Ask the PGA ProfessionalJunior 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 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!
Last update: Nov 19th
Derez Zachary of BYRDSTOWN, TN asks: How do I keep from three putting
on the greens.
Scott Robbins:
Derek,
Three putting, as do any putting errors, comes from two areas,
distance and direction. Direction is the easiest to fix.
Learn how to align the clubface with your target by practicing two foot
putts, straight up a slope.
Distance is more difficult and where most people have putting problems.
More three putts come from the first putt being too short or too far.
Find a large area of a putting green and set up three lines with
string or a chalk line that run perpendicular to your direction line at
20, 40 and 60 feet from a starting point. Your goal is to putt a ball at
each of those lines and stop the ball on the line. Repeat this process
5-10 times. You will soon see which length is giving you the most
trouble.
When you find that length, start at that length and hit 20-50
putts at that string until you are stopping the putt on or very near the
line. Then switch and repeat the process to the other two lines.
While putting these longer putts, you should be concentrating on making
a stroke that goes equal distance on each side of the ball
(e.g. if the putter goes 4 inches back, it should travel for inches past
where the ball was after impact).
Once you have attained that feel for distance, your eye and subconscious
will be able to work together on any green and quickly obtain the feel
for the speed for those greens on that day. If you get your distance
right and your aim is only a few degrees off, you will never have more
than a 1-2 foot putt left for a two putt.
Good Luck and write and let me know how quickly your scores change once
you start 2 putting!
Scott
Geoff Wishlaw of Campbell River, BC, Canada writes: My 2 questions are
how should I kept my swing in tune during
the winter? And how do suck back the golf ball when you hit your
shots into the greens?
Scott Robbins:
Geoff,
Winter is a great time to mentally work on your game by thinking of swing,
strategy and your emotions on the course. It is also a great time to
work on your swing. If you have an instructor or coach, have them work
with you in front of a mirror to show you what you want to be practicing.
Do this without a club and a weighted club or weighted shaft.
Use the mirror to work on your set-up (the key to your swing), your
takeaway and the position at the top of your swing. Also take that
weighted club and swing it religiously on a nightly basis. Start at 10
times and build up slowly to 50 times a night. Immediately after
swinging, stretch then cool down and keep from stretching or damaging
your muscles.
There are some books of drills and exercises out and I believe they are
published by Golf Digest. Check those out. Drill, exercise, strategies,
and visualize. Great winter golf "homework." Good Luck in the Spring!
Your second question is a function of how squarely and crisply
you strike a golf ball. A golf ball struck in the center of the face,
face square to target and hit before you have taken any ground will
produce spin. The more speed your swing provides at impact, the more
backspin provided. Will that stop a ball on the greens and "suck it back"?
That depends on the conditions of the green. However the better
strike you provide the better spin you put on the ball and the easier it
becomes to hold a green.
Scott Robbins
Nick Graham of McKenzie, TN asks: I have been learning to play golf now for about three
months. Since then, i have learned to hit a ball around 185 - 200 yds
with a five iron, but I couldn't hit a ball one hundred yards with a
driver. If I did, it would go two hundrded yards to the right or
left. Please help.
Scott Robbins:
Nick,
You haven't given me much to go on but if I were a guessing man, I would
guess that most of the time, the ball curves wildly and usually to the
right (if you play right handed).
To understand how to change your ball flight, let's get you acquainted
with what makes a ball fly or what we call the ball flight laws. These
laws control your distance, direction and trajectory. Your distance is
controlled by the speed imparted to the ball and how close you strike the
ball to the center of the clubface (centerness of the hit). It sounds as
if you are imparting a good deal of speed to the ball since you can hit a
five iron 185-200 yards. Therefore, check where you are hitting the ball
on the club face. If your marks on the face look like the ball has been
scraped across the clubface and/or are on the toe or heel of the club,
work on striking the ball more in the center of the face.
Direction is controlled by clubface angle and the path of the club into
the ball at impact. The direction is predominately controlled by the
clubface at impact. If the ball flies and/or curves right, the face
is probably aimed that way at impact. And vice versa for the left.
If you are having excessive curves in flight, the first thing to fix
is your clubface (ball flight will tell you) and to do that, check how
you apply your hands to the club. (Ben Hogan's Five Lessons: The Modern
Fundamentals of Golf has a great chapter on applying your hands. It is
chapter 1.)
