For What It's Worth

First of all I just want to say that whenever you consult a teacher regarding your golf game you should always scrutinize what they tell you very carefully. If you don't believe in what he/she is telling you, tell him/her that. If you don't beieve in it, it won't work for you. The first lesson I ever had the guy wanted me to hold my arms way out from my body. Now that posture apparently worked form him, but I don't think it would for most golfers. Conversely, if something unorthodox is comfortable and works for you, don't ever let anyone change it. You are the keeper of your own swing.

Now, that having been said, here are my answers.

Q:

Rhino from Oklahoma asks:
I've been trying to figure out how to make the back up on approach shots. I have had some success, but I really don't know how I do it. Plus, I find it hard to practice and see the results, I don't trust the "greens" at the range.

A:

On the "back-up." First of all, remember you don't have the visual perspective you do on TV, so even if you do get the ball to back up you won't necessarily see it. Other than that there are a bunch of factors that will affect whether or not your ball backs up including:

  1. the amount of backspin on the ball
  2. the length of and type of grass on the green
  3. the angle at which the ball hits the green
  4. the hardness of the green
1. Backspin - probably the most important thing you need to get the ball to back up (duh). There are many things that affect this:

2. Grass - If the grass on the green is long, it will kill a lot of the balls backspin on impact, giving you no back up. Also Bermuda grass, due to it's coarseness, kills a lot of backspin and makes it a lot more difficult to back the ball up.

3. Approach trajectory - If the ball is coming in from very high, it will back up much more readily. Have you ever hit into a par three from an elevated tee? This is extra fun because you can see it back up from this angle.

4. Green texture - if the green is very hard, the ball won't back up.

There you have it. I understand, spinning the ball is very cool, but remember all that really matters is where the ball comes to rest.

About your second question: You are probably right to not trust the "greens" at the range. I always thought it was to the range owners advantage to make the targets closer than they said, making range goers feel better about their game, making them want to hit more balls there. The only thing I can recommend is you figure out the distances you hit each of your clubs on the course or an open field or somewhere, and use that information instead of the range distances. When you are at the range aim at something that is further away than the distance you can hit the club you are using and just try to get the line right.

Q:

Ike Presson from Pinehurst, NC asks:
How do I avoid skulling the ball when I am chipping from a short distance?

A:

This is an easy one Ike. What is happening when you skull it, more than likely, is you are trying to "sweep" the ball and are hitting it on the upstroke. When chipping you should always have your hands ahead of the ball (delofting the club). From here chip using a downward stroke, keeping the clubface open, contacting the ground right after the ball. Use a more lofted club, and trust that the loft will get the ball going in the air. Don't try to lift it yourself!!! Practice this a few times and you shouldn't have any problem with skulling the ball anymore.

Q:

Joe Hodge, from Emory VA asks:
How do calculate your handicap? What is good as far as handicaps are concerned?

A:

It's funny you should ask this Joe. The only way to get an official handicap is through a "golf club" as defined and regulated by the USGA. They have a formula which is based on your last 20 scores, and calculates what is called your Handicap Index. The formula is fairly complicated so I'm not going to go into it here, but you can find the full explaination on the USGAs web site. It's funny because I just launched a page where you can calculate your UNOFFICIAL HANDICAP . This isn't any good for competitions or anything like that because it is based on MY OWN FORMULA, but it gives you a good indication of how you are doing. Handicap Calculator

Regarding What is a good handicap: I read that less than 5% of all golfers have a single digit handicap. So if yours is somewhere in the mid-teens or lower you are doing pretty well.

Q:

Bob, from Minnesota says:
I hit the ball very far but my slice is very bad, and I don't know how to fix it. Please Help!

A:

I can sympathize Bob. I fought the dreaded slice for years. There are many things that can cause a slice. A few of the most common are: If you position the ball too far forward in your stance, you can do nothing but slice it. Check this and make sure the ball is no further forward than a little inside your left heel for a driver. It should be right in the middle of your two feet for a wedge, and somewhere in between for the rest of the clubs respectively.

When I say weight distribution I am talking about whether your weight is on the balls of your feet or more towards your heels. Your weight should be on the balls of your feet. If you are back on you heels this will tend to make you slice.

