Examining the golf swing

Hello, I would like to take a moment to introduce myself. My name is Rich Conwell and I am the PGA Head Golf Professional at Blue Ridge Country Club. I am going to be writing a golf column each week to cover topics, some trivia and instruction relating to the world of golf. If you have any questions, suggestions or topics you wish to discuss, please contact me via email and I will get them covered.

This first week I want to talk about the golf swing in itself. So much as been written, said, filmed, talked about and dissected when it comes to the golf swing that I thought I would try to greatly simplify the problem.

There are two things that really need to be examined when it comes to the golf swing. Two things that really affect ball flight and results, two things that make all the difference if you can control them in your golf swing. These two things are:

* Face Rotation: The golf ball will turn or change direction in the air based on the amount of face rotation that occurs through impact.

* Shaft Path: The direction, the initial direction of the golf ball will be determined by the path of the shaft throughout the impact zone.

Now I realize this is all simple, but I have been fortunate enough to be around great teachers and players, and I have to tell you, these two things, face rotation and shaft path, are the two main components of effective, and ineffective, golf swings. Tour players, for the most part, only work on these two things. The golf ball direction and curvature are controlled by these two things and since we only can worry about the direction of our hooks and slices, these two components are what you need to be concerned about when practicing your golf swing and trying to improve.

If you are having trouble with these two things, or any other things in your golf game, please find a PGA Professional to help. We have been steeped in the teaching of this wonderful game, so, simply put, help helps. We are here to make you better players, and as for me, I can assure you that I want you to be better than you want to be.

I look forward to meeting many of you soon and conversing about golf with you. Thank you for reading and play well this week.

Rich Conwell is the Head Golf Professional at Blue Ridge Country Club in Palmerton. He will be writing a weekly golf column that will appear in THE TIMES NEWS every Saturday. If you have a question you would like answered, you can e-mail him at brccpgapro@ yahoo,com