Practice With A Plan & Get Out of Golfs Twilight Zone

The past two weeks I have been at The Highlands practice tee in Forest Park on Saturdays thru Tuesdays. On nice days I have never seen so many ball beaters hour after hour, new wave of hitters followed by another new wave. Thousands of yellow balls as far as the eye can see. Body builds of every type, age, sex, and ability. The most common noticeable attribute was golfers hitting balls with no real purpose or plan. Yes some were quite talented and did appear to be working on skills but they stood out like the old saying a rose among thorns. Swing after swing of poor grips, bad pivots, inside takeaways, open at the top, dead shut at the top, castings, steep into ball,etc. On the whole locked into to some type of golf trance of really believing they are practicing and totally committed they are going in the right direction. It is now my quest to figure out how to reach many of these ball beaters and help them down the path of becoming a golfer before they hurt themselves or quit out of frustration. If you are one of these ball beating piranahs stuck in golfs twilight zone give me a call or see your local PGA Professional for some golf changing and life altering assistance. Thank goodness winter is over. Next clinic 4/14 at kokopelli 5:30 join us there. Weather permitting at Salem C. C. 4/15 stop in and get a free tip.

WHAT YOU SET IS WHAT YOU GET

Do you know that the most critical part of the golf swing may very well take place before the club is put into motion. The grip, posture, ball position, alignment and shot visualization are critical to hitting consistent golf shots. Tour players practice their setup till it is second nature. This enhances their chances of being successful when the pressure is on. So as spring approaches get your setup and preshot routine checked. Enjoy the next week as the weather is starting warm up and dry out.

Get Your Golf Game Ready For Spring

I just finished watching the PGA Honda tournament finish and as normal the players with best shortgame that week make the money. The winner had 21 putts on friday, shooting a 64 and only hitting ten greens in regulation. As spring is approaching most of us have limited time to practice and play. Also the weather is inconsistent so take advantage of the good days or even late afternoons to get in some practice. I would start by working on putting. Get your feel back as it has been a long winter in the midwest. Work diligently on 3',6', and 9'. Work on hitting the putts at different speeds and get used to seeing the ball go in the hole. Next, roll some long putts from one side of green to the other, getting your feel back and working on solid contact between putter face and ball. Hitting the ball in center of clubface is essential to getting consistent distance no matter what club you are using. As you are getting more comfortable and your feel is coming back grab a 9 or 7 iron and move off the green for some chipping. The season is early so give yourself a good lie and work on basic chip shots. Again achieving solid contact and rhythm is great practice for all of our game. If you want to shoot lower scores this year keep working on your short game.