Golf is a four letter word

Yesterday's golf lesson went tremendously well! My friend Mark has a traveling kit complete with a surface to hit off of and foam golf balls. We setup shop on a median just off of Northside Dr. and he gave me two of the best tips I've ever gotten. I'd like to share them with you!

1) Realize that the angle of attack isn't 90 degrees so swing away from your body when making contact. When your swing is outside in, that creates a slice (I know there are dozens of other reasons for a slice). When you swing inside out, that should hook the ball or "power fade" if you want to sound better than you are. If 90% of my shots have a slice, I need to try to fade the ball by swinging inside out and that will help me discover the middle of the road and get more balls going straight down the fairway.

2) Don't swing behind the ball or even at the ball; swing in front of the ball! Watch the pros and you'll see they leave huge divots in front of the ball. The physics of the club and ball take care of the rest. I almost always top the ball and I thought that was because I was just missing it, turns out the club face was bouncing off planet earth before making contact. The goal is to hit the ball on the downward swing before hitting the ground and leaving a divot.

I've got the distinct feeling that I'm going to be a lot better on the course. Now the frustration of four putts will be twice as painful.. I shot a real 115 last time out we'll see where I end up this afternoon!