============================================================== [ TomTuckerGolf.com Tips ] Issue 19 - Date 06/27/12 ============================================================== This week's newsletter is a bit longer than usual because I wanted to answer a question from a reader that should help everyone, and there are two training aids that I wanted to discuss. Enjoy! IN THIS ISSUE: - Tom's Featured Tip: Q&A How To Diagnose Mistakes - Tom's Bonus Tip: Two Great Training Aids - Lesson Comments: http://www.tomtuckergolf.com/testimonials.html - Sponsors: The Batavia Country Club, Chestnut Hill CC If you like this newsletter, please do me a favor and forward it to your friends so that they may subscribe: Subscribe - http://www.tomtuckergolf.com/signup.html The Unsubscribe link is at the bottom of this newsletter. My bio is here: http://www.tomtuckergolf.com/ If you wish to comment, respond, or ask a golf related question, please email me directly at ttucker@rochester.rr.com Plum Creek Driving Range and Practice Facility, simulator rates can be found through a link on my home page here: http://www.tomtuckergolf.com/ WE TAKE CLUBS ON CONSIGNMENT Plum Creek is now accepting clubs, bags, etc on consignment. If you have something golf related in good shape - clubs, bags, balls, etc. - that you want to sell, please contact me directly for details at ttucker@rochester.rr.com. For the sake of simplicity, all advice on swings and drills is provided from a right handed perspective; lefties .... well, you know what to do :-) ============================================================== Tom's Featured Tip - Q&A Correcting Mistakes ============================================================== I received a question from James P. - thanks James - that I wanted to share with you, in the hope that my answer will help you to think through swing issues and perhaps diagnose problems in your own swings. Q: Tom, Thank you for providing the golf tips, I really do appreciate them. I have been having a lot of trouble off the tee with the driver for the past 2 years. All (nearly all - I get the occasional good one in now and then) of my tee shots using the driver are going left. It's not a hook, but a dead pull. No matter what I try, nothing seems to work. It's to the point now where I want to just use an iron off the tee in order to keep the ball in play. When I use an iron off the tee, my shot is pretty straight and usually finds the fairway. I've tried moving away from the ball thinking that I might be too close, but that hasn't helped. I've tried moving the ball up and back in my stance, but that hasn't helped. I know most of my problem is that I just don't have the time to practice as I only play 9 holes a week in a league. For the past 20 years or so, I consistently shot in the low 40's per nine. Now, I'm consistently in the upper 40's because my tee shot with the driver is always in trouble. My iron play is really saving me from shooting in the 50's because when I do find my ball in the long rough or woods, my recovery shot usually puts me near the green. What's frustrating is that I never had problems with the driver - that was my strength. I would never be afraid of what my drive would do. I'd have the occasional slice when I really tried to crush the ball, but never a pull. Granted, I don't play as often as I used to, but I find it frustrating that I'm fine with all my other clubs off the tee except the driver. I know without actually seeing my swing it's hard to provide an answer, but anything you could offer would be helpful. Thank you James P. A: Lets start with the ball flight. His ball is going left and staying straight. The first influence on ball flight direction is the orientation of the clubface at impact. If the ball starts out left, the clubface is pointing left at impact. This sounds simplistic, but for many years and up until very recently, there was a widely accepted theory called the 9 Rules Of Ball Flight, taught by most PGA and other teaching pros that said that the first influence on ball flight direction was swing path. I was in that group, and even though I always had doubts, I taught it because of it's general acceptance in the golf instruction profession. Golf instruction evolves, and advanced research disproved the 9 Rules and proved it's where the clubface is pointed that is the first influence on the direction that your ball starts. So we know that Jim's clubface was pointing left at impact, and that the ball went straight left which to me indicates an outside to inside swingpath with no release. There's a diagram of different swingpaths here: http://www.tomtuckergolf.com/drillIOswingpath.html Further evidence of his problem being this particular swingpath issue, is the fact that the ball didn't curve more right to left (hook). When your swingpath goes from outside to inside, you often dump your release power early because your wrists unhinge as a part of the casting motion that is usually a part of this swingpath mistake. When you dump your power, your hands and wrists can't release properly, and less side spin is put on the ball. Jim said that when he tries to