The Flop Shot

Sometimes specialist shots can help us get out of difficult or tight spots. Phil Mickelson is one of the masters at this. We should get the technique of this shot into our heads, then practice, practice, practice...

 

Target Alignment

Amidst all the tweaks to your swing and things to remember, don't forget to hit the ball in the right direction! All the hard work you put into a good swing can be counteracted by not aiming properly. Once we get a good technique we need to make a move toward aligning ourselves to the target. Know what type of shot you hit. If you hit a fade or a draw, then aim a little left or right.

You should always envisage the flight of the ball. See it happen in your minds eye, and feel the exact direction you want your ball to go. This lesson will help you toward that end, giving you a tip on how to get that good alignment.

Pitching around the Green

Sometimes our golf game can really suffer from short pitch shots around the green. If we are 20 yards or less, we need to be getting up and down. Saving par is the most important thing for any golfer. If we can knock it close with our wedge then we are, more times than not, going to keep our scores down.

Get a natural technique. Take the advice of Luke Donald here and make the shot your own. You don't have to copy him, but do try and get a consistent controlled strike.

Course Management

An essential part of our golf game is course management. We need to know where to aim and which shot to hit. Off the course we need to mentally prepare our game to attack the course. We can't hit a high shot into high winds, just like we can't always hit a driver if danger surrounds that distance. The type of shots we can hit need to very too. Mentally and physically we need to be prepared for managing our game around the course.

I think this video from Martin Kaymer helps us see that there are certain shots to hit. There are a number of things, therefore, to think about before we hit a shot!

-Identify Dangers

-Identify Ball lie

-Foresee the path of the ball

-Make Club Selection

-Confidently go for the shot

Inserting some new calculations like assessing danger and going for the safer shot could cut 2 or 3 shots of your game, or maybe more!

Gripping the Golf Club

This is as important a lesson for seasoned golfers as it is for novices. The fundamental of golf is gripping the club properly. If you do not grip the club properly you will not progress. There are limitations in your golf game if you cannot have full control over your swing. You will not have full control if you do not have a good grip!

Try to get the most comfortable position of these three:

There is still a common problem within the average golfer's grip that causes inconsistent swing lines and off-center strikes. To reach your full potential you most also eradicate the wandering thumb! Note the right and wrong right hand thumb positions:

You need to get this 'V' shape in your right hand, where the thumb sits on the left side of the club grip and the 'V' of that right hand is aligned with the club itself. Copy the middle picture as best possible no matter what position you go for with your fingers above!

Putting Tips and Exercises, by Thomas Bjorn

The most used but usually least practiced part of your golf game is putting. If we took more of our time to putt and less trying to get an extra 50yards on our driver, we would become better golfers very quickly. Challenge yourself to put 50% or more practice time into your putting and the improve will appear automatically.

If you can reduce your round by one or two less putts your scoring will drop immediately. If you can drive further, you have no guarantee! So get out on the practice greens and drop shots on the course.

Here Bjorn gives us some very natural practice tips. These exercises will help straighten our natural putting game and give us a more instinctive putt when we play in competition.

Pitching from Distance

Here is a tutorial by Luke Donald. This lesson is for 112yard pitch shot. It describes how to set up for pitching outside the distance of your wedge.