I have been playing golf for about 4 years now and the single most 
difficult thing for me is getting distance on my shots.  It takes me 
too many strokes to get to the green. I have a good swing and 
seem to be doing everything right in my set up. My ball flys on a 
straight path but doesn't get the distance I think it should.  
How can I improve on this?
Lorna R., Littleton, MA

MILLER: Distance come from club head speed. I would guess that your hands, wrists, and 
arms are too tight. Hold the club upside down (on the club head end), hold the club above 
the ground (hover it), swing back and forth through the air, and make swoosh noises with 
the shaft. That drill will help you develop more club head speed. Good luck!

MILLER: Each year, the LPGA Tour holds two sectional qualifying events and one Final Qualifying Tournament.

Who qualifies:
The top 30 players and ties from each of sectional qualifiers will advance to the final stage. The Duramed FUTURES Tour receives 15 exemptions into the Final Qualifying Tournament based on the year end money list.

Sectional Qualifying - 72 holes
The top 30 players and ties will be entered automatically in the Tour Qualifying at LPGA INTERNATIONAL/Champions and Legends Courses.

LPGA Final Qualifying Tournament - 90 holes
The LPGA Final Qualifying Tournament is a 90-hole, five-day event, taking place on both the Legends and Champions courses at LPGA International. The first 72 holes are played on both courses, while players play the Champion course during the final round. The cut, historically held after 54 holes, will now reduce the field to the low 70 players and ties after 72 holes. http://www.lpga.com/content_1.aspx?mid=1&pid=38  

MILLER: I would get fitted for clubs. I believe your height may dictate that you need men’s clubs. Graphite is lighter. How much you spend will be determined by how much you fall in love with the game. You should investigate who to take lessons from. Not everyone who teaches golf is qualified. The LPGA Golf Clinics for Women are great opportunities for total beginners. The instructors are LPGA Teaching Professionals and the day is well worth the investment.

MILLER: The first thing you need to do is...Take a deep breath. RELAX. When we lose our golf swing, faith and trust, we tend to panic.  When we panic, we try too hard, hold the club to hard and swing too fast. I believe if you can chill...almost act like you don’t care that you are missing it,  your golf game will return to form. Get some ear plugs to protect yourself from the “Committee of They.” How far to do you live from Horseshoe Bend, Arkansas? The Legends Tour is having an event there on Sunday, September 27, 2009. I will be there. I would love to give you a golf lesson.

MILLER: Review this sheet on side hill downhill lies. The best way to get over coming over the top is to relax your hands wrists and arms. Try to swing the club back more to the inside on the back swing, and toss under handed with your right hand toward the target. Without seeing you swing, it is hard to give exact details that will work. I would try to come to an LPGA Golf Clinic for Women.

MILLER: Distance comes from club head speed, flexibility, and strength. I would bet that someone has told you to keep your left arm straight. If you lock your left arm, you will not be able to swing the club freely. Relax your left arm and wrists.  Swing the club head back and through and try to make swoosh noises with the club head. If you are not able to, you are too tight. Your weight will shift automatically if you swing the club head back and through with your hands, wrists, and arms. Hopefully you will be attending an LPGA Golf Clinic for Women this year. One of the LPGA Teaching Professionals will be able to help you.

MILLER: Unfortunately there is no rule to how many strokes a player may take on a hole. Sometimes, the committee of a golf league may make it a local rule, that 10 may be the highest score. In a tournament setting, there is no limit to how high the score can get. I had a student make a  25 on a hole in a tournament. She took 19 shots to get the ball out of the bunker.  (I may have thrown it out after 10!).

MILLER: I would suggest you play one of the less expensive golf balls. When you shop, look for the 18 ball packs that may be on sale for the same price as a dozen. Many different golf club companies run specials throughout the year.

MILLER: There are lots of books out there! One that I recommend because it familiarizes you with everything golf is Gary McCord's "Golf for Dummies." Look for it on www.amazon.com. Good luck!

MILLER: In match play your opponent may not finish his/her putt out when you are farther from the hole. Your opponent controls your golf ball. Rule 10-1  C. http://www.usga.org/bookrule.aspx?id=14272 (Match Play: Playing out of turn.)

MILLER: Check out this link for details on how to handle uneven lies.

MILLER: I would look for a nine or 18 hole par 3 course. That is the safest way to start playing with little pressure. I would also ask your professional if they have other beginner students who are in the same situation. They may know of others you can go out with. I would not join a league until you are comfortable on the course.

MILLER: The balls goes off line when the club face is off line. Please be sure to start the face square at address. The goal is to bring the face back to square at impact. If the ball is curving off to the left for you (which is a slice), your right arm is mostly too tight and pulling the grip through first. Relax your wrists and try to square up the face with your left hand.

MILLER: You are hitting the ground before the ball because your left arm is too tight and stiff. Relax your arms and wrists. Swing back and forth and brush the grass. The ball will go up when the club goes down.

