Joe,
I feel all golfers should play the ball down, but you say not always. Why not?
Answer: The pros do not always play the ball down, in wet conditions they are sometimes allowed to “lift, clean, and place”. In the old days, players were not allowed to do that, they had to play from plugged lies, even on the greens. But one day the rules committee grew some brains and changed that rule, so don’t tell me all rules are so sacred that they cannot be changed. That kind of mentality is for mindless people who are incapable of rational thought. That being said, only good golfers should play the ball down. Until they get good, here are the Top Ten reasons why high handicappers should be allowed to improve their lie:
‘1. Pace of play will improve
‘2. The game will be more enjoyable
‘3. The game is expensive, so to get your money’s worth, there is no reason to let bad lies spoil shots.
‘4. If a high handicapper cannot hit a good shot from a good lie, it makes no sense to try it from a bad lie.
‘5. This makes their handicaps lower so it will be easier to beat them in competition.
‘6. Course conditions on public courses are far more likely to give bad lies than tournament courses.
‘7. It makes little difference to anyone else whether their score comes out to 110 or 130.
‘8. Because sortagolf.com says so
‘9. It defeats cheaters who, when you are not looking, either step on your ball or improve their own lie.
‘10. It upsets the mindless purists, which always brings me great pleasure.
Tuesday, December 20, 2005
Joe,
I see in magazines how you are supposed to have the toe of the club pointed up during the backswing when the club is halfway back and parallel to the ground. They say this means the club is square to the target. I don’t get it. The clubface is pointed to the side, right? I cannot look back during a normal swing to see if the toe is pointing up, so if this is so important, how can I get a feel for this? Please explain.
Slightly Confused
Dear Slightly,
Sometimes the way things are explained can be taken the wrong way, so a different way of explaining the same thing is in order. Picture your swing being like a door. The doorknob is pointing to the target. Then the door swings open and the doorknob is no longer seems to be pointing to the target, but considering the turning motion, the knob is definitely square to the turn, and will again be square to the target when the door turns back to the original position. If you have trouble relating this to the real clubface, consider the palm of your back hand being parallel to the clubface. Now you no longer have to think about the clubface or the toe of the club because you can feel whether or not your palm is in proper position. If you can feel your palm being in a vertical position when the club is halfway back, chances are pretty good that the toe will be pointing up. I hope this helps.
Joe
I see in magazines how you are supposed to have the toe of the club pointed up during the backswing when the club is halfway back and parallel to the ground. They say this means the club is square to the target. I don’t get it. The clubface is pointed to the side, right? I cannot look back during a normal swing to see if the toe is pointing up, so if this is so important, how can I get a feel for this? Please explain.
Slightly Confused
Dear Slightly,
Sometimes the way things are explained can be taken the wrong way, so a different way of explaining the same thing is in order. Picture your swing being like a door. The doorknob is pointing to the target. Then the door swings open and the doorknob is no longer seems to be pointing to the target, but considering the turning motion, the knob is definitely square to the turn, and will again be square to the target when the door turns back to the original position. If you have trouble relating this to the real clubface, consider the palm of your back hand being parallel to the clubface. Now you no longer have to think about the clubface or the toe of the club because you can feel whether or not your palm is in proper position. If you can feel your palm being in a vertical position when the club is halfway back, chances are pretty good that the toe will be pointing up. I hope this helps.
Joe
