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WHAT IT TAKES TO SCORE WELL. 11-1-2011
Have you ever walked off the course and said, “if I would have just done this instead of that, I would have had a good score”? Scoring well does not mean that you struck the ball really well, it means that you analyzed each shot before hitting it and played the best odds. Lets take some situations. Bob and you are on the green with Bob’s ball being five feet behind yours. You both look over the putt, you have figured out how much you think both of your putts will break. You then watch Bob hit his putt, but your focus is on the line the ball traveled not on the momentum he used to hit the putt and not on watching his stroke to see if he left the blade open or not, your focus was only on the line. In this case speed is the primary factor involved in the putt going in the hole, and you were just looking at his line. How much the putt breaks is determined by two factors, squareness of contact and speed of the ball. To make more putts, watch the golfers motion, then look at the line the ball is traveling on.

When chipping, you need to figure out the height you need the ball to fly based on the situation. Then select the club to hit it that height at the distance you selected. Lastly, figure out the momentum you need to hit it that distance. Always try and chip the ball past the hole, so you can then have a good idea of how much break your putt will have.

Play the odds, this is not as much fun as going for the gusto but your scores will be much better and in the end you will be proud of yourself. Playing the odds comes into play on every shot you hit. For example, it is your first hole of a member event and you normally slice the ball with the driver that you have in your hand. So, you aim at the trees on the left playing your slice and for some unknown reason the ball goes left. Why not take out the 3 wood on the first hole? You know it goes straighter so you can then aim down the left side of the fairway. By using the 3 wood you have increased your odds of hitting a solid airborne shot that normally goes straighter. You are not a scratch golfer, so why play for a par when you would be happy with a bogey. You get a stroke on the hole anyway. How about using that 3 wood on the 17th tee when you have a good score going?

Lastly, ask yourself how many times a round you have to hit a shot that is less than a full swing and many times close to the ground to get under some branches. I would guess that this short swing (including chip shots) is needed at least 18 times per round. Now ask yourself, do I know how high I hit each one of these clubs in the first 25 yards of flight? Probably not, and consequently, many of your punch shots either hit branches or run through the fairway or green. Take a bucket of balls and go under some trees next to the range, always hit at the same target using different clubs. Learn to control your height and distance by using different clubs, remembering that the further you hit the ball, the higher it will go.

MISCONCEPTIONS OF THE GOLF SWING
Welcome all, my name is Mark Krause, I have been teaching for 37 years and it is my goal today is to simplify the golf swing for you. Lets get started!!

Please raise your hand if you believe that it is important to keep your head down.
Next question all of you that think that keeping your left arm straight is important, raise your hand
Third question, on your backswing keep your right elbow close to your body.
Fourth question, you must hit down to get the ball up.
The baseball swing and golf swing are not similar.
Last question, is it important to turn your wrists over?

All of you that said yes to one or more of these questions has room for improvement.

Lets take the first one: keeping your head down, Have you ever seen a baseball player, tennis player or someone on tv stare at the contact point after contact.

How can you turn your shoulders let alone your body with your eyes glued to the ground.

How can you maximize clubhead speed in the impact zone if your body can not turn due to your eyes being glued to the ground.

The proper term is “keep your eyes on the ball” so that your torso can turn through the hitting zone to have a complete follow through. How many of you complain to yourself that you do not have a good follow through. This is the primary reason why you do not. Anybody that says to you keep your head down and I will watch the ball for you is trying to help but giving you the worst advice possible.

Left arm straight, the first question you should ask yourself is for how long? I see many friends teaching friends saying keep your left arm straight but never saying for how long. Does a baseball player when swinging a bat keep their left arm straight after impact? In golf, of course the left arm is straight in you setup. So should the right arm since both arms should be hanging straight down. In the back swing the left arm should stay relatively straight in the backswing as your right arm folds and your right elbow folds downward. Centrifugal force should straighten both arms in the downswing, and at impact and thereafter the right arm straightens and rolls over the left arm through impact into the follow through before both arms bend and come to rest on your left shoulder.

Bend your knees to put the club on the ground and reach out my arms so my belly is not in the way. One of the biggest faults we see in golfers is their posture. The posture dictates your swing plane and potential weight shift. Most golfers setup by taking their grip then approaching the ball bending their knees and planting their feet before putting the club on the ground. The proper setup is starting with the underside of your upper arms resting on your chest, then bending in the waist, turning your head to aim, then bending enough to put the club behind the ball. The last part of your body you plant is your feet. When your setup is complete your arms should be hanging from your shoulders with your hands above your toes not outside them. A person’s belly or chest is not in the way if your shoulders turn first moving your arms. Doing this your arms are always in front of you instead of crossing over your chest or belly.

Keeping your right elbow close to your body promotes loss of distance, a reverse weight shift and a slice. This move causes either a very flat short backswing or a flying elbow by the completion of the back swing with a short swing arc and a clubface that is either very open or closed depending on their swing plane. This move also causes your right leg to straighten pushing your weight to your front foot. The way to avoid keeping the right elbow close to the body is by turning the shoulders to move the arms in the start of the backswing instead of the right hand pulling the club away from the ball. Doing this will also allow your right leg to stay flexed which then allows your weight to move into your right side.

Hit down to make the ball go up. This is the major cause of slicing. Why hit down, the club has loft on it. When you swing a bat or a tennis racquet, do you swing them at the ball or the target??? If you swing at the ball how do you give the ball direction??? Don’t you swing the tool at the target with the ball getting in the way of a motion that is forward and at the target?? If you are hitting down you are pulling the club with the left arm and hand. This means that the handle is way ahead of the clubhead at impact. If you entered the hitting zone swinging a bat with the handle way ahead at impact which field would you hit the ball to. Of course right field. Since you bent over to put the club on the ground, if you maintain that waist bend until impact won’t the club return to the ground? Yes, and the club has loft on it, so the ball will get in the air. The goal then is to have the face of the club moving towards the target then left of the target, since your body is turning, to hit the ball straight. The harder you try to get the club under the ball the more vertical the club is traveling so it is very easy to hit it fat or top the ball due to the club traveling to much up and down instead of forward.

