Brush it back for better iron play

Monday, November 25, 2013

Most golfers understand, or at least have heard, that they want to create width in their backswing to drive the ball better.

 

What they might not realize, however, is that creating width is equally important when it comes to iron play.

 

If your swing tends to get a bit narrow with the irons, making consistent contact a struggle, top-100 instructor Brian Mogg has a great drill to help you fix that issue.

 

So head to the range, grab a second ball and brush it away. You’ll create more extension in your takeaway and more width at the top of your swing, both of which will lead to more solid strikes.

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Make more clutch pars when you need them like Day

 

After losing eight family members in the devastating typhoon that recently hit the Philippines, Jason Day overcame that personal tragedy to take individual honors and lead Australia to victory in the World Cup this past weekend in his home country at Royal Melbourne.

 

Day and his teammate Adam Scott finished 10 shots better than their American counterparts Matt Kuchar and Kevin Streelman.

 

After many professional events, we end up talking about the victorious player’s great final round, which oftentimes will be filled with numerous birdies en route to a low score.

 

Day managed only three birdies and an eagle to go along with a double bogey and two bogeys for a final round 1-under par 70.

 

It was his ability, however, to make par down the stretch, something runner-up Thomas Bjorn couldn’t do, that led to his victory.

 

Making birdies is great and adds excitement to any round of golf. But if you can have more pars on your scorecard than bogeys or worse, chances are you’re in for a good round.

Here are a few tips to help increase your chances to make more pars:

 

• Know when to go for birdie and when not to. A poor tee shot can change your plans quickly on any given hole. The important thing is that you don’t take extra risk by forcing a great second shot in hopes of making a birdie, which could lead to bogey or worse. Take your medicine and get the ball back in play, and you increase your chance to make par.

 

• Sharpen your short-game skills. Two-putt pars are nice, but most golfers miss more greens in regulation than they hit. Practice your short game from several locations around the practice green with the goal of getting the ball inside your gimme range.

 

• And since there’s technically no such thing as a gimme, work on those short putts. Practice your short putting enough so that 3-5-footers begin to feel automatic. This will take pressure away from your chipping or pitching by eliminating the feeling that you must get the ball to within a foot of the hole every time.

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Take more time to practice swing with all your clubs

If you want to play better from tee to green, make a resolution to spend more time practicing your golf swing, but to do it with all of your clubs.

 

The golf swing is a motor skill, meaning you are training muscles for a specific act. Constant repetition of the same moves will eventually create a habit as long as your swing mechanics are proper.

 

After determining what is right for you, use that motion to swing all of your clubs, not just your favorites.

 

Often I see golfers at the driving range using only the clubs they know they can hit well. That may be fun, but it’s not very productive for the overall game.

 

Force yourself to practice with clubs you are less confident with, like the mid-to-long irons and fairway woods.

 

Driving ranges are workshops. Do your experimentation on the range before you take your swing to the course. Golf clubs are nothing more than tools with which you play the game.

Having more tools at your disposal can make the game more satisfying and enjoyable.

Read more: http://www.vcstar.com/news/2013/apr/23/golf-tip-of-the-week-take-more-time-to-practice/#ixzz2lilIRYUM
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Let kids play first, learn technique second

Golf is simply a game just like any other sports. We have a set of rules. We have a field that we play it on. We have specific equipment. So how come we introduce our kids to this great game so much differently than other sports?

Think about when you were young and you learned how to play basketball or soccer. Did you go to the basketball range? Or did you simply go to the court and start playing.

 

I’m not saying that technical development isn’t important — but it’s overemphasized, especially in beginners.

 

I had the great fortune of learning golf from my father, a regular public golfer who loved the game. At age 9 he put a club in my hand. He showed me a basic grip, we hit about 30 balls on the range to get me a basic motion, than we teed it up at our local par-3 course. I learned the game by playing. I loved the game from that very first day.

