Kyle Voska Golf

PGA Professional shares tips and advice on golf

Women’s Clinic, League, and Classes at Sharon Woods

2011 Women’s Clinic, League, and Classes at Sharon Woods Golf Course

I’m excited to announce the 2011 schedule for women this year at Sharon Woods.  We will offer another free women’s clinic on Friday, May 13th.  This clinic will springboard into the Lady 9ers Sunday evening league.  Additionally, for the first time at Sharon Woods, we’ll be offering 3 women’s classes to improve your games.  The first class starts on April 28th.  I’m limiting the class size to 10 students so sign-up early to secure your spot!

Go to http://www.hamiltoncountyparks.org/rec_sharon/sw_womensgolf.shtm or call the pro shop at (513) 769-4325 to sign-up.

Here’s the full schedule:

Women’s Free Clinic
This clinic will focus on basic fundamentals, rules, and etiquette in a fun, relaxing environment. It will also springboard into an optional casual ladies golf league shortly after the event.

  • Date: Friday, May 13, 2011
  • Time: 10:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.
  • Register online to the right.

Lady 9er’s Golf League
Are you looking to meet other lady golfers?  Would you like to play in a non-competitive social league?  If so, then join the Lady 9ers League.  This 9-hole league plays on Sundays at 4:30 p.m. beginning May 15 and runs through September.  The league membership fee is $10.00, of which 100% goes into weekly prizes. As a league member, you are not required to play every week and you pay greens fees as you play ($16.00 walking/$23.25 riding).  Contact Melissa Davis, Kyle Voska, or call the pro shop (513) 769-4325 for more information.

Women’s Golf Classes
Would you like to play better golf with your friends, or improve your scores in your ladies league?  If so, sign-up for these women’s golf classes designed to improve your overall game.  Topics covered include putting, chipping, pitching, iron play, hybrids and woods.

SPRING SESSION

  • Dates: Thursdays, April 28 – June 2 (6 classes)
  • Time: 10:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.
  • Cost: $99.00 for all 6 classes ($20.00 for one class if space available – 10 student limit)

SUMMER SESSION

  • Dates: Thursdays, June 16 – July 28 (6 classes – off July 14)
  • Time: 10:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.
  • Cost: $99.00 for all 6 classes ($20.00 for one class if space available – 10 student limit)

EVENING SESSION (Class is Full)

  • Dates: Tuesdays, May 31, June 7 and June 14 (3 classes)
  • Time: 6:00 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.
  • Cost: $75.00 for all 3 classes ($30.00 for one class if space available – 10 student limit)

Advanced registration required. Contact Kyle Voska for more information.

February 5, 2011 Posted by | Sharon Woods Updates, Women's Golf | Leave a Comment

The Cincinnati Golf Show and Future Tips

Thanks to everyone who attended the Cincinnati Golf Show today.  It was great to see some old faces and meet some new ones.  While the weather outside is pretty rough, it was a nice change to talk about golf again.  I had a great time.

Also, I just want to note that I’ll be posting tips on my blog again shortly.  With long days at the golf course and a new born at home, my free time to write at home has been cut down drastically.  Check back soon to see the new tips and I’d also love to hear some suggestions for tips you’d like me to write about.

Thanks,
Kyle

January 15, 2011 Posted by | Uncategorized | 2 Comments

I’ll Be Presenting and Teaching at The 2011 Cincinnati Golf Show

2011 Cincinnati Golf Show

The 2011 Cincinnati Golf Show will be held January 14th – 16th at the Duke Energy Convention Center in downtown Cincinnati.  On Saturday, the 15th, I’ll have the stage from noon to 1:00 to talk about whatever I want.  After much thought, I decided I’m going to dive deeply into one of the most common problems of golfers:  the slice.  I’m going to cover 6 major causes of the slice, how to fix them, and share some drills that will help cure the slice forever.  I imagine that those who attend will never hit a slice again.  Also, during my allotted hour, I’ll have a question and answer time along with some live lessons. 

After I present, I’ll also be giving free lessons until 4:00.  It should be a great time and a nice way to break up the monotony of this long winter season.  Hope to see you there!

