Month: August 2012

Categories
Hit More Fairways

Master Your Straight Golf Shot

By Shooting 90

A response by Hank Haney (@HankDHaney) to a question on Twitter recently caught my eye.

Hank replied “Straight” to the question of the one shot all golfers should learn. Hank helps amateurs with their golf game everyday on Twitter. He is a golf professional who coached Tiger Woods from 2004 to 2010. He is also author of The Big Miss and host of The Haney Project on The Golf Channel.

I enjoy watching professional golf on television. While there are many things you can pick up to improve your game from watching the pros, their ability to shape their shots with draws and fades is not something you should try to emulate until your games requires it.

You must master hitting your straight shot before you purposely curve your ball to the left (draw for right handers) or to the right (fade for right handers). Notice I said “hitting your straight shot” as opposed to “hitting the ball straight”. Your regular swing may produce a slight draw or fade which is perfectly natural and not a problem as long as your flight path is consistent. Keep in mind I’m not saying to work around a hook or slice. Hooks and slices are severe draws and fades which have too much movement to effectively manage. You should work on your swing to eliminate hooks or slices.

The fact is you can easily break 80 on a consistent basis without shaping any of your shots. I enjoy when I get the change to golf with older golfers. Many of these golfers lose a considerable amount of distance as they age, but their ability to consistently hit the ball straight enables them to continue to enjoy the game they love.

There is one shot, the punch shot, that you really need to go along with your straight shot which will help you get to shooting 90 and beyond. A punch shot has much less elevation than a normal shot. Low handicap and scratch golfers use a punch or knockdown shot to keep the ball down out of the wind while hitting their approach shots into the green. That is not what I recommend a high handicap golfer use a punch shot for. A high handicap golfer should know how to pull off a punch shot so they can go under tree branches and still get decent yardage on shots where they can not take a full backswing.

Play the ball back in your stance and choke down on the club to setup for a punch shot. You will also want to use a club or two more than you usually would for the yardage. Shorten both your backswing and follow through as you “punch” the ball.

Practice the punch shot next time you are at the practice range. It is a valuable tool to help get you out of troublesome spots. Keep enjoying watching the pros on TV. Just save trying to shape your shots until you are a low handicap golfer.

Categories
Golf Practice

Making the Most of the Practice Range

By Shooting 90

Hitting balls at the practice range is essential for a high handicap golfer to reach playing bogey golf. You are being unrealistic if you think working on your swing only during rounds is enough to quickly progress your game. While we all live busy lives and not many of us have the time that pros do to hit thousands of balls a week, an hour a week at the practice range could be the difference between shooting 90 or not.

Committing an hour a week at the practice range is the first and most important step but you also have to use that hour as productively as you can. Many amateurs hit too many balls with their driver or go through every club in their bag each time at the range. The best plan is to work primarily on the areas of your game that are costing you the most strokes. Keeping statistics during each round is the easiest way to know what you need to address at the practice range. Take the guesswork out of it and let your game tell you what you need to work on. Don’t work on improving an area of your game that is already relatively strong when there are other areas that truly need the work. Your golf game is only as strong as its weakest link.

Once you have determined what clubs to work on at the range, don’t just robotically hit one ball after another. Do some role playing. What I mean by this is to pick a definite target and go through your pre-shot routine. Simulate shots you will encounter during actual play. By doing this you will find it easier to translate what you gain on the range over to the course.

Along with a driving range, golf courses have a practice green to go along with it. Most of these practice greens also have a sand trap along side. The short game is the most important part of anyone’s golf game. It’s vital that you spend time on and around the practice green along with the time you spend on the practice range. More of your strokes come from putting than any other area of your game. Work on producing a consistent putting stroke so you can correctly judge the speed of your putts. Remember to work on the short putts so you can consistently drain the three foot putts on the course.

