Golf Tips

There is one question that comes up in most golf discussions: "How can I hit the ball further?"

Well, as much as the golf industry and my peers in the instruction side of the game want you to believe, it is very simple. There are two important aspects in creating efficient distance - with control.

Controlling the club face is one. The second is proper forearm rotation.
Controlling the club face

In order to maximize every aspect that goes into a golf swing, you must "catch" the ball squarely on the clubface. For most players, getting the clubface squared on the back of the ball is either an accident - or a miracle.

Regardless of whether you have a clubhead speed of more than 100 miles per hour, or one that is less than 50 miles per hour, it is paramount that you learn how to control the club face with every club in your bag.

Drill:
In order to master clubface control, you need to start with the shortest of strokes - the putting stroke - and practice squaring the club face on the ball at impact.

Start by drawing a line around the ball, and then on a flat putting green or surface, set the ball down with the line straight up and down and practice "rolling" the ball 8-10 feet so that the line remains constant (straight) throughout its roll.

You cannot achieve a straight line with anything less than square contact of the face on the back of the ball. Once you have mastered rolling ball properly from 8-10 feet, increase the distance, then begin to work on squaring the club face with chip shots with a 6- or 7-iron, then pitch shots, then eventually full shots.

Test:
To confirm you are controlling the club face with every club, including your driver, practice hitting shots so they only carry 50-75 yards with a full turn, then begin to add speed as you increase the distance at 25-50 yard increments.

Result:
Trust me, it is harder than you think. If you can master this drill, you will control the club face and will begin to create more distance - efficiently.

TaylorMade R9 Fairway Wood
TaylorMade R7 Irons
Callaway Big Bertha Diablo Driver

Driver as Big Stick

I am going to discuss the TaylorMade Burner Superfast Driver in two parts:

1. The club itself

2. And then the swing

Keeping in harmony with the Surgism, “the setup determines the motion,” a major part of setup involves the golf club, in that it must “FIT” the golfer in numerous parameters to be a good club for that player.

Some of the major fitting points that must be considered involve what we call the specs of the club.

These include: head size… 460CC or smaller; face alignment… square, closed or open; shaft material… graphite or steel; shaft weight… light, medium or heavy; shaft flex… ladies, senior, regular, stiff, X-stiff or XX-stiff; shaft kick point… low, medium or high; shaft length; grip material; grip size; and round or ribbed grip.

These are a lot of components, but there are even more.

Today, we’re going to look at length and the shaft.

You might be thinking at this point “I have a good driver. It is from one of the top companies, and I paid “BIG BUCKS” for it, so it has to be good”.

Oh contraire… my good friends!

It may not fit you in one or a number of specs, and that could be the main reason why you can’t hit it consistently.

Yesterday, I had a lesson with a new student, Brian, who told me he was a mid to high single digit player but struggling with consistency in ball striking and direction. He had major setup issues that affected his follow through and finish (body rotated way left of the target with arms collapsing around the chest) causing the ball striking and direction problems.

We fixed the setup, and focused on getting him to the T-Finish, square to the target and arms and club over the left shoulder.

He took to this like a duck to water and was hitting good solid, straight and longer 7 iron shots within minutes.

We upped him to a 5 iron… still good.

We went up to a hybrid and then a 3 wood…still good.

Went up to a driver. First shot, block right, close to power slice.

Second shot, pull hook.

The third was a thin, skank-like cut, but at least it was up the middle.

All with swings that looked good, he said felt pretty good, and was confident his forward up swing to the finish was good.

I took his club and hit three shots. I hit them better than he had, but for me still poor shots. I felt the problem in the first swing, which I blocked and confirmed in the second, when it went left. The problem was not his swing, it was his club.

His shaft was way too weak.

He was swinging a fishing pole and he needed more of a telephone pole. I gave him my driver, which is a soft X-stiff. He hit three good, solid and relatively straight drives, and he could feel the difference in the shaft as being more “rigid” as he described it.

Lastly, he was swinging a 46 inch driver. Mine is 44 inches. Standard for most companies is 45 inches. Even though Brian was around 6′1″ and I am only 5′9″ (give or more likely take an inch) 44 inches is all he needs.

He smoked his 3 wood, so I told him to consider it the “gold Standard.” I told Brian to go to a PGA Professional club fitter I recommended and use his 3 wood as the base when get fitted and have his driver re-shafted. I also told him to get the rest of his clubs checked.

Golfers are quick to blame their swing, and not their clubs, especially expensive ones.

