DON’T PEEK!

Keep your head down! You picked up your head! You are sliding in front of it! I’m sure every golfer has heard at least one of these phrases during a round of golf or while taking a lesson from your golf professional.

When something to this effect is stated, what the person is trying to tell you is that in order to hit a solid shot your head MUST be behind the ball at impact.

We see players do this in baseball all the time. A batter will look up to center field during his or her swing, in hopes of hitting a home run. This will, in most cases, result in a strike.

When referring to keeping the head down, picking the head up, or sliding in front of it, we are really talking about keeping the top of your spine behind the ball at impact. This will, in turn, keep your head down through the swing.

A couple tips to help with this problem are to slow down and stop trying to hit the home run or, in our case, the 300 yard marker. If a shot is properly hit, you should see the ball when it is reaching its highest peak. If this happens, you have hit a solid shot.

I encourage you to watch good players and see where their head is positioned during the swing, especially at impact, and shortly after impact. You can clearly see in this photo that he did not peek at impact.

If you are not hitting solid shots, keep the thought “don’t peek” in your mind and you are sure to improve in this area.

Dean Greer, PGA

Head Golf Professional

Laytonsville Golf Course

Bunker Tips - Learn to love the beach!

If you are like most amateur golfers, your reaction is one of disgust when your ball lands in a green side bunker.  Day after day I will look out and see countless golfers hacking away in sand traps, desperately trying to get the ball airborne and out of the trap.  Yet on the PGA Tour, most pros will tell you that they would prefer to be in a bunker then the long rough that surrounds most greens.  The problem is that most golfers do not know how to set up properly and seldom (if ever) practice bunker shots.  Here are some quick tips to help you become a better bunker player and improve your overall score. 

1.      Use a Sand Wedge!  This may sound like common sense, but many golfers will try to use a pitching wedge because they don’t have a sand wedge.  If you don’t have one, get one! 

2.      Open the club face and open your stance, with the club face aligned with the target.   

3.       Get a good solid stance by digging your feet several inches into the sand and use a shoulder width stance. 

4.       Place 60% of your weight on the left leg and leave it there throughout the swing. 

5.       The rules of golf prohibit grounding your club in the bunker (the bunker is a hazard) so address the ball with the club head slightly above the sand, about two inches behind the ball. 

6.       Play the ball off the left foot, forward of center.  Remember, the goal is to hit the sand, not the ball. 

7.       When playing your shot, hit the sand about 1-2 inches behind the ball.  It is imperative to keep your left arm straight throughout the shot and control it by rotating the body, not the arms, through the shot.  *** Focus your eyes at the spot 1-2 inches behind the ball.  The worst mistake you can make is to hit the ball first, instead of the sand. 

                            

Once you understand the basics and practice a little, bunker shots should not be feared – they’re a blast!

Matt Jarvis

General Manager

Poolesville Golf Course

How to take the fear out of those long putts

Pace of your putts is often over looked. We need to remember sometimes just getting a putt close to the hole is considered a great putt. I like to teach my students a few key little tips when trying to get those long putts closer.

1. Visualizing the putt: Take the time to take a few practice swings looking at the hole. Our mind is a wonderful thing that we use less then 10% of its potential. Taking a few practice strokes looking at the hole will help you get the feel for the pace of the putt.

    

Downhill putts: Picture an imaginary hole short of the actual hole. A point where you think the ball needs to start dying so it will come to rest close to the hole. Focus on this spot when taking your practice stroke. Try and make the ball roll in the imaginary hole.

                                                           
           

Uphill putts: Picture an imaginary hole past the actual hole. Focus on this spot when taking your practice stroke. Try and make the ball role in the imaginary hole.

2. ALL putts are STRAIGHT putts. The slope of the green is what makes the ball move left or right. You must commit to your line and stroke the putt while keeping the head still.

Practice these tips and I will guarantee 2 things.

            1. You will have less three putts at the end of the day

            2. You will make every 1ft putt that comes your way.

I will leave you with a quote from a great old friend and golf instructor (George Kohutt) “Practice doesn’t make perfect it makes permanent”

Chris Cissel, PGA
General Manager
Rattlewood Golf Course

Maximize your distance

As an instructor, one of my most frequently asked question is how can I hit it longer? I think most golfers would prefer hitting it longer as opposed to shooting lower scores. Well, it’s not one or two things but a list of things you must do to maximize how far you are capable of hitting the golf ball. Everyone is different when it comes to hitting it long off the tee. Age, strength, build and flexibility are some of the determining factors. Here are my three most important swing tips to help you hit it longer.

1. Back swing- I’m sure you have been taught to have your stance shoulder width apart, that should apply to your irons but not your driver. In order to create club head speed you must have a wide swing plane. Widen your stance so that your feet are just outside your shoulders. When you start your backswing keep the club low to the ground and rotate your left shoulder towards the center of your body while making sure your right knee stays flexed and does not change position. (Opposite shoulder and knee for lefties) To help create the proper shoulder turn it should feel like your back is facing the target at the top of your swing. We want to create tension from our lower body and upper body, so visualize holding the bottom of a spring, twisting the top and letting go.

2. Down swing- As I talked about earlier, there is a list of things you must do to hit it long, but if you asked me to pick the most important here it is. Have you ever heard of lag, do you know what it means? Lag is the retaining of the right wrist position (left wrist for lefties) late into the downswing. Most golfers do the opposite.

Releasing the wrist angle too early in the downswing robs them of power and causes errors like hitting behind the ball, slices, and even thin shots. Your body has a tendency to rise up to compensate for the early wrist release. A good practice drill is to stick a tee in the end of your grip, when you start your downswing maintain your right wrist position until the tee points at the golf ball, this drill will give you the proper feel when you should release the club and help you generate faster club head speed at impact.

3. Follow through- In my opinion, the follow through is one of the most important parts of the golf swing, even though the ball is well on its way to the target by the time the follow through occurs. In order to swing the club faster and finish in the correct position you must uncoil your upper body swinging against a straightened left leg which clears your left hip (right leg and hip for lefties). 

The faster your hips clear, the faster your shoulders will uncoil from the powerful position you created in steps one and two.  This maintains club head speed through the impact position. After impact, let your hips continue to rotate until your belt buckle faces the target. Your head should have come up and your body should be standing tall, facing the target, with all of your weight on your straightened left leg in a balanced position staring at a 270 to 300 yard drive right down the middle. 

I hope these tips help you hit it longer. Good luck and have a great golf season.

Bobby Ashton PGA

Head Golf Professional
Hampshire Greens Golf Club