Golf Tips and Videos

Water

Backspin

Playing From The Rough

Sandwedge out of the Bunker

Hitting a Wedge off of a Cart Path

Putting

Trick Shot/Double Shot

Putting on different greens
Ever go to a golf course and hit the ball great but maybe your putting was not so good. Most of the times, before play, golfers rush to the putting green and start working on their 4 to 5 foot putts. However, when playing a new course you must first get a feel for the speed of the greens. Next time instead of working on those short putts, make some putts on the practice green that will help you control your distance. Often times called the ladder drill, send one putt on its way about 40 feet. Then hit another putt and try to stop the ball 3 feet from the previous one. Continue this process with at least 10 golf balls, each time stopping the ball approximately 3 feet from the previous. You will be better able to gauge the speed of the greens, which will help you on the golf course!

Feet together
In this sport often times our timing is off. A great drill to get your timing back is the feet together drill. Stand with your heels touching and your toes flared out and hit some golf balls. You will notice that this drill will help you with your balance and will also get your hands and arms to work more independently as your body turns. Start out slow, and eventually widen your stance as you become more efficient hitting with your feet together

Let it go
To help you with your release through the ball let it go. Well, not totally. Make some practice swings and as you reach the impact zone let your right hand come off the club and continue to your finish position. This is a great feel drill for those who lack release or become very rigid in the impact zone. Do this a 100 times and then proceed to hit some golf balls as normal. You should feel more flip and release through impact. Also this drill will allow your hands and arms to fire through to a good finish position.

Grip Pressure

Too tight, too loose or just right? The amount of grip pressure sometimes depends on the student. However, most of the time, golfers squeeze the club too tight. This prevents proper release and power. As you stand at address and grip the club, a person should be able to grab the head of the club and move it easily. As this is done you will notice that your hands and wrists will move, but not so much will your arms move. If you are gripping too tight, when this procedure is done your arms and even you body posture will move. As stated above grip pressure should be light. However, depending on your ball flight the amount of pressure is different. Example, if you hook the ball, a firmer hold will limit your release, which in turn will control your hook. Opposite that, if you slice the ball, a less pressured grip would work better for you.

Power
The greatest players in the world have a very common success through impact. Their body gets out of the way. Take a look the next time you see a touring pro in slow motion on the television. With the camera focused down the line, you will notice that at impact their entire back side is visible. Simply, their left side turns out of the way as the arms swing through. Most amateur golfers get “stuck” through impact and lose vital club head speed through the hitting zone. What can you do to help yourself in this situation? Well number one is flexabiliity; it helps tremendously if your body is physically able to perform these moves. Take notice of say Tiger Woods and Craig Stadler’s golf swings; different body types, different ages and different flexibilities, but both are extremely good ball strikers. There are a couple of drills that will help you keep the body moving through impact and allow you to improve comfortably with your given range of flexibility

1. Down hill lie drill-hit golf balls from a slope with an angle that is going towards your target. Using a 7 iron hit golf balls and feel how the slope will allow your momentum to move to the left side as you turn the left hip out of the way through impact

2. Step through drill- as you start your back swing move your left foot until it clicks your right, and on the down swing step towards your target as you swing through. Also known as the baseball batter drill, this will help you get your body moving through the impact zone

Lower Body Resistance
For those who have a tendency to have too much lower body action, a basketball between the legs can help. Quite simply, place a basketball between your legs and hold it there by applying pressure from the inside of your knees. Take your address position, and start hitting golf balls. It will feel odd at first, but you will notice a resistance of your lower body as your shoulders turn. You might also find it harder to turn your shoulders and it may tug on your lower back a bit. So start slow, and gradually increase your swing speed.

