Best Sunglasses for Golfing

As the summer golf season comes closer and closer, the sun will be shining bright (unless you live in the mid west then its a crap shot if you will have nice weather). For some golfers wearing sunglasses is a problem, they do not like the change in color or simply the glasses bother them. I was a big believer in this for a while until I was given a pair of Oakley Sunglasses at an event. I did not think much of them until I got home from the event and tried them out on the range. It was a bright day and I was surprised to see how much of an improvement they made on my vision when lining up my target. I think there are a few designers out there that have done well to optimize their products performance for the golf course. A poll was done on golfwrx.com regarding the top manufactures of golfing sunglasses. Oakley came away with the majority of the votes, followed by Maui Jim and Adidas. I want to start off by talking about the Oakley shades, but more particular the Quarter Jacket Style  . I find that these have the best grip around your head for the movement of the swing. They offer a variety of lenses that go with this style. I have not quite found a certain lens that suits me best over another. Some articles say other lenses are better than others, but I do not think there is a big enough difference to tell. The next brand is a personal favorite of mine being from a town where they have a main distribution center, Maui Jim. I want to first start off by saying Maui Jim has the best lenses on the market for golf. They have polarized lenses in all of there products and ensure that it is the best quality. I will say one fault I find with them most often is the lack of traction on your head. The last product, Adidas has a strong on coming with some tour pros however. I was able to try the Retego sunglasses and I was taken back by how nice they actually were. My one problem with this particular line of sunglasses was the bulkiness of them. Other than that all three are great sunglasses for the golf course! I encourage you to go out and try them out for your next round!

Putters, What kind do you need?

With so many different manufactures out there today promoting all different sorts of putters, I think it is harder today for the average guy to go out and simply just pick one. To build on that point, I do not want any of my readers to just go out and pick one either. I think taking the extra time and effort to get numbers on monitors and figure out the proper lie, loft and height for your putter is crucial. There are three types of putters I want to look at today and talk about the benefits and weaknesses each of them posses. The first, is the conventional style putter. It is commonly found out on tour and has been around for a while. Scotty Cameron is predominantly the leading putter maker out on tour and has just released his 2014 New Port Series. By clicking on this link you can get full in depth information on these putters and all of the specs and customizations you can ask for. I enjoy using this putter on faster greens, I think it gets a true role coming off the face and will get your ball rolling on its correct line. The thing I want you all to be careful about is just going out onto this website and going to a customization page with out getting a lesson or put on a monitor with your local PGA Professional.  The next putter I want to talk about is the mallet putter. This has been made most recently popular by Brandt Snedeker. He uses a pop action stroke that gets the ball up in the air. Not really suggested for faster greens but I think it is great for slower grainy greens. The odyssey putters have always been great and that is the kind Brandt uses. One putter stood out to me recently at my local golf shop and that was the Ping Scottsdale B60. I like how Ping has made this slick looking design into a mallet and with their groove technology it allows for a true role with the blade while allowing for the mallet feel. The last putter I want to look at is the blade putter. Phil Mickelson has been seen using this putter as of late and found some success with it out in the British Open. It is a putter that lays down on the ground a little more and allows the players hands to swing more freely. This could be good for some players but not others. I find myself pushing more putts with my blade and I have not used it for some time. However, it can be a great putter for the right stroke. The Versa 9 is one of Odyssey's blade types and I encourage you to check it out! Just remember the most important thing is to get the correct numbers on your stroke and go from there, also confidence is more important than anything anyone ever tells you!

Slow play, how to deal with it and how to play quicker

Playing slow has been a big topic of discussion over the past few years on the major tours in golf. It is something that affects all players of different skill levels. The first thing I would like to talk about is how to address a slow player in your group that you might/will get paired with. Let me start off with this, I am not a "fast" player, but I am certainly not a slow player either, I just am prepared to hit my shot and know what I want before I pull the trigger, so when I get paired with someone who is slow, it is hard for me to deal with it. I brought this up to my swing coach one time after competing in the Illinois Open. The person who I was playing with was notoriously slow and everyone knew it before you were even paired with him. He would fidget with his glove, step off the shot and just all around be slow. My swing coach told me a few things to do in order to stay focused on you and not your opponent during the round. One, accept the fact that you will be playing with someone slower, it will not be easy but once you take the acceptance factor into your head, your mind will begin to accept the fact that it will be a slow round. Secondly, when your opponent is up to hit, do not pay attention to him/her, your mind should be thinking about anything but golf until you have to hit your shot. Daydream, admire the course all around do not think about golf. The third thing is something Tiger Woods does to get his playing competitors out of their game. If he were to play with a slower player, Tiger would simply just walk faster, play faster all around do everything faster, it would be the opposite if he were playing with faster player. Finally I would like to speak directly to the slow players reading this. YOU ARE SLOW WE DO NOT LIKE YOU, just kidding, but seriously here are a few tips you can do to help out everyone in your group. The first is to have a shot ready in your mind before you approach the ball (obviously you cannot do this with every shot but you get the idea). I think it helps to visualize the shot when you are walking towards that way you already have an image in your head of what you want. The second thing is I want you to be confident in yourself! If you have a hard time pulling the club back to make a swing, its all because your confidence is lacking. Go out to the range and just hit simple shots, shots you know you can hit, this will build up your confidence and help you make a quicker decision in competition! I hope this helps and enjoy the spring golfing weather!

