The Sunday Bag: LPGA Swings, Downhill Lies, Filming at Qualifiers
5/3/2026
Happy Sunday everyone. Hope you’ve enjoyed some relaxation over the weekend — not to be confused with a round of golf.
This will be a new edition called The Sunday Bag that I’ll try to release most Sundays where I review a few things I liked or didn’t like in the world of golf from the past week. All with the aim of helping you become a better golfer. No filler golf news. You can get that anywhere.
Let’s get into it.
Playing Downhill Lies
The Champions Tour X account posted a great video of Ben Crane giving a tip for playing downhill fairway lies. If you’ve ever played nicer/more difficult courses, it feels like every fairway tests you. It wasn’t enough to hit a perfect drive. Now you have to go prove you can hit a 6-iron off an uneven lie…
He “walks you through” how to play the shot. Check it out below.
Filming at US Open Qualifier Events
For those who follow the golf social media world, you may have noticed an increase in the number of golf “content creators” who are filming their US Open qualifier rounds.
Many seem to be outraged (rightfully). I’ve never competed in a US Open qualifier, but if I did, I’d imagine I’d be pretty upset if my playing partner had a camera man following our group.
For one, it’s distracting. And secondly, seems to be slightly disrespectful to the traditions of US Open qualifiers.
What do you guys think?
This Week’s Premium Post
This week’s premium post will be on learning to play golf from a “bogey avoidance” perspective, instead of a “make birdie” perspective. It’s a simple mental shift that has an amazing impact on how you view every shot.
A preview:
Another way to view this: A 20-handicap who magically gained scratch-level birdie-making would save roughly two strokes a round. A 20-handicap who magically gained scratch-level bogey-avoidance would save six.
You’re chasing strokes in all the wrong places.
The post will be for paid subs only. If you haven’t already, you can upgrade HERE.
Will Zalatoris Advice
I saw this clip on X and found it to be very practical and actionable advice. I feel like you always see pros getting asked “how do you lower your handicap?” And they usually give some solid but slightly generic advice. But not Will Zalatoris lol.
If you’ve never seen this clip I highly recommend you watch it.
"Get on the green as fast as possible” is one that has helped me tremendously.
LPGA Swings
Last week, the LPGA X account posted a swing compilation of a few of their popular players. As expected, the swings were a masterclass in tempo and fluidity.
So I quoted the tweet and said:
“Watching and emulating LPGA swings instead of PGA swings would do most amateurs a lot of good.”
People seemed to agree, as the tweet quickly surpassed 1 million views.
I have always felt that the best swings to study and model were the LPGA swings. They hit “textbook” positions more often than their male counterparts it seems. They also don’t display the same freakish swing speed as guys like DJ or Rory etc… So it’s a little easier to emulate.
You can view the original post below.
That’s it for today. Hope you all have a great week and can enjoy some springtime golf.
If you have any questions, comments, or feedback, please don’t hesitate to email me at tourswingstommy@gmail.com. I read everything.
Social Media: Make sure to follow me on X here.
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