Long Drive Champion Ryan Winther Swing Tip

By James Achenbach

Ryan Winther, the 29-year-old World Long Drive champion from Sacramento, Calif., has some advice on how to hit longer drives.

No charge for the lesson.

“Swing fast is my No. 1 tip,” Winther said. “You have to swing fast. You can’t teach speed, but you can work on it. So forget about swinging slow. Just swing fast.”

Of course, Winther’s tip is all about distance and has little or nothing to do with accuracy. Finding the fairway can be a distinctly different matter. In winning the Re/Max World Long Drive Championship in Mesquite, Nev., Winther hit just 12 drives on Oct. 25, which was the final day of competition, and missed a 68-yard-wide fairway grid with 8 of those 12.

No matter. He did what he had to do. Winther’s victim in the Open Division match-play final was Tim Burke of Washington, D.C. The two finalists were hitting into a headwind that gusted to 40 MPH, and Winther won with a 343-yard drive, 8 yards longer than Burke’s 335-yard drive. He used a Krank driver head with 4.5 degrees of loft. His shaft was a House of Forged XXXX Ryan Winther signature model.

Don’t have a shaft with your name on it? Never fear. “I’m just a freak,” Winther said of his ability to put golf balls into orbit.

Slow Down to Speed Up

By Ron Kaspriske

You can only swing the club as fast as you can slow it down. Think about that for a bit. I'll get back to that statement.

We're all looking for 10, 15, 20 more yards off the tee and to hit 8-iron where we once hit 7-iron. But how do you get it? A new driver? A new ball? Bigger biceps?

You might squeeze a few more yards out with any of those suggestions. But if you really want more distance, there's really only one thing you can do.

Swing the club faster.

I recently spoke with Tom House about this topic. House is a former major-league pitching coach who is now an athletic-performance analyst for the University of Southern California. He's also one of the world's leading experts on making athletes faster in any sport -- including golf.

The sobering reality is that as we age, we lose the flexibility and muscle mass needed for speed, House says. But you can still train whatever you have left in the tank, provided you first understand one simple, but brilliant concept:

You can only swing the club as fast as you can slow it down.

When House first said that to me, it took a little time for me to believe it. But when you think about it, it's true. Here's an analogy to help reinforce that concept. I believe Greg Rose of the Titleist Performance Institute deserves credit for it: You're driving a Ferrari capable of going 200 miles per hour. But the braking system on the car will only work up to speeds of, say, 180 mph. Now I ask you, what's the fastest you're going to drive the car?

Using A Fairway Wood

Fairway woods consist of 3, 4, 5, 7, and even a 9 to provide you with a different degrees of loft.  The fairway wood was designed to produce a range of long shots at various height and lengths.

The 3 wood gives the longest shot because of the loft and is typically the hardest to use.  It is more common for a golfer to use a 4 or 5 wood in the fairway than a 3 wood.  3 woods are more commonly used in place of a driver off the tee box. The 7 wood is even easier to hit and provide much more loft on your shot but won't carry as long.

The shaft of woods are much longer than that of irons so your stance needs to be adjusted and your swing needs to be flatter.  The sole of a wood is also different than an iron. Instead of cutting through the grass like an iron, the driver is designed to bounce off the ground. When you use a fairway wood, it is important to sit the club absolutely flat to the ground to take advantage of the bouncing.  If you wrongly push your hands forward in your swing ahead of the club head, the back edge of the club will rise and lose the forgiving effect of a wood.

Chipping Fundamentals Video

Here is a great video that explains the fundamentals of chipping.  The Golf Pro Gary Alliss explains what clubs to use in different situations and a technique for each club.

Practicing for A Breakthrough

Turn Scoring Breakthroughs into Long-Lasting Improvement

If you want to get your average score on the Golf Course you need to have a regular practice regimen.  Some people define 'breakthrough' as that one magical day when you play over your heat and shatter that personal scoring barrier.  An actual breakthrough occurs only when you start making that kind of special round an everyday occurrence.  In order to make a lasting improvement, you'll need help from a golf coach, to play and practice regularly.

If you are thinking about signing up for golf lessons, remember the instructor you hire will have a hug impact on your success. Find someone who you can talk with easily, someone that has a lot of experience giving golf lessons and someone that you feel is as determined to see you succeed as you are.  Generally when you begin lessons you want to give your instructor full control of the direction of your lessons and as you progress through the workouts you can give your input on what you are experiencing on the Morrison golf courses.  Your lessons will start at different places depending on your handicap.  A person with a high handicap will start with ball position, grip and posture and a player with a low handicap may work on more tips for situations.

