Hip Turn

28 03 2010

Have you ever hit balls at the range next to someone who made an awesome sound when they hit the ball?  That sound is compression.  It makes other players turn and watch because obviously this is a great ball striker.  The player has made his divot past the ball and transferred the energy efficiently from the clubhead to the ball.  Distance control is one of the keys to scoring.  Great golfers don’t always hit the ball accurately but they often hit the ball pin high which means they are making solid contact.   Proper hip action on the backswing plays a major role in compressing the ball.

A common swing thought is to transfer your weight to your right side on the backswing.  Unfortunately, most players sway their hips back to do this causing fat and thin contact.  The key is to allow your hips to truly turn, not sway.  Think of your belt buckle as the center of your hips. If your hips turn around this center, your right hip will actually move towards the target during the backswing.  This does not mean you are reverse pivoting as your spine angle should not tilt towards the target during this movement.  In order to make sure of this, make sure your head is still or even moves a little away from the target during the backswing.

The focus of this video is the hip turn on the backswing but compression will only occur if you move your hips correctly on the follow through.  The downswing should start with a slight bump of the left hip towards the target.  You will hit the ball even longer if you can get this bump to happen before your upper body completes its backswing turn.  This will set up the proper kinematic sequence for the downswing.  Like any sport where you hit a ball with a stick, the movement starts from the ground up.  Proper hip motion on the backswing will help you set up this efficient downswing sequence.  If you do, you may just be that guy on the range who causes heads to turn.


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Wrist position at the Top

28 02 2010

Be careful about taking swing advice from your fellow golfers. One of the tips I often hear golfers giving is to flatten your left wrist (for right-handed players) at the top of the backswing. Does this apply to you? Well there is only a 33% chance it does. If you are slicing the ball, flattening your left wrist will help. Do not take this advice if you are hitting it straight or hooking the ball as flattening your left wrist will close the clubface and make the ball go more left.

As you can see in the video, the position of the left wrist at the top of the backswing has a lot to do with how you grip the club. If you have a strong grip, your wrist should look cupped at the top. If you have a neutral grip, your wrist should be flat or slightly cupped at the top.  If you have a weak grip, your wrist should be flat to slightly bowed at the top.

I look at the golf swing as a recipe of many different ingredients. After we pour all these ingredients into our pot of boiling water, we are looking for the end product to be a solid golf shot with the desired ball flight. As an instructor, I love the challenge of putting the puzzle together to help my students achieve their desired results. Every piece of advice I dole out has an effect on the quality of the shot. I never give advice to make something look prettier or because it is the latest swing fad. I give advice to help your game and it has taken years to learn the cause and effect of each ingredient.

So are you willing to take advice that may or may not be correct from a “helpful” friend? I feel like I have invested a lot of time, effort and money on my golf swing. I will only take advice if the person can give me a good explanation of cause and effect. Find a teacher you trust and stick to the plan. If you do, your recipe will turn out delicious!!


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Become a Great Pitcher

21 01 2010

Pitching seems to be one of the toughest shots for the amateur golfer. The shot will become easy when you understand the role of the bounce. The bounce is the trailing edge of the club as you can see in the video. We can thank Gene Sarazen for inventing the bounce on the sand wedge. He designed it to help hit bunker shots and pitch shots. The bounce enables the club to slide along the ground which helps avoid chunking the ball. I actually try to hit the ground before the ball on my pitch shots and the club slides right on through and I get a high soft shot as a result. This is really helpful in deep rough when you can’t contact the ball cleanly. You can hit this shot much like a bunker shot where you hit the ground two inches behind and let the bounce slide right under the ball.

Before hitting this shot, I would recommend that you have a neutral to a slightly weak grip. The reason is that a weaker grip leads to a more open/lofted clubface which will ensure that the bounce hits the ground. Any grip that enables you to close the clubface will hurt you on a pitch shot as this will send the leading edge below the bounce resulting in the dreaded chunk. There is nothing wrong with having a grip for your full swing and another to hit short game shots.

