Ask the PGA Professional
(Junior Golfers)

Junior Golfers, this is your chance to have questions about golf in general or your golf game in particular answered by a PGA Professional.

Need help fixing that slice? Want to learn more about playing strategies? Have a question about rules? Just taking up the game? Our PGA Professionals will be glad to help!

Approximately once a week, your questions will be answered here by one of the participating PGA Professionals from Golf in the SouthWest.

This week, Scott Robbins, PGA Member Professional at Hank Haney's New City Pointe Golf Center in Dallas, Texas will be answering your questions.

Simply go to this form, to ask the PGA Pro your question.
Thanks for your participation!

Q & A

Last update: Feb 20th

I live in: SAINT JOHN , NEW BRUNSWICK , CANADA
My_name_is: JUSTIN O'LEARY
My_age_is: 16
comments: HELLO , I am planning to attend the San Diego Golf Academy in the fall of 1998 . I was wondering if whether or not you know anything about the Academy . If yes could you please give me your opinon .

Scott Robbins:
Justin,
I am familiar with San Diego Golf Academy but don't know a whole lot about it. I have worked with a couple of fellow professionals that graduated the Academy and they were quite knowledgeable and competent.
If all the graduates are as these people are, then I would have to say I have a very good opinion of the programs. I am not sure if they offering the PGM program per se where you as a student can be earning credits towards PGA membership.
Good luck at school and with a career in this great industry.
Scott Robbins.

I live in: Ashville, N.C.
My_name_is: Jay Tyler
My_age_is: 18
comments: My friend and I have been trying to move the ball left to right and right to left. The only way I can do this is by change my swing path. I take the club away outside to play a fade and inside for the draw. Before I develope bad habits, is this correct or not thanks jay

Scott Robbins:
Jay,
Learning to hit different shots and move the ball is great! The easiest way I believe to hit these different shots is through a change of swing plane alignment, clubface alignment and finish position.
You and your friend are on the right track. However, instead of trying to drastically change your swing, use it. When you're in the heat of battle, you will revert back to your swing so use it.
To hit the fade (left to right) set your body (thus your swing plane) to the left of target while you keep the clubface aligned at target. Your swing plane will then go across the ball and create a left to right spin. To help the flight of the ball work your finish position more up (vertical) and try and have the shaft facing right as you go through the ball.
For a draw (right to left), set your body to the right of target and the clubface at target. Your swing plane will then hit more to the inside of the ball causing a right to left spin. To further help the draw, finish with club more around your body (more horizontal, parallel to the ground and around your front shoulder).
Experiment with these techniques. If you are still having problems, find one of the fine PGA teaching professionals in North Carolina to check out your swing and help you learn to work the ball.
Keep working on those shots. That's the real fun of the game!
Scott

I live in: Lafayette,California
My_name_is: matt coleman
My_age_is: 13
comments: I have been playing golf for about three years. I was wondering how you put backspin on the ball because I ussally hit the ball long. I would also like to know how to hit my irons and woods straiter,longer and more constintly good shots. THANKS.

Scott Robbins:
Matt,
Length at your age is important. All the things you are asking to improve in your game (backspin, straighter, longer and more consistent) are all things that will be improved once you start hitting the ball more in the center of the clubface and with the face of the club being more square and truer loft.
First check where on your club you are hitting the golf ball. On your driver, check your tee marks. If your tee marks curve and go towards the toe of the club on your driver and your contact is towards the toe of the face, then your swing is too steep. Practice making swings in the air about shin high to start feeling the club swing around your body more.
Put a stick in the ground about 8-12 inches high. Try and swing and clip the top of the twig without breaking it. As you learn to do that, put shorter sticks in the ground until you have only a tee barely above the ground that you are clipping. Hit balls off the tee barely siting above the ground and don't disturb the tee. This whole routine might take days to work on.
Understand that practice sometimes means lots of swings and very few if any balls. The year Chip Beck was 2nd in the Masters, he stopped in Dallas for a day and went to Hank Haney's practice facility and practiced for four hours in front of video cameras and never hit a ball!
If your marks are towards the heel of the face and the ball flies too low, that usually means the club is traveling too much around you. To work on correcting that, swing a club back and forth only a couple of feet in each direction for a few swings then swing the club further back and let your thumbs point up and down instead of side to side. That is the proper way to cock the wrists. At the top of your backswing be sure the back of your left (if you play right handed) hand is flat and in line with your forearm and wrist. On your finish, be sure the club is a little more up and down and in front of your chest and not to the side of it.
Matt you are at a perfect age for beginning private instruction. Find the closest PGA Teaching professional and enlist his services. Listen to what he has to say and be patient. This is hard work. But through hard work, we achieve our goals.
Best of Luck. Look me up if you are ever in Dallas.
Scott Robbins

