Do You "Steer"?

Have you ever heard of the term "steering"? Steering is when a golfer that is under pressure changes their swing in order to keep the ball in play. This is usually done when a golfer is on a narrow or tight hole and doesn't want to hit it OB or in a hazard. Phil Mickelson might have been guilty of this on the 18th tee at the 2006 US Open. He was under pressure, tried to hit a shot that he had not practiced a lot, and sliced it off the planet. By trusting your swing and developing a pre-shot routine, you can take the "steering" tendency out of your golf game.

Watching the pros on TV, you will notice that they do the same exact thing before every shot. This ritual allows their body and mind to go on autopilot when they are about to execute a shot, which helps produce a repeatable swing even under pressure. All golfers should have a unique routine that they follow. Quick tempo players usually have a quick routine and slower paced players have a more deliberate routine. By developing your own and doing it prior to each shot (even on the driving range and putting green) your swing will become much sturdier under pressure.

Treat your golf swing as a good friend or a spouse. These are people that you rely on under stressful situations, and you rely on them because you know they will support you no matter what. So, next time you are on a 420 yd par four tee box with OB right and water left, rely on your swing. This is a hard thing to do at first, but forget about the consequences, surrender to the golf gods, and trust your swing. If you change your swing and start playing safe to protect against mistakes, it reflects a lack of confidence in your swing, and low confidence on a golf course is a recipe for a high score.

A good pre shot routine can put your body and mind on automatic and if you trust your swing and execute it in a tension free and confident manner the results will be very pleasing.

PGA Tour Gets Smart on Steroids!!!

"PGA Tour to Test Golfers for Steroids" At first glance you might think this is a headline from an April Fools edition of a newspaper, but it is reality. The general public might not understand why this is necessary. Until recently golfers have been viewed as anything but athletes, and have a bigger reputation for ingesting non-performance enhancing drugs. Just take a look at John Daly or Tim Herron. The closest thing to a performance enhancing drug that John Daly takes is the 300 Diet Cokes he drinks in a 24 hour period. Golf as always is staying ahead of the curve with this issue so it will retain its honorable reputation as a gentlemen's game.

Did you see the pictures of Barry Bonds in his first few years in the big leagues, and then compare them to now. It's pretty obvious what is going on, or is it? Take a look a Tiger Woods his rookie year on tour and look at him now, the same can be said for Annika Sorenstam. Have you seen the guns on Camilo Villegas, or how lean and mean Charles Howell III is? The media has a way of stirring up controversy and Tim Finchem is going to stop it before it begins.

Golf has become a big money sport and is in the public eye now more than ever. In team sports, steroids might help out your stats, but it won't necessarily win you a championship.(see Barry Bonds)Golf is different because it is the golfer against the golf course, and if a competitor can gain even the slightest advantage over the competition it can mean millions of more dollars and wins in the bank for them.
Tim Finchem should be applauded for his proactive attitude towards this issue. By testing for steroids he will discourage any players out there who are currently using or thinking about using them, and he will prevent golf from becoming a part of this sickening trend that has infiltrated professional sports.

High Golf IQ = Low Golf Scores

“If I wouldn’t have hit it in the water on #9, I would have shot an 85 instead of 90.” “If I would have laid up short of the water on #3, I could have made a par instead of a triple bogey”. Do these statements sound familiar? Most golfers are haunted by the “ifs” and the “ifs” come from poor course management. Sure, you will have some bad breaks during the course of a round, but you will shave strokes off of your scorecard by playing with your brain instead of your heart. You can do this by managing the course you play instead of simply playing it.

The first thing to consider when playing smart is to think in percentages. Is a basketball player going to make more shots shooting three pointers all the time, or dunking the ball? Of course he will make more shots dunking the ball because it is a higher percentage shot. So, the next time you are tempted to try and carry a 5 wood over water onto a green the size and shape of a Volkswagen ask yourself if that shot is a three pointer or a dunk.

