|
Golf Tip of the Month
March 2012........... Tempo
I have heard it many times from golfers who have seen a really good
player swing, " Man, I wish I could swing like that"
Truth is, you can.
Most of those good golf swings have flaws. However, they are able to hide
those flaws from the bogey monster by having a smooth, rhythmic motion.
Most problems as far as tempo happen as the club changes directions from
backswing to downswing. This is what we like to call the transition area
of the swing. A really good swing appears that way because the player has
a pronounced pause at the top of the backswing. If you can count "one"or
say pause at the top of our swing, you will never appear to have a quick
or jerky swing. Please don't mistake a slow pause at the top of the swing
with a slow swing. The only thing a slow swing will produce is slow
clubhead speed and a short drive. Simply pause at the top and while
maintaining a measure of balance, accelerate to the ball. The
results: a swing that your playing partners will envy.
February 2012.......... Want to improve?
"The
answer is the dirt" as Ben Hogan would reply. What Ben Hogan was trying to
say in his own way was that getting better at golf requires a lot of practice.
Can you remember taking musical lessons as a youngster and the teacher requiring
you to practice at least one hour per day? During that hour of practice it
was non-stop and productive. In golf, if you practice an hour, it
takes approximately one minute to go through a routine and make a swing.
Let's think about it, that's only 60 balls per hour. When you play a
four hour round of golf and you score 90 for example, you will average 36 putts
and approximately 54 other swings. The problem is productivity during that
four hour span.
The one
thing I have noticed over my 30 years of teaching golf is most people need to
spend more time on the range and less time on the course if they really want to
improve. Touring professionals spend hours hitting balls and end up
striking 400 to 600 balls a day. It is these long
training sessions on the range that
allows you to trust
your swing when you need it on the course.
December
2012........
This month our topic will be driving the
golf ball. To be more precise, making a more centered
contact with the ball. Have you ever wondered how the ladies on
the LPGA Tour send the ball flying 250 straight down the middle?
Surely it is not brute strength. Their secret lies in striking
the ball in the center of the clubface. All the mass is in the
center of the clubface and once club head is put into motion, the ball
will travel its' maximum distance. The bonus: if the ball meets
the clubface in the "sweet spot", the clubface will not twist
and the ball will travel straighter and further.
If this tip helps your game, let me know. If you need
more instruction, contact me at
mhopkins@SouthwckGolf.com
or at 336-210-2582 to arrange a personal lesson.
Yours for better golfing,
Mark Hopkins
PGA Professional
Golf Tips
Archive |
