The Tomahawk Chop

During some post round ribbing after a dismal exposition of what golf is supposed to look like and how it supposed to be played my good friend told our playing partners and me “I can’t take it anymore”. I told him, “I couldn’t either”. He said, “Hey, Mr. All Pro Golf Pro, (he calls me that because he’s a wisenheimer) what are you upset about”. I said, “If I brandished a tomahawk chop like the one you display every time you swing the club I couldn’t take it either, besides you just have to live with the result. We’re the ones that have to look at it”. We were all cracking up because that’s what he called his swing, but acknowledged the amusing commentary held some validity. He actually had bent most of his shafts in his irons from “tomahawking” his club into the fairway or tee box after almost every pass at the ball. And because he hit it so crooked most of the time, it was just routine for him to bury the club after practically every swing he made. It was now just a part of his swing. It got to a point that we’d razz him about how his tomahawk chop had great timing and rhythm and it was the only thing that looked good in his swing. I started asking him if I could take some tomahawk lessons from him. And that maybe we could make a trade, I’d give him some golf lessons and he could give me tomahawk lessons. I think my provocation that day finally gave him an infinitesimal interest in a golf lesson with him replying, “Hey Mr. All Pro Golf Pro, if I start taking lessons from you that means I’d have to practice, then I’d expect to be better. Besides I don’t have the time anyway. I’m just happy when I brake 100″. I let him know he needed to see his swing on video just once. Besides why should he get a pass at observing something so tormenting. He’s the one producing it. We all agreed.

Well, the day finally arrives. He lastly shows after years of golf lesson prohibition. I even offered my services pro bono (hey, he’s a very good, long time friend and besides it was for the public good). Anyway, I get him to warm up a little and could clearly see that this was a sub-conscious move. He was really working at it, that is, not to present that “tomahawk” during his lesson. Well, we never even made it to the chop. As we’re evaluating his swing on the monitor I see bewilderment on his face. He watches for a couple of swings and then finally asks me, “When are you going to show me my swing?” I said, “That is your swing!” “What the @#$%*!, that’s not me. That guys doing the Japanese ojigi at address”. I asked him, “what the heck was the Japanese ojigi?” “You know, their bow. And it’s not the informal bow, but the type of bow that signifies a respectful greeting bow, a deep gratitude bow, an a apology bow, or asking for favors bow. You know, that real deep bow”.

Well, needless to say he was so dejected by the look of his spine angle (Japanese ojigi) at address, he said “That’s embarrassing! I’ve got to change that! I can’t believe I address the ball like that”. Well that’s what we worked on. And believe me, his address looks 100% better than it did before. While the boys all commended him (and me) for working a miracle on his address, their not embarrassed for him anymore by his mastery of the Japanese ojigi.

The chop, well, it’s still there when he hits it crooked. But, we wouldn’t want to get rid of something that brings him and us so much entertainment. I mean, he’s authored that chop. It’s a commemorative memorial to a golf shot that’s gone awry.

So remember, If you’ve got a friend or loved one “that can’t take it anymore” or if you “can’t take it anymore” go ahead and purchase them a golf lesson. I’ve got plenty of packages from the half-hour lesson to a one or two day customized golf school. There are convenient golf lesson gift certificates available you can purchase through the website.

I promise, we’ll keep it professional. We’ll get them so they “can take their swing” whichever course they play.

I’ve had several students ask me whether they should wait until after January 1, 2010 on purchasing new clubs with the new grooves or buy clubs now that have the sharper edged grooves which induces a higher spin rate on your golf ball. It will depend on whether you play in Major/USGA events or on the PGA Tour. I’m sure you would love getting paid to exhibit your game of golf regardless of how good or bad it is, but have a more efficient means of making a living than taking your chances on qualifying for USGA events or the PGA Tour. But if you would like to try and qualify you will have to use the new grooves because the USGA has decided to regulate the size of the grooves on the club face. They’re reducing the maximum groove capacity by around 25% from what is currently allowed while also limiting the groove edges that are considerably duller than what is now allowed. The intention is to limit the effectiveness of shots from the rough.

