Ask the PGA Professional

This is your opportunity to have questions about golf in general or your golf game in particular answered by a PGA Professional.

Having swing trouble? Still fighting that slice? Missing short putts? Ask the PGA Pro!

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

This week, Kim Brown, PGA Master Professional at Keeton Park in Dallas, Texas will be answering your questions. Brown is also President of the Northern Texas PGA.

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

Q & A

Last Updated: Nov 27th

Kim Brown: With a short backswing, accelerating through the ball, with the stroke back and through maintained at the same speed.

Kim Brown: Rotate your shoulders to the left, turn your shoulders as much as you can on the backswing while maintaining balance, and then feel like your elbows pinch together at impact, swing to a full finish and hold that position for a 2 count.

Kim Brown: Yes, usually our backswing gets too fast when we take the club back mostly with our hands and arms. Try to keep your hands and arms very relaxed and turn the upper body more and do not pick up the club with the hands as much.

Kim Brown: Both Titleist and Ping have excellent fitting programs . I would suggest buying clubs at a pro shop where the PGA Professional is advertising a fitting system. Ping or DCI Titleist are both great choices. You should ask to be fit "dynamically".

Kim Brown: See instructional programs in "Golf Web", or "I Golf". Professionals have a variety of routines but most all of them work on physical flexibility and strength in addition to working directly on their golf games. I also know that they spend about 40% of their time on short game, which most amateurs do not.

Kim Brown: Try taking a full shoulder turn on the backswing. Also, a gimmick that helps is to practice with a spare golf glove under the left arm while you hit iron shorts. This maintains your "connection" which is the key to "maintaining your angle" througout the downswing (at least until just prior to contact).

Kim Brown: I can't tell you how much difference a club can make, but my experience as well as many, many others I have talked to indicates that the larger titanium heads are the best thing since sliced bread. You might see if some one will let you use theirs or go try a demo. If you already hit the ball 250+, I would suggest staying with a natural shot. If that is a fade, then play it. Look at Bruce Lietzke, he has done pretty well over the years with a monster fade.
The "key" is to have your mind set on each hole to block off one side or the other. On a given day, you should plan to either hit it straight or fade to the right, not allowing the suprise double cross hook. On another day, it might be straight or a draw, blocking of the right side of the course. Have a professional check your shoulder alignment at address to see if your shoulders are square, feet, hips, clubface, etc. Good luck.

Kim Brown: I would suggest buying name brand, professional brand, used clubs. For a whole set at $200-$300 you are just not going to get real good quality. Also, for example, a used set of ping clubs would be worth more to resell when you grow out of them. Good luck, Chad and stick with it!

Kim Brown: You allude to a "feel" when you say straight back and through. No one can keep it totally straight. I prefer the putter to stay on the target line as long as possible but the important thing is that the putter face be pointing at the target at impact and be moving down the target path at impact. Anything other than that is just to promote those two fundamentals.

Kim Brown: Have a professional check to see if your posture remains the same with woods and irons. You should always set up the same, either way. I agree that the woods and irons "feel" different, but the approach should be basically the same with the exception that the woods "feel" more like a sweeping motion while the irons "feel" like a steeper angle of attack and take a slight divot. A lot of times a mistake in the setup (like open shoulders) , is overcome by a swing re routing that works with either the woods or irons, but not with the other so I would suggest taking a lesson focused primarily on setup.

Kim Brown: Breathing exercises like they teach in natural child birth are absolutely the best approach. You must also make a conscious effort to relax the right side prior to the swing (assuming you are right handed).

Thanks to Kim Brown, PGA Master Professional for answering these questions.

Simply go to this form, to ask Kim your question.

Northern Texas PGA

Golf in the SouthWest