Adopt an effective Pre-Round Practice Routine

Pre-Round Practice Routine
By Chris Neylan

Here are a few bits of wisdom from a coach that has seen a fair amount of POOR PRE-ROUND PRACTICE ROUTINES:

1)       Start your pre-round “warm-up” on the PUTTING GREEN.  Use ONE BALL (instead multiple balls), and putt until the one ball is HOLED OUT (no “gimmes”).  This makes you focus on the practice green like you need to focus on the golf course.  Start with a very short putt (to get some confidence going), and end with some long putts where my primary focus is DISTANCE CONTROL.  Again, putt until your ball is holed out before hitting the next long-distance putt.  If you want bonus points, try to finish your practice with some 3, 6, and 10 foot “I-need-this-for-my-best-round” putts.  Do your best Keegan Bradley (or Christina Kim??) impression when you hole them, if you wish.

2)      After you have some putting confidence going, head over to the CHIPPING and PITCHING area of the practice range.  Hit a handful of “bump and run” chip shots with a lower-lofted club (7 iron??), then hit a few pitches with a high lofted club (like a sand wedge).  Once you have a “feel” for each shot, ALTERNATE SHOTS, hitting one chip, then one pitch, etc…  Focus on the different landing points needed for each shot, and make it your goal to have a PUTT after every chip or pitch.  Simply put, just get the chip or pitch ANYWHERE on the putting surface, and you will be pretty well prepared for the course.

3)      Now it’s time to hit the RANGE.  Start hitting balls with your highest-lofted club, and work your way through your set (skipping clubs if necessary) until you get to the “BIG DOG” (the 1 wood, the driver, etc…).  Three or four balls with each club should be sufficient.  Try not to wear yourself out on the range, as there should be plenty of time after the round to practice your “deficiencies” (just kidding, sort of).  Always finish your range session with the club you will tee off with on the 1st hole, and hit a few extra shots (5 to 10??) with that particular club.  Try to use the same pre-shot routine on the range that you will use on the 1st tee!!!  If your first hole requires a hybrid or long iron, make that the club you end your range session with.

The above “warm up session” should take 30 to 40 minutes (maximum).  Be sure to HYDRATE while you are journeying around the practice facility (and on the course as well).

When you head to the first tee, be sure to have the following things in your pocket:  A few TEES, a DIVOT TOOL, and a BALL MARKER are must-have golfing utensils.  Please don’t be the golfer that has to beg for a tee on the first tee box, or asks for a penny on the first green, unless you like to be the object of ridicule.  A WET TOWEL will allow you to keep the grooves on your clubs clean during the round, and will help you keep the ball shiny, white (yellow, orange, purple??), and rolling true on the putting surfaces.  To really show the group that you are ready to play, mark your ball (keep it simple??) with a sharpie marker and be sure to IDENTIFY YOUR BALL on the first tee.  This will help give everyone a better chance of playing their OWN golf ball during the round, and avoid unnecessary penalty strokes (or derision from the group, which is even worse in my opinion).  Also, if having your ball nicely marked doesn’t impress your golfing crew, then I’m pretty sure nothing will…

Have a great rest of your golfing season, and PLAY WELL.

 

 

USGA, R&A approve ban on anchored putting

The controversy is far from over, but GolfTEC offers some tips on how to legally use a longer putter.

GolfTEC staff, video by Andy Hilts, GolfTEC Vice President of Instruction and Education

As Adam Scott walked away with the Green Jacket in April, becoming the fourth player to win a major title while using an anchored putting stroke, one GolfTEC Coach couldn’t help but wonder how his victory would sit with the USGA. Roughly a month later, the USGA has spoken.

On Tuesday, May 21st, the USGA finalized the rules change proposed back in November that has created heated controversy in the golf world. Effective January 1, 2016, players competing under USGA/R&A rules will no longer be allowed to use the anchored putting stroke.

While Rule 14-1b will prohibit most players from using a belly or broomstick model, it is important to understand that with the rules change, a player can still use a longer putter—as long as it is not anchored against their body to create the effect of a hinge.

Watch the video below, as Andy Hilts, GolfTEC VP of Instruction and Education, provides golfers some tips on how to legally use a longer putter under the new rules change.