Either way, it’s still remarkable how particular some golfers are concerning the level of club design. Grooves are the horizontal canals engraved into the clubface. During those valuable few microseconds at impact when the ball and the clubface actually meet, grooves amplify the friction, and impart more spin to the golf ball.

Well, before to long, club makers started to experiment with the depth, width and sharpness of those grooves in an effort to claim that their grooves spin the ball more than any of their competitors clubs could.

It’s been a proven scientific fact that the U-groove induces more spin than their V-groove predecessor does. The USGA has finally stepped in and on January 1, 2010 the USGA will implement the new limits on edge sharpness for all grooves manufactured after 1/1/10. These limits will decrease backspin and increase launch angle and ball roll out. If you want more backspin you can continue to play with the square or U-grooves until 2024 or could be forever. However if you purchase clubs manufactured after 1/1/10 it will have grooves with spin performance at or below V-groove levels. Those grooves will limit you to average spin performance.

Here are some performance implications:

• Spin rate is reduced by 30 to 50%
• Launch angle increases 7-20% or up to 5º higher
• Roll out of the ball after impact on the green is increased from 9 to 15 feet

Fundamentals of the Pre-Swing
The set up you produce before you swing the club has the most influence on your direction, distance, and trajectory of your balls flight or pattern. To hit a straight shot you have to combine these pre-swing fundamentals to match your desired result. When any component of the set up is flawed, swing manipulations are required to gain control of the shot.

Grip The grip is the device that maneuvers the clubs face angle at impact.

Think about your grip as the devise that maneuvers your clubs face angle. The intention is not to enhance power, but to direct the clubface and its angle at impact. This influences direction and trajectory; two of the three objectives for every golf shot. The grip is the only connection you have with the golf club and you must have your hands positioned clockwise or counter clockwise on the golf club in the correct relationship to the clubs face.

Key Points:
(Right-handed)

• 1½ -2½  knuckles visible (index finger and middle finger knuckles visible on the back of your left hand).

• A line between the thumb and index finger (short thumb) pointing to your right eye in your left hand.

• An infant babies bottom visible in the left hand on top of the handle of the club (in the fingers).

• In your right hand the letter V forms between your index finger and thumb on the very top of the grip. (No palming or hammer grip with the right hand under the grip handle).

Stance The stance will encourage mobility and stability.

The golf stance refers to the fanning and the width of the golfers feet at address. This dimension is evaluated from the instep of each foot. The stance encourages trajectory in a golf shot by influencing the angle of the swing arc. This angle or swing plane is upright with a narrow stance and flattens with a wider stance. Your stance should be wide enough to encourage balance and stability, yet narrow enough to provide a weight transfer.

Key Points:

• Fan the feet no more than 35 degrees.

• Weight should be on the fat part of the foot (ball to arc) and slightly inside each instep

Posture Posture for the golf swing is a universally athletic position.

In particular, the joints that bear all the weight should be in alignment, knees flex slightly with the spine bending forward at the hip joint (not the waist) to support a natural hanging of the arms. Posture at address should prepare the body for a dynamic motion during the swing and should grant a stable base from start to finish. Your posture at address and throughout the golf swing has a significant impact on how well your shoulders can rotate around your spine.

Key Points:

• Feel like your sticking your butt out.

• Put the hands in front of the hips while looking forward and up, then bend from the hip joint not the waist.

• Put a golf shaft on the tailbone and up between the shoulder blades with the shoulders feeling slightly back behind the neck, then bend forward keeping the shaft in the same place.

Ball Position The ball should be in a middle position between the ankles.

Ball position refers to the golf balls relationship between the instep and how near or far from the feet at address. The ideal ball position should be slightly behind the very bottom of the swing arc. In a correct set up, this position should be centered in the stance or one ball width to the target side of center. This position should be marked with the ankles or the left armpit. Ball position has a large impact on trajectory, distance and direction in a golf shot. Secondary influences include grip and alignment. How near or far the ball is in respect to the feet is determined by what club is held at address, be it a driver or a wedge.

