Instruction: Jim Hardy - 2007 National PGA Instructor of the Year

Q: I am a pretty good golfer with a 3 handicap. I'm actually a hockey player and being plying hockey for more than 25 years. My best club in my bag is my Driver. I hit it with a small fade which makes me control it pretty well. My biggest issue is with my irons as I have between a draw and hook. This makes it difficult to stop the ball quickly on the green. This happens ever with my wedges. Any ideas on how best to avoid this? I don't know if I should try to turn more my body after impact or to try and modify my take away?
Thanks
Eric

A: Your natural swing as a hockey player is rounded with a fairly shallow angle of attack into the ball. This makes for great driving as the ball with a driver is teed up and a sweeping motion works very well. However, the shallow angle is not steep enough for optimal iron play. Lee Trevino faced this same issue and fixed it by keeping the heel of his right hand attached to his left thumb during impact using quite a bit of pressure. This downward pressure during impact helps drive the club head into and through the ball with more downward pressure. You will still hit somewhat low iron shots (so did Lee) but you will have spin on them to help you hold the greens.

Q: jim I have a 14 year old girl who swings the one plane swing on her irons but the two plane on her woods any suggestions, she hits her wood s much better and more accruate than the irons?
bill schroeder

A: All players will find one method (one or two-plane) is more suited to them than the other. If she does well as a two-planer with the driver, I would suggest she adopt the two-plane swing for her irons as well.

Rules: Brad Gregory - Vice-Chairman of PGA Rules Committee

Q: If a rake is in a bunker and your ball ends up against the rake can you move the rake without penalty?
Ken Troxell

A: You certainly can. A rake is a movable obstruction and in your case Rule 24-1a (ball does not lie in or on the movable obstruction) applies. Prior to moving the rake, it is recommended that you mark the position of your ball. If the moving of the rake causes the ball to move, there is no penalty and you need to put the ball back in its original position.

Q: A friend told me that on the tour the caddies are not allowed to let the flagstick touch anywhere on the green and I find this hard to believe. Can this be true?
Thanks
Lew Meitzler

A: There are two Rules that talk about prohibitions in touching the putting green; Rule 8-2b (Indicating Line of Play; On the Putting Green) and Rule 16-1a (The Putting Green; Touching Line of Putt). Your friend is probably thinking of Rule 8-2b. This Rule explains that if a player's ball is on the putting green and the player, his partner or either of their caddies were to touch the putting green (e.g. with a hand, a club or the flagstick) in pointing out a line for putting, the player would lose the hole in match play or incur a penalty of two strokes in stroke play.

During the 1991 PGA Championship at Crooked Stick, John Daly's caddie the late Squeeky Medlin, removed the flagstick and rested it near the hole touching the putting green. This was done while Medlin was helping Daly line up his putt. The question arose: Did Medlin indicate a line for putting by touching the putting green with the flagstick? After interviewing Daly and Medlin it was determined that the touching was not for the purpose of pointing out a line for putting and there was no penalty. Since this incident tour caddies have been very careful in handling the flagstick. Other than pointing out a line for putting or touching the line of putt as considered in these two Rules the flagstick may touch the putting green.

Good Luck!

Fitness: Dave Phillips, PGA Professional, Titlist Performance Institute

Q: My daughter Nichole is 16 years old. She golfs in local and national tournaments. Nichole golf scores usually average from 76 to low 80's. Nichole's weak part of her game is her length. Nichole's swing speed is around 72 on her drives. I have tried everything to get her more distance. Nichole has a small frame. She is 5'2 and 96 pounds. Nichole works out with weights twice a week. She also does Pilates twice a week. Nichole still has not seen any gains in her drives. Nichole works hard on her short game since she does not hit many greens in regulation. Nichole knows that in order for her to get to the next level she will have to gain more length. Is there anything that Nichole can do to reach this goal.
Thank You,
Brett Massucci

A: Brett, sounds like you have a very talented daughter and I know adding distance can be a daunting task. I like the fact that she is strength training and doing Pilates, but you need to make sure she is focusing on two other major areas for increasing speed.

First is power development. Power is the combination of strength and speed. These are exercises that teach her muscles how to develop explosive speed. Try the following drills or exercises:
1) Have her swing a light weighted club (preferably 10-20% lighter than her current driver) as fast as possible 15-20 times three times a week.
2) Practice throwing a baseball as fast as possible -- it is true that great pitchers are usually great golfers.
3) Have her sprint 30-40 yards as fast as possible, multiple times. This will help develop explosive lower body speed.
4) Practice jumping -- have her jump up onto a box or step as high as possible. Step down and try it again. IT is proven that the higher the vertical jump, the more power the legs can contribute to her swing.
5) Last I might enroll her in a Martial Arts class. Not only is this great for mental discipline and self defense, but nothing develops explosive hands and feet better than martial arts!

Second is flexibility. The Pilates will help her maintain good flexibility but make sure she is on a regular stretching routine focus good hip, spine, and shoulder range of motion.

Q: I have been working out at the gym 5-6 days a week. 30 min strength and 30 min cardio. I only golf about 2-3 x per month but have always been able to shoot in the high 80s. The more bulk I get in my arms the worse my swing and my score. I need to keep exercising for my health but would like to improve my golf game also. Any advice on fitness programs for both?
Sal Goodwin

A: Sal, I love that fact that you are in the gym and working hard, that is usually the hard part -- great job. Unfortunately, anytime I hear someone complain of bulking up and playing worse it usually means you are not maintaining your flexibility during your workouts. Even worse, you may be losing flexibility with your workouts. Here is the good news, you can actually bulk up and increase your flexibility if you follow these simple rules:

1) Always warm up your muscles before you strength train. Like five minutes of interval cardio works great.
2) Stretch each muscle that you are going to train first (but see number 3 before you stretch)
3) Always try to break up any adhesion or knots in the muscles before you stretch. Use a foam roller, massage stick, spikey ball, vibration, etc. This makes your stretching more effective.
4) During your strength training, always take the muscle and joint through a full range of motion.
5) Always stretch each muscle after you train as well.

Those simple steps may add a few minutes to your workouts, but they will payoff big time on the golf course

Equipment: Tom Henderson, PGA Professional & Master Club Fitter

Q: Where can I obtain a copy of the legal and not legal golf drivers so I can check all the society clubs drivers before our season gets to far?
Russell Bamber

A: Russell:

I wish all the questions were this easy to answer.

Check out the list of conforming clubs at the USGA web address: www.usga.org/equipment/conforming_golf_club/conforming_golf_club.asp

Good luck with your search.

Q: With so much talk about spin, why is there so much emphasis on driver spin and no one really cares about iron spin? Plus, why is it that anyone above a 5 handicap has no real control over their spin numbers? Thanks
Brandon Foster

Brandon:

The reason that there is so much emphasis on driver spin is that.........IT MATTERS!!

When selecting a driver, you need to see actual ball flight. "Spin" influences trajectory and carry. Too much spin will make the ball "balloon" while too little spin can make the ball "fall out of the sky". In each case, you won't be able to maximize your distance off of the tee.

In general, "handicap" doesn't necessarily have anything to do with spin numbers. In fact, I know some 12's that can really generate a tremendous amount of spin. There is a direct correlation between clubhead speed (and angle of attack) with spin rate. The more clubhead speed and the steeper the angle of attack, the more spin you are able to create.

If you want to boost your spin numbers, hit it hard and attack it steep!