 

Club Corner

A closer look at Callaway’s new X Hot product line. Doug Rikkers, GolfTEC Director of Club Fitting & Merchandise Services, PGA Member

Callaway’s new X Hot Family provides a great mix for players of all abilities. Whether you’re looking for a driver, fairway/hybrid, or set of irons, you’re sure to find what’s best for your game in either the X Hot or X Hot Pro line.

Both the X Hot and X Hot Pro Driver feature a high level of adjustability, but with different sized heads and loft options. The X Hot Driver is the more forgiving of the two. With a larger 460cc head, it weighs 14-grams lighter than the X Hot Pro for increased swing speed. It also has a greater draw bias to fight off that annoying slice, and is available in lofts from 9.5 to 13.5-degrees.

Lower handicap players may prefer the X Hot Pro’s smaller, but deeper, 435cc head. When set in the neutral setting, the face rests a  ½-degree open, but can be adjusted to as much as 3.5-degrees open or 1.5-degrees closed. Club designers have specifically designed the X Hot Pro Driver for lower spin through CG placement and loft options of 8.5 to 10.5-degrees. It also comes with an excellent shaft in the Project X Velocity.

If you’re looking for clubs that are both forgiving and consistently long, the X Hot Irons are designed to be just that. By removing the undercut behind the top line of most cavity back irons, designers were able to lower the Center of Gravity and provide a longer, more consistent outcome on shots hit low on the face. If you’re going to hit thin shots, you may as well get the most out of them! Connecting all the pieces is the Speed Step 85 shaft made by True Temper, but of course a wide range of popular custom shaft offerings are also available.

For players looking for game improvement without an oversized looking head, Callaway offers the X Hot Pro Irons. Compared to the X Hot, the X Hot Pro Irons have a thinner sole and top line often preferred by better players, less off-set, and lofts that are 1-degree weaker. You’ll also find a precise “V” groove that is designed to deliver greater control and shot shaping accuracy. All of this is powered by a Project X 95 Flighted Rifle shaft.

Match your new driver and irons with your choice of X Hot Fairway Woods or Hybrids and you’ve got the perfect arsenal to respond to any challenge your course presents.

Win in the Wind

How to hit successful shots in windy conditions.
Erik Wait, Director of Instruction, Dallas-Fort Worth Regional Manager

As if playing golf isn’t already hard enough, it’s inevitable that Mother Nature will add an element to one or more of your rounds this year. In terms of difficulty, playing golf in moderate-to-high winds is one of the most challenging elements to contend with when you’re trying to hit the shots needed to close out your buddy on Saturday afternoon. From a gentle breeze to 40 mph gusting winds, the ability to hit successful shots in the wind is something that every golfer must develop. Fortunately, there are a few specific keys to playing in the wind that make it easier to control your golf ball.

Playing with the wind

Playing a golf shot downwind typically makes the ball travel further, but in some cases it can also make the ball drop out of the air more quickly. In order to get the most out of hitting a ball downwind, you need to get the ball up in the air and spinning. If you are between clubs and wanting to ride the wind, play the club that requires you to make a full swing. A less than full swing typically makes the ball launch lower and spin less—resulting in a shot that could be “knocked down” by a tail wind and not carry the distance you had hoped for. With a driver in your hand, you can maximize your downwind shots by making a few small adjustments at address. First, tee your ball slightly higher than your normal tee height so that you can increase your launch angle. Next, tee your ball slightly farther forward of center, towards your big toe, to ensure that you are swinging more “level” through the impact position. Lastly, “Grip it and rip it”…even slightly miss-hit shots will travel longer and straighter downwind than your average drive!

Playing against the wind

The shot most golfers dread hitting in the wind is when the wind is straight in your face and it feels like you are standing behind a Boeing 747 that’s ready for takeoff! In order to hit quality shots into the wind, you need to be able to control your swing length, launch angle and spin. With the British Open in July, we are bound to see some of the best players in the world hitting 8-irons from 120 yards and making a swing that looks like a big chip shot to get it there. Tom Watson (Five-time British Open Winner) said “I learned early on that the key to handling British Open venues on windswept links is to feel as if you’re hitting long chip shots around the course.” A good rule of thumb for hitting shots in windy conditions is to take one more club for every 10 mph that you are hitting into, and if you are a high ball hitter, you may want to take 1 ½ clubs more. For example, if you normally hit an 8-iron 135 yards and you are in a 20 mph wind, you need to play either your 5 or 6-iron.

