Instruction: Jim Hardy, 2007 PGA National Instructor of the Year

Q: What is releasing the club? Do you pronate at impact. I'm confused. Can you help me? - Brian Allen

A: The correct definition of a release is the motion that allows the club shaft and club head to move from behind or the right of the hands (away from the target) to in front or to the left of the hands (target side of the hands). There are three basic releases; the rotation, the hinge-slap and the under-push. The rotation is as you mentioned where the right wrist (trailing wrist) rolls over the left wrist (lead wrist) with a degree of forearm rotation. An example of this would be Tom Watson or Phil Mickelson. The hinge-slap is where the left wrist (leading wrist) hinges with the knuckles pulling towards the back of the forearm and the right wrist (trailing wrist) slaps or throws. An example of this would be VJ Singh or Fred Couples. Finally the under-push, during impact, does not allow the left wrist to hinge. The shoulders, arms and torso allow the right side to work around and UNDER so the club is brought through impact without wrist action. An example of this would be Jack Nicklaus or Peter Jacobsen.

Q; Why is my ball high even if i use 8.5 loft driver? - Ray Orozco

A: The high shot is caused by the club face gaining too much loft during impact. This is usually a result of a downswing that is too steep and too narrow with the result the wrists have to flip the club under the ball and up into the air in order to avoid skying the ball or crashing into the ground. You need to either widen the swing with more extension away from the ball in the backswing or you need to flatten the backswing by allowing the right arm to stay straighter and swing more behind you. Either way, the downswing angle will be less steep and the need to under-flip the club during impact will diminish. Once you have a wider/flatter swing you will only need to feel extension through the ball rather than a flip at the ball.

Equipment: Tom Henderson, PGA Professional & Master Club Fitter

Q: I have MacGregors 565 and love them. My index is 9.6. The question is after about 400 rounds with these clubs, will the graphite shafts begin to lose their stiffness and start to spray the shots? - Mike Kelly

A: Thanks for your question on the new PGA.com.

Unless you see some compromising in the integrity of the shafts (cracks, bowing, etc.), I would guess that your graphite shafts are still in pretty good shape. If you feel that your shot dispersion has changed, take your clubs to your PGA Professional an equipment evaluation and have he/she check your actual ball flight.

As a general rule, golf shafts don't go "bad".

Hope this helps

Rules: Brad Gregory, PGA Professional & Vice-Chairman of PGA Rules Committee

Q: In a match play, if my partner plays my ball accidentally, how are we penalized? Do we lose the hole automatically or is my partner penalized and I can continue to play without penalty? - CW Tan

A: It sounds like your playing a fourball match. Fourball match play is where two players play their better ball against two other players. This is the most common match play format and you will see it on Friday and Saturday of Ryder Cup week. In a fourball match, when a player makes a stroke at a wrong ball he is disqualified from the hole. His partner incurs no penalty even if that ball belonged to him (Rule 30-3c).

Q: We know that you have to state "provisional ball" in order to play one. Do you have to announce what type of ball and your identifying marks on it? If these announcements are not made is there a penalty? -jerry johnson

A: Playing a provisional ball for a ball that could be lost outside a water hazard or out of bounds can save a player the long walk back. When playing a ball provisionally, the player is required to announce to his opponent, marker or fellow-competitor that he is in fact doing so. This can be done by simply stating "provisional ball". The player may include in his statement "My original was a Titleist 3 with red dots and this is a Titleist 2 with blue dots" but the Rules don't require it. If the player fails to announce his intentions of playing a provisional ball, that ball is not a provisional ball and becomes the ball in play under penalty of stroke and distance (Rule 27-2).