I once heard a story about Jack Nicklaus' reaction to a missed putt. A fan, the story goes, said to Jack after missed a short putt, "Sorry you missed that one, Jack." Jack's response was: "I didn't miss the putt. It just didn't go in."
Jack was right. He hit the line and speed he wanted, so in his mind everything was fine. This mental approach protected his self-image and allowed him to move on without dwelling on it like many of us do after missing a short putt. By doing so, he prevented the miss from affecting his self-confidence on future putts. In other words, he just let it go!
Getting mad at yourself over a lack of performance is non-productive and can erode your confidence. The human body is not a machine. Some days it works better that others, and for many different reasons.
So when you see yourself starting to get mad or losing your focus, think to yourself, "I did the best I could, given all the circumstances," and let it end there.
My point is simple: Stop putting yourself down.
Think about the things you are telling yourself on the course. Ever heard the expression, "What you eat, you are?" Well, "what you think, you are."
Everything you tell yourself is programming, so make it productive. Choose carefully what you think about. Don't work against yourself.
Most negative dialogue is a bad habit that you can change. You start first by listening to what you are telling yourself, recognizing the negative and working to put an end to the negative. Once you start, it's easy to change your internal dialogue to focus on the things you want to achieve.
Here's an example:
The old you: "I hate chip shots." Or, "I always chunk my chip shots."
The instant you hear yourself starting up the negative stuff, say to yourself, "stop," and don't allow yourself to finish the negative thought. Now change that negative into something productive.
The new you: "I want to get this chip close." Or, "I am going to make this."
Tell yourself what you want to do. Whether you make a good chip is not the point. What is the point is that over the long run, your new, positive dialogue will take you to a new level of play throughout the whole game.


"Why are there no worms in any of my divots caddy?" Probably all hiding under the ball, sir.

Chin Up

If you're driving the golf ball poorly and not very consistent, let me give you these two golf swing instruction pearls. They go hand in hand.

And I promise you this will help you find out if your problem with your driver is in the backswing.

For you to become a really good driver of the golf ball and consistent, the shoulders have to turn. The only way they can turn in the backswing is if you have your chin up and not down.

Most mistakes that I’ve seen with amateur golfers in their difficulties of driving the golf ball is their posture.

Their head is too far down. The only thing your shoulders can do is go up in the air. You won’t have the ability to swing the golf club around you. You won’t have the chance of your shoulders turning.

So, the best golf swing instruction I can give you is, the next time out, after you’ve addressed the golf ball, gone through your routine and you're almost ready to swing the golf club back, simply lift your chin up in the air an inch or two. And don’t forget that your shoulder should turn in the backswing.

If you have your chin up, the shoulder can turn around it. From there, you can really let it fly in the downswing.

Again, chin up, not down, promotes the shoulders turning in the backswing.

Try that the next time out and I promise you it’ll help you.

Thanks.

Golf is for backward Americans: They talk nothing but golf at the office and nothing but business on the links.

STOP PUSHING!!!!

Try this:

Tee up a ball, and take your stance with your feet 12 inches apart. Try hitting some drives like this. The narrow stance will make your lower body less likely to turn too aggressively on the downswing. You want to feel your arms swinging down and releasing past your body.

A good release keeps the ball from going right. If the arms and wrists are tense, they block the natural rotation and release of the club. To release tension, hold the club up in front of you, and make circles in the air using only your wrists. If your wrists are loose it will be easy to do.


" Now that I'm wealthy enough to afford lost balls," complained an older golfer, I can't hit them far enough to loose them."

Timing is Everything!

Let’s spend a couple of minutes talking about one of the three most abused and misunderstood golf swing fundamentals, timing. It’s an important term but it’s misused a lot. So, let me explain to you what timing is, and then it’ll draw you a lot closer to understanding when you're struggling.

Timing is your ability to swing your arms and hands back to the golf ball as your hip turns out of the way. And the reason it has to turn out of the way is so the arms and hands can pass your body and wrap around you. That’s the definition, no more, no less.

