Anyone Golf Talking and playing golf for a while comes to understand how important hitting irons is to lowering your golf scores. Statistically, as we discussed previously in How To Take 3 To 5 Shots Off Your Golf Score-Fast, 80% of our golf shots are taken from 150 yards in front of the green into the hole.

80% ! Those are all long iron, short iron and putter shots from 150 out.

It took you either one or two shots, probably, to get there off the tee. So, let's see: One really good tee shot on a par-4 hole leaves you 150 yards from the hole...you pull a four or five iron, step up and top the ball to 100 yards out. Now, you smack a nine iron to within 20 yards of the hole, chip over the green, chip back to 15 feet of the pin and three putt. H-e-l-l-o-o-o, Snowman!

As you probably know, each golf hole is designed to be two-putted for par. That means that on a par-3 hole, your tee shot needs to land on the green - leaving you two putts to put it in the hole. On a par-4, your second shot needs to land on the green to give you a chance at two-putting for a par. That par-3 tee shot was either a long iron or a short iron...depending on the length of the fairway, and your distance with the clubs. The par-4 second or approach shot, also, was either a long or short iron. Putters are, of course, the shortest iron club in the golf bag. Belly and chin putters are still considered to be a "short" iron.

The point I want to make - (No, I am not trying to bore you into a coma!) - is the fact that the ONLY way to shoot low golf scores is to learn to use long and short irons accurately. Most of us hate to hear that because it means PRACTICE. In our minds that usually means mind-numbing drills and hours on a practice range. There is a cheap, fun alternative, however, that doesn't take any more time than going to the driving range.

When I got back into golf at the beginning of my 60's, I went in search of my golf swing at the range, but it quickly turned into "work". The driving range I went to, fortunately, was located in the middle of two short golf courses, and I always saw players coming or going to the par-3 course on my way in. During one boring session working on my irons, it ocurred to me that I could get the practice I needed with those clubs by playing the par-3 course, rather than spending a couple of hours on the range. When I checked it out, the green fee for nine holes on the the par-3 circuit turned out to be about the same as two buckets of balls on the practice range...and took about the same amount of time that I had been spending on the range, bu should be a lot more fun. That was a no-brainer for me.

After reminding myself that I was playing to PRACTICE with my irons, I played the par-3 course at least twice a week in the morning or evening, as I had time. It really worked out great because I kept my focus on using the correct club in the appropriate circumstance...and, on set-up and execution with each club. It didn't take long to see a change in my golf game, evidenced by lower scores. Being able to score my practice shots also proved to be an advantage to me.

So, if you're having problems practicing golf, look for a short and inexpensive par-3 course convenient to your home or job. By approaching it as PRACTICE, you can really get in a lot of golf in an hour, and make practicing fun!

Hit 'em long, straight and often!

Click on the “COMMENTS” button above to post your golf tips and thoughts on the game.

Contact: darabbitt@gmail.com

Tags: golf, golf talk, golf ball, golf club, short iron, golf swing, talk about golf, golf talking,

This week's Golf Talk has been consumed with my lousy golf swing. All week long, I either topped the ball or hit the ball fat - striking the ground before the ball. Not a good thing. Golf balls don't like to go very far or very straight when struck by a bouncing golf club.

When this kind of slip occurs, the first thing to do is to go back to basics. Is my grip correct? Is my set-up correct? Am I placing the ball in the correct spot in my stance? Are my knees flexed? Do they stay flexed during my swing?...AH,HA!

What surfaced is that I had been straightening my left or lead knee a bit during my downswing. What that does, of course, is change the plane of the golf swing. When the swing-plane changes during the swing, the golf club face is raised a bit (causing it to hit the golf ball thin on or top). The club face can be lowered during the golf swing if the knee-straightening causes me to tilt toward my right or swing side. That's when the golf club strikes Mother Earth before the mother ball.

Finally realizing what was going on, I concentrated on keeping the knees flexed and swinging through the ball. Miracle of miracles, the golf ball started going where I was aiming!

It is so important to go through your golf set up and swing check list when your golf swing goes awry. If you don't have one - MAKE ONE TODAY. Almost always, you have changed one little thing in your golf routine or set up process. A quick correction can get you right back on plane and back in the game.

Hit 'em long, straight and often!

Click on the “COMMENTS” button above to post your golf tips and thoughts on the game.

