Practice After Lessons

I recently read an article called "Are Golf Lessons Worth the Price?" This article mentioned every aspect of getting a lesson starting with selecting the golf professional and finishing with follow up. One key point I took from this reading was in regards to practice. Bobby Ryatt who wrote the article says that the student needs to ask the golf professional how much practice time they need in between lessons. I think this is a great question!

Most of my students do not practice enough between lessons. I have to be honest, it is a disservice to and your golf instructor if you do not practice after a lesson. From the students point of view, he or she needs to take time to work on the new swing keys that came from the last lesson to help make them permanent. If you are paying $75 for a one hour lesson and you arrive to your next lesson without any practice of these keys, the instructor will have to reinforce lesson 1. That reinforcement aids you in losing most of the $ value of your second lesson. That same problem exists from the instructor's point of view. The teacher has hopes that you will have practiced everything from lesson one in order to introduce new keys in the second lesson.

I recommend that students take at least 2 days to practice after each lesson before they even consider seeing me again. It helps even more if they can make it out to the golf course and play following those two days of practice. I love it when students come to me with questions regarding issues with what they have practiced or played after our last lesson. I do understand that many of you work and practice becomes difficult to schedule around life. But do yourself a favor and work on the keys that your golf professional gives you before you schedule another lesson so that you are making your "golf lessons worth the price."

Wynlakes Titleist Teaching Center

Recently at Wynlakes we made an addition to our teaching facility by adding a pop-up tent to provide a learning center on the range for students. Thanks to our friends at Titleist, this tent will be used as a safe haven for teaching, demo days, and club fittings. In addition to the tent, we have added a teaching module that allows us to quickly put your swing on video to be analyzed. In the near future we plan to add seating and more shade to accommodate students. Please come out and visit!

Flat Right Thumb - Putting

I was approached recently by a member that was struggling from 5 feet and in on the green. He had the tendency to either shut the face down, or wipe it wide open at impact. The cause of this fault was movement of the hands right before impact that would change the face angle of his putter.

The thought we had to fix this problem was to focus on keeping his right thumb on an imaginary flat surface(like the ruler in the picture above). If the thumb stays flat on the paddle of the grip and it moves on the flat surface the putter face will stay square through the ball at impact. Practice this and you will hear more putts hit the bottom of the hole!

In Between Clubs - Grip Down

I'm finding that when the average golfer gets stuck in between clubs they ease up on the longer club. These players end up pulling the shot or not committing to the shot and they don't finish their swing. I love to watch Geoff Ogilvy swing in this situation. His tempo and rhythm is always the same on every shot. So how can Geoff swing the club the same every time even when he is in between clubs? He simply chokes down on the golf club.

There are two factors that separate the clubs distance in your bag. Length and loft. If you choke down one inch on a club it should produce about half-a-club less than normal. After you shorten the golf club make your normal swing and you will find that the ball will fly with more control and just a bit shorter.

Yellow - Red - GREEN!

I have spoke with a few players lately that are struggling either taking the club back or following through. Some players take it back very quickly and decelerate into the ball while others struggle with taking it back slowly only to swing way too fast through the ball. In either scenario, they player has is sequencing off.

I want players to think of a stop light when they make the swing. The the takeaway begins with a smooth "yellow light" pace. At the top of the swing, imagine a "red light" that gets you a small pause at the top aligning everything for the down swing. Finally, you need to think "green light" on the way down. Always keep in mind you will get a ticket for running a red light, speeding through a green light, and you will miss your tee time if you don't get through the intersection on a yellow light.

Roll it at the Hole!

I believe that every human is born with some sort of "feel" or "touch." When players come to me complaining of 3 and 4 putts, my first thought is that their speed is off. Putting is not very different than rolling a ball to a target. When I teach juniors and beginners, I have them grab a golf ball and toss it at the hole. Then I have them stand in a putting posture and toss it "sideways" a the hole. The motion your hand makes in this position is no different when you have a putter in your hands.

The picture on the right shows Kim Kardashian playing bocce ball with family(picture from http://www.life.com/). If Kim can roll this ball successfully in high heels than you can have enough feel and touch to roll a ball close enough to the hole to get down in 2.


Drill:
-Grab two golf balls and gently toss them at a hole from 30 or so feet
-Throw them again standing in your putting posture
-Grab your putter with your throwing hand and practice rolling the ball with one hand and the putter
-Finally put your second hand on the putter and imagine rolling the ball at the hole.

Note how when Natalie Gulbis used to putt split handed her right hand looks almost identical to a person that would roll a ball from a sideways position. Keep your normal grip but focus on a good "roll."

Hybrid Chip

Golfers in all parts of the country will experience wet conditions from time to time. For us in the south, winters bring thin, dormant grass that has wet soil beneath it creating an unpredictable tight surface. Some of the hardest shots under these conditions around the greens. I have found that if there is no deep grass or obstacles in front of you, using a hybrid or fairway wood is the least risky play. The way that hybrids are constructed allows a player to use a putt/chip stroke to just get the ball lifted above the grass and will produce a predictable rolling shot that will surely not get you in trouble. More often than not, it will get you close to the hole.

How:

- Use your highest lofted hybrid or fairway wood

- Use your basic chip setup

- Grip to the bottom of the grip

- Make a chip/putt stroke

- Keep your hands ahead

Most of you will find that this shot will take off much faster than a putt or chip. But with practice this will become a go-to shot under tight or wet conditions.