Dufnering 101: What Jason Dufner (And All Professionals) Do That You Don’t

Scott Hogan Certified Personal Coach
GolfTEC Halsted Row

The PGA Championship was once again an exciting tournament that mixes the best of the low scoring and birdies we see at Augusta National and the brutal course setup and rough that the U.S. Open can bring to penalize

less than perfect shots. When all was said and done, Jason Dufner’s clinic on ball striking led him to a two stoke victory and the Wannamaker Trophy.

Jason Dufner as mentioned in the television broadcast learned golf by reading Ben Hogan’s famous “Five Lessons: The Modern Fundamentals of Golf” book, which is not a bad choice since Ben Hogan may arguably be the best ball striker of all time. One of the most important lessons from the book is something that I see every single tour professional do, and my students who are struggling to hit the ball solid fail to do. At impact, the shaft of the club must be leaning forward, and the lead wrist must either be flat or bowed towards the target.

The forward shaft lean allows a player to strike the golf ball first in a descending manner and compress the ball into the ground which creates power, spin and consistency. The forward shaft lean is also something that I think is overlooked because too many people focus on trying to get the club in a good top of the backswing position or bring the club down on plane and not over the top. While I will agree that these elements can make life easier to get the club into a good position at impact, I’ve seen many a good looking golf swings get ruined because they fail to focus on having the shaft leaning forward by making sure the lead wrist is flat or bowed.

A good drill that I do with almost every student to see if you are able to create this proper impact position is to place a small object (I’ll use either a penny or business card indoors) in front of the golf ball about 3-4 inches. I then have my students make swings attempting to hit the ball about 50 yards with a club that normally goes 120-150 yards, where they make contact with the golf ball first and then hit the object with the club head afterwards. Make sure to be aware that the club head is contacting the object and that a poorly struck golf ball doesn’t move it. By having the shaft leaning forward at impact with the lead wrist flat or bowed it will be easy to contact the ball first and then the object after. If the student is successfully able to perform the drill for 50 yard swings then I will allow them to move up to 75 then 100 yard swings and eventually full swings. By learning to create this correct position at impact the result that students will usually see is that these mini swings hit the ball farther with a more consistent launch angle with less effort.

Next time you’re watching golf on television pay close attention to replays of golf swings they show and watch how the shaft of the club will be leaning forward at impact. All the professionals do it and it is something you should be doing too if you want to improve your ball striking.

Scott Hogan is a Class A PGA Professional and Certified Personal Coach for GolfTEC at their Halsted Row Location. Visit golftec.com or contact Scott at shogan@golftec.com to find out how you can save up to 20% on Improvement Plans through August 23rd.

How to play common trouble shots. Russ Clark, Director of Instruction, Franchise Owner, GolfTEC Boulder

June is here and all golfers will turn their attention to the upcoming U.S. Open. This year it returns to a course that while short, has a history of having tight fairways, diabolically dense rough and tiny, lightning fast greens. If those issues aren’t daunting enough, there’s the pressure of simply teeing it up in a U.S. Open. As Lee Trevino stated, “Players know that the words ‘U.S. Open’ mean double the pressure. You can make a mistake at Augusta and get away with it. Not at a U.S. Open.”

Playing golf is fun though, at least it’s supposed to be fun, but even the best touring professionals hit shots into deep grass, sand, or behind a tree. During playing lessons with my clients, trouble shots and how to get out of those awkward places is usually a hot topic. Most times with proper technique and course management you can recover without wasting too many shots. Let’s take a look at how to handle some of the more common “trouble shots”.

Deep rough Playing a golf shot from off the fairway is a challenge, but with a few adjustments this shot shouldn’t ruin your day on the links. I’ve been lucky enough to play in a few tour events and three USGA National Championships where the rough can be brutally deep just off the fairway. The first thing to do when you hit an errant shot into the deep grass is to evaluate your lie. Are you in ryegrass, bluegrass, Bermudagrass, or Kikuya rough? Each type of grass offers different options in playing your next shot. One of your primary goals should be getting back into the fairway with this shot, so choose a strategy that gives you the best chance of finding the fairway. Golfers in the south tend to play in Bermuda grass where the golf ball wants to “sink” down to the bottom. Bluegrass is a dark color and almost always plays like it’s wet and heavy. Golf shots hit into Kikuya grass may appear to be teed up on top of the grass, while ryegrass, a light green color, is probably the easiest to play from.

