Think Hockey When Playing Golf

Watching my LA Kings' amazing march to the Stanley Cup this year was a revelation to me. Not about hockey nor the will of champions, but about the golf swing. I noticed that the hockey slap shot is quite similar to a full golf swing. The key is that a properly executed slapshot requires that the hands are slightly ahead of the puck at impact. This is the same principle that applies to the golf swing. It's no wonder that so many hockey players are great golfers, including Happy Gilmore!

They are so similar that I find it helpful to visualize a slap shot when I setup and swing a golf club. I imagine that the golf club is just a disproportionate hockey stick with a longer shaft and shorter blade. First, I picture that the leading edge of my golf club is the blade of a hockey stick and I align it square to the target. Second, I make sure that my hands are slightly ahead of the ball with the shaft leaning back to the ball like a slapshot. Lastly, I pretend that I'm Anže Kopitar blasting a slap shot past the goalie into the net for the win!

Golf Tips - The Proper Golf Grip II

The golf swing is such a finicky thing. One day you may be striping the ball as pure as Adam Scott and the very next day you may be $hanking it like a rank beginner. WTF? Since the golf swing requires so much precision, the reason is often a breakdown of swing fundamentals. Even an infinitesimally small change can throw a monkey wrench into a golfer's swing. The fact that these changes are frequently unnoticed by the afflicted golfer in turn leads to disbelief and frustration.

I think that the most important, but also the most overlooked fundamental is the grip. I've already posted Butch Harmon's proper grip technique, but I recently came across another excellent video on the topic below. It covers some important elements that Butch does not. After viewing and fully understanding both of these videos, there's no excuse for not gripping the golf club correctly every time!

Congrats Kelly Xu!

Penmar's very own Kelly Xu won the Girls 7-9 Division at the inaugural Drive, Chip & Putt Championship held at Augusta National Golf Club. She was among 8 kids to beat out over 17,000 other competitors from around the nation. Since her division was the first girls championship to finish, she was also crowned Augusta National's first ever female champion. Somewhere Martha Burk must be smiling.

Here at her home course, Penmar by the Sea, all the locals are thrilled and proud of her. Anyone who has had the pleasure of knowing this exceptional 9-year-old girl knows that her personality and character matches her talents on the golf course. Unlike some other junior golfers who take brat to the extreme, Kelly is sweet, smart, happy and humble. All of these qualities are readily apparent in her interview with the Golf Channel's Michael Breed. It is just priceless!

Good Luck Kelly Xu!

As a single dude without children, I normally wouldn't watch the Golf Channel's coverage of the Drive, Chip and Putt Championship National Finals at Augusta National Golf Club on Sunday, April 6. It's basically the biggest golf competition for kids featuring the top 88 junior golfers from across the U.S. and Canada. However, I actually know one of the competitors so I'm excited to watch it. Her name is Kelly Xu and we share the same home course, Penmar by the Sea here in sunny Los Angeles. I've blogged about this 9 year-old wunderkind before and at this point in her development, she can probably beat me straight up!

All the Penmar regulars are very proud of her and we gave her a gift and this card pictured above to wish her luck. Good luck Kelly, all your Penmar friends will be watching and rooting for you!

A Picture of Frustration

The adage "a picture is worth a thousand words" is always true. On a recent outing to my 9-hole home course, I came across a curious sight at the 7th hole. I just had to snap a picture of it with my iPhone to share it here. To someone who doesn't play golf, they probably have no idea what happened. But to any golfer who has played the game a reasonable amount knows exactly what happened. Here's the picture translation in a thousand words:

A golfer played (or tried to play) golf. The golfer played poorly, or at least below their expectations. The poor play continued and the frustration level of the golfer built up like the steam in a pressure cooker. Finally, at the 7th hole, the golfer blew a gasket from hitting an awful shot with an iron. The golfer took the iron and broke the club out of anger and frustration. The rest of the thousand word description are all swear words spoken by the golfer!

Put Backspin on a Golf Ball!

One of the things that fascinates golf viewers is the backspin that professionals can impart on the golf ball. Oohs and aahs are usually heard when a ball lands on the green, skips to a momentary stop, and then rolls back as if on a yo-yo string. Amateur golfers struggle to replicate this impressive feat largely because they don't know that there are several necessary conditions for it to happen.  Here are some of the things to maximize your chances of spinning the ball back on the green:

1. Use a premium golf ball:  The primary benefit of a premium ball over it's lower-cost brethren is that it is composed of multiple layers of different materials.  The outermost layer is made of a soft yet durable material that is designed for maximum grip.  This makes a premium ball spin much more with irons.  A Top Flite rock just wont cut it.  If you want to suck it back up on the green, you're going to have to suck it up and spend some green.
2. Use a high-lofted iron:  The combination of high trajectory and high spin makes the ball spin back on the green.  The higher, the more it will roll back.  When it comes to golf clubs, the higher the loft, the higher the trajectory and higher the spin.  It's simple physics.
3. Swing hard:  The higher the swing speed, the higher the spin.  Again, simple physics.
4. Make proper ball contact:  With irons, the clubhead should make contact with the ball on the descending part of the swing path.  This minimizes interference from grass and debris and maximizes spin.
5. Have a clean lie:  When there is grass between the ball and the clubface, it becomes vaporized upon contact.  This grass juice reduces the grip and consequently the backspin.  This is why it is nearly impossible to back it up on the green from the rough.  There's just too much grass getting between the ball and the clubface.
6. Have clean and deep grooves:  Much like the grooves in tires channel away water to allow clean contact with the road, grooves in irons allow clean contact with the golf ball to maximize backspin.  The greater the groove volume, the more grass juice it can whisk away.  That's why it's important to clean grooves before every shot and play with the deepest and widest grooves allowed.