Hit Better Long Golf Shots

Most of my students have trouble hitting long irons and fairway woods. The fact is (unfortunately) that these clubs are difficult to use.   The less loft on the golf club, the more difficult the shot.

What is the key to long fairway clubs - great contact! You can mis-hit a short iron and get away with it.  Not so a long iron, fairway wood or hybrid, which must be struck solidly to produce decent results. Your instinct will tell you that you have to swing harder to hit the ball farther.  As a result, most golfers swing too hard with the longer shots. You should use the same amount of effort as your pitching wedge, and you will get a rewarding result.

You can also improve contact by improving your angle of approach. Angle of approach simply means the direction the club is traveling when it strikes the golf ball. Hitting a driver is easier because you can use a tee, which allows you to hit up on the ball. The short irons are easier because you have more loft on your club, which allows you to hit down on the ball. The long fairways clubs are difficult because your club must travel level to the ground at impact to produce good results.  

Here is a simple drill that will help you feel the correct angle of approach and gain confidence in your ability to use the long clubs from the fairway:

1.       Tee the ball up off the ground about a half inch.

 

2.      Check your ball position so the ball is played forward in your stance (about two inches behind the left heel for a right handed  golfer). You also want to check and make sure that you are far enough from the ball that the butt of the club is at least four inches away from your left thigh.

 

3.      By reaching for the ball and teeing the ball in the air, we will shallow out your swing which will allow you to approach the ball on a good angle. The goal is to clip the ball solidly off the tee without taking a divot.

 

4.      Keep working on making a nice level approach.  If you take a divot behind the ball or top the ball, you are hitting up on the ball - no good. If you break the tee or take a divot in front of the ball, you are hitting down too much on the ball.  Once you have achieved good contact and the ball is flying nicely, start lowering the tee. Keep lowering the tee until the ball is on the ground. If you start to struggle go back to the tee for a couple of swing or simply imagine the ball is sitting up on a tee.
 

Extra Credit Opportunity!

Warning!!!  This drill is only for those golfers that are serious about being seriously good!

As many of my students will attest, I like to practice hitting my long clubs by placing the ball in a divot. This may sound strange, but I find that by taking a nice easy swing and focusing on a level approach into the ball, I can actually hit nice shots out of shallow divots - even with a three wood. This is a drill to help me overcome the temptation to swing too hard or to try to help the ball in the air. Once I go back to placing the ball on the grass, it seems like stealing! I suggest consulting your local PGA pro before trying this drill on your own; you should not attempt this drill if you have fragile wrists, swing too hard, or tend to take large divots.  Doing this drill properly has been known to cause large smiles, increased confidence, and feelings of superiority over playing partners. If you start hoping your ball lands in a divot so you can show off to your friends, you should immediately consult your local Pro.
 

Luckiest Bounces on the PGA Tour

Get Rid of the Slice for Good!

While many golfers lean right politically, the driver shot to the right is anything but PC! The slice will rob you of distance, social standing, and self respect. The good news is that I have complete confidence that the slice can be corrected with a few simple steps.

#1 - Tilt - You want to tilt your spine angle a few degrees away from the target; this will help you achieve a correct path by hitting up slightly on the ball.

#2 - Turn - Most slicers lift their arms on the back swing and tilt their spine toward the target as a result (remember, you want to tilt slightly away, not toward, the target). Tilting rather than turning will lead to bogies, double bogies, and worse! Start your back swing by turning your hips and shoulders. The more you turn, the better you will drive your ball.

#3 - Toss - You must release the club. Release means let go; it should feel as if you are throwing the club at your intended target, but the ball just gets in the way! A relaxed, well timed tossing motion will result in a well struck, powerful golf shot.

So remember, it takes just three T's to terminate the slice: Tilt, Turn, Toss.  If it sounds too easy to be true, come see me. If you don't get rid of the slice by the end of the lesson, you don't pay for the lesson! What to you have to lose - besides a big slice?!
www.tunkkarigolf.com

Tiger and Sergio Don't Play Nice

Tiger and Sergio Don't Play Nice

Honestly, I really like the Sergio vs. Tiger spat. Let me tell you why.

When he burst on the golfing stage as a 19 year old at the PGA championship at Medina, everyone thought Sergio would be a rival to Tiger, and perhaps even eclipse the great Tiger Woods. However, as time has gone by, Sergio seems to have grown very jealous as he watched Tiger demolish records and win majors. Meanwhile, Sergio has been labeled as the best golfer never to win a major.  A very backhanded compliment, to be sure.

The animosity between the two golfers is very apparent. Like two spolied children, neither will take the high road to resolve a very petty disagreement.

Both players are larger than life golf celebrities, with huge egos to match their enormous bank accounts. I personally have tremendous respect for both golfers--their talent is off the charts. Sergio is a ball striking genious, and Tiger has mental toughness and short game skills that have never been seen before.

I think both golfers are behaving poorly - as usual. They deserve each other. The media loves the controversy, TV ratings will soar, and of course I will be watching.   Cheers.

Chip it close my friend.

I often say that chipping is the easiest way to shave strokes off your score. The chip is simple and easy to learn; hitting a driver long and straight is very difficult in comparison. If I have a short, fairly simple chip, I expect to get down in two strokes or less—I consider three strokes equal to hitting a ball in a water hazard, a one stroke penalty! God forbid I take more than three strokes. In addition, I want to chip in close enough for a one or two foot putt. It is a great feeling when you chip one close to the hole and your opponent, in a sour voice, says "pick it up." It is a pleasure to leave the putter in the bag and walk to the next tee! So, you might ask, can you explain this simple and easy method of chipping that is going to make my life more enjoyable? Why, yes I can! Here is a quick overview, along with an easy drill to help cure the most common chipping problems.

Chipping –

The set-up is a very important part of becoming a proficient chipper. Place your feet together, almost touching, with 80 percent of your weight on the foot closest to the target. Grip down on your club (you can use any club in the bag) so your eyes are almost right over the ball. Moving close to the ball may feel awkward at first, but stick with it—the position allows for a much simpler stroke! Have some flex in your arms so your elbows are right against your side. Place the ball back in your stance slightly. With the ball back and your weight forward, the club shaft should lean slightly towards the target. Use you the same grip that you use on your putter. Now the easy part, the stroke…

Once you are set up correctly, you are ready to make a stroke that is similar to your putting stroke. Generally speaking, there should be very little movement in your wrists. To do this properly, you must create the power in the stroke by rocking your shoulders—it should feel as if your right and left shoulder move up and down to supply the force. Another "feel" is having your right and left elbows move up and down. The key is to focus on brushing the ground right where the ball would be. Visualize an arc where the club goes up on the back swing then down to brush the ground right where the ball is, and finally back up in the air on the follow-through.

Practice drill -

The number one mistake I see when people have problems chipping is deceleration. This is a common problem because most golfers take the club too far back on the back swing, and the sub-conscious brain screams out "Slow Down!" just as the golfer approaches impact. The result is usually a chunked shot (hitting the ground behind the ball) or a shot that comes up well short of the hole. Here is the drill to save you from this terrible fate:

Take your favorite chipping club and set up five to ten feet away from the green. Now place your golf bag behind the ball, positioning the bag so you can only take your club away from the ball a couple of feet without hitting your bag. This will force you to take a short back swing. It might feel very difficult at first, but don't quit on the drill. If you use your torso rotation to create the power, you will hit very solid shots. You will accelerate through the shot, and before you know it you will hear those three magic words on the course "pick it up!"