TomTuckerGolf.com
 
Golf Tips Newsletter - Issue 260 - August 28th, 2013

 

Prepare to play your best golf by doing something now!

To comment or respond to this newsletter, please click here ttucker@rochester.rr.com


In This Issue  

- Tom's Featured Tip: Top 5 Tips For Pure Ball Striking
- Tom's Bonus Tip: Chipping - Graphite or Steel?
- Lesson Comments: What Students Have To Say
- Sponsors: Batavia Country Club   Chestnut Hill Country Club 
Plum Creek Driving Range and PGA AboutGolf.com Golf Simulator 
GCC Golf Management Program
  Provoto Putting Systems


PLUM CREEK DRIVING RANGE IN BATAVIA, NY, IS OPEN ALL YEAR Outdoors in season; Indoors - simulator available for play or practice. Call 585-993-0930 or email Mark at plumcreek4@rochester.rr.com to reserve your simulator time! Great money saving monthly specials, check them out here: http://www.plumcreekdrivingrange.com

Buy Gift Certificates for Lessons   Sample Gift Certificate

Golf lessons - Outdoor and Indoor - are available at Plum Creek, please call me at 716 474 3005, email me at ttucker@rochester.rr.com, or visit my website at   http://www.tomtuckergolf.com/lessonrates.html   for details.

Indoor or Outdoor Driver Fitting Get the most bang for your buck when you buy a new driver by getting professionally fitted first. Click for details:
http://www.tomtuckergolf.com/indoor.html

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Tom's Featured Tip:
Top 5 Tips For Pure Ball Striking

For the sake of simplicity, all advice on swings and drills is provided from a right handed perspective; lefties .... well, you know what to do!

I can't tell you how many times I'm asked "what's the most important thing for pure ball striking with my irons." I call pure ball striking with irons a "ball first, ground second" strike.

Here's my Top 5 List of the most important factors to attain pure ball striking.
  1. Ball Position - the ball must be positioned behind the bottom of your down and out swing radius to obtain a "ball first strike". Find that spot for your own swing.

  2. Weight Distribution at Impact - no compromise here, your weight should be about 85% on your forward leg side at impact. Regardless of the swing pattern you use, the weight has to be 85% on the forward leg side at impact to execute a good "ball first" strike.

  3. Wrist and Arms Positions at Impact - again no compromise here, forward side wrist flat or slightly palmar flexed, rear side wrist cupped (dorsiflexed). Forward side arm firmly straight (actually the forward side arm should stay firmly straight throughput all iron swings), rear side arm still slightly flexed but extending at impact.

  4. Shaft Position at Impact - should have some degree of forward shaft lean at and through impact.

  5. Arms Position Post Impact - should be fully extended into your early follow through, and the shaft should not line up with your left arm until you are past early follow through. The forward shaft lean may disappear after impact, but never prior to impact.
Take heed of these keypoints for impact and your ball striking will improve greatly.

Love your practice, enjoy your golf, own your swing,

Tom


Tom's Bonus Tip:
Chipping - Graphite or Steel?


For the sake of simplicity, all advice on swings and drills is provided from a right handed perspective; lefties .... well, you know what to do!

This year I switched from stiff steel Ping i20 irons to stiff graphite Ping i20's.

Overall it was a good switch for me, I picked up about a club in yardage and it's easier on my joints when I practice full iron shots.

However, I did notice a little loss of "feel" on my short chipping shots, and I had not been chipping as consistently as I did with my steel shafted "A" wedge.

After pondering this problem, I decided that I wasn't feeling enough "heft" in my approach wedge, my "go to" chipping wedge. I had a beautiful 51 degree steel Dimension Z gap wedge collecting dust in my inventory, so I decided to give it a shot.

It definitely solved the problem totally. I now "feel" the club staying behind my hands and the ball leaves the club crisply. I even chipped in with perfect speed the third time I used it in play.

I had also forgotten the exquisite feeling of a chip coming off the face of a forged club. That feeling is why we play the game.

I'm still working on distance control, but the club is back in the bag permanently. If you are struggling with chipping with a graphite shafted wedge, I highly recommend trying a steel shafted forged wedge. It will put "feel" back in your chipping stroke, and a smile back on your face :-).

Love your practice, enjoy your golf, own your swing,

Tom


Golf Lessons

I conduct lessons at The Plum Creek Driving Range & Practice Facility
there's a link for Plum Creek info here: http://www.tomtuckergolf.com/

Lessons are available for all ages and skill levels, please contact
me - Tom Tucker - at (716) 474 3005 or email me at ttucker@rochester.rr.com
for more information.

Outdoor Lessons Details and Rates:
http://www.tomtuckergolf.com/lessonrates.html

Indoor Lessons Details and Rates:
http://www.tomtuckergolf.com/indoor.html

Driver Fitting Rates:
http://www.tomtuckergolf.com/indoor.html

Testimonials:
http://www.tomtuckergolf.com/testimonials.html


Sponsors

Plum Creek Driving Range and Simulator  Outdoor range and play indoor golf on any of our 40 Simulator Courses. Call 585-993-0930 or email Mark at plumcreek4@rochester.rr.com to reserve time for simulator play or practice!

Provoto Putting Systems   readers get a 30% discount on putting greens. Click on their catalog link, and select the green you want to purchase. After you decide on features, add it to your cart. You'll find the field for "Discount Coupon" near the bottom of the page. Enter PGApro in that field and your product cost will be discounted 30%.

Batavia Country Club   Best greens in WNY, great rates. Back by popular demand: Friday Night Golf and Dinner at BCC 18 holes of golf, cart, dinner, tax and gratuity - $35. 9 hole package - $27. Choose from 4 entree's with side and salad bar. Dinner served from 4:30 pm - 9:15 pm. Dinner available for non-golfers also. Menu and band schedule posted at www.bataviacc.com

Chestnut Hill CC   Great rates, 20 minutes East of Buffalo, NY .

GCC Golf Management Program   click for information on GCC's degree program for anyone interested in a career in the golf industry or teaching golf.

All the best,

Tom Tucker
Teaching Pro, Plum Creek Driving Range & Practice Facility
WGTF ' "Top 100 Golf Teacher"
USGTF Class "A" Teaching Professional
Cell: (716) 474-3005
Email: ttucker@rochester.rr.com
http://www.TomTuckerGolf.com
http://www.usgtf.com/top_100_wgtf.html

"There are no substitutes in the quest for perfection!"
~ Ben Hogan