on God to improve the results of a shot while it is still in motion, you are using an Outside Agency and subject to appropriate penalties under the rules of golf.

Counter-Point – So penalize me. Let us pray. May thy ball lie in green pastures and not in still waters. Amen.

Joe,
I like my long irons but people keep telling me hybrids are better. I do have occasional bad shots with my long irons but I figure the same thing would happen with a hybrid. Do you agree?
Lem

Hi Lem,
I suspect your bad shots with a hybrid will be better bad shots than those with your long irons because there is more mass behind the ball with a hybrid. If you look closely at all your irons you will notice that the mass gets smaller and smaller as the number of the irons gets lower, making the sweet spot smaller as well. Hybrids have a much larger sweet spot so your off center hits should still produce decent results, while an off center hit on a long iron usually loses too much distance.
Joe

Question - is golf a dying sport?
Well I hope this does not happen, but here is a nightmare scenario. In this ever changing world there are times when things must adapt or die, and golf purists refuse to adapt by trying to make the game more fun for the masses. Once upon a time, golf was a sport only for rich people. Today it is for all people, but I see municipal courses closing because the land is very valuable near cities, so new courses must be built in the boonies, and it is becoming more expensive to play, not to mention the price of gas to get there. What few courses remain near cities are already overcrowded because they are the only places people can afford to play. The pace of play is horrible, so with these factors there is danger that many people might give up the game. If overcrowding gets bad enough, we might have to do what other countries are already doing, and that is to prove that your game is good enough to qualify to be allowed to play at certain courses. This leaves out lots of people who enjoy the game but are not good enough to qualify, which is the opposite of growing the game. As a result, golf may go back to being a game only for the rich, and then it will be even more difficult to grow the game. Today there are admirable programs that are trying to get kids involved, but will these same kids be able to afford to play later on? And when Tiger retires, will anyone else be able to capture the interest of the fans as much? If not, this downward spiral may begin. Prize money will come down, and the popularity of the game will decline. Then more courses might close. Somebody stop me before I start to cry. We need more ideas on how to grow the game, and we need them quick. Insanity is expecting things to get better while you continue to do things the same way.

Joe, I read in a magazine recently that if you start your swing and while you are swinging the ball happens to move either by wind or soft grass giving way, that you are deemed to have moved the ball and therefore it is a penalty. What do you think about that?
Answer: It takes a lot of wisdom to say you are deemed to have moved the ball when you clearly did not, so by the same logic I think the rules makers are deemed to be idiots.

Joe,
I am bigger and stronger than my buddies and I can hit a softball farther than them, but they hit a golf ball farther than me. How do you explain that?
Big John

Hi John,
There is a big difference in the weight of a softball and bat versus golf club and golf ball. Since you are stronger, you are more able to drive the heavier bat thru the heavier ball, more so than your smaller buddies. You probably have more of an arm swing than your buddies, and it might be harder for you to generate any extra speed with a golf club. Since a golf club and ball are much lighter, your buddies can use more wrist action to generate speed, especially if their timing is right. This can best be illustrated by using a ping pong ball and paddle. If you swing very hard with your arms, but with no wrist action, the ball will not go very far. If you swing with all wrist action, but no arms, the ball still will not go very far. So obviously the answer is the combination of arm and wrist action. However, timing makes the biggest difference for distance. If you use the wrist too soon, you end up with only arm action at the point of impact, hence the term "hitting from the top", and you get poor distance. You can send the ping pong ball the farthest by swinging your arms first, and delaying the wrist action until the last possible instant. This timing of the wrist snap is most important because it does not just ADD arm speed plus wrist speed, it actually MULTIPLIES them. Think about swinging easy with the arms and hard with the wrist at the last possible moment. Try this with the ping pong ball and paddle and you will see how this will increase distance, then use the same idea with a golf club. Watch the slow motion replays of the pros on TV, this is exactly how they get great distance with a seemingly effortless swing.