Most of the time if your ball is atop short grass you will have a high percentage shot. All of us have played with the old man who pokes the ball down the fairway and eventually on the green. Then he proceeds to drain each and every putt she steps up to. In the meantime, you have been driving the ball way past him, but couldn’t pay much attention to her score because you have been looking for your ball in the woods or hidden deep in bunkers. At the end of the day as you are adding up the scorecard, you see he has beaten you by 10 shots. He smiles that sweet old man smile at you as he takes the money from your hands. The moral of this story is that if the ball is in the short grass, you will shoot lower scores.

Even if you do play the percentages, trouble will find you. If this happens you should go into “damage control” mode. Stay calm, asses the situation, and do not let your emotions influence your decisions. Figure out the path of least resistance to get your ball out of trouble. Sometimes this might mean playing away from the hole. Jack Nicklaus, while playing the British Open, once tried to advance the ball towards the hole in one of the deepest bunkers on the planet. After many attempts, he finally decided to play the ball out sideways and into shorter grass. If he would have done this in the first place, many strokes and a lot of energy would have been saved.

Have you ever played a round of golf and felt like you hit the ball great, but your scorecard said otherwise? If so, it was probably due to poor course management. A good person to emulate is Tiger Woods. He doesn’t hit driver off of every hole and he will never try to hit a shot that he hasn’t practiced first. He often shoots low scores and wins tournaments even when, by his standards, he has hit the ball terrible. You might not win your Club Championship, but you will have more fun, and score lower if you think your way around the golf course.

Bunker Play Made Easy

Do not hit the ball!!! There is only one situation when you are on the golf course that you want to have this as your swing thought, and this is when you are in a greenside bunker. The bunker shot is one of the easiest shots in golf to master once you learn the proper technique. Most golfers can get a leg up on the competition by acquiring this specialized shot. The bunker shot is different from any other shot in golf, because you don’t actually hit the ball with the club head. A fundamentally correct bunker shot requires a golfer to extricate the sand around and underneath the golf ball, splashing the sand and the ball onto the green in an explosive manner. Sounds like fun, doesn’t it? Well, if you can adhere to the following fundamentals and promise to practice them until they become habit, you will no longer be discouraged if your aggressive approach shot falls into a greenside bunker.

First, get to know your sand wedge. Look at how it is designed and you will notice that the trailing edge of the club is lower than the leading edge. This is called bounce. It is also more rounded and wider across the bottom. The bounce of the wedge and the wider sole allow the club to slide, or bounce, through the sand by creating less resistance for the club head. So, basically the club does the work for you.

When you set up to the shot you will want to set your feet, hips, and shoulders a little left (or open) to the target line. You also want to point the club face a little bit right (or open) to the target line. Doing these two things allows your arms to swing more freely through the sand and allows the ball to jump out a little higher. Wiggle your feet to set your stance in the sand. This will reduce slippage and give you a solid base to swing from.

The swing is where this shot becomes different from any other. You will want to swing the club a little outside the target line on the way back cocking the wrists as soon as you can. Once you have set your wrists on the backswing you will swing the club forward along the line of your feet maintaining the angle of your wrists. Make contact with the sand about an inch behind the ball, depending on sand conditions, and accelerate through the sand trying to keep your wrists from turning over, or releasing. The sand should explode, or splash, out of the bunker and the ball will go along for the ride. A good drill is to practice this splashing without a ball in the bunker. Then once you feel comfortable with this, place a ball down, but remember to ignore the ball and just splash the sand out. You will be pleased with your results.The sand wedge is called a sand wedge because it is designed specifically for sand shots. So brush the dust off of yours, set up open to the target line, open the face, and blast the sand right out of that bunker, amazing your friends with your new found skill. If you are a golfer who has a bunker phobia, these fundamentals will help you gain an advantage over competition. Always keep in mind though, that the only way to become consistent is to practice these techniques regularly.