I live in: Little Falls MN United States
My_name_is: Jason Nuehring
My_age_is: 17
comments: My handicap is three for 18 holes and I consider myself a pretty good golfer and I was wondering if you could give me any additional information on tournaments in the Minnesota area. I would like to play in as many tournaments as possible. One more question. I am planning to go to Ferris State in Michigan and I would like some information on the college if you have any. Thankyou Jason N.

Scott Robbins:
Jason,
Congratulations on all the hard work to get yourself to a 3 handicap. Keep striving to make it better.
The only thing I can do is to give you the Minnesota PGA Section office and have you contact them about junior playing opportunities in the section. Write or call the section office at:
Minnesota Section PGA of America
Bunker Hills Golf Club
Highway 242 & Foley Blvd.
Coon Rapids, Minnesota 55448
(800)742-1916
Contact: Jon Tollette

I currently am working with a graduate of Ferris State. Write me back with specific questions and I'll ask him to respond.
Good Luck,
Scott Robbins

I live in: New Canaan CT
My_name_is: Peter Ackley
My_age_is: 16
comments: I played golf all summer long, in between playing baseball. I feel that I am a fairly good player, but after baseball was over and I had not played golf in about two months, I went down to Florida. I played absolutely horrible, my ball could not find its way near the fairway, some how I gained a horrible slice in two months. I tried what you said to the other person, but still is not working. I also all of a sudden hit my five iron a shorter distance than my seven use to be, I seem hit the ball solid, but now it gows nowhere. WHY? It is quite frustrating.

Scott Robbins:
Peter,
You did not say if you were hitting the ball straighter or even hooking the ball at all now. That is important. If you are hitting the ball solid (at least in the center of the face) and the ball is going "nowhere" then it sounds as if there is a speed problem. Either not gaining enough momentum in the swing or spending the speed at the wrong place in the downswing.
It is hard to tell without seeing you swing, but here are two suggestions.
First work on making your arc bigger. Concentrate on swinging the handle of the club back so that at the top of your swing your hands are to the side of your right shoulder as far as they can be and your right shoulder is turned sufficiently. That creates more width in your backswing which in turn gives your clubhead a wider path to create more momentum in the downswing. Concentrate on this width. Width is much more important than length in the backswing in generating clubhead momentum to hit the ball far.
Secondly, if you are losing speed early on the way down (an early release of the stored energy) then try this next drill. Work on letting your arms swing back in front of your body while the wrists stay cocked. Swing the handle of the club towards the back inside corner of the ball while also rotating your left arm and wrist so the back of your left hand is facing target at impact.
Try those two drills and go find a PGA Professional in Connecticut or next time you're in Florida and take a few lessons to correct those few flaws.
Best of Luck to you,
Scott Robbins

I live in: Montreal, Quebec, Canada
My_name_is: Bob Scopelleti
My_age_is: 27
comments: I am a disabled golfer with the use of only one arm. I had approximately 2 years experience before my injury and have played 3 games since my injury (Aug.95) with my best game being a score of 117. I recieved some information from a friend in Ontario who says he has spoken to an individual with the same disability and was told that a wrist support is very helpful. So, I was wondering if you knew of any such wrist supports or braces that are available for golfers like myself and if you know of any pro golfers in Canada who now golf with one arm because of an injury. Thank you for your help.