Joe,
U think u are so smart, how come we never see ur name on leaderboard eh?
(name withheld)

Dear no name,
I never said I was on the same level as Harmon or Leadbetter, neither are my fees. That being said, be sure to let us know whenever you see their names on the leaderboard, OK?
Joe

Bob writes about Denis Watson losing the 1985 US Open due to the ten second penalty, which I said was an atrocity:

Joe, if you knew the rule, perhaps your comments would hold more water. Many times your humorous replies are not only demeaning to those of us who play by the rules but your answers are incorrect, thus further confusing those who read your rants on the rules. The ten seconds does not start until the player reaches the ball, without undue delay. If the ball is not holed within that 10 seconds, it is deemed to be at rest (which is the part of the rule Denis violated). If it subsequently falls into the hole the player is deemed to have holed out with his previous stroke and must add ONE penalty stroke to his score. It is interesting that you use Denis Watson as his example. Following this incident, the USGA changed the penalty for this infraction because they felt two strokes was too severe.

Response: They changed something? What a concept, I thought that was not allowed. I guess losing the US Open on a technicality does seem a bit severe. Using the same logic, maybe all 2 stroke penalties are too severe, right?

Bob continues: When any part of the ball overhangs the lip of the hole, the player is allowed enough time to reach the hole without unreasonable delay and an additional ten seconds to determine whether the ball is at rest. If by then the ball has not fallen into the hole, it is deemed to be at rest. If the ball subsequently falls into the hole, the player is deemed to have holed out with his last stroke, and he must add a penalty stroke to his score for the hole; otherwise, there is no penalty under this Rule.

Response: Was an official Olympic stopwatch used to time the ten seconds or how many seconds constitute an unreasonable delay to reach the hole? If not, how do you know if it was not 9.9 seconds when the ball fell in the hole? Furthermore, if you try to beat the ten second rule, and the ball really was moving while you tap it in, that should also be a penalty, right?

Bob continues: Additionally, there are only 34 rules and the "Rule Book" is no where near 150 pages. The rule book will easily fit in a small pocket on a bag or even in a back pocket.

Response: I do not know which version of the rule book you are holding. I am holding the USGA 2006-2007 version, and the text with Appendices goes up to page 140 followed by the index which goes to page 164. Geez what a complicated game. No wonder some new people are too intimidated by this to stay with this game.

Bob continues: It takes no longer to play by the rules than is does not to, and to many of us it is very enjoyable to do so.

Response: Tell that to the recreational golfer waiting on the tee while the group ahead marches back to the same tee to replay a shot instead of dropping at the spot where a ball was lost. Bob, I mean no disrespect. Obviously you are passionate about the game, so all your comments are appreciated and should be discussed. I just think the rules are overly complicated and could use a good dose of common sense.

Your putt stops at the lip of the cup. When you about to tap it in, you notice it is still moving slightly and you mention this to your opponent, but your opponent says you only have ten seconds to tap it in. You cannot hit a moving ball, so you wait an extra moment, and then the ball falls into the cup, and your opponent calls a two stroke penalty on you for taking longer than ten seconds. What would a rules official say about this?


This actually happened to Denis Watson in the 1985 US Open. The rules official imposed a two stroke penalty, and Denis lost the tournament by one stroke.

My Opinion: The ten seconds should begin at the point where the ball comes to rest. If the ball is still slightly moving, the ten second rule should not have been imposed. You cannot say it is ten seconds from when the putt was stroked, some long putts take longer than that to get to the hole. Besides, ten seconds is nothing compared to how long it takes some people to line up their putt and then freeze over the ball. Maybe there should be a time limit for that instead, after all, that is what holds up the pace of play much more than the ten second rule.

Losing the US Open because of this is an atrocity, and one of many reasons why the rules need to be updated and simplified. The object of the game is only to hit a ball into a hole, so unless you love beaurocracy, there is little reason for the rule book to be over 150 pages long.

