Gearing Up for Hazeltine

Your local pro works long hours during the season and they often wear many different caps during the day as they manage facilities, staff, run events, and take care of your overall golfing needs. Their hours are long and hard, yet they always greet you with a smile and ask about your game.

What you may not realize about your pro is that they are members of the PGA of America which is the world’s largest sporting organizations. The PGA has 28,000 members across the United States!

In addition to providing a unique training program for its members, the PGA of America also hosts the last major championship of the season. This year, the 91st PGA Championship will be played at Hazeltine National Golf Club in Chaska from August 10–16.

Leading up to the event are a few opportunities that relate to our growth of the game initiatives. First, I would like to mention that there is free admission for juniors when accompanied by a paid adult!

It is rare that juniors can walk side by side with their sporting heroes, and this new policy can truly impact a junior golfer: I still remember walking Keller Golf Course many years ago and getting my hat signed by Nancy Lopez and Beth Daniel!

Next up is the Play Golf America Day at The Chaska Town Course on August 10. In addition to golf clinics and equipment demos, the first 250 people that pre-register online and attend the event will receive two tickets to a PGA Championship practice round!

There is an earlier Play Golf America Day that will be held at the PGA Championship Exhibit at the Galleria in Edina on July 18. The exhibit is on display now through the PGA Championship and recognizes past champions of the event.

Last, I would like to mention you can also get free lesson tips and meet our local pros (myself included) at the PGA Learning Center located near the main spectator entrance during the championship.

I hope you find the time to take part in these great opportunities. If you are out for a practice round on Monday morning, look me up in the lesson booth and be sure to look for my silver haired colleague, Gerald. He’ll probably be watching the players’ swings on the practice range.

—Dee Forsberg

Purpose, Goal, and Definition

The purpose of the golf swing: is to satisfy the requirements of impact—which is to deliver a square clubface down an inside-to-straight swing path with a shallow angle of approach while producing maximum club head velocity.

Our finding at The Golf Institute of Minnesota is that most club golfers return the club down to the ball on a steep and narrow angle of approach. This in turn produces pulls and slices with deep divots or no divots at all.

To feel a shallow angle of approach on the downswing you should pause at the top of your backswing in order to split your grip apart. Then start your downswing with your right hand well behind your left hand (which is accented by the split-apart grip). This will help you capture the feel of a shallow delivery of the club head to the ball.

The goal of the golf swing is to repeat the same swing time after time and to achieve the distance, direction, and trajectory desired.

Dee and I are often asked who has a great golf swing. It really doesn’t matter as long as you can control the height, flight, and distance of the golf ball. If that were not the case, Jim Furyk would have no place on the PGA Tour.

The definition of the golf swing: Because the swing is swung in a circular motion, we move our bodies in a rotary motion. Therefore, the golf swing is a rotary motion. Because the ball is on the ground, it is also an underhanded, sidearm motion.

The problem, again, with most amateur golfers is they perceive the club should be swung straight up and down. The best image we can give you is to allow the hands to cover the right shoulder in the backswing and the left shoulder in the follow through.

It is important for most golfers to get the proper definition of the golf swing in their minds in order to achieve their goals.

—Gerald McCullagh

More Distance

We all desire additional distance out of our drives and iron shots—myself included! To get the most “mileage” out of your swing, it is important to swing the club in an arc over each shoulder. It is a simple swing thought, however it has a powerful effect to the height and flight of the ball.

Look over these notes before you head out to the range this weekend, and see if you can gain a little extra yardage.

• For optimum speed, you should swing the club in an arc over each shoulder.

• Leg work and body rotation is critical in the full ranges of the swing arc.

• Proper timing is needed for the arms and body to work in “step.”

• If the body dominates the swing, then the club face tends to remain open, and shots go to the right or are hit thin.

• If the arms dominate the swing than the club face tends to close, and shots go to the left.

• Feel the hands work above each shoulder in the backswing and finish.

• Keep the arms soft to allow for a folding action of the right elbow in the backswing and the left elbow in the finish.

• Feel as if you are “hitch hiking”: the left thumb over the right shoulder in the backswing and the right thumb over the left shoulder in the finish.

• To keep the club head on the same arc in the downswing, the arms need to work down and in front of the body.

• The sensation should be to point the knuckles of the hands down your toe line, and then let the club head brush the grass into the follow through.

• Keep the right elbow in close to the body and then extend into the follow through.

To see lasting change in your golf swing, it is important to rehearse your movements frequently. In fact, I have heard experts say that it takes up to 1800 repetitions to make any change in your swing automatic.

Enjoy your golf this weekend . . . and Happy Father’s Day to all you Dad’s out there.

—Dee Forsberg and Gerald McCullagh

Going Low

You have done your due diligence. Took lessons, practiced all aspects of your game, and worked on your fitness. Practice sessions are great, expectations are high. However, your scores don’t reflect these improvements to your game.

What’s the difference then between playing well and scoring well? It is an intangible question in many respects. Closing the deal involves a rhythm that is difficult to learn, as it is one part physical and two parts mental.

Many books have been written about the “psychology of golf” and how important the mental game is. No one demonstrates that better than Tiger Woods. His ability to focus and grind is legendary. What can we learn from him?

First, there is no educational environment better than the school of hard knocks. You don’t know how you are going to react until you are under fire. Golf involves a delicate balance of movement that relies on timing. One little “hiccup” and your ball is behind enemy lines! However, the more you put yourself “out there” to face your personal challenges on the course, the more your body normalizes to the stress and you can perform as you do on the practice range.

Get out of your comfort zone as frequently as you can. Winning is a skill that is learned—you can’t do that if you don’t sign up for events.

My first tournament left me dead last in the field after the first day. My scores were so high that I overheard people talking about my pathetic play at the score board. EEK!

I don’t know if I had a false sense of ego or a short memory but I continued to play competitively and eventually won two junior state titles, one state title, two collegiate events, and even placed well in some professional events. Quite a ways from the 124 I shot in that first event years ago!

Distractions and worries about poor play affect the timing of even the most well honed golf swing. The results can be disastrous at times if you allow them to embed in your head. To go low you need to bring the same sense of calm confidence you have when practicing to the golf course.

Enjoy your golf this weekend . . . may you have many birdies and pars!

—Dee Forsberg

Short Shots to the Green

Hitting shorter shots requires flexibility in your approach, so you can play either a high or low shot onto the green. Your lie or where your ball is positioned relative to the green is of the greatest consideration in choosing the correct shot.

A golden rule to follow is play the ball on to the green with a low and rolling shot unless conditions require you elevate the ball.

Regardless of which shot you hit, your pre-shot preparations should include the following four points:

1. The closer you are to the green, the closer together the heels should be.

2. Play the ball from the center of your stance to return the club face to the ball with the correct loft and bounce angle.

3. Place 70 percent of your weight onto the left foot for greater stability and avoid swaying. This can be achieved by sliding your bottom a bit left until you feel most of your weight on the left foot. (It will be the right foot for left-handed golfers.)

4. Tuck the right knee into the left to activate the pivot through the ball.

The most notable swing characteristic of a low, rolling shot is that the club head never elevates above the hands. When the club stays low to the ground in the backswing and follow-through, the ball flight responds in kind.

To elevate the ball for pitch shots, all that is needed is leverage. The club head will work up and down with greater force, and the ball will naturally respond with greater height.

In this sequence, we see the player is hitting a low, rolling shot because the club head stays low to the ground in the backswing and follow-through.