Improve Your Putting By Charting Your Misses
CHART YOUR MISSES ON THE GREEN
Have you ever charted where you miss your putts? If you haven’t yet, I encourage you to do so this season. If you answered yes, I may offer an idea or two to take it a step further.
There are a few ways to chart your putts on the green. The most simplistic way is to chart whether you miss your putts short or long. I’m hoping long because 98% of the putts left short don’t have a chance of going in. I’m not much of a gambler, but those are not good odds. The second way to chart your putts, and probably the most common, is to chart whether you miss your putts on the high side (pro) or low side (am) of the hole. The last way to chart your putts is to see if you have a tendency to miss them left or right of the hole. Many tend to overlook charting their putts this last way, however, it can be pretty telling if you’re missing the majority of your putts on one side of the hole.
Here’s what you’re looking for when charting your putts. Ideally, you would want to miss about half of your putts on the pro side of the hole and half on the am side. And the same can be said for missing it left and right. Most likely, you’ll start seeing a tendency for your misses after a few rounds.
Here’s what the tendencies mean. For example, if you’re missing 70% of your putts on the am side of the hole, you’re under-reading the break on the green. If this is the case, practice playing more break for your putts. If you’re missing 70% of your putts to the right, then you could be pushing or slicing your putts. For this, practice by placing a 3-iron next to your ball parallel to your target line. Hit putts along the shaft without allowing your ball to strike the shaft. Obviously, I could go on and on about your misses, but it’s imperative to chart them so you can fix your flaws. The more putts you chart the better. Chart your putts for at least 5 rounds and up to 10 rounds. If you do this, I guarantee you’ll find a tendency in your putting that can be improved. And most likely, this improvement can come quickly. Good luck and make more putts!
Winter Golf: “It’s Not That Bad Out There”
ENJOY GOLF IN THE WINTER
Winter golf, a wonderful time to play! You might be laughing or rolling your eyes, but really, it can be a wonderful time to play (Disclaimer: I would like to state that there are certain conditions that Kyle Voska does not find enjoyable and he cannot be held accountable for someone having an unpleasant time during a winter round of golf if any of these conditions exist: when it is snowing, sleeting, icing, raining, fog-lifting, winterey mixing, windy, really windy, under 28.4 degrees, cloudy, after a long rain, snow or ice on the ground, warm outfit-challenged, not in mood, or you run out of golf balls during your round). I love getting out for a few rounds in the winter and I’ll explain why and how you can enjoy it too.
Dressing properly is the key ingredient to enjoying golf when the weather is less than ideal. First, I highly recommend wearing rain pants over your slacks. Long-underwear works as well, but rain pants are better because they block the wind and keep your pants dry. Second, a winter cap is a must. If your noggin gets cold, you’re toast. Third, load up the layers around your core. I recommend 3-4 layers around your chest and up to 2 layers for your arms. I prefer to have as little as possible on my arms so I can still swing with some speed. And last, winter gloves. Some prefer the winter gloves made for golf. I, however, prefer using cart mittens with heat packs in them. My hands generally don’t stay warm in gloves because my fingers are isolated. They stay much warmer in the mittens and I’m able to hit shots with my normal glove and grip.
Learning to adapt to different conditions, winter conditions included, is one of the beauties of this game. Generally, when you play winter golf in the northern states, the temperature will be below 50 degrees. When the temperature dips, the golf ball doesn’t go as far. Due to more clothing, your swing will slow down a bit, and it’s harder to compress the golf ball when it cools down. I recommend taking at least one extra club on shorter shots and at least two extra clubs on longer shots. This will make sure you swing within yourself and make solid contact (not hitting solid in the cold can leave a lasting impression).
Winter is a depressing time for many because there’s less light, it’s cold, and there’s more precipitation. This terrible trifecta makes it’s difficult to spend time outside. Humans weren’t designed to spend months at a time inside so when you have a chance to go outside it’s important to take advantage of it. Golf is a great way to spend this time. You’ll get some fresh air along with some exercise in very peaceful environment. It’s truly amazing how quiet and peaceful a golf course is in the winter.
