Golfing is Fun

The Situation: Your ball is hanging on an up-slope just under the lip of a bunker.

Why It’s Difficult: Since the sand in front of the ball is higher than the sand behind it, It’s easy for the club to dig into the sand after impact.

The Solution: Play the ball in the center and dig your right foot in deep to anchor your swing. Address the ball with the face square (the slope will give the ball ample lift) and tilt your body so that your shoulders are angled the same as the slope you’re standing on. Next, pick a spot two inches behind the ball and try to hit the sand at that exact spot, swinging your arms and club up the slope and on the same angle of your shoulders. It’s easy to do if you keep your weight back-you should feel most of your weight on the ball of your right foot as you blast through the sand.

Top 100 Teacher Brian Mogg

The Situation: You’re within 20 yards of the pin, but there’s an obstacle you have to play over and then make the ball bite.

Why It’s Difficult: You have to open the face of your most-lofted wedge. For most golfers, this brings the prospect of catching the ball thin very much into play.

The Solution:  here’s one situation where club selection is easy -go with your most -lofted wedge. But how you actually hit this shot depends on your lie.

If the ball is down deep in the rough, then open the face of your wedge-about 10 degrees to make-sure you get all of the club’s loft, even after the grass wraps around the hosel and closes the club-face. Aim left of your target so that the club-face points at your landing area and swing along toe line. It’s basically a cut swing-like you’re trying to hit a slice on purpose. Play this shot with the ball back in your stance to promote a steeper path.

If the ball is sitting up nicely on a nice patch of fairway, don’t open the club-face as much and set up more square to your target. A square setup allows you to use more of the  club-face to contact the ball, which makes for an easier shot. For this shot, position the ball forward in your stance so you can make a sweeping swing.

Golf Magazine

The Situation: When you take your address in the fairway the ball is well bellow your feet.

Why It,s difficult: Your club can’t reach the ball from your normal address position.

The Solution: All you really need to do is stand closer to the ball. This makes your club a little longer so you don’t hit the shot thin. The only other change is to aim a little bit left because this lie almost always produces a left-to-right ball flight. The farther you are from the target, the more the ball will fade. Once you’ve made these adjustments, the most important thing is to make your normal swing -the more you try to manipulate the club, the more likely you’ll hit a bad shot.

PGA Tour Player Heath Slocum

The situation: Your read tells you the putt is going to bend in one direction and then in the opposite-direction as it gets closer to the hole.

Why It’s Difficult You don’t know which break is bigger. Plus it’s hard to determine the correct starting point on a putt that breaks twice.

The Solution: After a first read, walk to where you think the ball will change direction. Make a practice stroke like you’re trying to make a putt from there, and sense how the slope will affect the ball as it nears the hole. Return to the ball and focus on getting it to the turning point at the right speed. Pick out a mark three feet in front of you to make aim easier. Get the ball rolling to the turning point and let gravity do the rest.

Top 100 Teacher Peter Kostis

The situation: You missed your target on the green by a mile and now need two good putts to save par.

Why it’s difficult: The length will magnify any errors in your initial read and speed.        

The solution: The first thing you should do is walk the length of your put, noting with your feet the change in slope. Pay special attention to the second half of the putt because as the ball loses speed it will be more affected by the slope. once you have a feel for the pace, walk back to the ball, take your stance and make the same motion you’d use for a short putt. Obviously, your stroke should be longer, but it shouldn’t be faster. Since it’s easier to hit the ball thin with a longer stroke (causing it to bounce instead of roll), position the ball one inch farther back in your stance than normal so you can catch it on your down-stroke.

Article From Golf Magazine

Good players tend to blame pulled putts on a breakdown of the left wrist, but it many cases that’s not the problem. often your hands, wrist and arms do exactly what they should, but your shoulders are misaligned.

It’s a common error. In a standard putting grip, your right hand is below your left and the back of your left hand faces the target. these positions encourage your right shoulder to be closer to the ball than your left, which aims your shoulders left of the target line. When you rock your shoulders to make your putting stroke, your path is from out in, causing a pull.

Here are two easy fixes to make sure your shoulders are in line: First, push your hands as close together as possible. The closer your hands are, the less likely you are to dip your right shoulder toward the ball. Second, think about the line of your shoulders as you address the ball. If you are fighting a pull, rotate your shoulders clockwise slightly so that they are parallel to the line of your putt. Then your arm-and-shoulders movement will produce a stroke that follows the target line back through.