The baseball and golf swing are very similar!! Of all professional athletes baseball players play the best golf. This is because the body motion of both swings are very similar. In both swings the head has to stay steady, the shoulders move the arms in both directions and the arms crossover one another in both directions. Neither one is a wrist motion. The motion originates from the sternum to the shoulders to the arms and then to the wrists. In other words, the trunk of the body should be moving the arms instead of the arms trying to move the body. Don’t get me wrong, the wrists play an important role in the swing but they have to rotate due to the body moving them. The wrist and arms can move on to many different plains, so, to have a consistent swing plain the body has to be moving the arms.

So, good posture with a bend in the waist to start with. Turn the shoulders to move the arms and club on the backswing while maintaining the same waist bend that you had in your setup. Allow your body to start the forward swing by turning to the left. This motion will pull your arms forward. As you are turning your body to the left, allow your forearms to crossover one another releasing your wrists. Continue your body turn by allow your head to turn and follow the ball in flight. This will give you a full finish with maximum clubhead speed.

Presented by:

Mark Krause
Muskego Lakes CC, 414-425-6500, Lesson fee of $50 per hour

HE MOST COMMON MISTAKES THAT CAUSE A SLICE

REACHING FOR THE BALL. The end of the grip should be no more than a hand spread from their inseam. Reaching for the ball makes it hard to swing the club on the proper plane and get under the ball with your longer clubs.

FEET SPREAD TO FAR APART. The further you spread your feet the less active your legs can be. This will cause the hands and arms to take over the swing.

RIGHT HAND GRIP TURNED TO FAR TO THE RIGHT AND GRIPPING TO TIGHT. This puts your right arm in control and usually caused the club to be brought inside and up to quickly.

SWINGING THE CLUB ALONG THE GROUND TO LONG AND INSIDE THE TARGET LINE normally causes a reverse weight shift at the completion of the backswing and a blocked shot to the right.

RIGHT KNEE STRAIGHTENING ON BACK SWING also causes a reverse weight shift leading to a big loss of power and a shot that is either topped or goes very high and to the right.

HANDS TO CLOSE TO YOUR RIGHT EAR AT TOP OF SWING means that you had very little or no turn of the shoulders on the backswing. This then results in the arms starting the downswing and a casting of the club. A large loss of distance results.

TRYING TO SWING UNDER THE BALL TO GET IT AIRBORNE INSTEAD OF SWINGING THE CLUB TOWARDS THE TARGET. This is the most common of all faults. If you try to swing under the ball, your right shoulder dips towards the ground to much and will always cause the clubface to be open.

LEFT FORARM NOT ROTATING THROUGH THE SHOT. Is the main reason for loss of distance and a slice. If you were swinging a baseball bat or tennis raquet your left forearm on the backswing rotates open.(Knuckles of the left hand rotate towards the sky) Consequently, your left forearm must rotate in the opposite direction on the forward motion. If this is done your right hand will crossover your left just after impact. You will feel a snap of the wrists and see your left elbow pointing towards the ground as you finish your swing. You will also wear out a lot less golf gloves.

TRYING TO KEEP YOUR HEAD DOWN, INSTEAD OF YOUR EYES ON THE BALL. I can not tell you how many times I have heard the excuse “I looked up”. Have you ever seen a Professional on TV staring at the ground when he was finished with the swing? “NO”. If you do not let your head turn to keep your eyes on the ball, you greatly restrict the turn of your body and pull on muscles that should be free to move.

Fixing any, if not all these faults will help to lower your score. Good Luck

“The Sand Shot”
First and foremost you need a “Sand Wedge”. This club along with your driver and putter are the most valuable clubs in your bag. Not any “sand wedge” will due. You must first ask yourself, “what type of ground and sand will I be hitting off of on a regular basi?” If the ground and sand are on the firm side you will need a “sand wedge” that does not have a large sole (the bottom side of the club). If the sole is too big, the club will tend to bounce causing a scull shot.

The second question you must ask, “what loft do I need?”. The normal “sand wedge” has a loft of 56 or 57 degrees which is totally different than a “lob wedge”. A “lob wedge” will have a thin sole and more loft. It is advised that you try a club before you buy it. Then you find out if it goes the right distance and performs properly out of the sand.

The sand shot: is the most feared of all golf shots by the average golfer. There are a couple of reasons for this. The first, because they have read or believe that you must hit two inches behind the ball with a mighty swing. The second, golfers normally have no idea how to control the distance of the ball coming out of the sand.

I would like you first to pick up a handful of sand and feel the weight of it. Not too heavy is it? So, why consider using a fast and large swing to propel the ball only 20 to 60 feet? It only takes a little more swing speed to hit the ball out of the trap as it does to hit a chip shot out of higher grass.

The keys are: controlling of the arm and club head speed with your shoulders. Using an open stance while setting your arms and hands ahead of the club face at address. While in the swing process you must not dip or raise your body during the swing. Lastly, do not worrying about hitting two inches behind the ball, instead, turn your shoulders through the shot so the shoulders control your arms. The speed at which you turn your shoulders to the target determines the distance the ball will travel. If done properly your chest will be facing the target when the swing is completed.

Muskego Lakes Blog

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On Monday, December 26 we were open and Jeff Jankiewicz had a hole in one on #17. He hit a 7 iron into the wind from 145 yards. Who would think anyone in Wisconsin would have a hole in one in December.

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