Author: Nate Gray

Do you hit your tee shots to the right? Do you pull your irons to the left? If this is you, then you need to take a look at the factors that help create this outcome. The ball flight you are seeing does not lie, and you need to figure a few things out to alleviate this problem. First, we will look at the swing path and the clubface at impact. Spinning the ball from left to right is basically the difference between the degrees the path differentiates from the clubface at impact, or if the clubface is open to…

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Arguably the greatest golfer of all-time, Jack Nicklaus, would start each season with a refresher course on his fundamentals. For the fundamentals of alignment, ball position, and posture are the foundation that everyone’s golf game is built upon. Our resident pro Nate Gray offers a few thoughts on some common issues he sees with his students, why they cause problems, and how to fix them. Alignment: Using a right-handed golfer as a reference point, the most common issue I see is lining up too far right of the target. In order to ensure proper alignment, I recommend building a practice…

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Sometimes well-intentioned advice can cause some major problems. I always ask my students what they are trying to do when they come for a lesson, although I usually have a good idea after watching a of couple swings. Here is some of that advice, what problems it can cause, and how we can rephrase that age-old advice that could be explained just a bit better. Number One:  Do Not Move Your Head During the Swing If you try too hard to do this you will probably reverse pivot (tilt towards the target at the top of your backswing). You will…

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I have always contended the toughest part of playing golf in the spring after a long hiatus is managing expectations. It’s a safe bet the first few rounds of the year won’t pick up exactly where you left off in the fall. That’s life, and that’s definitely golf. Fortunately for us we’ve asked our resident pro, Nate Gray, to offer a few tips on making those early season rounds enjoyable. The great news is that these are universal – they work just as well in the middle of August as the beginning of May. {Introduction by Glen Turk} Everyone who…

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By Nate Gray, Head Golf Professional at Fire Ridge Golf Club, Grafton, WI      It’s early February by the time your reading this and I’m sure thoughts of long drives and epic putts are dancing in your head. But have you done anything this off season to ensure those amazing feats will happen?      For most of you that answer is no. But don’t fear, it’s not too late to work on a few fundamentals this off-season that will allow your first tee shot to be straight and true and your initial putt to find nothing but the bottom of…

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Anyone who has played just a single round of golf knows that improved putting is the fastest and best way to better your scores. And while no one has ever claimed putting is easy, it can be the strength of your game with practice and the below tips from our golf professional, Nate Gray. In my opinion there are four major factors you need to consider to improve your putting. A general understanding of the principles below will lead to another skill you’ll need to practice – bending down to pick your ball out of the cup! Speed I was…

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By Nate Gray, Head Golf Professional Fire Ridge Golf Course, Grafton, WI     In Nate Gray’s first Pro Page installment he introduced us to his teaching platform that included the premise of Dynamic Motion. I found this approach to golf extremely interesting and I wanted to learn more from a practical sense. So I asked Nate to take a look at my swing and discuss how he would use Dynamic Motion to improve my swing, contact, and hopefully scoring average. When I begin an initial lesson with a student I usually ask them two questions, “What are you trying to…

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   Starting a new job can be intimidating – especially when you have no idea you have to work with the staff of Midwest Golfing Magazine. That was the predicament Nate Gray entered, as upon his hiring the – year-old was told he was in charge of our quarterly Pro Page. For his first installment we asked him two age-old questions– what is the foundation of your teaching platform and how do you go about communicating that to your students? Before I get into the foundation of my teaching principles, I would like to briefly share how I go about building…

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