Dexter Yarbrough
lives with his wife and children. He enjoys studying the Bible, reading, traveling and exercising.
Her transition has been fast and fearless, much like how Donna
Andrews approached her LPGA golf career. These days, life inside the
ropes might seem easier compared to the niches Andrews has carved out
for herself.
And she's looking to open the throttle even more in 2009. She hopes
to continue building her brand name by adding Donna Andrews signature
golf schools to her business resume.
"I love teaching golf so much," Andrews said during a rainy
afternoon chat at Pine Needles Lodge & Golf Club. "They're there
because they want to learn and enjoy the game. I see the fun side of
golf again."
Andrews has been the head instructor at Pine Needles since 2006,
following in the footsteps of Peggy Kirk Bell, a legend in the women's
game who pioneered the popular Golfari schools. Andrews teaches here
and at affiliated Mid Pines Inn & Golf Club.
When students began inquiring about real estate in the Pinehurst
and Southern Pines area, Andrews became an agent and started a company,
Andrews and Tepatti Real Estate, with husband and developer James
Tepatti.
"You'd be surprised at how many people ask about all that," Andrews
said. "Why should I refer them to someone else when I could do it
myself?
"I was the 2-year-old who would always say, why?"
She saved enough of her LPGA Tour earnings during a 15-year career
to buy a horse farm in Southern Pines, a dream home and labor of love
for the Virginia native. Andrews still does an occasional golf analyst
gig for ESPN. Oh, and she has another full-time job, too: son Connor,
2.
No worries. No hesitation. No regrets.
And she thrives on the entrepreneurial spirit of it all.
"I didn't waste any time," Andrews said of her switch from playing
to teaching. "I miss the people; I don't really miss the golf. I got to
the point where my body wouldn't let me practice and play at the level
I was used to competing at."
Andrews won six tournaments, including a major at the 1994 Nabisco
Dinah Shore. The last of her victories came in 1998, which, with a
couple breaks, could have been a record-setting season. She was in
contention in four consecutive events but settled for second each time,
including another run at a major in the McDonald's LPGA Championship.
Andrews showed flashes of her old game with four top-10 finishes in
2002. But shoulder injuries, including one shoulder that still pops out
of joint, shortened her career and turned her in new directions.
"When you've been able to win, it's really hard to compete when you
know you can't get your body to respond like it did in the past,"
Andrews said. "I don't miss the competitiveness. I found I get a lot of
joy teaching. Just to see that enthusiasm, fun and love of the game
from your students is rewarding for me."
Donna Andrews on today's LPGA Tour
Andrews believes the LPGA Tour has lost its sense of identity in
the past five years or so. With many tournaments scattered around the
world and few foreign players generating interest among American fans
and sponsors, the tour she knew has reached a crossroads.
"Now it's more focused on money. ... how much I can make, how many
endorsements I can get," Andrews said. "I don't see the players having
that fun and camaraderie we used to have."
Andrews, who worked in a golf shop growing up, always knew she'd be
involved in the game some way or another. It was on her mind while
earning a business degree from the University of North Carolina and
playing golf for the Tar Heels.
Almost 20 years later, she's a one-stop shot of sorts, a major
championship winner who can fix your swing and a businesswoman who can
sell you a condo or house with a golf membership.
Being at Pine Needles "really gave me a great opportunity to start small and begin to grow it," she said.
Donna Andrews, so far, has made the most of it, too.
Here's the scenario. You are hitting golf balls at the local
driving range. Slowly you start to realize that your attention is drawn
to the deafening sound of a titanium explosion coming from two stalls
down.
You turn to take a look at the gorilla that is consistently
pounding the ball 280 yards straight in to the fence at the end of the
range. To your amazement, the guy is 5'10" and weighs 155 pounds
soaking wet! Standing there completely awestruck, you ask yourself,
"How in the world does he hit it so far?"
When I ask a student "What areas of improvement are most important
to you?" Nearly all of them say, "Consistency, Lower Scores, and
DISTANCE."
Golf drill: Increase hip rotation for more distance
One of the most common faults I see as a golf instructor, is the
degree of hip rotation at the top of the backswing. Most golfers think,
"Bigger Swing = More Distance." At GolfTEC, the data we record on our
motion analysis computer shows us how far the hips rotate in degrees.
Based on our testing of over 150 touring professionals, we know
that the average hip rotation at the top of the backswing is 45
degrees. The majority of golfers I teach for the first time usually
rotate their hips 55 to 60 degrees. The extra 10 to 15 degrees of hip
rotation on the backswing is now an extra 10 to 15 degrees that the
golfer has to rotate to get back to the ball on the downswing. This
creates more room for inconsistency and loss of power.
