Golf Tip of the Month

Last month I discussed the role of the club face in the golf swing. I hope that helped you gain a better understanding of what the golf club is doing. This month I want to tackle the role of your arms in the golf swing. Obviously the arms are the key to the swing in that they along with the hands are the only connection to the club. I want to define the position of the arms in the backswing in this article. Please try the following exercise:

1. Take your normal address position without a golf ball with a 7 iron.
2. Release your right hand and let it hang next to the club. Keep your left hand on the club.
3. Swing your right arm back simulating the backswing keeping your right elbow as far away from your body as possible.
4. Keeping your right arm at the top of the backswing, swing the left arm and club as far back as possible. Stop when your arm starts to bend.
5. Grip the club with your right hand.
This is the proper top of the backswing for your golf swing. The first point most people notice is how short the proper backswing is in relation to what they thought. The next point people notice is how far your right elbow is from your body. The final point most people realize is how vertical the shaft is pointing. Almost straight up and down. The most common misconception is the elbow issue. Most golfers believe that the elbow should be next to their body, I strongly disagree. I think that 95% of all golfers are better served if they get in the most natural athletic position possible. Try this: Take a ball and begin to make a throwing position. When your arm is at it's highest point, where is your elbow? It is away from your body. You cannot swing your arm with speed with it pinned against your body. Pinning it against your body is similar to a shot put athlete in the Olympics. Not a sport that requires a slinging of the club at a maximum speed for the individual. So if you want to hit it further in a more comfortable position let your right elbow get away from your body. See the pictures below.

Good Elbow Position Bad Elbow Position









I hope that this explanation helps clear up another golf misconception. For more information please visit my website www.bobschade.com. Good luck and good golfing!

This month’s tip will help you chip the ball closer to the hole when you miss a green. I don‘t know about you, but I miss at least half of the greens that I attempt to hit. The short game, specifically chipping is the cornerstone of low scoring. That is very evident when we watch the pros on television. Follow the guidelines below, practice each step and you will chip closer to the hole and therefore lower your score and handicap. Good luck and practice!

1. Position the golf ball opposite your right big toe.
2. Position the grip end of the club in front of ball.
3. Position the majority of your body weight on your front foot.

Those are the three mechanical pre-shot requirements for successful chipping. The ball position ensures quality contact. The positioning of the grip in front of the ball creates the proper angle on the downswing into the back of the ball. The placement of the majority of your body weight keeps you stable throughout the shot. Please keep in mind that your must keep your body weight on your front foot throughout the entire swing. Do not shift your weight!

GOLF TIP OF THE MONTH

This month’s tip will focus your game to putting. There are several drills that you can do very easily to improve your chances at making more putts. Practice these drills and you will increase your ability to roll the ball into the hole.

Drill #1 – Find a vacant area of the green and place a tee in the ground. Move twenty feet away and place another tee. Practice putting from one tee to the other. This drill narrows your focus and allows you to concentrate on distance control and accuracy.

Drill #2 – Place a tee in the ground fifteen feet away from a hole. Place another tee one grip length past the hole. Practice putting the ball between the front edge of the hole and the tee beyond the hole. This will lead to more aggressive putting which will guarantee more made putts.

Drill #3 – Align two clubs towards a hole about ten feet away. Position the clubs apart with enough distance to fit your putter. Practice without a ball, swinging between the two clubs, without hitting the two clubs. Then put a ball between the clubs and try the same drill. You will be amazed at how consistent your stroke will become if you spend a little time with this drill.

Good luck and I hope that you will work to improve your game this winter. I have assembled an archive of tips on my blog www.bobschade.blogspot.com and of course my website www.bobschade.com is a great resource to help you play better golf. Again good luck and good golfing!

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Summer is here and we have had near record heat here in Central Florida. The heat can affect your golf game for the good if you prepare for it. Follow these guidelines to train your body to cope with the oppressive heat.

1.Drink at least 32oz of water before you play or practice. Pre-hydration is one of the misunderstood parts of preparing for long-term exposure to the heat. If you fill your body with water before going out you will give your body something to sweat out. If you are not sweating, you are probably closed to the beginning stages of dehydration. Dehydration is a serious condition that can lead to death. Be careful and pre-hydrate your body with water.
2.Eat something solid about an hour before you play. An empty stomach will turn sour if you spend four hours out in the heat.
3.Drink at least 16oz of water for each nine holes of golf you play. More is better and you cannot put to much water in your system.
4.Wet a big towel and lay it across your neck. This will cool your entire body.
5.Post-hydrate after your round. Drink another 16oz of water or a sports drink. This will aid in cooling your body down quicker and get you in your comfort zone.

If you work on these five tips you will be better suited to handle the heat of the Florida summer.

Quick Tip:

1.Take your normal stance.
2.Move your hands slightly behind the ball.
3.Widen your stance another four inches.
4.Put more weight on your back foot. About 60%.
5.Turn your back to the target.
6.Swing your arms as fast as possible to and through the golf ball.

This quick tip is a distance boost for every level of golfer. Work on this on the range and you will be amazed how much distance you get. Good luck and good golfing. If you have any questions please email me cypresswoodcc@gmail.com.

GOLF TIP OF THE MONTH
By: Bob Schade


The importance of turning the shoulders during the golf swing cannot be underestimated. The turning of the shoulders is one of the true key elements in the golf swing. The more you turn your shoulders the more power you can store. The two pictures below will illustrate how to do a drill that will help each and every one of you get more shoulder turn. Follow the instructions below and you will be able to store more power on your backswing.

1.Take your normal address position.
2.Grab the hosel end of the club with your left hand. Palm up.
3.Grab the grip end of the club with your right hand. Palm down.
4.Extend both arms. Point the arms toward the target line.
5.Keeping both hands on the club, take your normal swinging motion.
6.Hold this position at the top of the backswing for five (5) seconds.
7.Repeat this procedure five (5) times.