Now, I have gone to the golf course many days where I’ve hit the ball beautifully, solid, straight right. So, my timing was off a bit because my body was turning out in front of my golf club and that was sending it off to the right.

Now, the correction would be to slow the bottom half down and speed up the top part. There have been days where my timing has been off because the arms and hands were quicker than the bottom.

How do you correct that? Speed up the bottom and it’ll catch up with the arms and hands, and that will help that.

Now, how do you fix your timing? That’s probably the most difficult question in the game of golf. How do you get your timing back? I believe that if you can’t hit your pitching wedge, you probably aren’t hitting your 5 iron and your 5 wood and your driver.

So, I love to send people out to the practice facility to hit thousands of pitching wedges and work on their golf swing fundamentals. That, to me, is the easiest way to find your timing.

Now, let’s say that your favorite club in your golf bag is your driver and you're driving the ball beautifully. Then go hit a thousand drivers. Or maybe it’s a 5 wood or a 5 iron. Whatever club you're struggling with, stay way away from that one.

Go to the club that you're doing well with. And if you're not doing well with any of them, then go to a pitching wedge.

Now, the next question most difficult after that: How do you know when your timing’s off? I believe that your timing is off when your miss/hit pattern is not consistent. One’s fat, one’s thin, one’s top, one’s good, one’s to the left, one’s to the right. That’s a great indication that your timing’s off.

Find your favorite club and go to the practice tee and hit ten thousand of them and remember when you hit the golf ball to think of the golf swing fundamentals.

Thanks and have a great day.

"Idiot! Your ball hit me in the eye! I'll sue you for 5 million dollars!" I said fore' I'll take it!

Are you Postured?

Of course, when you’re learning how to play golf there’s a million different ways to address the golf ball because there’s millions of different people that play the game. But there are some absolute musts that you have to try to do to try to get in different positions at address.

Now, bad posture would be where the knees are too straight: no bend at the hip and the back is too straight. This doesn’t work, I promise you. This posture, you probably would hit a lot of pop-ups with your driver and hit the ground a lot with your irons.

The complete opposite would be where the knees are flexed too much and you're bent way over at the hips and you slouch your shoulders. This doesn’t work either. This one creates hitting ground behind it and topping.

So, there’s somewhere in the middle where one of these postures has to be about right, so let me give it to you.

Slightly flex your knees. Put two index fingers on your hip bones, and tilt over your belt buckle or tilt over your waistline. But don’t let the shoulders slouch. Keep the shoulders back.

From here you can then turn and the golf club will be on plane.

If you try this when learning how to play golf, I promise you, this will help you.

Thanks.

"How should I hit this put, caddy?" Try to keep it low, sir.

Lead Tape?

There are two reasons golfers add lead tape to their clubheads. One reason is a good one, and works; the other reason is a myth and does not work.

For the bogus one first: Adding lead tape in an effort to change the center of gravity of the head (to make the ball fly higher, lower, more to the right or left) simply will not work. The CG has to be moved at least a quarter-inch for the golfer to notice a flight change in the ball with the same clubhead. To move the CG by a quarter-inch requires no less than the addition of 10 4-inch-long strips of half-inch wide lead tape, all placed in the same area of the head toward which the CG movement is desired.

The right reason for using lead tape is to increase the swingweight of the club; i.e., to increase the feel of more weight or "heft" in the clubhead.

For that purpose, one 4-inch-long strip of half-inch wide lead tape will increase the swingweight of any club by one point, as in from D0 to D1.

Most golfers will detect a difference in the headweight feel of a club when the swingweight is increased by 2 or 3 swingweight points, but only the most sensitive feel players will ever note the difference of 1 swingweight point.

When should you think about experimenting with adding lead tape to the clubhead? If you sense that you can't feel the presence of the clubhead in the swing, if you feel that you fight being "too quick" with your swing, of if you are experiencing a fairly high incidence of shots hit off the heel of the face, adding lead tape to increase the swingweight very well could help improve the problem.

