Tip of the Month

October 2006

By John Pallot
Director of Instruction

Sophocles, that wise old Greek, had this to say about Team USA's performance in the 2006 Ryder Cup. "You win the victory when you yield to friends." Now I hope that makes us feel better. It is a rather sportsmanlike view. But the question remains, did we in fact "yield" i.e. lose to friends? If not they should be best of friends as this is the third straight time we've lost to them. For the record, the score this time 18 1/2 - 9 1/2. Stewart Cink reportedly took a powder on his pals and attended the winning team's victory party. Probably toasted his opponents with the old saw, "If you can't beat 'em join'em. " I can see it now, Cink raises his glass and makes clink with the European Captain Ian Woosnam, who began the party early by uncorking mucho bottles of bubbly on the 18th green. There was so much flowing that many spectators thought another rainstorm let loose.

Our team captain, Tom Lehman, said things like "I don't know if there's ever been a European team that played better. Our team came ready. Our team came very ready. I guess we weren't ready enough." Lehman is not only a great golfer but a master of understatement. Darren Clarke, an Irishman and world's #27th ranked player, Ian Woosnam's Ryder Cup pick, stood atop a balcony guzzling a pint of Guiness as the Irish crowd roared.

After insisting he had led the most close-knit and prepared team in recent memory to Ireland he and the rest of us watched the Yanks disintegrate under Irish autumn rains and hail of Irish birdies. Lehman again. "They putted well, they drove it well, they chipped well, they were inspired , and the crowd was phenomenal and helped them carry the momentum. I don't know that a European team has played better. They made us pay for a mistake every single time."

This month's tip will help you avoid mistakes and hit any iron shot like the pros. I mean from chipping to pitching, short irons and long. Every time a pro hits an iron the secret is revealed. They take a divot in front of the ball. This pressures or compresses the ball between club-face and the ground yielding solid contact, more backspin and greater distance. You can train yourself to do this with the plink plank drill. Now I know you're thinking what in heck is a plink plank and what's the drill. I call it a plink plank because the plank is a piece of wood 1/2" thick with a 12"rectangle cut in the front of the board . You place it on the ground, tee up a ball 6" to the front of it, hold the club above the ground and on the swing down to ball don't plink the plank. To begin with take a small swing to develop a feel. Then try some fuller swings. If struck correctly you won't hit the board and your divot will be well forward of the ball and tee, your left wrist flat and your right wrist bent. This impact condition will de-loft the club-face, create more backspin and give you a powerful descending blow. This is the pro's secret to solid contact and longer iron shots. Most amateurs have a bent left wrist and firm right wrist. Try the Plink Plank drill. I guarantee your game will improve. You may never make the Ryder Cup team but I'll buy your father a Guiness at John Martin's if it doesn't help you to better golf.