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Archive for April, 2010
April 26th, 2010 | 
Author: Have you ever watched the professional golfers on TV and see them look over a green? What are they looking for? What do they study? To read a green like the pro’s do takes into account a number of factors. This article will address those factors.
As you are walking up to a green, the predominant factor you want to address first is the slope of the green. This will give you a clue as to the way the ball will break when you strike your putt.
Once you are on the green, look from behind the ball down the line, if you crouch down you can see the subtle slopes more easily.
Another place to take a reading of the green is on the low side of the hole. Stand a few feet back, midway between the ball and the hole. From this spot you can figure out how the ball will break as it rolls down the slope.
Also look for unevenness right around the hole. The ball is most affected as it slows down right before the hole, the undulations may kick it right or left so look for them around the hole.
Finally, remember this factoid, the ball will break more on a fast green than it will on a slow green. So when the grass is closely mowed and fast read more break than when the grass is longer and thicker.
until next time,
John
Posted in 
I want you to think back to the number of times you have followed a really poor shot with a fantastic one. Probably the worst thing you could do on a hole is to quit after you hit a poor shot. This tip will help you focus not on your last shot but on the shot your hitting now.
Be aware that missed tee shots are not as critical as they seem.
Mid-irons, short irons and the putter are your chance to save a poor drive.
Fight back from a disaster with a positive attitude and self respect. Let’s say you hit one into the trees, focus on how to hit the shot in a position where you can score. Never look back, always look at the pin on the green. That is
where you need to hit the ball.
Focus on getting the ball forward in the best position to hit the green. If that means punching it out to the middle of the fairway, do it. You will be surprised how many times you can save a stroke just by thinking the correct strategy.
Never Quit on a hole!
See you on the links,
John
When using a driver, it is common to be a little to quick or aggressive when moving from the top of the backswing to the downswing and sometimes this may cause to steep of an angle at impact that will cause you to sky the ball. One drill that can help you is to pause at the top.
The following drill will assist you in not being so aggressive when moving down:
- Start by making a normal backswing, move all the way to the top
- Pause at this point for about a fraction of a second
- As you begin down try to feel calm or lazy and try to sweep the ball off the tee
- Now as the club gains momentum down try to make the club head strike at 4 o clock
Now lets review what this drill does:
A short pause will cause you to gather your moving parts together calm them down and then surge into the golf ball.
Hitting at 4 o clock will provide the club with an out to in path through impact to produce a draw or a straight shot and not a slice.
Try this drill and you will find your slice or your skied golf ball will soon disappear.
See you at the links,
John
One of the shots that is very frustrating to me is the skied drive, you know the one where you hit it reasonably straight and straight up in the air with the distance of a 9 iron. I even saw Tiger Woods sky one yesterday at the Master’s Golf Tournament. This tip will explain why you sky your drives and how to fix it.
With a skied golf shot you will lose up to 70% of your distance, this occurs because the clubhead chops down under the ball much like your short irons. Sometimes this is caused by teeing too high but more times than not it is because of poor technique.
A common fault is that your swing is excessively upright on the backswing, caused by picking the club up too steeply with your hands at takeaway. In other words, too much lift and not enough width with your backswing.
To fix this fault try to start your takeaway low and slow, watch Ken Perry when he takes back the club.
Concentrate on sweeping the club away and turning your back on the target and swinging your arms and club around your body promoting a full and wide backswing.
In your downswing focus on sweeping the ball away rather than hitting down on it. There are many drills that can re-create this movement.
I will go over some of those drills in the next few posts.
See you on the links,
John
The following guide will help you when thinking about putting. As you may know, we waste so many shots by not putting to the best of our ability and in reality this may be one of the easiest things to perfect. I have put together a few tips for you to use as a guide.
- When taking hold of the putter, be sure to have palm side of each hand lined up parallel to the face of the putter
- Develop a stroke that accurately returns the putter face to the same angle it was placed when you addressed the ball
- As you approach the green, look at the high and low points to get a feel for the contour
- Look for the actual line of travel your ball will take to the hole, picture how water would flow on the surface of the green
- Place the putter face square to the line then take a look from ball to hole to pick up the distance, then strike the ball with the required force your mind has told you to strike the ball with and trust your instincts
Putting is easy if you have a routine.
Now from now on make yourself a promise not to lose strokes by putting poorly.
Until next time,
John