"What's wrong with my game, caddy?" Lifting your elbow too much sir. On the 19th.

Check your Divot

I’m going to tell you a great way to become your best teacher.

The next time you go to the practice facility, pick out a nice green patch of grass. And after you have hit balls for 10 or 15 minutes, walk back behind the golf ball and look and see where your divots are going.

If these divots are going to the left, that means your club head is coming out to in and across the golf ball.

On the other hand, if after a few minutes of practicing you look up and see that you have divots going to the right, or that you're hitting the ball real thin, this divot would tell me that you’re swinging too much from in to out.

So, here’s a golf swing tip that will tell you how to correct it.

For those of you that find that the divots are going left, every time you get ready to hit a golf ball, simply put this club along your shoulder line and check to make sure that you’re not aiming miles over to the left. That’s probably what you're doing. You're standing with your shoulders aimed left and that’s why you’re seeing divots going to the left.

If you're hitting golf balls for a few minutes and you see your divots going to the right, your shoulders are probably way over to the right.

So, here’s another golf swing tip that will help you correct it.

For those of you that discover your shoulders are going left, put the ball back in your stance a little bit.

For those of you that find out that your shoulders are aimed way right, put the ball a little further forward in your stance.

Try those golf swing tips the next time you're out and I promise they’ll help you.

Bump and Run

I’m going to describe two very different golf shots to you. One is called a pitch shot with loft, and the other is called a chip shot with run. Now what’s the difference?

Well, first of all, sometimes the pin is in a situation where you have to go over an uneven lie, or you have to go over the edge of a bunker, or you have to go over a little tree and you need it to stop a little quicker.

So, you take out your loftier golf club, your lob wedge or your sand wedge. Put the ball in the middle of your stance, a little weight left and swing your arms up and down. And after it hits the green, it will slow down and stop because it has so much loft on it.

Now, for a chip shot, or a bump and run shot, it’s the same golf shot, but it’s done with a pitching wedge, or you could even use a 9 iron.

In this situation, the pin is in the back of the green and there is no trouble in front of you. So, you put the ball in the middle of your stance, put a little weight on your left leg, and swing your arms up and down. But because you did it with a pitching wedge, the shot takes off flatter and runs more.

Now, some of you get confused because the pin is in the back of the green and you want it to run, but you use your sand wedge or your lob wedge. That won’t happen. That won’t run.

So, make sure in the future when you need a running chip shot, use a pitching wedge and put the ball in the middle of your stance. And if you really want it to run a lot, put it in the back of your stance.

Thanks and have a great day.

"Late again. Sorry." You and your 'golf buddy' Harry both give me a swift pain.What's the excuse, this time?" Nothing but delays - all day. Harry's car had a flat on the way to the course. An enormous line waiting to tee off. The Thunderstorm. The hailstorm. The air raid alert. Harry dropping dead on the 12th green. . ." Harry dropping dead? " Yup, and after that, it was just hit the ball. . . drag Harry. . . hit the ball. . . drag Harry - all afternoon."

Cure that Slice

If you have been slicing the golf ball, this tip is for you. Here’s how to cure a golf slice.

The way I grip the golf club enables the club face to return square when it comes back down to the golf ball.

I don’t have any challenges slicing the golf ball. But if you've been slicing the golf ball and when you look down at your left hand and you don’t see any knuckles, your club face is probably wide open at impact.

So, the next time you go tee up, give this a shot. Turn your left hand over towards your right hand. Make sure you can see one or two knuckles and make sure both palms are facing each other. This is how you cure a golf slice.

With that, I guarantee you that the club face will now start to square up at the bottom.

Thanks and have a great day.

"Some people in Scotland even play golf in the snow." Paint their balls black? "Nope just wear warmer kilts."

Luck???

Moses, Jesus, and an old, bearded man were out playing golf one day. Moses pulled up to the tee and drove a long one. It landed in the fairway but rolled directly toward a water trap. Quickly Moses raised his club, the water parted and it rolled to the other side safe and sound.