If you practice this backswing drill for at least a week, you will gain substantial distance. Continue to do this drill as part of your normal practice routine and you solidify your backswing motion. This will lead to a more consistent and repeatable golf swing. For more information please visit my website at www.bobschade.com or email me you questions at cypresswoodcc@gmail.com. Good luck and good golfing!

Golf Tip of the Month
By: Bob Schade

This month's tip will help two different problems with these two drills. The first problem is slicing the golf ball. The second problem is a lack of finish to the golf swing. Both problems are somewhat connected and need to be addressed together.

Slicing the ball is a problem as old as the game. There have been thousands of books written on the subject. Most of the books try to teach a very complicated method to eradicate your slice. I have a simple solution, no don't quit! Check out drill below.

1.Take your normal address position with the club directly behind the golf ball.
2.Lift up the club and place it directly in front of the golf ball.
3.Move the club forward from there to a position where the shaft is parallel to the ground. The toe of the club should be pointing straight up or to the left a little. Never to the right!!!
4.Hold this position for 10 seconds then go back to your address position.
5.Take your normal swing trying to make the club hit the position that you held above.

This drill will help you create a position of post-release. While there is no actual release position there is definitely a post-release position that is extremely important to swing through.

A lack of finish comes from two places. A lack of release through the ball and insufficient speed at and through the golf ball. The drill above will help you with the release portion of this problem and the exercise below will help with the speed issue. It doesn't matter if you swing your club at 20mph or 150mph, this drill will help.

1.Take your normal address position with your driver.
2.Lift the club up and place it directly in front of the golf ball.
3.Swing as hard as you can from that position to a full finish. Do not make a backswing, just forward.
4.Make sure you swing in balance and go as far as your flexibility allows.

Do this drill several times, then make a normal swing trying to get to the position you just drilled. Done consistently and properly will create a swing that has increased forward momentum. Forward momentum will lead to straighter, longer shots. Every golfer's dream! Good luck and good golfing!

For more information on this drill and many others, please visit my website at www.bobschade.com or you can email me your questions at cypresswoodcc@hotmail.com. Thanks!

Last month I did a tip on chipping. I hope it helped! This month's tip is a small number of tips designed to help you through the transition of winter grass to summer grass.

Putting:

1.Position the golf ball more in the center of your stance.
2.Position more weight on your front (left) foot.
3.Position the grip end of the putter slightly in front of the golf ball.
4.Stroke the ball with a short, crisp back swing and pop the ball on the forward swing.

Sand Play:

1.Position the golf ball more in the front of your stance.
2.Dig in your heels only.
3.Position your weight 70% on your left foot.
4.Aim 1 inch behind the golf ball.
5.Swing hard!

Fairway play:

1.Position the golf ball farther back than normal in your stance.
2.Play less lofted clubs to keep your ball flight low and under control.
3.Choke up on the club of choice; maintaining control is critical.
4.Strive to stay in the fairway even if that means taking a club that you know will not give you the distance required to reach your target.

Driving:

1.Tee the ball slightly lower than normal.
2.Position the ball opposite your left chest.
3.Grip the club a little firmer.
4.Position your weight more on your back (right) foot.
5.Swing under control to maintain accuracy.

These 18 quick tips will help you with the transition from the winter grass to the summer grass. Good luck and good golfing! For more tips and information please visit my website www.bobschade.com.

Today's Quick Tip:

Many golfers I see on a daily basis have common issues. Most of them cannot line up square to their target, most of them swing back way to fast, most of them cannot hold their finish. All of these issues have a great effect on the golf swing. Here are some tips to help battle these common issues.



Lining up:

1. Come into the ball with your chest facing the target. Your eyes will help you find the correct target.

2. Remember that your shoulders should line up significantly left of your intended target.

3. A square clubface will always help.



Fast Backswing:

1. Take at least 2 full seconds from the start of your swing to the top of your swing.

2. Use only 20% of your potential power and speed on your backswing.

3. Start the backswing very slowly for the first 20 inches, then speed up.



Finish:

1. Finish with your chest, belt buckle, and right knee facing the target.

2. Finish with your hands away from your body. As far as possible.

3. Finish with most of your weight on your front foot toward the heel.



All of these quick tips will help your game. Try them on the range and in no time you will be lowering your handicap. Isn't that the point!

Golf Tip of the Month
By: Bob Schade

Last month I gave you a tip that if done right would help you control the flight and curvature of the golf ball. I hope that all of you learned a new skill that helps your game in 2010. This month I want to outline the proper technique for chipping.

1.Begin by aiming your club face at your intended target.
2.Grip the club, slightly choking down on the club.
3.Position the grip end of the club in front of the club head.
4.Position the ball opposite your right big toe.
5.Move most of your body's weight to your left (front) foot.

Now you are setup properly to the golf ball for the normal chip. From a strategy point of view the next step is very important. For all chips you want to aim at a spot one stride onto the green, then vary the club hit depending on the distance needed to get from that spot to the hole. This could vary the club from a sand wedge to a 3 iron. Using the same club for all distances is a mistake amateur golfers make all the time. Do you use the same club from 100 yards as you would from 200 yards, I doubt it!

Here is the method for executing the shot.

1.Make sure that you have done steps 1 – 5 above.
2.Keep your arms straight and firm.
3.Take the club back approximately 18 inches.
4.Come forward keeping the grip end in front of the club face.
5.Finish approximately 18 inches past the ball.

If you follow the ten steps outlined above you will not only improve your chipping but you will lower your score and handicap. Good luck and good golfing! For more free instruction please visit my website www.bobschade.com.