Every golf club has its share of golf maniacs, and Deer Run is no exception. Not only do these folks love to play golf, they also are obsessed with the workings of the golf swing and always looking for the “secret”.

I get a kick out of these characters and especially one guy who I’ve “taught” for 15 years. The reason I wrote the word “taught” in parentheses is that he never really buys what I say – it’s not what he wants to hear. So he’s always taking lessons from other teachers and reading the latest book about the golf swing. I’m not offended by his skepticism – it’s just how he is. He always comes back to me after these forays into golf swing theory … and we always go back to basics – especially impact.

As I’ve written in these columns over the years, what matters is impact – style isn’t important, impact is everything. A good swing style is one that gets the club back to proper impact with the ball.

Well our golf maniac friend just read Bobby Clampett’s new book: THE IMPACT ZONE, and he’s starting to buy into the importance of impact and … what proper impact is.

Proper impact is when the hands and the handle of the club are in front of the ball as the clubface contacts the ball. A poor impact position is the cause of ALL of your bad shots. The best way to practice proper impact is hitting chip shots – don’t let the wrists flip during the shot – in fact, hold the wrists firm into the follow through (and hold your follow through). The more you practice this while chipping, the more you will develop the correct feeling of impact, and it will work its way into your shots.

If you don’t want to take my advice, buy Bobby Clampett’s book – it what it’s all about.