Editors Note: Each week, we receive hundreds of questions for our PGA Experts. Though we can't answer every one of them, we will take some of the most illuminating and beneficial questions and have one of the top authorities from the PGA of America to answer them for you. We are in the process of finding ways for more experts to answer more of your questions! Thank you for your support and keep the questions coming!
Instruction -- Bill Forrest, 2006 PGA National Teacher of the Year
There is no doubt that good players come from the inside on the downswing. I believe that I lead with the shoulders and have a slight out to in move. I have no real extension and a crushed drive to me is about 215 yards. I am 50 years old, play to an 11.3 index and hit everything straight as a string. Help.
Raleigh A.
I think your diagnosis is probably accurate. To address the extension issue, you must understand that your arms need to lengthen through impact, not shorten. They may be shortening as you fall to your back foot, to avoid contact with the ground. Two things need to happen; you need to push off your back foot and shift to your front foot while lengthening your arms at the same time. Hit some punch shots where you finish with the club at waist high pointing to the target.
Buy yourself a training aid that will get you to the ball from the inside. In the meantime, hit some balls off side hill lies with the ball above your feet. Also, you take a water bottle or a head cover and put it on the ground outside and behind your ball so that it acts as an obstruction and you have to get to the ball from the inside. By adding weight shift, extension, and an inside approach you will surely increase distance and maybe even hit some draws.
How do your cure a shank, always within 100 yds ???
J. Kennedy
If you take the club too much to the inside on the takeaway you'll have plenty of time to re-route the club during the full swing. Raymond Floyd has been successful with a re-routed golf swing for many years. The problem with your short irons or shots around the green, is that when you make this move to the inside, you don't have time to re-route it. You are then left with the club coming to the ball from the inside, in some cases being hit off the hosel.
In an effort to straighten your takeaway, put a ball 18 inches behind your object ball, on the target line and make your takeaway over top of this ball, not inside it. Your takeaway needs to be straight back or feeling slightly outside to get the ball away from the hosel and more to the middle of the face and the toe. Remember, think about what you want to do, not what you don't want to do.
I need a cure for spinout. My lower body is so quick that my belly button is already toward the target while my hands are still in the impact area. A drill or swing thought would be greatly appreciated.
J. Scott
This is a drill that I use with my students after seeing David Toms use it on the practice tee. Address a ball, short to middle iron in hand, with a normal ball position and width of stance. Leave your front foot in place and take your back foot and rotate it until it becomes parallel to the target line. Hit some shots without moving your feet and get the feeling that your arms are swinging past your forward hip. It should feel like a flat footed arm swing with no hip rotation. After doing this drill you will hit full shots with the sense that your back foot is staying down longer. Let me know if this drill works for you.
Rules -- John Crumbley, PGA Professional & Rules Expert
I play in some local tournaments, recently, the group behind me was useing an electronic rangefinder...I happened to be playing with the Tournament Director and I mentioned it wasn't legal to use a rangefinder...the Director...brought that to the attention of the group and they protested saying, "they are legal on the PGA Tour and USGA Tournaments", I disagreed. What is the true ruling on the PGA Tour and from the USGA on these devises? Thanks
Bob P.
Robert,
The USGA opened the door for use of rangefinders last year by allowing tournament committees to invoke a rule allowing the use of one during play. The catch here is that it must be put into place by the tournament or rules committee governing the play of a particular event. So far the PGA Tour has not allowed them for tournament play and I do not believe the USGA has done so yet. For now in PGA events (not the PGA Tour) we are allowing use in some team events but not in individual events yet. At Mystery Valley Golf Club where I'm the Director of Golf we are allowing them for competition. In the event you were playing in if the rules sheet for that event did not specifically say they could be used then the use would be against the rules and subject to penalty.
If my balls rests in a painted line of out of bounds and only halve of the ball its in the line and the other half is inside, is that out of bounds or not???
Thank you
Fran G.
Fran,
When a line is used to define "out of bounds" the inside edge of the line indicates the margin of out of bounds. The line itself is out of bounds. A ball is out of bounds only when all of it is out of bounds. If any part of the ball is inbounds then the ball is inbounds. In your case half of the ball was inbounds so the ball was inbounds.
I hit my second shot on a severe dogleg very near the out of bounds stakes. My playing opponent who was further up the fairway basically picked up my first ball very soon after I hit my announced provisional, saying it was just inches out of bounds. I have no questions about his integrity, but I do question his judgment since there was no marked line between the stakes and he deemed my ball out of bounds and picked it up without the benefit of surveying it from one of the stakes.......it's extremely difficult to see where the straight line between 2 stakes is standing in between the stakes. I took the penalty shot and loss of distance and didn't raise the issue, but in retrospect I wonder if he was subject to a penalty. Can you advise? I would certainly appreciate your answer!
David Short
David,
If the ball was indeed out of bounds then there would not be a penalty on your opponent because the ball was not in play. If you determined the ball was in bounds then your opponent would be subject to a penalty of one stroke under Rule 18-3, ball at rest moved by opponent, and the ball would be replaced. I would ask the opponent to show me where the ball was before he lifted it and then determine if it was in or out of bounds. You did not question it at the time so basically you accepted the ball as being out of bounds and your opponent would be clear of any penalty.
Equipment -- Tom Henderson, PGA Professional & Master Club Fitter
I'm taking up golf after a 5 or 6 year absence. What advice would you give me on buying new clubs...I'm a senior with about a 20+ handicap. I have old clubs and am especially interested in the oversized clubs and new balls now available. What should I invest in without breaking the bank?
thanks, Steve
Steve:
I would first spend the money up front to get fit by an experienced PGA Professional. Once your specifications are determined, purchase a few clubs (whatever your budget allows). I would recommend you get a least a wood (#3 or #5) and a few irons ( choose from a #5, #7, PW, SW) and a putter, clubs that precisely fit you. Over time, gradually add a club here and there until you have a complete custom set.
I would rather you buy a few custom clubs that fit you than to have you spend the same amount of money on a full "bargain" set that you purchase "off the rack".
Is there a limit to the times you can re-shaft a wood or iron...where the integrity of the metal begins to break down?
Paul K
Paul:
Every situation is treated differently.
In general, I would feel a lot more comfortable using a brand new shaft (be it graphite or steel) rather than using a shaft that was previously installed in another club. If you had to re-use a shaft, I would examine it closely before installation, looking for dings, cracks, etc. If everything looks fine, you can put your mind at ease re-using that shaft.
Club heads are a different story. You can virtually use them over and over again. Just make sure that the hosels are thoroughly cleaned, completely removing the old epoxy before securing new shafts.
Again, if you can afford to do it, spend the money to buy brand new shafts for installation.