Next, Jesus strolls up to the tee and hits a nice long one directly toward the same water trap. It landed directly in the center of the pond and kind of hovered over the water. Jesus casually walked out on the pond and chipped it up onto the green.

The third guy gets up and sort of randomly whacks the ball. It heads out over the fence and into oncoming traffic on a nearby street. It bounces off a truck and hits a nearby tree. From there it bounces onto the roof of a nearby shack and rolls down into the gutter, down the downspout, out onto the fairway and right toward the aforementioned pond. On the way to the pond, it hits a little stone and bounces out over the water and onto a lily pad where it rested quietly. Suddenly, a very large bullfrog jumped up on the lily pad and snatched the ball into his mouth. Just then, an eagle swooped down and grabbed the frog and flew away. As they passed over the green, the frog squealed with fright and dropped the ball which bounced right into the hole for a beautiful hole in one.

Moses then turned to Jesus and said, "I hate playing with your Dad."

Proper Setup position

Golf Setup – Ball Position

I have a great tip for you that’s going to end all the doubt you had in your mind about golf setup and where the golf ball goes in your stance. It’s called ball position.

A lot of amateurs, unfortunately, address the golf ball, what I call, backwards. They come in and they put their feet down and try to aim where they're going, either down the fairway or towards the pin, and then they just stand to the golf club that they're holding onto. Sometimes their golf setup is too far back and sometimes it’s too far forward.

Other amateurs do this. They like to play all of their shots off their front foot. Some like to play all their shots off the middle of their stance. But let me tell you something, and I think this is really going to help you.

This weekend if you're sitting around watching TV, watch the tour players and watch how they come up and they grip the golf club first, they take a look at where they're going, and then they stand to the golf club that they're using.

For instance, put the butt of the pitching wedge across from your belt buckle, and stand to the golf club with the face square and your shoulders going where you want them to go.

What that does is put the golf ball in the middle of your stance for your pitching wedge. Now, keep that stance with your 7 iron.

Now, the 7 iron is three inches longer than the pitching wedge. If you just stand there and grip it with your shoulders square, look how the golf ball is just starting to move forward in your stance over towards your left heel, and it’s about three inches apart.

Now, pick up your long iron and do the same thing. Keep your shoulders square, don’t move your stance, and grip the golf club. And all of a sudden, the long iron starts to move even further forward.

Lastly, watch this. During golf setup, when you hold your driver in your hand. If you just put the butt of the club across your belt buckle, put the club on the ground the way it was built in the factory and stand across from it with your shoulders square, that puts the golf ball across from your left foot.

It’s not complicated, but remember this: During golf setup, stand to the handle of the golf club. Don’t address the golf ball first, but address the golf club to the ball and then take your stance.

Fairway Bunkers

If you had to rate golf shots on degree of difficulty, personally, I would think fairway bunkers is a top five. There’s no question about it. I’m going to share with you a golf swing technique to help you with this shot.

One of the main reasons some of you struggle with fairway bunkers is when you have a long fairway shot, a Par 5, you’ve hit the fairway bunker in 1 shot and now you want to reach the green in 2, so, you pull out your trusty fairway wood.

There’s a problem with that. The sole on the bottom of a fairway wood, a metal wood, is a lot wider than that of an iron; let’s say the 8 iron. The sole on the 8 iron is about, maybe a fifth or a fourth as wide as a 3 wood. This is what happens if you try to hit a fairway wood from a fairway bunker shot.

What you do is, as you start to swing down, the sole of the golf club catches the ground and makes the wood skid. A lot of times you’ll take a little too much sand and hit it 10 feet, or you’ll top it.

Fairway woods, metal woods, were not designed to be hit out of fairway bunkers. The reason is, if you take a normal golf swing and if you catch a little sand you won’t go far, or you’ll top it. That’s what your golf swing is designed to do is to run level with the ground.

Let me share with you a great golf swing technique that will help you in the future when you're in the fairway bunker.

