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Golf Tips For Driving Longer

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You are a frustrated golfer. You cannot seem to get a long drive on your shot. You have consulted numerous golfing magazines, sports shop pros, and even the book Golfing for Dummies. As embarrassing as that was, it didn’t even work. In fact, nothing seems to work. What should you do?
Don’t fret. Improving your drive isn’t the most complicated thing on earth to achieve, although at times it may feel that way. There are basically four things that you can do to make yourself a better player in this area. Let’s take a closer look at what you need to do.
Change your stance:
It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that if you simply widen your golf stance, you will be more stable. This stability will give you the power you need to swing the club steadily and powerfully.
When you are at the tee box, make sure that you are properly aligned on it. Sometimes a confusing layout of a tee box can throw an even experienced golfer off. Make sure that you are always standing behind the ball and looking right down the fairway. This is by far the easiest way to avoid any stance confusion.
Use your toes to aim at the target:
That’s right. If you are left-handed, simply point your right toe right at the target. If you are right-handed, then vice versa is true. This will not only help your balance, but will force your body to take direct aim.
Focus… and then focus some more:
Take your mind off every little thought in your head that does not have to do with hitting this ball the right way. Concentration is absolutely necessary to drive your ball longer. One little uninvited though could throw off your whole game… and you don’t want that, do you?
Consider your form:
Do you hurry through your backswing? Or, do you take the club back as far as you possibly can when using a backswing? Which hand do you use more power in when hitting the ball? Do you keep your head still when swinging at the ball? If the things you are trying now aren’t working, then you need to tweak or change them, so that you can get something to work right for you. If it is your form that needs to be changed, try some different positions. See what works right for you.
In the case of keeping your head straight when hitting the ball, for example, this will help you to know where the ball is going to be when you hit it. If your head is not steady, your control over the ball is not going to be there.
And lastly, before you get out on the golf course, give yourself a little piece of advice: ‘You can do it.’ Not only can you drive your ball longer, but you can also have fun when doing so. The more you are relaxed when going to play the game of golf, the better it will turn out for you!
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Golf Tips – Chipping For Score

by admin
In golf, chipping is probably one of the more – less glamorous shots that you come in contact with on a regular basis yet it is one of the most important areas of competency when it comes to shaving strokes off your game. 
You’ll struggle mightily to find a lower handicap golfer that isn’t a good chipper of the golf ball. It’s curious irony to me when I see and work with mid to higher handicappers that spend so little time on improving their merit around the greens. If this description fits you, think about it for a moment… by definition higher handicap golfers are not going to hit the greens as often and as such they are going to leave themselves with chip shots much more often. So why not spend some time getting better at chipping and immediately start taking strokes off your game. 
I can tell you unequivocally, that if you are a higher handicap golfer, spending some time to improve you chipping skills will save you at least one to two strokes per hole… now that’s some serious scoring… wouldn’t you agree?
Much of chipping around the green is confidence and with practice your confidence will improve along with your chipping so it has a snowballing effect. 
Let’s take a look at a few elements of chipping that will get you going in the right direction and on you way to lowering your golf score.
First of all, select the right tool for the job. One problem or mind set that many get in to is that; if I’m around the green and am going to chip … I use my pitching or sand wedge. If this is you, I want you to learn to select the proper club for the shot that is required. 
Actually let me back up slightly… first evaluate the shot and where you want the ball to land… then get the club out that is going to do that job best for you. These first two items are your approach the chip shot that you have in front of you. 
If you’re not sure about what club imparts what type of behavior on the golf ball, just try different clubs and shots around the practice green… work to get comfortable with several different clubs and approaches to your chipping.
The physical aspects of chipping are very straight forward. 
You want to keep your hands slightly ahead of the clubhead… both in your set up and as your hands and club pass through the impact zone.
Press your weigh slightly forward during your set up and keep your weight pressed slightly forward throughout your chipping motion.
Use a one piece take-a-way and motion. This is a biggie with higher handicappers… they tend to get ‘flippie’ with their hands. When this happens the tendency is for the club head to begin to accelerate past the hands (a bad thing) and the result is the club either ‘chunks’ behind the ball or you hit the dreaded blade shot clear across the green.
Never decelerate the club as you come into the hitting zone. Confidence plays a big part in this for people who aren’t good chippers. In order to get yourself to consistently accelerate through the shot; when you are practicing, initially don’t worry so much about a precise target and if you are going fly the ball too far past. Just work on a smooth chipping motion making good contact each and every time. We’ll work on distance control once you master the motion.
I’ve gotten a bit long here and I still want to cover a bit more on the swing, club selection for you, as well as some drills; but for now, just get yourself out there and work on these few basics and making good consistent contact and I’ll be back with soon and we will continue our work on lower your score by getting the ball much closer to the hole with your chipping game.
Until next time… remember – practice makes permanent.
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What is a Hook

