GolfRx: Getting Children Started in Golf

Golf is a lifetime game. Whether children take advantage and enjoy this game often depends on their early experiences. Golf has to be fun for children. When introducing the sport to a child, I try to get him/her to develop a passion for the game. I begin by teaching the basic swing form that will allow them to at least hit the ball in the air. If there is a major swing flaw that prevents this, the child will get discouraged and want to quit.

A child can start practicing golf if he can stand and swing a club. Get him out in the yard or to the driving range and let him swing away. There are many opportunities available to kids to get started. There are opportunities available that range from sponsored free clinics to week-long golf camps. Most golf facilities offer both group and private golf lesson to kids.

The Michigan PGA and Carl’s Golfland offer free junior golf clinics at both of Carl’s locations. The clinics are for boys and girls ages 8-17 of all skill levels. Kids golf from 10 a.m. until 11:30 a.m. and then enjoy free pizza and Pepsi after golf.

The next available classes are Thursday, August 9th at Carl’s in Bloomfield Hills and Thursday, August 16th at the location in Plymouth. To register: call 248-335-8095 for Bloomfield Hills, or 734-354-9274 for the Plymouth location.

Equipment for Kids

For the very young there are plastic clubs available that are very light with larger plastic golf balls to hit. The choices for junior golf clubs available from top manufactures have increased greatly over the years. They have realized that kids are their future customers.

They are available in many different lengths to fit all ages and sizes. We have a “First Club For Kids” program at Carl’s Golfland. Carl’s will give a new club to all kids to get them started with this game of a lifetime.

It is important to have patience and recognize the development levels of kids when you begin lessons. At first, just let kids go and don’t worry about form. If they continue to show interest, find a qualified instructor that works well with kids. My priority is to keep it fun. I will not go too long with the same exercise. If I see the kids are getting bored hitting full shots, we will go to the green and putt and chip for a while.

As a child’s skill level increases, I will help him understand some of the swing fundamentals and teach the etiquette of playing.

As they improve and develop more playing skills, competitive play is the next step. There are many opportunities for kids to play in tournaments throughout Michigan.

Playing in competition early-on is important. I have had many good golfers go out for their high school golf teams and struggle because they never had the experience of playing in tournaments. Playing with parents and friends is very different than in tournaments or high school tryouts.

Most important is to give kids the opportunity to take golf to whatever level they may choose. You never know who may be the next Tiger Woods.

GolfRX: Physical Causes of a Poor Pivot

We know that the best players in the world spend many hours a week in the gym stretching and strengthening. They know the condition of their bodies play a vital role in their ability to swing the golf club correctly.

Far too often player’s work on their golf swing mechanics without realizing that swing flaws may be due to a physical condition.

This month lets look at the pivot, the rotation of the body in the back swing. Two of the biggest faults that I see are a sway and a reverse spin tilt. They both have common physical causes. I will first look at the swing faults; second the physical condition that may cause that fault; and lastly, simple exercises to improve the condition.

What is a sway?

A sway is an excessive lateral lower body movement away from the target during the back swing. This may result in your weight going to the outside of the back foot. The right hip needs to rotate in the back swing, but should not move laterally. This swing fault makes it difficult to make a proper weight shift at the start of the downswing.

Physical causes of a sway

The most important factor in preventing any lateral movement is good right hip internal rotation into the right hip. If the body is unable to rotate around the right hip due to joint or muscular restrictions, then lateral movement will be difficult to stop.

A second reason a player may sway is the inability to separate the upper body from the lower body. The ability to separate the upper body from the lower body allows the lower body to laterally stabilize while rotating the shoulders in the back swing. Limited torso to pelvis separation can be due to limited spinal mobility and shortened lat flexibility.

Lastly, the ability to keep a stable right leg in the back swing is related to the strength and stability of your gluteal musculature (the behind). The glute medius being the most important in preventing lateral sway in the right leg and hip.

