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Free Golf Tips and Online Golf Lessons by Joe
Pro
Winter Golf Tip “Work off the course so you can
play on the course”
December, 2003
Many golfers in the winter feel
that its time to put away the clubs and wait for spring. I say why wait for
spring. Do your homework now so you can enjoy the summer season. We all know
that living in Minnesota we have a short season so with that in mind let’s take
the winter to tune up so we can enjoy the summer. I remember reading the
November 2003 Golf Magazine in the section “You Answered” there was a poll that
readers responded to a statement which started “By the end of the season:
42% - I’m starting to hit a groove
20% - My game is at its peak
19% - I’m getting worse and I’m not sure why
18% - I need a break from golf
As a golf instructor I know
that most of my students are just starting to hit there groove towards the end
of the season because that’s how much time it took to have our lessons now start
to pay off. Now here’s the funny part. 9 times out of 10 we worked on simple
fundamentals that could have been grooved off the golf course or driving range.
I tell all my students that 90% of the golf shot is before you ever take the
club back. What I mean by this is that without the proper grip, posture/stance,
and alignment you have no chance of hitting your target. All of these
fundamentals pertain to every shot in golf from the short game to the full
swing. These three fundamentals can be worked on all winter so that when spring
arrives you’ll be ready. Don’t wait till summers over. Here are some ideas on
how you can practice each of these areas:
Grip
Leave a club where you can grab it
from time to time to check or work on your grip. I tell my students work on your
grip off the course so you don’t waist your time checking your grip when your
playing. Get it to be automatic. “The grip is the cornerstone of the swing. It
is related to almost every element of the swing itself, including path, clubface
position, ball position, and posture.” Tiger Woods says “Whenever I make a grip
change, I made sure that I had a club in my hands constantly so I could practice
my new grip. I wanted my new grip to start feeling natural as quickly as
possible.” It takes no talent to work on your grip. The average golfer should
have two to three knuckles with the left hand and one to two knuckles with the
right. The idea is to have your palms be parallel with each other. The opposite
of course would be for left handed golfers.
Posture
Posture means how you set up to the
ball. The width of your stance, how much bend you have and the correct distance
from the ball are all the first steps to a good golf swing. Lay a golf club
across your chest, get your feet shoulder width apart, bend at the waist and
have a little flex in your knee. Your weight should feel evenly distributed from
heel to toe. Your back should be nice and straight. From here turn back and turn
through.
Alignment
I often tell my students that if you
aim left or right of your target there is no doubt that you will have to make
some kind of compensation during your swing to hit your intended target. With
good alignment you can play more of your missed shots. Find someplace in your
house with square tiles and you got a fool proof way to practice alignment of
your feet, ball position, and clubface. Lay the clubface on one of the lines and
set your feet parallel to your target on another line. The two lines should form
a 90 degrees. Set up to the lines over and over again to ingrain a visual
picture.
As I mentioned before that if you can get these fundamentals ingrained off the
course you will have a much more enjoyable round on the course. You can now
focus more on course management and start playing golf instead of practicing
your swing. The reality is that sometimes practicing without hitting a ball
allows you to focus more on your mechanics and fundamentals. Have you heard the
definition of insanity? It’s doing the same thing over and over and expecting a
different result each time. Without making a change in your fundamentals your
golf swing will be the same year after year.
Joe Park, Director of Golf
Joe Park Golf Academy at
Country Air Golf Park in Lake Elmo, MN.
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