Home About Us The Instructors Clinics Private Lessons Junior Golf Instructional Tips Oak Marsh Golf Club Phone: 651-730-8886 Fax: 651-730-6711 institute@wpgolf.com Consistency July 2006 - By David La Pour Consistency, such a simple request with a complicated answer. Last months tip talked about some of the most requested things that students like to work on. In the first step of this series we will talk about consistency but it's important to know a few things first such as: the margin of error in golf is relatively small and very unbiased. What does this mean? Simply stated, we can’t mess up too much and get away with it (at least consistently) and the golf ball, club, and course don’t care who we are. If you understand these facts you should also understand that the pressure is on us to behave consistently as opposed to emotionally. With this said, we need to turn to the physics of how to best hit the shot your trying to hit, whether it’s a putt or a drive. There are a lot of ways to hit a golf ball but physics will tell you the best way. From this we get proper mechanics and technique for each different shot on the golf course and in turn this helps you with your consistency. At the WP Golf Institute we help students combine the best technique along with the art of playing. The results are a more consistent and contented golfer! The best place to start is from the ground up. Ball position for each golf shot may be a little different depending on the student. Physics will tell us that heel position as well as weight will have a lot to say in determining where the club will bottom out. This in turn will help us with clean contact with whatever shot we are attempting. For simplicity we will assume that the golf ball is sitting up and we have a relatively good lie. For our purposes and this article we will also state that for a low running shot like a chip shot, play the ball back in your stance off your back foot, assuring clean contact and plenty of roll. Higher lofted shots like pitches, distance wedges, and full swings the ball should be played in the middle or slightly forward of middle because of the desired trajectory of the club and aggressive nature of the shot. Next month we will talk more about set up and what physics it takes to hit a shot. Until then re-read this article and think about your ball position. Good luck and I'll see you on the course! PS The US Amateur is being held at Hazeltine August 21st to the 27th! MORE TIPS Home / Putting / Short Game / Full Swing / Mental / Health / Other "There are a lot of ways to hit a golf ball but physics will tell you the best way."