So if you feel you made a pretty good swing and got poor results, check out your equipment first. A good swing is only as good as the club in your hands. A poorly fitted club, especially a driver, “The Big Stick,” can make a good swing look bad… real bad.

The moral of this story and the key to Brian’s success and yours is that I can give you a great setup and “The Peak Performance Swing,” but you also have to have “Peak Performance Clubs.”

Here’s to good weather… and great golf!

The Surge!

P.S. Just like you want to have the correct driver, you also want to make sure you have the correct, “body friendly” golf swing.

Top 100 Golf Course-Eight top 100 courses at A.W. Tillinghast

 

 

A.W. Tillinghast has eight courses ranked in the world top 100, more than any other architect. I have just recently completed playing all of A.W. Tillinghast's courses that are on the top 100 list. Six of his top 100 are located within 30 miles of Times Square. Nowhere in the world is there such a large concentration of courses in the top 100 by the same architect. The next closest is Alister MacKenzie's body of work in Australia.



Before reviewing the New York area Tillinghast courses, I would point out that his best design might be one of his earliest efforts - San Francisco Golf Club. Tillinghast's major New York area courses are: Winged Foot West (ranked #18 in the world), Bethpage Black (ranked #30 in the world), Baltusrol Lower (ranked #45 in the world), Quaker Ridge (ranked #61 in the world), Winged Foot East (ranked #66 in the world), and Somerset Hills (ranked #69 in the world). Not surprisingly, Tillinghast did a lot of his work in the New York area since his practice was based in New York City and Englewood, New Jersey. Tillinghast was a legendary figure. He never went to college and used to walk around the course sites he was designing with a pistol and a bottle of booze.



 

A.W. Tillinghast

When you play a golf course designed by A.W. Tillinghast, you know it. Tillinghast's oeuvre is distinctive. His courses have what is called a "Tillinghast Polish". They are visually dramatic, especially his use of bunkering; his courses are a pleasure to look at.



Bethpage Black



The only public course of the six, Bethpage Black is the clearly superior of the New York area courses. It is built on the hilliest terrain of all his local courses and has the most variety. The 4th hole at Bethpage Black (pictured below) is a par five with three levels of elevation and is unquestionably one of the best in the world. A dog-leg left, you have to hit three good shots to get on the green. And you have to hit them to the appropriate side of the fairway, the right side being the more favorable coming in on your third shot. This great hole is immediately followed by the 5th hole, a very hard par four where you need to hit the ball a good 220 yards, albeit, downhill, to hit the fairway. Good luck if the wind is blowing at you as it was when I played. Your second shot plays very hard uphill. The beauty of the hole, among its visual splendor, is that the best shot off the tee should be played left to right and the best shot to the green should be played right to left.



The 15th hole at Bethpage is a 470 yard par four that plays MUCH longer than the yardage indicates. It is not a terribly difficult fairway to hit, but the second shot plays as uphill as any shot you will ever play. It's almost straight up-hill. Definitely one of the hardest shots I have had to hit (and hit and hit) thus far playing the top 100.



 

 

4th at Bethpage Black

 

I didn't experience any of the legendary waiting in line that the course is famous for. Nor did I have to sleep in my car the night before. I played with a friend who is a New York state resident and can book tee times up to a week in advance. I would comment that the Long Island male, though, is a unique breed. They are a cross between two distinct and not necessarily complimentary personality traits. Half the time charming, funny and entertaining and the other half in-your-face obnoxious. Staying to have a beer in the clubhouse after the round is mandatory so you can soak up the true attitude of the Long Island male in all his regal splendor. You will no doubt remember it.



 

4th at Bethpage from the tee box

Winged Foot

The opposite end of the universe from Bethpage from a social status standpoint is the Winged Foot Golf Club located above New York City in Westchester County. Along with St. Andrews, Pebble Beach and Pinehurst, it is an undisputed golf Mecca. When you turn off Mamaroneck road, Winged Foot has an impressive winding entry drive and a dramatic, beautiful clubhouse that sits in the middle of the site surrounded by tall trees. You know you are someplace special when you arrive at Winged Foot.





 

The fifth green at Winged Foot West

Winged Foot has perfected that uniquely American art of the country club. There is a ritualized process to everything about the club. You arrive and the caddie master takes your clubs out of your trunk and welcomes you. After you park, you go into the locker room where the attendant organizes a locker for you and offers to change your spikes if needed. While playing, he cleans your street shoes off. Next, your caddie awaits to guide you around the course. After the round, you enjoy some food and drink in the grill room where the elegant wooden boards proclaim the past winners of championships held at the course. You are served by employees that have perfected the art of service and making you feel at home. Winged Foot is known for being very generous with its employees, many of whom have been in long service at the club and are treated like family. When Henry Longhurst wrote "one of the great unpurchasable assets in any golf club is the continuity of staff", he must have been thinking of Winged Foot.

