Fixing the shanks.....

The shanks are undoubtedly the most destructive shots in golf. Obviously seeing the ball shooting off at right angles is pretty harming on its own, let alone the mental scarring it leaves. Often one shank, maybe the first in months, can lead to several more. The thought of hitting one makes it almost impossible to commit to hitting through the ball with any kind of confidence.

What is a shank?
The most common form of shank I see when teaching is caused when the clubhead gets too far ouside the ball at the point of impact, resulting in the ball striking the hosel of the club. The worst shank will result in the ball shooting extremely low (knee height) almost at right angles to where you are standing. This can often lead to penalty shots or an extremely awkward shot next up.

 Strike position for a shank & the resulting direction

Quick fix.....

A quick fix for the shanks if to position a head cover close to the ball at address. When I say close I mean so that the headcover is less than a centremetre away from the toe of the club. Now, taking your normal swing, try hitting the ball but miss the headcover. The thought should be more to miss the headcover rather than trying to hit the ball. You have already been trying to hit the ball but struggled with shanks, so we know that thought will not work.

  Position the headcover so it is almost touching the toe of the club.
You need to return to this position at impact

If you miss the headcover then you are stopping the clubhead from getting outside of the ball at the point of impact, which is when you would normally connect with the hosel.

If you hit the headcover then you know that you have come back out side of the ball, it is an instant feedback that will not let you get away with well timed, bad swings.

Just remember....

This is a quick fix. The true reason for your shank will be a deeper lying problem during the swing that needs the attention of a swing coach. 

This drill will change your co-ordination well enough to get you around the course but the problem may well reoccur. Seek professional advice to fix the core problem in your swing.

Look out for more advice and swing tips at www.dangalegolf.com

Dan teaches at The James Andrews School of Golf in East Sussex

Ryder Cup matchplay formats 2010

Next week sees the start of the 2010 Ryder Cup which is taking place at the Celtic Manor Resort in Wales. Always exciting matches, these three days lead to what are often the most tense and highly charged events on the golfing calendar.

The USA will be looking to retain the trophy that they recaptured at the 2008 Ryder Cup that took place at Valhalla Golf Club in Kentucky.

On paper the two teams look quite even. With the USA captain Corey Pavin opting to pick, a somewhat out of form but still the world number 1, Tiger Woods. Whilst the European team is missing out on the talents of players such as Sergio Garcia (out of form but awesome Ryder Cup record), and also Paul Casey, Justin Rose and Soren Hansen, all of whom found that their worldwide schedules damaged Ryder cup point scoring over the qualifying period.

Matchplay:

Matchplay is different to strokeplay as you are playing directly against another player or pair. The team that scores the lowest on each hole wins the hole.

Example:

If you win the 1^st you would go 1 up. If you then also won the 2^nd you would now be 2 up. If you then lose the 3^rd you then go back to 1 up. Drawn holes lead to the score remaining the same.

The match is over in matchplay once one team is too far ahead to be caught, for example 4 up with only 3 holes to play, therefore a win of 4 & 3.

Over the 3 days at the Ryder Cup there will be different forms of matchplay being played. Here are the three forms that will be taking place at Celtic Manor

Foursomes matchplay

1 ball per pair playing alternate shots throughout the round

One player will tee off on the odd holes and the other on the even holes

Hard because: Extreme pressure over every shot. Sometimes can go several holes without a tricky, short putt then suddenly have one to halve a hole or worse stay in the match

Suits: Steady golf. No heroics, keeping it in play is key. Luke Donald is an awesome foursomes partner, steady throughout.

Fourball betterball matchplay

Playing as a pair but both players has their own ball, the lowest score from the pair counts on each hole

Hard because: Ultra attacking where birdies are regular, often not even winning the hole

Look out for: Hot streaks - pairs being 7-10 under for their rounds. Tactical pairings, a birdie man and a steady player is often successful, Furyk & Woods!!

Singles matchplay

One on one matchplay. Lowest score wins the hole

Look out for: Luck of the draw. Often the trailing team will load up their big guns at the top of the draw in a bid to catch up on points early

Tense because: Big shocks and the final matches. 12 points up for grabs to decide the destiny of the Ryder Cup

Hopefully this will clear up any doubts whilst the Ryder Cup matches are taking place. Make sure to tune in and enjoy the golf. The top player from Europe and the USA will certainly put on a great show

Check out swing tips and advice at www.dangalegolf.com

Patience is key

As a beginner playing golf it can sometimes feel very frustrating that your successful practice doesn’t always transfer straight into better shots on the golf course. This can be infuriating at times having seen practice sessions  result in consistently straight, well struck shots on the range yet a wide variety of wild, badly struck shots on the golf course.

