Insight from Terry Felty on Backswing.com:
Common Lesson Issues
The 3 most common reasons people come for lessons besides being just beginners and learn to play are: 1-Need more distance or have lost distance on their shots 2- Inconsistent ball contact 3- Struggle with short game chipping and pitching. The most common reasons for these issues are most people are trying to help the […]
Stay in Your Swing
Coming out of your swing also referred to as early extension is generally caused by more of a physical reason rather than a mechanical reason. Meaning something in your body is too tight and you can’t hold your posture. In my case my upper back and shoulders are very tight. The best thing to try […]
Golf Quips
USGA U Suck Go Again after a poor shot “Take the putter cover off” after someone leaves a putt short “Swing over a pickett fence” Don’t let your lower body move in toward the ball on the downswing “Ring the bell” Your hands should drop straight down at the top of your back swing
Finish The Swing
In my opinion- the follow through isn’t really a move- it is just the dissipation of energy. The main thing to be aware of is that you get at least 80 percent of your weight on the front foot. So a simple drill is to tap your back foot when you finish. Remember hitting the […]
Rotation-Not for Everyone
I am not a huge proponent of rotation for everyone, there are many handicapped golfers and golfers in general that don’t have much rotation in their swings. I think the term rotation should be replaced with separation for those trying to use more lower body. It’s my belief that most of the speed in the […]
Control from a Bunker
There are multiple ways to control distance from a greenside bunker, taking more sand or less sand will vary the distance. You can change clubs and use different lofts for varying the distance. For me if the ball is close to the green I prefer more loft and less sand which provides more spin and […]
HEADS UP
While most advice given is given with good intent, it is often either incorrectly or is just wrong most of the time. One piece of advice often given is “keep your head down and eye on the ball”. When you realize that there are many blind golfer’s the eye on the ball part kinda doesn’t […]
Lean into it!
Hitting short shots around the green on an uphill lie can be tricky to get the distance right for some players. Because we generally try to get our shoulders parallel to the slope of the ground on most swings, this is what most people do with this particular shot. so for a right handed player […]
Stop Blocking Your Driver
The reason people block their driver is because they don’t release their hands or unhinge the club soon enough. Because the driver is the lightest club in the bag, it is the easiest one to hold on to. Players tend to over rotate their body through the shot and their bodies and never stop to […]
Shape your stance to shape your shot
The tried and true method of angling your body to shape your shot is easier for most higher handicappers. For right-handed players to hit a draw, a ball that curves to the left. The player should aim your body slightly to the right of the target, aim the clubface directly at the target and play […]
Get your spin on!
There are only few things better than hitting a crisp wedge shot and seeing the ball come to dead stop or even better-spin back toward the hole. Though there are a few needs to spinning a ball & one of the most important is having clean sharp grooves. The grooves bite into the ball on […]
A pro from my past
As an assistant professional at Chester River Y&CC, in Maryland, My Head Professional was Mike Versuk PGA. Mike was the best all around professional I have ever met. He was a great player and instructor. He also ran excellent tournaments and kept a really updated pro shop. He taught me that if I was only […]
Safe not Sorry
Absolutely more players should use their 3fw metal off the tee. The shorter length and more loft just make it easier to hit the club face more square, which allows for more distance and straighter shots. Players should still work on hitting the driver but if your playing and you have any doubt about hitting […]
Pick Your Intermediate Target
When putting- pick an intermediate target about 18 inches in front of your ball and on your start line. Aim at that target and commit to that line then all you have to focus on is distance. When aiming at your target set your club first then your feet and shoulders then take your grip. […]
New Clubs? Not so fast!
Even with the advances in technology- I think the average golfer needs three to five years to fully incorporate the new technology into their games. So probably a couple years after that. Wedges can probably be replaced every couple years.
Taking The Top Off of Topping
Topping, or hitting the top of your ball with the bottom of your club, is much more common for newer golfers meaning we generally grow out of it. However- the slightly less ugly shot are just thin shots which we can always do and they are basically topping but just a little better. These shots […]
Slicers & their swing path
The first thing to know about slicing is if you slice-it is because the face of your club is open to the swing path. The most common swing path with slicers is when they swing outside to in, meaning for a right handed golfer- their club is swing too far to the left as they […]
El Nino for the win
I like Sergio Garcia. He has won before there so he has the experience. He is playing well going in and seems to a new found confidence in his putting. He has always been one of the best ball strikers.
3 things to spin the ball
1. Clean club with sharp edges 2. A ball with a softer cover 3. A firm surface to hit off, it is hard to spin a ball out of the rough. Use a lofted club like a 56 or a 60 degree wedge. Play the ball very close to the back foot with the club […]
Easy Putting Drill
What you need : 1 putter 1 ball 1 red brick A smooth surface to putt on if you don’t have a smooth carpet buy a 8 foot runner that you would see at a business. A red brick on it’s side is twice as wide as a golf hole setting upright it is the […]