Golf Drills

How to Make Short Putts

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deceleration putting tips drillsThe number one reason why amateurs miss short putts is deceleration. This symptom can creep up in many parts of your game, especially with chipping and putting. If you notice yourself stubbing chips and putts, or have trouble making all your short putts, I would bet you’re decelerating into impact.

I cannot stress enough the importance of acceleration when putting – not doing so can be deadly. Ensuring you accelerate into impact will help your short game tremendously. You will longer have to worry about short putts or the occasional stub, because if you follow-through, the ball has nowhere to go but forward.  On the other hand, you have to be careful.  If you start over-thinking things and try to steer your shots, the deceleration bug can creep in, and you’re game will suffer accordingly. Deceleration in many cases leads to the dreaded yips.

I use this simple drill to encourage an accelerating stroke on the putting green. Simply putt to a hole about 5-10 feet away, but place a headcover / ball / range bucket in the way of your backswing to keep it short. This forces you to accelerate into the ball and the results are immediate.

I would recommend everyone try this drill, because sometime spotting that you are decelerating is difficult. Don’t miss it!

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Extension Drill – Hit it Further

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The backswing is one of the most important determinants in creating and retaining power. A break down in the first few movements of the backswing can rob your swing of power and reduce your chance of solid contact. Many instructors have talked about a one-piece takeaway; this move involves the arms, wrists and club moving away from address together. Seen front on, the arms and wrists make a triangle. This triangle is very important to retain in the first movements of the backswing on all full shots.

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3-Step Drill to Cure The Yips

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The putting yips are all golfer worst nightmare. Studies show that golfer who suffer from the yips can add about 6 strokes to your score.  Players of all levels have suffered from the yips, from amateurs to PGA professionals.  I have suffered them myself, and the tips below helped me get through them.

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The Reverse Weight Shift

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Hanging back on your hind-leg through impact side is a common swing fault for amateur golfers. This position is indicative of a classic reverse weight shift. This position is also called the “reverse C” finish. If you’re falling backwards after a shot, or notice your body weight on your hind leg after a shot (which is much more common than you may think), you suffer from this swing fault. A common ball flight and trajectory with this fault is a slice that lacks power and distance. How does it happen?

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Four Drills to Help Release Your Wrists

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Releasing the club through impact is imperative in creating distance, spin and creating solid square contact. Many players who suffer from a slice tend to have issues in releasing the club properly through impact. A good way to catch yourself resisting the release is to check the position of your lead elbow post impact. If your lead elbow is away from your body and pointing towards the target, your in the classic chicken wing follow-through position, and you’re wrists didn’t rotate properly.

You may recall a previous post on follow-through releasing drills. Here are some more to try if these didn’t work.

 

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Add Yards with the Split Grip Drill

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If your arms collapse at the top of your swing, you’re stealing your ability to create power and hit the ball further. This common fault is most commonly seen with beginners, especially women and seniors. At the top of your backswing, when you reach the top, the club should be held out as far as possible from your shoulders – your left arms should be extended straight, and your right arm should be in an “L” position – as shown in the picture to the right. In this position if you can imagine a box resting on your arms – you can be sure you’re creating width.

 

width add yards drills

Another great drill to create width is the split grip drill – as the video above describes, if you split your grip apart into a hockey-like grip – your forced to created width. Why is width so important? Consider your swing like a whip, the longer the whip – the faster the whip can snap. The golf swing works the same way. The further you get the club away from your body as you swing, the faster you will be able to swing it.

This is why you see professionals starting their swings with a wide takeaway and full extension throughout their swings. This is one major contributor to their “effortless power.

Once you get the hang of this drill – try to re-create this swing technique with you hands together; your swing will feel smoother, and more powerful almost immediately.

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Fix Your Over-the-Top Slice

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One of the most common causes of your slice is an over-the-top move on the downswing. Most golfers don’t know the difference, but this move actually causes a different type of slice – a pull slice. It’s a slice that starts left of your target and quickly turns right – it dramatically reduces your distance and power.

The over-the-top move can have many causes – so we won’t get into those here. In short though, this move throws yours hands out from the body on the downswing. This drill will help you to do the opposite – to drop your hands down from the top – by encouraging a downswing that attacks the ball from the inside.

over the top drillsover the top tips

To force your swing to feel the exact opposite of the over-the-top in hopes of curing yourself, grab your golf bag and place it a couple of feet back of you, as shown in this image. Perform this drill with a smooth steady swing (the slower the better for engraining the proper move) – no ball is required. You may find that dodging the ball on the backswing is easy here – this should tell you something. If not, it’s not a big deal. Swing back outside the golf bag to the top of your backswing, once you reach the top loop the club down inside the bag to the ball. The pictures say it all. After about 20 slow swings with your bag in the way – remove the bag and try hitting some balls again. Really focus on your swing path – specifically a path that attacks the ball from inside the target line.

It shouldn’t take long to get your swing back on path – and the ball where you want it.

Give it a try!

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How to Hit Pitches Over Water

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60 yard pitch shot drills tips

Here's the situation, you’re stuck in the fairway between a small lake and the green, you have 80 yards to the pin, and have about 15 yards to work with on the green. The ball sits on a slightly uphill lie. So, the good news is you have a fair bit of room to work with on the green, the bad, you're hitting a half-shot, so judging distance will be difficult. I would use a lob or sand wedge for this shot, you need the extra loft and spin to get close to the pin.

There are four things to specifically remember for this type of shot. First and foremost, you must accelerate into impact; slowing down or trying to finesse the shot will likely result in erratic distance control or even a chunk. Furthermore, accelerating will give you addition backspin to help stop the ball on the green. I see many players take those long full swings and slow into impact in a pathetic attempt to hit the ball softer. I’ll let you in a secret… it doesn't work. Use a half-swing for this shot.

Second, choke down slightly on the club for added control. Third, open you stance slightly and ensure the ball is centered in your stance. If the ball is too far forward with an uphill lie, there is a tendency for amateurs to slide their bodies horizontally into the shot. This destabilizes the whole swing and leads to skulls and chunks. Stemming from this ball position, keep in mind that you must rotate your hips and body like any other shot.

Finally, use a steady accelerating tempo. This situation requires a finesse shot, to do so you must be smooth and controlled, not erratic.

Remember, there’s nothing worse than coming up short on these shots, so make sure you hit the green. Finally get close enough to give yourself a putt at it. You should easily be able to hit 8 out of 10 of these shots on the surface within 30 feet with some practice.

With these tips you should have a much better chance of getting up and down on these dreaded half shots. Give it a try!

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How to Hook a Wedge Shot

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PONTE VEDRA BEACH, FL - MAY 05: Phil Mickelson uses a pitching wedge on the practice range in swing sequence frame 5 of 12 during a practice round prior to the start of THE PLAYERS Championship held at THE PLAYERS Stadium course at TPC Sawgrass on May 5, 2010 in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. (Photo by Richard Heathcote/Getty Images)

This shot is reserved for you lower handicaps out there… if Phil Mickelson can do it, why can’t you? Occasionally, you are faced with a short shot that requires shaping, whether it be a slice or a hook. I find a hook much easier to pull-off, and I’d like to share with you how to do it properly.

First, it’s best to try this shot when you have a helping right to left wind (assuming you’re right-handed), Setup to the ball as your normally would, ball positioned in the middle of our stance. Obviously, keep in mind the position of your obstacles that caused you to consider this shot in the first place, whether it be a hill, tree or a tucked pin.

If it’s a tree, give yourself some room for error on this one. Hood the face of your wedge slightly, but not so much that you reduce it’s loft that much. Close your stance and then swing along your feet line – this will create a drastically in to out swing path – which is exactly what you need to pull this off.

Finally, focus on making solid contact with the center of the club, if you don’t, the club won’t impart the amount of sidespin you need hook the ball. If done properly, you can hit 50-75 yard shots that hook almost 15 yards. Vary the severity of your closed clubface and your swing path to reduce how much the ball hooks.

Keep in mind, upon landing, this ball will spin left.

Definitely give this shot a try on the range before giving it a go on the course.  But it’s a great shot to have in the bag in tough situations!

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How To Plum Bob Your Putts

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What the hell is a plumb bob? It’s a tool used most commonly in carpentry to ensure something is vertical. In its basic form it’s just a weight attached to a string… when it comes to golf however, you see many players using their putter for this purpose. The plumb-bob technique has mixed feelings with golf professionals, some swear by it, some think it’s useless and others think it’s a joke. I’ll leave you be to make your own judgments… here’s how to do it properly:

 

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