~ Golf Tips ~

By Buzz Walker -- 

Oak Hills Teaching Professional

Hit them straight!

Buzz Walker

Golf Tip: The Baseball Dill... 

I've used this drill recently with a young golfer with a reverse pivot problem.

The Baseball Dill is a great way to practice both leveraging you body against the ground through the hit and ensuring you make a proper turn. 

To start, address the ball in a normal way. Then, as you take the club back, lift your left foot just as a baseball player does before making a swing. This will make your weight move to your back foot on the backswing. Once you reach the top of your swing, plant your right foot and make your down swing with mostly your arms.

Because you made a good turn on the backswing (you had to because only one leg was on the ground), you should feel your left foot is planting force into the ground through the downswing. With that in mind, you need to keep your left leg firm at impact to make sure that you not only hit the ball consistently, but also prevent power loss. If you use this drill often, you will never have a problem with the dreaded reverse pivot.

Golf Tip: Golf 101 with Buzz...

Golf Tip: Putting - How to Beat the Breaks...

Align to the apex, not the hole, to make more putts

This is for you if...

1. You always read your putts from behind the ball...

2. ...even on severely sloping greens

The Problem,
You're missing badly on breaking putts, which leads to fewer birdies and pars and more bogeys. The simple reason for your struggle is poor green-reading technique and alignment.

The Solution,
If you want to get a proper read, you need to look at the putt from behind the line you plan to start the ball on, rather than the one that runs directly from the ball to the hole. To do so, pick a spot where you think the apex of the putt (maximum break) will be and examine the putt by looking from behind your ball to that spot. Set the putter head square to the chosen target line and then walk into your setup, always keeping in mind that your actual target is the apex of the break, not the hole. Stroke the putt to this spot without being distracted by the actual hole. Use this technique consistently, and your green-reading — as well as your results on breaking putts — will improve dramatically.

The Three mistakes that most golfers have in common:

1.Most amateurs overswing because they have a poor understanding of how power is created. More than 70 percent of your power comes from the ability to maintain the fully loaded wrist set established at the top deep into the downswing. Maintaining this position as long as you can then releasing the clubhead through impact accelerates the speed at which your clubhead moves through the hitting zone to four times faster than the speed of your hands.

2.The second mistake I see the majority of amateurs make is overusing the legs. While it’s certainly advantageous to use your legs, wildly moving them through the ball will actually slow your clubhead speed and force you to make power-robbing compensations. Remember, the legs serve to support the swing and, as a result, instinctively control the clubface.

3.The third amateur mistake is losing their leveraged triangle at the top. Many players allow their arms to get behind them at the top of the backswing or allow their right arm to fold or collapse. When you fold your right elbow excessively (greater than 90 degrees), you’ll force your arms behind your back. And once they’re behind your back, it’s nearly impossible to return them to a strong position at impact. You’ll not only lose distance, but also accuracy.

Golf Tip: correcting the slice...

Golfers see their tee shots go right and automatically curse the slice.

Sometimes those are blocked shots caused by swinging too much from the inside. The slice comes from an out-to-in swing, so trying to fix a slice when you're hitting a block is the worst thing you can do.

Solution: To quiet your legs and hips, practice hitting drives from a narrow stance. You'll slide less and turn more.
Here's how to tell the difference: A slice starts left and curves right, and a block flies straight right. Blocks occur when you slide too hard with your lower body on the downswing (above). The club drops behind you and swings too much from the inside. You have too much lateral motion and not enough turn through the shot.

The best drill to promote turn is to take a narrow stance, about a foot wide, and hit drives at 75 percent. With a narrow base, you won't be able to slide much without falling over. You'll make a better turn, and the club will swing straighter down the line, with your arms turning over to square the clubface. You'll beat the block.

A Lesson with Buzz: ...

Putting:

If you're coming short on your putts try these three things. 

• First: make sure you address the ball with your eyes looking over the ball. This will let you see down your target line. 