Power in the golfswing comes from the difference in hip turn versus
shoulder turn - otherwise known as the "X-Factor." Our data shows that
the PGA Tour players average a shoulder turn of 90 degrees at the top
of the backswing.
Subtract the average hip turn of 45 degrees and we get an X-Factor
on 45 degrees. The greater the X-Factor, the greater amount of stretch
or "coil" in the golf swing.
So how do you keep your hips from rotating too far back? There are
a couple of key checkpoints to see if you are over-rotating. Set up to
a ball, take a backswing and hold it at the top. If your right knee
(left knee for lefties) is straight, then your hips and belt buckle are
probably facing the wall behind you and your left knee has probably
caved in toward your right knee. You have over-rotated on your
backswing.
To correct this, think of keeping your knees in place and your hips
facing the ball when you make your backswing. Make sure your right foot
is square to the target line and the knees are flexed at address. When
you look down at your right knee, it should appear to be slightly
inside of your right foot. Try taking the club away and keeping both of
your knees in place.
At the top of your swing, you should feel that your hips have
hardly turned and you will feel a stretch in your left side. Your left
shoulder should be over the right knee with 80-85% of your weight on
your right side.
Practice this in front of a mirror. You will see that your knees
haven't moved, they're still flexed, your hips are no longer facing the
wall behind you, and your left shoulder is over your right knee. One
word of caution with this drill.
Do not get in the habit of swaying back to the right in order to
keep the hips facing the ball. If you do, you will notice two things.
Your right knee will be outside of your right foot and your right foot
will most likely be rolled over on it's outside edge.
By practicing this drill, and eliminating any excess hip rotation,
you will create more coil in your backswing. This will result in
greater clubhead speed and more distance. Stop by a GolfTEC location to
get your hip rotation numbers checked.
Harvey Penick, one of golf's greatest instructors, always said the
best way to improve your score was to improve your short game. You can
see this week in and week out on the PGA Tour as the players who win
usually have the best short game stats for that week. Here are a few
tips to help you lower your scores.
On chips and pitches around the green use a club that gives you
confidence. I play golf with a friend who is very good around the
green, and he always uses his eight iron for these shots. He opens and
closes the face according to the type of shot he wants to hit, so I
have suggested he try wedges instead of that one club.
On occasions when he does use a wedge, he very rarely gets the
results he does from that trusty old eight iron. Why? Because he has
confidence in that club, he relaxes and hits good shots.
Phil Mickelson uses his high-lofted wedges around the green for
most of his chip shots for the same reason. The lesson here is play the
club or shot you feel most confident with and you will be more
consistent.
When chipping or pitching from around the green the first rule to
follow is "always get the ball on the green." How many times have you
been faced with a pitch shot, over a bunker, with a closely tucked pin,
only to flub your pitch shot into the bunker? Better to have a 25-foot
par putt than be in the bunker with double or triple bogey staring you
in the face. Always play the safe shot; in the end it will save you
many strokes.
Practice that short game!
Practice that short game! Before each round go to the putting or
chipping area and practice. Get your golf buddies to engage in some
short game contests. Be creative and practice unusual shots. Practice
in your backyard. The players with the best short games practice these
shots more than others. That's why they usually shoot the lowest
scores.
Do you struggle with your bunker play? This may be because you are
being given the wrong information. The technique that a (usually)
stronger man will use in a greenside bunker is often the kiss of death
for most women golfers, who generally have a lower club head speed.
Have you been told to open your clubface? Open your body? Swing the
club more up on the back swing? All of these suggestions work great for
Vijay Singh and even Annika Sorenstam because these players generate
tremendous speed. They don't work for the average female golfer, who
cannot even begin to relate to this power game and would simply be
happy to be able to get out of the bunker and onto the green most of
the time.
Players with slower club head speed often struggle with bunker
play. Because the sand acts as such a buffer between the club and the
ball, it's necessary to generate a minimum of speed to be able to
extract the ball along with some of the sand.
Bunker play tips
Set up so that you will be able to splash the sand:
* Hold your hands high on the grip of the club. By placing your
hands toward the top of the handle, you maximize the length of your
sand wedge, which will help it to be able to hit the sand firmly.
* Position your golf ball in line with the instep of your forward
foot, just like a tee shot. Playing your ball more forward in your
stance will help to position the ball later in the swing so that the
club head will enter the sand before striking your golf ball.
* Dig your feet into the sand. Digging your feet into the sand
also helps to lower the bottom of your swing and will help you to
contact the sand before the ball and helps to ensure a nice long divot
in the sand. A divot in the bunker is ideally 12 to 15 inches long.
