Tips from the pros: Advice from the grip to the chip.

• Position: Indiana Golf - Brief Article

Get a Grip--Dave Harner has been at French Lick Springs Resort for nearly 30 of the resort's 100 years, having worked his way up from caddy to director of golf. When he's not at the resort's Donald Ross-designed course, he might be found coaching the golf team at nearby Springs Valley High School.

If someone comes to him and complains about slicing too often, Harner will take a look at the golfer s grip. "That's the first thing I look for," he says. "Start with the grip--that's what everything else is built on, Most common is too weak of a grip." Check the V that your thumb and forefinger create, he advises. It should be pointing over your right shoulder, not at your chest.

"It's not like the grip is the only thing," he says, "but it's the first thing that you have to do right."

Loosen Up--"Tension and unnatural pressure are two main causes of miss-hit shots," according to head pro Ben Berger of Swan Lake Golf Club in Plymouth. "To set the proper grip, arm and shoulder pressure, assume your grip with the golf club suspended in front of your waist extending outward. The amount of pressure needed to suspend the club in the air is the amount of pressure needed to address. Start out your swing with a lighter grip, arm and shoulder pressure, which will allow you to swing more athletically."

Most good players, he says, tilt forward from the hips, keeping their back fairly straight. "This tilt places them in a balanced, poised position, ready to swing the golf club. It also allows them to let their arms hang down directly under their shoulders. Remember, less unnatural tension is conducive to better swings."

Don't Slow Down--Tom Floberg, pro at The Brassie in Chesterton, sees plenty of people lose too much steam as they putt. "A common problem among amateurs when they're putting is deceleration," he says.

"They decelerate before they hit them ball," Floberg explains. "They should be taking their putter back a shorter distance, then accelerating through. Never decelerate, always accelerate, or you'll never get consistency."

Longer and Straighter Drives--"The one common problem I see with most of my students is that they equate more distance with swinging the club faster," says Darren Thomas, pro at Prairie View Golf Club in Fishers. "I try to get my students to 'feel' better balance and tempo in their golf swing, especially with the driver. Both balance and tempo are...