Golf with the best of them
Advice from the pros
Golf’s G.P.A. — it’s important!
No matter how fickle you would like to get with your golf
swing’s position throughout its motion, almost all of
your swing problems come from what you do before you even start
your swing.
That is why we cannot underestimate the importance of
golf’s G.P.A.:
Grip – Your grip
is your body’s connection to the clubface. A good grip
will allow you to properly position the golf club throughout
the golf swing.
Posture – A golf
swing may be one of the most demanding athletic moves you can
ask your body to make. If your posture is not poised to make an
athletic move, your golf swing can only be a series of
compensating moves to offset your lack of posture and balance.
Think about the sports that you have played in the past and
remember how important balance and posture were to your
success. Golf is no different.
Alignment – This
is probably the simplest concept to grasp. If you can’t
properly aim your clubface and body to your target, then you
will have to do something in your golf swing to get the ball to
go to your target. This is the quickest way to get off
track.
If you focus on the importance of golf’s G.P.A., then
you are well on your way to making a good golf swing before you
even take the club back.
Michael Sizemore
PGA Director of
Golf
Sunriver Resort
The importance of alignment
It is important to position your stance and setup parallel to
your target line. A common misconception of lining up directly
at your target will encourage an “over the top”
swing resulting in pulled shots or an outside to inside swing
path.
This can also lead to shots that “slice” or
“fade” away from your intended target. To encourage
solid contact and accuracy a setup parallel to your target line
would be optimum.
Dan King
PGA Golf
Professional
Tokatee Golf Club
Chip like a pro
The overriding principle when chipping is to hit the ball on
the downswing with a descending blow. All the fundamentals are
based on this principle.
The four I like to focus on when I give a lesson are:
1. Play the ball off your right foot.
2. Set up with a majority of your weight (up to 90%) on your
left foot.
3. Keep your hands ahead of the club head during setup and
through the entire swing.
4. A short accelerating stroke is much more consistent than a
long stroke that decelerates.
With a little practice and the incorporation of these
fundamentals, I’m sure you’ll chip as well as I
do.
Birk R. Nelson
Head professional
and
former NCAA All-American
Diamond Woods Golf Course
Avoiding the dreaded “chicken wing”
The biggest loss of power in the golf swing is the dreaded
chicken wing. Most people don’t even know they are doing
this and just assume they can’t hit the ball very
far.
In the picture on the left, you’ll see that the left
wrist and arm are broken down at impact. In the picture on the
right, with the aid of an impact bag (they do work) the left
arm is straight and the back of the left hand is flat —
this is proper impact.
To improve your impact, practice using a mirror and make sure
the handle of the club gets to the ball before the head of the
club does.
Jim Wilkinson
PGA Director of
Instruction
Langdon Farms Golf Club
Are your clubs working for you — or against you?
One of the most overlooked aspects of becoming a more
consistent golfer is playing with equipment that fits the
player. Most of the people I work with have never had their
equipment evaluated to see if their clubs are working for them
or against them.
In my opinion, good instruction must include club evaluation
in order to properly diagnose swing flaws. Everyone who spends
any kind of time hitting golf balls will react to the ball
flight and adjust their swing with the perceived correction.
Many people receive instruction on how to correct ball flight
with a swing change only, when the culprit could simply be
equipment that just doesn’t fit the player.
There is a perception that it really doesn’t really
matter what clubs are being played, as long as they are cheap
or look good or are name brand or most used on tour or
whatever. There’s no consideration to whether the lie
angle, shaft length and flex, head design or grip size is
correct for me.
Do yourself a favor. If you really want to improve and become
a more consistent golfer without having to relearn a new swing
each time you play, seek out a PGA Golf Professional who
understands the value of properly fitted equipment and have
yours checked. I guarantee you will enjoy this great game more
than you ever have.
Do you think the players who play for a living use any old set
of clubs?
Andy Heinly, PGA
Head Golf
Professional
Eagle Crest
Resort
The power of the smile
The simple act of smiling can make the difference in your golf.
It is a proven fact that while smiling, you are more powerful
and able to perform at a higher level. Inserting this into your
routine approach to the ball will get you more of what you
want.
Let’s use putting as our example. As you aim the putter
and prepare to make your stroke, breathe in and, either
inwardly or outwardly, put a big grin on your face. Notice
how it changes the way you feel, exhale and shift your
attention back to the target and make your stroke. Soon you
will always be smiling when you are thinking about or actually
putting. Check into how most golfers act when they describe
their putting and you probably won’t see too many smiles.
Wouldn’t it be great to exit that group! Happy golf!
