Joe,
Every time I think I have really grooved my swing, the groove does not seem to last very long. Does this means that groove was not really a good way to swing?
George

Hello George,Maybe your swing was OK. This typically happens to people who do not follow a regular daily exercise routine. Their muscle tone changes more depending on their daily activities, and as the muscle tone changes, so does your swing without you even realizing it. People who keep their muscles toned with daily exercise are more likely to keep their swings in the groove because daily activities have less effect on changing your overall muscle tone.
Joe

Question for the Evil Twin:
Jody, since you and Joe play in Chicago you must have to compensate for a lot of wind, by the way, why is Chicago called the Windy City?

Answer: Because Wisconsin sucks and Indiana blows, and Chicago is caught in between. (note from Joe – apologies to our neighboring states, diplomacy is not Jody’s strong point; the real reason for the Windy City nickname is not due to weather, it is from the east coast politicians calling Chicago’s politicians a bunch of blowhards, that’s true, you could look it up).

Joe,
I can usually chip pretty good, but when the grass is high near the green, I have trouble chipping. What can I do about this?
Chad

Hello Chad,
This is not an easy shot because the tall grass sometimes grabs your club and your shot comes up short, but if you give it a little extra oomph, sometimes the grass does not grab your club and the shot goes too long. Here are some things to try. First, play the ball farther back in your stance and use a more lofted club. This will force you to strike the ball with a more descending blow which will prevent the high grass from snagging your club. Second, open the face of the club. This will allow the club to slide thru the grass more smoothly without getting snagged. Of course, this will send the ball to the right of your target, so just compensate by aiming left and swing aggressively along your body line.
Joe

Joe,
Ever since I HAD MY LEFT KNEE REPLACED i DEVELOPED THE YIPS IN THESE TWO AREAS. My putting is okay & my long game is okay. If I'm within 20 yards from the green I rarely git up & down in 2. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
Emmanuel Shedlock

Hello Emmanuel,
I don’t know which chipping method you use, but since your putting is OK, you can use your putting stroke for chipping, just choose the right iron that gives you the same distance control as your putter. Of course you must change your ball position to your back foot and make sure your hands stay ahead of the clubhead all the way thru the stroke. However, this only works for chips that do not have to carry very far over tall grass. If your carry must be longer, then take your wedge and strike the ball as hard as you would strike a putt which would have double the distance. In other words, if it is a 40 foot chip, then with the wedge strike the ball as hard as you would strike an 80 foot putt, because half the energy of your stroke is spent sending the ball upward.
Joe

Joe,
I am desperate for help. I just can't bring my range swing to the course. I practice diligently. At the range I work on all my clubs & chipping. I can hit 200 balls at the range & never top a shot or shank an iron, 70% of my driver hits are long and true, my irons are high & straight, taking divots consistently. Well, I get to the course and sure enough start to shank & top shots, skull my short irons & chips, and pull many shots to the right (I'm a lefty), and rarely take a divot. My swing feels the same & I am relaxed. I know I'm a good ball striker, I watch myself do it all the time. Any suggestions?
Joe - Cleveland, Oh

Hi Cleveland Joe,
On the range there is no pressure, on the course every shot counts so you know you cannot afford to waste a shot. On the range you are swinging every few seconds, so you can get into a good rhythm. On the course you are only swinging once every several minutes, so it is harder to get into any rhythm. Did you ever notice while on the range if you hit too many consecutive shots with a driver, then you have trouble hitting a short iron? The lengths of the shafts are so different that it takes time to adjust if your muscles get too used to hitting drivers most of the time. I would recommend you make changes to your range routine. Start with wedges and whenever you hit a good shot, change clubs and work your way up to the driver. Then put some pressure on yourself by playing an imaginary hole. Pick two targets that define the left and right limits of your fairway, and pretend they are OB markers. If you get your drive in between them, pick any iron and target and see how close you can shoot to it. Then pick a target for a half wedge shot and assume one putt if you hit it very close, two putts if you are reasonably close, and 3 putts if you are way off. What did you score? Try this over and over again, creating the same pressure you would have on the course. For your mental game, it is OK to get butterflies, just make the butterflies fly in formation. It is natural for anyone to get nervous, just accept that and be determined to execute to the best of your ability on each shot, one at a time. Don’t let an occasional bad shot bother you, this happens to everyone, just forget it and do your best on the next shot.
Joe

Joe,
Why do you enjoy golf?

Answer: Golf allows me to drink and drive, I get to gamble, I get to cuss out loud just like everyone else, and when the marshal pulls me over, he tells me to speed up. That is so cool. Where else can you have that much fun?

