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

Colin Montgomerie has had great success hitting a consistent fade. (Getty images)

Q: I have been concentrating on my downswing to think about slapping the ball with my right hand at impact. But I have been losing distance and hooking the ball. Should I be thinking more about hitting the ball with more of my left hand at impact on my woods and irons. Thanks
Eric Swinehart

A: If you are hooking and losing distance then you are stopping your swing at impact and just flipping at the ball. Keep your body turning, especially your shoulders/torso and move the handle of the club around to the left faster than the club head flips around to the left. Doing this creates a "hold off fade". If you start fading too much, just back off a little.

Q: All of my clubs are custom fit. I love my 54 degree wedge but constantly chunk my 58 degree 20 yards or scull it 150 yards. I don't know how to hit it. Please help. Where do I place the ball in my stance and how do I stop mishitting this club?
Daniel Cox

A: If you are hitting the 54 degree fine you should also be hitting the 58 the same. They are approximately the same length and lie with only 4 degrees of loft difference. I would check the bounce on the 58. It certainly sounds like it has a lot less bounce than the 54. Less bounce would cause the chunking but not the sculling. Put the ball in the same place in the stance and make the same swing as the 54. If the problems continue, try swinging a little flatter on both the backswing and downswing so you have a shallower plane and concentrate on turning your body through to the left so the club can exit left on a shallow plane.

Rules: Brad Gregory, Vice-Chairman, PGA Rules Committee

Q: I hit the ball in a water hazard. The water hazard was dry but I couldn't hit the ball. It was wedged in the piece of a plank wood. I wanted to drop it in the hazard. The guys said I couldn't drop it there. I had to drop where it last crossed coming into the hazard. I looked in the Rule book but found nothing. Could you please e-mail me the answer to this? Thank you
Jeffrey Hooper

A: I'm assuming the plank wood was an immovable obstruction (man made and not readily movable). If so, there is no free relief from the wood plank when your ball is in the water hazard (see Rule 24; Note 1). The guys have it correct. When taking relief for a ball that just entered a water hazard you have several options, but dropping in the water hazard is not one of them.

Rule 26-1 (Relief for Ball in Water Hazard) explains your choices. You may under penalty of one stroke: a) Play a ball at a spot from where you last played; or b) Drop a ball behind the water hazard keeping the point where the ball last crossed the margin (the yellow or red stakes or lines) between the hole and the spot on which the ball is dropped; or c) As additional options if the ball last crossed a lateral water hazard (red stakes or lines) drop a ball within two club-lengths of and not nearer the hole than (i) the point where the ball last crossed the margin or (ii) a point on the opposite margin the same distance from the hole.

Neither Rule 24-2 (Immovable Obstruction) or Rule 28 (Ball Unplayable) is an option when your ball lies in a water hazard. You must play the ball as it lies or proceed under Rule 26.

Fitness: Dave Phillips, PGA Professional, Titleist Performance Inst.

Q: I am a High School golf coach, and I am looking for an off season training program to get my team members. Our school has a state of the art weight room. Trouble is that the person that sets up the weight training is into power lifting etc, and i know that is not the best for a golf program. I was wondering if you are aware of any type of program available and if so where to get information on it.
Thanks,
Bruce Roth

A: Bruce, The best programs are those that are specific to the needs of each player. The www.mytpi.com free website from the Titleist Performance Institute has more information than any other site on golf specific fitness. You can join their pro website for one month for $ 75.00, this then enables you to do a physical screen on as many players as you want and build a workout specific to their swing. You basicly punch in the results and it will build an eighteen session workout with videos of the exercises for each player, you can even download the videos to an ipod and they can take it to the gym with them. If you don't want to do it yourself I would suggest looking up a TPI certified fitness professional on the same website and have them come in and do it for you. It is very important to have them working on programs that are specific to their individual needs.
Good luck, Dave Phillips.