Instruction

Get On The Golf Balance Board

As far back as 1988 I built, by today’s standards, a very crude Balance Board.

Today’s version of the TPGOLF Balance Board has come light years in terms of stability and quality, as well as the uses I have developed.

The original premise is simply, as its title suggests, to train, through live action and repetition, the ability of the recreational golfer to make a complete golf motion while in total command of his or her balance.

Let’s be very clear: understand that, without your ability to swing your club in absolutely perfect balance, finding the center of the face (we call that the “sweet spot!”) is at best a crap shoot. One of the first things my students realize is that to achieve perfect balance they may need to swing the club at a different tempo. Imagine that.

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THE WINNING EQUATION

Tempo + Balance = Quality of Contact. This translates almost instantly into a controlled, compressed ball flight.

Next, your ability to understand, in space and time, where your weight is at different junctures of the swing is critical to being able to sequence a motion that will allow you to time that moment we refer to as impact. Understand I’m not suggesting that you become a “dual post” player or a “single axis” player. I’m saying that whichever method you employ, you’d best know how to feel/train your pristine arrival to a solid impact point!

The TP Balance Board will certainly help with that.

Of course, last by not at all least, that magically elusive element of golf we often refer to as timing can be learned on the TPGOLF Balance Board simply by making swings on it. The brain is a wonderful learner, given proper rehearsals.

SHORT GAME SOLUTION

I also use the board to train pitching and chipping. For example, for the student to whom I suggest setting up 60 percent/40 percent on his or her left foot (as a right-handed player ) to hit a nice crisp low pitch and run shot, but he often falls off the shot, the TPGOLF Balance Board is a great short game tool.

The beauty of the TPGOLF Balance Board is that every drill I suggested above each can be done right at home, in your living room. Think about that. What if every night you would hop on the board and follow any of the above suggestions for 10 to 15 minutes each? Where would your balance, weight shift, and timing be six months down the road?

I also have students—once they are experienced with the TPGOLF Balance Board—hit live shots using it on the practice range.

If you think a TPGOLF Balance Board should be a part of your daily golf life and would like to purchase one, email me at tpatri.mindspring.com for details. Include your full name, email and cell number.

Tom Patri is a Golf Tips Magazine Top 25 Instructor in America and a Contributing Editor. Tom is also a former Met PGA as well as South Florida PGA Teacher of the Year. Tom is the Director of Instruction at The Hawthorns Golf and Country Club in Fishers , Indiana, May-October, and November-April he is based at The Esplanade in Naples, Florida. You can reach Tom via email tpatri@mindspring.com Text 239-404-7790 Visit him at www.tompatri.com

A portion of this lesson was reprinted from The Six Spoke Approach, available on Amazon.

How To Avoid That Golf Hazard

Here we are facing one of the hardest shots facing any player: A 60-yard shot to the green, with a dreaded golf hazard in front and a bunker behind that. It’s a shot that takes a lot of commitment.

Some players will go by the front of the green yardage — how far to just get over the hazard — when what I recommend is taking all of that out of play. Play the number to the back of the green. If you play it long, oh well — you’re not in the hazard or bunker and give yourself a chance to save bogey or perhaps par if you make a good putt.

Again, play the yardage to the back of the green with a good, aggressive swing. If you quit on it, you most certainly will get in the hazard or bunker. So go after it and play the longer distance!

Caleb Martin is Head Professional at Grizzly Ranch Golf Club in Portola, California

KPMG Women’s PGA Clinics Announced For 2020

The PGA of America announced the schedule for the 2020 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship Golf Clinics, a nationwide series of 12 full-day clinics that will welcome and empower women to learn more about the Game of a Lifetime.

KPMG Women’s PGA Championship Golf Clinics, previously known as the PGA Golf Clinics for Women, will continue to be managed by the PGA of America in conjunction with Jane Blalock, a 27-time winner on the LPGA Tour, and KPMG, the title sponsor of the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship.

The KPMG Women’s PGA Championship Golf Clinics will bolster the 28-year foundation of women’s clinics created by Blalock by channeling the prestige and platform of the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, one of the LPGA’s five major championships.

The 2020 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship will be contested at Aronimink Golf Club in Newtown Square, Pennsylvania, June 23–28.

“We received so much positive feedback last year from our debut of the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship Golf Clinics, and yet we’re working to make 2020 even better,” said Suzy Whaley, President of the PGA of America. “We’re calling on women of all skills levels, whether you’re new to this game or played it in college. These clinics are very social and offer a terrific opportunity to network with women who appreciate golf. They are also designed to introduce and share the game’s many virtues, but more than anything, we strive to encourage these women to actively participate in golf for years to come.”