• Second: make your stroke and hold the finish over that same line. 

• Third: if you are coming up short, visualize the cup just beyond the actual cup.

Try these three things and let me know how many shots you save on your next round.

Marking Your Ball . . . 

A golfer in our ladies league incurred a two stroke penalty for playing a wrong ball last week, not once,
but twice in the same round. That's 4 strokes she lost in one round of golf. She came to me later and asked for
a tip to prevent this from happening in the future.

This is my tip:

Use a colored or black permanent marker and mark your ball with it. The rules allow you do almost anything to a ball in the
way of making your ball so it stands out.

The golf ball in the photo is marked with 3 black dots. I put a line on the ball plus a "B".  

Try it - Don't let the wrong ball rule get you!

   What Works For A 9 Year Old . . . 

I was on the golf course last week with a 9 year old student. On the Par 3, 4th hole, he hit his tee shot in some long grass just left of the green. He took out his new 4 hybrid, choked down half way, put the ball back in his stance with his hands and weight forward and chipped the ball into the hole!! A natural 2.

He told me that it was putting with hybrid. Try it sometime; it worked for the 9 year old.

The Pitch Shot . . . 

People have been asking me about pitch shots, so let's chat!

What is a pitch shot?

This is a shot which is less than 100 yards in distance to the green.

A pitching wedge, sand wedge, or even a 9 iron could be used to produce a high trajectory shot which will fly to the green with a soft landing without much roll.

Use the clock as a reference where you are the clock and 6 o'clock would be the ball. Start with 8 to 4 o'clock, 9 to 3 o'clock, and 10 to 2 o'clock, swinging the club without a ball.

Now, put a ball in the center of your stance and repeat the same swing. The stance should be comfortable according to the swing size. When the three shots are consistent, in-between distances will be automatic. 

Hope this helps in a lower score! Please let me know how it works for you.

Grip Pressure, How Much and Where?:

Grip pressure should be overall a 3 on a 5 scale.

The last three fingers of the left hand should keep the heel pad of the palm against the grip.

The two middle fingers of the right hand should keep the life line in the right palm snug against the thumb of the left hand.
If you would like me to show you, stop by Oak Hills sometime & I'll check your grip.

Chipping: Grip it in the palm:

The grip is crucial to chipping. Instead of gripping the club down toward the fingers as in the full swing, the rule is to place it more in your palm. A regular putting grip can also be useful here. This helps keep wrist action to a minimum and prevents you from trying to scoop the ball into the air.

Hit It Longer...

There are a number of athletic principles that apply to all sports. One thing that is true is that tight muscles are slow muscles. Tight muscles reduce speed and feel. Many great athletes fear what tension under pressure does to their performance.

A great baseball star of old said that "when you swing for the fences, hold the bat lighter to increase its speed." That star hit 389 home runs during his career.

The same principle applies to golf. A light grip pressure, with your arms relaxed at address and throughout the swing, allows you to release the club freely and with full extension. The result will be more distance with less effort. (Less is more!).

Improving your backswing...

Many golfers bend forward from the waist instead of the hips. Doing this makes your shoulders slump, and you'll find it hard to make a proper backswing turn. To make sure you bend from the hips, push your rear end back about 6 inches.
This will straighten your spine and  pull your shoulders back, setting the stage for a fuller more powerful turn.
So, stick your bun out!

Hope this helps get your shot. 

Hit It Farther...

Keep your eyes on the back of the ball from setup through impact, and imagine seeing the clubhead hit the ball. This will help your head and upper body stay behind the ball until after the hit, giving you more power.

Get your shot on line...

To get the proper line for a shot, I find it much easier to line up to a spot just in front of the ball than to a target 200 yards out. I stand six to eight feet directly behind the ball, face the target and visualize the shot. I picture what I want the ball to do... the flight I want it to take and where I want it to land. Then I pick a spot in the grass four to five inches in front of the ball along the target line. This is my intermediate target... it's what I focus on, even after impact.