Articles

When teeing off, be sure to use the tee box to your advantage. For a right to left shot, aim more from the left side of the tee box. Conversely, a left to right shot will gain a better perspective from the right side. Taking the time to move back and forth within the confines of the teeing area can help you find the best visual for the shot you desire.

 Wide Open Space

 Think big to drive fear away and hit fairways with ease...

By Jeff Ritter

One of the toughest things to do at times is get the ball in play off the tee. This is especially true under pressure, when trouble lurks in all directions. Fearing lost balls and mishits, the player increases tension in an effort to steer the ball into a small space. Tension disturbs rhythm, leading to the result they most feared in the first place. In most cases, I recommend that a player pick a tight specific line, however, for players who deal with too much tension and fear of negative outcomes, I have found that doing the exact opposite can be an effective cure. The next time you step up to the tee, imagine that you are hitting into the ether so your target is “impossible to miss”. Imagining a vast area or none at all will free you of tension allowing you to make the best possible swing you are capable of, and nail it right down the middle. Your mind is an open canvas, pick positive fun images and surrender to the possibilities!

Image by: Neil Duerden Originally published, Golf Punk Magazine, UK

By Jeff Ritter, PGA; Photo by Warren Keating

I can’t tell you how many people come to my lesson tee and say, “If I could just get rid of my baseball swing, then all my problems would be solved!” My initial thought is always: I wish you had a baseball swing, because it would help you play better golf.

Most people don’t realize that baseball and golf swings are essentially the same; they’re just on different planes. A baseball bat is swung on a very “flat” plane because the ball is in the air, whereas a golf club is swung on a more tilted plane because the ball is on the ground. Regardless of where the ball is, both swings demand a similar sequence of events to ensure solid contact. Any movement that generates power is the result of a coordinated effort that utilizes all of the body’s speed producers. From throwing a pitch to hitting a home run, a “kinetic” chain of events occurs to deliver an explosion at the moment of impact. For most people, a simple baseball swing most correctly conveys the idea and attitude of a proper kinetic sequence that’s perfect for golf. In addition, the rounded arc produced by a good baseball swing will encourage proper clubface rotation through impact, thus curing the common slice.