Contact: darabbitt@gmail.com

Tags: golf, golf talk, golf ball, golf club, golf swing, golf swing, talk about golf, golf talking,

Yesterday, Saturday, while working in the backyard, alongside the Sidewinder golf course, I was golf talking to myself about how the number of golfers coming by has diminished. I thought "Well, it is May...and this is Arizona...and our winter visitors started going back home last month". They have to get back to do taxes, of course, and Grandma wants to be home for Mother's Day.

Another thing did occur to me, however, while I was working hard at watching those folks putting out on the 15th green - We better support our local golf course during this recession if we want to enjoy our sport when it's over. .

Keeping a golf course in good playing condition is an expensive proposition. We see the workers and the equipment every day outside our window, so we have a pretty good understanding what it takes to keep Sidewinder and its sister course, Dinosaur Mountain, among the best privately-owned, open-to-the-public golf courses in the state. Consequently, we know how tough it must be to keep the bottom line black for any golf course during these difficult times.

So, we just wanted to remind our fellow golf lovers to play and support your local or home course. Yea, we know it's fun to go play courses in other towns, but their local players will take care of them. If you want the grass to stay green, and the greens to stay fast at your course, go to the driving range, play a round of golf - and take your Mother to brunch at your local home golf course.

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY to all you Mom's. Where would we all be without you?


Click on the “COMMENTS” button above to post your golf tips and thoughts on the game.

Contact: darabbitt@gmail.com

Tags: golf, golf talk, golf ball, golf club, golf swing, talk about golf, golf talking, Sidewinder Golf Course, golf course, Dinosaur Mountain Golf Course,

While playing our home course at Mountain Brook Golf Club yesterday, I got a simple - but important - Golf Talk anatomy lesson from my friend and golf coach, Jack Challender. Maybe, it will help you, too.

My round started off well enough with a nice tee-shot out in the middle about 200 yards. Jack's, of course, was about 65 yards farther down the fairway. But I was pleased with my drive. Then, I set up to hit the approach to the green, another 200 yards ahead. That's when it started.

My first approach swing topped the ball, sending it forward about 30 yards to the right. Not happy, but OK, I set up to make a second approach to the green...again, squirting it to the right side of the green. Now, I'm lying 3 off the par 4 green, when I hit a pitch REALLY thin and way past the hole, realizing that bogey was the best I could possibly do on this first hole. That thought, of course, played around with my head, and I walked off with a four-putt quadruple bogey.

Needless to say, the next few holes weren't much better, as I struggled to leave that crappy first hole behind me. Golf shot after golf shot went squirting or slicing to the right, as my blood pressure began to heat up my collar.

After another lousy approach shot to the sixth green, I asked Jack if he would point out anything he saw me doing to cause such a poor swing. He said the problem was that I needed an anatomy lesson. I thought "What the hell is he talking about?", but to him I simply said "What kind of anatomy lesson?" That's when he gave me the Golf Talk lesson of the day:

Jack said, " You see, your head and shoulders are connected, but your head doesn't have to turn with your shoulders when you swing through the ball. Remember, your shoulders are designed to turn under your chin, while your head remains still - looking at the club go through the ball."

It was one of those moments when you hear something you already knew...and had heard a thousand times before...and wondered why you had to hear it from someone else to realize what you have been doing. Golf!

From that point on, my golf swing improved dramatically as I consciously swung through with my arms and shoulders - without moving my head. In fact, I hit a couple of approach shots with a three wood onto the green from about 185 yards out. Near the hole. too.

So, that's our Golf Talk anatomy lesson for the day. More importantly, when we get caught up in those moments when things are going wrong, and the blood begins to boil, we need to pull ourselves up and go back to the basics. In fact, awhile back I made a checklist of golf swing set up points to go through, just for those times. Now, if I could just find the darn thing...


Click on the “COMMENTS” button above to post your golf tips and thoughts on the game.

Contact: darabbitt@gmail.com

Tags: golf, golf talk, golf ball, golf club, golf swing, talk about golf, golf talking, Mountain Brook Golf Club, Jack Challender,

Anyone who thought The Masters had lost "it" - that the major had become dull and boring, that all the "birdies" had flown away from Augusta National, and the roar at Amen Corner had become the echo of tournaments past - got blasted away Sunday. The 2009 Masters will go down as one of the most competitive and edge-of-the-seat golf matches in history.