Kyle

January 7, 2011 Posted by | Uncategorized | 1 Comment

Free Golf Lessons At The Reds Game This Saturday, 7/31

If you’re heading down to the Reds game this Saturday afternoon, 4:10 start time, try to stop by the Fan Zone (near the main entrance) for a Free 5-minute Golf Lesson with a Southern Ohio PGA Professional.  I’ll be one of 6 PGA pro’s offering free lessons from approximately 2:15 to 6:45 (7 innings).  The S.O.P.G.A. is setting up hitting stations with mats, nets, clubs, balls, etc.  It should be a lot of fun.  Hope to see you there!

July 29, 2010 Posted by | Uncategorized | 1 Comment

I’m Playing In The Nationwide Event at TPC River’s Bend

Good news!  I’m very pleased to announce that last week, at Walnut Grove CC in Dayton, I shot an 8-under 64 winning an SOPGA event and qualifying for this week’s Nationwide Tour event at TPC River’s Bend.  We were competing for 2 spots and I was fortunate enough to get one of them.  Jeff Olson, from Kinsale Golf Course in Columbus, fired a 69 to grab the other spot.

I’m looking forward to this event.  I haven’t played in a big event like this in a long, long time.  9 years to be exact.  It’s going to be a lot of fun.  I’ll post some updates from the event when I get a chance.  Thanks for everyone’s support!

Kyle

July 11, 2010 Posted by | Uncategorized | 1 Comment

Update: Cleveland CG15 Tour-Conforming Wedges Review

Cleveland CG 15 Tour-Conforming Wedges Review

A few months back I gave a review on my then new Cleveland CG15 Tour-Conforming wedges.  At that time, I had 3 of the wedges in my bag:  48, 54, and 58 lofts.  In March, with the conditions soft and wet, I saw virtually no difference in the wedges compared to my previous wedges.  After 3 and a half months of playing these wedges, I thought I’d give another review.

Currently, for a variety of reasons, I have 4 wedges in my bag compared to the usual 3.  I’m now using the CG Tour set PW at 48 degrees (I hit this wedge a little better than the CG15 one I have), a 52 and 58 (bent to 57) lofted CG15 Tour-Conforming wedge, and an old 588 60-degree bent up to 61 degrees.  First of all, I’d like to say I still love the new CG15 Tour-Conforming wedges.  Personally, I still prefer them over the Zip Grooves as I don’t need or want a lot of backspin.  That being said, now that I’ve played them in a variety of conditions, I have noticed a couple of differences.  The new wedges react and spin well out of the fairway, but from dry rough they do spin less and release more once they land on the green.  Another thing I’ve noticed is these wedges fly higher.  It’s kind of odd because with less spin you’d think they’d fly lower, but with the V-grooves the ball actually slides up the club face more creating the higher launch angle.

A little over a month ago, I added the 4th wedge, 61, in the bag.  I did this because I felt like I’d use the 4th wedge more than a long iron, and I hit my 58 degree wedge 100 yards.  It’s nice to have a wedge that I can hit full at about 85 yards, especially from the rough.  Additionally, the 61 degree gives me more loft around the green which is great when the conditions are firm and fast in the summer.  In the near future, I will be putting the CG15 Tour-Conforming 62 degree (bent down to 61) to replace the current 588 in the bag.

To summarize, the new V-groove wedges definitely react differently than the U-grooves, but it’s not something you can’t get used to.  I’m still a big fan of them.

July 5, 2010 Posted by | Uncategorized | Leave a Comment

Tip-of-the-Month June ’10: How to Play Bad Lies in Sand Traps

TIP-OF-THE-MONTH JUNE ’10:  HOW TO PLAY BAD LIES IN SAND TRAPS

Watching your ball sail into a sand trap can be very disappointing.  Arriving to that sand trap only to find your ball in a bad lie can not only be disappointing, but also very intimidating.  Now how are you going to get the ball out?  Just getting out of a sand trap is a challenge in itself for many, but getting out with a bad lie can be almost impossible.

Unfortunately for all of us, sometimes when you hit your ball into a sand trap you’ll find your ball plugged/buried, fried-egged, in a rake track, or even worse, a footprint (how dare they not rake the bunker after exiting it, right?).  If your ball does end up in one of these predicaments you have to play it from there.  I’m going to teach you how to play a shot from these lies so you can get your ball out of the sand trap successfully to continue your round without ruining it.

