Smart Golf Tips For Smart Players
By Foursome
Sometimes all you need to get better at your golf game and overcome sticking points is to tweak something simple, something small – a tiny aspect that you took for granted. The following tips may just be that “something small” you need to improve today.
Practice Your Putting rhythm
Just as the time on the range is not for rebuilding your swing, the time on the practice putting green isn’t for working on the mechanics of your stroke. Prior to your round, focus on your rhythm, rolling the ball smoothly and striking the ball solidly. Leave the technical work until after your round.
Practice Long Range Putts Before Hitting Your First Tee
Tiger Woods once commented that on the first several holes of a round, it’s very likely that your first few putts will be from a fairly long range. Prepare for this by hitting at least ten, 30 to 40 foot putts on the practice putting green. This will enable you to get a decent feel for the pace of the greens as well as an idea of the length of stroke you will need on those longer putts. Read the rest of this entry »
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How To Play A Chip Shot – The Professional Way (3)
By Foursome
Set Your Eyes Slightly Inside The Target Line
This will happen almost naturally, but since the club is longer you want to make sure not to hover over the ball as you do when you putt. That will throw you off balance.
Set The Club On Its Toe At Address
Just in case you have equipment amnesia, here is a quick refresher: The heel of the club is the side where the shaft joins the clubhead. The toe of the club is the opposite side of the club, or the portion of the clubface farthest away from you when you address the ball.
One of the common misfires when chipping the ball is to get the club caught in the grass during the takeaway, or to get it snagged in the grass as the club approaches the ball prior to impact. This happens to even the best of players, so it’s a good idea to take measures to avoid it.
Our surefire suggestion for avoiding this is to stand the club on its toe at address. Another way of thinking of this is to have the shaft of the club closer to perpendicular with the ground than you normally would. You don’t want the shaft to be actually perpendicular, but close to it.
By doing this you keep a good portion of the clubhead clear of the grass but leave enough of the clubface in position to contact the ball. Read the rest of this entry »
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How To Play A Chip Shot – The Professional Way (2)
By Foursome
Place Your Weight On The Left Side
Another thing that helps create a descending blow is having your weight on your left leg. The best way to do this is just to feel like you are leaning slightly toward your target. Any time you think about weight and its placement, it follows naturally to wonder how much of your weight we’re talking about.
Obviously, we don’t want you leaning so far toward the target that you feel you’re going to fall over. When you have your setup correct, you should feel like you have about sixty percent of so of your weight leaning toward the target.
Choke Down On The Club
In the game of baseball they call it “choking up” on the bat, maybe because the bat is pointing toward the sky and you have to slide your hands up to shorten the bat. But in golf, we refer to it as “choking down”, since the club is pointing down and what you are wanting to do is effectively shorten the club.
You want to do this because when you shorten the club you make it easier to control. You should choke down enough to the point that you feel you have your putter in your hands. By doing this you are gaining more control and you’re not losing anything, since there is no concern with generating power with this shot. Read the rest of this entry »
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How To Play A Chip Shot – The Professional Way (1)
By Foursome
Open Up Your Lower Body
Usually when you hear about opening your stance it’s a reference to your entire alignment. With a chip shot, however, that’s not the case. This shot is used with such a short swing that you couldn’t possibly affect the “shape” of the ball flight, which is the normal reason for opening your stance.
In this case, we simply want to help you feel more comfortable over the ball and make it easier to get the club moving in the manner you want. So here’s what we want you to do:
1) We want you to pick a target and set the lead edge of the club square to the target.
2) Next, step in and set your body square just like any other shot: shoulders, hips and feet parallel to the target line.
3) Now open your feet and hips ever so slightly – aim them a little left of the target line. Keep your shoulders parallel to the target line and the clubface square to the target. Read the rest of this entry »
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Course Management: Tips To Help You Take Your Golf Game More Seriously
By Foursome
Course management is the skill of thinking your way around the golf course and in the most effective manner possible. The world’s best players, in addition to possessing excellent technique, are also top level tacticians, mastering highly effective strategies and squeezing every last drop of potential out of a round by playing to their strengths.
The following tips will help you not only help with your personal course management on the golf course, but can knock several strokes off your handicap literally overnight.
Arrive To The Golf Course Relaxed By Driving Slowly
Ideally you should arrive at the golf course in a total and complete relaxed state of mind. Take some time before leaving the house by getting up early so that you can leave early.
A leisurely drive to the course can do more wonders for your game than most golfers realize. Without this extra time, a calm drive can easily turn into a frustrated and anxious experience with just a little bit of traffic.
Many of the world’s top golfers have made comments that they even have a routine that keeps them positive before heading out to the golf course – soft music, sitting in silence before driving, and leaving early – even before practice sessions.
In addition, this habit of getting up early and driving calm and relaxed to the course will also get you there early. Always strive to arrive at the course at least 30 minutes before tee time so that you have time to check in at the pro shop, get changed, and warm up thoroughly so that the first tee is hit in a relaxed manner. Read the rest of this entry »
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