It had everything to golf talk about:

- Great shots (Kenny Perry's tee shot on the 16th for birdie...that almost aced it).

- Drama (we lost count of the number of times the lead changed throughout the day).

- An incredible charge for the lead (Phil Mickelson's front nine: par, birdie, birdie, par, birdie, birdie, birdie, par - to take him from 7 back to one under).

- A persistent challenge for 18 solid holes by a player to almost become the oldest winner of a Major in history (Kenny Perry, age 48).

- The No. 1 and No. 2 players in the world putting on the show-of-shows performing against each other in the same pairing (Tiger Woods and Phil Mickleson playing stunning golf almost all day).

- The No. 1 and No. 2 players in the world showing that they are still human, after all (Phil using the wrong club to bounce it into the water, and Tiger slicing it into the pine needles - only to chip into a tree).

- A dark horse lurking and lurking all day, keeping the pressure on and staying in contention (Angel Cabrera patiently waiting for the right moment to win it).

Shakespeare couldn't have staged it any better.

Those who think golf is a declining sport must have been startled by the swarms of fans willing to pay up to $200 for a four-day badge to the tournament, or $36 to $41 to catch practice early in the week. Augusta National doesn't disclose the actual numbers at which they limit attendance (so everyone has some room to comfortably move around to follow the action) , but current estimates are 40,000 for each practice day and 25,000 for each round of the tournament. Tournament badges were sold out early in the week for all four days - with a waiting list, and each practice day had fans outside the gate hoping for a ticket.

What other sports event can you pay that low a price to almost mingle with the best players the sport has to offer from the whole world - sometimes standing a few feet away?

It gets even better when you get inside the magnificent "theater" that is Augusta National. Breath-taking flowers, plants, trees...and that grass! It's like being cuddled in the palm of God's hand for a little while.

You realize that you are really participating in a class act from the moment you arrive. Parking is free. After 44 years in Los Angeles, that blows me away . FREE parking?

And if that doesn't impress you, how about a buck-and-a-half for a hot dog? Or, $6.25 for a club sandwich, beer and chips? The last time I had a beer at Dodger's stadium, it cost $6.00 by itself!

Our compliments to Billy Payne, Chairman of Augusta National, and all the club's members. In these difficult times, The Masters was a wonderful reminder of the best America has to offer.

Thanks, Guys. We needed that.


Click on the “COMMENTS” button above to post your golf tips and thoughts on the game.

Contact: darabbitt@gmail.com

Tags: golf, golf talk, golf ball, golf club, golf swing, talk about golf, Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Kenny Perry, Angel Cabrera, golf talking, The Masters, PGA Tour

It was all there and all familiar: Trailing by 5 going into the final round. Bearing down to put on the pressure on the back nine. Clutch shots. Suspense. A 15-foot birdie putt on the 18th to win it and bring down the house at Bay Hill. Talk about superb golf. Talk about Tiger Woods!

Sean O'Hair held in there for most of the round, but only scored one birdie. He led Tiger by one stroke until coming up short on the approach to the 17th green. It was a beautiful looking shot sailing right at the pin. We all cringed when it landed about 5 feet short of the top of the bank in front of the green, rolling back down into the water. The blood drained from his face as his heart dropped. It was painful to watch a fine young man experience the disappointment of another hard-luck finish. He knew that he had just given Tiger Woods the opening he had been looking for all day.

Tiger closed with a 3-under 67 for the one-shot victory. The first since his return to the PGA Tour after major knee surgery.

After a smiling and affectionate greeting by Arnold Palmer, Woods said "It feels good to be back in contention, to feel the rush. It's been a while, but God, it felt good."

When that winning putt drained into the hole, Tiger exploded with his animated, fist-pumping celebration, throwing his arms around his caddie. Steve is a big guy and in his excitement literally lifted Tiger off the ground with a bear-hug...or, maybe, he was keeping him from floating away.

Thanks for giving golf something to talk about, Tiger.


Click on the “COMMENTS” button above to post your golf tips and thoughts on the game.

