TomTuckerGolf.com Golf Tips Newsletter - Issue 22 - December 5, 2012 Past Newsletters Archive

============================================================== [ TomTuckerGolf.com Tips ] Issue 219 - Date 11/28/12 ============================================================== Newsletters Archive: http://www.tomtuckergolf.com/archive.html Hundreds of Great Tips and Articles to help you improve your game. IN THIS ISSUE: - Tom's Featured Tip: Long Putter Ban Options - Tom's Bonus Tip: Buying New Irons as a Gift? - Lesson Comments: http://www.tomtuckergolf.com/testimonials.html - Sponsors: The Batavia Country Club, Chestnut Hill CC,   Plum Creek Driving Range and PGA AboutGolf.com Golf Simulator   Genesee Community College Golf Management Program November "Get To Know Us" Indoor Golf Special - $75 Foursome Rate to Play any of our 40+ Simulator Courses. Call 585-993-0930 or email Mark at plumcreek4@rochester.rr.com to reserve your tee time! http://www.plumcreekdrivingrange.com PLUM CREEK IS STILL ALIVE AND WELL - last Friday there was a fire in the equipment barn, which is far removed from the simulator building. Playing Courses on the Simulator, Simulator Leagues, Lessons, etc. won't be interrupted at all, so come out and play! I am conducting indoor lessons this winter in the Simulator bay at Plum Creek, please call me at 716 474 3005, email me at ttucker@rochester.rr.com, or visit my website at http://www.tomtuckergolf.com/indoor.html for rates and details. NEW I also am offering a Driver Fitting Service, details are here: http://www.tomtuckergolf.com/indoor.html It doesn't make sense to spend big bucks on a new driver if it's specifications don't allow you to get the most out of your swing. Also keep in mind that you'll get a totally objective fitting through me because I have no vested interest in selling you a new club. If you want to respond to this newsletter, PLEASE DO NOT hit reply, email sent via reply gets auto-deleted. Instead, please FORWARD your reply to ttucker@rochester.rr.com and I'll get it directly. Thanks! Tom Tucker http://www.tomtuckergolf.com/ 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. ============================================================== Tom's Featured Tip: Long Putter Ban Options ============================================================== 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 :-) In the very near future, the USGA will most likely be issuing a ruling that will ban anchoring putters to the body, which will snuff out the use of belly and long putters as we currently see them being used. In an article that I read today, the writer projected that this ruling will also effect players like Matt Kucher, who lets the putter shaft of his belly length putter run directly up his forearm. Personally, I think it's ludicrous to do this now, after this style of putting has been in play for decades. I know purists would argue against this point of view, but why now? Why not when they first came into play many, many years ago? The intent of this article is not to rant, but to offer ideas on how these putters can still be used effectively, so I'll get to it. Belly Putter Options I wholeheartedly recommend using belly length putters with the very lightweight long Super Stroke grips that minimize the effect on swingweight, especially for my students that tend to want to flip the club at impact. Yes, players that flip the club for other swings do it on their putting stroke too. Set up so that your belly length putter has a little forward shaft lean, which puts your hands in a flat left wrist position, and position the ball well forward in your stance. The amount of shaft extending above your grip adds enough ballast to the shaft to keep you from flipping the club or "yipping" the putt. Execute your stroke without having the butt of the club anchor to your body.  You can groove a great stroke with this positioning. This would be a good putting stroke tweak for Matt Kucher. Long Putter Options For those of you that putt like Adam Scott, who anchors a long putter to his sternum then executes a shoulder rock stroke, here's a great solution. Simply extend your upper hand away from your body so that it's under your chin, then lock your arms and hands in position and execute the same shoulder rock stroke. This works like a charm. I'll be curious to see if Adam Scott adopts this technique if the ban becomes a reality. Make next year your best year. Love your practice, enjoy your golf, Tom ============================================================== Tom's Bonus Tip: Buying New Irons as a Gift? ============================================================== 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 :-) Around this time of year I often get emails from parents of junior golf students asking for advice on buying a set of irons for their son or daughter. In fact - here's a response that I sent to one parent today. If you want to buy someone irons as a Christmas gift, you should to read this. BTW, I've omitted the names for confidentiality, and this particular player is high school age, has been at the game for awhile, and has been improving, and I know his swing. Hi XXXXX, the possibilities are almost endless, so I'll give you some guidelines, then you can shop various brands until you come up with something XXXXX likes. First of all, his set should be comprised of 4 iron through PW, and the gap wedge that goes with the set. Personally, I buy the sand wedge also, that way I know that all the clubs are "gapped" properly from club to club. Sometimes players have favorite sand wedges, if that's the case with XXXXX let that be. Irons are generally classified into three categories by manufacturers: Super Game Improvement irons - for beginners, very forgiving, usually have a lot of offset, a large head, and a wide sole. Game Improvement - for intermediate to good players - have about half the offset of the super game improvement irons, a smaller head, and a medium width sole. Player Irons - for highly skilled players, no offset - usually a "blade" type iron, a small head, and a narrow sole and topline. XXXXX has graduated to a game improvement iron. I think he could play a men's steel stiff shaft, with perhaps a lighter shaft than traditional steel, which is readily available. He could probably play either a regular flex or or a stiff, but stiff will afford a little more control. He should not play irons with a full offset throughout the set. Graduated offset may be ok. A performance factor to consider is that not all stiff shafts play the same. Some play stiff shading towards regular, some play stiff, and some play stiff shading towards extra stiff. Either stiff shading towards regular, or stiff playing stiff would be appropriate for XXXXX. Another important factor to consider is how the irons look to XXXXX's eye, so I wouldn't just go out and buy irons for him. I would recommend going to Golf Galaxy, have XXXXX hit a few different brands, then decide what looks and feels good to him before you invest. Don't be in too much of a hurry deciding, because this set of irons should last him until he's gone from the nest, then he can buy his own after that :-) There are many brands that are very reliable - Ping, Callaway, Titelist, Taylormade, Mizuno, Adams, etc. I played Callaway for years personally, but this year I switched to Pings with a lighter steel stiff shaft and I love them. If you end up with 2 or 3 brands and can't make up your mind I'd be glad to throw my two cents in at that point. I hope this is helpful, feel free to give me a call if you have any questions. Love your practice, enjoy your golf, Tom ============================================================= Golf Lessons ============================================================= I conduct lessons at The Plum Creek Driving Range & Practice Facility there's a link for Plum Creek 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. Outdoor Lessons Details and Rates: http://www.tomtuckergolf.com/lessonrates.html Indoor Lessons Details and Rates: http://www.tomtuckergolf.com/indoor.html Driver Fitting Rates: http://www.tomtuckergolf.com/indoor.html Testimonials: http://www.tomtuckergolf.com/testimonials.html ============================================================== Sponsors ============================================================== Plum Creek Driving Range - Play indoor golf on any of our 40+ Simulator Courses. Call 585-993-0930 or email Mark at plumcreek4@rochester.rr.com to reserve your tee time! - http://www.plumcreekdrivingrange.com/ GCC Golf Management Program - http://www.genesee.edu click for information on GCC's degreed program for anyone interested in a career in the golf industry or teaching golf. Batavia Country Club - http://www.bataviacc.com Open - weather permitting, call first. Chestnut Hill CC - http://www.chestnuthillcc.com Open - weather permitting, call first. ============================================================== 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