Article From Golf Magazine

One And A Half Knuckles

Like you, young Ben Hogan had a smasher’s instinct and a sometimes wicked hook. But instead of trying to throttle back , he found a method to control his hook. One of the main changes that transformed Hogan from Captain Hook to Captain Power Fade was the position of his left hand on the club. Rather than fight a strong , three -knuckle grip, Hogan turned his left hand  so that he saw only one knuckle on address. Weakening his left hand let him hit as hard as he wanted -without worrying about hook.

Keep in mind that Hogan had a very strong forearms that allow him to take a weak left -handed grip and still square the club-face at impact. You’ll probably find more success if you can see a little more-one or one and a half knuckles-of your left hand at address. Then put your hand on the club so that the palm is facing the target.

Hit balls on the practice range using this grip. You’ll slice the first few but the more you let the right side back in the swing, the smaller the slice will be. Plus you’ll never hook it, so you can swing as aggressively as you want.

Article From Golf Magazine

As long as you get the ball off the ground, you have lots of chances to hit plenty of greens every round. So why don’t you hit more? It’s not that the greens are to small; more likely, you simply don’t hit the ball far enough.

Don’t Under-club

You’re capable of hitting the ball far enough to reach at least some greens. But whether it’s a 3-iron or a three-quarter wedge, the most common place for high handicappers to miss greens is short. The problem is called “underclubbing” but this can be more difficult to fix than you realize. For example, you miss a green short, then swing harder on the next hole, tensing your muscles and inhibiting, your swing. The result: an even shorter shot. Now it’s a head game when in reality all you need is to make your normal swing. The key is to chose the right club to get you there.

Move The Pin

To make sure you take enough club to reach the green., mentally move the flag-stick. Instead of playing to the middle of the green, imagine that the hole is positioned on the back of every green. Your goal is to hit the ball so it finishes pin-high. Setting your sights a bit longer is a good way to break free of the under-clubbing routine. If you take more time than usual , you’ll swing easier. The result is better contact, and you,ll be surprised how much easier it is to reach the greens that used to be a struggle. you’ll make relaxed swings and gain confidence as the round progresses, both of which are crucial to improvement.

Article From Golf Magazine

Before playing your next round of golf find out how far you are hitting the ball with each club.  Write them down or memorize what club you need to carry the ball 80 yards ,100 yards, 150 yards and so on. When you play,take two more clubs than you would normally hit for each shot . If you determine that that your 6-iron goes 150 yards, hit a for 4-iron from 150 yards on the course. You will be surprised at how much more effective you will be, you will not be trying to kill the ball every shot, since you know you have power to spare, and your more relaxed swing will help you hit more greens.

Article From Golf Magazine.

No shot is more important to a straight-hitter than a draw. It carries farther, rolls more and holds its line in the wind. However, teaching yourself to hit one is difficult, because your body is used to making the opposite moves. You need to shake up your muscle memory before you can retrain it to swing for a draw. Her are two drills that can help.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                Hit From Your Knees

 The key to the shallow angle of attack that produces a draw is to quiet your shoulders and let your arms swinng.

  Tee up a ball as you would for your driver, than drop to your knees. Now simply swing back and through and knock the ball off the tee. Swinging back will be easy. but at first during your downswing you will probably stick the club into the ground a foot or so behind the ball. That is your shoulders taking charge from the top. You will start making solid contact from your knees when your arms control your shoulders. Master this drill and you will make a shallow angle of attack when you are back on your feet-the perfect swing path for a draw.

Side-hill Lies

Many players cannot draw the ball because they do not know what it feels like to get the ball moving from the right to left. Hitting shots from a side-hill lie with the ball above your feet gives you instant feedback. Your usual steep angle into impact will make you hit big, sweeping hooks because the hill forces the club-face to point left. but at least you will be putting some right -to-left spin on the ball.                                                                                   

Now try starting the ball to the right of the target from this lie. you will be forced to swing on the flatter and more shallow plane that you need to draw the ball from a normal lie. Keep practicing until the ball starts right and comes back to the left.Remember this feeling because it is the one you want in all your swings.

Article From Golf Magazine