Contact: darabbitt@gmail.com

Tags: golf, golf talk, golf ball, golf club, golf swing, talk about golf, Tiger Woods, Sean O'hair, golf talking, Bay Hill, PGA Tour

We are all deluged by golf ball ads on the golf channel, in golf magazines and in the pro shops. What is the best golf ball to use? Here at Golf Talk, we have believed for some time that the best ball on the market is the Titleist Pro V1, which is the golf ball we play. But, that doesn't make it THE best ball. So, we decided to do some research to see if we could determine what golf ball out shines all the others.

Titleist, it turns out, is the #1 golf ball manufacturer in the world. They produce and market an extensive line of balls: Pro V1, NXT Tour, DT Solo, Pro V1x, and NXT. Each ball is designed to - supposedly - contain certain characteristics. More distance, softer cover, harder cover, more control, etc. The most expensive in their line is the Pro V1x, which has a retail price of about $58.00 per dozen or...$4.83 a ball. Does being pricey make it the best? Not necessarily, but it could have the high price because it IS the best. We'll see.

Callaway markets the HX Tour, HX Tour 56, HX Red and Blue, Big Bertha Red and Blue, HX Hot, and the Warbird. The HX Tour golf balls from Callaway sell for $50 (12 pack). Mhmmm...the HX Tour is almost as expensive as the Pro V1x. Could it be the best golf ball on the market? Let's look further.

Nike sells the Nike One golf ball, Tiger's ball, for $39.95 a dozen, and they market a cheaper ball called the Nike Power Distance Super Series 2 for $15.95 a 12-pack. That's only $1.33 each! Now, we're talkin'...but can it be the best golf ball for such a puny price?

How about all those other brand names out there: Precept, Max-Fli, Dunlop, Bridgestone, TopFlite, Pinnacle, etc., etc., etc.? They all sell for around $18.00 a dozen. Could one of them be the best? How can we tell?

Well, let's see which golf ball sells the most? According to a press release put out in 2007 by Titleist, the Titleist Pro V1 and V1x sales accounted for 43% of all the money spent on golf balls during that year.

Even more impressive, the Pro V1/Pro V1x on-course market share in 2006 was more than the brand shares of Bridgestone, Callaway, Nike, TaylorMade, Top-Flite and Maxfli, according to Golf Datatech - combined! And the Pro V1 has maintained its position as the best-selling golf ball - on-course and off - ever since.

We live in a community in Gold Canyon, Arizona, that is set around three great golf courses: Mountain Brook Golf Club and Gold Canyon Golf Resort, which has the Dinosaur Mountain Course and the Sidewinder Course. The golf courses are surrounded by the beautiful Sonoran Desert, which means Saugaro, prickly pear, Cholla and other cactus, along with Sage brush and rattle snakes. Consequently, there are hundreds of thousands of golf balls left out there.

One of our neighbors, Bob, likes to go out into the desert looking for those wayward golf balls, and he has about 10,000 of them at any given time. He separates them by brand and quality, and offers them for sale.

We made a stop at his house the other day to see what he had in stock, and he had every brand known to mankind. I picked up a dozen Pro V1's in perfect condition for $9.00, but I was really interested in finding out what ratio of brands he finds. He had lots and lots of Pinnacle, TopFlite, Precepts and the other low-priced golf balls, which would seem to make sense. He also had quite a lot of Titleist, Nike and Callaways. We were shocked and puzzled to find that he only had about five dozen Titleist Pro V1's and 4 dozen Pro V1x's, which he really likes to find because so many people ask for them.

We asked him why he thought there were so few Pro V1's out of all the thousands of golf balls he finds. His answer was a bit stunning - "People who are willing to pay for Titleist Pro V1 and V1x are better players, so they loose very few balls. They probably put more in the lakes than they hit out of bounds into the desert."

All the other players are buying cheaper balls because they know they're going to lose them in the lake, the desert or the snake. That's why Bob had so many more of them.

So, we have concluded that the Titleist Pro V1 and V1x may be the best ball in golf. If the best players are playing it, and paying more for that priviledge, it must perform better for them than all the others out there. These people are after the lowest scores they can achieve on a golf course, and they would be hitting a rock if they could play scratch golf with it. They wouldn't spend five minutes with a Pro V1 if it didn't deliver.

Hit ‘em long, straight and often!


Click on the “COMMENTS” button above to post your golf tips and thoughts on the game.

