Ask Venus

Venus takes your questions and answers them below.
To pose your question, email Venus at venus@venusgolf.com.

HI Venus,

I am a beginner golfer. I am having soooo much trouble with my swing. So many times when I am on my downswing, it's like I lose control of my club. I either top the ball or hit the ground 6-12 inches before the ball (thud!).... Please help me!!!!! My husband tells me on the down swing I need to move my hips through first. Why is that so hard for me? I really don't think I am that uncoordinated!!

Thanks
Kathy

Dear Kathy,
Learning golf is no different than learning the ABC's, you must master one letter at a time. Before you start worrying about what your hips are doing on the downswing, let's focus on the letter A: Ball Contact. I want you to imagine an eyeball on the face of your 9 iron, then I want you to keep that eyeball on the ball as you swing away. Only take a half swing so you have control of the club. Feel as though you have a broom in your hand and you are sweeping the club away. Back, then forward with the goal of hitting the ball squarely on the eyeball. Do yourself a favor and tee up every ball so you can accomplish this fundamental. Like every learned skill in life, success breeds success.

Hope this lesson gets you started in the right direction.
Debbie Steinbach

Dear Venus,

I have played at my local club in many different tournaments. Sometimes people give gimmes when the ball is two to three inches from the hole. Other times no one gives gimmes as that is the strict rule of golf. A friend of mine and I played in a tournament recently where the other team gave us gimmes as we did for them. My partner now feels it was cheating and therefore her handicap is lower than it should be. Should she really be worried about this?

Dear "Conscience One",

I appreciate your question about gimme's, as gimme's are a very big part of the game of golf. Whether you agree with taking them or not, they do speed up play, and for many social golfers, they make the game a lot more fun. Although gimme's may not be legal for a USGA stroke play event, they are indeed legal in match play, which is what I assume you were playing with your friend. I would certainly not feel guilty because you were entitiled to a few gimme's in a given round of golf. I would also argue that your handicap's were seriously effected. If that were the case, then just about everybody who has ever played in a match play event could argue that their handicaps are not perfect and the entire handicap system would be faulted. Confucius says that church is where you go to feel your guilt and pray for forgiveness, golf courses are where you go to clear your mind and pray for more gimmes!
 
Venus say, Let go and Let's golf!

Dear Venus,

Please Help !!!!!

A question about the out of bounds stakes.
Does the out of bounds start and end at the stakes?

In other words, if you hit the ball past the last stake but would be out of bounds if there were another stake in line with the last two stakes. A friend says the out of bounds stakes go to infinity on the golf course. Please see the following example. What is the status of the ball that is not near any stakes? Thanks.

Dear Confused,

Great question! The last stake is officially the end of the out of bounds. The first stake is the start of the out of bounds.(It does NOT extend forever.) If you are ever in doubt as to whether you are out of bounds, go behind one stake and look to see if your is ball in or out between the two stakes. If the white stakes end at some point and you are beyond the last stake, then you got a big break, because you are in and still breathing!

The OB has to be between the stakes. That is my ruling and you were definitely "in bounds" to ask such an interesting question, thanks!

Your pro in the know,

Venus