Bethany Hash

by Dan Rozek, PGA Teaching Professional @ Fox Creek Golf Club

How many of you have read the USGA Rules of Golf? How many of the people you normally play with have? My guess is only a few of you. Why? Here is a game that we all quite passionate about (from our golf clubs, places we play, to the clothes we buy), but yet we don’t familiarize ourselves with the rules. We assume what other have taught us is correct.

Knowing the rules can only help you on the golf course. It will help you to make stroke saving decisions in many circumstances. Understanding what “casual water”, “man made obstructions”, “loose impediments”, and the difference between a “water hazard” and a “lateral hazard” can have a great influence on how you play your next round and the score you may shoot.

Stop by and ask any of the PGA Professionals at Legacy, or Fox Creek if you have a rules question and pick up a rule book while you are there.

Receive 25% off the purchase of a rule book when you mention this article.

by Dan Rozek, PGA Teaching Professional @ Fox Creek Golf Club

The putter is the one club we will use the most in a round of golf, yet it is the club least often custom fit for us. It is essential that we are able to aim the putter face properly in order to get the ball rolling down our intended target line. Many times where we think the putter is aimed and the reality of where it truly is are quite different.

Having a putter that fits your stance and alignment can make a huge difference in the number of putts we make. The ability to set the putter down behind the ball and confidently know it is aimed down the intended target line is priceless. Standard putters for men come in lengths of 35 inches, 34 inches, and 33 inches in length. (You may need one longer, or in my case shorter than standard.) Having the proper length and lie are as essential to good putting as your stroke.

When choosing a putter, here are some other factors involved:

Head Construction – Putter heads come in a large variety of shapes. Each are designed to help you align the face to the target. No two people see things the same, thus the wide range of shapes and sizes available.

Face Material – Putters come with a variety of face inserts that have an effect on your distance control. The inserts translate feel to the golfer.

Hozel Configuration – Some of the options available are:

• Center shafted – the shaft enters the putter head near the center of the club head.
• Off set – the shaft connects to a hozel that is bent in front of the club face
• Non-off set- Shaft enters the putter head usually near the heal of the club head and is even with the face.

Hozel configuration directly effects the golfer’s alignment of the club head

Grip size – Larger thicker grips will tend to take the wrist action out of the putting stroke.

Stop by and have one of the professionals at Fox Creek, or Legacy take a look at your alignment and see if the putter you are using can be better fit for you.

We are offering $25 putting lessons this month!

by Dan Rozek, PGA Teaching Professional @ Fox Creek Golf Club

Controlling Distance with short irons is essential to scoring especially from 100 yards and closer. Most amateurs try and hit the ball harder for each shot with their wedges in order to make the ball go further. Instead try making the swing longer in order to make the ball go further.

First, find a tempo that you are comfortable swinging and can allow the club to brush the ground during a practice swing. Then using this tempo, begin to make short half swings always letting the club brush the grass. Progressively make longer swings. (Do not try and make the club swing faster. Instead allow the club to move faster due to the length of the swing.) Now try recreating that tempo with a ball in place. Start by just hitting a few shots with no particular distance in mind, only a direction. Take note of how far the ball is traveling. As this feels comfortable, begin to hit the ball longer and shorter by changing the swing length and not the tempo.

A great drill is to leap-frog golf balls out on to the range. Begin by hitting a ball 20 yards in the air. Hit the next ball in the air over the finished position of the 1st ball. Hit the next shot over the finished position of the 2nd ball. Hit the third shot over the finished position of the 2nd ball, ect… Continue to do this until you finally hit a full wedge shot. Accomplish this by making each shot travel further due to length of your backswing while maintaining your tempo and you will be more successful with your wedges.

To take this drill one step further, try the “leap-frog” drill with all your wedges each beginning with the same short 20yd distance and progressing outward and then working back inward to the beginning distance. When we are on the course, don’t let the number on the bottom of the wedge always determine the distance the shot travels. We want to be able to hit all of our wedges all any distance we choose inside of 100 yards.

Mention this article and receive 20% off a short game lesson.

by Dan Rozek, PGA Teaching Professional @ Fox Creek Golf Club

Too many times we watch students practice without having a sense of their target. They are simply hitting balls aimlessly on the range and being frustrated by the flight of the ball . Golf is a target oriented sport and our practice needs to be oriented around our targets.

Alignment aids such as clubs, or sticks on the ground can be extremely helpful in positioning our bodies parallel to our target. When we are not properly aligned we have to make compensations in our swing path in order to manipulate the club to make contact with the ball. These manipulations often times are difficult to repeat and will have to change with each swing if our alignment is not consistent.

Have one of the PGA Teaching Professionals at Fox Creek, or Legacy further explain the importance of correct alignment in order to help you build a more consistent swing.

Receive 20% off a lesson when you mention this article.

by Dan Rozek, PGA Teaching Professional @ Fox Creek Golf Club

Ever feel that on the range you seem to hit the ball quite well, but can’t take those shots to the course? Of course, most of us experience this. One reason can be the way we tend to practice on the range. For most of us after we warm up, we tend to hit a series of shots with each of our clubs. After hitting 5 to 10 shots with our low irons, we begin to move up the bag to our driver and then back down with the few remaining balls.

Next time you practice try this. After warming up, simulate a round of golf. Envision your favorite golf course in your mind and play each hole. Hit the club you would normally play off the 1st tee keeping in mind the conditions on the range that day (wind direction, temperature, ect…). After your drive, play the next shot based on how your drive would have turned out. If your second shot would have hit the green, move to the 2nd hole. If not, hit the appropriate pitch or chip shot to the 1st green. Play 9 or 18 holes in your mind. After “the round,” go back and work on the shots that gave you the most problem.

By practicing in this manner, you can work through your set and get into the rhythm you will need and use on the course. Rarely do we hit the same club twice in a row on the golf course. By changing clubs with each shot, you will simulate your round and begin to be able to take your game from the range to the course.

by Dan Rozek, PGA Teaching Professional @ Fox Creek Golf Club

It has been said that putting is ½ the game. And that is basically true. Yet when you observe most golfers, they are far more concerned with practicing and taking lessons on the full swing. The average golfer could benefit greatly from working on their short game: putting, chipping and pitching to lower their scores. Sure we all want to hit it further and straighter and that is important, but we must learn to have the touch for the short game to score better.

Dr. Bob Rotella, a sports psychologist who works with many PGA Tour Professionals, says that when practicing, “you should hit twice as many wedges as you do drivers, and twice as many putts as you do wedges”. How many times have we hit two good shots and are just off the green only to make a score of bogey or worse, thus negating those great shots? Focus your practice on the short game to improve your scores.

Mention this article and receive 20% off a short game lesson.