This is about hypocrisy, and what should be done about it. The USGA has recently sent out a message stressing the importance of keeping a good pace of play, but then in the same message it states courses or committees cannot waive a rule for pace of play. Well, I guess it must not be that important after all. To them it makes more sense to follow illogical rules than to have good pace of play. The message says courses or committees should not allow a drop area near a water hazard that happens to be closer to the green than the point where a ball would enter the water. Nor should it be allowed to establish a stroke limit on a hole. Well I guess some poor hapless soul who is having trouble getting the ball airborne is going to have to stay there all day until a shot clears the water hazard or he runs out of balls, too bad about the pace of play for everyone else. Then the message said wooded areas should not be marked as a water hazard because it does not fit the definition. So if you lose a ball in the woods and did not hit a provisional, you must march back to the spot where the original stroke was played and hit again, instead of just dropping where the ball entered the woods, which would save a lot of time. So what should be done about this? Revise any rule that hurts pace of play. For example, create a new rule called Ball Out Of Play, which would replace the separate rules for water hazards, out of bounds, unplayable lies, and lost balls. Think about it, if a ball is out of play, and you are already getting a penalty for that, why should it matter how or the ball went out of play or what color the stakes are? In all those cases, just drop at the nearest point where the ball went out of play, one stroke penalty, and play on. So what if the drop has to be a little closer to the hole, you already have suffered a penalty so big deal, it is not going to affect anyone’s score. This would help pace of play because there would never be a need to replay a shot or to hit a provisional.

Joe,
I am right handed and I have read and heard so many times that the putting stroke is supposed to keep the right hand out of the stroke. I do not understand why. That is like telling me if I want to roll a ball, not to use my right hand. Please explain.
Tony

Hi Tony,
I like your analogy, you raise a good point, why should you not use your dominant hand? Because the back hand supplies power to a swing, this power sometimes creeps into the delicate touch needed to putt on very fast greens. That is why you see some pros use the claw grip so there is no chance that the back hand can overpower the other hand. This does not mean you cannot roll the ball with the back hand. Look at the way Zach Johnson putts. He leans the handle of the putter back behind the ball. This does two things for him. It allows a better view of the clubface to square it up to the target line, and it also reduces the tendency to flip the back wrist, because it is already in a flipped position. This allows a feeling of rolling the ball with the back hand without extra power creeping in to ruin the stroke. By the way, I also use this method and it seems to work well. Good luck and roll on.
Joe

Sometimes I am asked why I criticize the logic of the Rules Of Golf. That was the same question asked to our founding fathers about the rules of taxation in 1776, but they chose to fight injustice rather than just live with it. Good thing they did, or else you would be having tea and crumpets every day instead of Starbucks. Then I am asked to give an example of injustice. OK, if you are in the middle of your swing, and the ball happens to move either from the wind or from soft grass giving way, whatever, the rules say you caused the ball to move, so it is a penalty, even if you stop your swing. But you did not cause the ball to move. Is that justice or injustice? If you think that is a just penalty, then I think you are incapable of rational thought. There are many more examples of similar injustices that, in my opinion, have no business imposing penalties for reasons that have nothing to do with the skill of the game. How people can honor such nonsense is a mystery to me.

A Bit of Golf Trivia:
Every year, the USGA provides its members with an 18 question quiz, which is an open book quiz with no time limit, so anyone can take their time and look up the answers. In the years 2005 and 2006, there were about 2500 people who provided answers for this quiz. Can you guess within 500, how many people got all the answers correct?

Answer:
In 2005 only 21 people got all the answers correct. In 2006, only 6 got all the answers correct. In 2007, although the year is not over yet, over 1200 entries were submitted, and so far NOBODY has gotten all the answers correct.

Jody, my Evil Twin, stop laughing and tell us what you think about that?
Answer: That just goes to show how ridiculous some of the rules are. Come on people, wake up and smell the coffee. Some of the rules are outdated and unnecessary. This is the enlightened 21st century. The concept of continuous improvement dictates that we should fight to amend the rules so people can understand them. The game should not be so complicated. All you are doing is hitting a ball into a hole. Is there any other sport where such a low percentage of people would pass a rules test? NO, so use a little logic and figure out which are reasonable rules and which others are illogical because they have nothing to do with the skill of the contest, and fight to get those fixed. If you are not part of the solution then you are part of the problem. And that is the name of that tune.

