Going to College for Golf, New driver? Ask the PGA Pro – Junior Golfers #11

Going to College for Golf

I live in: Wilkes-Barre,PA USA
My_name_is: Jeffrey Brunn
My_age_is: 17
comments: I am thinking about going to college for golf. And i was offered some scholarships but it is not a full ride and i don’t know what i want to major in should i waste my father’s money

Scott Robbins: Jeffrey, First and foremost, congratulations on a golf game that is good enough to merit a partial scholarship to college. My suggestion is: do not waste the great opportunities this presents.
In golf you have the opportunity to go around and play courses and visit parts of the country you might not have the chance to do again. When you get to school and practice hard and improve your game, coach might change your scholarship to a full ride when you become a starter and are playing all the tournaments.
Secondly, in college you get the opportunity to meet people and make friends and relationships that will last you a lifetime and help you in your future endeavors, no matter what field you enter following college.
In college you also have the opportunity to preview different businesses through classes and experience what interests you before you make a decision of where you want to start in the world. Since there are required courses of every college graduate that are common across majors, you can take the first couple of years of college completing these courses and looking at what major you want.
Are you wasting your Dad’s money by going to college. As long as you go with an open mind, open heart, work hard at school work and golf then I think your Dad will think it will be some of the best money he ever spent and you will always thank him for the opportunity.
One of the regrets I have about answering these questions is that I don’t get to know how you are doing unless I hear back from you. Jeffrey, I am curious to hear what your decision is and am interested in what school you decide to attend.
Good Luck,
Scott Robbins

New driver?

I live in: Chicopee, MA US
My_name_is: Eric
My_age_is: 16
comments: I have been playing golf seriously for the last couple of years and my game is pretty good except for my driver. I have tried many kinds over the last year or two and I don’t really feel comfortable with any of them. I was wondering if I should invest the money into a new driver that people are saying works great. I was thinking of a Big Bertha or Burner Bubble because they seem to be the best one’s to have. Should I invest or keep trying what I have?

Scott Robbins: Eric, The same driver can be the best or worst golf club ever manufactured. It depends on who is using it. Instead of experimenting so much, go see the closest PGA Professional in your area and have him fit your swing with a driver. He will fit you for the proper length, shaft flex and material, head size and loft. That varies from player to player.
By the way, extra length does not necessarily mean extra long drives. Tiger Woods is one of the three longest drivers on Tour. His driver is only 43 1/2 inches long!
Best of Luck,
Scott

How to improve accuracy?

I live in: Port jeff sta,NY,U.S
My_name_is: Joseph morgello
My_age_is: 14
comments: I am a junior golfer who is very serious who needs help on accuracy do you have any advice.Also any information about the maxfli junior championship regionals for the northeast..

Scott Robbins: Joseph, Accuracy comes from having your clubhead, swing path and swing plane all facing the target at impact. Before you start fixing, find the right diagnosis first.
Check your divots and your clubface first. See the direction your divots are facing after you hit the ball. Anything but at the target will tell you if it is a swing path problem.
Facing left is too far from the out side. Too far right is too far from the inside. If your divots are too deep in one area then your swing plane is too steep. If there is barely any divot that indicates either a too shallow plane or a lifting after a couple of real deep divots. If the divot is narrow from side to side that means that the clubface is either open or closed at impact. Too deep to the outside, too open and too deep td the inside is too closed.
After you have “read” you divots then you can start adjusting the part of your swing that is causing your accuracy problems.
Find the PGA Professional who works closest to you. Take your findings of your divot analysis to him/her. Have him/her watch you hit balls and give you a lesson so you will understand where your problem is and how to start working to correct it.
Once you get accuracy, the game becomes a lot easier.
Good Luck,
Scott Robbins

How to get rid of hook?

I live in: Thornhill, Ontario, Canada
My_name_is: Daniel Wainberg
My_age_is: 14
comments: Generally I have been hitting my shots straight, but I still hook the ball occasionally. How can I rid myself of the hook completely?

Scott Robbins: Daniel, First you should be congratulated. Hitting the golf ball with a hook at age 14 is great! It is the most powerful way to hit a ball and the most natural. The key is to learn to control that ball flight and what does it.
A hook comes from two places. First and most importantly is the clubface at impact. To hit a hook, then the clubface is closed. To correct that, first check how you apply your hands to the club and be sure your hands and clubface are facing in parallel lines, towards target.
The second place is the path the club is coming into the ball. Start to figure that out by watching your ball flight. If the ball is starting at or to the left of target then the path of the club is too straight or even from the outside. That produces pull hooks. They feel good, go far but don’t help because they are so far off line.
If the ball is starting too far right of target and then hooking too far left then the path is too far from the inside coming into the ball.
Another way to check the path and clubface is to look at your divots. If the divot is pointing to the left of target and the heel area is deeper than the toe area, then you are hitting pull hooks. If the divot is pointing to the right of target then you are attacking the ball from too far on an inside path. If the path is straight and the divot is thinner in the back and left, then the clubface is closed.
Diagnose first where your problem is and then find the cure. If the face is closing, check the grip. If the path is incorrect, try and cut shallower and straighter divots. The best of all would be to do what Tiger Woods and almost all Tour players do, find a PGA instructor who can be your other set of eyes and help you refine your swing and eliminate troubles.
Best of Luck,
Scott

Use tee on par 3?