Using an 8 iron, if you play this golf ball in the middle of your stance and put a little weight on your left leg and put the handle of the golf club over towards your left side and swing your arms up and down, the ball will go near 125 yards.

The next time you're in the fairway bunker, if you're looking for 125 yards, try this golf swing technique and use a lofted club, a 7, 8, 6 iron. Put the ball in the middle of your stance, put a little weight to your left leg, swing your arms up and down, and feel the chop down on it for a 125-yard golf shot out of the bunker.

Try that tip.

Golf tips for better Driving

PurePoint Golf Tips for Driving Better

I was getting ready to tee off in Scottsdale, Arizona at Starfire Golf Club, and I came up with a couple great golf tips for driving better that I think will help a lot of you out.

Some of you tee the golf ball low, thinking that that will be able to drive the golf ball through the air at a different trajectory. And those of you that tee it high think that that will make it soar through the air.

Now here are the golf tips for driving better. The lower you tee a golf ball, the more your chance will be that you slice the ball to the right. The higher you tee the golf ball, the more your chance will be for you to hook the golf ball to the left.

So, here’s a great tip.

If you're hooking the golf ball, tee it down a little lower. If you're slicing the golf ball, tee it up a little higher. And here’s why.

When the golf ball sits on the ground and it’s a little lower than it should be, the golf club has to come in on a steep angle and that will cause it to slice. On the other hand, if you tee it up a little higher, it will come in and enable the club face to close a little quicker.

Try these golf tips for driving better the next time you're out.

Thanks and have a great day.

Short Game

I recently played a round of golf with a friend of mine. Every time he had a chip shot, he used a sand wedge. It didn’t matter if he had a short chip shot or long chip shot. Every single time he chipped the ball, he chipped it with a sand wedge.

Let me tell you what the problem with that is. If you use a lofted golf club to chip a golf ball, you might be okay on the smaller chip shots, the short ones, where you don’t have to make too big of a golf swing. But to make a golf ball go further when you're chipping, you have to make a bigger golf swing.

If I had a small chip shot, the backswing would go maybe a foot or a foot and a half long. If I had a longer chip shot, I would have to make a longer backswing. You have to be very talented to do that.

Here’s something that will really help you. If you have a short chip shot, try chipping with a 9 iron. Ball in the middle of your stance, a little weight on your left leg, the handle over towards your left leg, and make an arm swing out of it.

If you have a medium length chip shot, the very same golf swing: ball in the middle of your stance, weight over to your left leg with the handle over on your left leg, and make another little arm swing. Because the loft is flatter, the golf ball will go further.

I’ll take it a step further for you. Let’s say you had a chip shot and you had to go all the way to the back of the green. Instead of making this long golf swing with a sand wedge, why not try a 5 iron? Ball in the middle of your stance, a little weight on your left leg, handle over towards your left leg, and make the same golf swing that you made with a 9 iron and the same golf swing you made with the 7 iron. I guarantee you this will help you.

Get a picture of what you're trying to do. You're trying to make the golf ball go a short distance in the air and a long distance on the ground for a long chip shot: a short distance in the air and a medium length distance on the ground for a medium chip shot; short chip, short distance in the air, and a little bit on the ground.

To do that, try to change the golf club. Control the distance you want the chip shots to go by your club selection, not by the length of your backswing.

Try that and have a great day.

Chipping Backswing

Let me tell you something that will play a major, major role in whether you can make solid contact with your chip shots. I’m going to tell you how to use the correct golf swing when chipping and it has to do with the backswing.

There are two ways that you could swing the golf club back when you're chipping that are incorrect, and there’s one correct golf swing.

There are the two ways that you possibly could be doing it wrong after you’ve gotten all ready and all set up.

If the golf club travels too much inside, away from the golf ball, that means the golf club didn’t go up in the air.

When it goes inside, it stays too low to the ground. If you do that, you’ll hit tops to the right, or you’ll hit the ground behind it.

Those of you that are hitting the ground behind it or thin tops to the right, it has to do with the club going too much inside.