For many years I have wondered why woods had to have a rounded shape. It made no sense to me because any off center hit will have less mass behind the ball. Consider how irons are perimeter weighted to help an off center hit. I saw no reason why the same concept would not also work for woods. Recently I tried an off brand square driver called a Blockhead since the price was very reasonable, and if it did not work I was just going to donate it as a prize at our next outing. Anyway, I took it to the range and compared results with my regular rounded driver. First few shots were comparable, alternating clubs. Then my rounded driver, as it sometimes does on the course, would hit an occasional hook or slice, but the Blockhead stayed straight, almost every time. I had to tell myself, OK, do not get too excited until it proves itself under playing conditions, and so I used it on the course, and to make a long story short, it is now my first string and second string driver (I bought another one), the rounded one is now third string. The moral of the story seems to be this. Club with curved shape produces curved shots. Club with straighter shape produces straighter shots. Next I think I will look for similar fairway woods and hybrids. Do you think Charlie Brown can guess what my new nickname is?
Regards,
Blockhead Joe

Joe,
Sometimes on a short putt I feel like I am sure that I made a good putting stroke, but the ball sometimes reacts like a pull or a push and it misses the hole. Could it be the dimples on the ball?
Drake

Hello Drake,
You are correct. The Zen putter manufacturer has done some experiments that show striking the ball on the edge of a dimple can send the ball as much as two degrees off line, which can result in a miss from 5 feet. Zen then claims that their putters correct for this because of the way the face is designed, but I do not buy that. I do not see how a milled or grooved face is going to strike the dimple any differently. It was not that long ago when all golf balls had a visible seam where there were no dimples. Golfers used to line up this seam so the putter could strike the ball on that seam where there were no dimples, resulting in a true roll. Today’s ball designs have eliminated the seam in favor of better ball flight on full swings. Then I saw another ad for a ball with no dimples at all, and it was very pricey. However this ball is probably only intended for putting because ball flight will be erratic without dimples, and for competition you cannot switch balls for putting. The only solution that I can think of is to use a ball that has smaller dimples. Anyone else have any ideas on this?
Joe

You Make The Call
A golfer tries to hit a shot over a water hazard marked with yellow stakes. The ball lands on the opposite side, appears to come to a stop, but then trickles down a slope and into the water. Where should the golfer take a drop?
A. On the far side because the ball successfully cleared the water before it rolled back in.
B. On the near side because the shot did not successfully finish on the other side.
(answer is below)

Joe,
Why is it OK to play a provisional ball if you are not sure a ball went out of bounds, but it is not OK to play a provisional if it is a water hazard instead of OB?
Mike

Hi Mike,
The penalty for OB is stroke and distance, so if the ball were OB and you did not hit a provisional, you would have to march back to the tee and play again. The penalty for a water hazard is not stroke and distance, so you can drop near the spot where it entered the water, which eliminates the need to march back to the tee, therefore no need for a provisional.
Joe

Answer to You Make The Call (above): B is correct because you cannot drop closer to the hole from where the ball entered the water.

Jody, my Evil Twin, any comments on that?
Answer: That means if you cannot see whether or not the ball rolled back into the water due to tall grass, and you cannot hit a provisional for water hazards, you have to march all the way around the pond to find out, and if the ball is not there, you have to assume it went into the water, so you have to march all the way back around the pond and play the ball on the other side because you were not allowed to hit a provisional ball for a water hazard because if you did, that ball immediately becomes the ball in play, even if you do happen to find the first ball on the other side. That hinders pace of play and therefore that is a bad rule.

Joe,
I heard that the balls retrieved from water hazards do not go as far as new balls? Is that true? Do they get a little water logged?
Will

Hi Will,
I have read test reports that showed the "pond" balls travel only a few yards less than new balls on the average. What these tests did not say is how many yards does any ball lose after it has been used for awhile, even without being in a pond. I do not think they get water logged. My guess is that the more a ball is used, the less distance it will travel anyway, pond or no pond. So if you have a lot of money, and you want every single yard possible, just keep buying new balls. If you are like most people who want to save money, you might choose to use "experienced" balls that you find for free and live with the loss of a few yards.
Joe

Joe,
What do you think is the best type of putter to buy? Does the shape really matter? Why are the expensive ones any better than the cheap ones?
Preston