Joe,
ANY ADVICE TO CURE HITTING LEFT (EITHER BY HOOKING OR JUST PULLING IT STRAIGHT LEFT), ALSO POPPING THE BALL UP AND THEREFORE SHORT ON DRIVES,EVEN THOUGH THEY FLIGHT MAY BE STRAIGHT, IS ALSO A SYMPTOM.
Joe Damin

Hello to another Joe D,
Pulls are caused by the path of your club going to the inside at impact. Many people think they are swinging down the target line, but their body turn brings it to the inside before impact. Have a friend stand behind you to watch your swing path to verify this. The remedy is to make your backswing go inside out, that way your body turn will bring it back to square at impact. Hooks are caused by the face of the club being “closed” at impact. This can be corrected by adjusting your grip to a “weaker” position. Popup drives can be caused by incorrect ball position, I am sure you have already tried to tee the ball lower, right? If a centered ball position does not work for you, try it more forward, even as far as your front foot, and let us know how it turns out.
Joe

Joe,
Using a belly putter has improved my accuracy, but now I am having trouble lagging longer putts close to the hole. I do not want to give up the belly putter idea, so what can I try?
Ted

Hi Ted,
I use a belly putter also, and I have experienced the same problem. Here is something that has helped me, so maybe it can help you too. Hold the putter with your leading hand only, and bend your wrist so that the shaft stays pressed against your forearm. Then add your other hand to the grip and use your shoulders to make the stroke. The butt of the shaft is no longer against your belly, but this type of stroke feels more solid and smooth. Have a contest with your old stroke against this stroke and see which one wins.
Joe

Joe,
I hear greens usually break toward water or toward the setting sun, so which way does the green break if water is on the other side of the setting sun?

Answer: In that case it will break away from the cup and toward the bar.

Joe,
The rules are intended to make sure nobody gets an unfair advantage. Since you seem to have a problem with some of the rules, can you give an example where the rules did not promote fairness?
Stickler

Hi Stickler,
Most people have heard the story where Tiger’s gallery removed a large boulder from his line of play. Is that fair to golfers who do not have a gallery large enough to move the boulder? No, of course not. That means that the rules allow an unfair advantage to those who have a gallery. One would think a gallery is an “outside agency” that was going to affect the next shot. That would suggest that your gallery can break a tree branch for you as long as you don’t do it yourself, but no. On the other hand, a player who was leading the tournament was disqualified for having a second caddie just because his young son carried his putter to him. Do you really think there was any unfair advantage gained by this action? No, of course not, that idea is outrageously stupid. Such rules violate the spirit of fair play and therefore should be modified or abolished. At the very least there should be a process to allow local officials to overrule instances where accidental infractions had nothing to do with a shot or otherwise gaining unfair advantages. Scores should be based on shotmaking skills, not technicalities that have nothing to do with trying to cheat. For those who want to preserve the ancient tradition of the game, go back to playing wooden shafts and gutta percha balls or else you might be a hypocrite. If you can live with violation of ancient tradition by using high tech equipment then you can also live with improving rules to assure fair play and common sense rather than perpetuating stupid concepts just because they are traditional concepts. Tradition says golf clubs must have a “normal form”, yet look at some of the weird putter designs that are allowed. Once upon a time the (unchangeable?) rules said you had to play your balls from plugged lies, even on the greens, so you had to hack the ball out with an iron. Imagine trying to putt on such hacked up greens after wet weather. If you want to stick blindly to tradition, then don’t complain about the condition of the greens. Ball marks are nowhere near as bad as wedge divots. How come they violated tradition by changing that rule? Because once in a great while, the rulemakers do have a logical thought, that’s why, but that unfortunately does not happen often enough. Maybe someone should wake them up and inform them of the “continuous improvement” concept used in all other sports rules and business processes. Don’t get me started on this, I could go on all day. Grrrrr.
Joe

Joe,
When the ball lies against a collar of thick grass at the edge of a green, my club usually gets stuck when I try to chip it. I have even tried the “bellied wedge” where you hit the ball at the middle and that sometimes works, but not when the grass is really thick. Is there any other way to handle this?
Barnie

Hi Barnie,
This may sound somewhat unconventional, but if the bellied wedge does not work for you, position the ball way back in your stance, and try using the putter with a very steep downswing, banging the ball down into the ground. The ball should pop up and roll forward with overspin. With a little practice you can get a feel for distance control with this shot.
Joe

Joe,
I have read in several books and magazines that you should make a full shoulder turn, but I get better results with less turn. Any comments on this?
Tom