by admin

A hook is a specific right-to-left trajectory shape for a golf ball created by a significant tilt of the spin-axis of the golf ball to the left, or a counter-clockwise spin. This is opposite for lefties. A hook usually ends up to the left of the target line, and the term is often used when the curve in the trajectory is extreme and unintentional. The less extreme version of a hook is called a “draw”.

In understanding the basics of the golf swing, in order to hit the ball squarely and straight every time, you must return to the original spot at impact. A hook is caused by the club face being slightly closed at the point of impact, thus causing the ball to spin in a counter-clockwise motion, (opposite for lefties). In most cases the swing path is correct, but the golf ball is not being hit squarely at the point of impact, commonly caused by what is known as a “strong grip”.

As in the slice, the hook is often a product of an improper grip. Start by looking at your current grip. Remembering the basics of the golf grip, you should only see 2 knuckles of your left hand. If you see 3 knuckles, then you have a “strong grip” and this maybe the cause of your golf hook.

You can fix your hook by trying to change your grip to a “weak grip”. Turn your hands slightly counter-clockwise on your grip, (opposite for lefties), thus weakening the grip. Grip pressure is also a key element in the release process. If the pressure is too loose at impact then the tendency will for the club to release too early causing the ball to hook.

Remember the basics and only hold the club tight enough to keep control. You should not have any tension on your wrist and forearms. Practice the grip and check your results. Changing your grip should be slight, over compensating can cause other problems with your swing or begin to cause you to slice.

Most golf hooks are from a “strong grip”, but in order for you to correct your hook properly; you must have the know-how and learn the basics of the golf swing.

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What is a Push Shot

by admin

A push is a ball that goes directly to the right because of the action of the club. This should not be mistaken for a slice. A slice is an action of the ball spinning clockwise. A slice normally begins to the target and arcs away to the right, (left for lefties). A push is an action of the swing and is normally in an in-to-out swing motion. The opposite of the push is the pull, which is an out-to-in swing motion.

The push is caused by the swing path of the club. In the down swing, the path of the club will travel in an in-to-out path. Normally this is caused by throwing your arms ahead of your shoulders, being too close to the ball, and trying to over compensate your swing to make contact with the ball, or having your hips ahead of the impact area. These are the easiest to identify, but there could be other reasons.

The easiest way to fix a push is to go back to the basics of the golf swing. The push is directly related to the action of the golf swing. Throwing your arms ahead of your shoulders, make sure that during your back swing, you push your arms out with your shoulders, and on the down swing, you pull your arms down with your shoulders.

At the point of impact you should be back to the same point as you were at your stance. Standing too close to the ball, check out your stance. The club face should be positioned center of the ball and the butt end of the club should be about 4-5 inches from the inside of the left thigh and in line with it.

Having your hips ahead of the impact area, again, you should remember to be exactly the same at the point of impact as you were at your stance. The push comes from an improper club swing and knowing the basics.

