Beginners need to get fitted,
too – Linda Ramirez / Special to The Detroit
News
Many new golfers start out with borrowed equipment. Usually that equipment has
been in someone's garage or basement for a while. Most often the shafts are steel
and the grips are old and worn.
At a minimum, it would be helpful to have the grips replaced. Tension is the No.
1 killer of the swing. With a slippery grip, the new golfer will hold the club
even tighter to try to hit the ball. Just the opposite behavior is desired.
Make sure you get the proper size grip, too. One grip does
not fit all. If you have small hands, an undersized grip is needed. Grips usually
cost less than $10 per club to replace and will have an immediate benefit in exerting
the correct amount of pressure when holding the club.
As a new golfer, your game might not be consistent, but
with equipment that matches your height and swing speed, you will get better results
and you will improve more quickly. If you think, "I won't get new clubs until
I get better," you could develop bad habits while using ill-fitted equipment.
Getting custom-fit for clubs doesn't have to be expensive
or time-consuming. A credentialed golf professional can fit you in about 30-45
minutes. And it's not necessary to purchase a full set of clubs right away, either.
You might want to start with two woods and three or four irons.
Courtesy of LPGA Teaching and Club Professional Linda Ramirez.
ARCHIVES
Get started with lessons
Everyone who plays golf has the ability to hit a golf ball with some degree of
efficiency. The basic fundamentals of grip, set-up and alignment, combined with
practice, allow everyone to play with more enjoyment.
If you are a new golfer, now is the best time to take lessons,
before you create ineffective habits. The hardest lessons to give are the ones
that help students unlearn bad habits. Whether they stem from a misconception
of what is supposed to happen in the golf swing, or compensations for incorrect
set-up, or "Band-Aids" for improper swing planes, all bad habits can
be broken with some degree of effort.
Many golfers hit hundreds of golf balls with no thought as to
what is supposed to happen in the golf swing. Practicing the same bad habits over
and over, and expecting different results, will not produce good shots. A golf
professional can take away the trial and error and explain what will work for
you.
When you go to take that lesson, tell the professional where you
are in your game, a reasonable goal of where you would like to be, and how much
you are willing to work to get there. Find a golf professional who makes you feel
comfortable and with whom you can communicate easily. Do a little research, ask
your friends, and a find an LPGA or PGA professional in your area and sign up
for one lesson.
If you like the lesson, and believe you have learned something,
take a series of at least five lessons on the full swing and five more lessons
on the short game and practice.
Courtesy of LPGA Teaching and Club Professional Tere Weber
Get shoulders even with
lie – By Detroit News wire services
If you have an uphill lie in a bunker, tilt your shoulders at address to match
the slope of the ground. This will allow you to sweep through the sand as if you
were on level ground. If you set up with your shoulders level, you'll tend to
plow into the sand, which will restrict your follow-through.
Play the ball forward in your stance, open your stance slightly
and open the clubface.
This is a more difficult shot if you don't have much green to
work with. To hit the ball softly to a close pin, take a fairly long, wristy backswing,
with a soft, smooth downswing. You should feel as though you are dropping the
club on the ball. This will produce a high shot that drops softly on the green.
A shorter, more aggressive swing will cause the ball to come out
on a lower trajectory with more roll. That's not the shot you want to hit to a
close pin.
Use a target for alignment
Golf is a game of targets, so it is imperative that you are able to aim the club
and your body correctly. Try this to get the proper alignment:
Stand behind the ball and pick out an intermediate target a few
inches ahead of the ball. Aim the clubface at the intermediate target as you walk
into the shot, keeping your feet close together. The key is to keep your eyes
on the target the entire time as you set your feet, hips and shoulders parallel
to the target. Let your eyes do the work for you.
Remember, great players spend more time looking at the target
than looking at the ball.
Courtesy of LPGA Teaching and Club Professional Krista Dunton.
|