First, I’d like to emphasize the importance of coming down steeply into the sand for this shot.  In order to get your ball out of the sand trap with a bad lie, you must enter the sand at a very steep angle.  Thinking about entering the sand at a 60 degree angle will help you for this shot.  This may sound easy, but it’s not.  If you think you’re coming down at 60 degrees, try doubling it.  Why is it important to come down steeper you may ask?  With the ball sitting down lower than the surface you must get under the ball to get it out.  If you enter the sand at your normal angle of attack, the wedge will bounce off the sand into the equator or top of the ball which will drive the ball into the lip of the bunker most of the time, if your lucky (you’d be unlucky if it missed the lip and flew about 50 yards over the green).  Thinking about digging for this shot would be better than thinking about bouncing or sliding the club off the sand.

How to execute this shot

  1. Place approximately 70% of your weight on your lead leg – this will help you come down more abruptly into the sand.
  2. Close/hood the clubface* – this will help the club dig under the ball.
  3. Hinge the club up as quickly as possible with your wrists – try hinging the club up keeping your hands inside your back foot.  Try creating a 90 degree angle as soon as you can with your lead arm and the club shaft.
  4. Swing the club down trying to pop the sand right behind the ball – normally you’ll hit the sand about 2-3 inches behind the ball in the sand.  For this shot, you’d like to enter the sand much closer to the ball.
  5. Rebound the club back after hitting the sand – I actually want you to rebound the club away from the target for this shot after it enters the sand.  If you can do this, it means you entered the sand at the proper angle.  Most likely, you’ll struggle with this at first because you’re coming down too shallow, but eventually you’ll get it and it will dramatically improve your results for this shot.  Some prefer to leave the club in the sand for this shot, which is fine too.  I prefer rebounding the club to ensure I came down steep enough.
  6. Allow for roll – because the ball is sitting down lower it will exit the sand lower and roll more than a typical sand shot.

Hitting shots out these bad lies in sand traps can be challenging for sure.  The key is to not try to help the ball out.  If you do, you’ll come into the sand too shallow and leave the ball in the trap.   You must trust that the club will do the work for you when you enter the sand on a steep angle.  Try your hardest to not allow the club to pass the spot where the ball was.  If your club passes that spot then you came into the ball too shallow.

Another note I’d like to make is most of the time you will need to swing with more effort for these shots compared to normal lies in the sand traps.  Since the ball is sitting lower, you will be moving more sand so more effort is typically needed.

Good luck and thanks for reading!

*For more advanced players you can open your clubface for this shot to get the ball to come out a little softer.  If you try this, you want to try to hit the sand right behind the ball with the hosel of the club.  Sounds funny, I know, but it works.  I hit these shots this way, but I have also practiced them quite a bit.

June 27, 2010 Posted by | Sand Shots, Tips-of-the-Month | , , , , | Leave a Comment

Tip-Of-The-Month May ’10: Shaping The Ball Around Trouble

TIP-OF-THE-MONTH:  MAY ’10 – SHAPING THE BALL AROUND TROUBLE

Most golfers, including professionals, find themselves in different predicaments each round.  How the golfer handles these situations will determine the level of success of the round.  Golf is obviously a very challenging game.  It can feel easy at certain times when you hit that perfect shot, or you have that great round, but a golfer’s overall success can be measured by how good their mishits are and how they recover from them.

More often than not, you won’t hit the ball as good as you can so it important to still be able to score well when you’re not playing your best.  A few ways to score better when you’re not playing your best are to improve your short game, have better course management, and learn how to get the ball out of trouble more effectively.  Today, I’m going to cover the latter by teaching you how to shape the ball around trouble.

Making the golf ball curve probably comes naturally to most.  Especially making it curve left-to-right (slice for righties).  Believe it or not, using that shot can get you out of trouble about half of the time.  Curving the ball the other way, right-to-left, will cover the other half.  Shaping the ball in one direction is pretty easy for most, but being able to curve it the opposite way can be more of a challenge.

