July 2007 Issue

This month's articles

-MY BEST TIP—I recommend putting for the hole but accepting a putt as a good one at the ratio of 1 foot from the cup for every 10 feet the putt is in length.

DIG IT BABY—Look at the angle of the club face in both illustrations. Do either look like they would make the ball travel on the trajectory of the blue arrow? No. For a buried lie the club face must be pushing the sand in the trajectory you want the ball to travel.

STOP PULLED PUTTS WITH A SAW GRIP—Ok. If this helps go for it, but my recommendation is to have your putting grip and swing be as similar as possible to that which you use for chipping and full swing.

THE STARTER—K.J.’s swing is very effective, but not a model to be copied. At add he has the club positioned too far forward. Notice in photo 2 that his belt buckle is well behind the ball when it should be nearly even with it. Then in photo 4 notice the belt buckle and how he has had to slide his hips forward in order to not hit the ball left. In the lower photo 2 the club is out of position and the club face is closed. Finally, most of the commentary about his swing is inaccurate.

POWER RELEASE—This article preaches the same lesson Tommy Armour gave in his golf book. And it is just as ruinous today as it was then. First, only in sequential photos does there appear to be some point of release. In full video, you’ll see the wrists begin unhinging gradually as the speed of the swing increase its centrifugal force. Second, the wrists are never “bent” during the golf swing. At the top of the swing they hinge but this in no way is “bent” as Laird is suggestion. Swing a tennis ball on a string and you will find the like in tennis, baseball, and hockey the wrist in golf never bends. Please disregard this article!

SHORTEN YOUR FINISH—Trying to “stop” the swing at this point will cause all kinds of forces on your body and the club unless the backswing is also only waist high. “The club shaft and your left arm are more or less still in line”, what does that mean? Are they or aren’t they?

PLUG A MAJOR POWER LEAK—The four black boldface titles are fine. Disregard the rest.

USE TWO TEES TO CURE YOUR SLICE—Look at the picture. The v’s formed by the thumb and forefinger are point to the players center.

HOW TO MAKE A MODEL STROKE—No one can know everything about anything. I am not an expert on the relevance of face-balanced vs. toe-weighted putters. But here are two things that make this article suspect: 1) In the photo where Mike is set up with the toe-weighted putter he has the shaft leaning forward. This will deloft the putter and cause the ball to skid. This is definitely not advisable. 2) In the Odyssey two-ball putter which Mike uses as an example of a face-balanced putter, I swing it along an arc path and make putts all day long (as long as my swing is correct).

40-YARD SAND SHOT—I like Gary’s strategy to simply use a less lofted club and leave the sand wedge in the bag for these longer shots. However, there is no need to open the club face. Now you are turning the 9 or 8 iron into a sand wedge.

HOW TO CHIP FROM EVERY LIE—Ok.

SWEEP AWAY YOUR SLICE—I like Darrell’s creativity but his design depends upon you ability to discern the relative amounts of wind resistance to the swing of the broom. This leaves a lot of room for interpretation. The path of the swing needs to be more clearly defined. Swing the club back from the address position to over your right shoulder and watch the path of the club. That will definitively show you the correct path for the first half of the forward swing.

FIX THREE FAULTS WITH ONE DRILL—Ok.

GET YOUR PUTTS ON THE RIGHT TRACK—This is a good drill to optimize your eye position for address.

START FROM THE END—A good finish can fix a lot of problems.

GET MORE YARDS FROM YOUR SHOULDERS—Don’t focus on trying to decide if your shoulder turn is on the right plane. You’ll never know because the plane changes with the length of the shaft. Instead always make sure the shaft swings over your right should and the body is free to respond to the swing by turning.

HOW TO MAKE MORE BIRDIES—This is difficult. How do you not endorse a single suggestion by a Master’s champion? While it’s obvious this works for him, it is equally obvious that it is not consistent with lessons we teach. Most important, Zach’s suggestions are more difficult than necessary. One thing I do like is Zach’s putting stroke. Best of luck, Zach.

PRIVATE LESSONS

GET RID OF YOUR SNAP HOOK—The action that creates the snap hook is more of a quick rolling of the hands then it is a snapping of the wrists.

FREE YOUR ARMS FOR POWER—Ok.

PLANT YOUR LEFT HEEL—This is not a question of “to plant or not to plant”. Instead the problem is the weight shift. Keep your balance till after impact.

BEATING THE BURIED LIE—Ok but use the sand wedge.