 Try not to get too frustrated on the course.

It will not help.

This inconsistency is down to many things, mainly the fact that when you are practicing you are in a completely different environment. You have an almost unlimited supply of golf balls for one. This takes all of the pressure off of the shot.  You will be more relaxed and as the end result doesn’t really matter, you will also be more likely to try and execute the correct swing technique that you are carrying out in your lessons.

It is this relaxed feeling you need to try to take onto the golf course. Remember that everyone hits bad shots, look at Tiger Woods, he misses a fairway by 40 yards at times, if this is happening to the greatest player ever then you shouldn’t expect to have a round with no errors involved.

Here are some ideas to maintain your calm and patience on the golf course:

1.       Take one shot at a time – do not look too far ahead or have too high expectations on upcoming shots or holes. Do your best to execute the shot you are about to play

2.       Have practice swings – use these to rehearse the swing you wish to carry out. This will relax you and get your muscles ready for the upcoming jobs they need to carry out

3.       Keep it simple – if you go onto the golf course with a head full of swing thoughts then you will probably crumble. Have one clear objective for your swing. A two second swing cannot handle 5/6 thoughts

4.       Let it out – for the volatile player give yourself a 10 metre walk after a bad shot to get any frustrations out of your system. Say what you like (to yourself) but after those 10 metres your sole concentration should be on the next shot. Do not let one bad shot drag you down for the next 2/3 holes

5.       Mix it up – mix between course and range practice. Use the range and practice areas to master the technique and the golf course to learn how to play golf. Playing golf is an art so get out there and play.

The more you play on the course the more comfortable you will start to feel out there. This will lead to a more relaxed approach to each stroke. Trust me, one day it will click and the scores will tumble. Just be patient and enjoy your golf.

Dan is a coach at The James Andrews School of Golf in East Sussex
Check out his website at www.dangalegolf.com

It's all in the hips.......

Lack of lower body movement is extremely common in the amateur golfer. 

When standing back on the range, the majority of swings of the amateur will see the downswing power being created through a lunge with the shoulders and pull through with the arms. This leads to a loss in  power and efficiency as the upper body has to work harder  to compensate for the lack of lower body contribution.

  

Anthony Kim: hip clearance at impact
(note how the belt buckle is already pointing at the target)

Looking at the top players on tour, particularly the long hitters such as Anthony Kim, Tiger Woods, Dustin Johnson and Bubba Watson you will notice that during the downswing their hips are clearing ahead of the upper half. This leads to the big muscles driving the downswing, resulting in the final blow being the release of the club at the ball.
The action is much like that of a javelin thrower. The final part of the throw being the release of the arm and wrist following the body clearance.

 Release position for an olympic javelin thrower
(note how the lower body is already pointing at the target)

Working on your hip drive/clearance will undoubtedly result in more power and reduce the strain on the rest of your body, which is caused by trying to generate power from the wrong sources.

Check out www.mytpi.com for fitness ideas for improving lower half mobility and www.dangalegolf.com for direct tips on how to encourage more power from your lower half.

Dan is a coach at The James Andrews School Of Golf in East Sussex.

Check out his website at www.dangalegolf.com

Golf...it's just a number

I finished teaching a group of four beginners today who were taking part in a 5 half day beginner school. We finished the week by playing a few holes on the course and it was interesting that i spent a lot of the time trying to make the group see the positives in all of their shots.

An example of this was on the 2nd hole where one of the guys in the group caught a chip a little thin. Now ok it wasn’t the strike he was after or worked the whole week towards achieving, however the ball caught the greenside rough on its journey, jumped up and rolled out to about two feet from the hole. Now immediately my student (Nick) looked at me in disappointment...Why?? The idea of golf is to get the ball in the hole in the fewest number of shots isn’t it??
Nick proceeded to tap the ball in from two feet for his first official par in golf.

Try not to over analyse every shot you play, Tiger, Phil and Rory hit bad shots just like you do. They can probably count on one hand at the end of a sub par round the number of 100% successfully executed shots they have just carried out.

When you play you will miss landing spots and mis-strike shots its just a matter of managing these as best you can and leaving yourself an opportunity to succeed with the following shot. It’s not a ‘who can hit the prettiest shot competition’, its a ‘who can get the ball in the hole the quickest competition’.

Conclusion........
Take any good fortune that comes your way and make the best of every situation you find yourself in. Make sensible decisions over shots and execute them as best you can and remember the scorecard never says how the ball got into the hole, it just tells you how many shots it took.

Dan is a PGA Professional at The James Andrews School Of Golf