Eight-time Canadian long drive champion Lisa “Longball” Vlooswyk runs clinics for Golf Town stores across Canada.
Since that can’t happen anymore because of the COVID-19 pandemic, she’s paired up with the company to give her tips away for free.
Vlooswyk, who goes by Lisa Longball is giving lessons three times a week on Golf Town’s Facebook page: Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday at 11 a.m. MDT.
But if you miss the live version, it will still be available on the golf store’s page.
“I think it’s so important,” said Longball, who received a lot of feedback from viewers after her first lesson. “Even people just writing those comments to me tells me they need a motivation, they need that bright spot in their day.
“People who love golf, it’s a passion,” she said.
“This is a perfect way for people to get their golf fix, stay motivated and excited and when the golf season finally opens I honestly think they’re going to be able to shave some strokes right off their game.”
She’s doing it from her basement, which means that people at home can follow along with their own clubs.
The longtime golfer started competing in long drive in 2001. Her top finish on the world stage was second place by only three yards. She’s hit the golf ball over 350 yards.
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So how can women start to think about hitting that far? Here’s her top two tips for women to add yards off the tee.
“Number one; most women tend to be arms lifters instead of turners,” she said. “Women tend to be more flexible than their male counterparts so it’s easier for them to lift up versus turn. When you just lift up you don’t create any coil and any torque.”
If you want to know if you’re an arms lifter, Longball tells you to ask yourself if you hit your eight iron the same distance as your seven and six irons.
The fix? Stop leading your back swing with your hands or your wrists.
“If you start your back swing with your lead shoulder,” said Longball. “That’s your left shoulder for my right-handed golfers… if this shoulder initiates the back swing it will force you to turn. That’s the number one best tip I can give people to start that coil and torque.”
Tip number two, is to swing through the golf ball.
“So many golfers when they do their practice swing, they do a great job of swinging all the way through to their finish.
“But as soon as you put a golf ball there, when they hit the golf ball they start to decelerate, they think their job is done and often end up with weight on the back foot and could even have an entire flat foot on the back side.”
She says that not only robs you of distance, but it often causes a slice which is a dramatic curve of the golf ball in flight from left to right for right-handed golfers.
“You can be adding 15 to 20 yards when you swing through, you finish with all of your weight on the front side. I should be able to see the entire back sole of your golf shoe.”
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