Weekend Tip: March Madness on the course

This idea came from Golf Digest Assistant Managing Editor Jeff Patterson, who usually leads the staff in assists each month. He points out that as we stay glued to the TV set this weekend watching college hoops and sweating out office pools leading to the Final Four, you might also think of some basketball analogies to help your golf game. Here are three, from the recent pages of Golf Digest. And here's hoping they help your game this weekend, whether it's played on a court or a course.

*Roger Schiffman

Managing Editor

Golf Digest

Twitter @RogerSchiffman

*[#image: /photos/55ad749badd713143b425cb8]|||Thumbnail image for Utley basketball.jpg|||

__First, we hear from Stan Utley,

Golf Digest Professional Advisor:__

Believe it or not, shooting a basketball equates perfectly to putting. For a right-handed shooter, power comes from releasing the right wrist (left photo); the left hand provides the direction. Wrist action and the role of each hand are the same in putting. Difference is, you're aimed at the ground.

Next, Todd Anderson, Golf Digest Teaching Professional, weighs in:

Loading up your backswing is very[#image: /photos/55ad749bb01eefe207f6ae49]|||Thumbnail image for Anderson basketball.jpg|||similar to passing a basketball away from a defender and to a teammate. This image (right) puts your arms in the perfect backswing position.

Finally, a setup tip from Tom Watson, Golf Digest Playing Editor:

When I set up, I think of a basketball player in the guarding position. [#image: /photos/55ad749bb01eefe207f6ae46]|||Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Watson basketball.jpg|||

Defenders in this ready stance can move side to side or forward and back and stay in balance -- I remember from my basketball days in high school. They have to be on the balls of their feet with knees flexed and feet about shoulder-width apart. Just like that basketball player, you want to be on the balls of your feet -- not the heels, not the toes. That's the key to balance. __[Click here to link to the full article.

](http://www.golfdigest.com/golf-instruction/2011-03/tom-watson-posture)____[

](http://www.golfdigest.com/golf-instruction/2011-03/tom-watson-posture)____[

](http://www.golfdigest.com/golf-instruction/2011-03/tom-watson-posture)__