Scott Robbins:
Bob,
First, I would like to commend you on your courage and desire to continue your golf after your accident. You are an inspiration to us all.
I do not know of any professional players who play with only one arm. Calvin Peete had a withered left arm from a childhood accident and won multiple times on the PGA Tour. He and Larry Hinson back in the 60's are the only ones I know of.
You did not say which arm is still useful. What I suggest is a regimen of forearm and wrist strengthening exercises. If you have use of your left arm, use a normal left hand grip and work hard on feeling the back of your left wrist and forearm flat at the top of your swing. Also work on rotation of your left arm and wrist as one unit coming through the ball with your wrist and forearm still in line at your finish . If it's your right arm, you may need to modify your right hand grip to a little more "under" the club so you can feel support at the top of your backswing. Work on your thumb moving up and down and not side to side so you properly set the club at the top and deliver a solid blow to the ball.
With either arm. Get a heavy club and make your wrist move up and down like you are tapping a tack with a hammer and then work on swing the "hammer" more from your elbow. This is the proper actions and great exercises.
Keep up the great attitude and perseverance. May the rest of golf days be sunny.
Scott Robbins

I live in: Prattville, AL USA
My_name_is: Lindsay Rae Garner
My_age_is: 16
comments: What kind of junior PGA tournaments will be held in the AL, Miss, or FL area? I am a sophomore in HS looking for all opportunities for a scholarship to a Division 1A university! U of Alabama would be grrreat! Please send any info! Thanx!

Scott Robbins:
Lindsay,
What a great goal! Not many from high school can go on and play in the college ranks. Many of the college coaches watch the junior tours. They especially watch the juniors on the American Junior Golf Tour (AJGA) and the new PGA Tournament series.
The PGA of America is based in Florida and can put you in touch with the PGA Junior Tour (contact Chris Childress) and you can access them via the wwweb at pga online.com. The AJGA phone # is 770-996-4653. The PGA can also get you in touch with the proper authorities for tournaments in "Bama.
If your heart is set on the Crimson Tide then I suggest you get the golf coach's name and write Coach a letter stating your intentions. Give Coach your summer schedule, send in tournament results and keep in touch. Of course as you get better and play better, the coach of 'Bama is going to be looking for you!
Get out there and start competing. My thoughts and hopes are with you that you can make your dream come true. Set that goal in writing. Check on it frequently. Find an interested PGA Professional who is willing to spend the time to help you achieve your goals.
Good Luck!
Scott

I live in: Troy,Ohio
My_name_is: Mike
My_age_is: 15
comments: I'm a 9 handicap and would like to know how to get better distance control on my chips and to read greens better.

Scott Robbins:
Mike,
I like how you phrased your question. Controlling distance with your chipping and your putting is the key in both of these crucial elements of the game. Once yu have learned to control distance, you will learn how to read greens better. I have found when my students, adults as well as juniors have learned to control distance in putting, it leads to control in chipping and they claim to read greens better. Why? Because when you are inconsistent with the distance you hit putts, and the ones that go too far don't break and the ones that are short break too much, we as golfers tend to blame it on our green reading ability, not our inconsistent distance control.
Invest in some bright yellow or orange plumber's string (it costs less than $2) and cut four sections of 6 feet, 5 sections of four feet and two sections of three feet. Take on three footer and place a line of balls 2-3 inches away from the string. Work on holding the club light enough to let you stroke the putt lightly and stop the ball on the string. This might take a while. Take the four foot sections and place them perpendicular to your target line four feet apart, and preferably on a hill. You will have the look of a ladder.
Start at the bottom of the hill and putt a ball and make it stop between the 1st and 2nd strings. After you get a ball to stop there, then make on stop between the 2nd and 3rd strings. Repeat until you have a ball stopped between each "rung" of the ladder. Then go the top of the hill and repeat the procedure going down the hill. This drill teaches you lag distance control.
Next set out the six footers twenty feet apart. Start at one string and put to the other 3, one at a time, attempting to stop the ball on the string. Start with a 20 footer then a 40 and then a 60. This drill will tell you what distance you have the most trouble with.
After putting the multiple drill a few times and finding the "hole" in your distance, putt only to the string giving you the most difficulty. Next take the other 3 footer and place it on the back lip of the hole. Start at 3 feet and concentrate on hitting the putt and getting it to stop on the middle of the string. (The ball will fall into the hole.) Repeat the procedure, increasing your distance 4-5 feet with each set of attempts. You will be surprised how many more putts you will begin to make and how easy it is to "see the line."
Good Luck!
Scott

I live in: Saint John , New Brunswick , CAN.
My_name_is: Justin O'Leary
My_age_is: 16
comments: I am very determined to take my golf game and myself to the highest level possible . My only problem is that I can only play golf about 6 months a year . What advice could you give me so that I could improve my game over the winter months .

