COMMUNITY

Does anyone know the remedy for having bad days on the golf course? I have weeks were I can shoot under 90 consistantly. I have recently been shooting over 90 consistantly, but I feel like I am hitting the ball better. WTF? better contact.

How do I look as good as McIlroy on the Tee?

I am a low handicapper and got that way by using just a draw. I feel that if my game is going to improve anymore than I need to learn how to hit a fade. What are some tips that could help me get started? I have videos of my swing on the site if that helps you any.

I hit the ball 230 off the tee, most of the time. How can I increase my swing speed to get more distance?

I can hit the ball 230 off of the tee.
I hit my 3 wood 215.
Do you think that it would be worth it to worker harder on my draw?
I think that lenghth and accuracy is the key to ME breaking 80.
My short game is average not exceptional.
It would take a couple more Years to get my short game a lot better.
i think I can improve my drive and approach shot quicker.

Oh no, far more than that. There are "low zippers" which come in hot but stick like glue, there are "high floaters" which just float onto the green and have minimal bounce, there a fades, baby fades, draws, baby draws and so on. When it comes down to making a decision on a hole, about which shot to play, than yah, it usually a draw or fade. Focusing on hitting a particular shot type on a tee box will limit the bad shots and narrow the margin of error. The way you just explained a fade sounds more like a controlled slice. The way to properly hit a fade/draw is to understand your lines. Your shoulders and your toes can form to imaginary lines that help you aim straight. The feet will show the line the ball will start on, the shoulder will show where the ball will end up. If you make sure the face is SQUARE, aim your feet slightly left and your shoulders at the target, and swing down the feet line, you should pull off a nice baby fade. This may not seem like the case in the beginning, but you have to remember that you need a completely consistent swing to tell it what to do. Once you can get the method down, and you become used to it, you don't think about it that much. By that point its just looking at the hole and hitting a fade or draw by will, not by a "set up formula" or certain technique, it just......works. Not a lot of the swing changes for these shots, it doesn't call to finish incredibly low or high. Actually I recommend finishing high regardless and start focusing on the lines and face movement at impact. Nothing more gratifying for a player of my caliber to hit shots on the range, trying to mimic the same swing but aim for different results, when it works, it looks like the ball has a mind of it's own. Tons of practice = consistency. Consistency = "They Make It Look So Easy"

As far as I can tell, there are two theories to shaping the ball (hitting draws & fades). The first is changing your swing path (low finish & flat for a draw, high finish & arching for a fade). The second is simply aiming your body away from the target, pointing the club face at the target, and making your normal swing. Is this accurate, and which in your experience is best/easiest?

Thanks

This summer was my first season golfing. A friend of mine brought over the Leadbetter software to help me improve. To make a long story short, before the help I was making contact with the ball but never could predict where or how far it was going to go. Now, I'm lucky to make contact with the ball but my swing looks better if that makes any sense? The changes that I'm trying to make feels foreign, just wondering if there is a way to incorporate a more natural feeling and proper technique that will end with wonderful results?

For a bogey golfer, what golf ball would you recommend?

Well yes and no. Distance starts with accuracy, you sacrifice accuracy when lowering the loft. A shaft would make a bigger difference. Always remember, the club doesn't make much of a difference in comparison to proper technique. Long answer short, shaft not head.

I currently use a 9.5 degree driver....would switching to an 8.5 degree help me increase my distance off the tee? When it comes to the driver, I tend to hit the ball very high.

Well there are different reasons why you might be doing this. If at all possible, please upload some footage so I can evaluate more extensively. If not there are a couple reasons as to why this may happen, and yes knowing why is just as important, if not more so. If you have a problem hitting it high and right that is usually due to the fact that you have a habit of dropping your right shoulder and scooping up on it. Causing the face to just be wide open, along with a stiff impact with the arms, this can be a pushed slice, which is just nasty. The other is an over-the-top swing, where the backswing starts on plane, or inside-low, and comes over into an outside swing plane. Imagine a figure 8 where you bring it in close, swing it away from your body and inside. This causes the face to be either square or open at a impact. Along with the over-the-top action, your imagining a rectangle around the ball where you draw a line here the club passes, it would be from top right to low left. If you imagine this, you can tell that the ball will be spinning insanely hard just after impact. Your goal would be to eliminate the angle to reduce the spin. Imagining your swing on the exact oposite swing plane will help break the habit as well.

To do this here are a couple thing to think about:

The club has to travel straight thru the ball on a straight line. You can do this by setting up and doing small practice swings to the 9 o'clock position on your back swing. What you should be feeling is a balance between keeping your right elbow bent in an tucked to your side, that and the position of the club head on a straight line...this will take practice to pull it back where the club points straight back. When you do this it reduces your take away to just a natural hinging in the elbow. Doing this over and over allows you to get a feel of the proper take away.

Another is placing the weight on the left side and keeping it there thru the whole swing, just for practice. This will al

Well there are different reasons why you might be doing this. If at all possible, please upload some footage so I can evaluate more extensively. If not there are a couple reasons as to why this may happen, and yes knowing why is just as important, if not more so. If you have a problem hitting it high and right that is usually due to the fact that you have a habit of dropping your right shoulder and scooping up on it. Causing the face to just be wide open, along with a stiff impact with the arms, this can be a pushed slice, which is just nasty. The other is an over-the-top swing, where the backswing starts on plane, or inside-low, and comes over into an outside swing plane. Imagine a figure 8 where you bring it in close, swing it away from your body and inside. This causes the face to be either square or open at a impact. Along with the over-the-top action, your imagining a rectangle around the ball where you draw a line here the club passes, it would be from top right to low left. If ylow you to work on a straight up and down swing, eliminating any inside turn that would cause an over-the-top move. It will also work on ball striking as well.

Try some of that and let me know. Understand that it should get worse before it gets better. Constantly giving up on swing changes, right or wrong, will always leave certain characteristics embeded into your nartural swing. Stick with the change.

I've always had a problem with slicing my driver and 3 wood. I've been able to determine the past couple of days that it's because of an open club face at impact. Despite that when I went to the range I still could not hit either club straight and was still hitting a massive shot to the right. So this all leads into my question. Do you have a drill or tip to keeping the clubface square at impact? Thanks, CoG1.

EASY! ....to understand, a bit more difficult to deliver. To spin a shot it takes speed. Not speed in the swing but speed with the hands. It's an aggressive snap at the bottom (rotation of the hands), not an overall swing speed...that gets you nowhere. The snap at the bottom is ALL understanding of tempo mixed with a very precise control of the hands. On top of the snap at the bottom it's a "stack and tilt" mind set. I HATE the phrase "Stack and Tilt" because it's just a new name they strapped to an old swing. It just means to have the majority of your weight on the left side. What this does is allow you to swing DOWN on the ball and "pinch" it instead of scoop it. The pinching action increase backswin and gives you a nice amount of zip on it. You want to swing as if your throwing a ball at the ball on the ground, this doesnt mean make it steep, it means have the weight into it and on your left side, so your hands and weight is just a little bit in front of it. This is ALL practice....and not range practice, because theres no green, usually, to spin it on. You have to practice it on the course.