Top Golf Tips – Putting

Five things to remember when putting

After a smashing tee of shot and a great chip onto the green, you need to be able to have a great finish in order to keep your score down. Here are my top five things to remember when putting to help improve your final swings.

•    Keep the wrists out of the stroke. Shoulders, arms and hands move together as a unit in a good putting stroke.

•    Keep your head still. Just like in pool or snooker you must keep the head still during the stroke. Listen for the ball to go in the holes; don’t look up to watch it.

•    Keep the rhythm of your stroke like a metronome. Count ‘one-two’ to yourself to keep the stroke smooth. Rhythm in a putting stroke
is just as important as rhythm in a full swing.

•    Make sure you get the golf ball up to the hole. All putts from inside twenty feet should end up past the hole. Make sure you read the green to end up eighteen inches past and not lamely to lag into the hole at dead weight

•    To read a green correctly you must look at the hole from both sides. If you really want to putt well from distance you must take time and look from the other side of the hole. The break often looks different from behind the hole.

Top Golf Tips – Backspin

In order to play a great game any golfer needs to think about the shot ahead. In order to play one step ahead you need to command a great deal of command over the ball, in many situations this means applying backspin to your shot. The principle of backspin is to cause the back of the ball to mover at a higher rate than the front restricting the balls momentum when it lands. This is prevent the ball from rolling forwards when it hits the green or the fairway.

How to apply Backspin
the grooves incorporated on the club face are what you need to focus on to apply backspin. As the face makes contact with the ball, the grooves grip is, pulling it backwards and therby imparting the spin. For optimum performance from  both the ball and the club, it goes without saying the both should be wiped prior to taking the stroke in order to remove any soil or sand an ensure clean contact.

The Top Five Ways To Lower Your Scores and Handicap

1) Move Forward
Try playing from the forward tees. This will hopefully put you in the mental mindset of playing a shorter course and aiming for achieving birides instead of going for par. The thought process behind this drill is that when you move back to your original starting tee, your mindset will continue to push for achieving birdies.

2) Consistent Practise
It probably sounds a bit obvious but you get out what you put in to your game. You may not be able to get down the Golf Course and do 18 holes every day, but even 15 minutes in the back garden working on your swing will massively improve your game.

3)  Equipment
You may need to reassess you equipment every now and then. You don’t need to spend thousands on state of the art equipment but if you’re using an older set that isn’t fitted properly then you may be needlessly holding yourself back.

4) Your Finishing Shots
Forgive my football analogy but there is no point in a team getting to the edge of the box if they can’t score a goal. In a typical game more than half the strokes account for chipping and putting. Therefore you should dedicate a large amount of your practise time to these shots.

5)Make The Most Of Your Game
If you are going to take the time to play a round of golf, then play it seriously. Take the time to concentrate, focus and work on the shots you have practised. Use driving ranges and putting greens to improve your technique than use the course to focus on lowering your score!

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Stretching Exercises For Golfers

If you want to increase the power and range of motion of your swing, then you must definitely try out some stretching exercises to improve your game, as well as to prevent any jerks that you may experience during the game. Doing some stretching exercises regularly helps to prevent any internal injury that may occur due to sudden strain while playing golf.

An ideal warm up regime should take between 15 to 20 minutes consisting of some simple but effective stretching exercises. Below are a few exercises that you could try.

Brisk Walking: Walking with low skips for 3-5 minutes warms up the body and prepares and loosens any stiffness in the muscles.

Squatting with the help of a support: Squatting is another form of popular exercise that is helpful for golfers. It elevates the heart rate and increases blood flow in the whole body, thus preparing it for the action.  While squatting, you must remember that you must squat till your thighs are parallel with the ground. Repeat the exercise approximately 15 times.

For a change, you can also try single leg squat using a support. Lift one leg at a time while you use a golf club as a support and place it on the opposite knee. Try to make an angle of 90 degrees. Now squat till the knee of the leg supporting the other leg is parallel with the ground.

Arm Swings: Stand with both your arms by your side. Swing your left arm in clockwise and anticlockwise directions for at least 30 seconds. Similarly swing your right arm. This will help you in achieving the correct swing which you desire in your game to get the required length. It is a great exercise for avoiding any injuries in arms and is a must for all golfers.