Scott Robbins:
Justin,
I can sum it up in one word : Fundamentals.
1st - Work on gripping a golf club correctly every day for thirty minutes each day. (Get Hogan's Five Fundamentals: The Modern Fundamentals of Golf and get your hands to look like his!) Better still is a lesson on grip and set up from a PGA Professional.
2nd- Work on your posture. Make it second nature. Feel the balance in front of your ankles and behind your toes. You should barely feel your heels on the ground. Get your spine to stay as straight as you can.
3rd - Get an old club, cut it half way down the shaft and weight it to between 14 and 24 ounces. Use this weighted 1/2 club to swing in doors and build your golf muscles. Also work with 8-15 pound dumbbells strengthening your shoulders and forearms.
4th - If you can, get your dad to set up a net in your garage and put a space heater in with you. Put a full length mirror on the wall in front of you and to the right of you as you set up if possible. Get a mat and hit 50 balls or more every day.
It's a formula for work. Work that will pay off in the golf season. Good Luck!
Scott

I live in: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
My_name_is: D'Arcy Coolican
My_age_is: 14
mments: Hello, my name is D'Arcy Coolican. I have been slicing with my driver off the tee. I have been told that the reaon was because I was turning my hips too early. Can you give me any suggestions as to what you think I should do about turning my hips?
As well, my friend, Howard, was wondering whether or not clubs really make a difference? His theory is that if you have better clubs you are simply more confidente. Thanks for any suggestions.

Scott Robbins:
D'Arcy,
There are many reasons for slicing. The main reason is the clubface is open. How it gets open is the question. If you have been told by a PGA Professional that you are turning your body (hips) too fast then there are a couple of things you can do.
First, at the top of your swing, try and keep your left shoulder under your chin while you begin your arms swinging first towards the ball.
Secondly, work on squaring the face of the club to the target.
Work on these two things and find a PGA Professional to look at your swing and start helping you to become a better player.
As to your friend, golf clubs are like clothes or eyeglasses. You can get some clothes that are great looking or a pair of eyeglasses that are really cool. If those clothes are size 2 when you wear men's large, those clothes might look great but they won't work for you. If those glasses are the wrong prescription, they don't do you any good. It's the same with golf clubs. Get that same PGA Professional to fit your clubs to your swing. Watch how quickly with the right instruction and right equipment you will improve.
Do the best you can for you. Hire that PGA Professional to help you play your best golf
Scott

I live in: El Paso, Texas
My_name_is: Ryan Hourigan
My_age_is: 14
comments: I have golfed for 2 years on and off and I hit all of my clubs great except my there wood off the ground and a occacional slice in my drives. What should I do to hit my 3 wood better and to stop the slice in my drives? Last how do you get back spin to get the ball closer to the hole?

Scott Robbins:
Ryan,
If you are having a hard time getting your 3 wood off the ground and slicing your driver, it sounds like your swing into the ball might be too straight and too steep. Try creating a more sweeping action with your swing. Practice with hitting balls off a tee without disturbing the tee.
The more sweeping you can make your swing, the more you will hit the ball in the center of the face. You will begin to hit it farther and impart the speed you generate with a solid hit. When that happens you will spin the ball more and stop the ball faster.
The faster you can spin the ball the better it will hold a green. A lot of that will also come later as you grow and create a bigger arc and more sped with your swing.
Keep working on your swing and create better contact. It will improve your game faster as you grow.
Best of Luck,
Scott

I live in: Miss ,Ont,Canada
My_name_is: Pat
My_age_is: 18
comments: Hi My older brother loves golf. I want to ask you how did you get started in the pro, was it hard? if you have any cool fact about golf can you send it to me.