Go out and play some golf this winter. You might be surprised how nice it can be. Just dress properly and swing easy. When you finish, I’m willing to bet you’ll say, “It’s not that bad out there.”, the very popular winter-time phrase said at Sharon Woods Golf Course. Have fun and thanks for reading!
$ Bill Drill: Get Out Of The Sand Everytime
$ BILL DRILL – GREENSIDE SAND SHOTS
Getting the ball out of a sand trap and on the green is a challenge for many players. One of the ways to improve your bunker play is to understand the shot better. When you hit a proper sand shot, your sand wedge actually does not make contact with the golf ball. It enters the sand behind the golf ball, about 2-3 inches, and the sand actually carries the ball to the green.
A great visual and practice drill to help you with this is to practice hitting sand shots using a dollar bill. Here’s how: First, bring lots of money! Just kidding. Start by setting the dollar bill in the sand pointing to the target. Next, place the ball right in the middle of the dollar bill. Then, take your setup with the dollar bill forward in your stance. Finally, try to blast the dollar bill all the way to the green. Imagine the dollar bill is carrying the ball to the green like it’s on a small pillow. Believe it or not, a dollar bill is very similar to the size of the divots you’ll be taking out of the sand when you hit a sand shot.
After doing this drill, you’ll have a better understanding of the dynamics of a sand shot and how much effort is needed to get the ball out of the trap all the way to the green. By the way, I have yet to see a dollar bill tear from this drill. Good luck!
Have A Yardage Gap Within Your Wedges? Not For Long…
MINIMIZE YOUR WEDGE YARDAGE GAPS
Do you find yourself struggling with certain distance gaps with your wedges? Wouldn’t it be nice if you didn’t have to hit as many half or three-quarter wedge shots? Chances are, there is a large yardage gap between your wedges. I’m going to help you understand how to optimize the lofts of your wedges. This may mean you’ll have to add a wedge or two to your bag, or have the lofts bent on your current wedges. Trust me though, it’ll be money well spent.
Years ago, a typical pitching wedge (PW) was 48 degrees. Recently, club makers have strengthened the PW to 43-47 degrees to give golfers the impression they’re hitting the ball further. In fact, they’re just hitting a 9-iron that says PW. It’s really not a big deal what the bottom of the club says. What’s important is the real loft of the clubs and how far you hit them.
THE PROBLEM
The problem may occur if your PW is 44 degrees and your next wedge is a SW with 56 degrees of loft. That’s a huge gap. That’d be like taking both your 7 and 8-iron out of your bag. How would you like to do that? And we’re talking about the clubs you’ll be using more than any other clubs in your bag not counting the putter and driver. Approximately 70% of the game occurs inside 100 yards so it’s important to get the most out of the wedges that you carry.
Typically, there is a 4 degree gap between the irons in your bag. Believe it or not, this means that many of you should be carrying 4 wedges, if not 5. I understand, that’s really hard to believe. It’s all based on the actual loft of your PW. If your wedge is 44, then you may need another wedge at 48, then 52, 56, and possibly 60. That’d be 5 clubs considered to be wedges, although I would argue the 44 is actually a 9-iron.
RECOMMENDATION
Wedges are your scoring clubs so it’s imperative to have the lofts correct to maximize your scoring cability. Here’s what I would recommend. Find out the true loft of your PW at a golf shop (Etter’s or Golf Galaxy) that measures loft. It’ll cost a few bucks, but it’s well worth it. Add 4-5 degrees of loft to each wedge after that. Example: If your PW is 46, I would recommend a GW at 50, a SW at 54, and a LW at 58. Or, you could carry a 51 GW and a 56 SW. If you’re wondering, I carry 48, 53, and 58 degree wedges in my bag (The numbers on my wedges actually say 47, 54, and 58. I’ve had them bent).
Obviously, there are plenty of routes you can go. You may need all the long irons, woods, and hybrids in your bag. Some may need the extra loft around the green. It’s up to you to decide, but if you’re not certain, a PGA Professional like myself can certainly offer you the guidance you may need.
Thanks for reading and make sure you get your lofts checked before the season is here.