Some other popular exercises are waist rotations, bends, shoulder stretching, wrist rotation and leg swings. All or some of the exercise forms if incorporated in the warm up regime will definitely prove useful for any player. So get ready for some warm up sessions before you jump into action.

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Learn to Chip with the Water Bottle Trick

Many golfers have trouble with chips and this is more than likely because they are trying to life the ball into the air and end up blading it across the green. Solid chips are achieved by hitting down into the back of the ball and not trying to life it up. Hopefully this drill will help you produce the types of chips you dream about!

Balance a club on the top of a water bottle and place your ball 12 inches behind the middle of the grip. Make your chip stroke without knocking the shaft off the bottle. You’ll need to descend into the call and keep your clubhead low to the group post-impact. If you try to scoop the ball or allow the club to pass your hands, you’ll send the club and the bottle flying. If you practice this but only a few times your chipping will improve dramatically.

The next golf tip is, ‘Drive For Show, Putt For The Dough’

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Using Pool Cues to Improve Your Driving

There is nothing more frustrating than having to search through the woods or even wade through the lake to find your ball. All golfers want to have the natural ability to drive the ball off the tee far and straight! This drill will help you too improve your contact off the tee as well as helping you to eliminate the tendency to slice your shots.

The main reasons for these problems are that you can’t make contact on the centre of the clubface with your driver and this is costing you in distance and accuracy. You will know if you are doing this as when you hit the ball it will feel like a brick. If you hit it off the toe, you’ll feel a soft impact, like you whacked an old apple.

Lay four Pool Cues or anything equivalent on the ground vertically. The spaces between the cues should be slightly wider than your clubhead. Address an imaginary ball in the middle lane. If you tend to hit it off the toe, take practice swings making sure your clubhead travels through the far lane after impact. If you hit it off the heel (or tend to shank your irons), your downswing path should go through the near lane. After 10 practice swings, tee up a ball and swing away. Now that you’re slotted correctly, you’ll hit it square and the same distance every time.

The next golf tip is ‘Learn to Chip with the Water Bottle Trick’

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Golf Tip 4: How to escape the sands of time

There is nothing worse than when you are playing a smooth round of golf and then all of a sudden you find yourself stuck in the sand! Countless times have I been on a winning streak and then held back by one bad turn in the pit. This tip is to help with that situation by playing the sand instead of the ball. Ironically the best way to get out of the sand is by ignoring the ball.

When you’re in a greenside bunker the club should never touch the ball. You want your wedge to toss the sand beneath and behind the ball onto the green. The ball will float out on a wave of sand right onto the green.

You must convince yourself that the ball is an afterthought on these shots. To practice this, stand in the flat of a practice bunker and place two tees opposite your left instep.

YOU DO NOT NEED A BALL! Hinge your wrists quickly on the backswing to create an upright path, then swing down and let your sand wedge hit about two inches behind the tees. Make a full follow-through, finishing with your hands at shoulder height. You’ll see that the tess have flown up and toward the hole along with the sand you sprayed. Repeat this several times and see how high and far you can make the tees fly! Then drop a ball down and repeat the swing. Hopefully this drill will make escaping the bunkers an easy stress free shot.

Next tip is how to use pool cues to improve your Driving!

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Golf Tip 3: How to Stop Slices & Hooks

Slices or hooks aren’t cleaver, pretty or funny and no one likes them!  Slices and Hooks can cause a large amount of anger and frustration in any golfers games so here is a tip to try and get rid of them . . .  for good.

The main cause for golfers slicing and hook is that they are taking the club back off plane and aren’t making the necessary compensations on the way back down. So what can you do about this?

Lay your driver across your shoulders with the grip end to your left. Take your stance and make your regular backswing turn. Now, you may have seen this drill before, but hardly anyone does it correctly. Most golfers think that you should make your backswing turn so that the shaft points at the ball. That’s way too steep, and one of the reasons why you slice. Swinging the club too flat with the shaft pointing way beyond the ball is equally bad (and a potential source of your hook).