The path is the second directional control on the flight
of the ball. If the path of the club into the ball is from besides your
body to away from your body, we call that an inside (the target line) to
out and the club shaft and head are traveling to the right (for a right
hander) past impact. That produces a shot that starts to the right of your
target. A path that comes from away fro your body towards your body
(outside to in path) produces a shot that starts to the left of target.
A path that follows your body and makes a small motion around your body
we call a square (some call it straight - but it does not go straight -
path). That starts the ball either straight or just barely right of target.
Combine these three paths and three clubface positions and you will
find there are only 9 directions to hit a golf ball.
The trajectory of the shot is controlled also by the angle of attack the
club is taking when hitting the ball. It is just like bouncing a ball.
The steeper or more up and down you bounce a ball, the higher it goes.
The shallower you bounce it (like skipping a rock across water), the
lower it goes.
I know this is a long explanation but I think it sounds like you need to
work on your clubface angle and position at impact as well as the path
your club is approaching the ball on coming into impact. Work on those
two things. the best thing is to read this, begin to get an
understanding of the ball flight laws and go find a PGA Professional
nearby and take some lessons. Lessons now will pay off a lot faster
than if you wait and create habits that will be hard to break.
Best of Luck,
Scott
Rob Auld of Orangeville, ON, Canada
writes: I am a terrible putter. I lack both accuracy and feel. Can
you suggest some drills to help with both of these problems.
Scott Robbins:
Dear Rob,
Accuracy and feel for distance is putting in its simplest form.
Here are a couple of suggestions to star. If these work, write back
and I'll give you some more.
First, learn how to align the clubface with your target by practicing
two foot putts, straight up a slope. Once you learn to accurately hit a
two foot putt, then accuracy never becomes a problem as long as you have
the correct distance.
Distance is more difficult and where most people have putting problems.
More three putts come from the first putt being too short or too far.
Find a large area of a putting green and set up three lines with string
or a chalk line that run perpendicular to your direction line at 20,
40 and 60 feet from a starting point. Your goal is to putt a ball at
each of those lines and stop the ball on the line. Repeat this process
5-10 times. You will soon see which length is giving you the most
trouble.
When you find that length, start at that length and hit
20-50 putts at that string until you are stopping the putt on or very
near the line. Then switch and repeat the process to the other two
lines. While putting these longer putts, you should be concentrating on
making a stroke that goes equal distance on each side of the ball
(e.g. if the putter goes 4 inches back, it should travel for inches
past where the ball was after impact).
Once you have attained that feel for distance, your eye and subconscious
will be able to work together on any green and quickly obtain the feel
for the speed for those greens on that day. Once your speed becomes
consistent, you will also learn how to read greens better because those
misreads are usually accurate except for more or less curve depending
on if the putt is short, long or the correct distance. If you get your
distance right and your aim is only a few degrees off, you will never
have more than a 1-2 foot putt left for a two putt.
Once you can accurately strike a two foot straight putt, then every
putt can be a two footer, just of varying speeds. Pick out a spot
two feet in front of you on the line of the putt, if the putt is
twenty feet, then you hit this two foot putt with enough speed to hit
the putt twenty fee. You will be amazed how close to and how many
loner putts you will begin to make.
Good Luck,
Scott Robbins
Justin Miller of Cabin John, Maryland, USA
writes: I'm having trouble with hooking and pulling my five wood it
is an oversize head but I don't think that is the problem. Could you
please help me with hitting it straight. (Its a new club titanium)
head. By the way thanks for the tip on hitting backspin you probably
also heard from my 6 year old brother.
Scott Robbins:
Justin,
Good to hear form you again. Hooking comes from the clubface being
closed (looking left) at impact (if you play right-handed). A pull
comes from a path of the club from across your body or from outside to
inside your target line. Check how your hands are on the club and how
the club looks when it is sitting behind the ball. If either is looking
too far left, you will probably hook the shot.
If your path is from the outside your divots will look to the left
of your target. Check your alignment and how you are swinging the
club into the ball. Not seeing your new club, I do not know if this
applies to you.
Many junior players want new and bigger clubs.
However, sometimes the club is too big and heavy and the only way they
can swing it is lift and chop with their arms. It creates habits that
are very hard to break. If the club feels even a little heavy, it is
probably way too heavy. Get a PGA Professional to check it out for
you if you can. If not, check the weight and how you swing it by using
one of your old clubs and see if you see a significant difference in
your divots, path and ball flight.
Good Luck. Say Hi to your brother.
Scott
Danny Bilbao of Brigham City, Utah writes: My problem is that I have a viscious hook. I am sure that
it is caused by two problems: at the top of my backswing I go across
the line and my clubface points to the sky.