Tip-of-the-Month January ’10: Uneven Lies
UNEVEN LIES
One of the reasons golf is so difficult is because almost every lie is different. When we practice at a driving range, hitting off a mat especially, it can become monotonous because the lie is pretty much the same each time. After perfecting your driving range swing, it can be difficult adjusting to the different lies on the course. I’m sure many of you have had the feeling of hitting good shot after good shot on the range only to find yourself struggling once you reach the golf course. Don’t worry, you’re not alone.
Today, I’m going to give you some tips on how to play these various lies. In order to improve at this game you must be able to adapt to different situations that arise during your round. Learning how to set up correctly for these awkward lies will vastly improve your chances of hitting more good shots on the course. There are 4 different types of uneven lies I’m going to go cover. After reading this article, I recommend printing out these tips and putting them in your bag for future reference.
Uphill Lie – This shot will tend to fly higher and shorter due to the increased loft of clubface caused by the uphill lie.
- Set your body to match the slope by leaning back/tilt shoulders to match slope
- Move the ball back in your stance so it’s in line with the center of your body
- Take more club
- Swing up the slope, not at the ball
- Aim a little right because the ball will tend to go left due to the lack of turning of your body through the shot
Downhill Lie – This very difficult shot will fly much lower than your normal shots. The goal here is to advance the ball up the fairway. Try not to get too greedy with this shot.
- Set your body to match the slope – more weight on your forward foot/tilt shoulders to match slope
- Place the ball in the middle of your stance
- Hit a higher-lofted club because the downslope will deloft your club
- Swing down the slope
- Swing easy without trying to lift the ball (if you try to help the ball up you will duff it)
Ball Above Your Feet - This shot will tend to curve right-to-left (for right-handed).
- Stand taller at address
- Aim a little to the right
- Ball placement towards the back of your stance
- Swing more around your body – a lower, flatter swing so you sweep the ball off the slope
Ball Below Your Feet – This difficult lie will tend to veer off to the right (for right-handed).
- Stand closer to the ball
- Much wider stance with a lot more knee bend – I recommend wide knees
- Ball placement is back in your stance
- Aim a little left
- Swing a lot more up and down
- Swing easy and keep your knees bent throughout the shot
All of these lies can be difficult, but hopefully my tips will help to improve your results for these shots. I would recommend practicing these lies at a place that has uneven lies like Meadow Links Golf Academy in Cincinnati. When I teach these shots I either go out to the target greens on my driving range or I go on the golf course.
My last tip for these shots is if you’re in doubt on what to do, take a couple of practice swings to feel the difference in your swing and to see where your club is hitting the ground. You’ll want to place the ball close to where your club is first striking the ground. Also, swing in control for these shots. They’re trouble shots. Remember: when you’re in trouble, your first goal is to get out it.
The Importance of Holding Your Finish
THE IMPORTANCE OF HOLDING YOUR FINISH
There are a few reasons why I believe it’s important to hold your finish after a shot. Here are the reasons and why they’re important:
1) Balance – if you can’t hold your finish after a shot then there’s a good chance you’ve either swung too hard or you’ve lost your balance during your swing. Simply, losing your balance will make you less consistent. Practice swinging in control with wedge shots then working your way down to the longer clubs holding your finish until the ball lands with each club.
2) Soak up the feeling of a good shot – When you a hit good shot, I want you to get used to it by savoring that shot. The longer you soak up the feelings of the good shot the better chance your body will remember it. Too often golfers focus more on the bad than the good in their games. Holding your finish until the ball lands on a good shot will reinforce that you’re swinging correctly. The majority of the time you’ll notice on your good shots you’ll be in a good fully balanced finish position.
3) Educate yourself at your finish – Holding your finish after a bad shot can be very difficult, especially when the ball is dribbling along the ground or veering quickly off to the right. However, it’s very important to try to hold your finish to educate yourself. To become better at this game, it’s imperative to learn how to correct your mistakes. Holding your finish on bad shots will help you do this. You may notice your balance is on your toes, your weight is still on your back foot, or maybe, your center hasn’t turned fully to the target. None of these finishes are ideal, but if you’re aware of it you’ll soon be able to fix it. That’s the key: learning from your errors so they’ll occur less often.