This next point is often overlooked I think. It is vital that you release the clubhead through impact. Take a club and swing it back until the club is parallel with the ground. Now swing through until it is parallel with the ground in front of the ball. These two positions should be more or less a mirror of each other, with the leading edge of the club facing ahead of you on the backswing, and behind you on the follow through. It's hard to believe but the clubhead only faces the target for a split-second. Sometimes we want to hold it there for longer, but that just makes it so we don't close the clubface and we slice it.

Last but not least if the dreaded outside to in swing. This is just what it sounds like. The club is swung on a line that starts on the outside of the target line and ends up inside it. When this is done the club cuts across the ball and imparts a slice-spin on the ball.

If you are too upright or too bent over (causing you to be too near or too far from the ball) it can really impair your ability to swing freely.

It is impossible for me to tell which of these (if any) you do without seeing your swing, but I think this is a good place to start. A really helpful thing to do is to have your swing video taped or photographed and compare this to video or photos of a pro who is of similar height and weight as you. to do is to have your swing video taped or photographed and compare this to video or photos of a pro who is of similar height and weight as you. You shouldn't have identical swings, of course, but a lot of the basics should be very similar.

Q:

Dave from Cincinnati asks:
I tend to hit my driver right, a push and/or slice. My short irons (5 down) i hit very well, usually straight, sometimes a small draw. I make good contact with all my clubs, right between the screws, and I hit the ball quite long (180 yards with a 7 iron). I have tried many drivers and currently use a Taylor Titanium 8.5 degree. It is the most consistent driver I've had. I will sometimes hit this club well on several holes but invariably will push or slice 1 or 2 shots way off line. I practice frequently and experiment with ball position, grip, etc. Any advice?

A:

First of all Dave I have to say, WOW! 180 yards with a 7 iron is very impressive. You must hit your driver a mile!
On the push/slice subject, I can sympathize because I am prone to doing exactly the same thing on occasion. The thing that jumps out at me is you say you hit a draw with your shorter clubs, yet you have this slicing problem with the longer clubs (I assume it's not just your driver.) You obviously have a good swing, so I wouldn't mess around with it much. It sounds to me like you might tend to pick the clubhead up too abruptly on your backswing resulting in a downswing that is too steep. This will make you susceptible to leaving the clubface open through the ball producing that push/slice. Try working on "sweeping" the clubhead away without breaking your wrists, and see if that helps.
Also you might want to check your weight distribution, and make sure your weight is on the balls of your feet, not on your heels. That could be causing you to "fall off" the ball which would produce the same push/slice.
And remember, even the pros hit a few bad shots per round. The leader in percentage of fairways hit is somewhere around 80%, so if you only hit 1 or 2 bad drives per round, your right up there with the best of them!

Q:

Cole Moffatt from Lewis Center, Ohio asks:
"I'm having trouble choosing a set of clubs for myself. I found a set of Knight golf clubs for $300. It is a full set and they have graphite shafts. I'm kind of so/so on them. Do you know if Knights are good clubs? Should I buy them?

A:

Here's the deal Cole. I'm unfamiliar with the Knight name, but I'm a little wary of a full set of clubs with graphite shafts for that cheap. I would be suspect of their quality. You should check out the brand name of the shafts. If it's a good brand like Aldila, True Temper, or G. Loomis buy them as fast as you can. You just found the deal of the century. If they're not a good brand name I would hesitate to recommend you buy them. Please see the "exploding" shaft story below, in the response to Rashid.

Another good idea when buying a less than top of the line set of clubs is to check the lofts of each club. You can usually trust the big name companies, but others might not have the strictest tolerances in their production. When you consider each iron generally has 4 degrees difference in loft than the one above and below it, if there is a two-degree margin of error in the production you might have an 8 and 9 iron with exactly the same loft.

If you are only "so/so" on these clubs, I would suggest you keep looking. If you don't have confidence in your clubs, how can you have confidence in your swing?

Q:

Rashid, from Columbus Ohio asks:
"I am a beginning golfer looking to buy a new set of clubs. Which is better: Graphite or iron clubs?"

