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Staying Centered

by | Beginners, Full Swing, Instruction

Staying Centered

 

Staying centered is very important to your golf swing.  Moving too much laterally can cause a multitude of problems.  First off, moving your swing center causes the bottom of your swing to be too far behind or in front of the ball.  I usually see two major faults that cause this to happen.

The first fault is ball position.  For example, if the ball position is too far behind where it should be, the player usually moves the upper body too far over the rear foot in an attempt to get behind the ball.  At times this causes the lead arm to run into the chest too soon and the lead elbow to bend.  A major power leak which can lead to casting the club. 

The second major fault I often see is the lateral motion of the hips.  The hips should turn and not slide on the backswing.  Sliding can cause many problems with weight shift.  It’s nearly impossible to get back to a proper impact position.  Most times it causes poor contact.

So stay centered and keep your hips and head between the lines! 

Please comment below!

Mike Fay

Mike Fay

PGA Director of Instruction

With over 30 years of teaching experience, it's easy to see why Mike has become a leader in the world of golf instruction. Everything from cutting edge social networking techniques to having his own podcast, Mike has helped to change the face of teaching golf.  He currently is the Director of Instruction at Walnut Creek Country Club in South Lyon, Michigan.

Email:  [email protected]

How To Stop The Flippers!

by | Beginners, Instruction, Short Game

How To Stop The Flippers

 

One common problem I often see when I coach the short game is something I call the “flippers”.  As I often say, Flipper lives at Sea World, not on the golf course.  The flippers is a dreaded disease that sucks the life out of any good short game. 

What are the flippers?

I often see the flippers on both chips and pitches.  The flippers happen when you “flip” your wrist through impact and let your top hand break down, all of a sudden FLIP.  This causes the club head to pass the hands, the shaft gets too vertical, and you stand up through impact causing both fat and thin shots.

What causes the flippers?

I think the biggest reason people do this is a lack of acceleration through impact.  You MUST accelerate the club to get spin and control your distance.  This brings me to the other reason:  FEAR.  The fear of hitting the ball thin or fat automatically causes the flippers. 

How do you overcome these mistakes?

Well, first you must keep your hands moving in front of the club head.  Not, the other way around.  Next, you must “rip” your chips and pitches.  I mean hit them hard.  Most people that I coach don’t hit the ball hard enough around the green to make the ball spin.  Once you learn to hit them solid and hard, then you can control your distance through spin and height of shot. 

I hope these tips help you overcome your fears around the green.  NO MORE FLIPPERS!

Mike Fay

Mike Fay

PGA Director of Instruction

With over 30 years of teaching experience, it's easy to see why Mike has become a leader in the world of golf instruction. Everything from cutting edge social networking techniques to having his own podcast, Mike has helped to change the face of teaching golf.  He currently is the Director of Instruction at Walnut Creek Country Club in South Lyon, Michigan.

Email:  [email protected]

Winter Golf Tip: The 52 Degree Rule

by | Beginners, Course Strategy, Instruction

Winter Golf Tip:  The 52 Degree Rule

 

Winter golf can be challenging to say the least.  The layers of clothes, lack of distance, cold and wet playing conditions make things difficult.  Here is general rule of thumb to help you play better in the winter months.

Some funny things happen at 52 degrees.  I give credit to my long time friend and PGA Professional Bryan Costello from New Jersey for this one.  If the temperature drips below 52 degrees, it is more likely that the ball won’t travel as far.  Since the ball won’t go as far, you must automatically add more distance to all your shots.  Try it!  I hope it works for you!

Mike Fay

Mike Fay

PGA Director of Instruction

With over 30 years of teaching experience, it's easy to see why Mike has become a leader in the world of golf instruction. Everything from cutting edge social networking techniques to having his own podcast, Mike has helped to change the face of teaching golf.  He currently is the Director of Instruction at Walnut Creek Country Club in South Lyon, Michigan.

Email:  [email protected]

Improve Your Contact Around The Green

by | Beginners, Instruction, Short Game

Improve Your Contact Around The Green

 

 

 

One way to better your short game around the green is to hit the ball more solidly.  Once you learn to hit the ball solidly, then you will be able to develop a feel for how far your shots will travel.   Here are four ways to hit the ball more solidly.  Whether chipping or pitching, these are easy, simple and effective ways to improve your contact around the green.

 

  • Your club shaft is FORWARD with the butt end of the grip starting and finishing in front of the ball.
  • Your head should be OVER of the ball position and should stay there through out the swing and doesn’t move up, down or sideways.
  • The back of the LEAD hand should face the target and the club face should face the SKY when the swing is finished.
  • Your club head should finish BELOW your hands.
Mike Fay

Mike Fay

PGA Director of Instruction

With over 30 years of teaching experience, it's easy to see why Mike has become a leader in the world of golf instruction. Everything from cutting edge social networking techniques to having his own podcast, Mike has helped to change the face of teaching golf.  He currently is the Director of Instruction at Walnut Creek Country Club in South Lyon, Michigan.

Email:  [email protected]

Get Your Knuckles Down….

by | Beginners, Full Swing

Instruction

Get Your Knuckles Down

 

One common problem I see with beginning golfers is topping golf shots.  Here’s why….

When a golf ball is topped one of three things happened:

  1. You have come out of your posture through the swing and you are now above the ball.
  2. The bottom of your swing has moved behind the ball and by the time you get to the ball, you are above it.
  3. Your hands are not ahead of the ball at impact.

Try this…..

Through impact, feel like you turn your bottom hand knuckles to the ground at impact.  Make sure your hands are ahead of the ball at the same time.  These two things should get you hitting the ball better.

Mike Fay

Mike Fay

PGA Director of Instruction

With over 30 years of teaching experience, it's easy to see why Mike has become a leader in the world of golf instruction. Everything from cutting edge social networking techniques to having his own podcast, Mike has helped to change the face of teaching golf.  He currently is the Director of Instruction at Walnut Creek Country Club in South Lyon, Michigan.

Email:  [email protected]

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Should You Try To Keep Your Head Down?

by | Beginners, Full Swing, Instruction

Should You Try To Keep Your Head Down?

 

Walk up and down any driving range and you will at some point hear those famous words, “Keep Your Head Down”.   Unfortunately, that advice has never worked.

Golf could be the world’s hardest game to master. What game do you know of where you always could have done better? Perhaps this is the reason we love the game so much. What makes hitting a golf ball so difficult is that the ball doesn’t move . . . YOU do.

The body moving up or down during the swing causes the head to follow. Most people I know have their head connected to their body. LOL

For example, if the body moves up during the backswing, it sets the body above the ball from where it started and vice versa. This sometimes causes golfers to top the ball, hit the ground before the ball, or completely miss it altogether.  It’s important to realize what your are really doing is pulling the golf club away from the ball.

One of the keys to hitting solid golf shots is allowing your body to turn around the spine.  This doesn’t mean your head can’t move, just that you need to move your body around it.

The position of the head at address is important too. The chin should remain high enough to allow the shoulders to turn under it on both the backswing and follow through.

No one ever intentionally kept their head down during a good golf swing – that’s right, no one. Maintaining proper posture throughout the swing keeps your head down. There is no need to lower your head at address. Keep that chin up and turn!

Mike Fay

Mike Fay

PGA Director of Instruction

With over 30 years of teaching experience, it's easy to see why Mike has become a leader in the world of golf instruction. Everything from cutting edge social networking techniques to having his own podcast, Mike has helped to change the face of teaching golf.  He currently is the Director of Instruction at Walnut Creek Country Club in South Lyon, Michigan.

Email:  [email protected]

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