Friday, July 3, 2009

Use A Wall To Cure This Common Swing Fault

Taking the club too far inside the target line on the backswing spells disaster.

It can lead to all sorts of bad shots—pushes, slices, duck hooks, and topped shots. A common swing fault, this move is usually caused by a backswing controlled by the hips and the dipping of the shoulders away from the ball. With practice, you can cure this fault.

Here's a six-step drill to cure this fault:
1. Situate yourself with a wall behind you
2. Take your address position with a driver
3. Make sure your backside is barely touching the wall
4. Simulate your backswing in slow motion
5. Keep moving your arms until they're waist high
6. Make sure the toe of club points straight up

If your backswing is correct, you'll eventually hit the wall. But that won't happen until after reaching waist high. Since you're not going beyond waist high, you shouldn't hit the wall. Just in case, use a head cover to protect the clubhead and the wall. At the start of a correct backswing, your clubhead should run along the target line for as long as possible. Once the clubhead reaches waist high, the toe should point straight up and away from the wall. If your club touches the wall as you take it back, you know you're moving too far inside. In that case, practice your takeaway by first leading the backswing with the upper body along the target line. Once the upper body can't turn any more, the lower body takes over. That's the correct way of making your backswing.This drill also helps golfers who struggle with "laying off"—dropping the clubhead behind the body because of a weak pair of wrists. Women and senior golfers sometimes have this problem. If your hitting slices, pushes, duck hooks, and all sorts of other bad shots, you could be taking the club too far inside on the backswing. If you think you are, use this drill to cure this common fault. It will cut strokes from your scores.

Three Most Common Mistakes Weekend Golfers Make

As a golf instructor, Jack Moorehouse has watched hundreds of students take countless swings--both good and bad. Doing so has helped him pinpoint the three most common mistakes weekend golfers make. These mistakes diminish the golfer's power and accuracy. By eliminating them, you'll not only hit the ball farther and straighter. You'll cut strokes from your scores and your golf handicap.

The three most common mistakes:
1. Overswinging
2. Overusing the legs
3. Losing the triangle

Overswinging is probably the most common mistake weekend golfers make. Overswingers don't understand how to create power. Most of your power comes from maintaining a fully loaded wrist set created at the top of your swing. Holding this position as long as you can before releasing it at impact creates power. It accelerates the speed at which your clubhead moves thru the impact zone--the seat of power.Many weekend golfers use their legs to try and generate more power. Your legs are the foundation of your swing. You need your legs when swinging. But overusing the legs saps power. Moving them aggressively thru the ball slows clubhead speed, robbing you of power. Keep your legs as still as possible. They support your swing and help control the clubface, increasing accuracy.Losing the triangle at the top of your swing is a third common mistake. Some let their arms get behind them at the top. Others let their right arms (left, for lefties) fold or collapse. When either of these things happens, your hands get behind your back, making it almost impossible to return the club to a strong position at impact. These golfers lose distance and accuracy.Eliminate these three mistakes from your swing. You'll not only find the fairway more often. You'll chop strokes from your scores and your golf handicap.

Maximize Power With Your Irons

Tired of hitting weak irons from the fairway and leaving yourself short of the green.

Maybe you're trying to lift the ball? Lifting is common among weekend golfers--especially with irons. Instead of hitting down on the ball, they try to slip the clubface under the ball and lift it through the air. This swing fault usually results in disaster, producing a weak shot, a dribbler, or some other weird mis-hit.
Here are five keys to maximizing iron power:
1. Shoulders are even at address
2. Open your hips at impact
3. Keep your hands ahead of the ball
4. Make a descending blow
5. Deliver your right shoulder hard

To hit an iron solidly, you must use a descending blow that creates a divot after the ball, not in front of it. The key to doing this is delivering your right shoulder to the ball.
Consider this: At address your shoulders are fairly even. Perhaps your right shoulder is slightly lower than your left. But this changes at impact. At impact your hips are open, your hands are ahead of the ball, and your right shoulder is closer to the ball than your left. This also means your right shoulder stays low through impact. To train your brain to keep the right shoulder low through impact, visualize a martial artist punching through a board. As she punches the board, she lunges forward with her arm, supplying the momentum she needs to snap the board. To train your body to deliver your back shoulder, make some practice strokes with just your right arm holding the club. Concentrate on moving your right shoulder closer to the ball during the downswing. This exercise ingrains the proper feel for delivering the right shoulder to the ball, and prevents an early release of the arms and hands--a major power leak. Delivering the right shoulder to the ball is the key to hitting solid irons, not lifting the ball with your clubface. You want to create a divot after the ball, not before it. Practice the exercises described above and you'll hit your irons with more punch. Godd Lukc and remeber to PRACTICE, PRACTICE< PRACTICE!!!!