Scott Robbins:
Danny,
It sounds like you have described a couple of common symptoms of a
viscous hook. So, what is the cause of these symptoms. A skyward
pointing clubface can be one of two things or possibly both.
The first is a very "strong" grip where the hands are turned to far
towards your body (to the right if you play right handed).
The second
is and excessive rolling of the hands or arms on the takeaway and
backswing, usually caused by trying to get the "toe up" at waist high
in the swing. I suspect it is both because of the second symptom you
described, the club crossing the line at the top.
I frequently see the crossed club when I see a takeaway that has moved
way inside the shaft plane set at address and is behind the hands quickly
in the backswing. Sometimes this is caused by the hands being set way
in front of the ball at address. This "forward press" move sets the
hands in front of the club at start and when the club is taken back,
it is far behind the hands and arms and when he club is eventually
lifted to the top, the result is a crossed club.
Therefore, check your setup first. Check to see if your hands are
properly placed on the club. Secondly make sure the shaft of the club
is set between your forearms instead of in line with your target (left)
arm. When swinging the club away from the ball and into the ball,
be sure the shaft of the club stays between your arms. Find a nearby
PGA Professional and have him/her look at your swing.
Good Luck,
Scott Robbins
Jay in Portland,Texas writes: Although I have only taken golf seriously
for 5 years, I have been smaking the ball around for as long as I can
remember. My handicap is at about a 10 and I am improving rapidly.
I would say that my swing is very fundamental along with the rest of my
game. Even though you haven't even seen me play, I want to know your
opinion on me making golf as a career. I'll bet that you think it is a
long-shot, but I am wondering if you think that it is possibe for a 10
handicap to become very good quickly. I would like you to be frank with
me. Thank you. Also, what is a cure to get my arms perfecty strait
at impact? I have seen that on slow motion video, my arms are slightly
bent.
Scott Robbins:
Jay,
A 10 handicap is good for you at this age. This is the time though to
start working on your game. As you continue to grow, you will increase
your distance and you want to work on your accuracy as well.
Don't neglect the short game. Practice chipping, pitching and putting
as long as you practice hitting full shots. Find a PGA Professional
and take a few lessons so you understand the fundamentals of the swing
and you can practice and get better quicker.
This is no lie. The game
of Golf requires time. You will get out as much as you get in as long as
what you put in is smart, educated and informed practiced.
Your arms slightly bent at impact represent to me that you are approaching
impact slightly from the outside causing you to hit slight pulls,
fades or pull hooks. To get your arms straight at impact, you must
approach the ball from the inside. Concentrate on hitting a spot on
the bottom left corner or the back of the ball and your arms will
straighten out. If you hit the outside of the ball, your arms will
stay bent all the time.
Good Luck. Dedicate yourself to your practice and send me all your press
clippings when your handicap starts dropping fast!
Scott
Mike in Toledo, OH asks: how do i correct my slice?
Scott Robbins:
Mike,
First work on hitting big hooks by changing the clubface at impact.
You want to try and make the clubface to look left at impact.
(Considering that you are a right handed player.)
After you are hitting shots that start left and go left, then work on how
the club comes into the ball. Instead of hitting the outside portion
of the ball, concentrate on making your club come into the ball from the
inside and hit the back of the ball.
Find a PGA Professional close to you and he can help you with your
fundamentals of grip, stance and path that will further help you stop
slicing.
Good Luck,
Scott
Mark in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada writes:
1) My dad has a monster slice. Any tips on how to cure it?
2) During the winter, I am unable to play golf because of the cold
weather and snow here in Edmonton. Do you have any tips on how to
practice and stay fresh for next season?
Scott Robbins:
Mark,
Your Dad's slice is a two step process. First he has to learn to get
the clubface looking left at impact. Once he does that and is hitting
ugly pull hooks, then he can work on the path of the club into the ball.
Let's get him excited so he'll set up a mat and net and heater in your
garage that you can both use to get better during the winter.
For you, exercises, light weight lifting (preferably swinging a weighted
club), perfecting a well balanced athletic address position in front
of a full length mirror and golf stretches that will mimic your swing
are great ways to pass snowy winters. Also, think about golf rounds
and courses from the summer and write down strategies that would help
you score and have better shots into the greens. Summarize your
strengths and weaknesses. Strengthen your strengths and find help from a
PGA Professional in the Spring and attack your weaknesses early to get
a jump on a great summer of golf in '97!
Good Luck,
Scott