Hi Preston,
When you count all the strokes used for each of your clubs for any round, the putter by far is used the most times, so it makes sense to get a putter that you like. That does not mean it has to be an expensive putter. Consider this, even if you have a perfect putting stroke, you still will not make very many putts unless you read the green perfectly, and stroke the putt with the perfect line and the perfect speed, and who is that perfect? To make matters more complicated, even if you read the green correctly and make a perfect stroke, the putt may still hit an imperfection in the green and lip out. The answer to your question, in my opinion, is that there is a good chance you can putt just as well with a cheap putter as you can with an expensive putter, just find one that feels good and have a contest using that one against a borrowed goochy-fufu-expensive one and see which one wins the contest. The mind is a powerful thing, so you are more likely to make a more confident stroke with a putter that you like, expensive or not. It is the confident stroke that makes you a better putter, more so than the brand or the type or shape of the club.
Joe

Two golfers happen to use the same brand ball, same number on it, and no other markings. They both hit their drives down the middle, the same distance, and they end up so close together that they could not tell which ball was theirs. What is the ruling?
A. Whenever you cannot identify your ball, the lost ball penalty applies. Go back to the tee and replay both shots.
B. It does not make any difference, you cannot prove either ball does not belong to either golfer.
C. Flip a coin to see which is which.
D. Have a swordfight with your drivers to determine who gets first choice.



A is officially correct, although I personally think it is stupid. Pros have forecaddies, so this can’t happen in tournaments. Recreational golfers do not have the luxury of forecaddies, so for recreational golf, B and C are both OK. For purists who take everything literally, D is only kidding.

Rule makers, use your head, the balls were not lost, they were clearly visible in the same spot. Anyone who says they are lost is a moron. If you can see the ball and play it, it is not lost. Proper skills were used to get the balls there. Furthermore, if you go back to the tee, you are going to delay the pace of play for all other golfers playing behind you. Golf should be a game of relative skills, not blockhead technicalities. Rules like this should be only for tournaments. Otherwise just flip a coin. If a coin flip is acceptable for football games, where there is a lot of money at stake, what is so wrong about doing the same in this situation where it really does not make any difference which ball is which?

You Make The Call
You address the ball on the tee and accidentally knock it off the tee, and everyone watching thinks they are in a choir and they all sing in unison ONE. Then on the fairway you address the ball and when you ground your club the ball seems to move along with the soft grass but it does not move away from its original spot. Then on the green, you are about to address your putt and the wind moves the ball. Which one of these events is a penalty? (answer is below)


Joe,
At the recent Masters, they showed a replay of the telecast from 1960, during which Arnold Palmer left the pin in for a long putt, and his putt hit the pin. Why was that not a penalty?
Florence

Hello Florence,
By today’s rules that would have been a penalty, but at that time it was not a penalty for a putt to strike the pin. This is an example of how rules have changed over time despite those purists who say the rules are sacred (genuflect) and cannot be changed. I do not know why that rule was changed, I think they should have left it the same because it slows the game down when you have to wait for someone to walk up there and pull or tend the pin. I seriously doubt that there is any advantage gained by deliberately using the pin as a backstop because sometimes a putt might have fallen but the pin kept it out. There will always be debate about that, but I prefer rules that speed up the game. Then you have the jerks who would call a penalty on you if you tend the pin improperly. From a sportsmanship standpoint, I do not think the game needs that sort of nonsense.
Joe

Answer to You Make The Call (above)
No penalty for any of them. On the tee box you have not yet put the ball in play. On the fairway it is a penalty only if the ball moves away from its original spot, and on the green it is only a penalty if you have already grounded your club.

Jody, my Evil Twin, what do you think of these rulings?
Answer: Sometimes the rules do not allow for common sense. Common sense would dictate that if no advantage was gained by an accidental infraction, there would be no point in calling a penalty. And don’t feed me that line that says a rule is a rule, that is a brainless explanation. Let the scores be determined by shotmaking, not by bookworm technicalities.

