Joe,
I am fighting a hook, and I am told that my grip is OK (Vs pointing at the chin), but I am rolling my forearms too much, but that is my natural move, and whenever I try a move that feels unnatural, I have poor contact. Other than just playing for my hook, is there anything else I can try?
Herbert

Hello Herbert,
During the setup, look at your leading arm. If your leading elbow is pointing at the target, this could cause your arms to roll on the downswing. If you have ever seen a photo of Ben Hogan’s setup, both his elbows are pointing in toward his body. This helped Ben fight his hook because the forearms are less likely to roll as much from that position. I hope this helps you.
Joe

Joe,
With today’s better balls and better clubs, the experts say a lot of courses will become obsolete because they have no more room to expand. But everyone I talk to says they are not scoring any better than they ever did. How can this be if everyone is hitting the ball longer than before?
Tabby

Hi Tabby,
Many courses in my area cannot expand, so they have undergone renovations to make them more attractive and more difficult, some call it tricking up the course by adding more bunkers and water hazards and letting the rough grow taller. But the main thing I have noticed is faster and more sloping greens with thicker grass around and up against the edges, so if you miss the green, there are no easy chip shots. You can forget about chipping with any other iron but a wedge. Even if you hit the green, if these greens get firm, your approach shots will bounce on and over into the thick grass. So even when these courses are not longer, they are certainly not as easy to score on.
Joe

Joe,
If a wider swing arc leads to more distance, it would seem to make sense to use clubs with longer shafts than standard length. I have tried such clubs without much success. What is the reason for this?
Ray

Hello Ray,
It is true that clubhead speed increases with wider swing arc, but there is something more important going on here. The longer the shaft, the more difficult it is to strike the ball in the middle of the clubface, which we call the sweet spot. I have seen cases where a golfer improved simply by getting shorter shafts than normal and being able to strike the sweet spot more often. Longer shafts may give you occasional longer shots, but your average distance is not that great if you have more mis-hits. Unless you can strike the ball on the sweet spot every time, longer shafts may not be such a great idea.
Joe

Joe,
Here's a question that I've never seen asked or answered: What is a drill or a technique to help hit the ball on the sweet spot more consistently? Everyone talks about hitting the ball on the sweet spot but what is a good drill to get you into hitting that sweet spot.
Thanks,
Bill Lapitsky

Hi Bill,
I like to start with the double clubber drill as shown in the Body Golf videos. Then I use a single club and a practice mat that has a permanent rubber tee and repeat this back and forth motion, trying to clip the tee on both the forward stroke and the backward stroke continuously. This helps to train your muscles into the same groove for each stroke. If you can do this every day, it should help your consistency.
Joe

Joe,
I have been trying several different brands of balls, but I do not notice much difference between them. I shoot in the 80s and I think I could shoot in the 70s if I can just hit more greens. I can hit pretty straight but I always seem to be long or short even tho I think I am using the right club for the distance, wind or no wind. What kind of ball might help me?
Tyrone

Hello Tyrone,
It is possible that you are going long or short because you are using different types of balls, each of which may be giving you different distances for the same kind of shot. This is less likely to happen if you just picked one type of ball and stayed with it all the time. Since you are hitting straight, you might also benefit from a high spin ball instead of a distance ball. The opposite would be true for people who do not hit straight.
Joe

Joe,
Are used golf balls any worse than new ones? Is there any way to tell when it is time to stop using a ball?
Ned

Hi Ned,
Sometimes used balls are worse, especially if they have been hit too many times. Do not use any balls having scuff marks, even small ones, because those can affect the way the ball flies. If the ball has no marks, you can do this rebound test to compare one new ball to one used ball. Find a smooth cement surface and hold the two balls together in the same hand, as high as possible over your head. Drop the balls together and see if they both rebound to the same height. If they do, they are both OK to use.
Joe

Joe,
I'm left handed. Don't hold that against me. I can hit the ball realistically 300 yards every drive. My problem: it is a crab shoot as to where it will go 200 yards straight 100 due east, 250 yards straight 50 yards due west. It looks good on the driving range but it kills me on the course and tight courses forget it. My 180 yard 7 iron goes pretty straight most of the time, but ego won't let me play golf with that off the tee and hitting 4th on the second shot. Please advise.
Rich

Hi Rich,
Since I have never seen your swing, there are a lot of possibilities here. If you hit a 7-iron off the tee and you still have the longest drives in your group, that should squash the egos of the others in your group, and in return that should help your own ego. I guess that means you also have this problem with fairway woods and lower numbered irons, or else you would be using them instead of a 7 iron, right? Have you always had this problem or only recently? Have you tried to shorten your swing? Have you tried a different set of clubs? It could be that your clubs are not matched to your swing. On the other hand, if you are able to hit most of your clubs straight, then try a different driver, because there is a good chance your current driver is not matched to your other clubs. There are so many different types available that will give you different results with the same swing. Even the same brand with a different shaft will make a difference. Try to attend some demo days where you can try out different types for free.
Joe