Saturday, May 16, 2009

Want to reduce your golf handicap dramatically?

Learn to chip accurately—especially from just off the green. Chipping accurately helps you score low by turning three shots into two. It also increases your ability to get up and down from difficult lies and to make birdies and pars. To increase accuracy, rehearse the shot. Rehearsing provides key information that lets you knock it close.
Here's a five-step routine to use before chipping:

* Inspect the lie carefully
* Take two practice sweeps
* Adjust your grip
* Step up and take your stance
* Visualize the shot and hit

The most important part of the short chip shot is to make sure you lead with the hips. This will help you avoid the embarrassing "chilli dip" " duff where the ball travels about 12 inutes and you have to hit the SAME shot again.

You must determine three things when chipping from just off the grass: How far to hit the ball. How high to hit it. And how much roll you want. Rehearsing helps you decide these things by letting you accurately assess the situation. First, look at your lie. Is the ball is above or below the grass? The higher the ball sits on the grass, the higher it launches and the more backspin it has. The lower the ball sits on the grass, the lower it launches and the more forward spin it has. Now, take your stance. After settling in, make two downward sweeping practice swings. Do this as close to the ball as possible. The swings tell you how the grass will react to a downward sweeping motion through the ball. Note how the clubhead slides through the grass. If it grabs the clubface, tighten your grip. If it lets the clubface slide through easily, maintain a "soft grip." The two sweeps also tell you if you're chipping from an uphill, a downhill, or a sidehill lie. You can't always tell by looking. And don' try scooping the ball. That almost never works. Instead, visualize the shot and trust your stroke. The club's loft will launch the ball.Chipping accurately from just off the green turns three strokes into two. It can help cut your scores and golf handicap dramatically.

*** AGAIN *** The most important part of the short chip shot is to make sure you lead with the hips. This will help you avoid the embarrassing "chilli dip" " duff where the ball travels about 12 inutes and you have to hit the SAME shot again

Three Easy Keys to Sinking Short Putts

It's easy to miss short putts. Sometimes, you take the shot for granted. Other times, you just don't focus on enough. Regardless of why it happens, what matters is that you missed the putt and it cost you a stroke. If you're playing a match, it can cost you the hole or maybe even the match itself.
Missing a short putt is also embarrassing—especially if it's in a club championship or a tournament. So there some added pressure to make these putts. Below are three keys to making short putts:

1. Make contact with center of putterface
2. Make contact with a square putterface
3. Accelerate the putter head through impact

Mastering these three keys improves not only your short but also your long putting. To master centerface contact, stick two tees in the ground on either side of the putterhead. Put one at the toe and one at the head. Practice stroking putts without contacting the tees. Continue until you strike the ball cleanly every time.To master a square putterface, place a shaft on the ground outside the tee at the putterhead's toe. Make sure the shaft is parallel with the target line. Use the shaft for alignment and keep stroking putts. Avoid the two tees stuck in the ground as you putt. To master acceleration, take a third tee and stick in the ground behind the ball at address. Place it relatively even with the toe of your back foot. Now stroke some putts. Avoid hitting all three tees. The third tee stops you from taking the putterhead too far back. It also forces you to accelerate through the putt. Practicing these drills regularly sharpens your stroke and boosts confidence, improving your short putting. It also helps you sink more 12- and 15-foot putts for birdie or par.

