Golf Practice Blog

I am a male about 5′7″ to 5′8″ in height, and I want to know if it is ok for me to use a ladies golf set, or a set of clubs cut for women’s length, because I feel that the men’s length golf sets are a bit longer and more uncomfortable for my height.

I am a 5-8″ LPGA golfer and I use men’s length clubs. I use a regular shaft in my irons, but a softer or sometimes called “senior” shaft in my driver. The problem you may encounter with women’s clubs is the shaft. It will be very flexible and may be hard to control if you have any power. Most high-level women use men’s clubs for that reason. Alternately you may consider using a men’s club, with a softer shaft, then cut it down a bit. Women’s clubs sometime have higher lofts which may create a loss of distance for you.

My final suggestion is to stay with men’s-length clubs but choke down if they feel a little long.

Hope this helps, and thanks for visiting PracticeRange.com!

Elaine Crosby is a 19-year veteran of the LPGA Tour and a member of the Women’s Senior Golf Tour.

I am about a 8 handicap golfer, but I have a terrible problem with pitch and chip shots. 90% of the time the shot is fine, I can hit high and low pitch with fair accuracy. The other 10% is just a diaster. All will be going well and suddenly I hit the straight right. I mean almost a 90 degree angle from where I am aiming and then I just can’t stop. I look like I have never played the game before. To complete the round I will put away my wedges and use a longer iron with a putting motion and hope for the best.

I know that I leave the club face wide open and my hands are ahead of my body. I can go back home and practice the shot in my backyard and correct the problem by turning over my right wrist but this I know is wrong and pull the ball right. Is there any thing I can do?? I can go for weeks without this happening but when it does I can’t stop.

Please help.

My first thought when someone hits a pitch or chip right is that your weight is moving toward your toes as you hit the shot. This will bring the hosel into play. You also may be moving your legs too much. Most of the time you get away with it through timing, but if it gets a little off you get way ahead of the shot. One remedy is to put more weight on your left foot at address ( given that you are right handed) and try not to have much leg movement. Obviously if you are hitting a 50 or 60 yard shot you will have some. But on a chip or pitch you can leave weight on your left.

The only other thing I can think of is that you might be taking the club back on too flat a plane, then it might be getting even flatter when you come into the ball leaving the club wide open. I agree you don’t want to hit the shot feeling like you are turning the club over. When I’m teaching someone to hit a pitch I try to have them imagine tossing the ball underhand and what position would your right hand be in relation to where you want to throw the ball at impact. Hope that makes sense.

I hope some of this will help. I know it’s a hopeless feeling when you can’t make it work right. But don’t give up. You might try taking a lesson from a qualified instructor. Check out FINDaLESSON.com for a PGA/LPGA teacher in your area.

Elaine Crosby is a 19-year veteran of the LPGA Tour and a member of the Women’s Senior Golf Tour.

Golf Training Aids represent a much larger segment of the golf products market that one would ever think possible.  The question is, why would a golfer choose to purchase a bona-fide “golf training aid” when they could simply buy a range-card at the local golf practice facility or, like my dad made me do ad nauseum…go into the backyard and chip balls into a good ol’ 5-gallon paint bucket? 

The answer is simple, the bona fide golf training aid is designed to help the golfer build the fundamentals needed to make the consistent and correct movments every time… once the muscle memory is built, then the range card (or much-dreaded paint bucket) becomes exponentially more beneficial and enjoyable.  Fortunately for the more thrifty-minded golfer, there are golf training tools on the market today that have transcended their single-use, range-only stygma and are either approved by the USGA and R&A Rules of Golf, or are designed to be used on the golf course during practice-rounds.

The Momentus Short Game Wizard is the first of such multi-use clubs that comes to mind.  In its Short Game Wizard, Momentus has integrated the technology it developed in its weighted swing trainers and “pioneered and developed a revolutionary new concept in wedge design called Variable Shaft Weighting. Variable Shaft Weighting increases the shaft weight as the loft of the club head increases. This concept has proven to create a uniform accelerating motion through the ball, ensuring crisp and solid contact, and producing more consistent and accurate shots. The Momentus Short Game Wizard Wedge Series conforms to the USGA Rules of Golf and Short Game Wizards are designed to replace your existing wedges to give you more control, touch and feel around the green and from out in the fairway.”