Now, here’s a mistake that few people make, but you could be one of them. If the golf club goes outside, you’ll go up in the air too much, and if you do that, you’ll pull to the left and hit it low and flat to the left.

If you stand correctly, with the ball in the middle and a little weight left, and use the correct golf swing, the golf club travels straight back. Okay, so it goes just a hair inside, but mostly straight back with just a little, tiny curve inside on the way back.

And then you’ll be able to make solid contact. Not too much inside in the backswing and not on the outside, but straighter back with just a slight curve to the inside.

That’s your backswing when you're chipping.

Chipping Woes

The golf teaching tool is conventional. You could use a 5 iron, a 7 iron and a 9 iron to chip with. I like doing this, 5 for the long chip shots, 7 for the medium chip shots, and 9 for the short chip shots.

Let me tell you the method and how easy it is to use. If you have a small chip shot, use your 9 iron and put the ball in the middle of your stance, put a little weight on your left leg, and push the handle over to your left leg. From there, make an arm swing with a little chop of the club head.

Now, if your shot has to go to a little further, take a 7 iron. Don’t change the golf swing; same golf swing, same method, but choose a golf club that will send the ball a little further.

Using this club will probably get the golf ball to go back up towards the pin. Again, ball in the middle of your stance, weight left, handle left, arm swing. And, it will go a little bit further.

Now, let’s just say that you had to hit a golf shot where the ball had to go all the way to the back of the green. Now you're going to use a 5 iron. Here it is, ball in the middle of the stance, weight left and handle left; same golf swing, an arm swing with a chop. And that 5 iron will send the ball a lot further.

Now, you may struggle with your short chip shots. And if the grass is mowed down, don’t ever hesitate to putt the ball.

Do everything the same that you normally do when you putt a golf ball. The only challenge is, is that sometimes it comes out of the rough, bouncing a little bit, or when the fairway is mowed and it’s not perfect like the putting green.

Now here’s the last golf teaching tool for you. You may struggle with your conventional chip shots and you don’t like to putt the golf ball. So, why don’t you try this utility wood? This is the 3 iron. The difference is, is that it’s built like a wood. So the bottom of it, the sole plate, is a little bit longer and it’ll stop you from stubbing the golf ball.

So, here it is. Approach it just like a putt and grip it like a putter, stand to it like a putt, and stroke it like a putter. And if you do that, the golf ball will take off and head to the hole. And that’s when you use a utility golf club.

I hope this gives you some insight into making your short game a little easier when you're in and around the fringe. Don’t forget to putt, use a flat-faced club like a putter, try your 3 wood, try your 4 wood, and lastly, do the conventional way, and I guarantee you that will help you.

Thanks and have a great day.

Bunkers

This week's lesson is entitled, "How to Get out of Bunkers", and everyone knows how frustrating they can be if you don't know the proper mechanics to get out of them. But the bottom line is, for the pros, bunker shots are some of the easiest shots on the course.

These steps will ensure that you have the right mechanics for getting out of bunkers. Once you've read these steps, practice them and get used to hitting out of bunkers, and they will become just as natural as a regular short game shot. These steps will give you the solid foundation that you need for bunker success.

Here are the steps: (note: These steps apply to a normal sand bunker. Not wet or hard sand)

1. Choke down on the golf club (Have your right index finger about an inch from the bottom of the grip). Choking down gives you the control with the club and also allows you to "feel" the shot rather than hitting it.

2. Narrow your stance a little and play the ball a few inches forward in your stance. This will also aid in controlling the shot, and it will contribute to higher ball flight.

3. Dig into the sand with your feet a little and get comfortable.

4. Keep your body completely still throughout (no twisting hips).

5. Start your swing with your arms and keep your swing vertical. The end of the grip butt should be pointed at the ball at the top of your backswing. (Don't bring the club straight back, remember steep is better here!)

6. Your left arm should be parallel to the ground and fully extended at the top of your swing.

7. Then start your downswing at the sand focusing to hit 1 inch behind the ball. Don't focus on hitting the ball, hit the sand an inch behind and the ball will get out every time!

