Important Random Thoughts That Help (Lesson No. 31)

For the new golfer, here are some helpful ideas that will improve your game:

A. During the hot summer months, you will need more than one golf glove. Spend a little money and buy some golf gloves (more than one). You will need to change gloves every 2nd or 3rd hole! High humidity and temperatures command that you do this! It is part of the cost of playing the game. A new glove on the tee, or in the fairway makes a huge difference in your game. Dry them out at room temperature.Save them and reuse them.

B. Check the humidity on your local weather channel or radio station before you play. Humidity will effect your swing more than you realize. Give thought to the fact that humidity slows down the club head speed; slows down the golf ball and probably slows down the golfer, too. You can lose seven to 12 yards with your 7 iron for example on a humid day! Believe it or not, that could be a one or two club difference and usually is at least that, when very humid!.

C. Do not take for granted the shaft in your clubs. Shafts can be regular, stiff or Lite. They make a difference. Go to your club pro and ask to use demo clubs on the range and find out if you have the correct shaft in your clubs. Our ages and abilities are vastly different. The lie angle of the shaft can be changed inexpensively. Demo clubs can often have different shaft lie angles for your experimentation. Try 2 degrees upright. Tom Watson said recently that the shaft is the most important element in your clubs! 

D. You should be talking to yourself when practicing or playing golf. You will need to invent your own language  for reminders. For example here are some lingos I use:

Putting- (4 L's) Load, Lock, Lift & Line, referring to hands and wrists at address

Iron play - First "this" then "that".

Driver - "Late lift" and "get back" referring to a second effort  in the back swing and then the hip slide and  hips return to the ball in the down swing. Very effective!

Chipping - Take the pledge (wrists), make the sling (first two fingers of both hands), align those same knuckles for the back swing. Translates to "pledge, sling, align to target."

Try different demo clubs! Learn to talk to your self in  your own abbreviated lingo. It helps.

RHE

 

 

A Surprisingly Easy Improvement (Lesson No. 30)

During the past five years I have been practicing my irons to hit more greens in regulation (GIRs). My stats are better; my irons are longer as well. One day last month the driving range was closed for mowing so I went to the practice green and began chipping.

To my surprise I learned that because chipping is typically only a partial swing I could work to improve consistency and direction quite easily. Very soon my session became more fun than work! In fact it was so enjoyable that I always practice my chipping when I go to the course, every day. Pulling through with the left arm straight proved to be the best method. Distance determined by visualizing 7,8,& 9 o'clock in the back swing. 

It is now one month later and I have a very good short game.It is fun and not feared at all. My new (tweaked) putter is working very well. My putting line has improved greatly and my distances are getting far better. The short game can become loads of fun as one gets better at chipping and putting.

For your information, in addition to my pitching wedge (48 degrees) I have a 52 degree gap wedge, 56 wedge and 60 degree lob wedge. These clubs give me 110, 95 and 75 yds, respectively with a full swing. They work much better than a series of partial swings with a pitching wedge for different distances. If you work with these wedges you can learn to hit them straight. Simply remember they have a shorter radius in the back swing.

If you consider your putting, chipping and wedge play, you are referring to more than half your game.How would you like to improve half of your game? The easiest half to improve upon.

It may be time to take a rest from your irons and devote fun time to your short game.Your score and enjoyment will improve dramatically.

RHE

 

 

 

What A Difference a New Club Can Make! (Lesson No. 29)

Birdies Tweet & Golfers Tweak.......

The equipment you are using in your golf game may not be right or best for you. As an instructor, the biggest fault I see in new golfers is their having bought used clubs that need new grips! Slick old grips will never make the grade for anyone. Go to your golf shop and either have them or you yourself can easily put on new grips! It's easy. Don't delay.

Tom Watson said recently that the shaft is the most important element of your equipment. That must be true because last year I was not hitting my driver well at all. I picked up a Taylor-Made 10.5 degree driver at Play It Again Sports and began hitting my drives straight and long.This year I bought an R-7 Quad Taylor Made driver and I am hitting drives unbelievably long (one was 270 yds. yesterday) and far more consistently straight.

Twenty years ago I watched Jack Nicklaus win the Masters (1986) with a wide bladed putter. I often thought, harkening back to my C.E. courses in Mechanics, I would like such a putter with weighting added to the outside edges of the wide blade. Last month (25 years later) I bought an older Arnold Palmer wide blade putter and since it had cavities on each end of the blade I added buck shot to the ends of the wide blade with epoxy securing the load. Last week I played nine and had 14 putts! My newly installed putter grip was too large so I replaced it with a thinner one which I like much better.

Two weeks ago I saw an older set of Taylor Made irons with traditional muscle back blades and bought them for $90.They needed new grips which I replaced. The shafts were S-300 which I mistakenly thought were regular stifness. S-300 means stiff and I lost 10 yards or more with most of the clubs. While they were somewhat straighter I could not afford to lose the distance. This week I will replace the stiff with regular shafts. I will also replace the new grips with new Lamkin grips that are slightly thicker. Golfworks in Newark, Ohio has everything you need for working on your golf clubs. It makes a fun hobby.

My 3-wood has always been my nemesis. I have 3-woods, 4-woods and 5-woods in the closet in the garage. Last week I called Club Finders in Texas and inquired about a Taylor-Made 3-wood which might match my Taylor-Made driver. Sure enough, they had one with a regular flex shaft and I ordered it. They accepted my two Titleist fairway woods in trade which made the deal attractive. For the past three days I have been hitting my new 3-wood long and straight  for the first time in my life! The obvious difference was in the shaft length being slightly shorter and whatever knowledge TM lends to shaft design.

With new equipment I played six holes last week in even par before the lightning and rains poured down. I will, today, return to my Adams irons with regular shafts and the graphite tips. When I replace the shafts on my TM irons I will try them again. When reshafting, I will split the difference as the TM irons are slghtly shorter (which I like!) than the Adams, which also probably cost me distance. Next week I will give a report on the results of my Taylor-Made muscle back irons with new (R) shafts. 

Tweak your clubs. Different grips and shafts can make a big difference in your game. Either do it yourself or let your golf shop do it for you. It is fun and surprising the difference a tweak can make. It may lead to more "Tweets"!

RHE

Hot Summer Weather - Hydrate (Lesson No. 28)

In N. Florida, these days, the temperature is nearing 100 degrees. Soon it will be very hot in the Mid-West and most other parts of the country. Here is some important advice for golfers.

In Atlanta twelve years ago, I walked along with Jack Nicklaus as he was playing in a Sr. PGA tour event.I noticed that at every tee box there was a water jug. Jack Nicklaus stopped for a cup of water on every tee box as he arrived.

Anyone who has suffered from kidney stones will tell you to drink plenty of water during the hot summer months. It is a very good idea to take a bottle of water with you when you play golf in the summer time and most other times of the year. Hydrating before you play is good advice. Taking water during your round of golf is also recommended.

Dehydration intereferes with your ability. Skipping breakfast also interferes with your game. Taking a snack at the turn is advisable and helps your game. Water and snacks are today's good advice.

Coffee and Colas are not advisable as they dehydrate. Gator-Ade is good. Beer is debateable. Probably not in your best interests if you are trying to perform your best.

Always hydrate before and during your round of golf.

RHE