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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.

Sweep Away your Slice

Swing a broom for five minutes a day to ingrain the feeling of an on-plane swing that finds the "slot" every time.

Swinging a broom can show you how.

By Darrell Kestner
GOLF Magazine Top 100 Teacher
Published: July 01, 2007

The problem
You're a chronic slicer.

Why you do it
You take the clubhead inside and behind you too quickly in your backswing. This shallow path doesn't give you much room to get the club back down past your right leg and into impact. So instead, you cast the club up over your right shoulder and down to the ball on a slicecausing outside-to-in swing path.

The solution
Swing back and through with the thin edge of a broom. Do it correctly and you'll encounter no air resistance as you swing the broom back and through on plane, but as soon as you try to take the broom back on a too-shallow plane, however, or swing it over the top on the way back down, the flat side of the broom will encounter air resistance and will immediately indicate that you're off-plane.

'Putt' your chips

Take the nerves out of your short shots with Paul Runyan's method

Use your putting grip, and play the ball just inside your left heel. Set the club on its toe so the shaft is vertical, like a putter's.

By Jim Flick
Photo By Dom Furore June 2007

Paul Runyan, my friend and colleague for more than 30 years, was a master of the short game. In the 36-hole final round of the 1938 PGA Championship, he beat Sam Snead convincingly. Sam was outdriving Paul by 50 yards, but Little Poison won, 8 and 7.

Paul's mind was analytical, but he was also creative. One of the concepts he pioneered was to chip like you putt.

Paul didn't mean to just use a putting grip, which helps minimize wristiness for more reliable contact, especially under pressure. He also showed me how to set the club on its toe so the shaft is more vertical, similar to a putter's shaft. Setting the club with the heel off the ground:

•Helps replicate your putting stance, so the ball is more directly under your eyes, and your motion is simpler.

•Encourages the clubhead to slide through the grass, guarding against mis-hits.

•Promotes contacting the ball toward the toe of the club, which gives the shot a softer feel and allows you to make a more aggressive swing.

Take your normal putting grip (I use a reverse-overlap). This helps keep the back of the left hand stable. Play the ball just inside your left heel. If the ball is sitting down,tilt your upper body a bit to your left. This encouragesa slight angle of descent through impact.

Keeping your body still and with a pendulum motion, swing the clubhead up with your arms going back, then let it swing down into the ball.

Lateral Move

Step forward for power

This drill will help you feel the lateral move seen in top players.

RANGE DRILL: 1. Take a narrow stance with the ball forward. 2. Swing to the top with a full turn. 3. Step forward, and swing through the ball.

By Rick Smith
Photo By Stephen Szurlej May 2007

A split second before completing the back-swing, the best players make a slight lateral move with their hips and trunk toward the target. This move not only allows the arms to swing down on plane, it helps increase swing speed by providing improved leverage between the body and club. It's a real power move. If you want to copy it, first train with my step drill to get the proper feeling.

On the range, grab a 7-iron, tee up a ball, and address it with a narrow stance. Your front foot should be in line with the ball. Take the club to the top, but before you start down, step toward the target with your front foot. This action will help you feel that lateral move the best players make. Hit balls this way to get a feel for this shift to your front side.

Ranked No. 5 by his peers among Golf Digest's 50 Greatest Teachers, Rick Smith is based at the Treetops Resort near Gaylord, Mich., and Tiburon in Naples, Fla.