64 degree wedges are fun but if you want to get really good at pitching, try doing it with your 3 iron as I demonstrate in the video. You need some flexibility in your hips to get as low as I do but flexible hips help your all-around golf game so start stretching. You will impress your friends pitching with a low-lofted club and it will make pitching with a lob wedge a piece of cake. Seve Ballesteros grew up with one club. It was a cut down three iron. He became known as the best short game player in the world.  -jz


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Get it up and Down from Greenside Rough

21 06 2009

When it comes to scoring, getting it up and down from difficult situations around the green is crucial. I grew up on a golf course that had a 9 hole par 3 course adjacent to it. All the holes were between 40 and 75 yards. I used to go there with my junior golf buddies and we had competitions all day long. We used to challenge each other and put our balls in ridiculously difficult lies and see who could get it up and down. And yes, there was money on the line.

These competitions helped me learn the valuable skill off assessing a lie and understanding what I could do with it. I learned this from the best teacher I know, trial and error. The shots I demonstrate in this video come from hours of trial and error. I had to learn quickly or my lunch money was on the line. I also liked to compete against the older kids so I needed to be sharp.

The two techniques I show in the video are actually very forgiving. When you use the bounce of the sand wedge, the club slides along the ground for about six inches so you can hit between two and four inches behind the ball and hit a great shot. The key is to hit enough of these to get the distance control down. Since you are sliding the club under the ball and using so much loft, you need to make a pretty fast swing to get the ball to go anywhere.

The second technique where you put the ball well back in the stance enables you to minimize the amount of grass that gets caught between the clubface and the ball. Remember to stick with a sand or lob wedge as well because you will be taking quite a bit of loft off the face with the ball back in your stance. Now that you have de-lofted your club, it does not take much swing to get the ball to go a long way. Remember to only choose this technique when you have plenty of green to work with.

Distance control is the key to short game. You now have two new techniques in your arsenal. Now trial and error will dictate how good you get. Don’t let them win your lunch money!


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Categories : chip shot, game improvement, golf, golf instruction, pitch shot, short game, video

Play My Golf version of Tic Tac Toe

1 06 2009

I remember being in a room with Chuck Hogan, a renowned mental guru, when he asked a group of accomplished college players the following question: “Who here is done with their golf swing?” As you may imagine, none of them raised their hand. He then followed up with a second question: “Who here knows when they will be done with their golf swing?” Again, nobody raised their hand. I recently came across a college player who is about to graduate and turn pro. He was so excited because he said that his golf swing was done and that all he was working on now was becoming a shot-maker. How cool is that!

As you can see by the video that accompanies this blog, I talk about the nine shots in golf when it comes to the full swing. There is a draw, a straight shot and a fade. And there is a low, medium and high trajectory of each. I had an opportunity to watch Tiger warm up for a Ryder Cup match and sure enough, he went through the nine shots. I call it playing Tic Tac Toe as the nine squares represent the nine golf shots.

For those of you who are accomplished players, ask your instructor for a shot-making lesson. I guarantee that you will become a better player. An instructor can help you make a swing change simply by teaching you how to hit a specific shot. Instead of bogging you down in mechanics, you can make a swing change by learning to shape a shot. I remember going to golf camp at the PGA junior academy and participating in fun competitions. One contest was trying to hit the ball under a bungee cord that was tied across two posts. I learned how to hit a low shot and nobody told me to put the ball back in my stance or to lean the shaft forward and bow my wrist. The picture of the shot made me do it or I was not going to win the contest.

Playing with your ball flight is not only fun but key to getting your game to the next level. And lets face it, once you learn how to play tic tac toe, you realize that it always ends in a tie if both players know what they are doing. But my golf version of Tic Tac Toe can help you win your match against your buddy. -jz


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How to Hit It Low

3 05 2009

Ben Hogan was a master at ball-striking but also a master of golf course management. One of his strategies was to hit the ball low to a back pin. This way he could land the ball on the front third of the green and have the ball release to the back. If you have played enough golf, you know that missing a green long makes for a difficult up and down. Bringing the ball in low is a safer strategy. Learning the low shot will help you in many other ways as well. Low shots help you in when hitting into the wind, hitting under tree limbs, and playing links style golf which feature greens that enable the golfer to play a run-up shot.