Key Points:

• Position the small ball (golf ball) to make contact  before the big ball (earth). This is slightly behind the bottom of the swing arc.

• Move the ball position back (right) to encourage a lower trajectory and forward (left) to promote a higher trajectory.

• The butt end of the grips handle for every club should be directly over a line drawn across the knees while at address. This will determine how near or far the ball is, in respect to your feet.

Aim Construct the set up around the aim of the clubface.

A wood is aimed properly when the top line on the face is at a 90-degree or perpendicular angle to the ball-to-target line. An irons clubface is aimed properly when the leading edge of the clubs face is at a 90-degree or perpendicular angle to the ball-to-target line.

Key Points:

• Hold the clubhead at eye level with the top edge of a wood or the irons leading edge hanging vertically. When lowered to the ground behind the ball, the edge of either club should be perpendicular to the ball-to-target line.

• Pick an intermediate spot directly in front of the golf ball and directly on the ball-to-target line. This could be a blemish on the ground from a broken tee to a blade of grass. Point your clubface directly at that spot. This is called an intermediate target. The smaller the spot (a single blade of grass) the more precise the resulting aim.

Alignment Alignment of the body is parallel to the aim of the clubface.

The lines formed by the heels, knees, hips and shoulders represent body alignment. Their correlation to the aim of the clubs face affects direction, distance and trajectory.

Key Points:

• Imagine a set of railroad tracks with the outside rail the ball-to-target line and the inside rail being the body line. Both are parallel to one another. The farther away the target the closer together the rails look. They never meet but they look like it. This is called parallel left.

• Set a club shaft on the ground parallel to the ball-to-target line. Align the heels, knees, hips and shoulders to the shaft on the ground.

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These fundamentals for preparations to a golf swing should be practiced in a mirror, on camera and on the practice or lesson tee. The more repetition the better your habit becomes at getting properly prepared to make a swing of the club.

Let me simplify what the club causes at impact to produce these effects. There are five causes that effect the pattern to your golf balls flight.

• Club head speed
• Club head path
• Face angle
• Angle of approach
• Center-ness of hit

Club head speed:

Or the speed to which the club head is traveling during impact. A no brainer, the faster the club head goes through impact the more velocity or speed the golf ball will have, providing you make contact (sorry, I couldn’t help it). If I throw a baseball with fast moving hands the baseball will have more velocity or speed. We call that a “fastball”. If  I toss the baseball underhand with slow moving hands, well, we usually reference that to “slow pitch softball”. So, more club head speed (cause) the more golf ball velocity (effect) which produces a shot that goes farther.

Our first goal: To end up with a long ball flight by generating more club head speed. However, long can be wrong, let’s move on to the next law of ball flight.

Club head path:

This is the path of the club’s head traveling through the impact zone. Now, let’s make an imaginary ball to target line by getting back behind the ball, straddle that imaginary ball to target line with our feet and look straight down that line towards our target with the right foot on the outside or to the right and the left foot on the inside or to the left of that imaginary ball/target line. So, if the shot starts to the left (a pull effect) the clubs head was traveling along a path from the outside to the inside (cause) in respect to our imaginary line during impact. The opposite holds true for a shot that starts right (a push) of the imaginary ball to target line. The clubs head traveled from inside to outside with respect to the target line. That doesn’t mean that if the ball started right or left that it will stay right or left, that is determined by the spin of the golf ball.

Our second goal: To end up with a long ball flight by generating more club head speed with a shot that started straight by producing a club head path that was down the line at impact. Now you cringe and utter, “Geeeezz, well it started straight, why the heck did it turn to the right!” Well, let’s move on to the curve of the ball.