Hello Tom,
This is another concept that causes debate. In my opinion a full turn is recommended only for those who are blessed with a lot of athleticism and good hand-eye coordination. There certainly is nothing wrong with trying this on the practice range, but for many people this does not work because their ball striking suffers. In order to improve ball striking, start with a shorter turn until you can strike the ball on the sweet spot every time, and only then should you increase your turn a little at a time until your ball striking begins to suffer. Then you will have a better idea of the optimum amount of turn that is right for you. This is not always due to your type of body build. John Daly does not look like he is in the best of shape but he has such good athleticism and hand-eye coordination, that he has the biggest turn you will ever see. Other guys with an average build like Dana Quigley have a very short turn but he is very successful because he is so consistent. The more you turn, the more you risk trouble, so if you want more consistent ball striking, do the experiment mentioned above and find the right amount of turn for you.
Joe

Joe, why have you stopped using your old putter?
Answer: Two reasons, it could not make a putt, and it could not swim.

Joe,
Every time I shoot a good round and share the joy with my friends, I cannot seem to do it again the next time. Is there a reason for this?
Esther

Hello Esther,
Someone once hypothesized that the likelihood of repeating a good performance is inversely proportional to the number of people you tell about it. Does that mean you can’t ever tell anyone about a good round? Not really, that would be no fun. But you do have to be realistic when you go out the next time and remember how you achieved the good score, you cannot just assume it will happen again without good concentration. You can only do it again when good practice sessions allow you to have a certain amount of confidence in every part of your game. The part of your game that you neglect to practice is most likely the part that will cause problems in your next round.
Joe

Hi Joe,I wonder if you could help me - I have been playing golf for about 10 years, my handicap has gone out from 12 last year to 17 at present. I don't know what has gone wrong, but suddenly my backswing is only about a quarter swing, I cannot hit an iron at all, which used to be one of my strengths! I am also not getting any distance of note on all my shots. I realize that it is probably not possible to fix my problems via e-mail, but is there anything I can do?Regards Pieter Lindenberg

Hello Pieter,
If you are aware that your backswing is only a quarter swing, I assume that you have taken steps to correct this, but for some reason you cannot. Do you have an injury that is restricting your turn? If not, I would recommend the double clubber drill as shown in the Body Golf videos. This drill will help you attain a natural turn and good tempo without restricting anything. You are correct in saying it is not always possible to fix your problems by email, but if you can provide more details, maybe we can help. For example, what are your swing thoughts on your backswing and downswing? Unless we know this, it is hard to say what to do and what not to do. Let us know.
Joe

Joe,
My question concerns the position of where you stand when you hit the ball. On my drive I play the ball off of my left toe. Where is the position of the ball on the second shot, etc? Do you play it again off your left toe, in the middle, or?
Thank you,
Mickey

Hi Mickey,
There are always lots of different opinions on this. Some instructors say you have to vary the ball position depending on which club you are using, others say to keep it simple by playing it in the center for all clubs. Advanced players may benefit by varying their ball positions, but average players are probably better off with a centered ball position. I have seen people position the ball in a manner that they THINK is center, but it is too far back, and they can’t believe it until you show them by placing clubs on the ground, one parallel to the target line and the other perpendicular between the feet, that way they can see the true center position. The important thing is results. Everyone swings a little differently, and clubs, especially drivers, can be vastly different from each other. You might be surprised to find one driver works better from center while a different driver works better off the toe. But the driver is the only club to play off the toe, the others, in my opinion, should be played near the center. Take a look at your divots, are they shallow or steep? If they are steep, you probably are playing the ball too far back. Adjust your ball position until your divots are shallow, as long as you are striking the ball first and then the ground. That would be the optimal position for your swing. If this is different for each of your clubs, then either adjust accordingly, or perhaps your set of clubs is not well matched.
Joe

Joe,
I am a 12 handicap and I am having a problem with my putting. I am battling to hit the ball on the line I take to the hole. If I don't pull then I push the ball. On all the long putts I seem to pull the ball. Is there a simple solution to this problem. I look forward to hearing from you.Many thanksEric Abrahamse

Hello Eric,
The simplest way is to check your putting stroke on a tiled floor. Just watch your putting stroke against one of the tile lines. If you cannot make the stroke along the lines (a little bit to the inside is also OK), then you need to change the way you grip (reverse overlap is recommended) or the way you make the stroke, or both. Most people who have this problem are using too much wrist action during the stroke. I would recommend stroking with your shoulders only. Your arms should just go along with the shoulders and the wrists should be locked in the same position throughout the stroke. Also follow the no-peeking rule, which means do not look where the ball is going, just keep looking at the ball spot for one second after you hit it. This will help to keep your follow thru on the tile line and square to the target. Try these things with different styles of putters, you may be surprised that you can make a smoother stroke with a different type of club, like maybe a belly putter.
Joe

Question for the Evil Twin:
Jody, your poor attitude toward the Rules and mocking “Purists” is misleading people into thinking it is OK to break the rules. What have you got to say about this?