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What is a shank

by admin

The shank is a missed hit ball off the club face. Other ways that a ball can be missed hit include topping, whiffing, blading, dubbed, or fat shot. All of these miss hits are the product of only a few things;

Not keeping your head down through your swing.
Standing too close or too far from the ball.
Improper Club Grip.
Improper Swing Dynamics.

A shank is something that nobody wants to have happen to them. A shank is normally a product of not concentrating. Slow down, remember the basics, keep your head down, and concentrate on the shot at hand. The shank is one of the easiest fixable problems in golf.

Remember your training and get back to the basics. By getting back to the basics of golf, and learning the correct grip or proper stance, and using the proper swing technique will help in eliminating all of the problems with miss hitting the ball.
Those are the most common problems golfers find with their swing. There are also some very common mistakes that golfers make.

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Course management in golf

by admin

You can ruin a good round by trying to pull off that one in a million shot and making a triple bogey. After hitting a shot into trouble you are almost always better off to take a safe route out and play for a bogey.

What exactly is course management? Essentially, it means adapting your game to the specific nuances of the course and playing the course in the best way you can to achieve a good score.

When does course management start? Some players will tell you it starts after they have to make a decision on the course.

Nothing could be further from the truth. Course management starts before you tee off on the first hole. You should always have a plan for the round you are playing and more importantly you should always have a plan and a target for each and every shot.
One particular area that most all golfers should concentrate on is hitting the ball from 125-150 yards out to the green. By improving your game in this area you’ll give yourself many more chances for birdie and par putts.

The key to this aspect of your game is being able to “know” that you can hit the ball onto any green from 150 yards out. You want to get to the point where you can consistently knock on 8 or 9 iron onto the green every time!

It may sound difficult if you’re a higher handicap golfer, but it’s really not. 125 -150 yards is very manageable, and most greens are large in size. In addition, hitting 8 and 9 irons are much easier to control than your longer irons.

If you have a tough time swinging these clubs then this is an area where you need to spend some quality practice time on. Once you do get this down, the only part left is distance management.That’s the first key. The next point is working your game around the 150 yard shot.

If you’re on a 550 yard par 5, you know if you hit a decent drive and even if you hit your second shot poorly, leaving you with 135 yards to the green, you know you can now get it on the green with your third shot.So, even though you didn’t hit a great second shot, because you have the 150 yard shot in your bag you’re still putting for birdie. This is what good course management is all about.
It’s amazing what focusing on this part of your game can do for you. You’ll see your golf game differently. Now you’ll know that no matter what kind of trouble you get into off the tee box, all you need to do is get your ball 135-150 yards out and you’ll be fine.

Practice until you can master this shot. Then build your golf game with that thought in place. By doing so, you won’t be worrying as much on how to hit bunker shots, chips shots and other tough greenside shots.

Instead of being completely frustrated, you’ll find yourself having more fun.Once you have this shot in your bag, then you can focus on putting, driving, or hitting your long irons. Until then, put all your efforts into mastering the 125-150 yard shot. If you will take this advice I can honestly tell you that you will dramatically lower your golf scores.

You have to know what your strengths and weaknesses are on the golf course. This is essential to the principles of course management. You must know how far you can hit the ball with specific clubs in order to navigate the course in as few shots as possible.

When you are managing the course, you are taking into account the problems and strengths of your game and applying them to the way the course is laid out.

Let’s look at two examples:

1. You are on a par 5 hole with light rough on the left side of the fairway and a lateral water hazard up the right. You’re pretty confident you can hit the green in regulation, but you have a propensity for hitting a “banana ball” or a hard slice. How should you hit this shot taking into consideration the way you play?Most players would just hit it up the middle trying to hit the ball straight hoping to keep the water out of play. However, that water hazard is the hole’s strength and your slice is your weakness. It’s foolish to pit the two against each other because you will probably be the loser.Aim your teen shot to land in the rough on the left side of the fairway. In this case, your normal slice will result in a second shot from the fairway while a straight ball will result in a second shot from the rough. However, you will probably still be able to reach the green in regulation from the rough.Most fairways are at least 40 yards wide. If you aim 10 yards to the left of the fairway, it would take a 50 yard slice to get the ball to the water. A shot with that much curve is rare, so this is definitely the best way to play this hole.