A:

Well Rashid, there are several things to consider when making this choice. If you are considering buying graphite headed clubs, the biggest drawback is their durability. Graphite heads wear much faster than metal heads, particularly if you play somewhere where the soil is very sandy or very rocky. If you play a lot you can wear out graphite headed "irons" in just a few seasons, where a good set of metal irons will last you many, many years. I have had my Ping Zing irons for 6 years and they in as good a shape now as the day I bought them.

If you are just talking about shafts the choice is purely personal preference.
Graphite shafts give you more distance than iron shafts. This is simple physics. They are lighter so they allow you to generate more clubhead speed without swinging any harder.
Graphite shafts reduce the "shock" to your hands by absorbing more vibrations than iron shafts. This reduces the wear and tear on your hands. If this is a problem for you, you might want to consider graphite for this reason.

Last but not least, is the issue of cost. Graphite shafts are very expensive, so the benefits of graphite should be pretty important to you to justify the cost.

Whatever type of club you choose, I suggest you buy good quality. With golf clubs, like a lot of other things, it doesn't pay to be cheap. This is particularly true when you are talking about graphite. I once played with a guy who had some cheap graphite-shafted clubs. He hit one of his irons on a par three, and the shaft "exploded." Much to his dismay there was a lake directly in front of the tee, and hit clubhead ended up in the drink. If you buy the best you will never be disappointed. Clubs are made with such quality today; a good set should last you forever.

Q:

Joe from San Pedro California asks:
"I see these ads for really cheap name brand golf balls in golf magazines. Are these for real, and where do they get them so cheap?

A:

Well Joe, here's the skinny on those cheap balls. If we're talking about the same ads, they're balls that have been reclaimed from water. They are real name brand balls, but they are used, and have probably been submerged for a while. Golf Digest did an article on the subject last year and they found that balls with balata covers did lose a significant amount of distance after being in the water for a short while. Surlyn covered balls, however, showed less of this. They did lose distance, but only about 5% or so. Since most of us don't hit the ball precisely the same distance every time, that small difference shouldn't mess us up too much. Frankly, with the price of new balls being what it is, reclaimed balls look like a pretty good deal to me.

Q:

Rexanne, from Pittsburgh PA asks:
Any advice for us women golfers? Specifically, I'd like to hit the ball further. Does the club or the swing affect distance most?

A:

Good question Rex. I think this is something a lot of golfers, men and women, should ask themselves before they spend $450 on this year's new bigger, better driver. I would have to say the swing affects the distance (and accuracy) you get, far more than the club itself does. If you have a good swing you can hit the ball far and straight with any club. Don't get me wrong, it is important to have a club that suits your swing, but in general the club is not going to be the thing holding you back.

A lot of women don't swing the club fast enough to obtain a trajectory high enough to get good distance with a driver. In my observations, that is the thing that limits their distance off the tee more than anything. This actually applies to a lot of men too although most of them will never admit it. I suggest you experiment hitting different clubs off the tee, and see which one works best for you. you might be surprised. A little more loft can make a big difference.

Also you should definitely use a two-piece distance ball. If you have issues with your distance, you aren't hitting the ball hard enough to get enough backspin to stop the ball on approach shots anyway.

Another thing I see women doing a lot is not taking enough club on par threes. Say you're at a 145 yard 3 par. If you need to hit your 3 wood to hit the ball 140 yards, do it. Why hit an iron if you know there's no way you can get it there with it? My sister does this sort of thing all the time. I think she's embarrassed to hit a wood on a hole where my brother and I are hitting irons. I think it would be a lot less embarrassing putting for a birdie than looking at a 40 yard pitch shot.

I hope I've answered your question Rex. For more on achieving more distance please see my section regarding hitting the ball more solidly in the Unsolicited Advice section.

Q:

Rebecca, from Colombia, Missouri asks:
When I swing, I turn my hips along with my shoulders. This causes me to straighten up and hit it thin very often. How can I prevent this from happening?

A:

Rebecca, it sounds like you are staightening up your right knee during your backswing. This will make it much more difficult for you to "recover" and hit the ball consistently, resulting in you hitting the ball thin as you mentioned. What I would suggest you do is practice your backswing while resisting the turn with your right knee. You can have a friend help you and hold your knee still while you swing back. This will allow you to feel the way your knee should resist the backswing. When you do this I think you'll find you will contact the ball more consistently, and as an added bonus the added "coil" you will get should give you more distance too.


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