crush the ball it slices - more evidence of the same problem because with an unusually strong swing, his left hand is likely to be gripping the club tightly, which would put slice sidespin on the ball with that swingpath. So the most likely problem is a faulty weight shift technique, which is causing the shoulders to open too early on the downswing, causing an early dump of the wrist hinge with a casting motion and an outside to inside swingpath. The second possibility is that Jim was hitting the ball on the inside part of his downswing arc radius. This means that on the in - to out - to in swing arc of his downswing, his clubfbace reached the outermost part of the arc, then it hit the ball as his swing was returning around his body. When he moved away from the ball, he could have actually made his swing issue worse. If he would have kept moving the ball back in his stance, he might have found out if this was the problem or not. To solve his problem, Jim has to work on his lateral weight shift and turn, as well as on his swingpath to get it to inside out. The inside to outside swingpath will also promote maintaining his wrist hinge until the proper release point. I have some weight shift and inside to outside swingpath drills here: http://www.tomtuckergolf.com/drills.html If you are experiencing a ball flight that starts left of your aimline, you'll benefit from them, take a look. Jim also needs to learn how to release his hands and wrists at impact, and there's also an impact drill on my drills page - although I now teach the impact release a little differently from that drill in my ball striking lesson. Enjoy, Tom ============================================================== Tom's Bonus Tip - Two Great Training Aids ============================================================== The Putting Fork V1 http://puttingfork.com/ I sought out this product as soon as I heard about it, because my putting teaching philosophy is that I am not so much into very strict traditional alignments at setup. I believe that it's more important for the student to be comfortable in a body alignment that will allow them to get the ball rolling straight down their aimline consistently. That's absolutely imperative in a putting stroke. This tool allows the user to monitor the consistency of their stroke as it relates to starting the ball on the correct aimline, and it's portable, very sturdy, and very easy to use. The Putting Fork worked so well that I ordered three more for myself for use in four person putting clinics that I have planned at Plum Creek in the near future (I'll announce the date in an upcoming newsletter). The training aid itself is the best I've seen for what it does, and the owner has offered my readers a $25 discount off the normal $89.95 price if you use the discount code of TOMTUCKERGOLF when you order. The offer expires on July 11th, 2012 here's the order page: http://puttingfork.com/store/products/putting-fork-v1/ BTW, I make no commission or fee of any sort on the sale of this item, I recommend training aids and equipment that I use personally and/or for lessons. Dr. Gary Wiren's Key The most difficult thing for many of my students to grasp initially is the impact positions of the hands and wrists. They usually get it by the end of a ball striking lesson because they experience a lot of repetitions during the lesson, but I found a great training aid that will help anyone feel the position better. You can view it here: http://www.tomtuckergolf.com/impactaids.html I bought one for right handed students here: http://www.dwquailgolf.com/training/dr_gary_wiren_key.html for about $29, and I hunted down one for left handers on Ebay and got it for around $19. BTW, I make no commission or fee of any sort on the sale of this item, I recommend training aids and equipment that I use personally and/or for lessons. Enjoy, Tom ============================================================= Golf Lessons ============================================================= I conduct lessons at The Plum Creek Driving Range & Practice Facility there's a link with info here: http://www.tomtuckergolf.com/ Lessons are available for all ages and skill levels, please contact me - Tom Tucker - at (716) 474 3005 or at ttucker@rochester.rr.com for more information. Rates: http://www.tomtuckergolf.com/lessonrates.html Testimonials: http://www.tomtuckergolf.com/testimonials.html ============================================================== Sponsors ============================================================== Batavia Country Club - http://www.bataviacc.com Need a new pair of golf shoes or a new Callaway Wedge? Great Pricing ! Puma /Callaway /BCC Logo Shirts/Wind/Caps. Chestnut Hill CC - http://www.chestnuthillcc.com Low greens fees, great course! ============================================================== All the best, Tom Tucker Teaching Pro, Plum Creek Driving Range & Practice Facility WGTF "Top 100 Golf Teacher" USGTF Class "A" Teaching Professional Cell: (716) 474-3005 Email: ttucker@rochester.rr.com http://www.TomTuckerGolf.com http://www.usgtf.com/top_100_wgtf.html Success Loves Preparation ~ Anonymous