Face angle:

There are three face angles. Open, square and closed. Two of them (open and closed) to various degrees. Really open, really closed, just a little open or just a little closed. Square is square. But it’s the position of the clubs face angle in respect to the club heads path that is going to determine the spin or shall I say “the curve of the golf balls flight”. For a right handed golfer, an open clubface (cause) produces a curve to the right (slice effect) and a closed clubface (cause) produces a shot that curves to the left (hook effect). Just a little open or closed with respect to the club heads path would impart less spin to the right (fade) or left (draw).

Our third goal: To end up with a long straight ball flight by generating more club head speed, producing a club head path that was down the line and achieving a square face at impact. “Yeah baby, that’s 300 yards straight down the middle!” “No that was only 200 yards down the middle.” “You may have gotten 300 yards had you got the ball up in the air.” Lets move on to getting it airborne.

Angle of approach:

Another term for this law is “angle of attack”. There are three angles the clubs head will approach impact. Descending down into the ball, ascending up into the ball or level through the ball. One way to think about this is to draw a circle. The circle represents your club head arc. If you were to draw a line straight down from the center of that circle you would intersect the lowest point of the circle. That represents the lowest point of your swing arc. If the ball is just behind or left of that lowest point the club would descend. If the ball was directly at the bottom of the arc, your clubs head would approach the ball on a level arc. And if the ball was just in front of that lowest point or to the right the clubs head would approach the ball ascending up into the ball. You want your clubs head approaching down or descending into the ball with wedges and irons to create backspin so the ball stops on the green. You want your putter ascending up into the ball to create top or forward spin so it will roll to the hole. When you swing the driver, which has less loft than wedges and irons, your ball rests on a tee 1-3 inches off the ground which is placed just in front of your bottom most portion of your swing arc. That way the driver swings through impact at a level approach to slightly ascending so you create less backspin than an iron or a wedge. So with the driver, when the ball lands it can reverse its spin and tumble over to create roll.

Our fourth goal: To end up with a high long straight ball flight by generating more club head speed, producing a club head path that was down the line and achieving a square face at impact. Remember create backspin by hitting down on the ball rather than scooping or trying to get the club under the ball to try and lift it up in the air. This is probably the most important issue regarding ball flight law for the beginner. “You mean I’ve gotta hit down on the ball to get it up in the air?”, my students ask. “Yep, golf’s a game of opposites, lowest score wins”. Lets move on to efficiency.

Center-ness of hit:

You can contact the ball on the toe of the clubface (the farthest part of the clubs face from the golfer) inducing a hook shot. Or, contact can be on the heel (the closest part of the clubs face to the golfer) inducing a slice. God forbid you hit it on the housel (where the shaft is inserted into the head of the club) inducing a …, well I won’t even completely spell it much less say it. It’s golf’s dirtiest word, starts with sh___, but has three letters, not two. You could whiff it. Which still counts as a stroke, but one stroke better than long and wrong into OB (out of bounds) territory. I think most readers of this article understand it’s better making contact in the middle of the clubs face (sweet spot) than anywhere else on the club. The golfer will get a more dynamic efficient strike on the ball by making contact on the sweet spot of the clubface. This does take practice. Lots of good practice.

Our fifth goal: Causing a flight of the ball that was long (club head speed) in respect to which club is being used, started straight (club head path), then stayed straight with no hooking or slicing from side spine (face angle), getting it airborne (angle of approach) with an efficient strike (center-ness of hit). “IT’S IN THE HOLE!”

In summary, it’s very helpful to first know what your club is telling the ball what to do. If you don’t know what the clubs doing to the ball, how do you know what to do to the club? These five laws of flight are set in stone. They’re based on physics, or the natural order of things. Call it what you will, but you can’t descend down into the back of the golf ball and give it topspin, it’s law. It won’t happen. You can’t throw a baseball forward and have it travel backwards.

You can, however, tee it up with your driver. Swing out of your shoes. Make contact directly under the ball with the top of the driver because it was teed up too high. By doing so, you’ll impart backspin on the ball sending it straight up in the air. When it lands around the same spot it started from, your net result will be a drive that went a negative yard. I’ve seen it. Number 2 tee box, Torrey North. He was a friend of mine more than a student. We were laughing so hard after he created that shot, I said “I’ll give you $100 if you can do that again”. Well he tried, but we would have been there all day.

