Reach for It

To get more power, extend your arms

Picture a quarterback throwing downfield: The longer the pass, the farther back he pulls his arm before throwing. The same is true in golf: To hit it long, you must stretch your arms away from the target in the backswing, creating a wide arc.

Create a stable base with your setup. Sam Greenwood

Also like a quarterback, you need to start from a solid foundation. A wide base lets you create extension while staying balanced. Then you must have the courage to make a full stretch away from the ball. The following setup adjustments -- and drill -- will help.

Build a Pyramid
With your driver, set up so the insides of your heels are under the outsides of your shoulders, forming a pyramid from head to toe. Play the ball opposite your front heel and tilt your spine to the right so the club leans slightly away from the target.

This wide setup gives you the stability you'll need to reach back without losing your balance. It also helps you engage the large muscles of your arms and chest to push the club away. The forward ball position delays the club's release, keeping your wrists hinged until just before impact.

How to Create More Clubhead Speed

Roll your ankles for max acceleration and power

This story is for you if...

• Your drives are short
• You swing harder, but that results in even shorter drives
• You feel like you can't extend your arms through impact

The Problem
The harder you swing, the shorter you hit your drives.

By sitting back slightly on your heels and rolling onto the inside of your right foot and the outside of your left foot in the downswing, you create space for your arms to fully extend.

Why It Happens
When you swing extra hard, your chest and head outrace the clubhead to the ball. You're likely to feel "cramped" at impact, and your left arm may "chicken wing" after the hit

How to power up your swing
To help ensure a powerful downswing, start down by rolling onto the inside of your right foot and the outside of your left foot while sitting back slightly on your heels. This will stop your upper body from moving toward the ball and create extra room for your arms.

Make a few practice swings using this move. Your left arm will start to extend fully after impact, allowing you to maximize the force of your strike and add yards to your drives.

Easy Sand Escapes

Use this visual to beat your fear of bunkers

By Dave Pelz
Technical and Short Game Consultant, GOLF Magazine
Published: March 01, 2008

I teach three fundamentals for setting up to blast shots from sand.

The first is to play the ball opposite the instep of your left foot. This forward position allows your wedge to enter the sand behind the ball as it travels along its natural swing arc.

The second is to grip your wedge with its clubface wide open — rotated clockwise 45 degrees — so the flange "bounces" off the sand.

Lastly, aim a little left of your target to compensate for the open clubface, otherwise you'll miss to the right.

These basics take care of your setup. But what about your swing? Just think "Dollarbill long, half-tee deep." Those are the dimensions of a perfect sand divot.

Ken Venturi used this image for years. He said he wasn't trying to make a perfect divot every time he hit a sand shot, but by understanding the length and depth of a perfect divot he had a perfect visual image of what would happen if he made a good swing. Take advantage of Venturi's wisdom and practice it a few times.

As you address the ball in the sand, imagine a dollar bill with a tee under it. Set your feet so the back edge of the dollar bill is in the center of your stance.

Then aim left, regrip with the clubface open, waggle and make your normal wedge swing.

Your wedge should enter the sand at the back end of the imaginary dollar bill, cut the imaginary tee in half as it passes under the ball, and exit the sand at the front end of the bill.

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Lies and Your Swing

Your lie influences your club selection, how you set up to the ball and the kind of shot you play. Many golfers underestimate its importance. Pictured above are two lies in the rough--one fairly clean and one half-buried. How would you handle these two lies?
The cleaner lie on the left should be similar to a fairway shot, because grass will not get caught between the clubface and ball at impact. I would play it normally.
But with the partially buried lie, grass will get between the clubface and the ball at impact. The ball will come out with less backspin, causing a "flyer" A flyer generally will carry and roll farther than a shot from a clean lie.
There are two ways to play the shot from a flyer lie. The easiest way is to use one less club--say, a wedge instead of a 9-iron. The other way is to aim slightly left, open the clubface a bit, and stand a little closer to the ball. The open face allows the club to cut through the grass. Standing closer leads to a more upright swing and a more descending blow. The ball should fly higher and shorter because of the added loft on the clubface, but roll more thanks to less spin. Figuring the distance from any flyer lie is always guesswork.
Moral to this story: Keep your ball in the fairway and you'll be able to avoid the guesswork.

Pitching

Pitch Perfectly

By Scott Schneider, PGA

Of course, only dedicated practice can help you become a better short-game player, but if you master the key elements of pitching and chipping, you’ll discover an immediate improvement in your scores.

One element is to address the golf ball with a slightly open stance in relation to your intended target line and position the golf ball off of your front heel. Keep your weight on your heels for balance and your hands even with the ball (no need to forward-press). The takeaway should be in one piece, with the shoulders, arms, hands and clubhead moving together for the first 18 inches of the backswing. Your wrists should hinge soon after this point.

During the downswing, it’s essential that you move your back knee toward the front knee as you transfer your weight to the right side (for right-handed golfers). At impact, your weight should be distributed evenly to both sides. The mental image of two cymbals placed on the inside of both knees clanging at the point of contact is one that helps many of my students attain a solid pitch impact position.

Another element to a successful pitch is distance control. The length of the swing determines the distance (longer backswings for longer pitches and shorter backswing for shorter pitches). Avoid making a long backswing for a short pitch, this will cause you to decelerate on the downswing. Instead, take a shot. Many students ask how to spin the golf ball when pitching. As mentioned before, by taking a shorter backswing and then increasing the speed of the trailing hand, along with the movement of the back knee into the shot, more spin will be imparted. A good lie in the fairway will allow for your best chance for spin. With some practice, you’ll learn when you can and can’t execute this type of shot.