Scott Robbins:
Pat,
Thank you for your interest. I got started in the golf business at a resort in Texas straight out of college. It was long hours and very low pay. However, it was then and is now very enjoyable. The people you get to meet and associate with are unavailable in other lines off work. It has been wonderful and I wouldn't change a thing about it.
A pretty cool golf fact is the debate over the origins of the game. Many people think the game began in Scotland however there is evidence of a game played in Holland a century before. The game was a wooden ball the size of a croquet ball and a club that looked like a croquet mallet on one side and it had a slanted, curved face on the other side to get the ball airborne. The Dutch called it Kolf.
Hope that helps.
Scott

I live in: Fallcity Washington usa
My_name_is: Bill Holden
My_age_is: 12
comments: I bought one of the new calloway wedges and I can't seem to get over five feet of backspin.My question is how do I get more than five feet of beckspin,I play the ball over the pin alot I aim for the pin but the person I bought It off told me that I would get on average 10 or more feet. How do I get more than five feet of backspin?

Scott Robbins:
Bill,
Backspin has a lot to do with how well you contact the face of the club, how squarely you hit the ball and how fast the clubhead is moving at impact. Another factor for stopping wedge shots is the shape of the shot as it approaches the green. The higher and more vertical the ball is falling from the sky, the faster it will stop on a semi soft surface. Therefore loft becomes a factor. The more loft you have, the lower on the ball the club makes contact and the higher it will fly.
With these four factors, you can make a ball stop. Not one club is built to create more backspin than another. Many manufacturers are trying to do that with more friction at impact with rougher face surfaces. However, you still need to make good ball contact, proper angle of attack with your downswing and impart speed to the ball.
Find a PGA Professional on your area to help you improve your ball striking ability and your spin rates will increase and your ball stopping ability will too.
Scott Robbins

I live in: Wilson, North Carolina, US
My_name_is: Brad
My_age_is: 11
comments: Scott, What is a good key to getting accuracy with your irons?

Scott Robbins:
Brad,
Accuracy with any club comes from the proper path of the club into the ball and the proper alignment of the clubface at impact. These are hard things to see for yourself. Check you divots and see what is happening.
You want the divot to be shallow and flat and towards target. If the divot is to the left of target, try and start swinging the club out to the right and if its right, start swinging more to the left. If the divot is deep closer to you the face is closed, if it is deeper on the side further from you then the toe is digging and the face is open. Learn to read the divots to diagnose your problem and then work hard to do the opposite.
Find a PGA Professional close to you to help diagnose and offer corrective suggestions to improve your iron play.
Scott

I live in: KILLEEN, TEXAS, USA
My_name_is: JEREMY
My_age_is: 17
comments: I HAVE BEEN GOLFING AS A SPORT IN SCHOOL. I AM STRIKING THE BALL WELL OF THE TEE; HOWEVER, MY STRIKING THE BALL FOR MY FAIRWAY IRONS IS WHERE MY PROBLEMS BEGINS. I AM HAVING DIFFICULTY STRIKING THE BALL WITH ANY CONSISTANCY. I HAVE SEEN ON TV THE PRO'S TALK ABOUT TAKING A DIVOT AFTER YOU STRIKE THE BALL. IT SEEMS TO ME THAT WHEN I TRY TO DO THIS, I ALWAYS WIND UP SCULLING THE BALL WITH THE BLADE OF MY CLUB. DO I HAVE ANY HOPE FOR CORRECTING THIS PROBLEM? I FEEL THAT THIS PROBLEM IS KEEPING ME FROM BEING A MUCH BETTER GOLFER. THANK YOU FOR YOUR HELP. JEREMY

Scott Robbins:
Jeremy,
It sounds as if there is some inconsistency in your downswing swing plane (The angle you bring the club down). Your problem is hard to diagnose over the net because it sounds as if that plane changes a lot. The proper plane will hit the ball and then the ground and take a shallow piece of turf afterward.
However you are in luck because at Killeen Municipal is a great teacher and player, Greg Antunes. Go see him and tell him I told you to come and work on your swing plane. He will get you on the right track quickly.
Good Luck,
Scott

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