Reverse spin tilt

A reverse spin tilt is an excessive upper body backward bend towards the target at the top of the back swing. This makes it very difficult to initiate the down swing with the lower body. This position is one of the major reasons why golfers suffer from lower back pain.

Physical causes of a reverse spin tilt

Just as with the sway right hip internal rotation is important to turn into the right hip without any lateral movement. Any lateral sway in the right leg and hip will cause the spin to tilt backwards to the target.

Also as with the sway tightness in the latissmus dorsi muscle group can lead to a reverse tilt to the spin.Tightness here can lead to a backwards bend in the spin as the arms try and elevate in the back swing.

Strength and stability in the core muscles (abs and glutes) are necessary to stabilize your spin angle during the back swing.

Corrections

There are numerous exercises to improve the conditions that cause a sway and the reverse spin tilt. Any general strength or flexibility conditioning you do will help.

Here are three exercises that you can try at home without any special equipment to help strengthen and correct these problems.

Whether you have hours a week or are limited on the time you are able to devote to exercise spend it on specific exercises that will help you improve your game. Have fun with your practice.

1. Half-Kneeling Turns

This will help improve thoracic spin rotation and hip internal rotation as well as lat flexibility. Get into a half-kneeling position. Grab each end of a golf club, hold it over your head and keep your posture as tall as possible. (Fig. A)

Without moving your lower body, try to rotate your torso as far as possible to the right. (Fig. B) Repeat back and forth in each direction.

2. Torso Turns – one leg

This will improve your core strength and torso rotation.

Stand on one leg, cross your arms over your chest and get into your golf posture. Try and rotate your torso back and forth for up to 15 to 20 seconds without moving your lower body Repeat on the other leg.

3. Dead bug arm drops for improving Lat flexibility

Lying flat on your back with your knees bent and your arms elevated (Fig. C). Keeping a neutral spin and stable core posture try to lower your arms down to the ground behind your head one at a time (Fig. D) and then together.

GolfRx: June 2007

The short shots around the green are the most important shots for the average player to master. The average golfer will usually hit less than 50% of greens in regulation. I see so many golfers that are capable of hitting two or three shots well enough to get near the green, but is unable to score because of a poor short game. Even the Professional golfer misses greens, but they are able pitch or chip the ball close to the hole to save par. You will lower your score faster by spending more time practicing a basic pitch and chip than by spending time practicing your full swing.

What is the Difference Between Pitching and Chipping?

Chipping is a low short shot made to the green that has less air, or carry time, and more roll time once it hits the green.

Pitching is a short high shot hit to the green that has more air, or carry, and very little roll once it hits the green.

Which Shot to Use?

As a rule of thumb, keep the ball low to the ground and have it roll to the hole as much as you can. This means putt when you can, chip when you can’t putt, and pitch when you have to. If you only have a couple of feet of apron to putt through use the putter. If you need to fly the ball onto the green, picture a shot that has a trajectory that will carry the ball to the green and then roll to the hole. Some players will use many different clubs around the green; others will only use one. When your shot requires more carry to the green than roll to the hole itself, you need to pitch the ball with a lofted club. Use this shot when the hole is very close to the edge of the green where the carry to the green is equivalent to the roll to the hole; or use it when you are further away from the green and the shot requires more carry distance to fly to the green.

THE CHIP SHOT

The chipping technique is a shorter swing without wrist action. The most common club to chip with is the 7-iron. I find that many players make short shots around the green too complicated and change the set-up too much from what they do in their full swing. To find a basic set-up for chipping take your normal set-up with your 7 iron; place your feet closer to each other; and move your left foot back off the target line one or two inches opening your hips and feet but not your shoulders (Fig. 1).

Lean your upper body to the left slightly putting more weight on the front foot (Fig.2). Check your ball placement with your shoulders because they stay square to the target line. When the upper body leans to the left the ball should be slightly to the right of your buttons of your shirt.

