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Thursday, April 24, 2003

By Gerry Dulac, Post-Gazette Sports Writer

Lesson: How to achieve overall balance in the golf swing

Instructor: Corky Buckham, Director of Golf, Buffalo Valley Country Club

Balance in the swing can be acquired by tilting from the pelvis bone where the legs are connected, not from the waist. To get this sensation, start with a natural movement you perform every day -- picking up a rock from the ground. Use your hands to touch the spot where your legs are connected to the pelvis bone. This is a reference point from which to start. You will notice, as you bend over, your backside or tailbone moves outward. That gives you overall balance. The arms hang freely from the shoulders, straight down, away from your body, as they should in the golf swing. This will put the weight more in the insteps of your feet and help create balance when you shift your weight from the back foot to the front foot in the downswing.

Subject: Best opening holes

If the topic arises, there is only one answer among public courses in Western Pennsylvania: No. 1 at Tom's Run, the best of the two 18-hole courses at Chestnut Ridge. It is the winner over the starting hole at Champion Lakes in Ligonier. The first hole at Tom's Run is a 427-yard par 4, with a rolling, mounded fairway to a well-protected green. A huge shamrock bunker guards the left side of the fairway, forcing players to stray to the right. It is not an easy starting hole because most players have a mid- to long-iron approach to the green. But everything is in front of you, including the aesthetic appearance.

(Each week the Post-Gazette will highlight a hole or an element of a course in Western Pennsylvania)

The rankings:

PGA TOUR

1. Tiger Woods -- Won't see him until Texas swing

2. Ernie Els -- Ugh! Two Sunday collapses in a row

3. Mike Weir -- In Canada, they're saying "Weir No. 1"

4. Davis Love III -- Three wins and leads PGA Tour money list

5. Phil Mickelson -- Lefty will hibernate for a while

CHAMPIONS TOUR

1. Gil Morgan -- No wins, but six consecutive top 10s

2. Hale Irwin -- His most-recent U.S. Open victory was in Chicago

3. Dana Quigley -- Man can't play golf every day, can he?

4. Larry Nelson -- Steady Georgian starting to play better

5. Bob Gilder -- Impressive final-round 63 to win Emerald Coast

LPGA TOUR

1. Annika Sorenstam -- She'll win more after Colonial

2. Se Ri Pak -- Been tour's most consistent player

3. Lorena Ochoa -- Look out for the next Nancy Lopez

4. Candie Kung -- Held off Sorenstam to win Takefuji Classic

5. Karrie Webb -- Has never regained her 2001 game