1. I am known for hitting a long ball in our weekly foursome but I am wild off the tee. Any tips on straightening it out? (Joseph _____ from Guelph, ON)
Joseph, I feel your pain buddy! If I have one more person tell me drive for show putt for dough I’m going to pull the jersey over their head and go Bob Barker on them! When I play tournament golf and need to hit fairways or am playing a cash game, I do a few things differently.
When I play tournament golf…I do a few things differently.
#1. If I have jail on either side of the fairway I will hit 3 wood. #2. Unless I can get home in 2 on a par 5 it is not worth the risk of hitting driver. I will use an iron or fairway wood to get to my favourite distances. #3. I may use a cut down driver. Standard men’s is 45 I have used 43.5, Tiger has been a proponent of that as well. It is more accurate. #4. If there are hazards to avoid I evaluate the lesser of 2 evils and error on the opposite side of the fairway. I’d rather take a 1 stroke drop then be laying 3 off the tee.
2. The Ladies Tee’s are not challenging enough for me at my home course, when do I know if I am good enough to move back? (Mary _____ from Edmonton, AB)
First of all Mary, there is no such thing as the “ladies tees”, they are called forward tees and you aren’t doing yourself any favours by referring to them as such. I know many guys who should be moving up a box AND many ladies who need to step back. Forward tees are for golfers who struggle with distance (hit it less than 200 yards off the tee) either due to physical ability or age and high handicap players. If you are rarely in a hazard off the tee or are consistently reaching par 4’s with short irons in, it may be time to step back and challenge your game. It is no fun beating Ethel every Tuesday when you blow it 80 by her off the tee.
3. What do you use to mark your ball? (Colin ____ from Regina, SK)
My recent favourite is a 2 pound coin that I got on a trip to Scotland.
Great question! I am embarrassed to say I used to use what ever plastic mark was at the pro shop. I was excited when they had they larger sized ones. Finally I was schooled that I needed something of significance, and that most tour players used a coin. Some have one lucky coin, others prefer a denomination (always a dime, nickel, quarter, etc…) my recent favourite is a 2 pound coin that I got on a trip to Scotland (I have backups as well). Every time I use it, it reminds me playing at the Home of Golf. The only marker that is completely unacceptable is the button on your glove, geeze… even the fact you have a glove with a button is unacceptable.
The LONGBALL Tip
The LONGBALL Tip
Many players who want to hit it farther swing “harder”. In doing so they put the death grip on their club as they are swinging out of their shoes. One of the best tips I can give you to add distance is to relax your grip pressure. Tension is a club head speed killer. If you are choking the grip you have no hope of releasing your hands and you will hit the ball with an open club face often leading to a weak and errant slice.
On a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being as tightly as you can grip a club, you should be about a 4 or 5. I like to start with a grip pressure of 3 in my backswing as your hands always feel like you are gripping a bit firmer as you make the transition to the down swing.
Drill: Try hitting balls with holding the club as lightly as you can (a 1 on the scale) and hit 5 balls at each level progressing until you hit level 10, where you feel like you are squeezing the grip as hard as humanly possible. Watch the result of your balls at each level. That drill should help you find the feel and advantage of a 4-5 level grip.