The necessary adjustments for low club head speed players are:
* A square face at address. You will not want to open the face of
the sand wedge since this will produce more loft and less distance and
due to the fact that you do not generate a lot of speed for most bunker
shots you will need all of the distance possible.
* A square stance. In other words, your feet should be parallel to
the target line just as they are for a normal full swing. Due the fact
that you will not open the club face to maximize the distance it won’t
be necessary to open your stance.
* A little attitude with a full finish. Since the sand acts as
such a buffer between the club face and the ball, it will be necessary
for the low club head speed player to take what feels like a very full
swing with a full finish. To ensure that the swing has all the speed
that you are able to generate, you will lift your trailing foot so that
your heel comes up as your body turns forward and as the foot rotates
up to the toe.
* Change to a less lofted club for greater distance splash shots.
If you don't generate a lot of swing speed you will find that your
splash shot with your sand wedge won't travel far, maybe only eight to
10 yards. If this is the case you will need to change to a less lofted
club, like a pitching wedge or a gap wedge, for your longer splash
shots.
By having a plan that will work for your game and club head speed,
you'll have more success. When you know how to handle a greenside
bunker and you are less worried about going into one, you may be
surprised how much less often you find yourself there.
The short game or the feel shots around the green and putting tend
to be the most difficult to regain sharpness after a long winter or
layoff from golf.
I feel that this is the first area to attack when you start to practice.
The advantages of building your game back up from the hole and
working backwards is countless. The obvious high percentages of shots,
some 60 percent that are taken within 100 yards during a round of golf
are not the only reason. The short game or the less that full shots can
help the not only the mechanics but the rhythm and tempo of your full
swing.
When I am teaching short game, the most prevalent errors often come
in the decision-making process instead of the execution of the shot
itself. The decision process is comprised of what type of shot to hit
(high or low), what club to use, and how to set up to achieve this.
This installment is what I feel is important in the short game as you
start to get ready for the golfing season.
Short game tip: Making sound decisions
Visualize: Can you see the proper shot for the current situation?
Jack Nicklaus called this technique "going to the movies". He never
hit a shot that he didn't see in his mind first. This is very important
in starting phase 2.
Recognize: Club selection for the shot at hand. A higher shot such
as a lob or pitch would need a more lofted club than a chip and run,
which would need less loft.
Execute: How set-up and ball position in your stance have to match the shot your trying to play.
Low shot: Position your sternum in front of the ball (weight shifts
to the front of stance, about 80 percent). Ball is placed even with
your rear foot.
High shot: Position sternum even or slightly behind the ball (weight only 60 percent to front of stance).
When making your decisions on what shot to play, always play the
lowest shot possible with the highest percentage of success. Never play
a shot that you haven't practiced just because you saw a tour player do
it on TV. Putt, Chip, Pitch, and then Lob in that order to higher rates
of success.
Short game tip: The mechanics
Solid Contact on the middle of the clubface is paramount to being
great with your wedges and around the greens. Without a solid impact
condition, direction and distance control is not achievable.
Understanding impact is knowing that the handle of the golf club stays
in front of the clubface as you strike the ball, never behind. This is
the most common mistake players, a lead wrist that is bent and a shaft
that leans away from the target.
After you have achieved a proper impact condition and solid
contact, swing length controls the distance of the shot. I like to see
the short shots be symmetrical in length. This means the backswing
length matches the forward swing.
Think of a clock face. If your arms swing to nine o'clock in the
backswing, stop at 3 o'clock on the forward swing. This is on a basic
chip or pitch, specialty shots are the exception. Always keep it
simple, nothing fancy.
Short game practice drills
Hide the tee: Stick a tee in the top of your grip. Make practice
swings and try to hide the tee behind your lead forearm. If you break
down with your lead wrist, the handle will line up with your rear arm
and the tee will be visible between your arms. Hit chips and pitches
and check your finish to achieve a flat lead wrist and a bent rear
wrist.
Stork drill: Hit chips, pitches and sand shots with your rear foot
off the ground and up on your toe for balance. This places most of your
weight on your front leg to give you a descending angle of attack,
essential for solid contact. This is the best short game drill because
most players hang back in an attempt to lift the ball in the air.
I would like to see golfers work on achieving a solid impact
condition first then practicing different shots around the greens to
develop your distance and trajectory control. Don't put the cart before
the horse, work on impact first and the rest of it will be much easier.
Remember, nearly 60 percent of the shots in a round are played within
100 yards so it this area the proper practice time. Plan your shots
carefully and you will have great success. Good luck in shooting lower
scores.
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