Draw a line in the sand...

First of all we want to wish all of you Dewsweepers a very Happy Thanksgiving! We are grateful to all of you golf enthusiasts who tune in every week for help with your game. Enjoy the Holiday and hopefully we are on our way to better golf.

We had a great question come in about something a Dewsweeper could do on their own to insure they were making a better forward swing pivot. Here is a wonderful drill you can do on your own at your golf course or practice facility.
Find yourself a bunker. Draw a line in the sand. Place your left foot just to the left of the line and make your stance. Now make golf swings trying to hit the sand in front of the line. As you get better at doing this you will find that the only way to move the low point up in front of the line is to make a better pivot motion and to get your trunk more on top of the ball at impact. This has your body or trunk moving forward rather than tilted up and back which is what happens most of the time when you have a poor forward swing pivot and swing the club too much with your arms.

And as always for more information on how to come see us and improve your game call us at 1 800 203 4885.

There are some wonderful stay, learn and play packages available.

Trouble Starting the Ball Online?

A question came in from a Dewsweeper who is having a hard time getting the ball started on line. He is a right hands golfer and my ball starts way too far right. He says " Sometimes it hooks back sometimes it doesn’t. can you give me a practice drill to help?"

Well here is some information that will help you get the ball started more on line.

Well it would certainly appear that the path of your swing is much too far from in to out. It is important to remember that the path that the club swings on controls the direction that the ball starts on. There could be many reasons you have created an in to out path but we cant know for sure here.
We need to remember that the golf swing is a circle laying on a side angle. The golf club must swing back up and in on the back swing but must also swing back down around and to the left on the through swing.

Trying to swing the club down the target line is often a cause of a path swinging to much in to out.

If a club swings too much in to out it will force you to use your hands to square face which can be very inconsistent which is why sometimes your ball hooks back and sometimes it doesn’t.

A great and simple drill I use is to set up your practice station
Make sure you have an alignment aid such as a club, umbrella, etc
Next take a broken shaft and walk about 10 yards in front of your hitting station and place the shaft in the ground directly in line with the ball and target.
Hit balls making your self starting the ball to left of the shaft then learn to work it back over the shaft.

If you learn to start the ball on line and over the shaft it will help you learn to not use your hands and help you control your ball flight.

Should I take a playing lesson

We had a really good question come in from a dewsweeper who is serious about improving their game. Is it beneficial to take a playing lesson.

I encourage all listeners and all of my students to take a playing lesson from their instructor or club professional. We all know that when we get on the golf course we frequently don't hit the ball near as solid or as good as we do on the practice tee.

So many students take lessons and come back with the same scores. I like to find out why. If you are serious about getting better you should too.

Many times we will find that the scoring issues are not mechanic or swing related but rather decision making problems or short game or putting issues.

Playing lessons allow you and the instructor to both evaluate what really happens to you on the golf course.

Remember when you embark on a program to improve your game you want to PLAY better not just SWING better.

Trouble getting drriver in the air?

A dewsweeper writes in that they are struggling getting their driver in the air. Do we have any help?

When I see a student who struggles with a low driver that gives them no carry I look at the following two areas of interest.

Equipment. Everyone knows that I don't like to just replace equipment. However, If you suffer from not getting your driver in the air make sure that your driver has enough loft on it. I would suggest 10.5 at a minimum. Most handicap golfers have too little loft and too stiff a shaft. Also check the flex of your shaft if it is stiff or even regular you may have too stiff of a shaft to get the ball in the air.

Trying to get the ball in the air often causes a golfer to lean back and swing up attempting to lift the ball. This just puts top spin or reduces the back spin on the ball. Backspin is needed to help lift the ball into the air. Try teeing the ball down and making a more downward blow on the driver.

Remember the more you try to swing up and lift the lower the ball will go.

For more information on personal lessons and packages from either Hank or myself call us at 1-800-203-4885