Instruction
Tips To Hit It High Or Low
When you need something different than your standard trajectory, try making some adjustments to your swing shape.
If you want to hit a high shot, you should make a long, full finish. To do this, you'll have to use some hand action through impact. This will generate more clubhead speed, which creates more backspin. Clubhead speed and backspin produce height. If you need to hit a high shot and you're between clubs, go with the shorter club and make an aggressive swing.
For a lower shot, the opposite is true: Use less hand action in the swing, generate less speed and finish in a shorter position. A slower swing produces a lower, less-spinning ball flight that works great in the wind or when you want to run the ball up. To play a low shot, take one more club than normal, and make a shorter, slower swing. You still have to accelerate through the ball, though. If you don't release the club, you'll block it low and to the right.
I'm looking forward to the second season of "The Haney Project" on Golf Channel. It's fun to be working with Ray Romano (right), and I'm also looking for a little redemption.
I had a great time helping Charles Barkley last season, but I feel like I let him down. He worked so hard, and he isn't where he wants to be. One thing I'm going to focus on more this time is teaching Ray how to play the game -- how to take the things we're working on out to the course. That's going to involve a lot of playing lessons -- something that benefits amateurs at any skill level.
Charles made so much progress on the range, but I didn't give him a good enough way to translate that into a score.
Ray is one of the funniest people in the world, and he's a dedicated, serious golfer. Watch for our episodes on Golf Channel this spring.