2. You are 150 yards from the green with the pin placed at the front of the green, but the pin is tucked behind a menacing sand trap. You’ve spent a lot of time practicing getting out of the sand and on the green in one shot, but you’re not confident enough in your ability to do it just yet. Your 150-yard club is an 8 iron. What do you do to try and avoid landing in the bunker?Most golfers would automatically reach for their 8 iron, and “take dead aim”. However if you were to play with sound course strategy, you would take a 7 iron and aim for the middle back of the green leaving a straight forward two putt for par. Most people would be afraid of going over the green, but you know that your 7 iron goes a maximum of 165 yards. Even if you hits your best shot you will still have a 45 foot putt for birdie. You also know that if you miss hit the 7 iron it will wind up pin high and in almost no circumstance will the dreaded bunker be in play.

On the other hand if you choose the 8 iron, it will require a near perfect strike to get the ball to the flag. The slightest miss hit results in your ball landing in the sand trap. Here, the 7-iron is the right club based on the layout of the hole.

Putting course management into play with your golf game requires a good working knowledge of the way you play and what you are capable of doing. That means you need to track your progress and really pay attention to how your game is coming along.

Course management skills can really help shave strokes off of your score. So can knowing what the most common mistakes and problems golfers have along with ways to combat them.

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The Sand Trap : some tips

by admin

Ah, those fairway bunkers – the golfer’s bane. Sand traps are a reality on many courses, and you will probably find yourself having to shoot out of them on a fairly regular basis. Although we certainly hope that’s not the case, it certainly is possible. Knowing how to effectively hit out of a sand trap is another huge part of a good golf game.

First, don’t be afraid of the bunker shot. Sure, it can be intimidating, but you can develop good technique that will get you out of the sand and back on the grass – even on the green.

Establish firm footing and take an open stance. Open the clubface by turning it to the outside before hitting the ball. This will put loft on the ball and allow the back portion of the bottom of the club to bounce off the sand instead of having the leading edge dig into the sand. You will want to use a wedge for this shot – preferably a sand wedge.

Distribute most of your weight to the left side of your body. You will swing the club back and through the same distance. Don’t let the clubface close and accelerate through the ball. Don’t let the club touch the sand (a big rules no-no) and concentrate on hitting the sand about two inches behind the ball.

What you are trying to do is take as little sand as possible without making contact with the ball. You want the sand to life the ball out of the bunker. As you make contact with the sand there should be a cupping of the left wrist.
Let me explain “cupping.” Assume you are wearing a watch on your left wrist and the face, as usual, is pointing outward. When contacting the sand on the forward swing, you should try to take the back of your left hand and move it towards your watch face, thereby creating wrinkles underneath your left wrist.

This action is called “cupping of the wrist” and it is very necessary in producing quality sand shots. Since this motion prevents the club from closing, the ball is lifted in the air with backspin.

You will want to have a neutral grip on the club. You don’t want to use a strong grip for bunker shots because it’s absolutely essential that the club face slides under the ball and into your finish without the club face closing.
A neutral grip is one that has the back of the left hand facing parallel to the target line and the right palm facing the same direction. Slap your hands together in front of you and you’ll instantly see what I mean. You can also choke down on the club in an effort to gain more control.

Aim the club face down the target line which should be just left of the hole. You’ve heard all the hype about opening the club face and such and that’s fine if you hit a lot of bunker shots but most folks don’t so aim the club face down the target line which should be just left of the hole. The target should be just left of the hole because this method will impart some left to right spin which will move the ball from left to right once it gets on the ground.

Aim your feet on a 20-30 degree angle to the left of the target line. The greater the angle you create between your feet and the target line, the higher and softer the ball will come out of the trap. Practice these shots a bit with varying angles and you’ll see what I mean. Find the angle where you’re most comfortable and which produces the best results and stick with it whatever it might be.