Contact: darabbitt@gmail.com

Tags: golf, golf talk, golf ball, golf club, golf swing, natural golf, talk about golf, arizona golf, tiger woods, phil mickelson, fred couples, golf talking

After day 1 of the Accenture Match Play Championship at Marana, we were really golf talking about Tiger Woods playing Tim Clark from South Africa in his second round. After all, he gave us everything we hoped for in the first match, starting off with birdie, eagle to eliminate Brendan Jones of Australia 3 and 2. Jones gave Tiger a respectable challenge, which gave us a chance to see the Number 1 golfer in the world once again rise to the challenge.

PGA Commissioner Tim Finchem had to be breathing a sigh of relief when he saw Tiger walking down the meticulously groomed fairways at the Ritz-Carlton Golf Club just north of Tucson, twirling his golf club like a baton and moving like the Tiger of former championship years. As one headline shouted, "Tiger's return not a big deal -it's huge."

That sigh must have turned into a lump in Finchem's throat on Thursday, though, as Tim Clark played impeccable golf, sending Woods to his private jet after 16 holes.

Tiger said he was pleased with his game - and his knee, but just didn't have an answer for Clark's brilliant play. His knee was holding up so well, in fact, that when he found his golf ball out in the desert after teeing off on the 15th, he refused a ride in a golf cart and walked the 350 yards back to the tee box.

Clark said later that "I knew I had to play out of my mind to beat him." Did he ever! Six birdies and constant pressure on TW, including a tee shot within 4 feet on the 16th. When Tiger missed the chip-in from off the green, he conceded the hole...and Clark had won the match 4 and 2. Played out of his mind, indeed.

That opened the door for Geoff Ogilvy, an Aussie living in Scottsdale, Arizona, and his English friend Paul Casey, who was a former star at ASU in Tucson, to rise to the top for Sunday's final 36-hole match for the title. Ogilvy never looked back and never trailed during the match, winning the event for the second time in four years by besting his buddy 4 to 3.

This was probably not the outcome the promoters and the PGA had in mind, but they should still feel good about it. Tiger is back, even though he didn't play up to his potential...and, the PGA Tour has once again showcased the outstanding talent of the young players, who are gaining experience and credibility in the game.

Looks like it's going to be an interesting and exciting year for golf!

Hit ‘em long, straight and often!


Click on the “COMMENTS” button above to post your golf tips and thoughts on the game.

Contact: darabbitt@gmail.com

Tags: golf, golf talk, golf ball, golf club, golf swing, natural golf, talk about golf, arizona golf, tiger woods, phil mickelson, fred couples, golf talking

It is impossible to talk about golf this week without talking about Tiger Woods returning to the PGA Tour. In fact, it appeared to me that all the players at Riviera last week may have had Tiger on their minds.

Phil Mickelson had a great start for the first time this season, only to dump it under Sunday's pressure and have to regain the lead in the last few holes for the win. Steve Stricker was playing brilliantly, but just couldn't seal the deal on a few 12 foot putts that would have given him the tournament. My main man, Fred Couples looked strong with several 300 yarders off the tee, but muffed his chance under pressure on the 18th.

Were they all just getting tired after a tough golf week? Or, were they distracted by the Tiger lurking in the rough? Could they have been thinking "I better win this one because he's coming back next week...and I'm gonna' be playing for second place"? There is no way of knowing, of course, but I have to believe that thought was floating around out there on Riviera's beautiful fairways and greens.

It was definitely on Jim Nance and Nick Faldo's minds. They brought up Tiger's return numerous times during the weekend, after all the hoopla and PR announcements on Friday that Tiger will be playing in the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship at the Ritz-Carlton Golf Club in Marana this week, here in our beautiful Arizona desert .

Everyone knows that Tiger has been pounding balls with a zealous, lazer focus. We all know he doesn't just want to come back. He wants to come back and kick some butt. I have no doubt he has been in the gym daily, hitting 500 or a thousand golf balls daily, on the putting green daily and watching every move all the other guys have been making - daily. He has been stalking them on television and in the sports sections, plotting how to take them out. That's what tigers do, and he didn't get the name accidently.

Yeah, he's coming back this week, and everyone on the PGA circuit is holding their breath - hoping that the old Tiger shows up in Marana and lights up our sport once again. Everyone, perhaps, except Phil, Steve, Fred, VJ, Sergio and all those other guys.

Should be a terrific week of golf. Thanks for visiting Golf Talk.

Hit ‘em long, straight and often!