Joe,
Any tips for those of us who lose concentration when we get nervous?
Laurie

Hello Laurie,
Everyone gets butterflies in the stomach, so the trick is to make those butterflies fly in formation. In other words, accept the fact that you are nervous, don’t fight that feeling because it is not going to go away. Tell yourself that the more nervous you feel, the more you are going to focus on execution. You can only control what happens before the ball is struck. After that you are only an observer, so just make sure you finish your stroke completely before you look up. Most people who give in to nervousness cannot wait to see where the ball goes, so they look up too soon and never finish the stroke properly, whether it is a putt, a chip, or a full shot. Part of a game plan is to know ahead of time what you will focus on, whenever you get a case of the heebie-jeebies. Then when that happens, you are already prepared. The swing thought is to execute fully, and don’t cut it short.
Joe

Joe,
I thought it was a good thing to keep your head down, but now I am hearing it is not a good thing. Which is it?
Ken

Hi Ken,
Some people are so intent on keeping the head down that they hunch their head down between the shoulders like a frightened turtle. This will definitely interfere with your turn, so I prefer to say keep your head steady and stare at the ball spot even after the ball has been hit. Furthermore, push your shoulders down at address so you will be able to turn more freely. This will also widen your swing arc which will increase your clubhead speed. I hope this clarifies things.
Joe

Joe,
I am a beginner and I know that the lower numbered clubs are supposed to hit the ball farther, but I hit my 5 iron farther than my 3 and 4 iron, and I hit my fairway woods farther than my driver. Am I a freak of nature? What is going on here?
Lonnie

Hi Lonnie,
This is not a freak of nature. It is not always true that lower ball flight means longer shots. It is entirely possible to hit the ball too low if the ball does not stay in the air long enough, especially in wet conditions. In the old days conditions were a lot dryer and firmer, so the ball would roll forever, so low shots were preferred, but nowadays conditions are generally softer, so you get less roll, so the ball must stay airborne longer. My advice is to replace your long irons with hybrids and replace your driver with one that has 15 degrees loft.
Joe

Joe,
I understand the knees are supposed to be flexed before the swing, but when I do that I feel my turn is restricted. Is it OK not to flex the knees?
Kenny

Hello Kenny,
There is a term called an athletic stance, which is used in several sports like baseball, basketball, football, and more. The idea of this stance is to be in good firm balance and in a position that is ready for action. For golf, the knees should be flexed, but less so than other sports, because as you pointed out, it is possible to flex them too much which will restrict your turn. I do not think you will have much success with zero knee flex, just allow them to flex a little bit, and your turn should not be restricted by them.
Joe

Joe,
It is really cool when the pros can make the ball back up when hitting the green on an approach shot. What swing changes do I have to make in order to do that?
Becky

Hi Becky,
Be careful about making swing changes if you are already striking the ball consistently. It is never as important to get shots to spin back as it is to get clean contact on every shot. Even pros cannot make backspin work when the greens get "firm", and they get to play on the best greens while the rest of us have to play on public courses that have greens that are about as firm as a parking lot. So unless you are a single digit handicapper, forget the spin and just keep striking the ball better and avoid tips that cause fat or thin shots. If you are a single digit handicap, and you do want to get more spin, clean your iron grooves before every shot with a small wire brush, play the ball a little further back in your stance and hit down at it.
Joe

Joe,
I have been trying the X-factor theory to get more distance by turning the shoulders more and the hips less, and it works most of the time, but sometimes I block the shot out to the right. I do not feel like I do anything wrong, but it just happens too often and I don’t know why. Help!
Jonathan

Hello Jonathan,The X-factor requires perfect timing on the downswing between your lower body going forward and your shoulders trying to catch up. If your hips are too quick and your shoulders cannot catch up in time, a blocked shot is a likely result. Instead of the X-factor, you might want to try a one piece backswing which means the shoulders and hips work together so there is no timing difference. The golfer whose timing is best is Annika Sorenstam who seems to just flow into the ball, watch how her shoulders and hips work together without the X-factor.
Joe

Joe,
For the backswing, is it better to set the wrists early or at the top?
Ed

Hello Ed,
Although some people have success setting the wrists early, most people get inconsistent results with this because the wrists set a little earlier one time, and a little later the next time. Those who use the one piece backswing tend to have more consistent results because the wrists do not set until the top of the backswing. The important thing is to reach your best hitting position at the top of the backswing. If you can feel that strong position, then try both methods and use whichever method that gets you there.
Joe

