How to Cure Fat Shots from the Fairway Bunkers

Sunday, December 15, 2013

If you hit behind the ball the fairway bunkers, you are going to lose most of your distance. So you need to hit the ball cleanly off the sand. Ideally, you want to sweep the ball from fairway bunker to get most of your distance. If you hit it with descending blow, the sand will absorb some of the power you put in the ball.

 

But if you must prevent fat shots from a fairway bunker, you might want to hit it with a descending blow. You might lose some distance, but you can avoid fat shots this way.

1. Use 1 or more clubs

2. POsition your ball more to the right than normal

3. Grip down a little

 

 

Dig your front foot little deeper than your back foot. This will make it easier to catch the ball first.

 

Reference: http://www.golfsamurai.net/fault-fix/tips-fairway-bunker-shot4.htm

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For Better Tempo, What do You Need to Do?

Good tempo and rhythm are the keys to hitting consistent shots on the golf course. But lots of players often start to rush downswing with longer clubs such as driver.

 

If you think bad tempo is causing you all kind of bad shots, you should limit your swing speed for every club. You can try to swing with 60%, 70%and 80% of your power. I'm not here to tell you swing slowly. But I think you should have consistent tempo or swing speed for every club you hit. Some players do well with 60% of their swing speed. Others do better with 80%.

 

Swing at various swing speed and find the one that will let you hit consistent shots with every club.

 

Annika Sorenstam who was one of the best female golfers in history of golf said she was trying to swing with 60% of her swing speed. When she felt her tempo was too quick, she was counting 1-2-3 to the top of her swing and then 1-2-3 from the top to the finish on her practice swings.

 

This is very simple but very effective drill you can do on your practice swings on the course. It will help you ease tension as well.

 

Reference: http://www.golfsamurai.net/fault-fix/better-tempo.htm

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Controlling Distance within 100 Yards

In golf, it's much easier to hit it with a full swing than to hit it with a half swing to adjsut for distance. For instance, if you hit your sand wedge 90 yards with a full swing, 60 yard shot is much harder to control.

 

Vijay Singh is known for practicing more than anubody else on tour. He uses the drill below to control distance within 100 yards.

1. Pick a distance that you can't use a full swing with a sand wedge

2. After hitting a shot, try to guess if you hit it short or too far without seeing the ball.

 

If you can, you should guess which direction the ball went at the same time as well.

 

Reference: http://www.golfsamurai.net/fault-fix/control-distance-100-yards.htm

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How to Hit it Out of a Sand Divot or a Divot

It's very disappointing to see your perfect drive end up in a sand divot. The common mistake when hitting out of a sand divot is trying to scoop the ball or hit down on the ball with a steep angle approach into the ball.

 

Sand Divot

When your ball lies in a sand divot, you nedd to do the following to adjust for the shot.

1. Treat it like a little fairway bunker shot.

2. Put the ball little more right than normal

3. Use 1 more club

4. Try to hit it with a slight descending blow

 

By placing the ball back in the stance you will be able to hit it with a slight descending blow. In other words, try to hit it slightly before the lowest point of your swing arc. But if you have a good lie, you should go ahead and try to sweep the ball. You will get more distance this way.

 

Regular Divot

A divot without a sand is little difficult to hit for some players. Because the ball is sitting down in a divot, you need to take a steeper approach into the ball.

 

To hit it, take the following adjustments.

1. Play the ball in the middle of stance

2. If the ball is sitting down, don't use more than 6 iron

3. Hit it with a descending blow

 

If the ball is not sitting down deep, you may be able to use hybrids or fairway woods. But if it's sitting down in a divot, use more lofted clubs.

 

Reference: http://www.golfsamurai.net/fault-fix/sand-divot.htm

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Hitting with a Tailwind or Headwind

Tailwind

When hitting a driver with a tailwind, you usually get more distance if you hit it right. Tailwind will tend to push the ball down when it's in the air. So you are going to hit the shot that won't drop. When you are hitting with a tailwind, you want to take a full swing and put more backspin. It's the opposite of playing with a headwind.