For the athletically inclined, some think that they can fix their swings themselves. It looks so easy, “I can swing like that Tiger, guy”, one might surmise. Or “I was the high school quarterback” or “I made the tennis team” and “excelled in every other sport I’ve tried”. Then after playing a couple rounds or practicing on the range a few times they come to appreciate the talent of a guy like Tiger Woods, but still think they can achieve a game they’d be happy with on their own.

Some just get ready for their company event or that corporate outing by cramming for a test like a college student who hasn’t studied during the semester. They hit the driving range two or three times a couple days before the tournament trying to get ready and only end up with blisters and sore muscles when the tournament arrives. That’s a hard way to prepare. Now I’m not saying that you might not have some sore muscles after some professional help, but more than likely, they’d be the correct sore muscles.

Some might have tried one lesson years ago and didn’t see any immediate results so they cut short their enthusiasm for taking lessons. To others it might be intimidating to take “Instruction”. Yes lessons can be expensive but some might not know the value of how much a lesson, lesson series or golf school has to offer.

A lot of golfers are perfectly happy with their game and just don’t have the time to improve. But if you or someone you know, gets embarrassed, upset, are confused or frustrated you are ready for instruction. There’s a couple of ways to go if you’re looking to improve your golf swing and your golf game.  If you have the time and would like to broaden the learning process, take private lessons.

Private Lessons

A typical series of private lessons works like this: You take a private lesson every one or two weeks depending on how much you can practice. By the end of a series, you should able to try it on the course. This could be one or two months later, or a shorter or longer period of time depending on your schedule and your commitment to the development of your swing. I teach thousands of private lessons a year. I can’t tell you the amount of times after a lesson or two a student has told me they wished they started lessons a long time ago. Private lessons are not the fastest way to learn the game, it’s the fastest way to learn a swing.

Golf Schools

For the student that doesn’t have a lot of time and would like a game evaluation, a golf school is encouraged. Golf schools can be a half to three and even four days of learning. In a golf school we can evaluate your swing along with your game. In golf schools you learn to evaluate the course, selecting the correct club, etiquette, pace of play, order of play, course management, rules. These are all components of the game and are not usually taught in a private golf lesson.

Most golfers are recreational players and are not competing in tournaments. No golfer, whether they’re a beginner, low handicapper, top ranked amateur, or even a professional  want to go out and get embarrassed, remain frustrated, confused or upset. The #1 player in the world, Tiger Woods, can still get upset or frustrated with his swing or game. When that happens he takes a lesson from his golf professional. So it goes with out saying, if Tiger takes lessons to learn why he’s upset at something, so should other golfers.

Call, email or visit my to set up your Private, Semi-private, Playing lesson or Prepare and Play Golf School.

Let’s start with the grip.

When I say You’re…

Grip “Position”… This is relative to positioning the hands clockwise to counter clockwise on the golf club.

“Strong” grip position… Whoa! This has nothing to do with your grip “pressure”. Too many knuckles are visible on the back of your left hand (Right handed players) while a strong right hand means the palm is looking at the sky instead of looking down your ball to target line. Also known as a closed clubface grip.

“Weak” grip position… Uh-Oh! This also has nothing to do with your grip “pressure”. No knuckles can be seen by the student in the left hand while a weak right hands palm is facing the ground. Also known as an opened club face grip which can lead to slices and fades.

“Neutral” grip position…Lovely! Usually 1½ – 2½ knuckles are visible in the left hand. Right hand palm is facing directly down the target line. Produces very little right or left spin on the ball creating a straighter ball flight.

Grip “Placement”… it’s where the hands are placed in a vertical location on the golf clubs shaft. For a full swing (power shot), the hands should be placed a ½” or one finger width from the butt end of the golf clubs grip.