Short Putting Tips: Improve Your Short Putts - VIDEO

Posted by Betsy Flanks
Here is a great video produced to help you start sinking those short putts everytime! The putting video shows you three great drills to do on your own time at the golf course or practice facility.  The drills include:

1. The Coin Drill - helps you read how the ball comes off your putter and focus on a small area
2. The Clock Drill - prepares your mind and your body to sink short putts and adds a pressure factor
3. The Pullback Drill - builds confidence and your ability to sink short puts

These great putting tips come from Never Miss Short Putts and I think it shows easy putting drills you can do by yourself or with a friend.  They won't take long and they will seriously help!

Choosing A Sand Wedge

Posted by Betsy Flanks

The sand wedge, like your putter and driver is a very individual club.  It doesn't have to match the res of your set. A sand wedge is not just for playing shots out of a bunker, it can be used in other parts of the club when you are looking to get height and loft around the green.  When buying a sand wedge, look for one with plenty of loft.  Sand wedges vary from 55 to 64 degrees of loft which is comparable to the difference of a 3 and 7 iron.  I recommend buying a wedge that has a 62 degree so you can shoot lofted shots with ease and it will differ from the rest of your wedges.

A sand wedge, like a fairway wood is designed to bounce on the ground. A pitching wedge, by way of contrast has a cutting edge, designed to take divot. Thank of the pitching wedge as a club to use for lofted shots when you haven't reached the green. A sand wedge is the correct club for using over bunkers and for lofted shots near the green beside in a bunker. The rounded sole of the sand iron was designed to bounce off the ground before you strike your ball.

Getting the correct lie to the sand iron is vital.  Your lie refers to the angle between the club shaft and the vertical. Look through your set of clubs, the pitching wedge should sit most upright and the sand wedge should sit slightly flatter. If the lie is too upright, you will find a certain bunker shot and pitch shot difficult. If you are not sure what lie to have, find a sand wedge with the same lie as your 7 iron. The correct lie will allow you to bend your knees when hitting.  For advanced golfers, it will also allow you to open the club-face correctly.

For certain bunker shots, we have to open the club face.  You will find on harder golf courses, you will be forced to take harder shots that require you to hit shorter distances with the need to hit very high.  This means you need to turn the club face away to the right. There will be more information on this in my next article. The rubber grips on the clubs are usually egg-shaped with the pointed part of the egg at the back of the grip. This will help you to hold the club square. With a sand wedge, a perfectly round grip can be easier to use for the specialist shots when you don't want to hold the club face square.

How to Pick the Right Golf Ball

With so many choices on the market for golf balls to use, how do you know which might serve your game the best? With each passing golf season there even more choices. Most golfers have a golf bag full of a variety of golf balls. Which ball do you play and how do you decide which to stick with? There are many answers to this question.

First lets talk a little about golf ball construction. For those of us over 40 years old we can remember when golf balls were made from a liquid filled core wrapped in rubber band and then having an outer core. The outer covering was made from either balata for spin or surlyn for durability. Both of these played well but if miss hit could be made unplayable. Many of the balata balls left the golf course with a smile that was actually a complete hole through the cover and to the wrapping inside. That made rolling the ball on the green next to impossible, but made a funny whizzing sound going through the air.

Today the golf balls are made in two, three and four piece varieties. The two piece balls have a large solid core with a covering on the outside. This makes them very durable and resistant to side spin. They also roll better and give better yardage to those with slower swing speeds. If you happen to be hitting a large hook or slice with your current three or four piece ball you should look into a two piece to reduce the sidespin. These balls do not have as much bite around the green as the others and will roll more on the green and on the fairway.

A three piece ball has a slightly smaller solid core with a mantle and then the outer covering. This results in more feel around the greens, better stopping on wedges and a softer feel overall. This ball is an excellent in between ball for those players wanting more feel but not wanting all the spin of the top of the line golf balls. When hit off center they can and will slide off course more. With each plus there is also a minus so weigh them carefully.

Basic Golf Swing Tips

Whether they are a beginner or experienced, most golfers try to improve their golf swing. The perfect golf swing is widely debated among golf professionals and entire books have been written on the subject. For most golfers, however, sticking to improving the basics of a golf swing is all they need to get longer drives and more accurate hits.

Focus on the Grip
How a golfer grips his or her club is the first step to having a good golf swing. Try gripping the club with your hands in a position similar to how your hands look when hanging down naturally. This will improve your ability to connect the club naturally with the movements in your arm and body.

Take a Proper Stance
Using correct posture and taking the proper stance will help you to have a more powerful swing without the risk of falling over. Have your legs shoulder length apart with the knees slightly bent. Be sure to stand up straight and be prepared to use your full body in the swing.