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PrintQ&A with Your Personal Golf Tech
June, 2008 - Issue #44
Q: I can't stop slicing the ball. What can I do to avoid this?
A: Slicing the ball can be caused by a variety of body motions and by several different transgressions occurring in your hands and arms. Mostly, it is the result of beginning the downswing while turning the upper body towards the ball before you begin to rotate your hips. This causes the hands and arms to pull the club down to the ball from the "outside," which imparts too much side spin on the ball. There are a plethora of band-aids that can be applied, but none really stick. Your solution is a fundamental change in the body motion sequence used during the transition of backswing to downswing. Lower body rotation first, followed by the upper body - not vise-versa. It takes time, patience and substantial focus to retrain your body's current reflex movement into something more effective, but have faith - the effort is worth the fight!
Q: I like to hit the driving range before I play 18, but my neighbor says that hitting a bucket of balls simply wears out your best shots. Thoughts?
A: The adage of "leaving your best shots on the range" took root from those golfers who feel they only have a couple of good shots in their bag. This becomes evident when you look at how the best players in the world "warm-up." Some hit a few (John Daily and Fred Couples), most a moderate amount (Tiger Woods), and a few players hit a significant number of balls (Vijay Singh and Charles Howell III). My recommendation to most amateurs is that you hit just enough balls to warm up. You need to be comfortable with the motions of the golf swing (back/legs/hips). Start with the wedges, move to a mid-iron (6, 7 or 8) and finish with the driver. Hit just a few shots with each to capture "today's feel" when the ball is hit within expectation, then move onto the next club. It's about warming up, not wearing out.
Chuck Whitlock is the director of instruction for GolfTEC of Santa Clarita 799-7886 www.golftec.com/santaclarita.
Log onto www.insidescv.com/golf for more great golf tips from our pros, including Mike Messner, PGA head golf professional and Garrett Goodrich, PGA assistant professional - both of TPC - and Chuck Whitlock, director of instruction for GolfTEC of Santa Clarita.
A: Slicing the ball can be caused by a variety of body motions and by several different transgressions occurring in your hands and arms. Mostly, it is the result of beginning the downswing while turning the upper body towards the ball before you begin to rotate your hips. This causes the hands and arms to pull the club down to the ball from the "outside," which imparts too much side spin on the ball. There are a plethora of band-aids that can be applied, but none really stick. Your solution is a fundamental change in the body motion sequence used during the transition of backswing to downswing. Lower body rotation first, followed by the upper body - not vise-versa. It takes time, patience and substantial focus to retrain your body's current reflex movement into something more effective, but have faith - the effort is worth the fight!
Q: I like to hit the driving range before I play 18, but my neighbor says that hitting a bucket of balls simply wears out your best shots. Thoughts?
A: The adage of "leaving your best shots on the range" took root from those golfers who feel they only have a couple of good shots in their bag. This becomes evident when you look at how the best players in the world "warm-up." Some hit a few (John Daily and Fred Couples), most a moderate amount (Tiger Woods), and a few players hit a significant number of balls (Vijay Singh and Charles Howell III). My recommendation to most amateurs is that you hit just enough balls to warm up. You need to be comfortable with the motions of the golf swing (back/legs/hips). Start with the wedges, move to a mid-iron (6, 7 or 8) and finish with the driver. Hit just a few shots with each to capture "today's feel" when the ball is hit within expectation, then move onto the next club. It's about warming up, not wearing out.
Chuck Whitlock is the director of instruction for GolfTEC of Santa Clarita 799-7886 www.golftec.com/santaclarita.
Log onto www.insidescv.com/golf for more great golf tips from our pros, including Mike Messner, PGA head golf professional and Garrett Goodrich, PGA assistant professional - both of TPC - and Chuck Whitlock, director of instruction for GolfTEC of Santa Clarita.
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