The best players in the game employ an out to in swing path for their bunker shots. Much like Furyk’s “loopy” swing (but less dramatic) good bunker players swing out to in to attack the pall from an ideal angle. A normal swing path tends to produce an angle of attack that is too steep, and can result in either skulls, chunks and the occasional perfect shot. A shallower swing path will help produce a more consistent results from the sand… and ultimately this means you have a “go-to” swing to rely upon when on the beach. A shallower swing will take less sand, which create more backspin and control. Here’s how to do it:
Short Game Drills
3 Simple Yip Cures You’ve Likely Never Tried
I hate the yips. It seems that every two years or so, after missing a couple of short putts – my mind goes into “don’t miss it” mode, and I’m faced with another couple weeks of awful, yip-filled rounds of golf. Now I guess I really shouldn’t complain, I’ve heard the horror stories of players quitting the game because their yips got so bad, or even people whose yips have progressed to affect their chipping and full-swing shots. I’m glad I’m not suffering that bad.
With all this said, I’ve spent countless hours on the putting green working on different things to help cure myself of the yips. I’ve tried different putting strokes, different setup routines, different putters and various drills – you name it, I’ve tried it. Oddly enough, I’ve found that some of the simplest changes to my putting stroke have made all the difference. In this post, I’m going to share with you those simple changes – so that you too can benefit – enjoy.
The Putting Yips Reboot
For those of you who suffer from the yips, it doesn’t seem to matter what “cure” you try, because nothing works. What you have to realize is that the yips is a mental issue, not a swing fault. Your brain is telling your wrists to twitch before impact, because your brain is not 100% sure of the putt you’re about to make. What you need to do is re-boot your brain thinking process when it comes to putting. Forget all the missed short putts, and lost strokes are start the learning process over again. A great way to do this is to forget about the hole entirely.
Lets face it the hole is a small target, too small, and you need to think BIG. Work on your basic putting setup and alignment to a range bucket or towel from 10 feet away. Your successes will improve… and so will your confidence in your putting. With this approach, you can start trusting your putting stroke again and your yips should go away. Once you become more confident with your fundamentals, and you have successfully re-booted your putting stroke using the larger target… slowly work your way down to the hole again.
Chipping with Control
When faced with short chip shots around the green, you should be getting up and down with ease. I like to consider a short-chip shot like this, as a modified putt.
Here are some suggestions to help make these short chips more automatic.
1) Choke Down – For this short shot, you will need the added control and reduced power that a choked down club produces. This forces you slightly closer to the ball and should help you judge distances more accurately.
2) Acceleration – The number one fault of amateurs around the green is the deceleration. It’s hard to notice if you’re not looking specifically for it, but if your chipping is extremely inconsistent, I’ll put my money on it that you’re deceleration .
Even on these short shots you must be accelerating! Let the length of your backswing dictate the amount of power your chipping stroke generates, never the speed of your follow-through. Far too often do I see players “chipping” with long backswings that are slowing down as they near the ball. For pretty much every kind of chip, you must follow-through to ensure the ball gets out cleanly… acceleration ensures this happens.
3) Putt It – When chipping, your stroke is identical in length and style as a putt to the same target. With a proper chipping setup, the ball will be positioned slightly further back in your stance, resulting in a downward blow that pops the ball over the long grass and gets it rolling soon after it hits the green. Apart from ball position, the stroke is identical to a putt.
Practice this swing and use these tips and start saving your strokes guys!
Do the Dew!
In putting, there are very few similarities from one player to the next. This is because putting is all about ‘feel’. Some players have good feel around the greens; others don’t. For those who have trouble, being able to see the line of the putt, the subtle breaks and path towards the hole can be very beneficial. Instead of having to imagine the line, you can now see the line.
To help provide this visual feedback, try putting in the early morning dew. It is a great way to develop a visual sense of how a putt breaks. With some practice you can begin to develop a better sense of the ‘feel’ of each putt. After hitting some putts in the dew and taking a look at the break trails of each, a 25 foot putt never looked so easy.
Give it a try!
Y Chipping Drill
The most common fault I see with amateurs and their chipping is that they try to scoop the ball at impact. The main problem with scooping is that it causes inconsistency. To scoop at chip shot, you have to add a lot extra wrist movements, this is asking for trouble. A good mental image you should envision when chipping is to create ‘Y’ at address and keep it throughout your stroke.
1234 Greenside Bunker Drill
Getting the ball out of a bunker effectively is a difficult concept to master. To do so a player must understand the specific differences between a sand shot and a normal shot. The swings are completely different, setup is different, and contact is very different. This drill will specifically help your setup and swing path into the ball, an essential part of sand fundamentals.
Hit & Resist Putting Drill
Quite often I see players who suffer from unwanted body movements throughout their putting stroke. This fault leads to missed putts of all distances, often caused by the face angle of the putter being either open or closed at impact.
The Truth About the Putting Yips
We all know golf is very much a mental game. The brain has a profound effect on the results of each and every one of our shots. A fine example is to look more closely at a common problem like the yips. If you don't already know, the yips are involuntary wrist and arm twitches right before impact, which can affect anything from chipping to those three footers impossible.
Triangle Chipping Drill
Over 60% of the shots you make on the golf course are from 100 yards and in. Improving your short game is the best way to lower your scores. Consistency is the key to a solid short game. Having a repeatable, reliable chipping stroke will help you learn how to gauge distances better, judge the spin and also help you choose the proper club for the situation.