Golf Practice Blog

Kay Adkins
Baptist Press
Sep 13, 2007

GRAPEVINE, Texas (BP)–By personal experience, teaching golf professional Scott Lehman discovered a principle that many church men’s ministries are discovering as well: Where there is a common interest in an activity, there is an inroad to a man’s heart.

Lehman says he presents a “reach, teach and send” message, believing that golfers can grow in the image of Christ “through Scripture passages at every hole, small group Bible studies [and] golf retreats,” and then be sent out to fulfill the Great Commission. Thus far Lehman has helped about 24 churches host In His Grip invitationals, which average about 100 men per tournament.

Visit PracticeRange.com for golf books that allow you to discover more about the life-lessons that golf can provide.

Richard Oliver
San Antonio Express-News

FREDERICKSBURG — The sun had long ago nestled into the rich green hills of the Edwards Plateau, disappearing in another spectacular splash of light and color, when Hal Sutton settled into a chair in one of the rustic, cedar-scented cabins at Boot Ranch.
The celebrated golfer had a sermon to deliver.

And many in the game won’t like the cure.

Click here to read the rest of this article about Hal Sutton, written by Richard Oliver of the San Antonio Express News.

Shop thousands of the world’s best golf training aids, golf books and golf DVDs at PracticeRange.com and feel free to email us to request a printed catalog of our featured products.

Elaine: Regarding the clubhead being “open” or “closed” at the top of the swing: the grip would obviously have a big effect on this. But how about forearm rotation and whether the wrist is “cupped” or “flat” at the top? These also have an affect. If one follows Hogan and uses a lot of forearm rotation and a “cupped” wrist (with a weak grip), it would be impossible not to have the clubhead open at the top. This did work for Hogan, but he practiced a lot. Fred Couples uses a strong grip with a big wrist cup and massive shoulder turn, which keeps the club relatively square (but ruins his back).

It would seem to me that if one’s goal were to make the swing as simple as possible (with less to go wrong), then one would minimize the amount of forearm rotation and would have a flat wrist at the top. It would seem that this would necessitate a weaker grip than is usually advised to keep the clubhead from closing at the top and promoting a hook.

Isn’t this what Tiger Woods has done, working with Hank Haney?

Greg G.

Greg,
I totally agree with you, simple is always better.

Thanks,
Elaine

Elaine Crosby is a 19-year veteran of the LPGA Tour and a member of the Women’s Senior Golf Tour. If you have a question for Elaine, please email us.

I’m an eight to ten handicap. I tend to have shut clubface at the top of my backswing. This works well with my short irons, but it tends to get the better of me when I try to hit my long irons, causing me to have an uncontrollable hook.

One of the first things I look at with a new student is the face angle at the top of the swing. If I notice that their club is shut at the top, then I check their grip. More times than not, it’s too strong, meaning the left thumb is too far to the right on the shaft. Conversely, if someone has an open clubface they tend to have too weak a grip.

Our hands are the only connection to the club, so we need to be diligent to keep a good grip.

Elaine Crosby is a 19-year veteran of the LPGA Tour and a member of the Women’s Senior Golf Tour. If you have a question for Elaine, please email us.

In his syndicated golf blog, Kiel Christianson brings to light an interesting study regarding sleep and it’s relation to how a golfer (with good practice habits) can improve their golf game through sleep.

Click here to read the full article by Kiel Christianson.

Philadelphia, PA (PRWeb) March 6, 2007 — MIT’s second annual Better Golf through Technology Conference features David Ostrow, CEO of Body Balance for Performance. Ostrow will present research on the correlation between body movement and golf swing.

The study presented by Ostrow scientifically explores whether golf swing flaws are linked to improper body conditioning. The goal of Body Balance’s research is to develop new training methods that improve golf swing performance and prevent sport related injuries.

“We are proud to be a part of the Better Golf through Technology Conference,” said Ostrow. “We hope that our research will give the golf industry a better understanding of how the body’s limitations can affect the golf swing, leading to new golf training techniques.”

Data for the golf swing study has been gathered at Body Balance for Performance centers across the country through a variety of technologies, such as digital video capture and computer analysis of professional golfers in action. Body Balance for Performance will continue this research throughout 2007 to create a sample size large enough to draw accurate conclusions.

