Instruction - Short
Game Secrets
In the next 15 minutes, I am going to
change the way you play your shots from inside 50 yards. If you spend 15
minutes before every round of golf on these four tips, I guarantee you
the strokes will fall off your scorecard.
We are going to cover putting, chipping,
pitching and bunker shots. Before I get to my four short-game secrets I
need to lay a little groundwork first.
From the putting green in front of the
clubhouse at Ft. Myers Country Club, where I grew up playing, to the
practice putting green at Starfire Golf Club, and all points in between,
for 35 years, I have heard the same problem. “I putted so poorly today.
If I had putted halfway decent I would have shot my best round ever!”
But…every time I pass the practice
putting green where I teach, ALMOST NOBODY is practicing before they tee
off. But here’s the thing- every single professional golfer spends at
least 15 minutes - 1 hour on the practice putting green before they tee
off. That’s not the tip. I just wanted you to get an idea of the time
that it takes to get better.
IMPORTANT TIP: 90% of all putting greens
in the world are built low in the front and high in the back. There are
two reasons, in case you are wondering.
First, it holds the shots that are
coming onto the green and secondly for drainage purposes. The reason I
am telling you the greens are built low in the front and high in the
back is for you to understand the idea that the majority of putts hit
from the front of the green going to the back are going to be slower
than putts hit from the back of the green going towards the front.
Since this is true, when you are facing
the green, putts from the right side of the green will have a tendency
to break to the left and putts from the left side of the green will have
a tendency to break right. With this idea in mind lets move on to my TOP
FOUR SHORT GAME SECRETS!
Secret #1: Putting – Focus on Distance
not Direction
Do you know why most amateurs three-putt
more times on their first nine holes than their last nine holes? By the
time they get to the last nine they have the feel of the greens! My
colleagues have always agreed that in order to become a great putter you
must have the ability to read greens. However, I have always believed
you must also have GREAT TOUCH.
I have just given you an incredible tip.
You have to develop your touch in order to control your speed. I can not
tell you how many times I have asked an amateur golfer after they hit
their putt if they thought the putt was going uphill or downhill. Most
amateurs reply with, “I completely forgot about the speed!” Most of them
struggle more with speed more than direction. So how do you apply this
advice?
Always look towards the front of the
green so you can decide if you are going uphill or downhill. Empty your
mind of every mechanical thought you have and just stroke the ball.
FORGET the mechanics when putting. Don’t ever hit a putt until you have
visualized your golf ball going into the hole first. Make it in your
mind before you hit it. Secret #2: Chipping – Keep Your Weight on your
Front Foot in the Backswing
A chip shot is a short shot around the
green that has minimum airtime and maximum roll time. Another way to
describe it is 1/3 air, 2/3 roll. You can use one of the following clubs
when chipping: 5-iron, 7-iron or 9-iron. Common complaints that I
receive from amateurs about chipping are that they top the ball, hit the
ball thin, hit the ground behind the ball, blade the ball over the green
or completely shank the ball.
The mis-played shots I just described to
you are usually the result of an incorrect set-up. There are three
positions in chipping that are the foundation of a successful chip shot.
Let’s review them:
The golf ball should be positioned in
the middle of your stance Place 75% of your weight on your left foot
(right-handed golfers) The grip end of the golf club points to the
middle of your left leg. Grip down on the golf club to the END of the
grip. The reason you want the golf ball in the middle of your stance is
for a more consistent impact. If you place the golf ball too far forward
in your stance, you will have a tendency to hit the ball thin, or top
the ball and you will pull the ball to the left. If you play the ball
too far back in your stance, you will have a tendency to top or shank
the ball and push it to the right.
When you place 75% of your weight on
your left foot, you are ensuring yourself that you will hit down on the
ball and not up. Make sure you keep the weight on your front foot in the
back swing.
Gripping down on the golf club will
ensure a cleaner more controlled hit at impact. If you are struggling
with hitting thin shots or topping your chips, when you move your handle
further to the left (across from you left leg), you will allow the
clubhead to hit the ball on a descending blow and not ascending.
Secret #3: Pitching – The Clubhead must
Stay Low to the Ground After Impact
Choose one of the following clubs when
you attempt a pitch shot: pitching wedge, sand wedge or a lob wedge. A
pitch shot has maximum air time and minimum roll time. In other words,
the golf ball has 2/3 air time and 1/3 roll on its journey to the hole.
Just the opposite of a chip shot.
Airtime is very difficult to create if
your technique is off even in the slightest. So, if you are tired of
topping, sculling, and hitting the ground behind the golf ball when you
pitch, this is the pearl for you.
Low Follow-Through = Maximum Airtime
If I had a dollar for every amateur that
told me that they are trying to follow-through high after impact so that
their pitch shots will go up in the air, I would be set for life.
Most of the time, a high follow-through
after impact will force the ball to be hit on the upswing which results
in a top, scull or ground-behind shot. If you setup to the golf ball
just like you were going to chip, you are halfway there. Remember:
The golf ball should be positioned in
the middle of your stance Place 75% of your weight on your front foot
The grip end of the golf club points to the middle of your front leg.
Place your grip HALFWAY down the grip of the club The back swing is
usually longer than your chip shots. If you keep your weight on your
left leg - you DO NOT need to transfer your weight. As the golf club
begins to swing down into the ground, make sure you follow thru LOW to
the ground after impact. You want to feel as though you chopped the back
of the ball with the club head.
Secret #4: Bunker Play – The Backswing
is a Full Swing Just Like Your Driver
This tip will help you sleep well the
night before a big golf tournament. Your ability to play successfully
from the sand weighs heavily on technique and a small amount on
strength. If your technique is correct, you do not need to have a lot of
strength. The two mistakes that hold amateurs back in the bunker are a
line drive hit or leaving the ball in the bunker.
Most of the time they are afraid to
swing too hard because they are afraid of the line drive shot. So, you
end up swinging so slow that the ball only moves two feet. First and
foremost, set up correctly.
The golf ball should be positioned
across from you left heel Place 75% of your weight on your front foot
The grip-end of the golf club points to your BELT BUCKLE. Do not
transfer any weight. Stay on your front leg. What you are trying to do
in the bunker is hit the sand not the ball. This setup will ensure that
this happens.
The reason you play the ball across from
your left heal is so the clubhead will swing DOWN into the sand at
impact and not up.
Placing weight on your left foot ensures
the clubhead swings down at the bottom of the swing. Placing the handle
of the club across from your belt buckle allows the bounce on the bottom
of the clubhead to impact the sand at the correct angle.
I promised you in the first sentence,
these four short game tips that would change the way you played from
inside 50 yards. Make yourself a promise to spend 15 minutes before
every round this year practicing your short game and you WILL watch your
scores fall.
Again, my name is Bobby Eldridge and I
am the Head Professional at GolfSwingGuru.com. My one and only goal is
to make you a better golfer this season.
We teach a very unique swing method that
WILL lower your scores, and have you playing great golf in no time flat.
Our DVD’s are presented by Kyle Hallberg, the Director of Instruction at
GolfSwingguru.com.
If you have been struggling with your
game and you would like to improve, our unique system can help you. We
are so confident that it will help, we GUARANTEE that you will Drop 7
Strokes From Your Average Round of Golf.
That is completely possible if you let
us help you. We hope that you will learn more about our unique way of
swinging the club, and we look forward to hearing your success story.
Bobby Eldridge is the Head Instructor
for the PurePont Golf Academy where he teaches "The Simple Golf Swing"
theory. You can check out PurePoint Golf instructional DVDs at
http://www.golfswingguru.com/dvd.php.
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