Clinic participants of all skill levels will learn the fundamental aspects of social and business golf during an action-packed schedule that includes plenty of personalized coaching, play and assessments from PGA/LPGA Professionals, a keynote speaker, breakfast, lunch, and a networking reception to cap off the program.

In 2019, over 1,200 women aged 18 to 64 were trained in golf and energized in spirit by 120-plus PGA/LPGA Professionals during 12 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship Clinics.

Additionally, on social media, PGA Golf Clinics for Women have merged with @KPMGWomensPGA across Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Follow @KPMGWomensPGA for all of the latest news and updates from the golf clinics.

The 2020 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship Clinic schedule begins April 27 at El Niguel Country Club in Laguna Nigel, California and concludes on October 26 at Seagate Country Club in Delray Beach, Florida. All clinics are held on Mondays, with the exception of the May 19 event in Hartford, Connecticut, which falls on a Tuesday. The full schedule:

DATE	CITY	SITE
April 27	Los Angeles	El Niguel Country Club / Laguna Niguel, Calif.
May 11	Boston (1)	Renaissance Country Club / Haverhill, Mass.
May 18	West Orange, N.J.	Crestmont Country Club / West Orange, N.J.
May 19	Hartford, Conn.	Brooklawn Country Club / Hartford, Conn.
June 15	Chicago	Westmoreland Country Club / Wilmette, Ill.
June 22	New York	Old Oaks Country Club / Purchase, N.Y.
July 13	Minneapolis	Braemar Country Club / Edina, Minn.
July 20	Charlotte, N.C.	Charlotte Country Club / Charlotte, N.C.
July 27	Boston (2)	The Cape Club of Sharon / Sharon, Mass.
August 24	San Francisco	Stanford Golf Course / Stanford, Calif.
September 28	Dallas	Gleneagles Country Club / Plano, Texas
October 26	Delray Beach, Fla.	Seagate Country Club / Delray Beach, Fla.

To register for or obtain information about the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship Golf Clinics: KPMGWomensPGAClinics.com

Beat The Buried Lie In The Rough

Have you ever walked up to your ball and found it laying like it is in Photo 1? The dreaded buried lie.

UGH! If you happen to be in Florida or Hawaii and this ball is sitting in Bermuda rough, your level of difficulty just got raised up a notch higher.

What do you do when this happens to you and how can you get out of it?

It isn’t as hard you might think. Always use your sand wedge. NEVER use a lob wedge. If you don’t own a sand wedge, a gap wedge will work. Play the golf ball WAY back on your back foot (for right handed players), as I’m doing in Photo 2. You will have a bit of an open stance (front foot pulled back). Your weight should lead forward. This makes the shaft of the club point in front of the ball, which takes loft off the club.

I like to grip down on the shaft a little (Photo 3). It helps me feel like I have more control. Doing it is up to you. Keeping all your weight on your front foot, use 99 percent wrists and pick the club head up and out immediately, as I’m doing in Photo 4. You will feel like you are about to hammer a nail. Hinge up and chop down. You want the club head to come down as close to the ball as possible. DO NOT try to hit the grass behind the ball. If you do, you will hit it really fat.

Again, you are trying to get the club head to hit as close to the ball as possible. When you do this, the ball will pop out of the rough immediately (Photo 5). When it hits the green, it will take one hop, and almost skid. It comes out very soft and will not roll over the green.

Trust me, this might be the coolest shot you ever learn to hit. It really works.

Cindy Miller teaches at several top golf facilities in Western New York. Reach her at www.cindymillergolf.com

How To Make A Proper Golf Swing Turn

One of the most difficult things for golfers to do is making a proper golf swing turn.

Players tend to move either laterally (side to side) or vertically (away or toward the golf ball) as they swing the club. This additional movement in the swing creates imbalance, inconsistency, and slows down your club head speed.

I like using a spine board by Ted Sheftic (you can also use a chair, golf bag, or wall) to help feel what your lower body should be doing in the golf swing.

Get into your good set up, with your rear touching the spine board, as I’m doing in Photo 1.

As you start your turn back, your right hip should turn back as your weight transfers to your right foot, pushing into the ground (Photo 2). This coil created by your turn generates a rubber band effect, helping you to mirror the move through the ball (Photo 3).

Your left hip turns through as your weight transfers to your left leg for a full follow-through (Photo 4).

Keeping your rear on the spine board while you turn helps to maintain your spine angle throughout your swing, as well as lateral movement off the ball.

Vickie Goetze-Ackerman is a two-time Women’s U.S. Amateur champion and Director of Instruction at Buckhorn Springs Golf & Country Club in Valrico, Florida.

