TomTuckerGolf.com
 
Golf Tips Newsletter - Issue 264 - September 25th, 2013
To View In Your Browser   Click Here

 

Prepare to play your best golf by doing something now!

To comment or respond to this newsletter, please click here ttucker@rochester.rr.com

In This Issue  

- Tom's Featured Tip: Q&A: Deceleration
- Tom's Bonus Tip: Sweet Putting
- Lesson Comments: What Students Have To Say
- Sponsors: Batavia Country Club   Chestnut Hill Country Club 
Plum Creek Driving Range and PGA AboutGolf.com Golf Simulator 
GCC Golf Management Program  Provoto Putting Systems

PLUM CREEK DRIVING RANGE IN BATAVIA, NY, IS OPEN ALL YEAR Outdoors in season; Indoors - simulator available for play or practice. Call 585-993-0930 or email Mark at plumcreek4@rochester.rr.com to reserve your simulator time! Great money saving monthly specials, check them out here: http://www.plumcreekdrivingrange.com

Buy Gift Certificates for Lessons   Sample Gift Certificate

Golf lessons - Outdoor and Indoor - are available 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/lessonrates.html   for details.

Indoor or Outdoor Driver Fitting Get the most bang for your buck when you buy a new driver by getting professionally fitted first. Click for details:
http://www.tomtuckergolf.com/indoor.html

Subscribe - http://www.tomtuckergolf.com/signup.html   If you like this newsletter, please do me a favor and forward it to your friends so that they may subscribe, thanks!

The Unsubscribe link is at the bottom of this newsletter.


Tom's Featured Tip:
Q&A: Deceleration

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!

Q: Gene C. emailed me this question after last week's newsletter:

Hi Tom, hopefully you can give me some advice.. I have suffered from this decelerating on the downswing for a few years. I cannot seem to conquer it. Especially my short game which used to be right on .. 100 yards in . I can still chip and putt but doing it lying 4 instead of 2 or 3 is huge. Can you suggest something? I keep thinking swing harder coming down but to no avail.

sincerely, Gene C.

Thanks for the question Gene.

There are body parts that should decelerate in the downswing so that the club can release properly at impact, including the arms. When they slow down, centrifugal force allows the wrists to release - but note that the left wrist should never bend more forward than flat. Another point to note is that your wrists need to remain soft so that they can release at impact.

I don't think your question pertained to that though Gene, so first let's identify common causes for improper deceleration at impact:
  1. Not understanding your own swing, ie: what body parts should be doing what at impact.

  2. "Steering" your shot instead of swinging freely. This is caused when you look at a tight shot with hazards or out of bounds looming.

  3. Tightness - caused by not being stretched out enough, or anxiety. When your muscles are tight, you can't make a full backswing turn or a free-flowing downswing.

  4. An improper weight shift - a reverse weight shift dumps lagged power early, causing deceleration at impact.

So what can you do to make corrections?
  • When I first heard the phrase "give up control to gain control", it didn't register with me. Then it dawned on me that when you own your swing, it happens naturally and without hesitation - so owning your swing helps you to keep from aiming it, and also helps to decrease your anxiety level. So I'll rephrase the original advice as follows: "Own Your Swing to Gain Control", which will produce a free flowing swing.

  • Keep your wrists soft in the backswing and downswing, but in good impact positions through impact. Never allow them to "flip" through impact, which adds loft to the shot and diminishes any chance for good compression. At impact, your left wrist should be flat (never cupped), and your right wrist should be bent back slightly (dorsiflexed).

  • A great drill to do is the "swoosh" drill. Simply make one handed swings with a 4 foot long 3/4" wooden dowel and produce a "swooshing" sound just beyond impact. When you do this with loose wrists, it will release naturally and come through with a lot of speed. You'll hear the "swoosh" sound and feel the speed. Just make sure that the sound is happening just after impact, not prior to.

    Then when you play, invert your club and take a few fast swings the same way with your left hand only, before you set up for your shot.

  • Last but not least, think "swing fast" - not "swing hard" it actually will make a significant difference in your swing speed. "Swing hard" tends to make you hit "at" the ball, "swing fast" makes your body swing through the ball with speed.

Love your practice, enjoy your golf, own your swing,

Tom


Tom's Bonus Tip:
Sweet Putting

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!

If you are leaving putts short or pushing them right, it may be because you're not hitting the ball on the sweet spot of the putterface.

Learn the difference in feel between a ball struck on the sweet spot and one that's not, and you'll find yourself setting up with more precision.

When you set up with precision it has a positive snowballing effect for your whole putting sequence. Your strike will be solid every time and your rollout will be as consistent as it can be for the weight (power) for every stroke.

This translates to better distance control and fewer three putts.

Love your practice, enjoy your golf, own your swing,

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 email me 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 and Simulator  Outdoor range and play indoor golf on any of our 40 Simulator Courses. Call 585-993-0930 or email Mark at plumcreek4@rochester.rr.com to reserve time for simulator play or practice!

Provoto Putting Systems   readers get a 30% discount on putting greens. Click on their catalog link, and select the green you want to purchase. After you decide on features, add it to your cart. You'll find the field for "Discount Coupon" near the bottom of the page. Enter PGApro in that field and your product cost will be discounted 30%.

Batavia Country Club   Best greens in WNY, great rates. Fall Rates begin September 23rd - 18 Holes with cart, $15 Weekdays, $20 Weekends . Annual memberships - pay for 2014 now and get the rest of 2013 for free. Details at www.bataviacc.com

Chestnut Hill CC   Great rates, 20 minutes East of Buffalo, NY .

GCC Golf Management Program   click for information on GCC's degree program for anyone interested in a career in the golf industry or teaching golf.

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

"There are no substitutes in the quest for perfection!"
~ Ben Hogan