Pro Tip of the Week | Wayne DeFrancesco

Pro Tip of the Week: Iron Swing vs. Driver Swing

It would be nice if one swing would work fine for every shot. Certainly, every swing has elements that are similar or even exactly the same, but if you are going to drive the ball well and hit your irons well you are going to have to make adjustments. The key factor here is that with an iron the ball is on the ground (if you’re on a par 3 and can use a tee you should still tee it up low enough to simulate a very good lie in the fairway) while the driver is teed about halfway above the top of the face of the driver, a good inch and a half off the ground.

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

By Wayne | Videos: Pro Tip of the Week

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.

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:

Pro Tip of the Week: Think Gravity when Approaching Uneven Lies

By Wayne | Videos: Pro Tip of the Week

Most golfers have a hard time remembering what adjustments to make when they are out on the course and the ball is sitting on a hill. There are uphill lies, downhill lies, side hill lies with the ball below your feet, and side hill lies with the ball above your feet. One way to make sure you think about the things that will help you hit these shots is to consider what gravity is doing to your ability to make a normal pivot (body motion).

Pro Tip of the Week: Stay Solid on your Putts

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From my teaching spot on the left side of the range I often glance back at the putting green to watch people practice their putting. One of the flaws I can see even from that far away is lots of excess movement during the stroke. Here are some ideas that can help you stay more stable over the ball while you move the putter back and forth, and when you are successful at achieving a quieter stroke you are going to be more consistent:

Pro Tip of the Week: The Pre-Shot Routine

By Wayne | Videos: Pro Tip of the Week

Start each shot by committing to developing something that every good player utilizes: a consistent pre-shot routine that doesn’t take too long. Doing the same things just before you hit the ball helps to focus your mind on the task at hand and distracts you from the possible penalties you face for hitting a poor shot.

Pro Tip of the Week: Iron Swing vs. Driver Swing

By Wayne | Articles: Becoming a Better Player

Pro Tip of the Week: Get Better at Lining Up

By Wayne | Articles: Becoming a Better Player

After teaching for 30 years one thing I can tell you for sure is that the average player is not very good at aiming. Aligning properly for a golf shot is difficult because, unlike shooting a gun or a bow and arrow (or most other activities that require aim) in golf you have to stand to the side of the target line and figure out how to get your body and you club to be square (perpendicular) to that line.

Pro Tip of the Week: Lessons are for Learning New Things

By Wayne | Articles: Becoming a Better Player

One of the problems I have observed over my 30 years of teaching is that a lot of students tend to view a lesson as a “fix” to a particular problem they are experiencing. I have heard the phrase “help me, just don’t change me” enough times to realize that the person who believes this is possible has probably played the game at the same level for many years, the point being that if you want to improve you are going to have to learn some new concepts about the swing or the short game, and you are going to have to try to change what you are doing presently to something better.

Pro Tip of the Week: One of the Best Practice Aids Ever

By Wayne | Videos: Pro Tip of the Week

For this week’s Pro Tip I show how to make and use one of the best practice aids ever. Don’t miss this one.

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