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Pro Tip of the Week: Don’t Sweep Your Fairway Woods

Once winter is over we will all be playing the ball as it lies on the fairways. This time of year the grass tends to be a bit thin, and when the ball sits a bit down in a “tight” lie, striking a fairway wood solidly may seem like an impossible thing to do. I think that a lot of problems players have with making solid contact with a 3 wood (the hardest club to hit off the ground) or even a 5 or 7 wood is that there is a perception that you are supposed to “sweep” the ball off the ground with these clubs.

Swing Analysis: Jon Rahm

By Wayne | Videos: Swing Analysis

It’s no surprise that Rahm has found his way into the winner’s circle at age 22 when you consider he was the #1 amateur in the world for more than a year. At 6’2 and 220 lbs. Rahm is a powerful athlete who takes advantage of his size and strength to feature a short, efficient swing.

Playing for Money: Josh Eure Part 2

By Wayne | Videos: Playing For Money

Josh is another young, strong, talented player who has been trying to qualify for any kind of tour since he got out of college a few years back. I taught Josh as a junior (he won 3 straight Maryland State Junior Championships and 2 State High School Championships) but lost track of him when he went off to the U. of Arkansas. He spent some time with other instructors and came back to see me about a year ago. And now for the good news: Josh just qualified for the Latin American Tour!

Playing for Money: Derek Gillespie Part 5

By Wayne | Videos: Playing For Money

Derek is about to start another season on the Latin American Tour, and his swing is really rounding into shape. By opening the clubface more aggressively in the backswing and all the way to the top Derek gets the club right on plane instead of crossing the line, which makes a big difference in his downswing and approach to impact. The rotation of the club with the left hand and wrist serve to externally rotate the right shoulder from left arm parallel to the top, which puts both the shaft and his upper right arm in better shape to initiate the sidearm throwing motion that will allow his hands to advance more forward at impact. As you will see this simplifies an already clean, simple looking motion that is powerful at the same time. I fully expect Derek to play well and continue to advance in his attempt to make the PGA Tour.

Playing for Money: Nick Sherwood

By Wayne | Videos: Playing For Money

“I am currently about to go play a practice round for final stage of Asia Tour school. I look forward to talking with you more and learning how I can improve. “

As you will see in the video Nick has an excellent swing that I believe could be improved by opening the clubface in the backswing, which would improve his right arm action and give him more wrist cock that he could retain in the downswing to produce more forward lean at impact with his irons and more clubhead speed with his driver. I did not want to give Nick new swing thoughts right before his qualifier, so I waited until afterwards (he shot 10 under, which finished 61st and earned him conditional status).

TP&C: Brad Faxon Part 4

By Wayne | Tour Players and Celebrities

I’ve known Brad for quite some time and have worked with him on and off for years, although we have never lasted more than a month or two at any one time. Brad is a studious swing guy, and has seen just about every teacher you could name. I asked him one time how many, and he said “I counted 65, and those were guys (and women) that I paid”. With his new job as lead announcer for Fox Brad has tried to keep up with all the new “teachers du jour” and it is fun to get his take on what is going on in the business as I don’t pay much attention to it.

Pro Tip of the Week: How to Hit Better Bunker Shots

By Wayne | Videos: Pro Tip of the Week

Some courses have beautiful bunkers all over the course, but once you get in them you won’t be thinking about how lovely they look from a distance. They are deep and difficult to get out of, much less hit nice, high, spinning shots like you see the pros hit on television. Here are a few tips to help you improve your technique:

Lesson of the Week: Justin Duffie Part 7

By Wayne | Videos: Lesson of the Week

Justin is back after a year and half hiatus from lessons. You may recall that Justin, through tons of hard work, changed his swing about as much as anyone I’ve ever worked with. Being a great athlete, however, has its downside, as Justin is extremely hard on himself, and when he hit a plateau that involved too many poor rounds along with his better play he just couldn’t take it anymore and stopped trying to mess with his swing.

Lesson of the Week: Steve Rogers Part 2

By Wayne | Videos: Lesson of the Week

Steve is an excellent senior amateur from Kentucky who is also a member at the wonderful Colusa Pines Golf Club in Fort Myers, Florida. I’ve been working with Steve since the summer of 2014 (though not that often) and his main complaint is always with his ability to make solid contact with his irons.

Online Students: Austin Kendziorski Part 2

By Wayne | Videos: Online Students

I’ve been working with Austin for about a year and a half now and he has brought his stroke average playing for Marquette University down by almost 6 shots. He is a strong kid (121 mph clubhead speed and 180 ball speed) and is learning to control the ball better by improving his swing technique. His main struggle has been with the clubhead getting trapped behind his hands as he approaches impact, and in this lesson, you can see this issue clearly in his first batch of swings.

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