"Everybody can get better on 15 minutes per day."
"You can even get better on 5 minutes per day."
Tom Tucker, Unrenowned Golf Coach 😄
Tom's Featured Tip: Green Speed Influencers
Lesson Comments: What Students Have To Say
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Batavia Country Club
The Divot Board Check out their new turf mats, I think they copied what I did - but in a better way!
Fiberbuilt Golf Flight Deck Practice Station
The Rypstick
SuperSpeedGolf.com
Club Champion
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Green Speed Influencers
The Best Training Aid For Indoor or Outdoor Practice
The Divot Board
This is the most useful ball striking development training aid that I own.
Green Speed Influencers
For simplicity, all advice on actual swings or drills is provided from a right handed perspective.
Green speed, a measure of how fast a golf ball rolls on a putting green, is influenced by many factors, including grass type, mowing practices, moisture levels, recent fertilization, and environmental conditions like temperature and humidity. These obvious factors interact to determine the overall speed of the green, which can affect lag putting significantly.
There's one more important factor that has a huge influence on the speed and break of your putts: Grain.
Grain can be a confusing concept for lots of golfers, but it's important to know the basics of it's influence. When we talk about grain, we're describing the direction the grass tips are pointing. Grain is a big factor on courses with bermudagrass greens, which is a warm-weather grass that you'll usually find down south.
In the Northeast, as in Western New York State, bentgrass greens - or bentgrass greens with a mixture of Poa annua are very common. The grain is a bit less influential on bentgrass, but still a factor.
The faster the greens speeds, the smaller the influence of the grain; the slower the greens get, the greater the influence becomes. But grain always plays a role. It can be the reason you make or miss putts, so it's important to understand the basics.
How To Read Grain
- Find the grassy side of the hole
- Find the dead side of the hole
- Look for slopes and shading
The Grassy Side
The basics are that the tips of the grass are pointed in a specific direction, which influences the ball as it rolls. If the grain is pointing toward your ball, it will be a little slow; if it's pointing away from your ball, it will be quicker. If you're ever confused about grain, the first thing you should do is look at the golf hole itself. On greens where grain plays a heavy role, you'll see there's a grassy side (smooth, green) and a dead side (rougher, brownish) .
The Dead Side
The dead side of the hole will always be opposite the grassy side. The dead side is caused by the grass being chopped off at the roots. The grain points from the smooth side, towards the dead side.
Slope Shading
Grain also grows down and along slopes. It's why when you look at certain greens, they'll often look different shades of green, that's because of the grain. If you're seeing a shiny green, you're looking downgrain - that will be a fast putt. If it looks darker or blotchy, you're looking into the grain, and that will be a slower putt. Grain will also affect how much or little a putt breaks, so be aware of the grain direction on sidehill putts as well.
Try it, you'll like it!
Email Comments: to TomTuckerGolf@gmail.com
Mike Bennett and Andy Plummer, The Stack and Tilt Swing
Love your practice, own your swing, own your health, and remember that golf is a game of discovery. Dont be afraid to experiment when you practice, it's good for your golfing brain.
Tom
Golf Lessons
I am now conducting lessons at The Batavia Country Club
Lessons are available for all ages and skill levels, please contact
me - Tom Tucker - at (716) 474 3005 or email me at TomTuckerGolf@gmail.com
for more information.
Outdoor Lessons Details and Rates:
Outdoor Lessons Details and Rates
Testimonials:
http://www.tomtuckergolf.com/testimonials.html
Sponsors and Affiliates
Buying a sponsored product through any of my affiliate links helps support this free newsletter, and I only affiliate with excellent products that I use myself. Thanks, Tom
Batavia Country Club (585) 343-7600 www.bataviacc.com
Great rates, the best greens in WNY. Discounted 2025 Memberships Availabe now, includes the rest of 2024, call (585) 343-5699 ext 5 for details.
Golf Digest Four Star rating for public courses to play in New York State.
Tee times online or by phone in season.
Click here to buy your Divot Board to drastically improve your ball-striking. Combine your Divot Board practice and putting practice with the included putting lesson drills, and watch your scoring improve1. And make sure to check out their new turf mats, I think they copied what I did - but in a better way!
Use your club or hand to re-set the board after your strike
Click here to buy now for outstanding Ball-Striking practice feedback
BONUS: when you buy through the newsletter link above, you'll also receive free access to my Putting Lesson Videos ($60 value) which cover: The Elevated Aimline Drill, The Squareness Awareness Drill, The Aimline Accuracy Drill, The Stock Putting Stroke Drill, The Barrier Drill, The Short Putt Channel Drill, and more.
Click here to buy your Fiberbuilt Golf Flight Deck Practice Station. (Editor's note: Order through Amazon Prime instead of through the manufacturer's site and you'll save around $100)
If you are looking for the most robust portable hitting station that money can buy, the Fiberbuilt Golf Flight Deck Practice Station fits the bill.
Click here SuperSpeedGolf.com to buy this swing speed training aid and increase your distance off the tee.
SuperSpeedGolf.com Buy now and get to work on increasing your swing speed now.
Club Champion Don't waste another dollar on clubs until you've gone through a fitting at Club Champion, 1669 Pittsford Victor Rd., Suite 400, Victor NY 14564. Call Master Fitter & Builder Jeff St. John. PGA work: (585) 978-8513, cell: (585) 831-2292 to schedule your fitting today1 Mention my name and you'll get special attention.
Train with a Rypstick to improve your swing speed and gain more distance off the tee. If the versatility of three different swing weights in one club appeals to you, this is your swing speed training aid of choice.
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Click here Rypstick.com to buy now, and make sure that you enter TOMTUCKERGOLF (case sensitive) in the Discount code box when you check out to receive a 5% discount.
All the best,
Tom Tucker
Teaching Professional, Batavia Country Club
WGTF ' "Top 100 Golf Teacher"
USGTF Class "A" Teaching Professional
IGPA Certified Golf Psychology Coach
Cell: (716) 474-3005
Email: TomTuckerGolf@gmail.com
http://www.TomTuckerGolf.com
"There are no substitutes in the quest for perfection1"
~ Ben Hogan