This all works for balls that are lying on top of the sand, but what do you do if your ball is buried? The technique is different.

When your ball is buried (fried egg) in the bunker, you do not want to swing super long and follow through. The idea is to pick your sand wedge up abruptly, swing down steep, stick your club in the sand, and leave it there. What will happen is your ball will pop out. It won’t have any spin on it because of the lie, but the chance of it getting out of the sand are much better than if you were to follow through.

Why is this so…? You want a very steep angle of attack and no follow through on this shot because it allows for the club to get more underneath the ball. With some of the ball resting below the surface, you need to compensate to get underneath it. That is where a short, steep, punchy type of swing works best.

A typical bunker shot calls for an open stance, an open clubface, and a nice shallow swing while taking a little bit of sand. That will not work with a plugged lie, regardless of how hard you swing. Your club will be approaching from too shallow an angle.

You will hit the sand to the RIGHT of the ball, instead of hitting the sand UNDERNEATH the ball. Thus, your club will just bounce, or deflect into the ball. Worse yet, you will plow too much sand into the back of ball and it will go nowhere. You need to get below the ball somehow.

Here’s what I recommend from a buried lie in a greenside bunker:

1. Set up with a bit squarer stance.

2. Square the clubface a bit also. This will allow for the leading edge to enter the sand first.

3. Pick the club up steeper, and then swing down steeper and stick the club in the ground. Hit about 1-3 inches behind the ball. You can swing hard, just don’t follow through. You won’t be able to follow through if you make the correct swing, because you will be coming down too steep. That’s good!

This is not a shot that you will face a lot, but I still think it is worth practicing. Go to a practice trap and step on a couple balls to bury them a little. Then hit some shots. Experiment a bit. Especially get the feeling of that up and down “chopping” motion, and that no follow through release. By doing so, you will find that this shot is not really that hard to get out of the bunker.

After a round of golf while socializing in the ’19th Hole’, you will always hear “I hit the ball well but didn’t score.” The object of the game of golf is to score the lowest possible score you can. How you can hit the ball well and not score can be summed up in two words: course management.

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All about putting

by admin

Again, many golfers have trouble with their putting. I know of one experienced golfer who can consistently drive the ball 250 to 300 yards only to get on the green and three putt. Nothing frustrates him more, but putting is an important part of your golf game – possibly THE most important part.

Stroking the ball is only one part of putting. To putt effectively, you first need to know how to read a green. That means looking at the trajectory your ball will travel and compensate for any dips, hills, or anything else that could cause your ball to move a specific way.

Good green reading comes with experience. After hitting enough putts over enough different types of terrain and grass, you develop a sixth sense of how the ball will roll. As you walk onto a green, whether you realize it or not, you take in all sorts of subtle information.

If the green appears light, you know you’re putting against the grain; if it’s dark you’re down grain. If the green is set on a high area of the course and you feel a breeze as you step onto it, you sense that the putt will be fast. Even if you don’t look closely at the surrounding terrain, you are aware of any major slope in the land.

Without having to tell yourself, you know which the low side of the green is and which the high is. If the putting surface is hard and crusty under foot, you receive one message; if it’s soft and spongy you get another. Experience with many, many putts allows you to run this data through your computer before you even mark your ball.

The most elusive aspect of green reading has to do with the grain. Grain refers to the direction in which the blades of grass grow. The light/dark appearance is one way to read it. Another method you can use is to take your putter blade and scrape it across a patch of fringe. If the blades of grass brush up, you’re scraping against the grain. If they mat down, you’re scraping with it. (Incidentally, be sure to do this scraping on the fringe. On the greens, it’s against Rule 35-1f.)

A third method is to take a look at the cup. Often, the blades of grass will grow over the edge of the cup in the direction in which the grain moves. Incidentally, grain usually grows toward water, especially toward the ocean, and in the East it’s apt to lean toward the mountains. If you’re not near any such topography, figure on the grain growing in the direction of the setting sun.