In order to achieve a flatter shot trajectory when playing into the wind, you need to make a few adjustments to your normal address position and swing. First, start by playing the ball back further in your stance with a little more of your weight on your front foot. Both of these adjustments will help decrease the loft of your club at impact and result in a flatter launch angle. Second, you need to make a swing that will produce a slightly lower trajectory and reduce the amount of backspin you put on the ball. Ideally, your backswing will stop near chest-high and your follow through will stop at approximately the same level. This “L to L” swing will increase your control of the club and the ball when hitting shots into the wind. Remember the saying, “When it’s breezy swing easy”. You took plenty of club and now you just need to make a smooth swing!

Putting on a windy day

Lastly, wind can affect your putting too. It’s considerably harder to predict how the wind may affect your putting, but there are a few things you can learn to look for that will help you putt better in the wind. First, if your ball is shaking more than your hands when you’re over a 4-foot birdie putt, the wind might have an effect on how the ball rolls. When you are approaching a green, try to do a quick scan of the surrounding area to see if the green is protected or out in the open. If the greens are really smooth and quicker than average you are more likely to have to adjust for windy conditions. Wind typically has a greater effect on downwind and into the wind putts and effects the distance your ball rolls. Second, with windy conditions, your body is likely to act like a sail and blow you around, making it difficult to hit solid putts. To stabilize your body’s position, adjust your set-up by taking a wider stance. A wider stand will keep you closer to the ground and give you a larger base to help stay stable.

Master Your Drive

How to draw it. Josh Jeffers, GolfTEC Certified Personal Coach, GolfTEC Fort Myers

It is no mystery that throughout golf’s history, the game’s best players have typically played a draw ball flight, where the ball starts to the right of the target and curves back towards the target. There are no better examples of this than those who have won the prestigious green jacket at The Masters…Sam Snead in 1949, Fred Couples in 1992, Tiger Woods’ first Masters victory in 1997, and Zach Johnson ten years later in 2007. While this is not to say that those golfers who play a fade can’t win a green jacket, as Jack Nicklaus proved this with his six green jackets, it does indicate that the course demands more of a draw ball flight off the tee box. The greens at Augusta National are so fast and tiered that to be able to hit greens and get in scoring position, you must put yourself in position off the tee box. At Augusta, a draw ball flight fits the necessary shot shape for the majority of the par 4s and par 5s.

Many of today’s great players also play a draw ball flight. Golf is a game of distance and at the tour level of play a draw ball flight allows you to hit the ball further. Having an 8-iron in your hands vs a 6-iron is a huge advantage to have on the competition. Again, you do not need to play a draw to play good golf. However, most of the game’s recreational players would give their little pinky finger to play a draw, rather than a pull or push slice. Therefore, as we approach The Masters, let’s take a closer look at the basic motions needed to play a draw ball flight.

The first and most important step every golfer must understand is conceptually how a draw is produced. The good news is that the answer is very simple. To hit a shot that starts to the right and curves back to the left, the club path must be moving to the right or on an “in-to-out” path through the hitting area. The clubface must be slightly closed relative to the path of the club. Review the illustration to the left for a visual.

The purpose of this is to provide you with some general keys to hitting a draw. There are multiple components that are involved and if any of them are incorrect it may hurt your ability to draw the ball consistently…or even at all.

1. You need a grip that supports the goal at impact, which is to have the clubface slightly closed relative to the path. This means you need a grip where your lead hand is rotated over the top of the grip more and where the thumb is more on the right side of the handle.
2. The club needs to swing around your body and approach the ball from the inside, which requires good body turn in the backswing. Lack of turn in the backswing is one of the major reasons for an outside-in path and the resulting pulls and slices.
3. If the first two steps are in place, the last mandatory step is that your shoulders “stay back” as your lower body begins to shift and turn towards the target. If the upper body does not do this, the club will be put into a position where it must swing on an out-to-in path through the hitting area—the type of path that is a characteristic of a fade or slice ball flight.

As you incorporate these new techniques into your swing, take it slowly at first on the range and start with a 7-iron. Placing the ball on a tee helps, as it takes the ground out of the equation, while swinging at 50% will allow you to feel the differences in motion. As you improve curving the ball right to left, gradually increase your swing speed. Stay after it and you too will be able to hit the ball flight of the game’s best players…past and present!