8. Your arms and body follow the ball as it leaves the sand.

9. Remember steep angle into the sand is key here, however you don't have to swing too hard, we are not blasting the ball out we are advancing it.

Drill:
Go into a bunker and take 3 clubs your pitching wedge, sand wedge, and a lob wedge(if you have one). Remember that you can get creative with shots; just because it's a sand wedge doesn't mean that you'll "feel" the most comfortable or give you the best results. But I want you to notice the difference in design and performance.

Regardless, hit a few shots with each club and really notice the difference in how the ball comes out of the sand. Then choose the club that bests suits you. But remember on all these clubs swing steep and hit 1 inch behind the ball. You can even draw a line 1-2 inches behind the ball and aim for that line.

At home, office, or at the course take practice swings and focus on bringing the club up at a steep angle. Watch as your grip end points to the ground. And stop there - this is the position that you want to be in. A great way to see if the grip is pointed over the ball is sticking a tee in the grip handle. Do that a few times to ensure that you know where to stop the golf club and start your steep downswing. Then the downswing is easy! Just hit an inch behind the ball. Practice this for a few days then go have fun in a bunker!

Yet more to be absorbed

Less is More!

This week's lesson is entitled, "How to Maximize your Distance by Hitting Triples instead of Home Runs " and it's a great overall theory to build your entire swing around. Keep this in the back of your head at all times while you are on the course, and remind yourself of it before every shot. The result will be increased distance and straighter shots because you'll be releasing your hands through the ball better.

Background Info :

Many recreational golfers struggle with slices, blocks, and inconsistency because they don't know how to release their hands through the ball correctly. By "releasing your hands through the ball", I am describing the act of maximizing your club head speed at the moment of impact, and eliminating the "outside-in" movement that creates a slice.

How You Will Benefit:

1. You'll learn an easy way of "getting your hands through the ball"
2. You'll be increasing the speed of the club head through the impact zone
3. You will ensure that the club head is square at impact (which will reduce any slice that you have)

What To Do:

Step 1: Create the "X"

This means that on the follow through, you need to focus on making your forearms cross. This will ensure that your hands have released through the ball correctly. Here's an illustration of what I am talking about.

Notice the "X" that is created after impact and where the shaft of the club is pointed. Practice getting in this position. Practice creating that "X" after impact.

It will be easy to understand the alterative by paying attention to where the club is pointed, which I will explain in the next step.

Step 2: Finish at Third Base

Focus on pointing the club down the third base line on your follow through. In relation to where my feet are pointed in the picture at left, the club is pointed down the third base line. This is what we want.

Many golfers finish their swing with the club straight up in the air, or even pointed down the first base line in relation to their feet. Try that once, and you will feel the extreme "outside-in" movement that produces a slice. This is nothing more than a habit that can be easily broken. The Simple Golf Swing goes over this step in much more detail.

Summary:

So when you are on the tee next time, focus on just 2 things. Make the "X" and "finish at third". That's it. Swinging easy should already be grooved into your swing from the last tip I sent. Focus on these 2 tips, and you should be on your way to consistently staying out of trouble with your driver, which is the first step to scoring better.

Create backspin

Honestly, the first thing that you need to realize about creating backspin is that it's a very tough shot to accomplish, let alone control.

The second thing that you should realize is that there are very few situations where this shot is actually needed.

In my opinion, the best shot to master is an approach shot that bounces once, and then stops on a dime. This shot is not easy to accomplish either, but is more realistic and much more effective in the vast majority of cases.

So I'll get in to the basics of this shot now, but please realize that an entire book could be written on this subject, and it would still be very hard to incorporate into a recreational game.

Here are the basic conditions that must be met before the shot even occurs. If these factors are not in place, don't try to create backspin.

1. Conditions must be completely dry - (the club face, and the ball included)
2. You must be on the fairway - (grass can't get in between the club and the ball)
3. Green's have to be very nicely kept - (very short)

Now, let me clarify. Those are the conditions that must be met before the shot even occurs. So hopefully, you are beginning to see just how difficult this shot is and why it doesn't come highly recommended from someone who focuses on making golf simple.