Click on the “COMMENTS” button above to post your golf tips and thoughts on the game.


Contact: darabbitt@gmail.com

Tags: golf, golf talk, golf ball, golf club, golf swing, natural golf, talk about golf, arizona golf, tiger woods, phil mickelson, fred couples, golf talking

As we pointed out last October in our Golf TAlk post Golf Is Getting Crunched By Wall Street , the golf industry was starting to be impacted by the economic collapse that was being felt across the nation. In fact, we suggested that "This winter we should all be watching the market for fire-sale deals on those golf clubs we've been dreaming about...or scouring the local papers for killer green fee offers at golf courses we normally can't afford." Turns out that was pretty good advice.

This morning's Valentine Day edition of the Mesa Republic newspaper featured an article entitled Golf Slowdown Linked To Economy by Angelique Soenarie and Luci Scott, reporting that golf travelers willing to pay more than $100 for a round in Phoenix and the surrounding Southeast Valley has dropped by about 20%. Longbow Golf Club in Mesa, they point out, saw their players decline from 200 last year to 160-180 on current weekdays, dragging down rates and revenue with them.

Most of those high-dollar players are winter business visitors, whose companies give them golf perks to keep their businesses perked up. The recession, however, has caused corporations around the world to cut back on such goodies. That means fewer golfers from Canada, Minnesota, Iowa, etc. So, the pricey golf courses in the Valley of the Sun started offering perks of their own to enable those companies to reward employees with a get away from the snow and cold.

This has really produced a windfall for all of us ordinary peasant players who are always looking for golf bargains. In addition to good tee times being readily available, good golf courses in Mesa, Chandler, Gilbert, Gold Canyon and other surrounding communities are running weekend specials as well as weekday discounts. Many green fees include lunch, and Web site specials often offer 20-25% discounts to entice local golfers to drive 40 or 50 miles to play. Right now, for example, you can play an afternoon round on the #4 course open to the public in Arizona (where our patio happens to face the 15th green) - the Gold Canyon Sidewinder Course - for $59. That's a 49% discount!

The point is, if you are thinking about getting out from under rain, snow, sleet and misery, now is the time to visit Arizona. It ain't called the Valley of the Sun for nothin', and you can play some of the best golf courses in the country for very little dinero. Here are some great places to check out:

Gold Canyon Golf Resort
Mountain Brook Golf Club in Gold Canyon
Augusta Ranch Golf Club
Longbow Golf Club
Painted Mountain Golf Resort
Talking Stick Golf Club

Thanks for stopping by to Golf Talk.

Hit ‘em long, straight and often!

Click on the “COMMENTS” button above to post your golf tips and thoughts on the game.


Contact: darabbitt@gmail.com

Tags: golf, golf talk, golf ball, golf club, golf swing, natural golf, talk about golf, arizona golf, discount green fees, talk about golf, golf talking

Every golfer wants to "hit" the fairway with his or her golf shot. Golfers are always excited when they put it right down the middle of the fairway off the tee, or right at the green with their second shot. The reason we get excited is because too many times we spray the golf ball left or right off the tee - hooking or slicing the golf ball into the rough...or worse. We don't golf talk much about those shots, and sometimes we can't shut up about the one down the middle.

The question is: Why do I hit some shots left or right, and others down the middle of the fairway or right at the target? Recently,I discovered the answer, and it turned out to be pretty simple.

When I hit the ball left, it is usually because I have taken the golf club back at too steep an angle. Then, when I start the down swing to hit the ball my brain knows the club is off plane, and automatically tries to get back on plane by taking the club head outide past the target line and back in again to hit the ball. That means the club face is sweeping from the outside of the golf swing to the inside to hit the ball - sending it left.

Hitting it to the right is usually caused by me turning my body ahead of the club head, which causes the club face to open on contact with the ball...sending the ball to the right.

It really comes down to what way is the club facing when it actually contacts the ball. No matter how you got it there, that is the direction the golf club is going to send the golf ball. That's why even PGA pro's who have strange looking swings can hit the ball to their target. Guys like Jim Furyk, for example. Sometimes he looks like he is swinging a rope rather than a stick, but he is able to get the club face to point right at the target when it hits the ball. Guess where it goes most of the time: Right at the target.

So, not long ago I began to concentrate on getting the club face to point right at the target (middle of the fairway or the green, for instance) when it makes contact with the ball. In that process I discovered a simple, but very effective, way of doing just that.