When you’ve hit an errant shot into the trees or behind a tree, you will generally have two options:  shape the ball around the tree or pitch out.  Pitching out is safe and relatively easy, but it doesn’t advance the ball very far and limits your chance of a good score on that hole.  Being able to curve the ball in either direction will improve your score.  Here’s how to do it:

Shaping the ball left-to-right:

  1. Align the clubface to where you want the ball to land
  2. Align your feet left of the tree/obstacle where you want the ball to start (your stance should feel open)
  3. Take your normal grip with the clubface still open
  4. Ball position will be up in your stance
  5. Swing along your toe line
  6. Try to hold the clubface open through impact

Shaping the ball right-to-left:

  1. Align the clubface to where you want the ball to land
  2. Align your feet right of the tree/obstacle where you want the ball to start (your stance should feel closed)
  3. Take your normal grip with the clubface closed
  4. Ball position will be back in your stance
  5. Swing along your toe line
  6. Feel like your rotating the clubface over more than usual through impact

Keys:

  1. Use a lower lofted club when curving the ball left-to-right.  Opening the clubface adds loft so the ball will go higher.  It’s very difficult to curve a 9-iron or any wedge.
  2. When curving the ball right-to-left, use a higher lofted club as the club is being delofted by closing it at address.  I would recommend using a 6-iron or higher when curving the ball in this direction.  Trying to hook a 3 or 4-iron will most likely cause a shot that rolls on the ground.
  3. Most importantly, allow for deflection when aligning your feet.  When opening and closing the clubface to curve the ball, the ball will deflect off the clubface in that direction.  The more you open or close the face, the more the ball will start in that direction.  Example:  If a tree is 15 feet in front of you, and you need to curve the ball left-to-right 25 yards you will open the face.  Don’t aim one foot left of the tree.  Aim at least 5 feet left as the ball will deflect off the face to the right at impact.  Remember, the #1 goal when you get into trouble is to get out of impact.  Try not to compound the problem by staying in trouble.

Learning to shape the ball around trouble is challenging and takes practice, but it’s also a lot of fun.  The biggest error I see when teaching this is golfer’s not opening or closing their clubfaces enough.  It’s very odd looking down and seeing the clubface 10-15 degrees open or closed, but this is where it has to be to get the ball to curve enough around trouble.  Practice this the next time you go to a driving range and you’ll be surprised how much you can curve the ball intentionally.

Thanks for reading and have fun!


May 14, 2010 Posted by | Golf Tips, Tips-of-the-Month | Leave a Comment

How To Stop Hitting Pop-Ups With Your Driver

NO MORE POP-UPS!

Popping-up your tee shots can be very frustrating and perplexing.  You’re standing on the tee of a Par 5, ready to hit your longest drive of the day.  You rear back and unleash the fury onto the ball.  You anticipate watching your ball soar down the middle of the fairway only to see head straight up towards the clouds.  The ball then lands only 80 yards from the tee.  Frustrating, right?  Was the ball teed up too high?  Did you swing up on the ball too much?  Ball placed too far forward in your stance?  Most likely, none of those caused that pop-up.

When you pop-up your driver, you’re getting too much underneath the ball, but it’s caused by coming down too steeply into the ball.  Simply, your swing was more of a “V-shape” rather than a “U-shape”.  To hit the driver properly, it’s imperative to come into the ball much more shallow than you would with your irons.

Potential causes of the pop-up:

  1. Standing too close to the ball
  2. Ball too far back in your stance
  3. Picking the club up too abruptly on your backswing – not turning your shoulders enough
  4. Coming out of your posture
  5. Swinging too hard
  6. Hands getting too far away from your body on the downswing (outside-to-in downswing)

Pop-up cures:

  1. At address, make sure the end of the grip is pointing to your belt buckle, AND is about 5 inches away from it
  2. Ball position should be about one inch off your left heel with your driver
  3. Start your backswing turning your shoulders level, not picking up the club with your hands
  4. Maintain your knee flex to remain in your posture
  5. Try to have a smooth transition into your downswing resisting the urge to hit it too hard
  6. Keep your hands closer to your body on your downswing

These are not all the causes and cures for pop-ups, but they are some of the most common.

A different way to think of a pop-up is thinking about skipping rocks off water.  When you skip a rock, your right arm will drop low and you will release the rock low so it skips along the surface of the water.  Popping-up a tee shot would be the same as taking that rock and just throwing it straight down into the water.  It was too steep.  Skipping a rock requires a shallow angle to the water when the rock is released.