Putting is not the only part of your short game. We do not hit every green in regulation so we need to build proficiency around the green. Make practicing your chipping part of your regular routine at the practice range. Many amateurs use a wedge around the green for all their shots and attempt to fly the ball almost all the way to the hole. A better way is to get the ball rolling as soon as possible by using a less lofted club such as a seven or eight iron. Practice chipping the ball just on the green and correctly reading its roll to the hole. It’s easier to judge the slope of the green than it is to correctly fly it the right distance to the hole.

Most amateurs are terrified of hitting out of a green side sand trap. The truth is while it takes a different setup and swing to successfully get out of the sand, it is a shot that can become consistent for you with a little practice. Spend time in the practice bunker until you feel confident you can successfully land your ball on the green from a green side bunker while out on the course.

There may be some talented athletics who can take up golf and shoot 90 by just playing rounds, but most of us need to spend regular time on the practice range to elevate our game. Just spending time on the practice range isn’t enough. Target specific areas of your game that need the most work and include time for your short time in each practice session. Making time for quality practice each week will put you on the fast track to shooting 90.

Categories
Golf Fitness

Exercise Your Way to Better Golf

By Shooting 90

As always, check with your doctor before beginning any exercise program.

Most high handicap golfers could improve their swing and score by exercising regularly. While not required to enjoy golfing, a regular exercise program will increase your strength and flexibility thus adding distance and accuracy to your shots.

There are many golf fitness programs on the market specifically geared toward improving your golf game. Most of these programs provide exercises that strengthen and stretch the muscle groups used during a golf swing. Targeting these muscle groups can take a good golfer’s game to the next level. While these golf specific exercise routines can also benefit the high handicap golfer, I’m not convinced they’re necessary for the vast majority of high handicap golfers to reach shooting 90.

I would argue a general exercise program would be more beneficial to the high handicap golfer in both general health and shooting bogey golf. A large number of amateur golfers probably do not regularly exercise. Going from doing nothing to regularly performing a golf specific exercise program may not be sustainable.

A general exercise program will help control your weight, combat high blood pressure and diabetes, boost your energy, promote better sleeping and even improve your sex life. A good overall exercise routine will target flexibility, strength and endurance. Improvement in these three areas translates into a better, more powerful golf swing and more energy towards the end of your round.

Having more muscle flexibility means you’ll have a more complete, fluid swing. You will be able to more easily rotate your torso through your backswing and follow through. Greater flexibility is achieved through stretching your muscles on a regular basis. There are many stretching programs available today. The one I use is Stretch Max with Cathe Friedrich. It is a sixty minute DVD that is divided into three twenty minute segments. One segment involves just an exercise mat, the second uses a stability ball and the third utilizes resistance bands. I rotate through the segments doing a different twenty minute segment twice a week.

While muscle strength isn’t the major determining factor in golf shot distance, generally speaking adding muscle strength will add yardage to your shots. There are several different methods available for strength training. Most people either use machines or free weights. Different locations are also an option – you can join a gym or workout at home. I use the Weider Pro 4850 which is a relatively inexpensive but fully functional home gym. Unfortunately it is no longer made but the Body Solid EXM1500S, although a bit more expensive, is a quality home gym. The book The Great Home Gym Handbook does a nice job of explaining home gym exercises and helping you create a strength program. I strength train for thirty minutes twice a week.

Cardiovascular exercises help build your endurance and give you a highly level of energy for a longer period of time. As with the other areas of an exercise program, there are almost endless ways to work your cardiovascular system including dancing, kick boxing and running. Walking is the easiest method while still being beneficial. You can start by walking the course during your round. Build on that by taking a few evening walks during the week with your spouse, significant other, or dog. Try to work your way up to a 5 km (3.1 mile) walk with a brisk pace.

Hopefully you will consider implementing an exercise program today. Please do not use the excuse of not having any time. Your health is too important for that. As I have explained in this article, I spend roughly two and a half hours a week exercising. Most of us could easily cut two and a half hours a week out of our TV watching schedule. Your golf game will see improvement from regular exercise.