Bunker Play: Invest in a good sand wedge
With today’s technology, bunker play can be made so much simpler with the right equipment. Most bunkers you play in today are very soft or powdery. This will allow the leading edge of most clubs to dig too deep in the sand, and the result: ball still in bunker. A player who plays in soft bunkers should have a sand wedge with at least 12 degrees of bounce. On the other hand, if you play at a golf course where the bunkers are more firm, then less bounce on the sand wedge would work better( 8 degrees of bounce). If you play a lot of different golf courses and/or play a lot of golf, then you would be a candidate for more than one sand wedge. For example, if you are playing in a tournament, and it rained the night before, you might want to put your sand wedge in your bag with the less bounce feature. You will find better players carrying more than one sand wedge for this very reason. Your first goal in the sand is to get it out and on the green. Once you’ve mastered that, carrying more than one sand wedge will help you get the ball closer in any kind of sand condition.

3 Iron: Maybe not?
Today’s equipment is full of choices. However the choices today are definitely better for the average player’s game. Let’s talk about your 3 iron. Do you really need one? Most iron sets we fit today do not consist of a 3 iron, or even a 4 iron for that matter. Realistically, the hybrids in the market today far outshine the 3 iron relic. Hybrids offer a golfer more lift and launch due to their wood like design and low center of gravity. Also a hybrid club is more versatile. You can use a hybrid out of light rough, fairway bunkers and they even come in handy for specialty shots around the green. Professional players on the PGA, LPGA and Senior Tours, have replaced lower lofted irons with hybrids.

Course Management: Take an extra club
Always short? How many times have you heard this one from golfing buddies or your inner self? The fact is most golfers beginners or accomplished, tend to be too short on their approach shots into the green. We must remember as golfers, that not every shot we hit will be perfect! Unless being long on an approach shot puts you in significant trouble, most players would benefit by taking an extra club on approach shots. Here’s how it works: play three normal rounds and keep track how many times you come up short on approach shots. Then play another three rounds of golf and on every approach shot take one extra club(i.e. if you think it’s an 8 iron go with a 7 iron). Compare the number of times you are short and also analyze where your ball ended up and how it affected your score. If you have a tendency of always being short, you might find this exercise to be beneficial. Also, pay close attention to tour players when their games are on. Their shots may not always be going directly at the target, but their distance control keeps them in the game!

Relax!
Ever played with someone who is too rigid, takes too long or simply can’t pull the trigger! Well if you are this person, relax. Easier said than done right? A nice practice routine to help someone relax before swinging is the “rapid fire drill”. Tee up 10 golf balls side by side about a foot apart (make sure you have plenty of room on the range for this drill so you don’t scare your neighbor) or with an iron do the same with the ball on the ground. Start by hitting the first ball and continue down the line hitting each ball as you take a step in towards the ball. Do not stop your swing, as you swing through, swing the club back up to the top as you step into the next golf ball. You will notice that this drill is full of continuous motion and does not give you the chance to get set up with both feet, in fact, you won’t have time to think about the shot at all. Rather, it allows you to shut your mind off and just swing. This is a great feel drill and will also help you relax when you get to the golf course and the real deal presents itself.

Posture and Impact

Ever wonder how your posture affects how the club gets back to impact. Let us remember one important fact: golf is a side on sport, which means, the distance you stand away from the ball can influence your swing path, which is a major component to achieve proper impact. For example, take a player that stands too far away at address: result, hunched back and shoulders, arms reaching for the ball; and swing path tends to be too flat(inside to out). Contrary to that, the player who stands too close to the ball could have a tendency to swing the club too straight(down the line) or a swing path that is too steep(out to in).

Correction: stand to the ball with your knees slightly bent, bend from the waist and let your arms hang naturally. Now you have given yourself a better chance to swing the club up from the inside, back to square and back to the inside. This is the optimum way to achieve proper impact and deliver the most power into the ball. Compare this to your favorite modern day football kicker. Notice how the place kicker’s leg travels up to the inside, back to square, and back to the inside. This is the optimum way to achieve proper impact and deliver the most power into the ball. Compare this to your favorite modern day football kicker. Notice how the place kicker’s leg travels up to the inside, back to squrare, then back to the inside as he follows through. You will not see his leg swing straight down the line nor will you see his foot travel to the right of his intended target. The next time you are at the practice range, check your posture, are you too far or too close; and see how it relates to your individual ball flight. You might find that a slight change in posture will make a positive difference in your impact characteristics.

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