Grip “Pressure”… Wow, look at those white knuckles! “Pressure” is in relation to how tight or loose your holding the club. Stay supple. Keep white knuckling your grip pressure and it sends tension all the way up through the wrist and into the forearms. Which is not good. What’s the proper pressure? Think of a full tube of toothpaste, squeeze down just enough to start a constant even flow. Not much is it? Students usually squeeze the hands to tight.

Next, let’s go to the set-up.

If you’re encouraged to …

“Address” the ball… (take your “set up”). It’s the position of the golfer and their club as they stand over the ball preparing to make a swing or take a shot.

Take your “Alignment”…Square Up. Line up your body to the intended target. The position at which the golfer addresses the ball in general should be parallel to the imaginary ball to target line. By drawing a straight line from the players heels parallel to the left of the target, the players heels, knees and hips should result in three parallel lines and is known as ‘parallel alignment’. The player can be too “closed” pointing to the right of the intended target or too “open” pointing to far left of the intended target. Like a set of railroad tracks, the ball to target line is the outside rail and the heels, knees and hips are the inside rail.

If I say…

How bout’ some “Posture”… straighten the lower spine. No hunching of the back with the chin buried in the chest. A feeling of sticking your butt out and the chin up. Also known as a universally athletic position. Think of a basketball player, shortstop, or a tennis player returning a serve.

Create some “Spine Angle” … from looking down the ball to target line the players spine is bent forward from the hips, not the waste. If there is too much angle in the spine then it’s considered “flat”, not enough angle and I’ll let you know it’s to “upright”.

“Tilt”… looking face on at my students, the tilt of the spine should be to their right while the left side is higher then the right. Don’t lean, just tilt the spine to the right. Remember “Spine Angle” which is observed down the line is not to be confused with “Spine Tilt” which is observed face on.

“Center” your hips… make sure your hips are centered between your feet. A line drawn vertically down from each hip should intersect equally in distance from each foot. Don’t confuse this with having your hips square.

“Connection”… feel the light “pressure” of your biceps against your chest.

“Knockem” … another sensation of having the “tension or pressure” on the insides of your thighs and/or feet. This gives the player a stable foundation during the swing. As an instructor I don’t like the term “tension” except when referring to the build up of torque during the swing. And “pressure” except when referring to how little the player has in the grip and being connected.

“Fan” the feet… by splaying the feet out 25-30 degrees, especially the left foot, this facilitates the golfer to release their hips all the way through to the finish allowing a full turn.

“Relax”… the hands, wrists, forearms, shoulders and upper back all need to feel like a wet noodle. Droop the shoulders, flop the chest, slump the upper back, drape the arms and by all means supple up the wrists and the forearms. Whatever it takes…relax.

“Forward Press”… move your hands left towards the target in front of the ball and the club head, not behind the two. The golfers hands should be just opposite the left inner thigh. Done correctly this permits the arms to be fully extended while influencing the left side of the body to be higher than the right. Which we call… that’s right, “Spine Tilt”.

“Bend” or “Straighten” your knees…exactly what it means. Bend or straighten your knees.

Now finding a golf pro that’s right for you, well, that might take a little more effort. Just because they have the “pro” title, doesn’t necessarily make them a competent teacher. Some important considerations are:

1. The length of time the pro’s been teaching.
2. How often do they teach. Do they teach full time or do they have other duties such as running the pro shop or tournaments.
3. What associations are they members of and are they a member or an apprentice of that association.
4. Does the pro use video technology?
5. Days and hours that they teach.
6. Do they offer on the course playing lessons, short game or putting lessons.

Having been at Torrey Pines for twenty years, one of the most popular questions I get is “Do you teach beginners?” My answer of course is “absolutely”. Other questions are “Do you teach junior, ladies, seniors, the handicapped?” Just because a teaching pro has more experience than another doesn’t mean they only teach the more experienced player. The teaching pro who teaches full time or has more experience has observed more swings than the less experienced or part time instructor. The advantage of an experienced pro is they can frequently reveal the flaw sooner and establish a quicker remedy to the fault at hand. Again, it doesn’t mean they only teach the better player.