What makes the chipping stroke different from the pitching is that there is no wrist action in the swing, almost like a putting stroke. The club should swing back and through very low and level to the ground. Practice this shot by placing two clubs on the ground parallel to one another about two feet apart (Fig.1). This not only can help for your aim, but more importantly your stroke.

During the swing the club head should stay in between the two clubs in your back swing and forward swing. Most players have problems because they use their hands too much, thus bringing the club inside and crossing the shaft on the ground, or taking the club up off the ground too much. The swing should feel like a sweeping motion back and forth just brushing the grass. The back swing and forward swing should be about the same length.

Practice chipping with the 7 irons to know how far the ball travels in the air compared to the roll on the green. Control the length of the shot by changing the length of the back swing. Compared to a 7 iron, an 8 iron will have a higher trajectory and less roll and a 6 iron would have a lower trajectory and more roll. Some players will change the club to fit the shot, while others might use one club but change the length of the swing to control the length of the shot. Discover which works best for you.

THE PITCH SHOT

The pitching technique is like a smaller version of the full swing. If you have a sand wedge use it before using a pitching wedge. There is a bigger difference in loft between a pitching wedge and sand wedge than there is between other clubs. Start with short shots. Using a little shoulder turn and a little wrist break take the club back to the hip high level. Make your forward swing a mirror image of the back swing by following through to the hip height level.

Through impact the left wrist should stay flat. (Fig.3). The most common fault would be to break down the left wrist. (Fig.4). Hold your follow-through to check your position. If your wrist is breaking down, work on keeping the club lower to the ground in the forward swing. A good drill would be to hit and stop your swing a few inches past the ball holding that flat left wrist position. When you have the feel of hitting the ball without breaking down, let your follow through continue on. As you need to lengthen the swing to hit a longer shot, gradually widen your stance and square your hips and feet to the target until you get to your full swing position.

Like putting, always take a practice swing when pitching and chipping to get a feel for how big of a swing you need for the length of the shot you have. Look longer at the hole than you do down at the ball, you need to have a good picture in your minds eye once you look down at the ball. The longer you stare down the hole, the longer the picture will stay in your mind. It is also helpful to pick a spot on the green where you want the ball to fly to through the air. Much like putting, distance is more important than direction.

It is one thing to make good clean contact and hit the ball straight and another to hit the ball the 15 yards that you need.

Have fun practicing your short game. That’s the fastest way to lowering your score.

Great Northern Michigan Vacations

It’s a rite of passage for many. Friday afternoon, load up the kids and the car and work your way over to I-75 north and begin the crawl to your destination in Northern Michigan. Although the thought of creeping along in your car with thousands of other people with the same itinerary may seem daunting, the reward is worth the trip.

In particular, if you head to someplace like Crystal Mountain, Garland Resort or Grand Traverse, you will experience some of the greatest resort living that Michigan, or any state, has to offer.

Whether you enjoy golfing, fishing, water skiing, boating or just relaxing with a good book, there is something for you at each of theses resorts.

Garland Resort, located in Lewiston, Michigan, is a slice of heaven lost in the woods of mid-Michigan. With four challenging golf courses, miles of trails, a pool, indoor Jacuzzi and spa services, you can custom-design the vacation of your choice.

There are a variety of living quarters for you to choose. The main lodge offers elegant spacious rooms conveniently located near the pro shop, gym, lap pool, sauna and Jacuzzi and restaurant.

If you are seeking more privacy, choose one of the many types of villas that are scattered throughout the grounds. From one and two bedroom villas whose log cabin design give you a true feeling of rustic adventures, to the golf cottages and condos complete with kitchens and multiple sleeping areas, Garland can accommodate just about any size family.

The four championship golf courses include: Swampfire, The Fountains, Monarch and the Reflections. Each with its own identity and challenges, the multiple tee boxes can change the dynamics of the course depending upon your skill level.