The correct way to perform this drill is to turn your shoulders and maintain your posture so that the shaft points at a spot just a foot on the other side of the ball. That’s a perfect on-plane position. Combine a nice, smooth backswing with this exact shoulder turn and you’ll be in perfect position at the top.

The next tip is ‘Help I’m Stuck In The Sand And I Can’t Get Out’

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1.    Brush Your Chip Shots To Hit Them Close To The Pin

Many people have difficulty hitting crisp shots that stop close enough for realistic one-putts! Hopefully this tip and technique can help you. Hitting the ball puts too much grass between it and the clubface however picking it cleanly produces a lower trajectory off the bottom edge of your wedge with little or no backspin.

This is called the ‘brush the grass’ drill and is something you should practice next time you get the chance. Before you hit your first shot, make at least 20 pitch swings without a ball and look at your divot after every one. Make sure your wedge hits the ground on each attempt but doesn’t dig into it. Think about ‘brushing’ the grass and you should be able to feel the club gently bump the bottom of the ground. Your divot should look like the grass has been brushed flat but no dirt has left the ground.  When you have perfected this drill you should be able to see a crisp ball contact on or about, the third or fourth groove up the face of your wedge, a nice amount of backspin and makeable putts!

When you put this into practise on the course think about the image of the brushed grass. Make sure your grip is light and relaxed. If you are having problems with the leading edge of your wedge making dirt divots, open the face a little more. When you’ve successfully ‘brushed’ the grass two consecutive times without a divot, move in and immediately pitch the ball onto the green with the same swing.

Tomorrows tip includes the best way to use your irons!

Golf Basics: Choosing the right clubs and driver

Irons

A set of irons will comprise the majority of the clubs carried by most golfers. Typically, a bag may contain a driver, fairway wood, perhaps a utility wood or two and a putter. The reminder will be irons; usually 3 to pitching wedge or 3 to sand wedge, though better players sometimes carry a 1 or 2-iron.The 3-iron is the least lofted iron, with a face about 20? from the vertical and is designed for long, low-flighted shots. Conversely, the pitching wedge and sand wedge, with lofts of 50-56?, are useful for high-flighted shots around the green, generally within 100 yards. The remaining irons, (4 to 9) have progressively higher lofts, with each club being able to be hit about 10 yards less than its predecessor. The lower the number, the lower the loft and the lower / further the ball will travel if struck correctly. However, lower-lofted clubs impart more spin on the golf ball, making them more difficult to control. Beginners and novice players should consider eliminating the 3 and 4 irons from their bag, replacing those harder to hit irons with no.3 and no. 5 hybrid clubs. These “utility” clubs are a cross between irons and woods, offering the control of an iron together with the forgiveness of a lofted wood. They are particularly useful from poor lies, as their larger heads prevent twisting, leading to greater control.

Drivers

Modern drivers tend to have oversized heads (460cc) which will lead to a more consistent strike and instil confidence in the new player. Many novice players make the mistake of buying a driver with far too little loft (about 7?). Whilst these are fine for the professional players who can virtually guarantee the same swing path and consistent striking, the amateur may struggle to even get the ball airborne with such a straight-faced club. Good amateurs (single-figure handicappers) may be best suited by a driver with a loft of around 9-10?. However, novice players should look for driver models with a loft of about 11-12?. Whilst this will sacrifice some distance, improved accuracy will compensate. Unless very short all tall, all golfers should use standard length drivers. This will allow the ball to be struck in the centre of the face more consistently, improving accuracy and distance. Modern lightweight materials have allowed driver lengths to be increased up to 46″. Longer clubs promote distance, but are hard to control, resulting in a loss of accuracy. Significant increases in driving distances are achieved with clubs up to 44″ in length, but thereafter, any minimal increase in distance is undermined by a substantial loss of accuracy. For this reason, do not use a drive greater than 44″ in length.

A popular misconception amongst golfers is that the more expensive a club, the more it will improve a player`s game. Many golfers have wasted hundreds or even thousands of pounds of the latest, “cutting-edge” technology, despite limited golfing ability. High prices, in themselves, will not improve a golf game, rather judiciously chosen clubs, taking advantage of the best golf prices.