 

The entry drive at Winged Foot

Winged Foot is the only club with the distinction of having two courses ranked in the top 100. I played the East and West courses at Winged Foot on different days and at different times of the year: The West on a brilliant summer day. The East on a cool, drizzly, fall day. Both times I very much enjoyed sitting around the clubhouse, the first time on the outdoor patio, under the awning, with its signature green-and-white stripes near the 18th green, at the end of a great day's golf. The second time, in front of the over-sized fireplace in the grill room with the fire crackling as the outside temperature dropped and a slight drizzle was falling. Sitting in that room with the dark woods and rich tones is a nice way to take the chill off and savor the overall Winged Foot experience.



 

Winged Foot Clubhouse

Despite the grandeur and majesty of the club, however, I would not rank the West Course at Winged Foot as one of my personal favorites. After the round as I tried to think back about the holes, many of them blend together as being tree-lined par fours and fives with slight doglegs. I know certain fellow aficionados and technical analysts pile on to anyone who doesn't love Winged Foot West. They will sight how the genius of the course is in the green complexes, and I understand how dramatic and artful they are. But even if you take that as given, it leaves 80% of the golf course as being not all that distinctive and somewhat repetitive.





 

The par three 10th hole at Winged Foot West

I don't hate the West course. I think the par threes are among the best in the game, especially the 3rd and 10th holes. And the 11th hole is a very interesting and memorable hole. Sixteen is also quite a good hole as well. Thus far, it is my only eagle playing the top 100. Overall, I didn't come away awe-struck by the West Course. When a course ranks in the top 25 in the world, I think it should have a distinctiveness that jumps out at you like at Merion, Sand Hills, National Golf Links or Crystal Downs.



Even if you disagree with my assessment of the West Course, you must admit, points are to be subtracted from any club that has Donald Trump as a member.





 

Baltusrol



In the same vein, Richard Nixon was a one-time member of Baltusrol. The club is also old, exclusive and proper and like Winged Foot has a brilliant club-house. Baltusrol, along with Cypress Point, Augusta, Los Angeles Country Club and San Francisco Golf Club requires long pants to play, although they recently loosened up the rules so that you can wear shorts between the 4th of July and Labor Day. The Lower course at Baltusrol is a lot like Winged Foot West. A lot of relatively straight tree-lined holes without much variety, in my view. Again, yes, interesting and challenging greens, which is why the USGA likes both courses.



 

These two courses are frequent hosts to major championships and have revered history and no doubt I'm missing something, but to me, they lack that special quality that distinguishes them from some of the other really good and interesting courses on the list. Both get an A+ for conditioning and fast greens, but I wouldn't put either on my short list of courses to play again quickly. Bethpage Black is a course I would return to. It has better terrain, more change in elevation, a more varied and interesting routing and is a more imaginative design.



The East Course at Winged Foot, by comparison, is an under-rated course, especially compared to the West. I found that the East Course had more shot variety and more interesting holes. I especially liked the par three 13th hole with its elevated green and massive fingered bunkering.



On my own personal rating scale I would place the courses in a different order in the world rankings and rank the West Course somewhere in the thirties or forties and the East in the fifties. If I returned to Winged Foot, I would play the East course again ahead of the West. I would rank any number of courses ahead of both Winged Foot West and Baltusrol Lower including Carnoustie (#26), San Francisco (#27), Kingsbarns (#65), Sunningdale Old (#44) and Royal St. George's (#32), to name a few.

Like at Baltimore Five Farms, Quaker Ridge and Somerset Hills, I feel that some of Tillies best work was done on courses that are not as well known as those that play host to major championships.

The Details of Tiger Woods Files Entry for British Open

Tiger Woods filed his access to play in the British Open in two months, Golf Digest reports.

Woods, 34, has been rehabilitating a close abrasion that affected him to abjure during the final annular of the Players championship beforehand this ages and said endure anniversary he’s borderline if he’d acknowledgment to competition.

The world’s No. 1 golfer said on May 13 that he would yield affliction of the action and acknowledgment if he’s “physically able.” Woods said his close problems started about two weeks afore the April 8-11 Masters Clash if he accelerated affairs to acknowledgment from a five-month layoff.

Woods’ website lists his next tournaments as the U.S. Open from June 17-20, the AT&T National from July 1-4 and the British Open from July 15-18 at St. Andrews in Scotland.