If golf is not your game, you can hike or mountain bike the numerous nature trails, try your hand at fishing in the nearby lakes, ponds or river, or take a leisurely canoe/tube ride along the Ausable River. Whatever your pleasure, you can experience it in Garland.

If you like to be closer to some mainstream action, yet enjoy the resort living, head to Grand Traverse Resort and Spa near Traverse City. With over $12 million in upgrades over the last four years, Grand Traverse Resort and Spa may not be the same resort you visited years ago, although it still offers some of the greatest resort experiences of anywhere in Michigan.

According to J. Mike DeAgostino, public relations manager, they have upgraded the lobby, guest rooms, spa, and renovated the 16th floor restaurant formerly known as Trillium (scheduled to re-open June 1 under a new name).

“The rooms have been updated, redone from floor to ceiling,” says DeAgostino. “There’s new furniture, new bedding with pillow top mattresses that are quite nice, and we did that in the tower and the hotel. We are in the process of working with the private condo owners to update those as well. We want to upgrade the guest experience as much as we can.”

With three championship golf courses; the Wolverine, The Bear, and Spruce Run designed by Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus and William Newcomb respectively, you can expect challenging, picturesque courses accentuating Northwest Michigan’s beautiful terrain.

However, there is plenty of activities when the golf day is finished. With a newly remodeled spa offering everything from pedicures and manicures to couples and dining massages, you can unwind at the end of the day and enjoy the finer things of vacationing.

During the day, you can enjoy the Shores Beach Club located on the shores of Lake Michigan. Whether you relax on the beach, soaking in the sun, or venture out on to the waters in one of the many available watercraft, the Shores Beach Club can enhance your Grand Traverse experience.

“There are tons of things to do in the summertime,” says DeAgostino. “Friday and Saturday nights we have a bonfire at the Shores Beach Club with a guitar player and s’mores; we have a great tennis program and kids’ programs.”

If shopping is more to your liking, you can enjoy the shopping at the resort’s Gallery of Shops, or venture out into Traverse City at the many local, novelty shops. With so much to do including nearby casinos such as Turtle Creek or the Leelanau Sands in Leelanau County, the Grand Traverse Resort and Spa can truly add to your up-north vacation experience.

Finally, Crystal Mountain Golf and Ski Resort is celebrating its 50th anniversary. Located in Thompsonville, Michigan on the northwest side of the state, Crystal Mountain has been the perfect getaway for couples, friends and families alike.

As part of their anniversary, they are offering $50 in savings for guests staying three nights (lodging only); or two nights for the golf packages. The $50 can be applied to a anything at the resort including your lodging, golf, pro shop, activities or food, says Brian Lawson, public relations manager.

If you are looking for a family adventure, Crystal Mountain may be the place for you. They have 36 holes of outstanding golf, including the Mountain Ridge course which is the home to the Michigan Women’s Open each July. If you are looking to improve your game, or start your kids off on the right foot, Crystal Mountain offers 90 golf schools including junior programs.

For those hot days, a one acre water park called The Park at Water’s Edge is an outdoor water playground that is sure to entertain your kids. You can also enjoy a 4,200 square-foot pool, complete with a playground structure that splashes, dumps and sprays water all around the kids. The park is surrounded by the cottage accommodations, some of the popular family accommodations on the grounds.

This year, Crystal Mountain is also introducing a nursery program for children ages three and under. This half-day or full-day program allows for parents to enjoy some of the adult amenities but still enjoy other activities with their family. Parents can have the peace of mind that their children are well-taken care of while they enjoy the golf, spa or other activities along the mountain.

For teens, a new scavenger hunt on the mountain is being introduced along with dances, trips to a nearby drive-in movie theater and inner tube trips down the Platt River.