Shift Weight To Drive The Golf Ball Well

When a student is hitting their irons well and having trouble with the driver, I am reminded of a comment a colleague mentioned to me straight from one of the finest teachers ever, Harvey Penick. He said that a golfer can hit his irons pretty well without shifting his weight, but to drive the golf ball well, the golfer must shift his weight.

I imagined that Harvey realized that the golfer’s hands and arms can swing the shorter club in sync with the turning body, but not as easily with the longest club in the bag. The body usually gets too far ahead of the club in the downswing.

When you transfer your weight with the swinging of the club (happens more “naturally” than you might imagine!) at the beginning of the takeaway, you will set up a right side axis…a one-legged balance which now frees the left side to turn outward behind the golf ball. This not only gives more time for the club to get to the top of the backswing but also permits a good shoulder turn. It is as if the body is now “unlocked” and capable of turning when you are loaded on the right side—the ball/socket joint of the hip can now work easier.

drive the golf ball brooke henderson — LPGA star player, Brooke Henderson, demonstrating dynamic weight shift in her swing | Photo by New Zealand Golf Digest

Now, as it is in the backswing, it is in the forward swing. A change of axis and weight shift from the right foot to the left foot starts the forward swing with the swinging of the club for the same reasons.

Turning the body “first and only” would not allow enough time for the club to return to the golf ball, and would likely create a bottom of arc off of the right foot, behind the ball—the dreaded fat shot.

Creating the left side axis not only produces speed (thus distance!), but a bottom of swing opposite the left armpit. The left axis, a one-legged balance, also frees up the right side (shoulders and hips) to finish up on the right toe and even with the left side.

drive the golf ball cowan — Olivia Cowan of Germany at the Australian Ladies Classic Bonville | Photo: Tristan Jones for the Ladies European Tour

This critical transitional movement is a feeling of going heel, toe, heel, toe. The weight at the top of the backswing is felt on the right heel (certainly acceptable to sense that your right hip is slightly outside your outer right heel over your ankle bone…this is not a sway!) and towards the ball of the foot/inside left big toe. To start the forward swing, the golfer plants his left heel, allowing the weight to shift with the right foot rolling and releasing to the inside right big toe/ball of the foot. An appropriate, kinetic chain sequencing is therefore established for a good hit and photo finish.

The club and arms will start down at the same time the heel is planted…you are one flow, not a bunch of segmented pieces in this blended swing motion. It likely is noted and possibly felt that the first move down “feels” like your weight shifts first. This is a good thought, similar to the sensation of “stepping” before you “throw”. Sam Snead was notorious for planting his left heel in long driving contests…in fact, he said he slammed his left heel down with such great force to start his downswing to hit it long that he tore his Achilles tendon. He then continued to do this to play professionally, just not as aggressively.

drive the golf ball ochoa — Member of the World Golf Hall of Fame, Lorena Ochoa making the ‘first move down’ as part of the weight shift in her swing

There are several ways to “get” this weight transfer ideal. Some like to think of shifting their center of gravity to the right and left and others think of a lower spine shifting from right to left in a “wrecking ball” kind of image. This will not be a “sway” as long as it is a right-side load with a turn and a left side load with a turn, both done with minimal head movement. The sequence of shift-turn on the backswing and shift-turn on the forward swing should help you “get your shift together”!

In many sports, throwing and striking actions incorporate the same sequencing…continue this athleticism with your golf swing and you will be on your way to more consistent (not to mention longer) drives! Perhaps more “body friendly” too!

LPGA Master Professional Deb Vangellow teaches at Riverbend Country Club in Houston, Texas. She is the 2012 LPGA National Teacher Of The Year, a US KIDS GOLF “Top 50 Master Kids Teacher” and a GRAA “Top 50 Growth Of The Game Professional”. Deb is former president of the LPGA Teaching and Club Professionals Membership and is a longtime lead instructor in the LPGA Global Education Program. An educator/coach who offers wellness based developmental programming integrated into her “student centered” philosophy, Deb can be reached at 281- 277-4653 or followed online at www.debvangellowgolf.com, and on Facebook and Twitter.

Good Ball Strikers Do These Two Things

Good ball strikers do two things consistently in the full swing.

No. 1, they have good extension.

Take a good look at Photo 1, and look at my right arm. It almost looks as though it’s “chasing” after the ball down the target line.

Look at how fully extended my arms are. Poor strikers of the ball lack this look. I’ll always remember the great Johnny Miller, saying he felt like he chased the clubhead after the ball down the target line. And the legendary Sam Snead used the exact same terminology. Try and copy the long right arm that you see in the photo.

No. 2, they close the club face at and after impact.