Wednesday, April 1, 2009

Maximize Power with Your Irons

Tired of hitting weak irons from the fairway and leaving yourself short of the green. Maybe you're trying to lift the ball. Lifting is common among weekend golfers--especially with irons. Instead of hitting down on the ball, they try to slip the clubface under the ball and lift it through the air. This swing fault usually results in disaster, producing a weak shot, a dribbler, or some other weird mis-hit.
Here are five keys to maximizing iron power:
1. Shoulders are even at address
2. Open your hips at impact
3. Keep your hands ahead of the ball
4. Make a descending blow
5. Deliver your right shoulder hard

To hit an iron solidly, you must use a descending blow that creates a divot after the ball, not in front of it. The key to doing this is delivering your right shoulder to the ball. Consider this:
At address your shoulders are fairly even. Perhaps your right shoulder is slightly lower than your left. But this changes at impact. At impact your hips are open, your hands are ahead of the ball, and your right shoulder is closer to the ball than your left. This also means your right shoulder stays low through impact.
To train your brain to keep the right shoulder low through impact, visualize a martial artist punching through a board. As she punches the board, she lunges forward with her arm, supplying the momentum she needs to snap the board.
To train your body to deliver your back shoulder, make some practice strokes with just your right arm holding the club. Concentrate on moving your right shoulder closer to the ball during the downswing. This exercise ingrains the proper feel for delivering the right shoulder to the ball, and prevents an early release of the arms and hands--a major power leak.
Delivering the right shoulder to the ball is the key to hitting solid irons, not lifting the ball with your clubface. You want to create a divot after the ball, not before it. Practice the exercises described above and you'll hit your irons with more punch.

Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Achieving Power and Accuracy Off The Tee

Every golfer wants power and accuracy off the tee!!

But those two things aren't always compatible. Usually, golfers achieve one at the expense of the other. When they try really cranking one, they often belt it deep into the rough. When they try pinpointing one down the fairway, they usually drive it 20 or 30 yards shorter than they want. But you can solve the power versus accuracy dilemma, if you know how.

Below are five tips to generate power and accuracy off the tee.
* Swing at a controlled pace
* Clear your hips faster
* Allow your back heel to lift
* Extend the club down the target line
* Turn your head toward the target
If want power and accuracy off the tee, try this:
First, get your swing under control. Instead of whaling away at the ball, swing at 75 percent. Focus instead on striking the ball solidly. Second, clear your hips faster. Rotating them at the start of the downswing lets your arms fire powerfully through impact. But be careful! Speeding up your hips too much throws your swing off. Third, let your back heel come off the ground. This helps you make a full downswing. Of course, if you can make a full downswing without lifting your heel, that's fine, too.

Just remember that Jack Nicklaus and Tom Watson both let their heels lift up quite a bit. Fourth, extend the club down the target line. Visualize yourself shaking hands with the target. Some players like to flip their hands through impact to get more clubhead speed. This move almost never works. Fifth, turn your head toward the target. You want the clubhead to release naturally. To do that, you must allow your head to turn. When you hang your head back, you often hook the ball. Keep everything moving together. Turn your head and eyes with the club.
Work on ingraining these five tips!
You'll hit the ball farther and straighter off the tee, and solve the power versus accuracy dilemma

Monday, February 16, 2009

Pin Hunting!!

Golfers who can hit high approach shots have an advantage. Since they can get their shots to drop and stop on the green, they can go directly at tough pin placements.
If you can't high approach shots, you have to play it safe, which could cost you strokes. Learning to hit high approach shot takes time and practice. But it pays off.

Below are six keys to hitting a high approach shot:
* Choose the right club
* Open the clubface
* Distribute weight equally
* Use a neutral grip
* Take a full shoulder turn
* Visualize the shot

Start by choosing the right club. Tiger Woods uses a 60-degree wedge. Ernie Els favors a 54-degree wedge. The wedge itself doesn't matter. Finding one that works for you does. Take a slightly open stance and play the ball forward. Also, open the clubface. It gives you more options. You can leave the face open for a high shot or turn it down through impact for a low shot. Distribute your weight equally and use a neutral grip. If you want to play the shot slightly lower, lean a little forward.Finally, take a full shoulder turn for power and consistency. Look directly at the ball over your shoulder as you complete the turn. Keep your eyes level. When the club gets to the top, the angle of the clubface should match the angle of your wrists. That means the face is square. Make a smooth transition and come down at a steep angle.Resist the urge to scoop the ball in the air. Let the club's loft do the work. And don't let the clubhead get ahead of your hands. Also, keep your lower body relaxed so it can respond to your turn. Visualize the shot before hitting it.If you learn to hit high approach shots, you can go after hard pin placements when it makes sense. Playing aggressively will save you strokes

