PGA Professional Chris Scott, of the Falls Recreation Complex, goes “On The Lesson Tee” with Dustin Ashby and Dr. Tobin Lingafelter on The Back Nine Radio Show on 101.1 ESPN.

Without being able to “catch the ball squarely” on the clubface, one has little chance of maximizing distance. A key to controlling the clubface and generating efficient power is found in rotating the lead forearm properly.

Drill

Extend the thumb on the hand of your lead arm and point it toward the top of your chest just below your Adam’s apple. Next, drop your hand until it is waist high allowing your hand to rotate outward so your thumb is pointing down the target line.

Extend your other arm to form a golfer’s grip, bend at the waist and extend your hands down the target line as if you were just past impact. This is a simple demonstration of proper forearm rotation – nothing more, nothing less.

Test

To confirm you are rotating your forearm properly, put your watch on so that the face is visible from the underside of your wrist. Now, take a normal swing.

When you complete your swing, you should be able to read the time on your watch.

Confirmation

The use of a ball flight monitor, or launch monitor, will confirm you are maximizing impact. By tracking clubhead speed, ball speed, launch angle and spin rates, the monitor will calculate a “smash factor” for each shot.

A smash factor of 1.5 is considered the industry standard for solid impact or the maximization of a square face at impact with a proper swing path and controlled clubhead speed – all essential components required to generate the maximum distance possible.

Other factors

In addition to a square face at impact and proper forearm rotation, the combination of clubhead design, loft, shaft flex and kick-point, and golf ball play a substantial role in the delivery of distance.

Better instruction facilities and golf shops that employ launch monitors as part of their teaching and equipment evaluation process can help match your swing style, clubhead speed and path, and impact tendencies with the ideal equipment combination that will add yards (and consistency) to your shots.

Here are a few tips that can help you become a better putter:

Start with a routine: Notice when you watch PGA Tour players, they have a routine for every shot, especially when it comes to putting. Better players know a routine is necessary for making consistent strokes.

First, start by looking at the putt from behind the ball, then halfway down the line and finally from behind the hole.

Next, step up to your ball, make a practice stroke or two, and then hit the putt.

You can modify this routine to develop your own but don’t waste too much time (the routine should take 30 to 40 seconds at most) and always be sure to do it before every putt.

Practice the Short Putts: Practicing 30- to 40-footers may be fun but you’re not going to have many of them during your round. On the course the majority of your putts will be from within 15 feet, so before playing practice the short putts.

Start by taking four balls, making a circle approximately 5 feet from the hole. When you make three out of four from that distance move your circle outward a foot or two.

Keep doing this until you get about 12 to 15 feet from the hole. This drill will improve your speed control, help you read putts and give you confidence in your stroke.

Your Alignment is bad: Trusting your alignment helps you focus on your stroke which leads to solid putts.

Next time you play, have one of your playing partners help line you up on your putts. Have him stand behind you looking down your line. Once he lets you know you are aligned properly just stroke the putt.

This should help you relax and make a good stroke because you are not thinking about your alignment.

If your playing partner is constantly changing your alignment you should focus your practice time on this area of your putting.

Try different things: If you have putting problems, try different solutions. The key to good putting is confidence, and there are several ways to improve your confidence.

Try a new grip. When you see a golfer who is a good putter watch how they grip the club. Some overlap, some interlock, some have a split-hand grip or the claw. It doesn’t matter how you grip the putter as long as it works, so experiment next time you practice.

Next, try a different length putter or a different style. Almost all golf shops let you “demo” putters. Take a few out to the putting green and see if one is right for you.

How Do I Get Better in 2013?

Every year, I listen to PGA Tour players talk about their goals for the upcoming season. I even try to predict a few things that will happen, who will win the majors, how many will Rory and Tiger win and so on. I may even spend a minute thinking about my own game, but usually no further than, “I want to get better this year.” Let’s say that I really mean it this year. How do I actually go about getting better? Lessons, practice and new equipment are the normal thoughts, but what am I really accomplishing with those?

This year, I am going to explore how I really get better. The past two years, my handicap has come down from about a 9 to a solid 5 thanks to GolfTec and Keith Baker. But I did not really set any goals, I just ‘wanted’ to get better. Luckily for me, my golf swing was so bad, I had a lot of room for improvement. So now what? I am going to seek advice for what I believe are the areas I have never spent much time thinking about…

What should my goals be?
Once I have goals, how do I go about trying to reach them?
Once the season is over, how do I tell if I reached my goals?
My goals are not going to be like a PGA Tour player that wants to move from 126th in putting to Top 50. I can’t measure my success by the money I make, because I pay to play golf and when I do play for money, it is usually eaten up by my bar tab. I don’t have a PGA Tour Shotlink person walking with me charting my shots. In 2013, I am going to consult with the experts…Keith Baker at GolfTec, Jeff Pelizzaro at Elevated Performance Fitness and consulting with my co-hosts on The Back Nine (Dustin and Tobin) as they have both achieved much more in the game of golf than I have.

Stay tuned as we discuss these steps and possibly help you think about how to improve your game, ‘For Real’, in 2013.