May 1, 2016 Posted by Matt

Do you hit low drives?  Are they short?  Many amateur golfers hit line drive tee shots that lack distance.  One of the main causes of low drives is shaft lean.  Shaft lean means that your hands are ahead of the ball and the shaft leans toward the club head that sits behind the ball.  The shaft lean causes you to de-loft your driver.  To hit higher and longer drives, widen your stance a little.  Tilt your shoulders so your back shoulder is lower than your front.  Place your hands so they are parallel to the ball or slightly behind it.  Let it rip!

April 30, 2016 Posted by Matt

Avoid those flop shots unless it is absolutely necessary! PGA Pros spend hours and hours practicing in order to execute a good flop shot.  If you are an amateur, you don’t need to hit a flop shot when there are other options available.  If your ball is in the rough above the hole and you have a downhill shot, use your sand wedge and chip the ball so it lands in the rough just short of the fringe.  The rough will slow down the momentum of the ball.  The ball will bounce once or twice and then role towards the hole.

April 28, 2016 Posted by Matt

When you line up your tee shot, be sure to aim at something.  Pick a bunker, tree, building or other feature in the distance to align yourself toward.  Most armatures will just tee up the ball and aim towards the center of the fairway.  The result is often an errant shot.  If you narrow your focus and pick a specific target your chances of ending up in the fairway will be significantly higher.  So before you hit your tee shot, pick a specific target and hit your ball.  Try it the next time you head to the golf course.

April 27, 2016 Posted by Matt

Do you have the “yips”?  Putting yips occur when a golfer uses his or her hands in a quick flipping motion to stroke the ball.  It happens to the best of us.  If you watched this year’s Masters then you saw the yips in action when Ernie Els had a 7 putt on the first hole with 6 of the putts being less than two feet.  Anxiety is often the cause and it can be difficult to fix.  A good first step is to putt a jumbo grip on your putter.  The extra large grip will help you keep your hands and wrists quiet.  Test out a larger grip and see if it helps solve the problem.

April 24, 2016 Posted by Matt

Hitting a shot from an uphill lie can be tricky.  You have to worry about staying on balance and hitting the ball straight.  To hit a ball from an uphill lie, match your shoulders to the slope of the hill and open your stance.  Play the ball in the middle of your stance.  The open stance will leave plenty of room for your hips to clear and remain level throughout the swing.  To maintain control, take a three-quarter swing and sweep the ball off the lie.  The ball will move a little left so aim slightly right of your target.

April 23, 2016 Posted by Matt

Are you trying to figure out how to improve your putting?  Do you keep missing short putts between three feet and five feet?  You probably need to stop using your hands.  Many amateur golfers get too handsy with their putter which results in missing putts left or right.  Set up your arms so they form a triangle.  Think about making a pendulum motion by moving the bottom of the triangle back and forth using only your shoulders. Maintain a smooth rhythm.  Practice this motion on the putting green and you will improve your putting and shoot lower scores!

April 22, 2016 Posted by Matt

Are you decelerating on your putts?  Deceleration during the putting stroke is when you take a long backswing and then slow down the putter head as you make contact with the ball.  The result is your putts will often come up short over and over again.  A good way to eliminate deceleration is to line up five balls about five feet from the a hole.  Address the ball like you normally would.  From this position, push the ball toward the hole without taking a backstroke.  This forces you to accelerate into the ball.  When you go back to your normal setup, you will notice your backswing will be shorter and you will accelerate through the ball instead of decelerating at impact.

April 20, 2016 Posted by Matt

You are not getting the clubface on the ball if your shots from the rough go short and left.  When the rough is thick you are probably catching the grass behind the ball and slowing down your swing speed if you are using a normal golf swing.  Here are a few swing adjustments you can make to ensure clean contact with clubface which will help propel the ball up and out of the rough.  Set your weight on your left side.  Make a three-quarter backswing that is upright.  Come down steeply on the ball which will minimize the amount of grass you catch.  Try it out the next time you head to the course.

April 18, 2016 Posted by Matt

Are you swaying?  If so, you are probably seeing a wide variety of poor golf shots.  A sway happens when you shift your weight to your back foot and your hips shift in the same direction instead of turning so your back is to the target.  A good way to check if you are swaying is to stick an alignment rod next to your back foot so that it is vertical.  Make a normal golf swing.  If your hip hits the stick than you are swaying instead of turning during your golf swing.  A good drill to help you fix a sway is to go to the driving range and place a golf ball under the right side of your back foot.  Practice hitting shots with and you will find you will feel what it is like to turn instead of sway.

April 17, 2016 Posted by Matt

When you are practicing on the putting green, close your eyes to get a feel for what your stroke is doing.  Place some balls about five feet from the hole.  Set up over the ball and close your eyes.  Make your putt and before you open your eyes listen for the ball to drop into the cup.  If you do not make the putt, try to determine if the ball went left or right, long or short.  Repeat this drill from ten feet.  After a while, you should develop a feel for your stroke and know what a solid, straight putt feels like.  Make this drill a part of your routine and it will help you become a more consistent putter.