4 tips to making more 5 footers

We face these putts many times during a round, the dreaded short putt for par, birdie, bogey (hopefully not much more than that) and too many times I see players get nervous over these shots. One of the biggest problems is that they get out of their normal pr-shot routine. I think with these five tips you will be able to confidently get up to any putt with confidence and know it will have a chance to go in.

1. The tee drill
          This first tip is a great drill I have been using over the years and many touring pros use as well. When you are on the practice green find a spot on the green about five feet from the hole, (you can choose whatever distance you want but make it relatively close to the hole). Take a few practice putts and see how much the putt breaks, it would be ideal to find a pretty straight putt when first doing this drill. Next place about two feet in front of you, where the line of the putt is, two tees that are slightly larger in width than the ball.  Next place a ball down and set your putter up to the ball and place two more tees just outside of your width of the putter. These two guides will act as indicators of how the ball is rolling and where the club face is at impact. If at anytime the ball or club face strikes a tee then you know that you did not have it on the correct path or line.

2. Draw a line on your ball
         I see a lot of people placing the ball down on the green without any indication of where the ball is lined up and coincidentally not knowing the line of the putt. Some teachers will tell you to just pick a spot on the green and putt over that to indicate how much break you should be playing. I think this is a fine tip, but there is more you can and should do. I am a visual player, I need more in my head than just a made up spot on the green, take a sharpie out and draw a line across your ball. Every golf store sells ball markers that make it easier to draw lines. When you are now reading and placing your ball down on the green, you can have a visual line on the ball and in your head. This will apply to all lengths of putts and will help improve your makes.

3. Find a practice routine that works, and REPEAT REPEAT REPEAT
         I am not a fan of slow golf, but I do think you should take your time on reading the greens and finding a correct line. This becomes more important as you get closer and closer to the hole. It is key that you find a rhythm and stick to that routine no matter the distance (minus a tap in, no one likes THAT guy). Even when you are on the practice green, I want you to still read every putt, put the line down and go through your normal routine like you were having a putt to win the tournament.

4.  Use one hand to putt when you are practicing
        This drill is something that confuses a lot of people at first, but I think it has significance. If you are right handed, you will be using your right hand, left handers use your left hand. If you are putting cross handed then just use whatever hand is on the bottom. The bottom hand when putting acts as the engine that drives the putter through the putt. A lot of putts missed happen because the stroke "broke down" well what does this mean? I see a lot of short putts missed simply because the player did not follow through on the stroke and left it outside of his target line or "pushed it". By practicing putts with your bottom hand only, not only will this help you drive through the putt and make solid contact, but it will build your confidence up. If you can make putts with one hand then two hands should be easy!  
       


                 

