One of the things we observe in amateur golfers is their lack of good speed control on the greens. Many times, players are able to read the correct break only to leave a four or five foot second putt due to poor judgment of the speed of the green.
Perhaps the most important aspect of reading greens is to ascertain how fast or slow the putt you have is going to be. It is helpful to get on the practice green before playing to get a feel for the speed of the greens that day. But more importantly, you need to incorporate it into each putt that you read.
Reading the break is completely dependant upon how fast or slow the golf ball will be travelling as it rolls across the green surface. Putts that are moving at a fast clip will naturally not break nearly as much as a delicate slow roller. Therefore, we can say that downhill putts will break more than uphill putts due to the firmness that the putt must be struck.
When reading greens, it is essential to not only determine up from down, but what does the green look like past the cup. Does the green slope away from the cup? If so, a firm and bold effort if missed may end up going ten feet by. Or does the green go uphill past the cup? Then you can go ahead a give a bolder effort to make the putt without fear that the ball will run away.
Make sure that when you read greens, that speed is a priority in the decisions you make regarding break. Remember, you can get the break incorrect and the speed correct and still be able to two putt. But if you read the break well and hit the putt with poor speed, you will continue to three putt time and time again.
Monday, July 4, 2011
Saturday, April 2, 2011
Spring Practice
After a very long and cold winter, spring is coming upon us and with it the new golf season. There are some things that you can do to get yourself back into the game and playing well despite the long layoff. And there are things not to do as well.
Firstly, do not pull a driver out for your first swing of the spring! I see this time and time again, and can understand that cabin fever has us wanting to get on the course right away. However, jumping right in can make for some bad habits that can set us back quite a bit.
The first part of the game that leaves us due to lack of practice is the short game. Absolutely, the most important part of the game is from 100 yards in, yet most golfers neglect it all the time. Springtime is the ideal time to start working on it to get your body attuned to the feel of the golf swing, the timing involved and the feel for solid contact. Head for the practice green and start by spending time chipping and putting. Force yourself to do this and you will reap the benefits all year long.
When you head to the range, work on your wedge game first! Spend the time to work on different yardages and half or three quarter shots. This will force you to get better timing and feel for your full swing. This will also help you to get your body stretched out for those drivers you are aching to hit.
If you will follow this advice and make a game plan to begin to work back into the game from the hole backward, it can only help you get a headstart on the guy who steps from his trunk to the 1st Tee and uncorks a drive that he has no idea of where it is going to end up. You also may want to get a spring tune-up from your golf professional who can assist you with any aspect of the game.
Firstly, do not pull a driver out for your first swing of the spring! I see this time and time again, and can understand that cabin fever has us wanting to get on the course right away. However, jumping right in can make for some bad habits that can set us back quite a bit.
The first part of the game that leaves us due to lack of practice is the short game. Absolutely, the most important part of the game is from 100 yards in, yet most golfers neglect it all the time. Springtime is the ideal time to start working on it to get your body attuned to the feel of the golf swing, the timing involved and the feel for solid contact. Head for the practice green and start by spending time chipping and putting. Force yourself to do this and you will reap the benefits all year long.
When you head to the range, work on your wedge game first! Spend the time to work on different yardages and half or three quarter shots. This will force you to get better timing and feel for your full swing. This will also help you to get your body stretched out for those drivers you are aching to hit.
If you will follow this advice and make a game plan to begin to work back into the game from the hole backward, it can only help you get a headstart on the guy who steps from his trunk to the 1st Tee and uncorks a drive that he has no idea of where it is going to end up. You also may want to get a spring tune-up from your golf professional who can assist you with any aspect of the game.
Monday, March 14, 2011
Proper Alignment is Essential
Today's tip involves proper body alignment for the full swing. After a long winter of little or no golf, it is important to start the year fundamentally sound. Poor alignment is a problem I see all year long and it is easy to get misaligned with your first times out in the spring. If you have ever attended a PGA Tour event and had the opportunity to go to the range to watch the best players in the world practice, you would see a recurring theme. I am certain that most, if not all, would be hitting balls with some sort of alignment aid. Lining up is not an automatic thing; remember that many mistakes occur before the club is even swung.
Proper body alignment is essential to having a consistent shot pattern. Most of us have a tendency to either align too far to the right or left of the target. The truth is that the body should be aligned parallel to the ball to target line. This, depending on the length of the club involved, will align the body “parallel left” of the target.
Think of it in the following regard. Imagine a pair of railroad tracks. The far rail is a straight line from your golf ball to the target. The inner rail is the line on which you set up to swing. Your feet, knees, hips and shoulders should be parallel, and on line with the inner rail. The question is how can you consistently achieve this objective.
The number one answer is to start practicing with a shaft on the ground parallel to your target. In other words, get used to how it is supposed to look and feel. But if you are playing, the rules won’t allow you to do this. Therefore, answer number two is to develop a pre shot routine that will enable you to set up correctly. One way to do this is to follow the method established by none other than Jack Nicklaus. From behind the golf ball, look at the line from your golf ball to the target, picking out an intermediate target a foot or two in front of the ball. It is much easier to line up to an object that is close to you than one that could be two hundred yards away. When I say an intermediate target, this could be an old divot or irregularity in the turf. Then align yourself on that inner rail of those tracks I mentioned above.
With a little practice, this is a great way to get yourself aligned correctly. Check your alignment on the course from time to time by laying a shaft along your foot line after you have hit a shot. You may be surprised at where you were aimed!
Proper body alignment is essential to having a consistent shot pattern. Most of us have a tendency to either align too far to the right or left of the target. The truth is that the body should be aligned parallel to the ball to target line. This, depending on the length of the club involved, will align the body “parallel left” of the target.
Think of it in the following regard. Imagine a pair of railroad tracks. The far rail is a straight line from your golf ball to the target. The inner rail is the line on which you set up to swing. Your feet, knees, hips and shoulders should be parallel, and on line with the inner rail. The question is how can you consistently achieve this objective.
The number one answer is to start practicing with a shaft on the ground parallel to your target. In other words, get used to how it is supposed to look and feel. But if you are playing, the rules won’t allow you to do this. Therefore, answer number two is to develop a pre shot routine that will enable you to set up correctly. One way to do this is to follow the method established by none other than Jack Nicklaus. From behind the golf ball, look at the line from your golf ball to the target, picking out an intermediate target a foot or two in front of the ball. It is much easier to line up to an object that is close to you than one that could be two hundred yards away. When I say an intermediate target, this could be an old divot or irregularity in the turf. Then align yourself on that inner rail of those tracks I mentioned above.
With a little practice, this is a great way to get yourself aligned correctly. Check your alignment on the course from time to time by laying a shaft along your foot line after you have hit a shot. You may be surprised at where you were aimed!
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
Golf Tip-Pump Drill
If you have a hard time with an early release of the club resulting in a loss of power, here is a good drill to help to retain the angle of the club on the downswing, increasing leverage and power.
The pump drill is easily executed and can be practiced indoors, which is good news in January. Simply swing the club to the top of your backswing and stop. From there, Start your downswing but try to maintain your wrist cock so that when your left arm and hands are opposite your left hip, the golf club is still at waist height, and the shaft is parallel to the ground. The right wrist should still be fully cocked as well. The feeling should be that an inordinate amount of lag has been achieved.
Then, swing back to the top of the backswing and repeat the drill over and over, “pumping” the club into the same position each time. This will help to establish a motion that will increase your leverage and power. It also helps to keep the left side in control to avoid the early release and hitting from the top.
Winter is a great time to use drill such as this to correct swing flaws that plague us during the golf season. With time on our hands, no courses to play, and snow on the ground, this is the time to work on the muscle memory which is critical to playing our best golf.
The pump drill is easily executed and can be practiced indoors, which is good news in January. Simply swing the club to the top of your backswing and stop. From there, Start your downswing but try to maintain your wrist cock so that when your left arm and hands are opposite your left hip, the golf club is still at waist height, and the shaft is parallel to the ground. The right wrist should still be fully cocked as well. The feeling should be that an inordinate amount of lag has been achieved.
Then, swing back to the top of the backswing and repeat the drill over and over, “pumping” the club into the same position each time. This will help to establish a motion that will increase your leverage and power. It also helps to keep the left side in control to avoid the early release and hitting from the top.
Winter is a great time to use drill such as this to correct swing flaws that plague us during the golf season. With time on our hands, no courses to play, and snow on the ground, this is the time to work on the muscle memory which is critical to playing our best golf.
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