Major Golf Lesson

During the initial discussion at the beginning of a lesson series, I often hear that a student would see considerable improvement in their scores by getting more distance out of their clubs.  The average student making this statement shoots between 90 and 110.  If you have taken any lessons from me in the past, you should know that I am a firm believer in the chip shot.  There are two reasons for this, one, chipping is a very important part of the golf game.  If you aren’t hitting greens or getting it close to the flag inside 60 yards, then your score will definitely improve with better chipping.  The other primary reason is that chipping is the small version of the full swing.  If you rely on bad mechanics in the short game, you are likely to see it in a bigger version when the full swing takes place.  Have you noticed that in most cases, golfers with great short games have pretty good swings and have lower handicaps?  The second thing I like to work on during lessons is the 150 yard shot and in.  If you can hit a 150-yard shot consistently, then you can break 90.

Here is an idea I would like for you to consider.  If you take an average white tee golf course’s yardage of 6,500 yards and divide it by 150-yards you get a total of 43. I know that you won’t hit it in the hole every time, so if we add a 2 putt on every hole then we get a total of 36 putts.  When you add the 43 golf shots and 36 putts you would end up with a score of 79.  Now I know that there may be some water hazards and obstacles you may have to go around with only having a 150 yard shot, so we will add another 9 strokes for those situations and maybe missing a few greens on the approach.  When we add 9 more strokes we get an 88.  Remember, that is from the middle tees so if you are playing the front tees, the score could be even lower.  Also note, this is without using a driver, 3 wood and possibly those dreaded long irons.  Those are usually the clubs that mess with the swing and drive your score up.

I challenge you to try this sometime.  Go play nine holes with the clubs you hit 150 yards and less, then see what you shoot.  Keep track of where you lose shots and I bet it won’t have anything to do with loss of distance.  If you consistently score under a 45 then it’s time to add some more yardage.

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If you saw the end of the 2011 Farmers Insurance Open here at Torrey Pines, I think you’d agree it was a pretty good tournament ending. Bubba Watson having to really solidify his final putt and Phil having Bones tend the flag just in case he cans it. Nice ending.

And now that it’s over, I’m back to work on the lesson tee and the golf course probably teaching some of my students to hit a distance wedge of 72 yards like the one Phil attempted. Now it’s a relatively easy shot. What makes it difficult is to get it as close as Phil does. Amazingly he did almost hole it off the fly and then spun it back to about four feet. Now I don’t expect the majority of my students to do that but the fundamentals of the shot are not as difficult as one would expect.

First, ball position is important. Make sure you position the ball so you’re not going to hit it fat or skinny. That would probably be a little back in their stance for the majority of golfers. Then, by all means don’t over swing. A half to three quarter swing will be sufficient. The shorter swing will compel you have to accelerate the club through the ball.

The common errors to this shot are an over swing with a decelerated motion through the ball. Not good. Practice will help you to get it close. But knowing the fundamentals of the shot will at least give you a chance to hole the putt.

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Two fundamentals to strive for in Putting: Distance and Direction. Of the two, distance is by far more important in determining the capacity to putt with any sort of consistency. Take note at most amateurs, you might notice that when they practice their putting, they practice more on their direction. They spend an inconsistent amount of their practice time on putts of less then ten or fifteen feet. I believe that when the golfer can feel their longer distances it’s easier to manage the short-range putts.

You need to have the feeling of consistent rhythm and pace of the stroke to control your distance. You also need this feeling of rhythm on the short putts; another benefit of practicing longer putts is that you will start to feel a rhythm and tempo in your stroke.

Address Position of The Putt:

Grip – thumbs straight down the shaft, very light grip pressure, hollow with the palms and general preference to the reverse overlap grip
Stance and Width – this will vary with individual preference but square to slightly open is acceptable with the width usually five to ten inches and wider on windy days
Ball position – one inch forward of center
Bottom of the stroke arc – one inch behind the ball, with the putter impacting the ball on a slight upswing
Butt end of the club – straight up and down with club head, not a big forward press
Contact point of clubface at impact – bottom half of the clubface

There are several common mistakes in putting, beginning with the attempt to control and influence the clubface to direct the ball toward the hole. Just like the full swing, your hands should be reacting to the direction of the larger muscles. Your shoulders and arms are the primary engine of the stroke, with your hands staying very quiet, passive and inactive.

Another frequent error is the attempt to hit the ball on a specific line which leads you to start watching the roll of the ball toward the target too soon, thereby moving you head forward as you stroke through. Listen for the sound of the ball dropping in the cup before you look up on the short putts.

Another familiar mistake is the attempt to make the stroke straight back and straight through. Because you stand to the side of the ball the arc is on an incline. As clubs get shorter, the arc goes more vertical. As club shaft gets longer, the plane of the arc is more horizontal. The ball is played away from your body; therefore the arc will never be vertical. The only way the club could swing straight back and through would be if the stroke were traveling on a vertical plane. Therefore, your stroke should be slightly to the inside of the target line on both back swing and through swing. Letting the club swing on its natural arc will reduce the tendency to influence the clubface with the hands. As you stroke on your arc, the clubface will appear to be opening and closing, however remember the clubface is merely staying square with the arc.

A worthwhile goal for your putting stroke is keeping your head and lower body (from the hips down) to remain motionless while your shoulders and arms execute the crucial movement. If you don’t, your stroke will lead to inconsistency. If you focus on feeling the correct distance, your tendency will not be to move your head, but to stroke the putt with the correct pace and rhythm for the appropriate distance.

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