 

By putting more backspin, the ball will ride on the tailwind and travel further. If you hit it easier in tailwind, the ball will tend to drop and doesn't fly as much. So it's also a good idea to take 3 wood in a strong tailwind for your tee shot instead of hitting your driver. You will hit it jusst as far as your driver in that condition with more accuracy.

 

Iron Shots in a Tailwind

Justin Leonard said he won't hit the iron shots high in a tailwind. I think he wants to minimize the effect from the wind. You get more distance in a tailwind, but it means it'll be harder to control distacnce into green. So by hitting low shots, you can control the distance better.

 

But in general, you should take the following adjsutments in a tailwind.

1. Use less club

2. Expect the ball to roll once it hits the green.

 

Some teahers might tell you to change your position or set up, but I prefer not to change set up because I want to keep it simple. If you would like Justin's option (hitting low shots), use more club and swing easier to keep the ball flight low.

 

Headwind

When hitting against the wind, you should do the following.

1. Take 1 or 2 more clubs

2. Swing with less clibhead speed to reduce backspin.

 

How to Read the Wind

When players read the wind, they just check the wind on the tee ground or chack the flag stick. If they don't feel any wind or don't see the flag moving, you think there is no wind. But if the green is sorrounded by trees or something, you will misread the wind.

 

Reference: http://www.golfsamurai.net/fault-fix/tailwind-headwind.htm

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Wrist Pain and How to Cure it

To cure your wrist pain, you are going to rest for a while. See the doctor before reading this article.

 

Check Your Divot

I was wondering what caused my wrist pain and noticed that my divot was deep. At that time, I was hitting with a steep angle of approach into the ball. So I hit lots of slice and was lacking distance with every club I hit.

 

My grip was square grip according to the text book or my teachers. But I thought that it was too weak for me. I was cutting acrooss the ball in order to avoid the open face at impact. So my divot was deep and pointing left of the target. This is a sign that I was cutting across the ball.

 

Sweep the ball

I stopped hitting down on the ball and started to sweep the ball off the turf. But to accomplish that, I had to do something to keep the clubface from opening during the backswing and the downswing. Although my teachers said my grip is square, I tried stronger grip to keep the clubface square through impact. Right after changing it to stronger grip, the clubface stopped opening through impact. If you hit down on the ball or cut across the ball with a stronger grip, you will pull it or hit a duck hook.

 

So your swing path will automatically change from outside-in to inside-in or inside-out. I didn't have to work on my swing path. It just changed naturally after changing my grip. If I tried to change my swing path first, I would still be slicing everythig. ANyway, by the time I noticed, my divot was shallow and pointing at the target. I never felt y wrist pain ever since. If you have the wrist pain find the deep divot after hitting your iron shots, your grip might be the cause.

 

Reference: http://www.golfsamurai.net/fault-fix/wrist-pain.htm

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How to Hit Shots from Uphill and Downhill Lies

Players often hit all kinds of bad shots from uphill lies and downhill lies. But you don't have to.

 

Uphill Lies

Lots of golfers tend to stand against the slope or leave their weight on the back foot during the downswing. But you won't hit good shots like that. Instead, try to set your shoulders, waist and knees parallel to the slope. If you lean against the slope, you will hit it far or pull it left. So go along with the slope.

 

The important key to hitting the shots from uphill lie is to swing along the slope. The ball will come out much higher than normal. So take one or more clubs depending on the lie. Because of the lie, upper body will tend to be more active during the swing than your lower body. That's why you tend to pull the shots from this lie. So be careful not to close the clubface at impact when hitting shots from uphill lie.

 

Downhill Lies

From downhill lies, you should pay attention to the slope and set your shoulders, waist and knees parallel with the slope as well.

 

Again, players tend to stand against the slope and set more weight on their back foot. But this will cause more fat and top shots. So naturally set more of your weight on your front foot. This will make it easier to set your shoulders parallel with the slope. Also, pay attention to your spine angle as well. From downhill lies, your spine should be little more titled to the left than normal.

