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...

 

Get Your Putter Right!

Forget searching for the right driver and think about honing your skills with the right putter. Hunter Mahan felt that just a slight change in putter was able to help him sink a few more putts. Make this your new aim, "get the right putter!"

In the Bag, Luke Donald

There is no doubt that seeing into a Pro's bag will help us shape what equipment we buy and take with us out onto the course!

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.

Driving Accuracy

Your obsession with driving distance is not worth the bother. Seek, before all things, accuracy. Off the tee you should look to get the ball on the fairway, it's as simple as that. Make fairways hit off the tee a priority over drives over 250-yards. The competition is to get the ball in the hole, not hit the longest drive!

Once you can naturally and instinctively get the ball on the fairway with the driver, then look at pushing the distances. So, get your priorities right, and cut your handicap (and your ego)!

Take a look and listen at the mindset of a tour pro:

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!