Tuesday, February 10, 2009

Avoiding The Pop Up Tee Shot

The pop-up is one of the most embarrassing tee shots in the game, along with the little dribbler out in front. The pop-up goes straight up in the air, barely clearing the tee box and then comes straight down. Often, it doesn’t even clear the ladies tee. It’s even more embarrassing when you pop-up on the first tee.

Two things cause a pop-up: (1) shifting excessive weight forward, and (2) approaching the ball from a very steep angle. Most players who hit pop-ups never shift their weight correctly during the swing. Meanwhile, the steep descent de-lofts the clubface, causing the club’s topline to become its leading edge. Together, these swing faults cause the ball to go straight up in the air.

Here are 5 tips on eliminating pop-ups:
· Take a wider stance
· Maintain a higher position at the top
· Maintain a lower position at the finish
· Take a full shoulder turn
· Shift weight to your back foot

Some simple changes in your set-up help eliminate pop-ups. The key is making sure your set-up encourages a higher and longer backswing arc, which in turn shallows out your swing plane and reduces the steepness of your downswing. First, widen your stance, creating room for a big backswing arc. If you’re not comfortable using a wider stance hit balls with it in practice until you are, then take it to the course. Also concentrate on maintaining a higher position at the top of your backswing and a lower position at the finish.

These changes will train your body to take a full shoulder turn and shift your weight to your back foot on your backswing, and your forward foot on your downswing, instead of vice versa.Eliminating pop-ups may not turn you into the club champion, but it will improve your game and help save you face at the same time.

Jack Moorehouse has been kind enough to share many of his golf tips. I have to say Jack is one of the best instructor's I've ever seen. Jack Moorehouse is the author of the best-selling book “How To Break 80 and Shoot Like the Pros!”. He is NOT a golf pro, rather a working man that has helped thousands of golfers from all seven continents lower their handicaps quickly

Saturday, February 7, 2009

How to Hit Long Irons

Many golfers prefer hitting hybrid clubs to long irons. But some still like hitting long irons. The biggest danger with hitting long irons is catching the ball thin. The longer the iron, the greater the chance of catching it thin. The problem: lack of ball compression. Instead of compressing the ball into the ground, you're hanging back too long, causing the club to hit up on the ball.

Here are 5 keys to hitting long irons solidly:
* Take your normal address position
* Shift your weight to your back heel
* Stretch your backswing out
* Keep your back heel planted
* Hit down on the ball to compress it


You must be on your front side to hit long irons solidly, which means you may have to make some slight adjustments to your swing. Take your regular address then shift your weight to your back leg. Ideally, your back hip should be over your back heel. This move tilts your shoulders upwards slightly and away from the target.Having made these adjustments, take the club back slowly. Stretch out your arms in your backswing as much as possible and keep your back heel planted. Keep your weight on your back side. Now swing down on the ball. With your back side stretched taught at the top of your backswing, you're in position to deliver the club powerfully to the ball, compressing it and adding spin. To get the feel of this stretching move, use a Theraband, which you can get at most sporting goods stores. Place the band around the instep of your front foot and the fingers of your left hand (right, if you're left-handed). The Theraband adds resistance as you swing to the top, the kind of resistance you should feel when swinging.If you hit your long irons thin, focus on compressing the ball. It adds the distance and spin you need for drilling solid approach shots consistently

Friday, February 6, 2009

Short Pitches From The Rough

Your approach shot barely misses the green. It lands in the rough, which is deep but not too deep. Your normal pitch shot won't work from here because the grass is too long. The shot won't give you the clean contact you need to escape the grass and leave the ball close. You need to adjust your pitching technique to get up and down.

