==================================================== Newsletter - Issue 35 Date 09/12/07 ==================================================== ==================================================== TCT Quick Tips ==================================================== Practice chipping from the very edge of the green and don't quit until three consecutive shots finish within two feet of the hole. ==================================================== Golf Tip : Q&A Hitting Down ==================================================== If anyone has a golf question that they would like answered, please email your question to: teachingpro@bataviacc.com and I'll do my best to answer it in an upcoming newsletter. Here's a question I received recently from Jim S.: Hello Tom, I just recently signed up for your newsletter as I found out about it from a friend of mine who had signed up for it and he lives in nearby South Byron, only about 3-4 mile from Batavia CC. and we both play there several times each season. Anyway, I do have a question for you. In my efforts to improve my chipping and short pitches, lob shots, etc., I have found that I have a tendency to hit a couple inches behind the ball or even, somewhat skull it or sort of half-top it. Even though I play the ball back by my right foot, and keep my weight on my left side and have an open stance and try to keep my left wrist firm or straight (if you will, I don't know the descriptive term), I still fall into that fault. I know we need to hit down on the ball but for some reason I still have a lot of difficulty in doing that, and that's where the chunking, or hitting behind it or half-tops come in. It's almost like where we amateurs have the fault where we are always trying to "help" the shot. Do you have any guidance and drills to do that may help us with that? Thank you, Jim S. I think a lot of golfers have a bit of a problem with hitting down on the ball. Jim's comment is right on target about amateurs - and seasoned golfers as well - wanting to help the shot get into the air, rather than hitting down on the ball to impart the spin that makes it fly up. One very good image to plant in your brain is this: see yourself hitting the ball forward, not upward. if you think "hit it forward", many of your problems will magically disappear. Jim's comments about chunking the ball and hitting it thin lead me to believe that there may still be a weight transfer problem, in addition to a probable swing plane issue. A major cause of hitting it fat or thin is that the weight either gets stuck on the rear side or there's a reverse weight shift. In any event, here's a great drill that will get your club in the correct position at impact, and you can practice it all winter at home after our golf season is over. I'm going to take a moment to talk about golf swing problems in general first. I always tell my students that when they are having a problem with their swing, start to remedy it by decreasing their backswing until the ball is going where they want it to, then increase the backswing gradually until they are hitting the shot as full as they want to, correctly. This hit down drill is a tiny drill that you will expand on when you have it down correctly. That usually means 500 correct repetitions. You read that correctly, it takes 500 reps to get a swing change downloaded into your muscle memory. I would recommend 50 reps at a time over 10 practice sessions. If you balk at this, then you are one of the masses that wants to get better but doesn't want to pay the price. You need to possess a little "practice grit" to get better. Don't talk a good game, just do it. Here's the drill: (for righties, lefties reverse as necessary) Set up for a chip type shot, using clubs for alignment aids, and have a target about 20 paces away, preferably on a green. In fact, that lob wedge would be a great club to use as an alignment aid, and that's about all I would recommend that an average golfer should use a lob wedge for. No kiddihg on that one, beginners - lose the lob wedge, your scores will improve. Back to the drill... Your weight should be forward, your hands should be forward, near the inside of your left thigh, the ball should be just back from center in your stance, towards your rear foot. Most of you should also probably crowd the ball a bit too. Most beginners set up too far away from the ball. Now place a yardstick flat on the ground behind the ball about two or three inches, directly on the ball-target line. Recap: weight forward, hands forward, ball back, stance narrow and slightly open.. Now you are going to hit (3) 10 repetition sets of short chip and pitch technique shots, first with a 7 iron, and then with a pitching wedge. Alternate techniques within each set. On the takeaway, keep your weight on your front side, and take the club away on a slight inside arc pivoting your body, using your shoulders and arms, and allow a slight wrist hinge. It's like a turning pendulum stroke, and the club should come up because our weight is on our front side. If you have a slight weight shift on the takeaway, that's OK, just remember to get it forward on the downswing. You only need to take the club back a short distance, you'll need to experiment with the length but keep it short, two feet maximum. On the downswing, start with a pivot of your body and turn through the shot. At this time any weight that went back needs to get forward, and let the shoulders and hands lead the clubhead into the back of the ball on a descending angle, so much so that your club misses the end of the yardstick and strikes the ball, then takes a small divot. Your tempo should be crisp. Practice the point of impact two different ways: 1) chip shot technique with no release - hit and hold for a shot that checks and releases; don't let the toe of the club pass the heel at impact, and 2) pitch shot technique with release - let the forearms rotate naturally through impact for a shot that has more run. It is very important to practice maintaining your spine angle through impact. In other words don't pick up or straighten up at impact, stay down through the shot. After impact, your body should be turned forward slightly on the abbreviated follow through. This winter, get a small mat, hang a blanket in your basement, and hit wiffle golf balls this way with your 7 iron and your PW to train your body for the correct angle of attack at impact - a downward blow into the back of the ball. Don't forget to use the yardstick, it's important. Experiment with where your comfort area is as far as looking at the ball goes. Some golfers find it helpful to look at the ground directly in front of the ball to help them hit down at the correct angle, others like looking at the top of the ball, and others like looking at the rear of the ball. Find the best spot for you. There are a lot of other drills, but this is the simplest, and I think one of the most effective. After you've done the required reps with the short stroke, lengthen your stroke to a half swing and practice, then three quarters and practice, then full and practice, and you'll be in business. I'll even give you the TCT guarantee on this one.