Setting up the ball

Ball position changes from club to club. Here is a quick system to set up your ball up correctly.

Video provided by GolfTec of Arizona.

The pump drill

Use the pump drill if you are a golfer that hits thin or fat shots.

Video provided by GolfTec of Arizona.

Getting your swing back

by Tina Tombs, golf instructor

Golf is a fickle game, one day we play great and the next it can be gone. Our feel and rhythm vanishes without a trace, the club feels heavy and our distance is gone. If this sounds familiar, don’t worry! It’s a problem even the very best players can have. Anything can set it off from bad weather, rushing to the first tee, a bad night’s sleep, playing with a long hitter…anything.

You just have to realize that your golf swing will vary to some degree, from day to day and week to week. That’s what makes golf the great game that it is! What you need is an “emergency” checklist.

Start with your fundamentals
Check your grip, posture and alignment. Any problems there will affect your swing and feel.

Make the most of your past experiences
What did you work on the last time you lost your swing? Fall back on that information. Often old habits have a tendency to come back and haunt you.

Take your mind off of hitting the ball
Think of taking a fluid swing. Take practice swings with your eyes closed. Feel the weight of the club head and sense rhythm and balance.

Take an extra club on the golf course
Force yourself to take a 7-iron in a situation that you would normally take an 8-iron. Swing ¾ pace until you start to hit the ball solidly again.

Once you’ve recaptured your feel, remember to write down your most successful swing keys when you are playing well. Then you can refer back to them the next time your swing is off.

Finding your backswing

by Rick Silva, Kinetic Performance Center president/director

Most golfers think the major factor in distance is club head speed. In reality, it’s quality of contact. This misunderstanding forces the golfer to swing the club back too far (past parallel) losing the all-important angle in the spine which is necessary to store energy. So, how far should your backswing go?

Unfortunately, there is not a finite answer. It changes for the individual based on body type, strength and flexibility. The trend on tour is to get backswings shorter and wider. Here is a simple drill that anyone can do to find out the proper length for his or her backswing.

Set up in your normal posture without a golf club. Face your palms inward or toward each other, then, place the left hand behind the right. Without altering your posture at any point, make a normal backswing until you run out of mobility.

Chances are that your arms will stop short of your old position. The shortened position is absolutely mind-blowing to most amateur golfers because it’s considerably shorter than anything they have ever experienced. The drill should be performed with an 8- or 9-iron swinging with 50 percent effort.

Keep in mind
Just because it feels weird or different doesn’t mean that it is wrong.