Below are five keys to pitching from long grass:
1. Stand back from your address position

2. Positions your hands lower
3. Square the leading edge of the clubface
4. Swing normally with less force
5. Fine-tune your setup to land it close

Address the ball as you normally would, but stand back slightly. This stance lowers your hands a bit into a pre-cocked position, adding bounce to the club to push it cleanly through the grass. Square the leading edge of the clubhead, giving you more clubface area to strike the ball.
Make your normal pitch swing, but use 75 percent force. The low hands give you a sharp downswing, helping to slip the club under the ball. With this technique, the ball pops up more than moves forward, rescuing you from the grass.
Vary your stance and ball position depending on the grass and your distance from the pin. To pitch it higher, play the ball between the center of your stance and front foot. To pitch it lower, play the ball between the center of your stance and back foot. To pitch it farther, widen your stance and stay square to the ball. To pitch it shorter, choke down and use an open, narrow stance.
All pitch shots are not created equal. When the grass is really long, adjust your stance, swing, and grip based on the length of the grass and the distance to the hole. Practice this shot from different positions near the green to master this stroke-saving shot.

Thursday, February 5, 2009

Increasing Accuracy With Proper Alignment

Many golfers pay little attention to alignment. In a rush to hit their shot, they take their stance, glance quickly in the direction of their target, and hit away. They're amazed when their shots go awry.
Aligning yourself to the target is a key fundamental. Simply put, you can't hit your target if you aren't aligned properly. To increase accuracy, make alignment a vital part of you're pre-shot routine.
Here is a six-step routine for pre-shot alignment:

* Stand behind the ball

* Line up the target and the ball
* Take a full practice swing
* Focus on the target line
* Set your club along the line
* Take your stance

Start by standing behind the ball facing the fairway. Picking out your target. Be as specific as possible. Draw a line from your target to the ball. Still behind the ball, square your clubface to the target line and take your stance. Take a full practice swing. Visualize the clubhead moving down the target line through impact.

Next, focus on the target line in front of the ball. Walk into your ball from the side, keeping your eyes on the target line. Set your clubhead behind the ball with the clubface pointing down the line, set your feet perpendicular to the line, and settle into your stance. Once in your stance, give the target a final look. Then, turn your eyes to the ball and fire away.
Misalignment costs you strokes. Don't let it. Use an alignment routine for all shots. It will help you find the safest one to your intended target and increase accuracy. More important, it helps lower your golf handicap

Wednesday, February 4, 2009

Hitting a Power Fade

The power fade is a stroke-saving, left-to-right shot (for right-handers) you hit on purpose. It's not a slice, though it may look like one. It's an intentionally curved shot ideal for holes that turn sharply right or when most of the trouble is on the left. A great go-to shot off the tee, a power fade is easier to hit than a dead straight shot or a draw.
Below are six tips on hitting a power fade:

* Tee the ball on the right
* Pick a spot on the left
* Align your stance to the spot
* Position the ball forward
* Aim for the outside quadrant
* Swing easy and don't try to kill it.

Start by teeing the ball on the right side of the box, which gives you more room to play your ball to the right. Now, pick a spot between the rough and the fairway on the left and align your stance to it. That's the line you want your shot to travel before it begins to turn.

Next, tee the ball about a ball forward of where you normally position it. Tee it up low so that the ball's equator and the club's sweet spot line up. A lower tee encourages you to swing level through impact and guards against hitting a hooking. Also, rotate your club open a few degrees.
Take a normal swing. Aim for the outside quadrant of the ball. Striking the ball on the outside quadrant increases the chances of the ball fading. Take a nice easy swing and don't try to kill it. The faster you swing the club, the easier it is for you to turn your hands over and hook it.

The power fade is a relatively easy shot to hit. Jack Nicklaus' favorite shot off the tee, it's great to use on the first few holes you play, especially if you haven't had time to warm up.

Until nex time

email me your Golf Tips!

Feel free to email me any of your golf tips. Please only email tips that actually work and include an estimate of how many stokes per round you were able to save.

Tee to Green Golf Tips

This blog will help you become a better golfer. I've come across hundreds of golf tips over the years. So many that no one human being - even an avid golfer - can't remember their own top 20.
So I've decided to consolidate my thoughts on golf tips for the average golfer from TEE TO GREEN. Not just the tips from the tee box with your oversized driver but this blogger intends to include the tips that get you out of the sand and other trouble spots around the course. The type of TIPS THAT CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE