Holed : the online golf magazine

Make at Least One Putt Every Hole

admin — Wed, 16 May 2012 20:50:34 +0000

How many times a round do you either pick up your ball when it is a foot or so away from the hole. Or even worse, have one of the guys in your
group kick the ball back to you saying “that’s good”?

Each time you don’t hole out on the green you are costing yourself a chance to build confidence. You are depriving yourself of the opportunity to
watch the ball go in the hole.

Putting is greatly influenced by attitude and confidence. Much of this is subconscious. You may not notice an effect if you pick up your “gimmies”
until you have an 18 inch putt that means something. Having had most of them kicked back to you, can you consider them automatic.

Nothing builds your confidence like making putts. Remember the confidence you feel after making a string of not so gimmie putts? Think about how
many strikes you would save if you made every putt you had under ten feet. Think about how easy the game would seem if all you had to do to make
par on a par four is put it within ten feet of the hole in three shots.

The first step in rebuilding lost confidence in putting is to start watching some putts drop. Over the course of a round, you may have four or five
“gimmies”. Each of those is a lost chance to see a putt go in when it counts.

Think it doesn’t matter if the putt is only two feet and you would be “certain” to make it? Well, if you have been taking (and giving) gimmies for
years, you probably rarely see the ball go in the hole from two feet. What is not filled by confidence and experience will be filled by doubt.

Make a commitment to yourself to make that last putt on every single hole. It may only be a foot away, but the visual reinforcement of seeing the ball
go in the hole off of your putter will build confidence over time.

You will find that five footers become easier once you get used to seeing

A Quick Putting Warmup How many times have you gotten to the course with...

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A Quick Putting Warmup

admin — Wed, 16 May 2012 20:48:11 +0000

How many times have you gotten to the course with just a few minutes left til your tee time. You rush into pay, then if your lucky over to the range to
hit a few balls. Maybe, you go to the green for about two minutes, then race off to the tee.

That is no way to start a round of golf. But if you only have five minutes to warm up, oh well…

When you are pressed and only have a couple of minutes on the green, the first thing you have to do is realize that spending that time hitting as
many putts as you can will only throw your rhythm off once you get on the course.

Instead, take your time and hit maybe just a few good putts, putting in maximum effort on each. Including a read of the putt. Hit them just as you
would on the course. Go through your entire routine and establish a rhythm for the day before you even get to the first tee.

Over the course of a round, the vast majority of the putts you face will be less than twenty feet. You should keep your “warmup” putts within that
distance as well.

You should hit some of them on a level part of the green, some uphill, and some downhill. Of course, if you have more time, use it for sure. But the
main thing to keep in mind if you are pressed for time before teeing off is to work on establishing your putting rhythm with the precious time you do
have.

The key when time is short is to slow down and make each warmup putt or shot on the range you do get to hit as useful as possible. You can do this
by working to establish your rhythm making a few quality golf shots instead of a bunch of miserable ones.

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Punch A Hybrid Club

admin — Thu, 10 May 2012 22:13:25 +0000

Some of us are low-ball hitters. Others are high-ball hitters. Being a high-ball hitter is a problem if your drive lands just off the rough but under a tree. Your normal shot is likely to hit a branch and carom off into more trouble. You need a controlled, low flying shot that flies under the tree’s limbs for some distance. It’s the kind of shot that’s ideal for long irons, but you’ve replaced your them with hybrids.

Below are six keys to punching a hybrid:

Stand behind the ball
Select a target
Address the ball with a narrow stance
Shift your weight and grip down
Make a three quarter backswing
Turn back and through the ball

You can punch a hybrid from under a tree as long as you don’t add loft to the clubface.

Start by standing behind the ball and picking out a target. Picture the shot trajectory you want to hit and then address the ball. Take a narrow stance by setting your feet under your hips. Shift your weight forward and choke down about an inch on the club. These adjustments bring you closer to the ball.

Start low and slow and make a three-quarter backswing. Use a lot of body turn but try to stay centered over the ball. Staying centered is key to the shot. Now turn your back to the ball. Avoid any excess hand action. It can only get you in trouble. The ball will come out low and hot and travels about 75 percent of your normal hybrid distance.

Try making a few practice swings before hitting the ball. Check that the Vs of your grip, your clubshaft, and your back shin all point to your forward shoulder at impact. If they do, you’ll subtract loft from the clubface at impact, resulting in the kind of low shot you need to escape the tree.

Avoid the junk Most of us miss the fairway more often than we’d...

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Avoid the junk

admin — Thu, 10 May 2012 22:12:05 +0000

Most of us miss the fairway more often than we’d care to admit. If we’re lucky when we miss, the ball lands just off the fairway or in light rough and we still have a shot at the green. If we’re not lucky, the ball lands in heavy, thick grass—the junk, as some golfers like to call to it—and we have no shot at the green. The grass here is so deep and thick it covers nearly all the ball. In fact, you can just see the top of it. Getting out of the junk is never easy.

Below are eight keys to escaping the junk:

Stand closer to the ball
Choke up a few inches
Aim slightly right of target
Play the ball back of center
Increase your grip pressure
Forward press your hands
Hinge the club quickly
Swing down sharply

This shot is resembles a sand shot except instead of sliding your club through the sand, you’ll slam it steeply into the back of the ball. You’ll need to make a few adjustments to your normal stance and swing as well.

If you can see the top of the ball, use either and 8-iron or 9-iron for this shot. If you can see only a small circle on top of the ball, use a sand wedge.

Stand closer to the ball, play it back in your stance, and choke up on the club while you increase your grip pressure. Choking up gives you a bit more leverage on your swing and increasing grip pressures prevents the club from turning in your hands. Aim slightly right of target and forward press the shaft. You want it leaning towards the target.

On your back swing hinge the club quickly. You want your wrists cocked by the time your hands reach your thighs. From the top, swing down sharply. You want to feel as if you’re pulling the handle down into the ball. Keep your legs quiet.

You’re goal here is to get the ball out onto the fairway. If you can do that, you’ve done your job.

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Golf Secrets ebook

admin — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 22:22:58 +0000

This is a PLR/MRR ebook

Contents

Driving the Ball
Fairway Shots
Deep Rough
Hill Lies
And lots More!

You can resell this

Download

Golf Secrets PLR

Beauty Of Driving Ranges Many people enjoy the game of golf but simply do...

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Beauty Of Driving Ranges

admin — Thu, 09 Jun 2011 20:28:50 +0000

Many people enjoy the game of golf but simply do not have the actual time to dedicate several hours to playing a course. A simple and accessible solution comes in the form of driving ranges. There are several advantages to range play over course play.

The first advantage is the time difference. Since so many people are short on time these days, the convenience of the range is second to none, especially if the range is located close. Most excursions to the driving range last less than two hours.

The second advantage is the fact that driving ranges provide invaluable experience and confidence to beginners. Golfers can refine their shots, and even set up lessons with instructors at practice ranges. Sometimes, there are even real tee set ups that are helpful in teeing up the ball correctly. If the driving range has slopes, you’re in luck again; these ranges help in learning how to hit up-hill and down-hill shots.

A third benefit is the fact that golf lessons are often offered at more affordable prices at driving ranges. This way, a first time player can try the sport out without wasting a good amount of money and not liking the game after all. Lessons can also be a great social excursion, and people can make friends with fellow driving range users.

Fourth improvement driving ranges have over golf courses is the fact that most driving ranges provide an awning of sorts to protect players from potential storms and inclement weather conditions. This can make a big difference in logging that extra practice time needed to succeed, especially in locales with unpredictable weather patterns.

Another plus to utilizing a driving range is the fact that even those with disabilities can enjoy a trip to the “links”. People with limited range of walking that are not fond of golf carts can still go out and hit some golf balls at their leisure without the discomfort of playing an entire nine or eighteen hole game.

Finally, cost differences are yet another advantage to a driving range trip as opposed to a full golf game. Hitting a bucket of balls is cheaper than paying green fees and other costs, such as golf cart or caddy fees at most ranges or courses. So, the next time want to play some hassle-free golf, take a trip to your local driving range

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Six Keys To Pitching From The Fairway

admin — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 10:46:28 +0000

Accurate pitching brings down your golf handicap. Turning 3 strokes into 2 by pitching close to the pin cuts strokes from your scores. Cut enough strokes and you will lower your handicap significantly. Learning to pitch accurately from the fairway is critical to improving your game.

Pitching accurately from the fairway, as I mention in my golf lessons, needs good distance control. That is not easy to accomplish. The inclination is for your swing to be either too long, in which case the clubhead slows down through impact, or too short, in which case the clubhead is twitched through impact. Either way costs you shots, inflating your golf scores and your golf handicap.

Learning to pitch accurately from the fairway is a two-stage process. One stage involves building better technique. You can work on technique in golf lessons and on the practice range whenever you go. The second stage involves learning how to judge distances. While you can’t learn to judge distances simply from taking golf lessons or reading golf tips, they can facilitate the learning process.

Here are 6 keys to building better technique:

1.Make changes at address
2.Open the stance
3.Aim clubface at target
4.Make a shorter backswing
5.Clear the left side
6.Release the clubhead

Two subtle changes at address help with technique. Since you need to strike the ball with a crisp, descending blow, (1) position the ball at your stance’s midpoint and (2) make sure that the club’s shaft and your left arm (for right-handers) are in a straight line, ensuring ball-then-turf contact.

Also, open your stance a little at address. It enables you to clear the left side through impact. While it seems like a minor thing, it has an impact, just like the two changes discussed above. Despite the open stance, aim the clubface directly at the target, just as if your feet were parallel.

Opening your stance shortens your backswing, since it curbs movement of the lower body. Gripping down on the club also shortens your backswing, while providing increased club control. The closer you hands are to the ball, the better control you have. Nevertheless, you still need to transfer your weight correctly, despite the shorter swing,

With the open stance and the left side clear, your hands have room to strike the ball squarely. Release the clubhead freely through impact and then move smoothly into your follow-through. Use these suggestions to help build better technique.

In addition to working on your technique, you need to improve distance control. Unfortunately, the only way to do that is by practicing. The more you practice, the better you’ll get. Below are two other suggestions to remember the next time you’re practicing your pitching:

Practice the Body-controlled Method
One approach to help with distance is the body-controlled method. It’s an approach I’ve talked about in my golf tips. Assume your normal pitching address position, but place a towel across your chest and under your armpits. Choke down on the grip for added control and make short compact swings, keeping the towel under your armpits as you swing.

At the same time, vary the speed of your body turn. If you have a 20-yard shot, think in terms of turning your body 20 miles per hour. If you have a 30-yard shot, think in terms of turning your body 30 miles per hour. The longer the shot, the faster you turn your body. Try this method to help improve your distance control. Also, vary the length of your shots so you will get practice at different lengths.

Establish a “Pitching Zone”
Work on establishing a pitching zone—a safe area where you’re not only comfortable and confident pitching from. Once you’ve developed the zone, try playing to it the next time you golf. The goal is to land your shots in the zone when approaching the green, so you’ll have an easier shot.

Use these six keys to help with pitching from the fairway next time and you’ll be sure to start dropping shots fast.

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Develop A Brilliant Golf Back Swing

admin — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 10:26:54 +0000

Make the backswing at reduced speed and notice and feel how the wrist and hand position changes as the hands go up past the shoulders.

As a result, in answer to this resistance of the hands and wrists, there is a quick rebounding of the club back toward the ball.

Try it and you’ll see what we mean. Since the average player usually lets the backward pull loosen his grip, he quickly re grips on the rebound, producing, almost, a "bouncing" club head. This starts the head of the club back toward the ball much faster than it should be moving at this point. This is one reason, and a strictly mechanical reason, why so many of us hit from the top.

So why not use the break that brings you to the top naturally in the right position, instead of a break that you have to control carefully or manipulate?

Without going any further into anatomical details, it can be stated flatly that the longer the backward wrist break is delayed on the backswing, the more difficult it becomes to make it correctly. The later this break takes place, the more liable we are to let the left hand bend backward, thus getting it under the shaft at the top and opening the face of the club. So, make the break early.

Start making it as soon as the club leaves the ball and you will find it does a surprising number of things. We’ll list them:

1. Sets you in the proper hand-wrist position early. (All you have to do is hold it.)

2. Everything you have to do with the hands and the club, in the way of manipulation, is done early and in your full
view.

3. Gives you the feeling that you have plenty of time to go to the top and come down.

4. Starts your swing in the right plane.

5. Brings the right elbow in tight immediately.

6. Prevents a "bouncing" club head at the top.

7. Tends to shorten the swing, thereby providing a brace against overswinging.

8. Gives you a feeling at the top that you have to move the body in order to get the club down to the ball. (Reduces inclination to hit from the top.)

9. Tends to bring the club to the ball with the wrists leading, as they should be.

10. Kills any temptation to pronate or supinate.

11. Promotes—almost insures—a late hit.

12. Promotes a solid contact on the center of the club face.

The first three points are probably the most important. The others stem chiefly from the first three.

One of the hardest things for the average golfer to master is the proper hand and wrist position at the top. At least one reason this is difficult for him is that, with the orthodox late break, he is always trying to get into it after the swing is in full motion. The early break sets his hands in the proper positions by the time they are hip high.

Another value is that this break divorces your mind from the club head. In the orthodox late break, with what has been called the one-piece takeaway, the player is thinking of moving hips, hands, and club head all at the same time. The fact that he is thinking of the club head at all is dangerous.

With the early break completed, there comes a feeling of time to spare. Nothing else needs to be done, except to swing the club to the top and bring it down. The hands will be right, the wrists will be right, the face of the club will be right—all you have to do is swing.

This feeling of what might almost be called serenity, plus points 4, 5, and 6, all contribute to getting you to the top of the swing in an excellent position. And the right position at the top goes a long, long way toward insuring a good downswing.

All Quiet at the Top

One reason that the early break seems almost to keep us from hitting too soon is that with it we reach the top with a controlled, "quiet" club head. With the ordinary wrist break, which is late, the club head moves quite fast in the late stages of the backswing.

It moves fast enough, in fact, to exert a strong pull on the hands and wrists as it reaches its backward limit. Its momentum, actually, is checked only by the resistance of the hands and wrists to this pull.

By the time the swing reaches the top the left hand will have gone from a palmar flexion to a radial deviation without any effort on your part. It is the natural tendency. The only thing you have to watch is that it doesn’t go too far and fall into a backward flex.

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