The U.S. Open, which will be captivated at Pebble Beach Golf Links in California, is the season’s additional above clash and the British Open is the third. Woods aswell said endure anniversary that he hopes to play in the Memorial Clash on June 3-6, giving him a action for the U.S. Open.

Quote:

Tiger Woods Files Entry for British Open

Royal Dornoch

I begin the description of Royal Dornoch with a quote from the great golf writer Herbert Warren Wind who said of the course: "No golfer has completed his education until he has played and studied Royal Dornoch."

Royal Dornoch is the northern most located golf course in the top 100, located in the Scottish Highlands. The drive up to Dornoch from southern Scotland is long but scenic. I played Dornoch early one morning several years ago in the summer. One of the nice things about Royal Dornoch is that they will let out two-somes prior to 8:30am. So it was that we were teeing off at 7:32am and the caddy said we'd be back in by 11:00am. Playing golf in the home of golf they know the value of playing fast. This was my second time playing Dornoch and I was very much looking forward to it because it is just different that most courses on the list. Because of its highland location the air is different; the day light is different and you have a feeling of being far away from civilization because you are.

In any event, little did I know that the day would bring two new experiences to my own personal golfing education. The day was kind of damp with a low fog hanging in the air. About three holes out we were attacked by midges. Midges are tiny swarming insects that are like gnats only they travel in swarms. For about four holes we could not get rid of them. They attack you all over, even under the golf hat I was wearing. The caddies were in shock, they said it was the worst attack they had ever seen, they put towels over their heads and you couldn't swat them because there were so many. Apparently it was a bad year given the damp conditions that spring. I don't wish to scare you off of a trip to Dornoch because its worth the trip; apparently the midges are not present that often, but if they are, watch out.

The beauty of Royal Dornoch with the gorse in bloom

So finally the midges were starting to abate. As we teed off on the 6th hole it happened. I apologize for using the word, but I shanked the ball. There is no question that the most difficult shot in golf is the shot you have to hit after you shank the ball. In any event, the problem did not go away. I couldn't advance the ball other than at a 90 degree angle. It was desperate. Dornoch is an out and back layout, meaning that for the first eight holes you travel away from the clubhouse and the next 10 bring you back in toward the clubhouse. In other words, it's not the type of course you can just walk in. I turned to my caddy and said "Do you have a pro on duty who can take a look at my swing. I don't think I can continue, I'm going to walk in". He looked at me and said "Just hit the f---ing ball, there's no way we're walking in, just turn your shoulder".

And so it was. I know it sounds dramatic but he was right. While I was still a bit fragile coming in, it worked. I stopped shanking and made it in. Scottish caddies have a well earned reputation for dry wit and candor and he was great. The tip he received at the end of the round was the most generous I have ever given.

Despite the problems of the day, I still have very, very fond memories of Dornoch. It is a fine and challenging golf course. Donald Ross grew up in Dornoch and you will clearly see where he got many of his design ideas from. Although what happened to me at Dornoch is not exactly what Wind meant, I recommended it highly. Go and complete your education!

The first game this year was not bad

Abnormal weather this year in the US has been very cold, plus many dilemma.Every day,I said to myself that I should practice golf.Thursday buddy asked me to went to the golf clubs near my house to watch them battle.Thought about what activities should be,so I agreed.

Friday the beatiful scence suddenly let people feel the spring has come.Spring always makes sense that the vitality,my active mind at once up.I was looking forward to the present.At noon,I hurried to go there.When I came there,the other buddies have been there.After asking them to buy two famous big bun,I went to the golf course in a hurry.

I had thought that the court was originally yellow,but it turned out to be green.The scenery of this golf course was good.It looked more and more beautiful.It was well known as designed by the old Pa.In shot,it was distinctive.I had not touched golf club for a year.I had nothing feeling at the first shot.Plus I got hurt last year,so I did not dare push hard.Therefore,the first shot was very freely and relax.I had never expected to play a good game today,but my first shot made me feel well.My action was very smooth.Not bad!The speed of the ball was 250 yards up and down.The second shot score on the green,and then the ball was pushed into the hole with two putts.I felt so good because I started my game with par.

Although there is no on-off driving range,and sometimes I feel practice the game with the idea is a good way.I just think about repeating swing,so I can repeat the memory. Because there is no ball,I can not focus on the ball but just can facus on the golf swing. This training method is really useful.

The second hole was a 3-par hole with 130 yards long.I played with a P Driver,because of high tee,the distance was too short and landed into the bunker.I finished this hole with +1...

In a word,the first game this year was not bad.