Generally, most golf pros better qualified to provide lessons are members of the PGA which stands for the Professional Golfers Association. They become PGA members only after they complete an apprenticeship. The apprenticeship takes about five to six years to complete which includes passing a playing ability test and numerous subject matters from specific business issues to teaching. That’s not to say apprentices or non-members of the PGA are not competent at teaching. There are golf instructors, coaches, club fitters, etc., that are very competent at teaching. They’re just harder to find. Being a member of the PGA or having credentials at least gives the golfer looking for lessons a bench mark to start with.

My goal at club fitting is to provide my students with the best model and custom club specifications so they can increase performance through accuracy, distance control and shot making ability.

Most golf clubs at golf and pro shops are standard specifications. If a player doesn’t fit those specs, the equipment won’t fit the player. An accurate club fit will help get the player to reach their optimal performance. It is essential for players to receive custom club fitting from an experienced and trained club fitter, before investing in clubs.

During a club fitting session we test the following variables:

• Shaft length
• Shaft flex
• Shaft type
• Lie angle
• Grip size
• Golf club head design
• Set make up

Shaft Length: Shaft length will influence where the ball is consistently struck on the clubface. The correct shaft length will prevent a golfer from having to alter their natural swing in order to make optimal contact.

Shaft Flex: Shaft flex influences distance, accuracy, trajectory and consistency. The shaft flexes during the swing. Incorrect shaft flex drastically reduces the chance of making consistent solid contact.

Shaft Type: Individuality makes the decision. Steel or graphite shafts, swing weights, kick (or bend) points and torque ratings should be considered.Some of my students like the feel of a lighter shaft. Graphite is generally lighter than steel.

Lie Angle: This is the angle created by the shaft and sole of the club. With the correct lie angle, the center of the clubhead will touch the ground, during impact. Should the toe of the clubhead be raised at impact, a hooking shot may result. If the heel is raised, a push or slice could result.

Grip Size: The correct grip size can influence the golfers ability to return the clubface to a square position and release the wrists through impact. Also, with the assortment of grip textures, personal preference is a determining factor.

Clubhead Design: The introduction of MOI (moment of inertia) has become a big consideration, predominantly with higher handicappers. When contact is made outside the sweet spot, a high MOI reduces twisting during contact, producing shots with a smaller window of error.

Set Make Up: With new hybrid clubs golfers have a wider range of options in the clubs they carry in their bag, their set make up. Various lofts and designs in irons, woods, hybrids and wedges demand a professional custom club fitting.

Something to keep in mind is, if you order clubs after a club fitting, the cost is approximately the same as the standard set bought off the shelf.  Also, my students are under no obligation to purchase a set after a club fitting session. However, there’s a nominal fee for the club fitting but that fee is waived if you do purchase clubs from me.

So if you or someone you know are looking for a set of clubs, feel free to call my cell or email me to set up a time to get you into a custom set of golf clubs built specifically for your body type, swing mechanics and temperament. I can make this promise, that it will assist in better miss hits, lower scores and you’ll look good with that brand new set make-up in your bag.

• Power Game (full swing distance & accuracy)
• Short Game Skills (100 yards and in)
• Putting (execution and green reading)
• Game management evaluation (club & shot selection)
• Mental skills (controlling your focus & emotions)

There are other advantages to a playing lesson. Learning the proper pace of play, order of play, rules, proper golf etiquette, or any of the “little things” that better players and even tour pros do that might not be that apparent to the recreational player. We can focus on any one, some or a bit of all of these during a playing lesson. Not to mention, just enjoying beautiful Torrey Pines!

Give me call and we’ll get you penciled in for that playing lesson you’ve always wanted or purchase a Torrey Pines playing lesson gift certificate.

1. Eyes directly over the line of putt.
2. Hands directly below your shoulders.
3. Shoulders parallel to you line of putt.
4. Slow accelerated stroke through the ball.

Remembering just these basic fundamentals will start you on the right track to becoming more consistent at holing more putts.