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This Week's Tip:

Draw It 6/2/08

By Brady Riggs, PGA, Photos by Warren Keating   

This Article Features Photo Zoom

See The Draw 
To hit a slight draw, the club must attack the ball from inside the target line. A great way to see the proper swing path is to create a gateway with the use of some well-placed tees. Position the tees so the clubhead will approach the ball from an obvious inside path. The proper path becomes easier to follow with the tees on the ground and may produce the feeling of swinging out to right field. If the swing path is incorrect, it will miss the gateway and may hit one or both of the tees, creating a pull or slice. When the club is tracking properly, the ball will start slightly right of the target line and curve back to the left in the air. 

Using tees to create a gateway for the clubhead is a great drill for eliminating a slice and producing a draw. 


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Downhill Lie 4/14/08

By Glenn Deck, PGA, Photos by Warren Keating   

This Article Features Photo Zoom

Slope School
Hitting off a sloped lie isn’t as difficult as it looks. In this case, since I have a downhill lie, the proper way to tackle this shot is to allow nature to take its course. The slope makes me feel as though my weight is mostly on my forward foot (see below), but you don’t want to exaggerate your weight distribution. It’s also critical to make sure you level your shoulders and body to the slope as to assume your setup position. If you try to swing with your normal stance, you’ll either make fat or thin contact and will probably lose your balance through the swing. Instead, take the time to adjust to the slope, and trace the ground with your practice swings to ingrain the proper feel. 

Let gravity help you get in the right position on sloped shots.  Any forced position will produce a poor result.

 

 

Click to Enlarge

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Finishing School 5/12/08

By Brady Riggs, PGA, Photos by Warren Keating   

The Fade Finish
The body is in a unique position during the fade finish. The right shoulder is much lower than in the draw finish and hasn’t traveled around toward the target. The left elbow is higher than the clubhead, and the torso remains very tilted to the right. This finish encourages the club to swing more to the left after impact, restricting the full release of the club.

To produce a predictable, left-to-right ballflight, the club must move to the left immediately after impact.

 

The Draw Finish
When you’re after a subtle right-to-left ballflight and want to swing more naturally, focusing on your finish can be a great trick. The draw finish should have the right shoulder higher and more around toward the target with very little bend remaining in the torso. Focusing solely on the finish should allow you to produce a subtle draw with ease.

The finish for a right-to-left shot (draw) should feature the club coming up through the left shoulder.

Give Me A Break 11/19/07

By Rick Sessinghaus, PGA, Photo by Warren Keating   

Peak Vision
When reading a putt’s break, it’s important to keep in mind that two major factors impact how much it breaks: speed and slope. When both of those ingredients are perfectly aligned, it’s a winning combination. Getting there, however, isn’t as easy as it sounds. Take my example here. The five balls bending to the left show the shape of my putt, a real right-to-left “swinger” that takes a nosedive in the last couple feet or so. The middle ball is the apex of my putt’s break and, hence, where I’m aimed (notice how my body and putterblade are aligned toward that spot). Even though I want the ball to go in the hole, I’ve chosen the apex point as a target. (In my mind, all putts—even this one—are straight.) Keeping in mind the length of my putt, I putt toward the middle ball. From that point on, the ball slows down and takes the shape of the hill, breaking hard to the left.

As with any breaking putt, the last 1⁄3 or so of it will break the most as the ball loses steam and takes the shape of the green, so as you read the slope, keep the last few feet in mind.

There are two major factors affecting the break of a putt: the green’s slope and the pace at which you hit the ball.

Handy Man 11/27/07

By Brady Riggs, PGA, Photos by Warren Keating   

This Article Features Photo Zoom

Weaker Grip = Active Release
The key to having a “good” grip is finding one that matches your release of the clubhead. When the hands are positioned in a weaker position on the club, the release through impact must be more active with the hands and arms to square the clubface. The body’s rotation slows down earlier in the downswing to allow for the club and arms to fly by. As a result, the right arm extends over the left arm, the shoulders remain squarer to the target line, and the head and chest remain “behind” the ball. If the body outraces the club to the ball, the weaker grip will produce a short flare into the trees to the right of the fairway, so be careful not to overly weaken your grip.

A weaker grip at address requires a more active release of the hands to square the clubface at impact.  

 

 


Stronger Grip = Passive Release

A more passive release is necessary when the grip is in a strong position. If the release matched that of the weaker grip, the result would be a nasty hook. Instead, the body must be more aggressive through impact to keep the hands and arms from actively rotating the clubface. As a result, the left arm remains higher than the right after impact, the shoulders and hips continue to rotate and are more open to the target, and the head and chest keep pace with the club, further preventing the hands from taking over. Remember, if you feel comfortable with a stronger grip (hand rotated clockwise on the handle), you must try to keep your body moving through the swing.

The hands and arms must be much more passive with a stronger grip. Otherwise, chronic hooks can become a problem.

 

 


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