Think about it: Ninety percent of golfers slice. That’s a lot. And it means they’re leaving that club face wide open at impact. This is more of a swing thought than an actual action, but it reaps huge benefits.

What you want to feel is that you’re “wrapping” the toe of the club around the ball at and just after impact, as I’m demonstrating in Photo 2. It’s a FEEL — technically it doesn’t really happen, but the feel, the idea in your head, is powerful.

good ball strikers 2 — Photo 2: YES—‘Wrap the toe’ around the ball.

I have seen this tip assist more open face slicers than just about any “feel” tip out there. Most slicers feel as though the heel is leading into impact, and indeed the face is wide open. I’m showing this flaw in Photo 3.

good ball strikers 3 — Photo 3: NO—Don’t lead with your hands.

By suggesting a feel that the toe of the club wraps around the ball, they immediately begin to release the club more effectively.

So, make sure to release the golf club, again so the toe of the club feels like it “wraps around” the ball.

I’m confident this will assist all golfers to be a good ball strikers!

Barry Goldstein is Director of Instruction at Inverrary Country Club in Lauderhill, Florida

Learn The Art Of Spotputting

There are many factors to consider while putting on the greens.

Is my putt uphill or downhill?

How fast are the greens?

How much slope is there? Is the slope to the left or to the right? Is there a double break?

Is there wind or grain present that will affect the line and/or the speed, or both? If so, how much?

Follow the process I’ve outlined below to learn to view any putt and choose the optimum line that matches the speed you’ve chosen in order to hole more than your share of putts.

Considering this information all at once may seem overwhelming.

However, using a concept I call “spotputting” will improve your putting skills and thus your scores.

Even the best putters are making an educated guess of both the line and pace for each putt they hit. What these exceptional putters use is a stockpile of experience and knowledge, having practiced their putting in a most efficient way. By following the pictures and drills outlined below, your understanding of your own tendencies will improve—as well as your scores.

Many exceptional putters also use spotputting, which I define as “envisioning a spot on the green to aim at to ensure optimum putting accuracy.”

Great Tips For Winter Golf Practice

It’s mid-autumn with Thanksgiving in sight, and winter snows have already fallen in parts of the country. When the season truly sets in, golfers have two choices: Head south to warmer climes, or find a way to stay sharp at home. Time to spruce up your winter golf practice routine.

Which means it’s time to check in with Golf Tips Top 25 Instructors for some timely tips on how to do just that.

DALE ABRAHAM

I think the “off season” is the best time to make swing changes. Practicing indoors allows you to focus on making a correct motion and takes away ball flight, which is the biggest hindrance to making changes.

Something as simple as making 20 swings a day and then watching yourself swing correctly via video another 20 times can pay dividends. It’s a simple and time efficient way to change. It can also be done with practice swings if the person doesn’t have the room or equipment to hit balls indoors and I’ve even had adults use junior clubs where space is an issue.

www.daleabraham.com

Tiger Woods: The Hands Are Crucial In The Golf Swing

I found this video of Tiger Woods, perhaps the greatest player to ever walk the planet, extremely interesting.

He’s clearly the most dominant player over the last 20-plus years, during which time technology has ruled golf instruction.

During this same period, we have heard countless “swing authorities” tell us to use our big muscles. They’ve also told us things like “quiet” our hands, or suggest that the hands should not play any major role in the golf swing.

The hands, frankly, have been portrayed as the evil little brother of the big brother muscles.

During my entire career I have fought those notions. I first learned the importance of the hands from the late, great Jim Flick. I furthered my beliefs in the importance of “educated hands “listening” to the also-great Bob Toski and Gardner Dickinson.

We brush our teeth with our hands, type on our smart phones and computers with our hands, feed our faces with our hands, shave with our hands. These two parts of our anatomy are pretty well-trained and very coordinated. Shouldn’t they be able to, at the very least, play an active role in aiding the delivery of the club face?

In the meantime I’m holding my ground that my left friend and my right friend are in fact great friends and a big part of all my past golf success. In fact, I believe I got lost as a player when I drank far too much of the big muscle Kool-Aid.

Have a listen to the GREAT Tiger Woods from the Club-Focused Golf Instruction Facebook page of my fellow teaching pro and Golf Tips contributor, Henry Stetina, and you decide. I’m here whenever you’re ready.

P.S.—This is the second time I have heard Tiger reference the use of his hands to influence his performance.

Tom Patri is former Met PGA as well as South Florida PGA Teacher of the Year. Tom is the Director of Instruction at The Hawthorns Golf and Country Club in Fishers , Indiana, May-October, and November-April he is based at The Esplanade in Naples, Florida. You can reach Tom via email tpatri@mindspring.com Text 239-404-7790 Visit him at www.tompatri.com