I was thinking of ways to describe the action necessary to create backspin, and I came to the conclusion that the best analogy is one of placing spin on the cue ball in billiards.

Side Note: They say that good pool players are also good putters. So if you want to sharpen your putting skills, I would advise learning billiards as well. It will help you to develop steady hands, "learn to see the line", and it will also teach you alot about spin.

In Pool, to create backspin you have to hit downward on the cue ball with a significant amount of force. Notice that players chalk up before hitting a shot requiring a lot of spin (dry). They also go at the ball with a very steep angle. And they hit the lower portion of the ball.

All of this is necessary in golf as well. The ultimate goal is to "pinch" the ball between your club and the fairway. You must take a downward blow at the ball, you must add a fair amount of velocity to your swing speed, and you must make clean contact with the lower portion of the ball. It is all of these factors combined that make this shot so tough to complete with any accuracy.

It's also essential to have a new ball (preferably a high spin/soft-cover ball), and a newer (clean) club that has some of the grip left on the face. As the ball compresses into the grooves on the face of the club, backspin is created.

Correct Backswing

Now, I need to take a moment to explain the significance of this position and what it will do for your game.

1. By making sure that the club is at the 9 o'clock position in the first place will correct any fault that you have as far as picking the club up too fast, or not picking it up at all. This will ensure that you have completed the one-peice takeaway correctly.
2. By making sure that the shaft is parallel to your feet line at 9 o'clock, you will ensure that you're bring the club back on the correct path. This will ensure that you are not too far inside or too far outside. It will also ensure that you're getting a good shoulder turn which will add power to your swing.
3. By making sure the toe is in the air, you are ensuring that you're rotating the clubface correctly around the shaft of the club. The club should not swing straight back and straight through. The clubface needs to open on the backswing, and close in the downswing. This move provides power and consistency to the golf swing.

So... by getting to this one position, we're correcting many mistakes that you may be experiencing in your golf swing... Coming too far inside, too far outside, not rotating correctly around the shaft, etc...

Practice getting to this simple position, and your game should improve dramatically.

Joke Day

"Golf, golf! Harry, I'd drop dead if you ever spent a Sunday at home!"
"Trying to bribe me?"


"Father, is it a sin in the eyes of the lord to play golf on Sunday?"
"The way you play, my son, it's a sin any day."


In the immortal words of Lisle Trauts:
"Give me my golf clubs, the fresh air and a beautiful partner.... and you can keep my clubs and the fresh air."


"Just got a brand new set of clubs for my wife."
"Excellent trade."


"Let's stop at the clubhouse and pick up a fifth for golf."
"You mean a fourth."
"No, I'm thirsty."


"Funny golf socks you're wearing, one yellow and the other green."
"what's funny?" Got another pair just like 'em at home."


"How come your husband bought you that fancy new golf bag?"
"Caught him fooling around with the maid."
"How dreadful! Did you fire her?"
"No, I need some new clubs, too."

Great Tips

Golf season

Well golf season is in full swing in most areas, except here in Minnesota. We still have a few inches of snow on the ground.

I gotta tell ya I'm getting really anxious to get out there and shank a few. I go into with drawls if I go too long without donating my share of golf balls to the wooded areas.

If you're like me you probably could use some handy, helpful tips to work out some of the kinks. Maybe you will pick up something on my site that will help you.

Also, check out some of my links if you want to golf Las Vegas, golf Myrtle beach or simply find information on your local courses. You deserve a golf vacation.
Also check this out for great deals on discounted golf equipment.
Look here for Custom fitted golf clubs at extremely great pricing.

If you have any good golf jokes let me know.

Make a real power turn

(click to enlarge)

More Golf tips

Beat the reverse pivot

"How to beat your Buddies" Golf Tips

I Love Golf--I Love Golf--I Love Golf--I Love Golf--I Love Golf

Consistent Drives

( Click to enlarge )