As you can see in the video, there are many ways to hit the ball low. You can select a longer club and grip down, you can abbreviate your swing, you can swing easier, and you can play the ball back in your stance although that comes with consequences as you can see in the video. The one thing you may not hear much about is how hitting low shots helps many golfers find their swing mechanics. By making your swing more compact, you simplify your motion and get more predictable results. When you hear about touring professionals “tightening up” their swings, they are looking to make their motions more efficient and repetitive. After all, so much of great golf is being able to predict the outcome of your shot. Ben Hogan’s swing became better when he shortened it. Phil Mickelson is in the process of simplifying his swing and Tiger’s stinger speaks for itself. I have never seen Tiger miss a fairway when he hits the stinger. If he ever adds a stinger driver to his arsenal, you might see the first calendar year grand slam since Bobby Jones.

So add the low shot or your own personal stinger to your game. It will add a layer of sophistication to your game and enable you to be more creative in your shot-making. -jz


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How to Hit the High Shot

30 04 2009

Whatever you do, don’t slow down your swing! You often hear amateurs giving their friends the advice to swing slowly. Slow equals low. The faster you swing, the more backspin you will impart and the higher you can flight your ball. If you watch elderly golfers or little kids hit the ball, it is difficult for them to hit it high because they lack clubhead speed. The great high ball hitters like Jack Nicklaus and Greg Norman were also some of the longest hitters of their time. Geoff Ogilvy is a great example of a modern day player who hits his long irons nice and high enabling him to land it softly on the green. This is great for hitting par 5’s in two shots.

The ability to hit it high opens up a lot of scoring opportunities. You can carry bunkers, cut doglegs, and access tucked pin placements. Understanding when not to try to hit the ball high is important. Hitting it high into the wind is a mistake as it will disrupt your distance control. Never try to hit the ball high on a downhill lie. The slope delofts your clubface and trying to get loft leads to poor contact. Finally, don’t try to bring it in high to a back pin.

In my fifteen years as a golf instructor, one thing that has remained consistent is that all my students want more distance. If you are a low ball hitter but you have good clubhead speed, you may be losing distance because you do not have enough loft on your driver. Adding a few degrees will help you launch the ball higher and help you carry the ball farther. This is especially important for golfers who play in wetter conditions where the fairways are lush and don’t produce much roll. For those of you who have slow clubhead speeds, you should consider a 15 degree driver or switching to a 3 wood to get more distance. Lastly, pay close attention to the portion of the video where I describe the difference between how to hit it high with your driver versus your irons. Understanding the difference will improve your ball striking. -jz


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Blog your game up: Mastering the high soft bunker shot

2 11 2008

Today, Josh Zander, a PGA Teaching Pro at Stanford University Golf Course and MySmartGolf co-founder, tells you how to survive the bunker. To learn more about Josh, visit www.mysmartgolf.com or www.zandergolf.com.

Students always ask me for consistency when they come for a lesson. Golf is inherently an inconsistent game, as we face different weather, course conditions, altitudes and a myriad of other factors. It would be easier if one swing technique would work for all parts of the game, but unfortunately, hitting effective shots out of a bunker is very different from hitting solid golf shots from the fairway. Understanding the differences will lead you successful bunker play.

Let’s take a look at the fundamental differences. First of all, the ball position is more forward in the bunker. After all, you need to hit the sand a couple of inches behind the ball. Conversely, an iron shot requires compression, which means you need to hit the ground a couple of inches past the ball.

Secondly, the bunker swing is much steeper and narrower than a regular swing, especially if we are trying to hit a high, soft-landing shot. Watch Tiger hit an iron shot and you will see a wider and shallower motion.

Lastly and most importantly, the impact position in the bunker is different than a full swing. You need to have a backward-leaning shaft at impact, which enables you to get more loft and use the bounce.  Bunker shots have a scooping motion through impact. Solid iron shots require a forward leaning shaft exposing the leading edge of the clubhead to the ground. Scooping on an iron shot from the fairway does not work!

