Golf Tips

One of golf’s basic rules is to play the ball as it lies. Let’s look at what that means…

Are there situations where you are allowed to adjust the area around your ball? Yes, on the teeing ground it is permissible to step down the grass around your ball or even remove grass from the area within infringing on the basic rule….play the ball as it lies.

Throughout the course, however, you are not allowed to improve your lie. Many a player unknowingly break the basic rule. Let’s take Joe, who just landed his ball in a bush. He plunges his way through the area in order to take his stance. As he makes his way to his ball, he breaks down several bushes and branches. Is this a breach of the rule? Yes, the breaking of the bushes and branches may have improved his lie. What if Joe decides to step on a few branches to make way for his swing? This would be considered an effort to improve Joe’s lie and would be a breach of the rule.

Let’s look at Jill who just landed her ball to the right of the fairway in the 2-feet high fescue. In order to take her swing, Jill stomps down the fescue around the ball. Is this permissible? No, that’s a breach of the rule and considered improving the lie of her ball.

What happens when your ball lands behind a tree? Since you cannot improve your lie, it’s time to get creative in order to take your shot. It’s not always the skill of the shot but also the ingeniously of crafting the shot. The rules of golf permit a player to ease him or herself into position to play a given shot or better known as “fairly taking your stance”. Tiger Woods has continued to amaze us with his innate ability to make remarkable shots from extremely challenging lies.

When playing golf, it’s key to verify before hitting a ball that it is indeed your ball. If it’s not your ball, you could incur penalty strokes. When your ball lands in the fairway, you can generally easily identify your ball by its logo and markings. In other situations, your ball may be more difficult to identify due to thick rough, fescue, or the like. The rules of golf do allow you to “touch” or “bend” the grasses around your ball to identify it. However, this must be done without improving your lie. In the event your ball is “buried” in the rough, you are permitted to lift ball to identify that it is yours. To do this without penalty, first mark the location of your ball with a tee, lift the ball, identify it, and then place the ball in the original location (identified by the “tee” marking). Before lifting your ball, tell your playing partners what you are going to do so that they can oversee your actions and eliminate any question about the possibility of improving your lie.

What’s the penalty if you don’t comply? Improving your lie by lifting the ball incurs a one-stroke penalty. If you are in a matchplay, it results in loss of the hole. So beware when you have the urge to move or lift that ball to verify it’s yours!

So you hit your ball and you’re not sure where it went? Now what do you do?

If you think your ball may be lost, you should hit a provisional ball. Announce to your fellow players that you are going to hit a provisional ball. You then have 5 minutes to locate your original ball. While searching, be careful not to bump the ball to cause it to move, as this will cost you a penalty stroke. If your partner or caddie should cause your ball to move while assisting you in the search, again, that will cost you a penalty stoke. So search gingerly!

On the contrary, if your opponent should bump or move your ball accidently while helping you search for your ball, there is no penalty stroke. However, you do need to place the ball back to its original landing position.

If you are unable to find your ball within the 5-minute limitation, declare your ball lost to your fellow players and play your provisional ball. You will incur a stroke penalty as well as distance (in the event you lost some yardage when you hit your provisional ball). So take care when playing the provisional ball so that you get the most out of it should you need it!

By the way, if you hit your original ball in a water hazard, that does not qualify for a provisional ball. There are specific rules that apply for play from water hazards. So hit ‘em straight and avoid the lost ball quandary!

Many a player becomes frustrated when they are not able to play the game of golf without delay. Maintaining an efficient pace of play certainly helps to make your round more enjoyable. To play 18 holes on most golf courses, the average allocated time to play is generally 4 hours and 15 minutes. Let’s look at a few pointers to keep you and your group moving…

Following these simple guidelines, will help you and everyone else enjoy the round of golf!

• Your stance should be centered with your weight slightly left.
• Keep your lower body stable and avoid shifting your weight during the swing.
• Position the ball toward the back of your stance; this will help you hit the ball with a descending stroke.
• Position your hands slightly ahead of the ball.
• Aim slightly left of your target; this helps you create more of a V shaped swing.
• When taking your stroke, come down on the ball at a steeper angle so that you avoid hitting the grass at behind the divot.
• Keep your clubface square to the ball’s path of flight.
• Remember to hit the ball first…..not the ground. Hit the ball in the downward portion of your swing….not the upward motion.

Every week we see the greatest golfers in the world all swinging the club shaft in the general vicinity of parallel to the ground at the top of the backswing.  Some go slightly past parallel and some slightly short of parallel.  In general it is fair to say that most professional golfers swing the club shaft back to a point that is very close to parallel.  Another generalization is that most club professionals can walk down their driving range and watch many of their amateur students swinging the club shaft to a point at or past parallel to the ground at the top of the backswing.

Let us as golfers make it a goal to stop trying to swing the club shaft to parallel if we are not flexible enough to do so.  As a general rule, (if you are flexible enough) you should max out your upper body turn at around 80 degrees of rotation. Visit www.k-vest.com to find an instructor that can measure this. The arms and hinge should stop a nearly indiscernible split second after the upper body turn is complete.  If you cannot turn far enough to get the club shaft to parallel, do not try to get it there by adding unnecessary wrist hinge or arm bend.  Work towards setting your lead wrist (left for right-handed golfers) early in the backswing.  If you can have it fully hinged by the time your lead arm gets to parallel with the ground in the backswing, your chances of over swinging the backswing with your arms and hands will decrease!

The result will be a more repeatable swing that is not so dependent on perfect timing.  The percentage of solid shots will increase and the range of mis-directed shots will decrease.

Mary Hafeman PGA and LPGA Professional at the Mary Hafeman Golf Experience located within the Grand Club’s Cypress Club in Palm Coast, Florida shares her Fairway Bunker Shot Techniques….

 

I always find the most challenging bunker shot to hit is the fairway bunker shot. The objective is to hit the ball a greater distance than a green side bunker.   A fundamental difference between the two shots is that from a greenside bunker you try to hit the sand first where in a fairway bunker you want to contact the ball first.

Be sure to select a club that has enough loft to clear the lip of the fairway bunker. Architect’s design some of the fairway bunkers with a high lip, which inhibits the player to hit the ball high enough to carry the necessary distance.  If you have had the experience of a “fairway pot bunker” you know what I am talking about.  Remember you need to get out of the bunker first before you think about the distance needed. I’ll list below some of the adjustments you need to make to produce a successful fairway bunker shot.

Fairway bunker shots although may be tricky, the shot becomes easier with confidence and practice. Remember look at your lie in the bunker and how deep the bunker face is before you select your club. Getting out of the bunker should be your first thought and if  you can get the correct distance you are way ahead of the ball game.

If you would like to learn more about how to play better golf, contact Mary Hafeman PGA and LPGA Professional at www.maryhafemangolf.com or purchase a gift card for a lesson package here, You will enjoy your experience, learn and improve, I guarantee it!