 

So you may ask, “What about technique?”

As my love for the game increased, my willingness to be coached on technique and practice my skills followed very naturally. By the time I was in high school, I was a good golfer with a solid set of skills — with very few professional lessons. And now I’ve made it a career.

 

So my suggestion to parents that want to get kids into golf. Let them play! If your child loves it, everything else will follow.

Read more: http://www.vcstar.com/news/2013/apr/16/golf-tip-of-the-week-let-kids-play-first-learn/#ixzz2likKdYD2
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How to hit out of long greenside bunker

One of the most challenging shots for many players is the long greenside bunker shot.

The first thing to consider is what club to use. Because we’re talking about a shot where more distance is needed, the sand wedge may not always be the correct choice on a long greenside bunker shot.

 

Instead of a sand wedge, many of your top players will use a gap wedge, pitching wedge or even an 8-iron. By choosing one of these clubs, they have the ability to make the ball run a greater distance to the flagstick.

 

The key to this longer shot is to use the same swing with each club and let the loft take the ball the distance you want.

 

This is going to take some practice on your part, but try these different clubs and you will be surprised how much easier long greenside bunker shots will become.

 

Make sure you get out in one shot and get your ball back in play. Don’t let any bunker cost you more than one stroke.

Read more: http://www.vcstar.com/news/2013/mar/26/golf-tip-of-the-week-how-to-hit-out-of-long/#ixzz2lik3I9ET
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Parenting tips for junior golfers

I spend a lot of my time either running junior golf tournaments and watching my students compete in junior golf tournaments. One thing that I have noticed that makes a tremendous difference in a junior’s performance is in how their parents relate to them.

 

I find that most parents are very supportive of their junior golfer out on the tours, but a good 75 percent of them don’t know the things they do while watching their son or daughter hinder their performance. In a game filled with mistakes, a parent’s reaction, even if it is meant to be helpful, can often do significant damage and make it very hard for a junior to perform. Plus, juniors put more pressure on themselves when their parents are watching.

 

For a kid to flourish in competitive golf, they must always feel like they are supported, no matter how good, average, or bad they are playing. Here are three behaviors you should always be aware of when watching your junior:

 

Watch your body language. Smile a lot. It will help your junior feel less pressure. On any bad shot, never make a physical gesture or create body language that makes your son or daughter feel like you are upset.

 

When your junior hits a bad shot, stay silent. It’s pretty hard to focus on a golf shot when you are worried about how your parent is going to react if you miss.

Do not give instruction after a bad shot, especially during practice sessions. You can’t fix the last shot. Allow your junior space to learn through their own experiences. If you adhere to these tips, you will see a difference in your child’s performance.

 

Dan Martin is Director of Instruction at Rustic Canyon. Contact him at dan@golfacademyvc.com.

Read more: http://www.vcstar.com/news/2013/mar/19/golf-tip-parenting-tips-for-junior-golfers/#ixzz2lijhcTNF
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Fat pitch shots a result of grip pressure

A common complaint from golfers are fat shots when pitching to the green.

It is my observation as a longtime golf professional that 95 percent of the time the problem is grip pressure. Way too much of it.

 

These delicate shots, usually from 40 yards in to the green, require the hands of a surgeon. In other words, a very light and delicate touch.

 

What we see a lot of times are tight, tense fingers squeezing the life out of the club.

When golfers realize this shot requires finesse, they usually tense up. Tight fingers leads to tension in the wrists, forearms, elbows, shoulders and neck.

 

As tension increases, the smooth, soft pitching swing is nearly impossible to pull off. On a scale of 1 to 10 (10 being real tight), hold the club in both hands with a grip pressure of around 4.

 

Then you can “swing” with the finesse required and you will probably see much better results.

Read more: http://www.vcstar.com/news/2013/mar/12/golf-tip-of-week-fat-pitch-shots-a-result-of/#ixzz2lijK6Kdv
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