Thursday, April 19, 2012

Your Questions Answered By Rob Myers, PGA (Part One)


We asked our Twitter followers and Facebook fans, "If you could ask a PGA instructor any question what would it be?" We received some great questions and here are the answers from Rob Myers, PGA. 


Ruben J.-
"What's the best drill for improving impact or ball striking?" 


As I'm sure you have noticed, the impact position is one of the most important areas of the golf swing to have fundamentally sound.  One major key to improving impact is to make sure that your hands are in front of the club head and the golf ball upon impact.  Try this: Once you are confident that the ball position is correct for the particular club you are using, place a tee in the ground about 12 inches in front of the ball.  As you execute the next golf swing, focus your eyes on the tee rather than the ball.  While this will certainly feel awkward, this is a great drill to trick your mind into thinking impact is actually later than it is.  The anticipation of impact with the ball often times causes people to release the club too early leading to inconsistency at impact.  As you begin seeing more success, slowly bring the tee closer and closer to the ball until you are able to just focus on the front half of the golf ball.  Best of luck!

Nicolas N.-
"How do I get more distance out my drive!?" 


Great question!  The search for more distance with the driver is something that is common amongst many!  While there is no potion you can drink to increase distance, there are a couple of things you can do to maximize your ability.  First, check your ball position to make sure it is just INSIDE your front foot.  Having the proper ball position will help you hit the ball at the bottom of the swing arc when the club should be moving it's fastest.  Another thing to focus on would be your turn away from the golf ball.  It's super important particularly with longer clubs that you get turned "behind" the golf ball on the backswing(lead shoulder and hip turned even with or behind the ball).  This full turn on the backswing will make it easier to generated more club head speed on the through swing.  Between these two adjustments you should see some increase in your yardage with the driver!  Hit it long!

Brendan N.-
"What is your number one piece of advice for beginners to the game of golf?" 


The best piece of advice I could give to somebody starting out is to PRACTICE!!  Spend as much time as possible with a club in your hand, even if you are not hitting golf balls.  Just holding a club, making practice swings, and working on your posture will get you more comfortable with some of the basics.  The sooner you are able to get comfortable with some of the basics you will be able to start focusing more on the mechanics of the swing.  It's also important to exercise a little patience when getting started.  Golf can be a frustrating game to learn, but hang in there for the first few months and it will be very rewarding! 

Mike P.-
"How can I improve my lag putting" 


Lag putting is a highly underrated area of the game.  Most people don't spend much time thinking about it until they find themselves on the green putting for birdie from 50 feet!  A great exercise for lag putting is to practice putting with your dominate hand only.  It will feel very strange at first, but the dominate hand is responsible for your touch or feel and thus is largely in contol of your speed.  Once you have struck several lag putts using just the one hand, you can place your lead hand back on the putter with very light grip pressure.  The light pressure will allow your dominate hand to still do the majority of the work while not drawing too much attention to yourself for only using one hand.  Before long you should find your speed on all putts (particularly the lag putts) drastically improve.  Best of luck!






If you are looking to improve your golf game Rob is available for lessons at SilverHorn and offers discounted rates for members of SilverHorn (our lowest memberships start at $10 a month!). E-mail Rob at rmyers@centurygolf.com to schedule a lesson or to simply ask Rob a question.

Also visit Rob online at Rob's website: www.riimgolf.com

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