MILLER: Here is what you should consider about golf clubs:
1.  How tall are you? (if 5’6” and taller, you may need to try men’s clubs)
2.  What do you shoot?
3.  How strong are you?
All women on the LPGA Tour use men’s clubs. Some use men’s stiff shafts. The only way to tell is you should change is to be fit by a certified professional. On occasion, men and believe that women should only use women’s clubs. Be careful where you go to get fit. I would suggest attending an LPGA Golf Clinic for Women and being custom fit there.

MILLER: Technically, your friend is correct. Gimmies are not allowed by the USGA. Of course, there are tons of people who do give putts all over the world and then post the scores.

MILLER: Do you want to play professionally or teach? If you want to teach,  you should go to www.lpga.com and click on Teaching & Club Professionals. You can read what you need to do to join. If you want to play, click here to learn more about qualifying for upcoming tournaments and general LPGA Tour information. Good luck!

MILLER: Please do not try to keep your front arm straight. (Left if you are right handed). Your arm is most likely too tight along with your wrists which will pull you up and make you top the ball. Relax your wrists and arms and take small swings trying to brush the grass. If you allow the club to brush the grass before the ball, the ball will go in the air.

MILLER: Read this tip. You must be sure your clubface is square at address. Do not aim your shoulders at the target! Aim your clubface at the target. Your body should be left of the target. If you are aimed correctly and the golf ball still goes left or right, there is a swing flaw that needs to be fixed and it is not an alignment issue.

MILLER: Go to the practice putting green with three golf balls. Stand about 10 feet from one of the cups. Practice tossing the golf balls toward the cup with one hand. Your goal is to stop the balls as close to the hole as possible. After you do this a few times, take your putter in same hand and one-handed, make some putting strokes with one hand, trying to get the balls as close as possible to the hole. After you do this a few times, put both hands on the putter and hit some putts with two hands, again, trying to get the balls as close as possible to the hole. This should help you learn to get the feel.

MILLER: It normally takes three to five years to really get a feel for playing this great game. The fact that you have fallen in love with it is a good sign. Soak up all the information you can and practice, practice, practice. There is no telling how good you could be. It sure will be fun to see!

MILLER: I am not a doctor so I'm not sure if the pain is normal. Do you take Advil or anything for pain or inflammation? I would only practice 20-30 minutes at a time. As far as the golf game goes, if you can still hit the golf ball pretty far, yardage is not a challenge. Maybe the handicap is rising due to hitting less greens in regulation and not getting the ball up and down. How many putts do you have per round? Maybe you could find a couple extra shots per round by making a few more putts. I wish I could see your swing...again, if you can hit the ball a reasonable distance, your handicap should not be going up much.

MILLER: I would surely sign up for the LPGA Golf Clinic for Women in White Plains. It will be a day you'll never forget! The student/teacher ratio can be anywhere from 3 to 1, sometimes 6 to 1 (maximum is 8 to 1). If you are coming to the clinic with business associates (of friends), you can be paired together, or if you prefer, you will be paired by skill level. I know you will have a great time!

MILLER: I believe the shaft may be more important for you than the loft of the driver. There is a very important link between the shaft flex, kick point, and loft of the club. The best way to find the magic driver is to be fit for one with a launch monitor. It is worth the investment and will take all the guessing out of the equation.

MILLER: When you hit the ground before the golf ball, it means your arms and wrists are too tight. Please relax your arms and stay still coming through the ball. The club should "brush" through...not dig.

MILLER: The ball goes left when the face points left. Please be sure that the clubface is square at address. Here's a link to a tip on The Legends Tour website that will help:

As I get older I am losing distance.  What are some good 
exercises to do to keep in shape for the golf game? Also, 
I struggle with grip and the plane (backswing).  I work very 
hard to keep my grip relaxed.
From Cindy in Iowa

MILLER: I know how you feel about getting older. I have been taking 
Pilates classes for the past year and I feel much better.  My lower back 
doesn’t hurt as much, and I am surely stronger.

Be sure to keep your grip secure and allow your arms and wrists to be 
relaxed when you swing. Please don’t try to keep your left arm straight. 
If you do, your backswing will be too upright, and you won’t generate 
any club head speed.  Take some practice swings holding the club up 
off  the ground in front of you.  Try to make a swoosh noise when you 
swing the club through.  This will help generate more speed.  You should 
try to make it to an LPGA Golf Clinic for Women so you can have someone 
take a look at your swing. I think that would help you gain some yardage! 

I like to use 3, 5 and 7 woods but am having difficulty 
doing so in tight fairways. Can you help?
From Jenny in Florida

MILLER: It is hard to get high profile woods in the air off tight lies. 
I would suggest either purchasing very low profile woods, or it may be 
time to try hybrids. I carry a regular 3 wood, and then 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
hybrids. They are VERY easy to get airborne off even the tightest lie.
You can even hit them from fairway bunkers!