Wind, control your shots and improve accuracy

I just returned from a golf tournament in northern Florida. If you are not familiar with the weather down there at this time of the year, the wind can blow pretty hard. I was standing on the par 3 sixth hole on the final round when the wind was picking up slightly into us. The best way I like to examine the wind is not by throwing grass in the air, if you think about it, the ball will get much higher in the air then how high you can throw that grass up. Look at the tips of the trees (if you are on a tree lined course, a wide open course the grass throw will work). The tops of the leaves on the trees are a great indicator of which way the wind is truly blowing, especially if the wind feels like it is swirling near you. We had 165 yards to this pin on 6, the first guy took out an 8 iron not feeling much wind into his face, he came up well short into the green-side bunker. Before even seeing what he had hit I was already equipped with a 7 iron in my hand and flighted the ball lower to keep the wind from hitting it. The key was looking at the tips of the trees and seeing a steady wind blowing it towards me. Now there are a couple theories out there offering suggestions on how to hit into the wind. Tom Watson was a big fan of just clubbing up until he felt like he had enough club. I am not a big fan of this, it takes to much feel and not relying on your golf swing, by swinging just as hard it also gives you a greater risk of spinning the ball into the air and coming up short. Whenever there is a windy day, and you have a luxury of hitting into the wind on the range, go out and do it! I want you to focus on not swinging the club any faster than you normally would, this is actually a bad thing. By trying to compress the ball harder with a faster swing speed, you may actually cause the ball to spin harder and in turn have the wind throw it up in the air quicker. Take half shots with all of your irons and practice on your follow throw only going half way up. This will make the ball go a little straighter and keep it from spinning left or right. The next thing is ball positioning, make sure that ball is close to your back foot and this is where your alignment rods will come in handy. This allows the club to be de-lofted and in turn lowering ball flight. I think practicing these shots also help your tempo more and make the down wind shots, or no wind shots a lot easier, practice into the wind on the range every chance you get, it is a big game improver. The last thing I want to say is embrace a windy day, if you have a good mentality about it, then you already have an advantage over the guy who is complaining about how strong the wind is.

A review of the Titleist AP 714 irons

I have always been a fan of the golf company Titleist, and no they are not paying me to say this. Titleist is able to make a product that appeals to the above average golfer but still able to have the forgiveness to make a higher handicap lean towards their company. The AP1 and AP2 series has been one of the most successful and best technologically designed club within the decade. The 714 is the latest installment of the AP series and I recently had the opportunity to try the AP2 irons. My initial thought when looking at them is a slicker look than the 712 series and it maintained that signature AP look. The AP1 is designed with a bigger sweet spot in it for the higher handicap player, I would certainly recommend this for anyone looking into purchasing a new set of irons. The price of Titleist is certainly on the higher end, so if you are new to the game I do not suggest buying brand new irons. Go to your local golf shop and purchase some used irons that have forgiveness to them. People working there will be able to help you out with this choice. The AP2 is a players club, it certainly has the forgiveness feel to it but at times when hitting them it almost felt like there was too much forgiveness in them for me. This is great for someone who wants a higher sweet spot, but also takes away from ball control and shaping your iron shots. The CB series also was released by Titleist this year which has a thinner cavity back look to it allowing the player to shape shots with more ease. For someone who does not like to see a lot of shape in their ball flight (complete opposite for me) and you have a lower handicap the AP2 iron should be in your top 3 choices. My final thought on choosing between new irons is that you should always go into a fitting with an open mind, do not have your sites set on one specific company before you try something else. There are plenty of great options out there that all have similar technology, your favorite company just could be out done by the competitor!

6 things you need to improve your sand shots (list post)

1. Analyze your shot
               Too many times I see players in a bunker and just look at the flag, back down at the ball and swing. You need to treat this shot just like a putt, read which way the green is sloping in relation to where the cup is. If you can read which way the ball is going on the green then you will be better able to judge how it will react landing on the green from the bunker. 

2. Choosing the right wedge
              Today many players carry multiple wedges in their bag. Generally 2-3 including the pitching wedge, (pitching wedge not recommended for closer bunker shots) a high lofted wedge around 60 degrees, a "sand wedge" around 54 degrees and a "gap wedge" around 52 degrees. So what wedge should you choose coming out of the sand? This depends on the shot, I would suggest in a deep bunker to go with your highest lofted wedge, or when you need to have the ball land soft, longer shots, with some practice would allow for a gap wedge shot. Anything else a middle wedge would be the best for a "standard wedge shot."

3. Practice before your round
              Get to know the sand you are playing! If the course you are playing has a practice bunker get in and hit some shots! The consistency of the sand could change from course to course and you want to be prepared in dealing with the different textures.

4. Do some drills
             My favorite drill to do when practicing is drawing a line 1 inch behind my ball in the sand and focus on hitting that line with your wedge. You cannot do this during play because it is treated as a hazard and no touching a hazard! But during practice this is a great drill to do because it allows you to hit a sand shot the proper way. Sand first, ball last, the sand will push the ball out and by hitting behind it with a visual line to guide you, it will be a lot easier to get out of the trap!

5. Open your stance 
           Bunker shots require loft. The club face will do a lot of the work for you but by placing your front foot slightly outward and open to your target line it will allow the club face to travel through your line and getting the ball up in the air quicker.

6. Embrace the sand!
          Do not be scared of the trap. If you hit into a bunker be confident that you have practiced this shot before and have to tools to get you out in one shot. Confidence is key in golf, if you have a good attitude going into the bunker then you already have an advantage over it. 

