Bruce Romberg Bio

This is the time of year when you can really groove your good habits! I truly believe any golfer must have a pre-shot routine and a “picture” of what they want to execute in order to accomplish their goal: to get the ball in the hole in as few strokes as possible. As I have said before, this game of golf is 40% physical ability and 60 percent mental imaging.

I will help define what exactly a pre-shot routine is and help you image a “picture” before execution. By doing this on the practice area, you will find it much easier when playing the game on the course.

Pre-Shot Routine: We can’t just stand parallel to the ball and take a good swing and hope it ends up on the green. The process is much more detailed than that. What I tell my students is that if you have good practice skills, we then need to transfer it to the golf course. Good practice skills begin on the putting/chipping green and the driving range.


Begin by taking your bag of balls first to the practice green-spend at least one half hour practicing shots from all different angles. While you do this, make sure you are standing directly behind the ball each time finding an imaginary line from the ball to your target, taking a practice swing, and then setting your hands on the club, your clubface lined to your target, and lastly make sure your body is parallel to your clubface. After these check points are accomplished, execute your swing.

Making this process a habit when practicing will enhance your ability on the course. After we have spent ample time on the practice green, we then take the balls to the driving range.

At this stage, many people just want to see how far they can hit their driver! Don’t start there-start with you nine iron and work through your bag! Have a target in mind and set your mind on that. I tell my students that you gain more practice by hitting twenty balls to a target and having a routine than hitting one-hundred out into the range seeing how far they will go.

We have the same concept for a routine here as we do on the practice green: find an imaginary line from the ball to your target and take a practice swing while looking at the target from this position. Let me clarify these two steps. When you find your imaginary line, that’s the line of flight you hope your ball will achieve.

To do this, find something ahead of your ball approximately four to eight inches to line your clubface with so once you are parallel to the target you don’t lose your line. I also recommend taking your practice swing while looking at your target to enforce this mental imaging. Then we set the hands properly on the golf club, set the face so it is facing my “spot” four to six inches ahead of the ball, set my body so I am parallel to my clubface-NOT the target. Our body has to be slightly left of the target because our face is parallel to it. Lastly, swing through the ball. Remember that if you already have a routine you’re happy with-stick with it!

Imaging: Now that we know how to practice and have our pre-shot routine, we are going to transfer that to the course and use our mental imaging! Whether I am putting or executing a drive-I am doing exactly what I did in practice. There is no difference between your swing on the practice range or in a tournament-it’s your state of mind.

What I tell my students is that you groove your motor-muscle memory every time you make a correct swing-even if you are swinging at home! Once this “groove” is made, you can transfer it to both a leisurely game and a high-stakes tournament.

We image each shot, no matter where we are, to our target. This picture you create is the last thing your brain sees before you set-up to the ball. Don’t waiver in that POSITIVE picture! For instance if you have doubts about going over a lake, picture going over it or playing short! DO NOT let your fears enter your positive image before you execute your swing because your mind always plays out what you told it. Image the lake, and most likely you’ll be fishing your ball out.

Basically, find a routine that works for you and use it all the time. This routine combined with picturing each and every shot will help you have a plan every day! This plan will enable you to lower your scores and feel confident about your game whether it be for fun or for prizes.

Bruce Romberg

The answer to better putting can start by using your belly – your belly putter, that is. A belly putter has a shaft that is longer than a traditional putter, so you can anchor the butt end of the grip into your stomach. Hence the name “belly putter.”

The advantage of using this type of putter is that a golfer can use a traditional, two-handed putting stroke while having the putter secured to his or her body. This takes the hands and wrist out of the stroke, creating a stabilizing effect. PGA Tour professionals, such as Vijay Singh, Fred Couples and J.B. Holmes have used the belly putter with great success.

The belly putter came into being as many golfers experimented with the long putter and had trouble finding a consistent repeatable stroke with it. By making a putter 4 or 5 inches longer than a traditional putter, golfers found they could eliminate the nervous hands and wrists during their stroke, and swing the putter with the arms and shoulders for more control.


As players get older, the nerves come into play more and more. The belly putter can be a big advantage to all players but especially for seniors.

So if you struggle with too much wrist action, or you just want to improve your putting stroke, a belly putter may be just what you’re looking for.


Ronald Bruce Romberg Magazine
To hit more powerful and consistent shots, keep your body behind the ball before impact. Most average golfers have two common flaws: they either have a tendency to hang back on their right side upon impact; or they move their body ahead of the ball before impact. Both moves sap power, distance and control.

First, let’s talk about hanging back on the right foot at impact. Golfers do this to help get the ball airborne. As they swing the club through the impact zone they scoop up instead of hitting out toward the target. Getting your weight to the left side is crucial. It allows golfers to swing the club head out, down the target line, just as a baseball pitcher steps onto his front foot as he releases the ball toward home plate. The weight shift must be in the proper sequence to be effective.

The opposite problem is leaving your right foot too early, which moves your head and upper body in front of the ball before contact. This leads to miss-hits and sprays.


Here are a couple of practice drills for consistent, solid ball striking:

One, take a medium iron, like a 7 iron, and hit shots with your right foot flat on the ground until you have almost completely finished your swing. This move will help you stay behind the ball just before impact. (Next time you watch Ernie Els on TV notice how he does this on practice swings, especially on short iron shots). With your right foot anchored, you’ll be able to stay behind the ball and release your power like a baseball pitcher.

Another drill: get a beach ball half-filled with air. Swing at it with a middle iron, concentrating on keeping your weight on the right foot and upper body over the ball at impact. Hit the ball hard, feeling as though your left side is being restricted by a wall at impact. Your head and body should feel like they are just behind the ball at impact. Hitting the beach ball will give you a feeling of power and control.

Try these tips and see your ball striking improve.


Ronald Bruce Romberg Articles
Harvey Penick, one of golf’s greatest instructors, always said the best way to improve your score was to improve your short game. You can see this week in and week out on the PGA Tour as the players who win usually have the best short game stats for that week. Here are a few tips to help you lower your scores.

On chips and pitches around the green use a club that gives you confidence. I play golf with a friend who is very good around the green, and he always uses his eight iron for these shots. He opens and closes the face according to the type of shot he wants to hit, so I have suggested he try wedges instead of that one club.

On occasions when he does use a wedge, he very rarely gets the results he does from that trusty old eight iron. Why? Because he has confidence in that club, he relaxes and hits good shots.


Phil Mickelson uses his high-lofted wedges around the green for most of his chip shots for the same reason. The lesson here is play the club or shot you feel most confident with and you will be more consistent.

When chipping or pitching from around the green the first rule to follow is “always get the ball on the green.” How many times have you been faced with a pitch shot, over a bunker, with a closely tucked pin, only to flub your pitch shot into the bunker? Better to have a 25-foot par putt than be in the bunker with double or triple bogey staring you in the face. Always play the safe shot; in the end it will save you many strokes.
Practice that short game!

Practice that short game! Before each round go to the putting or chipping area and practice. Get your golf buddies to engage in some short game contests. Be creative and practice unusual shots. Practice in your backyard. The players with the best short games practice these shots more than others. That’s why they usually shoot the lowest scores.

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