Joe,
The TV announcer said he would not recommend the way Zach Johnson putts. Do you agree?
Johnny

Hello Johnny,
Putting styles are very individualistic things. If a conventional style is not working for you, what choice do you have but to try something unconventional? When Chris DiMarco started using the claw grip, people did not recommend that either, but when he started sinking putts from all over the place, more people started using variations of it. Bernhard Langer changes styles all the time, and so do many other pros. Zach tilts the shaft backwards and it works for him because he can keep the face square to the hole that way. This is the main point. Whatever style keeps the face square has to be OK for you.
Joe

Joe,
I find it hard to keep my left arm straight while I swing. I am right handed. Is it bad to bend it a little bit so I can take a longer backswing?
Alex

Hello Alex,
A bigger shoulder turn should help. Keeping the left arm straight accomplishes two good things. It assures the widest possible arc, and the wider the arc, the higher the clubhead speed. It also assures a more consistent arc, for example, if you allow the left elbow to bend, you have to be consistent in how much it bends or else the arc will be inconsistent, and therefore your ball striking will be inconsistent. In your case, as well as many other people, your body build will not let you keep it perfectly straight without restricting your backswing, so just keep it comfortably straight and you should be OK with a slight bend.
Joe

Joe,
Help me settle confusion on keeping the head still. I thought it was a good thing but I read about Harvey Penick saying anyone who keeps the head still cannot play.
Hank

Hello Hank,
Harvey was referring to keeping the head absolutely still, which would restrict your motion. Steady is a better word because it is OK for the head to rotate a little bit. Some instructors say the head must move a little bit sideways if you have a proper weight shift. It is true that you can get more power by allowing the head to move sideways during the backswing, but that is only for people who have no problems with good ball contact. If you find yourself hitting shots fat or thin or wild, then I would recommend keeping the head more steady and avoid the sideways movement. Jack Nicklaus’ instructor used to grab the back of his hair to prevent too much head movement, and Jack was still one of the longest drivers of his era, so I am not sold on the idea that sideways head movement helps. I think Jack can play, don’t you?
Joe

Joe,
Sometimes I see golfers stop their backswing at the top and check their position. What can I learn from this?
Chester

Hi Chester,
Some people prefer to check the position of the leading wrist. I prefer to check whether or not the shaft is on the same plane as my leading arm, and also that the clubface is not overly open or shut.

Jody, my Evil Twin, what is your opinion on this?
Answer: You can learn how many hands you have, and which one is wearing the glove.

Joe,
Is there a drill for learning to stay down on the shot?.
Frank Danoy

Hi Frank,
Next time you are at a practice range where they have mats with permanent rubber tees, take several lazy swings back and forth, and try to clip the rubber tee on both the backswing and the downswing. This will help you stay focused on the spot. On the course, whenever you take a practice swing, visualize a ball being there as you swing. When you take your actual shot, visualize that the ball is not there and just execute the swing. Let us know if this helps you.

Jody, my Evil Twin, what is your opinion on this?
Answer: Tie some fishing line to one of your shirt buttons with a large fish hook at the other end, place the fish hook between you legs. Whenever you look up, you will receive a biofeedback reminder.

thanks a lot for your email with lot of information regarding Golf. i have a question for Mr.joe Delorenzo
my left arm goes up before impact and result slightly bend in my left elbow (sign motion). i have been through many pros and watched many DVD. i put towel under my left chest, i hold my left arm attach to my left chest and etc.... i have handicap 13, but i am short with driver, and because at impact my left arm goes up and overpowered by right arm. so in this case i won't be able to have proper follow through. thanks in advance for your tips.
rgds
bahman
Germany Hamburg

Hello Bahman, this is Joe,
It sounds like you have what is called a chicken wing follow thru, where you left elbow stays high. You need to make it go low. To do that, you must roll your right arm over the top of your left arm at impact. Your left elbow then would be pointing toward the ground instead of the sky. Forget the towel and forget attaching your arm to your chest, this will only restrict you and cause loss of distance. You must extend your follow thru away from the body with your right arm above your left, and your distance should improve.
Joe

Joe,
It is said that each higher club hits the ball that extra 10m or so longer. So if my PW travel about 100m the 9I about 110m etc... What I have found is that I have gaps between clubs. Let me explain, PW (100m), 9I(110m), 8I(120m)..7I(150m), 6I(155m), 5I(165m), 4I(175m), 3I(180m). I use the same set of irons (Taylormade RAC OS2). Without making it out to be a very private lesson, can you explain the big difference between the 8I & 7I... it is a problem for me as some of the Par 3s I am in between clubs & usually miss the greens as either I try & slam the life out of the 8I or ease off on the 7I & mess up both of them more often that not. I play off a 18 HCP
Thanks in advance.
Sid