Confidence in Putting

Have you ever heard the phrase that golf is a lot like life? Well I like to think that life is a lot like golf.
Asking for a raise from your boss is like trying to make a four foot putt to win the club championship. You know you deserve it. You have worked hard and put in the time, but for some reason you are nervous. Palms sweat and your heartbeat quickens, you even get

butterflies in your stomach. Once you are in his office, you forget everything you rehearsed in your mind and begin to think about all the reasons you won't get the raise, and how you are going to have to explain it to the wife. But, then calm overcomes you and everything becomes clear and concise in your mind. You tell the boss all the reasons you deserve the raise and the ways you have saved him money. Your boss softens his usual menacing glare and nods his head in agreement, and before you can even finish your thoughts he says, "It's done. Your right, you deserve it." All is well in the world and you leave the office feeling like you won.

That example shows why you need confidence in yourself to be a good putter. Harvey Penick says that when you spend time with friends make sure that they are good putters. Did he say this because you would acquire their talent to keep the clubface square to the target line through osmosis? No. He said it because you can acquire their ability to be confident that they are going to make every putt they step up to. When a good putter misses a putt, it is never his fault. It is usually a spike mark. (Even though most courses have a soft spike only policy)Sometimes the caddie read it wrong, or there is always the dreaded golf gods that did it. Now they owe him one. Confidence in putting means you have to trust and believe in your stroke no matter how bad you feel inside. You should always have the feeling, not in the back of your mind, but right there in the front that the putt you are standing over is going into the hole.

Why are kids such good putters? They don't know any better that's why. There are no memories of missed 3 footers or bouts with the yips. Every putt to them is a new beginning, a new chance to put the ball deep in the bottom of the cup. Think like a 6 year old when you putt. Memory loss is good when it comes to golf and don't forget it.

Visualization helps with confidence. Instead of thinking about what the consequences will be if you make or miss the putt. Stop thinking with your brain and use it to make a movie in your head. This movie should be about a little white ball being struck with the most perfect stroke imaginable. It should end with the ball falling in whichever side of the hole you want and making that wonderful clunking sound that every golfer in the world is addicted to. Then do it.

The putting stroke is short and simple. This is why the brain tries to make it more complicated. Learn to shut off the brain and visualize. Become Tony Robbins once you step onto the dance floor and only think good thoughts. Before long you will find that not only four footers become easier, but asking for that next raise does too.

Chipping with a Strong Grip

On a golfer's approach shot; he has left the ball just short of the green. He has an uphill chip shot of about 30 feet with plenty of green in between him and the hole. The only trouble is behind the green in the form of a pond. He pulls an 8 iron out of his bag to hit a low running chip shot that he has seen the pros on TV hit a million times. The next thing he knows the ball is zooming over the back of the green and he watches it roll into the pond because he thinned it. The next hole he is faced with the same situation, and he is determined not to make the same mistake. So instead of the ball zooming over the green when he attempts the chip, it advances forward only a foot because the golfer has inserted the club head deep into the turf directly behind the ball.

If the previous scenario sounds familiar then reading this will help.

A way to avoid predicaments like the above story is to strengthen your grip when you hit a chip shot. This does not mean you should go out and squeeze those exercise balls for your hands to build up muscle strength. A grip that is considered strong, for a right handed golfer, is one in which the hands are rotated to the right while holding the club. This means that the grip of the club is located more in the palm of the right hand, and more in the fingers of the left hand. This would obviously be the opposite for a lefty.

The reason this grip helps you when chipping, is that it makes it very hard for the clubface to open up and encourages a flat left wrist at impact. (Right handed golfers) The main cause of a thinned or flubbed chip is from scooping. This is when the wrists break down or uncock before impact and the club head passes the hands, resulting in the butt end of the grip pointing at your belly button. If you can consistently make contact with the ball with a flat left wrist your chips will come of the club with a "click" and feel very crisp. Your wrists should feel firm through the chip and the butt end of the grip should not point towards your body after the shot. At impact the hands should be slightly ahead of the ball.

If you decide to use this method when chipping there are a few things to remember. Because you are gripping the club with a strong grip it makes the club face close through impact. To make sure that the ball goes towards the target you can aim a little right of the intended line or you can open the clubface before you grip the club. If you choose to open the face make sure that after you take your grip and look down at the club head, the face is open to the target line. This will feel a little weird at first, so make sure you get the feel for this technique on the practice green before taking it to the course. A second thing to remember is not to let the wrists break down while chipping. If this happens when you are using a strong grip the ball will go left very quickly.