You can now see how the bunker game is its own game within the game of golf. You need to be a chameleon and adapt to the shot when you get in the bunker. I want to leave you with this last thought. A ball will fly one third of the distance out of the bunker than it would with the same swing from the fairway. If you need to carry the ball 15 yards out of the bunker, use your 45-yard swing. Use this ratio to help you hit the ball the proper distance out of the bunker. After all, distance control is the key to scoring. Have fun on the beach!


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Categories : bunker shot, game improvement, golf, golf instruction, short game, video

Swinging “in to in”

5 10 2008

[Today, Josh Zander, a PGA Teaching Pro at Stanford University Golf Course and MySmartGolf.com Co-founder,  tells you how to carve the perfect divot. The tee is yours, Josh! ]

I had a chance to watch Nick Price hit balls warming up for his President’s Cup match several years ago. His ball striking was amazing. The sound was so solid as he compressed ball after ball with a perfectly straight ball flight. I then noticed that each divot was going slightly left of where his ball was going. The reason for this is that he was swinging on a wonderful “in to in” swing path. He hit the golf ball first and then took his divot as his swing was completing the circle on the other side.

Make sure that your divot is only slightly left, as I do not want you swinging across the ball! Hitting across the ball will produce a glancing blow and lead to weak, slicing golf shots. It could also lead to deep divots as the swing plane gets too steep. Byron Nelson used to call the perfect divot one that looked like a dollar bill. It is shallow and the width of a dollar bill which matches the width of the sole of your club. A dollar bill divot is a sign of a proper swing plane, and will lead to dollars in your pocket as you beat your playing partners! Make that dollar bill points slightly left of where your ball takes off and you on your way to pure ball-striking.

If you are trying to shape your shots, your divot may point in a different direction. For example, if I am trying to hit a hook that starts right and falls left, I will play the ball back in my stance in order to catch the ball as my swing is on the part of the circle that is going to the right. The divot may point right of the target but it will still be past the ball. One thing is for sure, all great ball-strikers hit the little ball before the big ball. The little ball is the golf ball, and the big ball is planet earth. Hit the earth after the ball, replace your divot and then make that long walk to the green with your putter in your hand and a smile on your face.


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Hitting putts solidly

5 08 2008

Today, Josh Zander, a PGA Teaching Pro at Stanford University Golf Course and Mysmartgolf.com co-founder, tells you how to put a solid strike on your putts. The tee is yours, Josh!

Putting is 42% of your score. That’s a lot! In short, putting is the most important part of the game. The cool thing is that anyone can be a great putter. It does not take the strength of a 300-yard drive to be a great putter. Just ask Corey Pavin!

There are so many important fundamentals to putting. Between the set-up, aim, alignment, path, and clubface, we can spend a lot of our time working on our strokes. What you don’t hear a lot about is striking the ball solidly. Striking the ball solidly is the most important fundamental because a solid strike is directly related to distance control. Also, a solid strike produces a better roll, which allows the ball to roll smoothly even on poor greens.

Most people 3-putt because their distance control is off. Having great “touch” is another way of saying that you have great distance control. Distance control starts with solid contact, and you cannot achieve consistent, solid contact if your head is moving during the stroke.

Distance control or speed is a key factor in any putt that breaks. The harder you hit it, the less the putt breaks. Conversely, the softer you hit it, the more the putt breaks. In other words, speed determines line. If your contact is poor, the same length stroke on two different putts will yield different distances and directions. In short, if you can’t hit the ball solidly, not only is your line off, but your distance control is off. If your line is off, all that work you did on practicing your aim, path and clubface is for naught! A solid strike is the most important fundamental.

During the British Open telecast, Tom Watson was commenting on how difficult it was to putt in the wind. He remembered his dad telling him that when all else fails, concentrate on making pure, solid contact with the ball and the rest of his fundamentals will start falling into place. Mr. Watson is absolutely right.

For more, let’s go to the video:


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Categories : game improvement, golf, golf instruction, putting, short game, video

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