Some keys to all these shots include:

• Club selection—it’s better to hit an 8-iron 100 yards down the fairway than to try a 4-iron that only goes 15 yards and is still in the rough.
• Ball position—move the ball slightly back in your stance. The deeper the grass the farther back you should have the golf ball. This improves your chance of hitting more golf ball than grass when you swing.
• Hover the clubhead—I see golfers push the clubhead into the grass before they swing. This will cause you to hit behind the ball and the grass will slow the club and twist the clubface closed so your golf ball goes short and crooked.
• Hinge & Shift—hinge your wrists a little quicker on the takeaway and focus on shifting your weight into the lead foot on the downswing. Many golfers use only their arms causing them to hit behind the ball, allowing the grass to kill your club head speed. Some golfers I teach tend to “flip” at the ball; this is a death move out of the rough so you need to practice getting the hands in front at impact. Ask your coach about the “Miss the Towel” drill during your next lesson to stop the flip move out of the rough. Plus, check out the drill in the video at end of this article.

Fairway bunkers   Most golfers dread hitting shots out of the sand…especially fairway bunkers. I see more clients struggle with sand than almost any other part of their game. In a fairway bunker you must hit the golf ball first when you swing…even a ½-inch of sand will destroy your chance of reaching the green. Here are a few tips for extracting your ball from a fairway bunker:

• Like the shot from the rough, you should move the ball slightly back in your stance.
• Unlike a greenside bunker, you should not dig your feet in very deep.
• Choke down on the grip about a ½-inch and only swing at about 70% of your normal speed and power.
• When choosing a club, always choose one with enough loft to get over any lip in front of you. This is very important; even if you can’t reach the green you must choose a club that will fly high enough to miss the lip. If the lip isn’t an issue, use more club than the distance would normally dictate to allow for the easier swing you’ll be using.
• Keep your body quiet as you swing and don’t look at the back of the golf ball. Instead, focus on the dimple at the front of the ball. This gives you a better chance to hit the ball first, which we already know is very important.

Hitting low shots under tree limbs  Changing your trajectory to get the golf ball under a tree limb is similar to playing into the wind. You need to make a few adjustments to your normal address position and swing:

• Start by playing the ball back further in your stance with a little more weight on your lead foot. Both of these adjustments will help decrease the loft of your club at impact and result in a lower launch angle.
• Make a swing that will help lower trajectory and reduce the amount of backspin you put on the ball. Ideally, your backswing will stop about waist high and your follow through will stop at approximately the same level. This short swing will increase your control of the club, lower the launch angle, and cause the ball to run more once it’s back on the ground. Much like playing from deep grass, you must have the hands in front of the ball at impact so use the “Miss the towel” drill again to practice low running shots.

My last advice—get out on the course for a Playing Lesson with your Coach. You will learn so much about lowering your score and playing better golf!

Anchors Away

GolfTEC offers some tips to help golfers adjust their stroke to comply with the proposed USGA and R&A rule change.
GolfTEC staff, video by Andy Hilts, GolfTEC Vice President of Instruction and Education

Since the USGA and R&A proposed a rule change in late November that would ban anchored putting, the opinions regarding the rule change have been widespread. Greg Norman, agreeing with the proposed change, said, “I just don’t believe in anchoring. It’s not a stroke.” On the other hand, as you might expect, Keegan Bradley, the first player to win a major using the belly putter, said, “This is a tough topic for me because I have to be careful of what I say. I personally…obviously I don’t agree with the ban.”

Barring any unforeseen circumstances, Rule 14-1b will be finalized this spring, but will not go into effect until January 1, 2016.

It is important to understand that with the proposed rule change, a player can still use a broom-handle or belly putter—as long as it is not pressed against their body to create the effect of a hinge.

With that, Andy Hilts, GolfTEC VP of Instruction and Education set out to provide golfers with some tips to help adjust their strokes to comply with the proposed change.

Check out the video below and tell us your thoughts!

Performance Secret

Never underestimate the importance of offseason lessons.
Pat Bernot, GolfTEC Director of Instruction and PGA Member, GolfTEC Easton

As a PGA Professional who teaches golf all year long in Ohio, I often have many people ask what plan gives them the best chance for success.  It seems logical that taking lessons while we are in golf season would be a good path towards improvement.  The offseason, however, is an equally important time to improve your game and make changes.  Here are five reasons why you should take lessons this offseason:

1. No competition – Many of my students tell me that while they were working on a swing change, once they got to the golf course they “went back to the old way” because they knew that it would work.  Competition takes many forms.  We may compete against our playing partners, the golf course, or ourselves. Offseason lessons allow you to commit to changes without any need to go back to the old way to beat your buddies in your regular Saturday foursome
2. No rust buildup – Golfers often complain that it takes them a month or more to get back into the swing of things when the weather improves.  The reason for this is simple.  After taking 5-6 months off from playing and practicing regularly, the body needs to re-learn many things that were second nature to them the previous year.  Taking lessons during the offseason does not allow this rust to build up, making early rounds in the golf season more enjoyable.
3. Some changes are easier to make in the offseason – If you have taken lessons before, you undoubtedly tried to make changes to your swing (or game) with little to no success.  The difficulty may have been accentuated when you were making the changes.  Golfers want to strike the ball solidly during the golf season.  Therefore, making changes that may negatively affect your contact are much tougher when you are concerned about the effect on your next round of golf.  This makes indoor lessons in the fall and winter a great time to make changes when you AREN’T playing regularly.  Your body is more likely to adapt to a new change when interim negative results are not taken to the golf course.  If you spend the winter making these changes, your reward will be a grooved new swing at the start of the season.
4. Ball flight can be a distraction –Ultimately, improving ball flight is a part of improving one’s games. However, often times golfers are distracted by ball flight when making changes initially.  This disrupts the process and leads both to poor performance and a lack of understanding of what the true problem is.  At GolfTEC, our fact-based diagnosis allows us to know exactly what is causing a player’s frustrations, allowing us to focus on making the necessary changes that will impact the flight of the ball.  Our sequential lessons give us time to work through core or root problems, which ultimately leads to long-term, more significant results when it is time to play.  When we are ready to focus more on how the flight of the ball is changing we can view this either by getting outside (weather permitting) or by using in-bay launch monitor technology. 
   
5. The offseason isn’t just for the full swing – Golfers who take lessons at GolfTEC already know that we don’t just work on the full swing.  We want our golfers to improve their entire game all year long.   Therefore, at all times, we work on full swing, pitching, chipping and putting.  We have all the tools and resources necessary to help golfers reach their goals.  Whether you need instruction to stop blading your chips, chunking your pitch shots or 3 putting, we can improve all parts of your game indoors without being outside.  Changing the mechanics of your short game will go a long way in helping you become a wizard around and on the greens by the time that the grass is green again.

No Post-Shot Routine? It’s Preventing You From Your Personal Golf Goals

Erin Menath, GolfTEC Certified Personal Coach and LPGA Member, GolfTEC Bellevue

Every golfer knows the importance of developing a proper pre-shot routine, but the value of a post-shot routine is equally important. Often individuals play fabulous golf, yet don’t quite understand why they “blow up” for two consecutive holes. If you as a player cannot learn how to shake off a poor shot before moving onto the next, it will be difficult to consistently play your best golf by reducing the number of “blow-up” holes.

Promptly after each shot, you should conduct a quick self-debrief. If your shot was good, then replay it in your mind. Build as much emotion as possible into the visualization so that you take ownership of it. You could add a specific action (e.g. fist pump) to anchor the emotion to that action for future reference. In essence, you want to create an emotional library of success to draw upon on the next shot. Look back on Tiger Woods’ successful rounds; did he ever miss a fist pump after an incredible putt?

If you hit a poor shot, realize that every shot is a perfect reflection of the actions that preceded it. Ask yourself, “What happened…did I commit to the shot…was contact poor…did I lack focus?” Logically, you want to learn from it. If we truly look hard enough, almost every disaster contains elements of a blessing. Next, play that shot backwards in your mind – then scrub it out. The point is: learn something from each shot, make way for positive energy and focus on the next shot.

Two of golf’s greatest players, Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods, use post-shot routines. Woods uses the “10-pace rule.” For the poor manners and anger he sometimes displays, if you watch him carefully, you will observe that he purges himself once he moves roughly ten paces beyond the shot. He understands that you cannot continue to embrace your anger and disappointment, and you must return to an optimistic, positive state of being.

Nicklaus has commented that he has never three-putted the 18th green in a tournament. However, the facts would prove him wrong. He replaced the negative feelings and replayed it as a successful outcome to ensure he always had confidence when approaching the final putt in a tournament situation.

Although the steps described above may seem like a lot of work, in truth, they only take seconds. Remember that poor swings will produce poor results, but at a deeper level, a poor swing could be the result of fear, bad memories and/or timidness. A post-shot routine is every bit as important as the pre-shot routine and incorporating one into your game will not only help you build mental toughness and golfing self-forgiveness, it will help you excel at the game.

As a coach I ask, “Why stop yourself from excelling?”

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