Costco Connection

Easy ways to improve your golf game

Tips from a pro ■ Next, revisit the practice green and practice a few up-and-down (holing the ball in two strokes) scenarios incorporating your wedge and a putter. The goal is to get up and down a few times. This will give you confidence if you happen to miss a green.

At this point you will be on your way to the first tee, remembering the feeling of the great shot you hit at the practice range, which you can now relive on the first tee.

FRANCE FREEMAN

Buyer’s
pıck

58 ;e Costco Connection JANUARY 2010

By Richard Sweeting

THERE ARE A vast number of ways to speed up your curve in regard to learning golf.

A great way to prepare for a game is to be at the golf course 45 minutes before your tee time. This is not always possible; however, simple pieces of this approach can help in several ways.

■ The first step is to go to the practice green and hit putts from various distances for five to 10 minutes.

■ Take the club that you are most comfortable with around the greens and practice your short game for five to 10 minutes.

■ Hit 10 to 20 shots to minimal-distance holes (from 100 to 150 yards). This will help you to get the feel of making contact with a short stroke.

■ Next, visit the driving range to help loosen up the larger muscles. Make sure you stretch properly so you don’t hurt muscles. Start by hitting shorter clubs, such as your 9 iron. Five to 10 shots per club is sufficient. Generally hit with three different irons, starting with a short one and finishing with maybe your 5 iron. Then move to a fairway wood.

The best advice I can give is to always finish on a positive note. If you have six balls left and you have just hit a great shot, leave the remaining balls there.

58 ;e Costco Connection MAY 2010

Fixing a fade or slice

If you’re still having trouble with your swing, here are some common problems and how to solve them. For example, when using the driver, golfers often have a swing that results in a fade (when a ball moves to the left before curving back to the right) or a slice (when a ball curves in the shape of a banana). Because the speed of the ball off a driver is much quicker than off the irons, the effect on the ball’s flight is much more dramatic.

EYEWIRE

A slice or fade occurs if the club face is very much open at the point of impact, which creates varying amounts of side spin.

This problem can be addressed in a couple of ways. First, an open club face usually occurs because of an incorrect swing path. One way to improve this swing path is to simply place a small golf towel under your right armpit (if you’re right-handed). The idea is to not let go of the towel while swinging your club to the target. The towel will fall out as you get the club to your finish position. If you practice this technique over a period of time, you will find yourself staying more connected at the impact position and perhaps swinging the club from the inside and not the outside.

Another factor in hitting a fade or a slice is not releasing the club at impact; releasing the club means getting the club face to a square position at impact.

It’s easy to improve your release. If you have ever thrown a stone into a lake and tried to make it skip, you are on your way. Think of the simple way you can hinge your wrist to create power and then unload your wrist to release the stone into the water. The feeling is somewhat similar when you are unloading the club just prior to impact. If you have access to an impact bag, this is a great tool to see if you have released your hands or not.