Instruction is key to improving handicap

Data from the National Golf Foundation shows that the average handicap for golfers in the United States is not improving. Another survey from the foundation revealed that only 12 percent of golfers took a lesson during the past year. Only 5 percent took a series of lessons or more. Can everyone see the pattern: The only group of golfers who shows improvement each year are those who take lessons from a qualified instructor on a regular basis.

If you truly want to improve your golf game, you need to make a commitment in time and money to take lessons from the best instructor you can afford. Top instructors will work on your basic fundamentals and develop a plan for practicing that will lead to improvement.

One of the first things a good instructor will help you with is developing sound fundamentals in your setup. Everyone will be a little different, but here are some guidelines that may help you.

n Relationship of the setup to the swing: If there is an error of any kind in the setup, a perfect swing will hit a bad shot and you will learn to have a compensating error in the swing to correct the error in the setup. If the setup is correct, now only a good swing will work. A good setup is not logical and almost always requires expert advice.

n Grip: The goal of the grip is to accomplish two things. Place your hands on the club so your wrists hinge in the same direction. Locate the club in your hands so the clubface is in the correct alignment at impact. Your left thumb and right "V" between your thumb and forefinger should be in alignment. The "V" should point about to your rear shoulder.

n Posture: Bend at the hip joint, with a straight back, so your torso can rotate around your spine.

n Alignment: Face the target line with feet, hips and shoulders.

n Ball position: With irons, the ball should be by the forward side of your face (slight descending blow). With fairway woods, the ball should be a couple inches farther forward (sweeping blow). When you are using the driver, the ball should be by your forward shoulder (slight ascending blow).

n Balance: Your weight should be centered so you can rotate back and through on balance.

These seem simple, but you would be amazed about how many of my students -- many have had lessons from other instructors -- need to adjust a setup fundamental to improve their golf swing. I work with golfers on the PGA Tour, many college players and some of the top high school golfers in the country. Whenever their game gets a little off, I always check their setup fundamentals first.

Mike Davis is PGA master professional and the director of instruction at Walters Golf Academy at Royal Links Golf Club. He was named a Golf Magazine Top 100 Teacher. For information, go to mikedavisgolf.com or call 702-450-8159.