For the active, healthy, adventurous type, “Geocaching” – an adventure where participants utilize GPS units and locate different coordinates on the mountain – is new to Crystal Mountain. “We cater to people who are looking to be particularly healthy while vacationing,” says Lawson. “We offer pilates, yoga classes, and mountain climbs along with healthy meals in our two restaurants.”

It’s not too late to plan your getaway to northern Michigan. Be sure to check out the websites of each of the resorts to see what adventure you would like to take on this summer. Whichever your choice, you can’t go wrong in the summertime in Michigan.

GolfRx: April 2007

The dreaded Slice. By far the most common bad shot for the average golfer. What is a slice? A slice is when a ball that is hit severely curves to the right. (Assume a right-handed player.).

The first step to stopping a slice, or any bad shot for that matter, is to understand what the club is doing through impact. The clubface is always telling the ball where to go. Most golfers tend to think the slice is a result of swinging the club from out, to in, cutting across the ball. But that is not it; the ball goes to the right because the clubface is OPEN. The curve to the right means the face is open to the direction the club is traveling.

So again, if the club is swinging to the left (out to in) in the follow through, and the clubface is open at impact, the ball will curve to the right. The more open the clubface is compared to the path the club is traveling the more slice there will be on the ball. A clubface that has less loft will put more sidespin on the ball. This is why the driver slices the most. So, why is the clubface open? There could be many reasons.

Things to Check in the Set-up

• The Set-up: This is the most important part. At home or at the range is the place to practice. Find your normal set-up, take a deep breath, and feel. A major difference between a lower handicap player and the high handicap player is the ability to feel during the swing. Not being able to feel the club during the swing makes it very difficult to make an adjustment. Tension in the body takes away the ability to feel. Too much tension will also stop the hands and arms from moving which will prevent the clubface from squaring up at impact.

• Grip and grip tension check points: Hold the club with the fingers not palms. Hands need to be soft so that you can feel the club in the swing. The top three fingers of the left hand and the middle two of the right should be the pressure points.

• Relax your arms, shoulders, neck, back and chest: I find that tension in the shoulders and chest to be a bigger problem than in the grip. After all, the fingers need to stay secure on the club.

One of the most common faults in the set-up that will result in a player slicing the ball is to aim the shoulders to the left (open to the target line).

This will cause the club to swing to the left in the follow through. Remember swinging to the left with the club open at impact is what puts slice spin on the ball. Check your alignment by putting a club across your shoulders looking for the shaft of the club to be square to the target line. (Figure 1)

Check your ball position by laying two clubs on the ground at right angles. (Figure 2)

Look for the ball to be lined up with your left shoulder so that your arm and shaft of the club are in a straight line. There should be a slight tilt to the right with your upper body. That tilt is also the feeling of your shoulders being square to the target line.

The Swing

When you first start practing with your driver choke down on the club an inch or two. This will help you have more control of the club. Some of the best players in the world will also practice swinging the club at half their normal speed. This will help you recognize what the club is doing in your swing.

Remind yourself about being relaxed and you must keep that same feel throughout the swing. Take some swings without the ball at first. Stop the follow through with the club and with your arms extending straight out from your body to about the hip high position. Look at the clubface.

The toe of the club must be pointing to the sky. (Figure 3)

If the toe is pointing to the right (clubface pointing to the sky) the face is open. (Figure 4)

Hit some shots with this half of a follow through swing checking the position of the clubface. If the ball is going straight, start completing your follow through.

Another good drill would be an impact drill. Very slowly move down from the top of your back swing and stop at the ball. If you move down to impact and the face is open, you would have just hit a slice. Relax and do it again. Make the adjustment that you need to do so the club is square at impact. If the club is in the correct position it will probably mean that the body is also in the correct position.

When hitting practice balls, remember the ball doesn’t lie. If the ball goes to the right, the clubface is open.

The more the slice, the more the club is swinging to the left with the clubface open. If you feel like you are swinging to the target with the club turning to the toe-up position but the ball still goes to the right, start exaggerating the motion. If the ball stops slicing, add some speed to the swing.