I reminded myself that I should be swinging the club on a single plane that actually travels from the inside to the outside of the target line, striking the golf ball in the process. In order to accomplish this, I began to focus and concentrate on hitting the ball at five o'clock on the back of the ball instead of three o'clock. I swing right handed, so if you think of looking down at the ball as if it was the face of a clock, three o'clock is the spot at the exact center of the back of the ball. That's where I have always tried to have the club strike the ball.

What I discovered, however, is that by aiming at and striking the ball at the five o'clock mark, which is just a bit toward me on set up, the club contacts the ball during an inside-out arc during the swing plane. Magically, the club is facing directly at my chosen target, sending the golf beautifully right at it. Even more amazingly, my percentage of clean or pure ball strikes has increased dramatically, giving me more distance with almost every golf club.

Now, when I set up to hit the ball after selecting the target out front, the only thing I try to think about is swinging inside-out at five o'clock. No more thoughts during my swing about taking the club back correctly or not too steeply. It is all about hitting five o'clock. Beautifully simple...amazingly accurate.

Hit ‘em long, straight and often!

Thanks for visiting Golf Talk.


Click on the “COMMENTS” button above to post your golf tips and thoughts on the game.

Contact: darabbitt@gmail.com

Tags: golf, golf talk, golf ball, golf club, golf swing, natural golf, talk about golf, golf talking

The other day I was talking with our neighbor, Art, and once again realized what an incredible sport Golf is. Art, you see, is 86 years old and still plays golf about once a week. As he said, he doesn't hit it very far anymore, and he usually doesn't finish all 18 holes. But, he loves every minute with a golf club in his hand, swinging away at that little white ball.

After my conversation with Art, I thought it would be good to point out here on Golf Talk how fortunate we are to have golf in our lives. It is an activity that we can enjoy with our spouse, kids, friends, business contacts or colleagues...or complete strangers. What's really great is that they may be strangers at the beginning of a round of golf, but they'll be buddies by the end of it. What other pursuit in life can you say those things about? There may be one, but I'm not familiar with it.

Heck, you don't even have to play the game in order to enjoy it. Many of the millions of viewers who tune in to watch Lorena, Tiger, Anika, Jack, Paula, Arnie, Phil, VJ and all the other magnificent PGA and LPGA golfers have never swung a golf club in their life...never felt that little thrill each of us gets watching a golf ball getting smaller sailing down the fairway after we struck it cleanly. Those fans still appreciate the skill and discipline it takes to play really good golf. Watching the people at the Frys.com Open recently was a graphic illustration of just how much we enjoy watching the best players execute their art.

What professional sport - other than golf - offers the opportunity to stand a few feet away from its best players in the world, almost within arms length sometimes, while he or she sets up out on the fairway to hit an approach shot to the green? The closest one I can think of is basketball - if you can afford to spend a thousand bucks for a front row seat.

One of my regrets is that I wasn't playing golf when our kids were small, so I didn't have the chance to teach them the grand old game. Now that they are grown up with careers and children of their own, it's difficult for them to get the time and interest. But I'm workin' on 'em.

So, here's to Golf, Art, and my old buddy Dick in California who has been playing golf "only on days that end in Y" since WWII.

Hit ‘em long, straight and often!

Thanks for stopping by Golf Talk.


Click on the “COMMENTS” button above to post your golf tips and thoughts on the game.

Contact: darabbitt@gmail.com

Tags: golf, golf talk, golf ball, golf club, golf swing, natural golf, talk about golf, golf talking

We've all heard the old expression that "A miss is as a good as a mile." Well, yesterday Jack Challender- my good friend and professional Natural Golf coach - taught me that 1/4 inch equals a miss of 8 feet.

We were at the practice green , and Jack was observing my terrible chipping performance about 60 feet out from the hole. I have been playing well off the tee, and my second shots have been solid and pretty straight. When I pull a wedge out the bag to go to the green, however, it's an entirely different story. Sometimes the ball squirts right, sometimes left...and usually burns the grass on its way. The result has been a complete lack of confidence when I set up to chip or pitch, giving back the precious ground conquered with a solid drive. The word "frustrated" just doesn't describe that feeling.

