TomTuckerGolf.com
 
Golf Tips Newsletter - Issue 276 - December 18th, 2013
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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  

Merry Christmas Everyone!
Since Christmas is next Wednesday, I won't be broadcasting a newsletter - so I wanted to wish everyone a Merry and Blessed Christmas early! ... and thanks to each and every one of you for being my loyal newsletter friend, Tom Tucker


- Tom's Featured Tip: Ball Flight Laws Reviewed
- Tom's Bonus Tip: Putting - Distance Control
- 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



Click here:  INDOOR GOLF LESSONS  for details on how to improve your game over the winter.

PLUM CREEK DRIVING RANGE IN BATAVIA, NY, IS OPEN ALL YEAR
NEW Equipment & Apparel Sale, Simulator Course Play Specials: http://www.plumcreekdrivingrange.com Call 585-993-0930 or email Mark at plumcreek4@rochester.rr.com to reserve your simulator time!

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.

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Tom's Featured Tip:
Ball Flight Laws Reviewed


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!

Every now and then - actually quite often - I see or hear a golf professional giving advice that is old and wrong.

That happened to me again yesterday when I saw a video that was being touted as top shelf advice on ball striking laws - and it was old and wrong.

This particular professional had swingpath as more of a cause for initial ball direction than clubface position in relation to swingpath.

It's a fact that in the past, golfers were taught that the ball begins in the direction of a club’s swingpath, and the curvature of the ball was due to the face angle at impact. Now, we know that this line of thinking is 100 percent INCORRECT.

Modern research with top level teaching simulators like Trackman and Flightscope has proved that the face angle at impact determines 75 percent or more of the ball’s starting direction, and at slower ball speeds it creeps up to almost 100 percent. This has made cause and effect for curvature much easier to understand for teachers as well as students.

Here are a couple more basic ball flight laws to keep in mind:
  • To Hit a Fade

    • In order to move the ball left to right, you will need a path that is more left than the face is pointing. So if you keep the club face pointing right of the path it will curve from left to right. When the differential is low the amount of curvature will be low, when it's high the ball will curve more.

  • To Hit a Draw

    • In order to move the ball right to left, you must have a path that is more "in to out" than where your club face points at impact. If you have the face pointing left of your swingpath at impact, it will result in the ball curving from right to left. There is a big misconception that you must have a closed face to draw the golf ball, when in fact all you need to do is have your club face pointed left of your swingpath. When the differential is low the amount of curvature will be low, when it's high the ball will curve more.
Love your practice, enjoy your golf, own your swing,

Tom


Tom's Bonus Tip:
Putting - Distance Control

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!

Distance control in your putting is a primary skill that's necessary to avoid three putting. Proficiency at short putting helps compensate for less than stellar lag putting, but distance control for lag putting is a fundamental skill that needs to be there.

If you've read my newsletter for any length of time, you know that I teach development of a "core" putting stroke to get a great feel for a repeatable stroke that will be the foundation for your distance control. To refresh your memory on the "core" putting stroke, review issue 188 in my Newsletters Archive.

Here's another way to develop this stroke if you have trouble "memorizing" your backstroke and tempo. You can do this anywhere where a ball has the room to roll out exactly 10 feet.

If your brain has trouble repeating a specific length and tempo stroke, simply practice stroking putts that roll out about ten feet. Sometimes changing the objective from stroke length and tempo to a specific distance of rollout resonates better for the way you may be processing information.

One of these two methods of developing a "core" putting stroke will definitely work for you, so work on one or the other this winter in the warm confines of your home, and reap the benefits of better putting next year!

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!

Batavia Country Club   Pro Shop at Batavia CC open 9am - 4pm daily for memberships, gift certificates, merchandise, apparel, and equipment. Phone orders accepted as well. www.bataviacc.com

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%.

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