Thanks for reading and good luck!
You Must Keep Your Head Down: Myth or Truth?
YOU MUST KEEP YOUR HEAD DOWN, RIGHT? WRONG!
Have you ever hit balls at a crowded driving range and overheard beginner golfers teaching other beginner golfers? It’s a riot, isn’t it? After every bad shot the “experienced” beginner offers a completely different thought to try to help their struggling friend. You may overhear them saying, “keep your head down”, or “your left arm isn’t straight” or, “you’re losing your balance”, or “the center of your axis is tilting causing the centrifugal force of your downswing to bottom-out behind ball at a decelerating rate.” Just kidding about that last one of course.
There are many quick fix swing thoughts that are believed to be absolute staples in a good golf swing. Some swing thoughts are great while others can be damaging to both your swing and body. One of the myths I’d like to dispel today is the thought of intentionally trying to keep your head down at impact. Many of you may be shocked by this, but I am certain that trying to keep your head down at impact will not make you better and it could make you worse. That being said, it’s not wrong if your head is down at impact, I just don’t want you to overdo it.
THE TRUTH
Simply, your head is attached to your neck which is attached to the rest of your body. When you’re swinging the golf club back down to the ball and through to your finish, your body is turning and twisting a lot. To maximize the speed of your club, your body must turn through the ball at a pretty good clip. The faster your hips turn the faster the club will travel. And the faster your body is turning the more stress you put on your body.
Now, the question I ask is this. If your body is turning at a fast pace why would you want to keep your head behind? In fact, wouldn’t you risk hurting yourself trying to do this? When you talk to someone standing up do you turn your body 90 degrees to the left, but still look straight at them? I didn’t think so. It’s not comfortable and it might actually strain your neck. Now, imagine how much torque you’re putting on your neck when you intentionally try to keep your head down. Keeping your head down will not only increase your chance of injury, but it will also prohibit a full turn through the shot which results in a slower downswing and restricted finish. Allow your head to turn with your center through impact to your full finish.
Many of you, including myself, have hit shots where you’ve felt your head raise. It doesn’t feel good, but, believe it or not, it’s not your head that’s the problem. It’s your body. The golf swing starts from the ground up. Your body is actually pushing your head up. Some part of your downswing is causing you to lose the spine angle you created at address which pushes your head giving you that head-lifting feeling.
RECOMMENDATIONS
To help you with this problem, I would recommend a couple of thoughts to try: 1) Try to keep your spine angle you created at your setup position by maintaining constant knee flex throughout your swing. If your knees tend to rock or lock up your center will move too much. 2) Continue turning your belt buckle all the way to the finish where your buckle faces your target. If your center stops turning, the force of your arms swinging will force your center to move up, hence your head raising.
By the way, Annika Sorenstam and David Duval both turn their heads well before impact. Neither of them come close to seeing the ball at impact. This didn’t stop either of them becoming the #1 player in the world.
Thanks for reading!
Pace Of Play Tips
Pace Of Play Tips
In general, golfers are much more concerned with how fast or slow you’re playing compared to how your playing. Pace of play is a growing problem on golf courses. It’s every golfers responsibility to do their best to get around a golf course in a timely manner. Think of a golf course as a one-way road. The cars behind the lead car can only go as fast as that car. One slow group or golfer on a course can put a damper on everyone’s round behind them. The next time you play a round I encourage you to play “Ready Golf”. Everyone on the course, including yourself, will benefit from this. Here are some tips to help you to become more efficient on the course:
- Limit your practice swings to one swing and your pre-shot routine to under 20 seconds.
- Choose the set of tees best-suited for your game based on Handicap (For example: 0-6: Green Tees, 7-14: Blue Tees, 15 – 21: White Tees, 22+: Gold Tees).
- Write down your scores on or near the next teeing ground so the green is clear for the group behind you.
- When sharing a golf car, always drop off the first player to hit so the second player can prepare for their shot and be ready to hit when it’s their turn.