 
          

Speed on the Greens....Avoid the 3 Putt!!

The great thing about the game of golf is that no two courses are similar. With this comes different green speeds. So how do you adjust to the speed of those new greens before your round? If you are competing in an event you will more than likely have one or two days practice on them and more than likely you will have a few drills set up already. But for the guy going out on a business trip to a new course or just a fun trip for the weekend, you do not want to show up on the first hole with no knowledge or feel of the greens. There are a couple quick 15 minute drills you can do to get some confidence on the green before starting your round. The first requires 5 tees to be stuck in the ground, one 15 feet from the hole the second 20, and you go increments of 5 until you get to 35 feet. Obviously you can choose the distance for yourself but you get the idea. Next putt from those 5 distances and challenge yourself each time to a perimeter around the hole. If it is your first time try getting the ball past the hole every time but no further past than 4 feet. Once you feel more comfortable you can set up new challenges. The second drill is more feeling the putt than visualizing it. Take 2 or 3 balls and just putt to the edge of the fringe about 30-40 feet away. Again challenge yourself each time by trying to get the ball as close to the fringe with out actually hitting it. These two quick drills will help with the speed on the greens and avoid a 3 or dare I say...a 4 putt....yikes.

Helpful Hint #3.....Who's got the best shoes?

It seems in today's modern golf world that the trend of golf shoe is going towards the tennis shoe look. But is this the best shoe to wear for your golf game? I think it depends, they're so many good reasons to try out a tennis shoe looking golf shoe (hybrid shoe for the purpose of this conversation). The pros to the hybrid shoe include the comfort and the lightness of the shoe. When you try the shoe on you instantly notice how much of a tennis shoe feel it has. The Ecco was one of the first to create this market and advertised it nicely with old and young players. Foot joy, Nike and Adidas soon followed. Now between the four of these the Nike, more particularly the Tiger Woods shoe is my favorite. It is ironically designed differently than the others. In general the hybrid shoe does not have changeable spikes making traction harder to come by in wet conditions. With the Tiger Wood shoe, you have comfort, style and traction all in one. In saying this though, the "traditional" shoe still has its benefits. The style is second to none and in terms of not losing your footing, its the best. If you are a weekend warrior who takes a cart out, the traditional shoe might be for you. Cost speaking both shoes are not cheap but it never hurts to try them both on and make a decision. If you go out and walk a lot then the hybrid shoe could be the one!

Helpful Hint #2.....Alignment Rods

Working on the range is vital to improving your game. After the winter months go the first thing you want to do is get out and get some tempo back in your swing. Hitting wedges and smaller shots will help gradually improve you back into form. But I think one of the most important things to do is work on your alignment. So many players miss shots from their target lines, not because they made a bad swing, but simply because they were not aimed up properly. This is one of the first things to go after taking time off from the game. Most people will be missing their shots to the right of the target (if you are right handed) and vice versa for left handed players. My suggestion is taking a couple alignment sticks out to the range with you and doing some good drills to get you back in playing form. Place one running parallel with your feet at your selected target. The next stick should be pointed from your ball to your torso to show your ball positioning. These two helpful sticks will assure you are properly set up to the ball and ready to hit closer shots. The only thing you have to work on next is the swing itself, and I mean hey, how hard can that be? 

Helpful hint #1.....Picking the right grip

Too many times I see golfers coming into the shop buying grips that are not beneficial to their golf game or their wallet. Some people come in assuming that the 12 dollar grip is the best one for them because it is the most expensive and they see the advertisements on TV. (The number one grip on the PGA tour) well the key word to that is PGA and tour, those guys are professional and they tinker with a lot of different equipment. The grip they used is generally designed for golfers who play a lot of rounds, that does not necessarily mean that grip is going to last a while. Most competitive golfers change their grips once every 4 months or so, and on the PGA usually a lot more frequently than that. For the average guy out there, I would suggest going to your local pro or golf shop and get their honest opinion. If you have a larger hand you might want to look into a midsize or over-sized grip. These usually cost a little bit more but they are worth it if your hands are large enough. The opposite applies for a smaller hand or a woman, ladies grips are available and generally cost the same as the regular grips. Cord grips are better if you have trouble holding on to the club, but they do cause more damage to your glove and hand. The rubber grip wrap by golf pride I think is a great grip for the weekend warrior. It will last you all season and will only cost about 7 bucks a grip. Its certainly the best bang for your buck. Hope this helps your decision next time you are in picking your grips!