Answer: Two things. First, for recreational golfers, it’s only a game, not a courtroom procedure. Second, if you do really think it should be like a courtroom, then take a close look at this (!), you have just been e-mooned.

Joe,
I like John Daly’s term “Grip It and Rip It” better than the smooth swing concept because I don’t get much distance that way. Of course I am a little wild but it sure feels good to crush the ball once in awhile. But now I want my scores to improve, so do I necessarily have to give up and join the “dark side” by swinging like a p---y?
Hank

Hello Hank,
I assume you mean puppy, right? In both baseball and golf we have hitters and swingers, but in baseball you do not have to play your foul balls, unlike golf where you have to play all those shots no matter where they go. Hitters are more likely to swing hard and contact the ball at all different areas of the bat such as the handle, the tip, and occasionally the sweet spot, but you only have to be successful 3 out of 10 times to be called a good hitter. Swingers usually hit for a better percentage because they can contact the ball more frequently on the sweet spot of the bat. The same ideas holds true for golf. The better players are swingers, not hitters, and for the same reason. Most average golfers just think of hitting the ball while better golfers are thinking of executing a smooth swing with the ball just happening to be in the way. Many people can’t help being a hitter because you have the hitting concept ingrained into your subconscious. If you have reached a “plateau” in your scores, and you want to improve beyond that, you have to re-train your mind for swinging rather than hitting, and don’t worry about distance yet, it will come with an effortless delayed wrist snap. File your “hitting” swing away into your memory as your “Swing A”. This is the swing you have always been used to, and you can always go back to it if the following “Swing B” does not work for you right away. Meanwhile, keep working on Swing B, because the more you do the drill, the better it will work. On the practice range, always warm up with muscle stretches, and then take two clubs into your hands (or a heavily weighted club), and make some short lazy swings continuously just like a baseball player might do in the on-deck circle. Have a friend stand behind you to make sure your swings are on the correct plane or path. As you keep swinging continuously, little by little, lengthen the amount of backswing and follow-thru. Take it easy, never ever swing hard when you do this, the whole idea is to ingrain some motor muscle memory into your swing path, and the extra weighting will help. As you are swinging, take notice of your lower body weight shift. During your follow-thru, all your weight must be on the front foot (left foot for right handers), and the back foot should only be touching the ground with the toe. Keeping repeating this until it becomes second nature and you don’t have to think about it anymore. Then do this on a practice mat that has a rubber tee that stays in place, and try to clip it repeatedly with your two-club swing. After doing this as long as you can stand it, do the same with only one club, a short iron or wedge. If you are successful in clipping the tee every time, then place a ball on the tee and execute the same easy swing. Remember, you are not thinking about hitting the ball, you are thinking about executing a swing with the ball just happening to be in the way. If you can do this, you are on your way to much improvement. If you cannot do this quite yet, you are probably so preoccupied with the RESULT of your swing that you’re forgetting how to achieve it. You are probably very anxious and tense to see if you will get instant results. You build this picture of worry in your mind about where the ball might go and this worry will interfere with your swing. This is no time for tension. You’ve forgotten why you’re here. You’re playing, not working. You’re here to have a good time and get away from the troubles of everyday life, so unless you are playing for money, don’t sweat it. Let someone else watch where the ball goes, while you follow the “no peeking” rule, which will help your ball contact. This is a drill, do not watch the ball fly. Keep your eyes on the spot where the ball was sitting even after you your swing goes past it. Watch the pros on TV and in the magazines, you’ll see that at impact, every one of their faces is glued to where the ball is sitting at impact, and a little beyond! Start training yourself to count a beat before lifting your head up to watch the ball fly. Practice these smooth swings in your MIND whenever you have a chance. Just visualize perfect, smooth, effortless swings along with the ball flying straight and true time-and-again. It’s a scientifically proven fact that this type of mental programming can really help.
Joe

Joe,
I have question.one shot I find most difficult to hit on the golf course iswhen the ball is a on a sidehill lie above your feet.i hit the ball fat mostof time do you have a tip for this type of lie?
Rocky

Hi Rocky,
This usually happens when the setup is not adjusted for the lie. If your hands are too low at address, this could lead to a fat shot. Try raising the hands and stand a little further from the ball, so that the shaft is almost in line with your leading arm. This lie also will tend to cause a pulled shot, but don’t fight that, just allow for the pull and adjust your aim.
Joe