Joe,
I would like to putt with my shoulders as you suggested . . .Sometimes this works great . . .But often times, I move my whole body with the shoulders with terrible results . . . .Is there something I can think of to use only the shoulders?
Ed

Hello Ed,
There is no single putting method guaranteed to work for everyone. Using the shoulders is only a common recommendation on the best chance for success for those who have not been able to find any other method that works for them. In your case, I can only guess that you tried the shoulders because you were not satisfied with your other methods, whatever they were. It may be time for you to try a belly putter, which forces your arms, shoulders, hands, and body to work together. Many golf stores have a putting area where you can try one. You can even make your own by cutting a hole in the top of the grip and inserting a broken shaft to any desired length, even a wooden dowel will work. Good luck to you.
Joe

Joe,
I cannot seem to get any consistency to hit longer chip shots and pitches, many times I will hit the ball thin or fat. I have tried to follow all the conventional ways to do these shots but I just cannot do it. What else can I try?
James

Hello James,
Most of the time this is caused by failing to keep your hands ahead of the club. If you allow your wrists to flip too soon, the likely result is a thin or fat shot. If the conventional methods do not work for you, you might as well try something unconventional to keep the wrists from breaking. For example, you may have heard of the term called a flying elbow. Usually this term is not recommended, but on putts and chip shots if this helps to keep your wrist locked, then it might be worth a try. Move your back elbow outward so that your forearm is more along the target line and feel how this bends your wrist. Now if you can keep the wrist in this position while you execute the stroke, your ball striking may improve. Again, this is a bit unconventional, but it might be worth a try.
Joe

Joe,
Firstly thank you for all the great tips. Hopefully you receive this email and respond. It would be highly appreciative of you. I've being playing golf for almost a year now and I'm hooked. I would like some advice on a good practice routine at the driving range.
Regards
Christopher

Hello Christopher,
First of all warm up with some stretching and some double clubber drills. To avoid wasting any balls, swing at a tee first. Always have a target. Start with wedge shots. Whenever you hit two good shots with one club, move up to the 9-iron, then 8, then 7, etc. until you have used all your clubs. Then try a few half wedges and when all this is done, pretend you are playing a hole by starting with a driver, then a short iron, then a half wedge. Then play another pretend hole by starting with driver or fairway wood, and a different iron. Do not hit too many shots with the same club. By alternating clubs you will avoid the problem of getting into a groove with one club and being unable to hit any other club. Good luck to you.
Joe

Question:
Tiger was recently criticized for saying he putted like a spazz. Do you think there was anything wrong with that?

Answer: What goes around comes around. Tiger was only trying to be funny, just like when Fuzzy Zoeller tried to joke about Tiger winning his first Masters, saying the food will be something like greens and watermelon. There was no intention of offending anyone, it was only a joke. The sad thing is that Fuzzy really took a beating for saying that, and I don’t remember Tiger coming to his aid, and as a result Fuzzy, one of golf’s most charitable ambassadors, was brought to tears. Just one example of how the press will do anything to get a story by creating unnecessary controversy.

Joe,
My swing on the range is fine, but on the course I cannot seem to repeat the good shots I left on the range. This is driving me nuts. What is going on here?
Ronnie

Hello Ronnie,
On the range there is no pressure, no penalty for a bad shot, so your mind is more relaxed. Also you are swinging every few seconds so it is easy to get into a good rhythm. On the course you only swing once every several minutes, and the mind knows there are potential penalties out there on every shot. The mind is a powerful thing. It can change the way you swing without you being aware. Sometimes in the middle of your stroke you could feel a little fear, and when that happens the stroke is usually ruined. You have to train yourself to execute a stroke with certainty, without any fear. If you can commit yourself to that and a bad shot still results, then you can be pretty sure your error was mechanical and you can take steps to correct it. You can already have good mechanics but a sudden fear thought can spoil a swing. If you don’t understand that you might be trying to correct mechanics that had nothing wrong in the first place. These are mental errors that you must be strong to overcome.
Joe

Joe,
I hear sometimes the pros get put on a clock for slow play. How is that fair to a fast player who must play with a slow player?
Kelly

Hi Kelly,
In my opinion, it is not fair to the faster player. That player is trying to hurry up while the slower player does not care, but both get the penalty for slow play. I think the time has come to use a shot clock for individual golfers, just like basketball, if you don’t get the shot off within a specified number of seconds, a penalty is assessed to you alone, not your playing partner. Another idea might be that when it is your turn, you can only line up a putt from behind your ball, walking elsewhere on the green should be disallowed. You would be able to do that either while first walking up to the green or while it is someone else's turn.
Joe