- Place golf cars, bags, and clubs off the putting green in the direction of the next hole.
- Watch your ball carefully after you hit each shot, especially on difficult holes to find golf balls.
- When going to your ball, bring the club you think you’re going to hit plus one club more and less to make sure you’ll have the proper club.
- Putt out when possible, especially the short ones. Also, read your putt while others are putting so you’re ready to go when it’s your turn.
- Check the clock before you tee off and upon finishing each hole to see if you’re on the 4:30 pace.
- Play “ready golf” when possible– whoever is ready first, hits first.
**The goal is for you to enjoy your round of golf in 4 hours and 30 minutes (15 minutes per hole) or LESS, preferably closer to 4 hours.**
About
KYLE VOSKA, PGA PROFESSIONAL
I grew up in Cincinnati, Ohio and graduated from St. Michael’s, St. Xavier, and Miami University. After graduating from Miami with a Finance degree, I moved to Florida to pursue my professional golf dreams. After a few successful years and a couple of difficult years, I stopped playing full-time. After a year of caddying on the LPGA Tour for Young Jo, Kim Williams, and Angela Stanford, I moved back home to Cincinnati. Currently, I live near Sharonville with my lovely wife, Lindsay, our kids, Maclin and Ellie, and our dog, Nora.
Teaching golf for over a year in Florida and having taken and watched many lessons from PGA Certified Master Teaching Professional Carl Rabito, becoming a golf instructor was something I really wanted to do. Fortunately, I was able to find a home at Sharon Woods Golf Course in Cincinnati, my old home from the 90′s, to further this new career path. As I enter my 6th season as a golf professional, I’m excited how my role is taking shape. I assist in managing and supervising a staff of nearly 40 while teaching golf lessons to over a 100 students. Hopefully, someday I’ll have the opportunity to mentor some future golf professionals like myself.
Email: kvoska@hotmail.com
ACCOMPLISHMENTS:
- PGA Member – June, 2009
- 2008 PGA National Assistants Champion
- 43 Professional Tournament Victories
- 2010 Southern Ohio PGA Section Player-of-the-Year
- 2010 Southern Ohio PGA Southwest Chapter Player-of-the-Year
- 2009 Cincinnati Chapter Match Play Champion
- 2009 Southern Ohio PGA Assistant’s Champion
- 2001 and 2010 Southern Ohio PGA Open Champion
- 2000 PGA Buick Open Contestant
- 1998 Miami Athlete-of-the-Year
- 2-Time NCAA Division I All-American
- Mid-American Conference Sportsman and Player-of-the Year (1998)
- 2-Time Cincinnati Met Amateur Champion (1997, 1998)
- Cincinnati Met Amateur Medalist and Runner-Up (1996)
- NCAA low scoring average on Par 3′s (2.91) in 1998
- Low competitive round – 62 (3 times): Four Bridges CC (’01), Oasis CC (’09), and Juniper Hills GC (’02)
- Low non-competitive round – 61: Browns Run CC – White tees
- Won a 54-hole Developmental Players Tour event by 9 shots shooting 19 under par with no bogies (64,64,69)
- 4 career Holes-in-One and 3 career double eagles
MY PGA MENTORS:
Tom Bach – Head Professional at Sharon Woods Golf Course
George Long – Kenwood CC PGA Professional/Head Pro at The Mill Course (17 Years)
Carl Rabito – PGA Certified Master Teaching Professional (Top 100 Instructor)
Mike Bender – 2009 PGA National Teacher-of-the-Year (Top 100)
Craig Shankland – 2001 PGA National Teacher-of-the-Year (Top 100)
Jim Suttie, Ph.D - 2000 PGA National Teacher-of-the-Year (Top 100)
Bill Madonna – Bill Madonna Golf Academy (Top 100)
Andrew Park – The David Leadbetter Golf Academy
Chris Toulson – Jim McLean Golf School at Doral
As you can see, I’ve been very fortunate to have learned from some of the best PGA Professionals in the country. I feel privileged to pass on the wealth of knowledge I’ve gained from spending time with these great gentlemen.