Grain is strongest on Bermuda grass, where short, crew-cut-like blades tend to push the ball strongly. Although each putt on each green is different, as a general rule you can figure on stroking the ball about 20 percent harder than usual on a putt that’s dead into the grain, and about 20 percent less on a down grain putt.

When the ball breaks with the grain, you need to read-in extra “borrow” on the putt. When the slope is against the grain, play for less break. These effects are less marked on the long-stemmed bent and other strains of grass, but they are present nonetheless.

The break of your putt will also be affected by the firmness of a green, the wetness/dryness, the amount of wind you’re facing, and even the time of day. In general, any time you have to hit the ball hard, you play for less break.

Another way of reading the break on a green is to watch the way other players’ putts behave. I’m all for this “going to school,” but with one caveat: Allow for any difference between your own playing style and those of your fellow players. If, for instance, your friend is a lagger and you’re a charger, don’t play as much break as he does.

Finally, one hard and fast rule in putting is this: Never hit the ball until you have a good vision of the path on which it will roll. Sometimes the vision will come to you immediately. You’ll see the perfect putt the minute you step up to it, and more often than not, you’ll sink it just as you saw it.

Other times, it will take much longer to get a picture of the putt, and even then you won’t be comfortable. But don’t make your stroke until you have the best read you can get. You have to believe in your line if you want to have a good chance of sinking any putt.

If the green is located near water, you can bet the ball is going to break towards that body of water. I’m not sure why this is, but it is certainly true.

It’s essential that you know you shouldn’t be aiming for the hole. Good putters know that you have to pick a spot on the green and then aim for that spot. For example, if you think the ball will break three inches to the right, pick a spot three inches to the left and shoot at that spot.

Don’t think of a putt as a curved shot – think of every putt as being straight on. When you have your spot, aim to have the ball travel right over that spot. If you have read the green correctly, the ball will naturally travel into the hole.
Don’t rush reading a green. Take a look at how your ball lies from all angles. Walk around it; look at it from across the pin to see the trajectory that the ball needs to travel at. But have respect for your fellow golfers. Don’t take forever reading a green. It’s not rocket science and you won’t want to hold up play.

Keep in mind that the line of the putt has little to do with being able to put the ball in the hole. Good putting depends on the speed of the ball when it leaves your putter’s face. But achieving that speed can be quite elusive. There’s no easy way to judge how hard you need to hit the ball to get good speed. However, there is something you can do.

Go to the practice putting green. Hit several putts with about a 12-inch backswing. Do this over and over until you can get a good idea of how far the ball will go with that 12-inch backswing. Then when you get on the real green, you can use that putt as a reference to determine how much you will have to add or take away from your backswing to sink the putt.
The way you grip your putter can make a difference in accurate putting as well. You can choose what’s best for you, but most professional golfers know that gripping a driver and gripping a putter should be two different animals.

You will want complete control of your putter for the most accuracy. One technique that can help you do this is to modify your grip so that both of your index fingers are extending down either side of the shaft and your thumbs are placed together on the top of the shaft. This can help you guide your putter smoothly and improve your accuracy.
When in your stance, you need to be positioned directly over the ball. I like to call this hovering the putt because you are hovering over the ball like a mother hovers over her children. Set the putter square to the target and have the ball positioned right in the middle of the club face – which most people refer to as the “sweet spot”.

Keep your body free of tension and your body motion limited. When you swing, you should do so in a pendulum-like motion using your shoulders not your hips. Always follow through with your putt and accelerate through the ball. Your follow through should be about the same distance as your pull back motion and you need to keep your eyes on the ball at all times.

And most golfers know that if you are faced with either an uphill putt or a downhill put, you should always go with the uphill choice. A downhill putt is much more complicated because of gravity whereas when you putt uphill, you can gain more control of your stroke.

Good putting is essential to a good golf game, so practice as much as you can and try to be consistent in all you do.

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