Go Lean On The Fats

Wednesday, November 27, 2013

On short-iron shots, many golfers fail to shift their weight and execute a weak, arms-only swing. However, in order to hit crisp short irons, you’ve got to make a weight shift just as you do for full shots. Most high-handicappers leave about 40% of their weight on their back leg through impact, whereas Tour players leave only about 10%. The solution to prevent fat short irons: Shift your weight onto your front foot very early in the downswing.

comments | | Read More...

At The Turn Tips

The turn is a good place to ask yourself if you’ve been a victim of the “spider syndrome.” When a spider is threatened, it curls up into a ball because, for the spider, motion is error. Many golfers under stress do the same thing—driven by the idea that “motion is error,” they cut back on their swing and steer the ball to minimize off-line shots. This robs them of distance and accuracy, so they tinker, and by the 14th hole, they’ve lost it completely. Resolve on the back nine to freewheel it.

A loss of distance can also be fueled by a “single shoulder turn,” where you turn your front shoulder, but shrug your back one. For longer, straighter shots, you need to turn both shoulders—the left under your chin and the right behind your neck.

comments | | Read More...

Sand Matchups

In the bunker, you can save some strokes by matching your sand wedge system to the texture of the sand. When the sand on the course you’re playing is soft and fluffy, use a wedge with a large flange and a lot of bounce. When the sand is hard, wet or crusty, select a wedge with minimal flange and bounce.

comments | | Read More...

Sand Matchups

In the bunker, you can save some strokes by matching your sand wedge system to the texture of the sand. When the sand on the course you’re playing is soft and fluffy, use a wedge with a large flange and a lot of bounce. When the sand is hard, wet or crusty, select a wedge with minimal flange and bounce.

comments | | Read More...

Assess, Then Address

If a pin is protected by two conditions, such as a bunker or a strong sidewind that will steer your ball into the bunker, it’s a red (don’t attack) pin. Aim away from the flag by selecting a different part of the green as your target.

If the pin is protected by only one condition, such as a bunker with no wind, then you can aim closer to the flag, but proceed with caution by giving yourself about a 10-yard margin of error on the safe side of the pin. When there’s no trouble surrounding the pin, and you have a club in your hand in which you have confidence, go for it.

comments | | Read More...

Shoot At The Pin Only If You Have A Rifle

Try this experiment the next time you play a round of golf. Aim for the center of every green with every full shot and forget about the pin. This will take some will power, but I’ll bet you’ll shoot one of your lowest rounds ever. How? You’ll miss less greens.

comments | | Read More...

Don’t Play It Too Safe

        Sometimes when you play too safe with one shot, you set yourself up for an extremely difficult and dangerous next shot. For example, if you’re too cautious off the tee with a 2-iron when you should have used a 3-wood, you effectively change the next shot’s degree of difficulty. Along those same lines, if you’re aggressive on the front end of your plan, make sure you’re aggressive on the back end (unless circumstances suddenly change). It’s foolish to play safe and then, on a whim, go for broke.

comments | | Read More...