Using a strong grip while chipping has been a secret the pros have used for years. Corey Pavin is one of the best chippers ever to play the game and this is exactly the method he used to get there. With some practice and experimentation you can make it work for you too.

Do you know what bounce you should play in your wedges?

Have you ever been fit for a wedge? The most common answer to this question is going to be no. Most golfers have no idea that the characteristics and specifications of a wedge can have a huge impact on how that club performs. What makes wedge fitting even more important is that inside 150 yards is considered the “scoring zone”. If you can consistently get the ball in the hole in 3 shots or less from this distance, you will be amazed at how quickly your scores will plummet. When making sure a wedge is fit to you, of course the lie angle, shaft length, and shaft flex are important, but the bounce and sole width of a wedge are aspects of the fitting process that are often overlooked. I will explain to you what to look for in a wedge when it comes to these to factors. Since everyone swings the club a little different, different specifications are helpful for specific swings, and the following information will help you find out which specifications are right for your swing.
One of the most common questions I hear is – “What is bounce angle?” Bounce angle is how much lower the trailing edge of the sole is in relation to the leading edge. A wedge is designed this way to reduce resistance to the sand when hitting behind a ball in a bunker. To get the feel of what this means, try hitting some shots out of a bunker with a pitching wedge. Do not open the face or manipulate your swing. The club will dig in the sand behind the ball and seem to get stuck. Now try the same thing with your sand wedge. You should immediately feel the difference. Because of the bounce, the club head encounters less resistance when it strikes the sand. The sole width also helps in this reduction of resistance. A sand wedge’s sole, or bottom, is wider than other club’s soles. This magnifies the effective bounce of the club, and builds even more resistance when driving through the sand.
Angle of attack is the first thing you should determine about your golf swing when deciding what type of bounce and sole width you want on a wedge. Angle of attack is not a class in military maneuvers at West Point. It is the angle from which your club head approaches the ball. This angle can usually be determined by the divot question. Do you take a divot with your short irons? If your answer is yes, then you, more than likely, have a steep angle of attack and will be referred to as a “DIGGER”. If your answer is no, then you ,more than likely have a shallow angle of attack and will be referred to as a “PICKER”.
Once you have determined which classification you fall under, the rest is easy. Diggers will benefit from a wedge with more bounce and a wide sole. Pickers will benefit from a wedge with less bounce and a more narrow sole. What happens if you are not sure which classification you fall under? If this is the case, there are some other factors that can help you make up your mind.
If you tend to hit scull shots with your wedge off the fairway, chances are you need less bounce. More than likely, the trailing edge of the wedge is making contact with the ground and causing the leading edge to strike the ball at or above its equator. If you play a course with hardpan or a course that is dry with a firm base, less bounce and a narrow sole will benefit you. Less bounce and a narrow sole will also help you play from bunkers with coarse sand and a shallow base.
If you tend to hit the ball fat and feel like you stick the club in the ground a lot chances are you need a higher bounce and a wider sole. A wedge with a higher bounce will also benefit you if you tend to play a wet course with a soft, spongy base. Higher bounce and wider sole widths will also allow you to get out of bunkers that have a fine fluffy texture to them.
As you can see, there are many different variables to think about when choosing a wedge with the right bounce and sole width. Sometimes, the course you are playing or the weather conditions can make a difference in which type of specifications you should play. Because of this, it is not a bad idea to have wedges with different bounce angles and sole widths. Almost every company offers a wide selection when it comes to these specifications to help you increase your options, but also making it difficult to make a choice unless you know what is right for you.
Hopefully this information will help you make a more educated purchase when you find yourself in front of 150 wedges, all with different numbers, dots, and hieroglyphics on them that are there to help you. If you are still unsure whether you “PICK” or “DIG” consult an experienced golf professional or club fitter. They should have you hit of a lie board and try different wedges with various bounces and sole widths. If they don’t, they are not fitting you properly, and you should ask for someone who can. If you already have a few wedges with different specifications lying around the house, pull them out and see if you can see and feel the difference in them. Chances are you will be able to tell right away which works better for you.