Email Anne Marie

You CAN Play with the Big Dogs! (It's time you got off the porch)

I have a dog named Corki Ferocious.  She is a Corgi-Beagle mix, weighing in at 30 pounds, standing tall on three inch legs. Although she is small, she has a “big dog attitude”. 

 We, as women, are not as big as men, nor as strong, but we can still hit the long ball with the “big dogs”.  What we need is the confidence to do it and the technique to back it up.    At 5’3 and 122 pounds, I hit a drive over 240 yards.  Not bad for “a girl”.  How did I first start hitting it farther than most my size?  It started with my dad trying to get me to finish my dinner as a little girl. He told me that I would hit the ball two yards for every pound I weighed.  When I was 50 pounds, I hit it 100 yards so I believed him. As I grew, my expectations grew too.  It never occurred to me that, pound for pound, the longest PGA hitter only hits it 1.7 yards per pound.(Ian Woosem)  Believe that you can hit a long ball, and that will be your first step to achieving it.

The next thing you need to hit a ball farther is a good technique.  When the shoulders   rotate during the back swing, make sure the head moves over the right side just a little.  You can’t hit a ball far if your weight stays central and you can’t move your weight without moving your head a little.

Keep the right knee flexed.  This will give you a tight coil in your back. Most women lose power in their swing because they incorrectly straighten their right knee.

Turn with the shoulders and hinge up with the wrists.  This gives you power and leverage.  Keep the hands in line with your shirt buttons at all times.

Finally, ladies, I am not afraid to say that the biggest, strongest and heaviest parts of me are my hips and butt.  God gave them to me and I plan to use them.  On the follow thru, turn the hips and tuck the butt.  Finish with the belt buckle facing the target and the right heel 100% up. 

Now that you have good technique, don’t be afraid to swing with some authority. On  behalf of my dog, Corki, and small dogs everywhere, I say SWING LIKE A BIG DOG!

-Anne Marie Goslak