JohnHayesGolf.com Newsletter Golf Tip – September 2016
For your golf game: If you want to hit a pitch shot that goes higher than your most lofted club can produce then what do you need to do? Do you need to change your swing? Do you need to “open” your stance?
You do NOT need to change your swing and you do NOT need to “open” your stance. You do need to “open” the clubface and you do this by simply rotating the grip/shaft in a clockwise direction (for a right-handed golfer). This will make the clubface aim to the right and the loft will be increased. You do NOT want to lean the grip-end of the club away from the target. This is not necessary to add loft to the clubface and can create some other problems.
So now that you have aimed the clubface to the right and increased the loft of your sand wedge you will produce a shot that will go higher and to the right of the intended target so you need to adjust for this by setting yourself to the left and you need to swing the club to the left of your intended target. Setting yourself to the left means that the shaft of the club is placed so that it is perpendicular to a new target line that goes to the left of your intended target; you still then square yourself to the shaft of the club. So your shoulders should now be parallel to this target line to the left of the intended target. If all you do is “open” your stance then you have not really changed your shoulders and the direction of your swing enough to the left for this high shot with the clubface “opened.”
You can use this procedure: 1) Align the clubface to the left of the target; the shaft should be perpendicular to this line to the left of the intended target. 2) Now square yourself to the clubface (you have not yet “opened” the clubface) taking your normal stance for a pitch shot. 3) Now “open” the clubface by rotating the grip/shaft clockwise. Let’s say your clubface will now be aiming to 1 O’clock and you have aligned yourself and you will be swinging to 11 O’clock. Your intended target is at High Noon. You can now just take your normal swing but, because you have added loft to the clubface, you will need a bigger swing to cover the same distance. All of this will produce the high “flop” shot that will roll less once it lands on the green.
As you can see – life starts to get more complicated with this “flop” shot so I do not recommend its use by most golfers. You have set yourself and will swing to the left, your clubface is open somewhere to the right and the ball will go somewhere in between those two. Better to practice with your sand wedge aimed on target, yourself square to the clubface and make your swing in the direction of the target and let your opponent try the fancy shots.
But, if you want to try the fun “flop” shot, you can just aim and swing to the left with the clubface “open” to the right and make your normal pitch shot swing.
** We will not be conducting the Wednesday evening and Friday morning Adult Golf Clinics in August or September due to the heat and storms our summer pattern produces. I will begin again on Wed., Oct 5 at 5:30 p.m.
Upcoming clinics and events: My next LADIES-ONLY GOLF CLINIC will be held on 2 consecutive Weekends – September 10, 11, 17 and 18 from 2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. on all 4 Weekend days. Cost is only $40 total for all 4 hours! It is good for beginners or newly dedicated golfers.
My next specialty clinic will be a SHORT GAME BOOT CAMP for 2 hours held on Saturday, September 17th from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. I will cover pitching/chipping, bunker play, putting, and fun games to practice effectively! Men or Ladies welcome. This is NOT for new beginners. There is a limit of only 3 students so call or email to sign up. Total cost is only $55.
I will conduct a GET GOLF READY LADIES BOOT CAMP on Thur., October 13th through Sunday, October 16th. There will be 4 hours of golf clinics (Thur. & Fri. from 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. and on Sat. from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.) and then we will finish on the golf course on Sun. from 2:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. This is perfect for beginners who want to feel comfortable on the golf course in a short time. Total cost is only $99 and includes everything! Please call, text (727) 692-4679 or email, jh@johnhayesgolf.com, to sign up as space is limited for all clinics. Go to www.johnhayesgolf.com for more details.
As always, please contact me with any questions or comments and I hope to see you soon on the lesson tee at the Chi Chi Golf Range & Family Sports Complex in beautiful Clearwater in the Tampa, FL area.