 

The tendency is to try to lift the ball into the air, but this will cause top shots. So try to swing the slope. Try to feel like you are going to hit the low shots. Expect the ball to come out low. Once it lands on the gree, it will roll more than normal. But scooping is the worst thing you can do from this lie. Try to hit it with a descending blow from this lie for crisp contact.

 

Shots from this lie tend to slice more than it hooks because the slope will make your body turn faster during the downswing and hold the clubface open at impact. That's why it's easier to hit a fade than a draw from downhill lies. So you might want to aim little left of your target to allow for a little fade.

 

From updill or downhill lie, it gets harder to keep your balance throughout the golf swing. So you want to swing easy to make sure your upper body won't becomemuch more active than your lower body.

 

Hitting the Fade

From downhill lie, it's easier to hit it fat. But here is a good way to avoid hitting it fat. By hitting a little fade, you can easily avoid hitting fat shots or top shots from this lie.

 

Here is how you can set up to the ball.

1. Open your stance a bit.

2. Open your clubface and grip your club. Your clubface shpuld be looking at the target.

3. Swing along your feet line to hit the fade.

 

By setting up like this, it gets easier to swing along the slope because your swing is now a little steeper than usual.

 

Reference: http://www.golfsamurai.net/fault-fix/uphill-downhill.htm

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How fast should you swing your club?

Tiger Woods said normal shots, he never expend more than 80% of his effort. Annika Sorenstan said she swings with 60% of her power on every shot including her driver shot.

 

According to the study, if you miss the the sweet spot by 1/2 inch, you will lose 7% of your distance. For example, if you hit your driver 230 yards, 7% of 230 yards is 16 yards. That's a lot!

 You can put all effort and swing as hard as you can, but there is a god chance that you won't hit your ball any further than your normal shots because it becomes harder to hit the sweet spot as you increase your swing speed. But I'm not saying you shouldn't take a full swing. There are times I swing as hard as I can too. But when I do, I follow my rule.

 

Even on the driving range, I never start swinging as hard as I can. I start first with slower swing speed and try to hit it on the sweet spot. If you can't hit it solid, slow down your swing speed to 60%. After I start hittinh it solid, I finally start to increase my siwng speed. Most players do the opposite. They start by swinging as hard as they can. But they are missing the sweet spot and see that their shots aren't going far. So they have to siwng even harder to get any kind of distance. That's why thet are not hitting it long. They should do the opposite.

 

Reference: http://www.golfsamurai.net/fault-fix/how-fast-to-swing.htm

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How to Fix Your Slice Completely

Most golfers slice. In fact, more than 80% of golfers are slicers according to the study. When I started golf, I was slicing everything. I fought to fix slice for more than 10 years. I read all the books and magazines and took lots of golf lessons from PGA professionalsbut couldn't fix my slice completely.

 

It seems to go far away for a few days. But by the time I noticed, it's back again. I almost gave up golf because of it. But I overcome my slice and started to shoot in the 70's. In this site, I will explain how you can fix your slice completely.

 

The Position of the Golf Swing

Lots of teachers will tell you to check your golf swing positions and don't spend enough time fixing student's grip, ball position, posture and alignment.

 

But more than 80% of all the problems in your ball flight come from those basics of golf. Also, those golf swing positions are usually just the result of your grip, posture, ball position and alignment. When I ask players to fix their grip for example, they will automatically fix their faulty golf swing positions at the same time.

 

Posture

Lots of slicers have a rounded back at address. This will cause them to swing on a teep plane or upright plane. The spine angle at address often determines your swing plane. If you stand up too tall, you will tend to have flat swing plane. If you bend over too much or have a rounded back, you will have upright swing. When your swing plane is too upright, you will tend swing from outside in on the downswing causing the ball to slice.

 

To bend correctly at address, try the following.

1. Stand up straght with your back nice and straight.

2. Bend from hips. Don't bend from your waist because it can lead to rounded back

3. Hang your arms naturally

4. Lower your right shoulder and flex your knee a bit.

5. Take your grip

 

The Position of your Right Shoulder

If your right shoulder is level with your left shoulder, you are going to hit a slice. The reason is you grip the club with your right hand lower than left, the right shoulder will be lower than left at impact. So your right shoulder should be lower than left at address as well.