Drill

Here’s a simple drill to shallow out your downswing when hitting your driver:

  1. Tee up your ball and take your normal stance
  2. Take your normal backswing
  3. On your downswing, swing the club one foot over the ball – don’t hit the ball!
  4. Continue swinging about one foot above the ball for a few swings
  5. Finally, go ahead and hit a few

This drill will shallow/round-out your shoulders making it much more difficult to hit pop-ups.  It’s actually a great drill to hit your driver better even if you’re not popping it up.

Good luck and thanks for reading!

May 7, 2010 Posted by | Golf Tips | , | 4 Comments

Stay In Your Posture By Practicing The Clap Drill

THE CLAP DRILL

Maintaining your posture during your swing is one of the keys to being a consistent ball-striker.  One goal of the golf swing is to return the shaft to the same angle you had at setup.  If you can return the shaft on the same angle you had at your address position, you’ll be more consistent.  Most golfers tend to lose their posture during their swing, some on the backswing and some on the downswing.  Losing your posture makes the shaft come down at a steeper angle which creates more mishits.  A different way of saying the same thing is the shaft at impact is more vertical than the shaft was at the address position.

Here’s a drill that simplifies the downswing and emphasizes staying in your posture.  I call it the clap drill.  How it works:

  1. Take your address position without a club with your hands touching and facing each other
  2. Leaving your left arm hanging down from your shoulders, take a full turn back with your right arm.  Turn enough to allow your arms to make a straight line
  3. Now that you’ve made a complete turn, return your right arm down and clap hands with your left arm
  4. Try to keep your body in the same position using just your arms
  5. Leave both hands there sensing how you stayed in your posture

If you error in your swing, most likely your right hand will come down above your left in this drill.  And, if you slice the ball, your right hand will be open (palm facing up) when clapping the left hand.  Practice clapping your hands without moving your body and you’ll see how it will improve your golf swing.

Once you’ve mastered the ability to clap hands in this drill you can take it a step further:

  1. After you’ve clapped hands, go ahead and finish your swing with your arms and body
  2. The hard part is not rotating your body or standing up before clapping hands.  Be patient and wait for the clap.  This will ensure you’ve maintained your posture.

Practicing this drill really simplifies the golf swing and emphasizes the importance of maintaining your posture.   Thanks for reading and good luck!

April 26, 2010 Posted by | Golf Tips | , , , | Leave a Comment

Srixon’s Yellow Ball

Tonight, I played a few holes at Sharon Woods using Srixon’s yellow ball.  The visibility was not too good tonight as it was raining off and on.  I have to say that the yellow ball is much more visible than the normal white golf ball.  I’m not sure this would help my ball-striking or my scoring, but I do know I like seeing the ball better in flight and after it lands.  It’s also a little easier to locate in the rough.  It almost looks like the ball is glowing when it’s on the ground.  The yellow ball is pretty cool and I would definitely consider playing this ball in the future.

April 25, 2010 Posted by | Uncategorized | 2 Comments

Fundamentals of Driving

FUNDAMENTALS OF DRIVING

Definition:  A shot hit off a tee to start a hole.  Usually this shot is hit with a driver, although some may prefer to hit with a 3-Wood.  This swing is more rounded sweeping the ball off the tee unlike an iron swing that strikes the ground. 

Goal:  To maximize distance without giving up accuracy.

Setup:

  1. Place feet a couple of inches outside your shoulders
  2. Have slightly more weight on your back leg, about 55%
  3. Ball position is about one inch off your left heel – this can vary as some prefer it slightly up or back from this spot
  4. With the wider stance, the end of the grip will point towards your belt buckle – allow your arms to hang naturally under your shoulders, not pressing them forward (pressing them forward delofts the driver = bad)
  5. Have square shoulders – with the wider stance and the ball up, it’s easy to have open shoulders so you may have to practice squaring up your shoulders

Execution:

  1. Make a full backswing feeling that your swing is wide and round
  2. With the wide setup, you only have to turn on your backswing – a shift of your weight is not necessary
  3. On your downswing, try to swing back to the ball from the inside – feel like you’re swinging in-to-out keeping your hands in close to your body
  4. Keep your head behind the ball until after impact to ensure you’re getting the proper launch on the ball
  5. Hold a balanced finish until the ball lands

April 23, 2010 Posted by | Fundamentals of Golf, UC Class Notes | , | Leave a Comment

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