November 24, 2015 Posted by Matt

What if you have a difficult bunker shot where the ball is below your feet and you are standing above it in the grass?  With good technique, you can pull off this shot even though it is difficult.  First, widen your stance and bend down to the ball by flexing your knees and not bending from your waist.  In this way, you will use your lower body to support the swing.  Keep your lower body still and stay down to the shot while you swing.  Aim to the left and use a good arm-and-hands swing to power the ball out.  When possible, practice this difficult bunker shot, as it will come in handy when you face it on the course.

November 23, 2015 Posted by Matt

Use a pitching wedge instead of a sand wedge to pitch near the green.  If you try to pitch your ball with a sand wedge, you will need to carry the ball in the air to get near the hole, and then hope for spin to stop the ball.  This is a risky shot that is better for touring professionals.  Use a pitching wedge to get the ball onto the green and land it on a predetermined spot.  Allow the ball to roll about two-thirds of the way to the hole after landing.  In this way, you will remove the guesswork as to whether your ball will spin to a stop or roll well to the hole.  Practice this pitch shot from different distances near the green in order to develop a good feel for it.

November 21, 2015 Posted by Matt

Credit: analyzrgolf.com

A good fundamental to remember is that the gap between your body and hands as you hold a club remains the same for all your clubs.  If you extend your hands well away from your body with your driver, for example, you are programming yourself for a flat swing and a bad hook.  Always let your hands and arms drop naturally from your shoulders, as this is where they will return naturally as you swing.  Any unnatural movement of the hands and arms away from the body will force you to make corrections during the swing.  Be natural and let your arms and hands swing freely.

November 19, 2015 Posted by Matt

Alignment of your shoulders, hips, knees and feet are critical for hitting good golf shots.  You need to make sure everything is going in the same direction.  A common error that many players are completely unaware of is setting up with different parts of the body misaligned to the target.  A usual mistake is to have the feet pointed in one direction while the shoulders are pointed left or right of where the feet are aimed.  The same can be said for the hips and knees; they might be out of alignment as well.  Find a full-length mirror and place a piece of tape or string that will run perpendicular from top to bottom.  Take your normal golf stance and check to see how your positions match up to the line.  On the range, ask a friend or your pro to stand behind you to check your aim as well.  You might be surprised at how far you are off in your alignment relative to your target.

November 18, 2015 Posted by Matt

Good putters start the ball on their intended line.  The first six inches is critical to start your putt traveling to where you want it to go.  In practice place two tees about two inches apart on a flat part of the green.  The tees should be about three feet from a hole.  Place your ball about six inches behind the tees and stroke putts so that the ball rolls through the opening and into the hole.  Use this “field goal” drill over and over in warm ups, and you will gain confidence in your ability to roll the ball along your intended line and make more putts drop.

November 17, 2015 Posted by Matt

Good balance is critical to hitting good golf shots.  If you focus on balance alone, however, you may swing very tentatively and not go after the ball.  A great way to maintain good balance is to concentrate on your finish position.  When you finish, your feet should be under you, and there should be no extra movements, such as taking a little step or rocking back on your feet.  If you can swing and have your feet support you naturally at your finish, you are in good balance and on your way to good scores.

Here is a good drill to improve your balance….

November 16, 2015 Posted by Matt

It is always a good idea to start any movement with some form of a trigger to break inertia.  If you try to start your backswing on a full shot or even a putt from a dead stop, chances are you will make a jerky motion.  Try making a slight move forward with your hands for chips and putts, and use either your hands or back knee to make a slight movement to begin your full swing.  This is called a forward press, but you should keep it to a minimum, so it is just enough to break from a still position and signal you to begin the swing or stroke smoothly.

November 15, 2015 Posted by Matt

Adjust the clubs in your bag for better scoring.  You can have fourteen clubs in your bag and you may configure them in any way you want.  Some senior players tend to use more hybrids and fairway woods, as they need more distance.  For most players, however, it is a good idea to stack your setup to favor the scoring clubs.  Many good players will carry four wedges:  Pitching, gap, sand, and lob.  The lofts will run from about 48 degrees to 60 degrees with the lob wedge.  This will allow you to hit shots of different lengths and heights depending on what the shots call for.  By having many wedges, you will have more options around the green, where the real scoring takes place.

November 14, 2015 Posted by Matt

Just when you’re about to give up on the game, you hit a perfect shot on 17 or 18 with one of your woods and you think, “I really CAN play this game….I was just having a bad day”.

November 14, 2015 Posted by Matt

If you are in the trees or blocked from a clear shot to the green, you might try to hit a trap draw.  To play this shot, first close your stance by bringing your front foot closer to the target line.  De-loft your iron by setting your hands ahead of the ball, and take a backswing that is low to the ground and to the inside.  Swing from inside to out and strike down on the ball.  Hold your finish low to the ground.  The ball will fly out like a low line drive and turn sharply to the left.  A trap draw is a great shot to learn to get out of trouble and get your ball in a good position to save par.