 

But if your right shoulder is higher than it should be, it will drop on the downswing to hit the ball. And in the process of dropping your right shoulder, your clubface will also open. So you are going to work so hard not to open your clubface before impact. This is impossible to do. Even if you are successful, you will lose all your power instead. Lower your right shoulder time and time again because it's very important for you to hit the shot far and straight.

 

Alignment

The alignment of your body is aalso very important in terms of fixing your slice. Most players check their line of feet at address to see if they are standing square to the target. But the line of your feet does not tell you the whole thing.

 

You need to check:

a. Shoulders.

b. Waist

c. Knees

 

Slicers tend to have open shoulders and knees.

To check that, put your shaft against your shoulders or knees and see where it points to. If you have open shoulders or knees, that may be the sign that your grip is too weak for you.  The correct grip is different from person to person. So some golfer's correct grip maybe too strong for others. Keep changing your grip until your shoulder and knees are square to the target (parallel with the target line).

 

The Right Arm

If your right arm is much closer to the ball than your left arm address, you will cut accross the ball every time. The reason why golfers have their right arm closer to the ball than left is because they don't lower their right shoulder at address before gripping. So lower your right shoulder gripping the club and make sure your right arm and does not get ahead of your left arm.

 

Hands Position

Slicers tend to position their hands on front of a zipper. This is because they have weaker grip. See your hand more toward the inside of your thigh.

 

Ball Position

Slicers to place the ball too far forward because they need more time to square the face. However, placing the ball too far forward, you will be forced to cut accross the ball. When you do this, you either hit a slice or pull it left. To fix your swing path, the ball back in your stance. With a 7-iron, put the ball one to two ball length left of center. When you put the ball back, you will first hit a push slice. But that's fine. Next, you should change your grip.

 

So fix your slice you need to fix your swing path and the face angle. To change your faulty swing path, work on your ball position. To fix face angle, you need to change your grip. Most players try to change their grip but forget to change the ball position (swing path). That's why they can't say good bye to slice forever.

 

Reference: http://www.golfsamurai.net/slice/how-to-fix-your-slice-completly.htm

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Cure Your Slice using Your Left Hand

Here is the drill to teach you how to use your left arm. To hit the ball straight or draw it, you need to turn the face over. Your left arm rotates through impact to close the clubface. To learn how you rotate your left arm, try the followng. This drill will let you hit a strong draw shot. You don't need the clab for this drill.

 

1. Take your address position without a club. Put your right hand at your waist.

2. Grip a golf ball (hold the ball) with your left hand.

3. Swing back using only left arm.

4. When your left arm is parallel with the ground, your left thumb should be straight up in the air.

5. Swing down and stop when your left hand is at waist height.

 

Now, open your left hand. If the balld on the ground, you are going to hit a slice. So, try not to drop your ball at this position. To do that, try to make sure that your left palm faces the sky when your left hand reaches waist height on the downswing. When you swing with your club to hit the ball, try to recreate that feeling. If you do it correctly, you will be able to rotate your left arm on the downswing and cure your slice.

 

Reference: http://www.golfsamurai.net/slice/cure-slice-with-left-hand.htm

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Dropping Your Right Shoulder on the Downswing

Some teachers will tell you that dropping your right shoulder on the downswing is causing you to slice. But you are going to lower your right shoulder than your left through downswing to impact because you have your right hand lower on the grip.

 

Take a look at pros' swing pictures, all of them have their right shoulder lower than left through impact. Check your address position.

 

Why the Clubface Opens

 

1. Grip your club with your shoulders level with the ground. Hold your club above the ground.

2. Now, drop your right shoulder.

 

You will see that when you drop your right shoulder, the clubface opens.

 

This is how you hit a slice. To prevent this, lower your right shoulder at address so that when your right shoulder drops on the downswing, the clubface does not open.

 

Wacth PGA Tours pros, unless they are hitting a slice or face, their right shoulder is lower than left at address. You should do the same.

 

Reference: http://www.golfsamurai.net/slice/dropping-your-right-shoulder.htm

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