Andrew Rice Golf

 Here are some instructional updates:

• The Berkeley Hall Learning Center has just been completely upgraded!  We have just had all our computers upgraded with the latest software from V1 Golf.  Students will now be able to view a summary from their golf lesson online in their own V1 locker or on their smartphone.  Students will even have the ability to upload their lessons onto Facebook for all their friends and family to see. The changes at the Learning Center include an expansion of our indoor putting capabilities, two Casio EX-F1 Exilim 300 frame per second cameras (for amazing high speed footage of the golf swing!) and the ability to view your golf swing on a 50″ HD screen.

Casio EX-F1 Exlim Camera

• I will be holding a complimentary Swing Seminar based around the information in my book, “It’s All About Impact” at Berkeley Hall on April 19th from 10AM-12PM.  The seminar is free of charge to anybody who purchases a copy of the book at www.itsallaboutimpact.com or from me in person. During the event I will address both the long and shortgame elements discussed in the book, along with a graphic explanation of the 84 degree secret.  As an added bonus all golfers who attend the seminar will receive a one time coupon for a $75 golf lesson with Andrew – that’s a savings of $75!

• This Friday, on March 5th I will be participating in Hilton Head Golf Week at Sea Pines Resort. They are having an Instructional Day with great local teachers like Doug Weaver, John Farrell, Krista Dunton, Tim Cooke and our own local legend, Rick Barry.  The cost is $25.00 per person and all proceeds benefit the Heritage Classic Foundation.  Please come on out and support a great cause and your local community.

Verizon Heritage 2009 Champion Brian Gay

• I am excited to announce that I will be running a Spring Junior Golf Program at Berkeley Hall.  This program will run from Wednesday March 17th to Saturday May 15th. Young golfers (8-18) will have the ability to work on their games for three hours each week in preparation for the summer tournament schedule. We will meet every Wednesday (4-5PM), Thursday (4-5PM) and Saturday (2-3PM) and the group will be limited to 6 students.  The costs will be as follows: Three Hours per week $550; Two Hours per week $450; and One Hour per week $ 350.  All students that attend the program will receive instruction on the complete game of golf including fitness, nutrition, equipment, on-course play and tournament preparation. If you happen to know a young aspiring golfer who might be interested please feel free to forward this information to them. 

For further information on lessons, pacakges and golf schools please contact me at (843)247-4688 or andrew (at) andrewricegolf.com

They both love fashion, big hair and are world renowned over-achievers. Doesn’t one remind you of the other?

So much for global warming! These pictures were taken a mere 8 weeks before Masters weekend.

Augusta National 11th Hole

If you would like to see my pictures taken from two weeks prior to the snow click HERE.

To play better golf the easy way please visit www.itsallaboutimpact.com

After listening to a golf commentator indicate that Ian Poulter’s back leg was way too straight this week I just about fell out my chair. Did he not notice that Poulter was in the process of picking up his inaugural US win and $1.5 million! Two weeks ago I heard similar comments about Dustin Johnson and his arm and wrist position at the top of the backswing. Perhaps they did not notice that he happened to win his 3rd event as an under 25 golfer.

Sam Snead at the Top

What would most golf instructors do with the swing of Sam Snead?

As a golf community we get so caught up in the “correct way” to swing that we lose sight of what is the correct way to hit. All that seems to matter to us is the look of the swing and golf’s greatest champions are proof that looks have nothing to do with results. (Just like in life actually!) Function will always trump form and substance always wins out over style! Let’s start to focus on what makes the golf ball go and get to work on that. There are many elements in the golf swing that are negotiable, like straightening the back leg, or lifting the left heel – just look at Sam Snead above. The key is being able to know which elements are non-negotiable, which are the key parts to the swing where the laws of physics must be obeyed. They all happen to occur in and around impact. Here are the most important ones:

• Get the weight onto the front foot (80+%) at impact.
• Keep the head over or just behind the ball at impact. This means that the weight shift onto the front foot must occur by driving/shifting the hips and mid-section towards the target. This move leads to what I call body curve.
• If the body is positioned correctly, the hands will lead the clubhead into the hit creating a downward blow.

For more information like this please visit www.itsallaboutimpact.com

A Toe Weighted Putter

There is so much information out there about golf clubs, yet I never seem to see much data relative to putters. I recently had the privilege of spending an afternoon with Mike Shannon, noted putting guru from Sea Island and here are a few of the many interesting things he shared:

• 60% of all the grass on putting greens today did not exist 30 years ago and as a result the mow height on greens is 50% lower than it was 20 years ago. Greens are much faster than they used to be.
• Faster greens mean shorter grass and shorter grass means there is no longer the need for 4 degrees of loft (the traditional loft) on putters. Most PGA Tour golfers have an effective loft of somewhere between 1 and 3 degrees. This means that when they add the loft of the putter face to the amount of loft added during the stroke it comes out to somewhere between 1 and 3 degrees. Consequently very little flight time and early roll mean less bounce and skid – a good thing! Zach Johnson actually has -1 degree of loft on his putter face.
• Speaking of early roll – grooved face putters get the ball rolling 18-24% sooner than smooth faced putters. Not only that, they deter the ball from sliding up or across the face on poorly struck putts too. Sign me up for some of that help.

A Face Balanced Putter

• Keep in mind that there are essentially two genres of putters – face balanced and toe weighted. If you currently use a face balanced putter and are considering making a switch to a toe weighted version (pictured at the top of the page) keep in mind that your new putter will provide you with an additional 6-8 degrees of club face rotation or “toe float” as Scotty Cameron calls it. Toe float is the amount of rotation in the face from the backswing to the follow through. The top putters on the tour have 6-8 degrees of rotation from 6″ back from the ball to 6″ beyond impact.
• Most putters are heel powered – that is, the motion is generated from the heel, which is where the shaft enters the putter head. Unless of course the putter is center shafted. This is pertinent because as the energy/power in a stroke dissipates (decelleration), the toe will have a tendency to continue closing. If there is too much acceleration through impact the toe will have a tendency to remain open and leads to missed putts to the right (speaking as a right hander). If you tend to accelerate (too much!) or decellerate through impact you might want to try a center shafted putter.

A Center Shafted Putter

• The average weight of store bought putters is a swingweight of D3-D6. The average weight of putters on the tour is E0-E5. Heavy putters are better for faster greens and vice versa for slower greens. If you need to add weight to your putter stay away from lead tape as it might change the balance charactersitics of the putterhead. Instead add titanium powder to the shaft. The best idea might be to get a reputable club builder to take care of it for you. Fit your putter weight to the speed of the greens you customarily putt on!
• Regarding alignment: offset putters will work better for golfers who tend to aim left and non-offset putters will work better for right aimers. This is due to the manner in which a golfer sees the line of a putt. It really does work!

Before you run out and pick out your next weapon on the greens please consider some of the above advice- it really does come straight from the experts mouth!

 Related articles and sites:

Interesting Facts About Ping Golf Putters

Rife Putters | Get Your Groove On

Scotty Cameron – Home

Choosing Your Putter – Pt. 1 , Balanced vs. Toe Heavy

Choosing Your Golf Putter – Pt. 2, Offset vs. Non-Offset

Choosing Your Golf Putter – Pt. 3, Putter Weight