The MIT Better Golf through Technology Conference draws golf training professionals, golf technology innovators, researchers and golf equipment manufacturers together to discuss the latest golf technology and emerging golf fitness trends. This year’s conference will run from March 29 through March 30, featuring researchers from leading academic institutions as well as golf fitness experts. Participants will discuss the role of technology in the future of golf and compare scientific and instructional insights.

For over twenty years Body Balance for Performance has assisted with clinical research on proper physical conditioning for improved performance and minimized injuries of the world’s leading golfers. Their research led to the development of a golf fitness training and therapeutic treatment program that has aided golfers at every level of the game. With forty centers operating in the U.S. and Canada, Body Balance continues to develop new golf technology and conditioning techniques to promote health and excellence in the game of golf.

If you’ve been keeping an eye on PGATOUR.com, you’ve probably been keeping up with the series regarding the phases of the golf swing.  In the latest installment by Sean Cochran, the “transition phase” is discussed, as well as how you can focus your golf fitness regimen to maximize your swing in the transition phase.  According to Cochran, “The transition point of the swing is where the body finishes its backwards movement and begins the forward movement of the downswing.”

Click here to read the full PGATOUR.com article by Sean Cochran.

I am a 7 handicap, and never shanked my chip shots for 35 years until I moved to Arizona.  Now once or more a round I will be chipping, usually with a little length or where I have to swing a little harder than normal, sometimes from very tight lies, often with a 60 degree wedge and the ball squirts low and right, usually resulting in a lost shot or two.  I have tried chipping from my heals, using a lighter grip pressure, trying to stay dead still, but nothing seems to work for very long.  Do you have any advice?

It’s never fun to have shanks pop up in your round and they really do hurt the score.  This is a hard one to diagnose without watching you do it.  However a couple of things come to mind:

You may want to try a different wedge.  Your 60 degree wedge might have too much bounce for the tight Arizona lies.  It’s possible that the heel is digging in and the face is coming open, causing the shank. Take a look at the Momentus Short Game Wizard.  They offer several different lofted wedges, the club itself uses similar technology to the training clubs and they are USGA approved.

Another thought I have is maybe you are bringing the club inside too much on your backswing, causing you to come too far from the inside and hitting the hosel at impact.  A very good training aid for chipping is the Chip-N-Pitch chipping trainer.

I hope this helps a little.  If not, I would suggest a short game lessong from a PGA/LPGA professional.  You can locate one in your area at www.findalesson.com.

Elaine Crosby is a 19-year veteran of the LPGA Tour and a member of the Women’s Senior Golf Tour.  If you have a question for Elaine, please email us at mailto:info@practicerange.com?subject=Ask the Pro.

On hitting the ball or on my follow through, I am having problems with the top of the grip brushing/hitting my right forearm.  It sometimes gets so bad my arm is sore after a round.  Sometimes I only do it very rarely and other times a lot.  It can happen with any club but strangely, the result of the golf shot is often acceptable.  I have had a few lessons, but to no avail.  I am a 9 handicapper and right hander.  I am looking forward to your suggestions/remedies.

That sounds a little painful.I would say that you are cupping your wrists through impact.  That is the only way the grip end coud hit your arm.  At impact the left wrist should be flat and pointing down the target line, a little toward the ground, but not entirely.  Basically the knuckles of your left hand will be pointing down at the ground.  My first guess is that when this happens to you, your left hand cups, causing your knuckles to point up.  I really believe this is the case because you say you still get good results.  My next guess is you normally hit a very high straight shot with your irons.

The problem is easier to diagnose than finding a solution. First make sure at the top of your backswing that you are overly cupped there.  You also want a fairly flat left wrist…the Tac-Tic Wrist training aid can help with this. Also, look at a couple of pictures of pros to see what their hand position looks like at the top and try to mimic.

Second, over exaggerate getting your left hand knuckles to point to the ground when you release the club at the ball.  I think that both of these fixes might help.  A slow motion video, or Swing Analysis Software package, would certainly show if cupping is the problem.