Hello Sid,
Your information suggests that you need your loft angles adjusted on some of your irons. At minimum, your 7i needs more loft. However, most people who are not scratch golfers do not hit the ball squarely every time, so the distance can vary quite a bit. In your case even if you did hit your irons exactly the way you say, your handicap should be a lot lower than 18, so it would seem your short game should be more of a concern to you than your iron game. Try this experiment. Play a round using only your even numbered irons and PW. I suspect your score will not be much worse than with a full set, plus you will get a lot more practice on chipping and pitching since you are not likely to hit as many greens. You will also be forced to learn how to adjust your swing for those in between distances. Most of the time you will be better off swinging easier with more club rather than swinging too hard with less club.
Joe

Joe,
Every now and then I see an ad about secrets of golf. Are any of these secrets any good?
Bill

Hi Bill,
All of us are built differently, so a "secret" position or "magic move" move for one person may or may not work for another person. Many times a "magic move" will work for awhile, and then it will stop working and you won’t know why. There are a lot of things going on during a golf swing, and sometimes a magic move will result in aligning your muscles in a good way. But your muscles are changing every day, some stronger, some weaker, in different combinations, so it stands to reason that many of these "secrets" fall in the category of "Mannerisms" which are different than "Fundamentals" which are more important. For example, in Ben Hogan’s secret the supination of the wrist is a mannerism that leads to the fundamental of lining up the club shaft on the same plane with the leading arm for the downswing. The secret of driving the right knee is the mannerism that leads to the fundamental of shifting the lower body weight from the back leg to the front leg. If you only think of the mannerisms without the fundamentals, then you have to guess how much or how little to supinate the wrist or how hard to drive the knee. By thinking of the fundamentals instead, you can reduce this guesswork.
Joe

Joe,
I have played golf once per week for many years, but from the third year onward, my scores have not improved. I should think that a person should continually improve over time, but I have not. I don’t understand why. Is there no hope of getting any better?
Rory

Hi Rory,
If you play once per week, but you do not practice in between, then it is not logical to assume that things will get better while you continue to do things the same way as always. Nothing is going to get better unless you change the way you do things. If you cannot get to a range in between rounds, just hit some wiffle balls at your local park. At least you ball striking should improve. Have a contest with your current grip against a different grip. Many people think the interlock grip is best just because it is used by Tiger and Jack, however many people find that the overlap works better, and the simple 10 finger grip may work best, despite the perception that it is a beginner’s grip, which is a false perception. Some people are blessed with a lot of natural athletic ability, while others must work at it to get better. Set some realistic expectations for yourself. Everyone has some bad shots. Just try to minimize them, or make them better bad shots. That may sound silly, but for example, a thinned shot is usually better than a fat shot, so make sure your strikes the ball before it strikes the ground.
Joe

Joe,
I usually hit a tee shot with a driver fairly high, and often see a ball mark not too far from where the ball comes to rest. This obviously means that I am getting very little roll on the ball after it hits the ground. A few weeks ago, I "accidentally" hit three drives low, and each of these drives ended up being by far the longest drives that I have ever hit on those three holes. I think it's obvious that I got a lot of roll on those drives, and that I should work on learning to hit lower drives (when needed). What is the best way to adjust my swing (including setup) to hit lower drives and get more roll on the ball after landing? Much appreciated.
Garth

Hi Garth,
The quick answer is to tee the ball lower, but there could be more to it than that, I would have to see how you setup and swing to comment further. If your ball flight starts out low and balloons upward, you are hitting down too much and giving the ball underspin, so your ball position might be too far towards center. If your ball position is forward and you hit all your shots higher than most people, and also tend to fade, it is likely the way you swing. If you only hit your driver high, and you do not fade, then I suspect your driver shaft has too much flex, so try a driver with a stiffer shaft and lower loft and compare results.
Joe