After Jack watched me hit 20 or 30 golf balls, he called my attention to the way they were sprayed 8 to 10 feet to the both sides of the target hole. He suggested that I try two things in my swing. The first was to make sure that I was not only bringing the club straight back from the ball, but that it was also pointing or facing right at the hole after watching the golf club strike through the ball. As I paid close attention to that process, I realized that sometimes the club face was pointing left of the hole at the end of the swing, sometimes right - depending on whether or not I turned my shoulders during the swing.

Keeping my shoulders square to the target line, the ball would consistently travel about 8 feet right of the hole. That was when Jack taught me that 1/4 inch equals 8 feet. He asked me to set up to hit a ball, so I addressed the ball, soled the club behind it and looked to the hole. Jack then asked me to look where the club face was pointing. When I did, it looked alright to me, but Jack pointed out that the face was open just a little, as he turned the wedge in my hands about 1/4 inch toward the left. I must admit that I thought he was just being knit-picky, until I struck the ball. It flew right toward the hole, settling about 6 inches to the left. I said "You've gotta be kidding me!" He just smiled and said "How sweet is that?"

Jack explained that the first thing he does when addressing the ball is to place the club behind the golf ball, making sure it is pointing directly at the target. Then, he steps into position to hit it - the opposite of how I had been setting up. As I practiced that, it was amazing how I could catch myself wanting to open the club a bit. The simple step of aiming the club first produced amazing results.

Old habits die hard, so I will have to pay close attention to keeping the club face straight. Who the heck would think a 1/4 inch turn would produce an 8 foot miss? Actually, it wasn't a miss, at all. The golf ball just went where I was aiming.

Thanks for visiting Golf Talk.

Hit ‘em long, straight and often!

Click on the “COMMENTS” button above to post your golf tips and thoughts on the game.


Contact: darabbitt@gmail.com

Tags: golf, golf talk, golf ball, golf club, golf swing, natural golf, talk about golf, golf talking

Welcome to Golf Talk. Here are a few golf myth busters that surprised me at the Titleist website...hope you find them interesting, too.

Q. Can a golf ball be hit an unlimited distance?

A. Nope.

The United States Golf Association (USGA) has regulated the distance a golf ball can fly since 1976. They updated their method of regulating the ball in 2004 because of the dramatic changes in both the equipment the professionals use, as well as the physical or athletic condition of the modern day players themselves. The rebounding characteristics of the official golf ball, technically known as the Coefficient of Restitution (COR), have been regulated for more than 60 years. Unless you can hit a golf ball longer than Tiger or J.B. Holmes, however, you shouldn't be concerned about exceeding the ball's regulated distance.

Q. Is the old golf expression Drive for show, putt for dough accurate?

A. Yep.

According to PGA statistics, some of the longest hitters - like Tiger and Phil Mickelson - have also been top money earners on the Tour. However, as a group, the long-ball hitters have been ranking between #77 and #103 in recent years. In fact, drive statistics have become a less important indicator of earnings on the Tour during the past 25 years, while putting has become a more accurate money winning predictor. That means the other old expression "Short game, Short game, Short game" is true, too.

Q. Doesn't the average PGA professional swing the club more than 120 mph?

A. Nope.

The average PGA Tour pro has a clubhead speed around 113 mph. Some - Tiger, Phil, J.B. and a few other members of the grip-it-and-rip-it gang - go over 120 on their swing speed, but not many. In the real world, however, the typical amateur player swings about 90 mph. Maybe, that's why the big guys get those big bucks.

Q. Does top-spin make a ball go farther through the air?

A. Nope.

When a golf club strikes the ball cleanly, it causes the ball to compress and rebound off the club face with back-spin. The back-spin creates lift, keeping the golf ball in the air until it is pulled down by gravity. When the ball hits the fairway, the back-spin is arrested or abruptly stopped, making it bounce or skip forward. It's a lot like stubbing your shoe while running down a basketball court, which will catapult you forward into the air...just before the "owey".

If you would like to learn more than you ever wanted to know about a golf ball and its characteristics, visit the Titleist Technology website. Anything not included there, you don't need to know.

Thanks for visiting Golf Talk.

Hit ‘em long, straight and often!

Click on the “COMMENTS” button above to post your golf tips and thoughts on the game.


Contact: darabbitt@gmail.com

Tags: golf, golf talk, golf ball, golf club, golf swing, natural golf, talk about golf, golf talking