Hitting Golf s Toughest Shots

•Five Steps For Improving Bunker Technique
Although hitting from a bunker is straightforward once you learn the basics of stance and posture, the thought of hitting into a greenside sand trap unsettles many golfers. Improving your technique reduces the fear of bunker play and builds self-confidence in your shot-making capabilities. Assuming the texture of the sand is similar, and the ball is not plugged, the technique for hitting out of a greenside bunker remains the same for shots up to 30 yards (27m). The key to making this shot, as...

•Dealing With Down Slopes
In some of my golf tips I tell the story about playing a course which had severe fairway undulations. I could see where the course would be discouraging for recreational golfers. I seldom had a flat lie on the course. In fact, it was so hilly, I was almost always hitting from some kind of slope. More often than not, I was hitting down hill. If you’ve ever played a course like this—and you probably have—you know how tricky hitting from a downhill lie can be. It’s especially difficult for...

•How To Chip As If You Were Putting
The chip shot is one of the easiest to learn in the game. Yet, many recreational players have trouble hitting the short chip shot, even after several golf instruction sessions. In fact, they’re so bad, they substitute their putter for wedge, which isn’t always wise, as I explain in my golf lessons. Using a putter when you need a pitching wedge or a sand wedge is, needless to say, a poor decision. It can add strokes to your overall score or cost you a hole in match play. It’s a problem you...

•How To Cut Five Strokes From Your Game By The Weekend
If you're serious about lowering your golf handicap and doing so quickly, master the three scoring clubs—the driver, the wedge, and the putter. These clubs have the greatest impact on your golf game and provide the greatest opportunity for cutting strokes from your scores. Mastering these clubs will improve your game as much as 5 strokes per round. Specifically though, let’s focus on the wedges. Knowing which wedge to hit in different situations is really the best way to drop shots because...

•How To Choose The Right Shaft Flex For Your Golf Clubs
All low handicappers and golfers who are serious about shooting the lowest scores possible consider flex in their clubs. It makes the science of hitting the ball so much easier, which translates to more enjoyment on the course. Now, when I say flex, I am referring to the ability of a golf shaft to bend as forces are applied to it during the golf swing. Just go ahead and “waggle” your club a little and see how much the shaft bends and you will get an idea of what “flex” is. There are five...

•Principles Of Accurate Chipping
Here’s a question I sometimes ask when giving a golf lesson. What do pro golfers Jose Maria Olazabal, Tiger Woods, and Sergio Garcia all have in common? Answer: They don’t hit into trouble often, but when they do, their short games save them, and accurate chipping is one of the most potent weapons in their short game. In fact, most players with low golf handicaps chip accurately. The chip shot is one of the easiest shots to learn in golf. It’s also one of the most crucial. In medal play,...

•How To Practice Golf Properly
Practicing your golf game properly is vital to improving. Knowing how to practice increases self-confidence, reduces scores, and lowers golf handicaps. It also increases the fun of playing as you see your scores drop on each round. I consider it so important that I discuss how to practice with all my students during golf lessons. Unfortunately, some students don’t always follow my advice. They either focus on the wrong things during practice or they practice without purpose. Some students do...

•The Four Key Factors In Your Swing
When I mention the word basics in my golf lessons, players start thinking about things like grip, posture, ball position, alignment, and so on. That’s only natural. Golf pros talk so much about these subjects in golf instruction sessions that players assume they’re the focus when the discussion comes round to the basics of a golf shot. But there are four other basics—plane, centering, radius, and face—that key good ball striking. Players must master the four factors to cut their golf...

•Do You Have A One Plane Or Two Plane Swing
The concept of plane confuses some players. It also confuses some players that come to me for golf lessons. Many are unclear about what it is and what its impact is on your golf swing. Whether you understand the concept of plane or not, swinging off plane is never good. Focusing on two points—spine angle at address and the position of the left arm on the downswing—clears up the confusion about swing plane and explains its effect on your golf swing and your golf handicap. Several reasons...

•Get Up And Down From Anywhere By Mastering These Three Shots
What’s the difference between a player with a high golf handicap and one with a low golf handicap? Often, it’s the low handicapper’s ability to get up and down on a hole. Or, in other words, it’s the low handicapper’s ability to turn three (or more) shots into two around the green. It’s called scoring. And it’s the low handicapper’s secret weapon. The key to getting up and down is more mental than physical. It includes: 1. Assessing the existing lie 2. Selecting the right shot 3. Choosing...