I live in: tampa, fl
My_name_is: logan
My_age_is: 16
comments: On a par 3, do you recemend just hitting the ball off the grass or placing it on a tee…just wondering because I have been told to do both…thank you

Scott Robbins: Logan, A par three or actually any tee is the only place on the golf course you can select a perfect lie. Therefore, I prefer to use a tee because I can set the ball just on top of the grass for an iron shot. That ensures the best possible contact with the ball I can make. If I put it on top of the grass then I might catch a little grass between the club and the ball causing the ball to have variables in length, trajectory and curve that are not desired.
Many great players vary on this but the predominance is towards alway using a tee to create that “perfect” lie.
Good Luck,
Scott

Increasing yardage off tee

I live in: great falls south carolina usa
My_name_is: harrison
My_age_is: 13
comments: I would like to know a few tips on how to get more yards off the tee

Scott Robbins: Harrison, More distance at your age comes from a couple of main sources. First is your physical makeup. Some guys will grow faster than others. And the age you are and for the next couple of years as your body matures you will feel real different on some days and soon, without knowing it you will be gaining yards everywhere in your game.
Until then, to hit the ball farther (and this will hold true when you are full grown) work on your golf swing to ensure good solid contact with the golf ball. I used to work for a golf professional that played college golf with Ben Crenshaw. He said that when Ben hit a ball it had a completely different sound than anybody else’s because he hit it so solid.
Secondly, have a qualified PGA Professional club fitter ensure that you have the right combination of shaft material, flex, length and loft that is best for you to square the clubface with your golf swing. That too will change as your swing improves and you grow.
Good Luck. If you are working with a PGA Professional on your swing, keep after it. If not, go find one. He is dedicated to making golf a better game and your golf game better.
Scott Robbins

How to get more distance

I live in: Midland, Ontario, CANADA
My_name_is: Sean Ali
My age_is: 15
comments: Do you know of a way to get more ditance and to hit long irons well? Is there a way to cure the flying elbow?

Scott Robbins: Sean, More distance at your age comes from a couple of main sources. First is your physical makeup. Some guys will grow faster than others. And the age you are and for the next couple of years as your body matures you will feel real different on some days and soon, without knowing it you will be gaining yards everywhere in your game.
Until then, to hit the ball farther (and this will hold true when you are full grown) work on your golf swing to ensure good solid contact with the golf ball.
To cure a flying right elbow. There are a couple of things I can describe that can help. First at address, be sure both of your elbows are pointing at your hip bones. Secondly, as you take the club away from the ball, be sure your wrists are cocking in an up and down motion (like you are using a hammer) and not moving from left to right. When the wrists move improperly, the shove the elbow behind your body and it looks to be “flying” at the top of the backswing.
Another great drill to create the proper feel is to use a soccer ball or large bed pillow between your elbows and against your chest and make your backswing over and over again. That will give you the feel of your elbows staying together on the way back.
Work hard on these drills and go see your local PGA Professional for a lesson and get your game on the right track.
Scott

Which clubs?

I live in: Fullerton, CA, USA
My_name_is: James Shin
My_age_is: 13
comments: Hi, my name is James and I was wondering if you could help me on some of these. I was wondering if you could tell me what kind of clubs I should get. I am not that good but I know that I am willing to play golf all my life. I have to use these clubs my life so I was wondering if you could help me out. And I have one other question. Can you tell me how you stop the fade?
Thanks, Your Friend James

Scott Robbins: James, First, on your questions about golf clubs. The first thing you should realize is that this set of clubs will probably not be the ones you will play with the rest of your life. As you grow bigger and stronger and you learn more about swinging a golf club and playing golf, the specifications on your clubs will change. For now, concentrate on the length of the club, the lie angle of the club and a general range of shaft flex. Have a professional club fitter (preferably a PGA Professional) measure for length and lie of the club and measure your current swing speed for a shaft flex.
As those things change (speed will change as you get older, bigger and stronger; lie will change as you get taller as will length) you will need to adjust your clubs to your swing. The worst thing for you right now (I have seen this too often) is to buy a set of clubs that are too long and/or too heavy. It causes way too many swing problems.
While you are seeing that professional about fitted clubs, get him/her to look at your golf swing and check your clubface and path into the ball. A slice or fade is always hit with an open clubface. If the path is too straight or from outside the target line, you will hit a slice or fade that starts left and ends up right. If the path is too far from the inside then the ball will start right and fade further right.
Also, check on your face to see where the ball is contacting the face of the club. To much towards the heel and the path is too far inside most likely and on the toe is most likely too far from the outside. Have that local PGA Professional check out your swing as well as your club.
Scott