Today, I seek to entertain you with a trio of thought.

I’ll begin with a swing tip that will undoubtedly improve your ball striking. Then I’ll introduce a new word into the vocabulary that has a great chance to stick. Finally, I’ll compare my two favorite sports, and question which is the most difficult to dominate. Shall we tee it up?

Turn, turn, turn

You would have to be around for five-plus decades to recall this wonderful 1965 hit by The Byrds called “Turn, Turn,Turn.” The lyrics are taken nearly verbatim from the Book of Ecclesiastes, and remind us that there is a time and place for all things.

In golf, the title “Turn, Turn, Turn” has an altogether different meaning, but it is exceedingly significant nevertheless. As a golf guru for over 25 years, I would say that the most frequent flaw among my novice players is their lack of a proper turn away from the ball on takeaway.

Many poor to average players begin their golf swings with a slide away from the ball rather than a turn away from it. The result is imbalance, a loss of power, and an inability to return the clubface to its address position at impact.

Here’s a case in point: My son Kristian doesn’t play much golf, but we try to make a point of playing nine holes together on weekends for father-son bonding. Kris has a naturally good swing and he’s strong as steel to boot. Yet he knows much more about high school math, which he teaches, than he does about the golf swing.

He began his round this past weekend by topping nearly every shot on the first two holes. I have learned to say nothing unless he asks. As the youngest of three boys, he prefers his independence. After the second hole, however, he looked over to me and I said, “Do you want to know?” He smiled and said yes.

I told him that he was sliding away from the ball on his takeaway rather than turning away from it. I explained to him the importance of clearing his right hip simultaneously with the advent of his backswing. Turning from the ball allows you to preserve your address position. Sliding from the ball changes the address position, and that’s bad.

When you sway, you must recover. When you turn, recovery is unnecessary because you haven‘t changed your positioning. Because Kris was sliding away from the ball, he had to slide back towards it on the downswing. When he “over-recovered,” he got ahead of the ball and a topped shot resulted. The remainder of the day, he crushed it.

My motto is, “A good golf swing is a good address in motion.” You’d be wise to remember this.

Tiger-esque

One of my golfing buddies, “Johnnie Rye,” has a cool one-word expression when someone in our group hits a high-quality shot. He says “professional.” It feels good to know that your golfing friends appreciate an exceptionally masterful shot. After all, they come few and far between.

I suspect that one day, golfers might refer to a great shot as “Tiger-esque.” Given the show Woods put on at The Memorial last week, it seems appropriate.

His final round, one-handed chip-in for eagle at the par-five 11th hole was incredible. He finished birdie-birdie on Muirfield’s toughest two holes, including a 7-iron from 185 yards to one foot. That shot was jaw-dropping, inconceivable, astonishing...Tiger-esque.

Footnote: I was surprised by Jack Nicklaus’ candor during the awards ceremony, when he suggested that Tiger would win his 15th major next week at the U.S. Open. Although, to the dismay of the remainder of the field, Jack knows a true champion. As the saying goes, “It takes one to know one.”

Baseball or golf?

Which game is more difficult? There are many similarities. In both sports you hit a white ball. In golf, the ball is smaller, but in baseball, the ball is moving, usually at speeds over 90 mph.

Both sports require a unique diversity of skills as they present several games within their game. In baseball, there is hitting, fielding, throwing, bunting and running the bases. In golf, there is driving, approach shots, sand play, chipping and putting.

All said, my vote for the tougher activity is golf. After all, in baseball, if you hit the ball 45-degrees to the left or right, you’ve got yourself a standup double. Do the same thing in golf and you’re OB and have to re-tee hitting three.

And one more point. In baseball, if you are successful 30 percent of the time, you’re a superstar. In golf, a 30 percent success rate won’t win you a cup of coffee.

Until next week, keep it in the fairway.

(Ken Ruggiero is a local golf instructor and has been writing this column for the past 23 seasons. He can be reached at 298-0967.)