Mark Keating
Director of Instruction,
Keating’s School of Golf
Head Professional, Shadow
Hill Country Club 1993-2005
Oregon PGA Professional of
the Year 2004
Getting
your children started in golf
The game of golf is very popular among children today. The days
of only old men golfers wearing plaid pants and patent leather
shoes are long gone. The positive exposure that players such as
Tiger Woods and Michelle Wie have received while wearing Nike
gear has made golf the “cool” sport among
today’s youth.
Your son or daughter may approach you one day and express
interest in learning to play. Or you might want to get them
interested in golf because you enjoy the game and would like to
share those experiences with them. One of the keys to getting
your child interested in golf is finding a program that they
enjoy.
Try to select a program that is fun for them and nurtures
their interest. Parents should look for programs run at local
facilities by qualified instructors. Teachers affiliated with
the PGA and LPGA staff the best programs. The social
interaction, rules of conduct and etiquette learned in this
environment teach children things that extend way beyond the
game of golf.
Ultimately, parents are the catalyst for the growth of their
child’s interest in golf. A visit to the driving range,
where your child and you can spend some quality time together,
is also an excellent way to get started. Invite some of their
friends, too. Unless you are a qualified teacher, don’ t
worry too much about instructing your child. Just let them hit
some balls and enjoy themselves.
After your child has received proper instruction and developed
some skills, you can take them to play with you at your local
golf course. Par 3 courses are excellent for young beginners.
Try to play during non-peak hours so that your child is not
subject to the pressures of pace of play requirements of a busy
facility.
Always remember that golf is a game and should be fun.
Don’t push your child. The best thing you can do as a
parent is to provide access and encouragement, and to help them
learn and enjoy golf.
A proper start in golf will ensure a lifetime of enjoyment for
you and your children, sharing the experiences of this
wonderful game together.
Dennis Dolan
PGA head golf
professional
Indian Creek Golf
Course
Lemons and bananas: an exercise in mental control
Mental toughness is a difficult thing to define in golf. At
least it seems that way. The very thought of “mental
toughness” brings about images of Adonis of the brain, as
if we just concentrate and we are mentally tough. Jack Nicklaus
walked on the course as if he owned it. Tiger is only lacking
20 more years of experience to accomplish the same feat.
What Jack and Tiger have is the ability to control their
nervous systems. That, to me, is the definition of mental
toughness. Being able to breathe normally, when the mortals can
barely take a breath of any kind. If you can’t control
your nervous system, luck will be your only companion in those
difficult situations that arise during a round of golf. Whether
it is a 5-foot putt to break 100 for the first time in your
life, or win The Masters, it is all the same to your nervous
system. It is uncomfortable the first time around.
A vehicle for overcoming a jittery nervous system is this:
Imagine a juicy lemon sitting in front of you on a black
background (it is better if you actually do it!). Now, take the
lemon out of your mind. Block it out. No lemon there.
So what do you see? You should have lemon on the brain. Now do
the same thing with the lemon on black. Remove the lemon and
replace it with an orange. Taste the orange. Now throw out the
orange and place a banana in its place. Peel the banana, take a
bite. Now, what are you thinking about? Hopefully, that tasty
banana. But what happened to the lemon?
Where did it go?
The point is, the golf course and your mind are full of
lemons. If getting a ball over the water at your home course is
your issue, that is your lemon. Find the banana, the
green/target. It will assist you in focusing your energy on the
task at hand (hitting on the green, for example) and not the
potential ramifications of failure (hitting it in the water and
chasing a triple-bogey). That is a baby step in learning to
toughen up your mind, and well worth the effort.
Steve Burch
Director of
Instruction
The Reserve Vineyards and
Golf Club
Choosing an instructor
One of the best things a golfer can do to improve his or her
game is to take lessons from a PGA teaching professional. How
do you find the right one? Here are a couple of tips:
Ask around. Chances are, someone you know has taken lessons.
Did they improve? Did they learn the fundamentals? Was the
instructor effective? Did the instructor teach to their skill
level?
Be clear about your expectations. Go in with a plan; let the
instructor know if you want a quick fix or long-term
change.
And finally, try and find a professional whose enthusiasm for
the game matches yours. Like many golf professionals, I grew up
in a golfing family and have been involved with the game
— in high school, college and professional tournaments
— my entire life. My grandmother taught my brother and me
to love the game, and today we both make it a career:
Even if you aren’t lucky enough to make golf your career,
you can make it even more enjoyable by improving your skills
with the help of a good teacher.
Jeff Fought
Director of Golf
Black Butte Ranch