Gary Player, long known as one of the most prolific promoters of physical fitness related to golf, lends his name to the Gary Player Heavy Hitter line of training clubs.  His driver is designed to take out on the range and actually hit balls, and when fitted with a standard grip is approved by the USGA.  Each club is precision balanced with a perimeter weighted clubhead, matched to a balanced weighted shaft. It flexes perfectly for a natural ball flight trajectory. On a busy Saturday morning when the only tee-times available are in four- and five-somes, a trip to the driving range isn’t always feasable.  Because the Heavy Hitter with a standard grip is USGA approved, you can use it on the first few tees to get warmed-up while you play.  After a few holes, you can pull your standard woods from the bag and comfortably and confidently knock the ball straight down the fairway.

Of course, no commentary related to USGA approved training tools would be complete without mentioning the laser rangefinder or golf GPS. The USGA New Decision 14-3/0.5 allows a Committee to permit the use of distance-measuring devices by Local Rule. This applies to devices that measure distance only, not any other conditions that might affect a player’s play (e.g., wind or gradient). The SkyCaddie GPS and the Bushnell Pinseeker Tournament Edition (without slope-reading function) give the golfer the ability to accurately know the distance between the ball and the pin without having to search around the fairway for the yardage marker, or imagine how many times the pin has been moved since the yardage sign was erected at the tee-box.  The SkyCaddie gives the golfer satellite-accurate readings of points on many courses, while the Bushnell Pin Seeker, with a push of a button, gives immediate feedback on the range to any target on any course. 

There are two things this year that are hotter than ever: temperatures and golf.  Fortunately for all of us “fair weather golfers,” there are a slew of golf practice tips that you can use in the air-conditioned comfort of your own home… and thank goodness for twilight golf! One golf practice tip, from LPGA Pro Christine Lovrine, works as well during the blistering summer months as it does in the middle of winter.  Lovrine suggests doing exercises for stretching and building back strength, and also suggests swinging a shorter weighted golf club, such as the Momentus Traveler, doing so two to three times per week when you can’t make it to the golf course.  

Golf is a sport that requires a great amount of dedication and commitment. Just like every sport you have ever played, golf requires a lot of practice. In order for you to see improvement in your golf shots as well as lower scores, time must be spent in enhancing your skills. Being realistic to the amount of time that you are able to dedicate to your golf game, you must plan a practice session that will be compatible for you and your busy schedule.

Here’s a great list of practice tips from Pam Rogers. She tells her students, practice does NOT make perfect, perfect practice makes perfect. Whether you practice one hour or six hours a week on your golf game, if you are not practicing efficiently and effectively, you will not improve.

#1~ Make practice swings whenever possible. Place clubs around the house or at work so that it will be convenient to pick one up and swing it. You do not have to always be at the range to practice.

#2~ If you do not have a club handy, make imaginary swings with your arms and hands in front of a mirror or window. Picture and feel the correct positions. Seeing is believing, use mirrors whenever possible.

#3~ Grip a club while watching television. Swing during commercials. Strengthen forearms, lift free weights if you do not have a club near by.

#4~ Create a practice area in or outside your house. Make practice sessions more convenient for yourself.

#5~ Practice by yourself. Don’t make your practice session a social hour. Avoid distractions when you practice, stay focused.

#6~ Begin all practice sessions with the short clubs and progress to the longer clubs. This prevents personal injury in addition to developing a good tempo.

#7~ Never practice with out a target in mind. Always have perfect alignment when practicing. I suggest laying clubs or wooden boards down to promote proper alignment.

#8~ Quality vs. quantity. I would rather see my students hit fewer balls and stayed focused than hit hundreds of balls and lose concentration.

#9~ Focus on only 2 main swing thoughts when practicing. Do not become overly mechanical. Stay as natural as possible.

#10~ Make it competitive for yourself! Set goals during practice. Hit 6 out of 10 shots exactly how you want to hit them.

Fun and exciting are not often used to describe practicing golf. That’s about to change. TopGolf Learning Centers use radio frequency (RF) technology to transform your practice session into a point-scoring game played at a high tech driving range. 

Played with real clubs and premium golf balls, players hit into one of the range’s 10 scoring zones and get real-time feedback on their shots. The system also features target-practice games you can play solo or against others. The first US TopGolf range was built in Washington, DC, last summer; swingers in Chicago and Dallas can log on and tee off later this year. 

RF technology is also being introduced on the course to help find lost golf balls. RADAR GOLF System uses advanced electronics to enable the handheld to transmit a specific radio frequency (RF) signal. When this signal reaches RADAR GOLF Golf Balls , the ball returns a separate specific RF signal. The handheld receiver is tuned to “listen” for the signal from the ball. An LCD provides visual feedback and an audio tone allows you to hone in on your lost ball. You will receive stronger feedback as you get closer to your ball. The system has a range from 30 - 100 feet depending on the terrain.