Dan's Papers - May 30, 2008 -

At the beginning of each new golf season, Jack Nicklaus would pretend he had never played the game before. This would allow him to start with good fundamentals and eliminate any bad habits that had crept in during the previous season. Fundamentals are essential to good golf and should be monitored all the time. Once your fundamentals go bad, swing flaws begin to snowball and survival golf takes over. Do yourself a favor and start this season just like Nicklaus.

Grip - Your grip controls the clubface. The golf ball doesn't have a brain. The only reason it goes in a certain direction - and in some cases doesn't - is because the clubface tells it where to go. This is the most important fundamental. Pay attention to how your golf ball curves. This will tell you a lot about your grip. Most amateurs - about 95% - slice the ball. If this is you, a weak grip is usually the culprit. Also, your grip should be tension free. Most amateurs grip the club as if they are riding a Harley. Relax your hands and this will allow them to release the club.

Posture - Your posture plays an important role in making solid contact. Posture begins with bending from the hips, not from the knees. Good posture will allow your arms room to swing and hang properly. Too many uneducated golfers bend from their knees, which gives them poor posture and no chance for solid contact. If you bend from the hips first, then flex your knees, your posture will improve and so will your contact.

Alignment - Good players always practice with some alignment aid or someone watching. Unfortunately, hitting a golf ball is not like shooting a gun where you can look down the barrel. Golfers stand to the side of the ball, so alignment can get tricky. Understand that the clubface is pointing where you want the ball to go and, for a right-handed golfer, your body will be pointing to the left. Jack Nicklaus always used an intermediate target (typically a couple of feet in front of his ball). This could be a leaf, divot, or pebble. It is a lot easier to aim your clubface at something that is three feet away, compared to 300.

The anxiety and hope of the beginning of a new golf season is here. Leave last year's bad habits in the dust. Start with a clean slate and you will be on the road to good golf.

Darren deMaille is a PGA professional who has worked at The Bear's Club in Jupiter, FL and The Country Club of Fairfield in Fairfield, CT, and currently teaches golf at The Bridge in Bridgehampton, NY. Questions? Email him at tenmindoctor@aol.com .