Have fun practicing your game. Remember golf is a game, thus it is meant to be enjoyed.

GolfRx: March 2007

You shouldn’t wait until the courses open and you plan your first round of the year to think about improving your game. It can be very frustrating to a golfer to play year after year and not see any improvement. Regardless of your level of ability, golf will be more fun if you see improvement over time.

There can be many reasons for the lack of improvement; limited practice time, practicing your strengths instead of your weaknesses, not understanding swing technique and the fear to change, among others.

The more you know your game the more you will be able to see improvement as you play and practice throughout the year. Players that improve over time understand the golf swing to some degree. Your body can only do what your mind tells it to do so, if you have no concept or a poor concept of the swing it’s difficult to get better. You need to practice with a purpose. That means knowing what parts of your game need the most work and what to do to improve those areas.

EVALUATING YOUR GAME & SETTING GOALS

Whether you are a single digit handicap or not even at a level where you keep track of your score, evaluating your game is an important part of making progress. You must determine your strengths and weakness in order to know which areas to spend your practice time. One of the first questions I ask a player when they come in for a lesson is, “What bad shots prevent you from having a lower score?”

Before you pick up a club, think back to your last few rounds and identify what type of shots cost you the most strokes.

QUESTIONS TO ASK YOURSELF

Tee Shots –

• How many fairways did I hit?

• How many tee shot cost me a penalty shot?

• How many tee shots prevented me from having a second shot?

There is a difference between a tee shot that is out of bounds, or behind a tree, and one that is off the fairway by five yards. Being off the fairway by five yards still gives you a swing to at least advance the ball.

Fairway Shots –

• How many greens did I hit in regulation?

• Can I hit my fairway woods off the ground?

• Do I have trouble hitting shots from different lies?

Short Game –

• Do I get my first chip or pitch shot onto the green?

• How many putts per round?

Your questions and goal-settings need to match your level of play. For example, a low handicap player keeps track of how many pitch shots he hits within two feet, whereas a higher handicap player might be keeping track of how many pitch shots he gets onto the green with the first try.

TIME FOR THE RANGE

Before you start hitting balls spend some time warming up the body. Do a few of your favorite stretches; focus on your back, hamstring and shoulders. Swing a weighted club a few times. If you don’t have a weighted club, swing two of your irons at the same time.

Especially early in the year, it is a good idea to start hitting your fist few shots with shorter and slower than normal swings.

A good place to start would be to hit balls with the toe of the club up drill. Two of the common positions of a better player would be to have the toe of the golf club almost pointing directly to the sky at the hip high position in the back swing (Fig. 1) and the mirror image of that position in the follow through. (Fig 2).

You can practice this at home without even having to hit balls. Not only look for the toe of the club position, but also check that the shaft of the golf club is parallel to the target when it is hip high.

After hitting balls with a short swing for a few minutes, increase your swing until you are taking your normal full swing, keeping your swing slower than normal. Better players will have a practice swing speed that is slower than normal. This can help in several ways.

First, early in the year your body needs a chance to get back into the swing of things. Most golf injuries happen early in the year when our bodies are not stretched or warmed up enough. Swinging slower and easier than normal will also help you relax. Tension is one of the biggest reasons why players hit bad shots.

Swinging slower will also help you feel what you are doing in your swing. If you can’t feel where your club is, or what your body is doing during your swing, it is difficult to make any improvements.

Keep your mind free of technical stuff for the first couple of times hitting balls. Use this time to loosen up and evaluate your shots. Look for patterns to your bad shots. If you have a pattern to your bad shots, you can look into your swing to make corrections. If you are not sure how to make corrections, it might be time to learn more about the golf swing whether by book, video or by taking a lesson. No one can see their own swing, even the best players in the world who understand the golf swing completely need another pair of eyes.

Have fun with your spring season practice.

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