Tips
Tips are what they say, just a tip. Some may work for you while others may not. If one sounds good then give it a real try, stick to it until it works or you are convinced it will not work. Remember this: Golf is a never ending learning process so keep learning.
Practice Like You Play. How do you feel more comfortable when in a match? Practice like you are in a match. Make a bet with your self. If you do well reward yourself. If you do not play well, take away that morning coffee!
Practice Practice Practice Practice properly and practice often. Do not forget to play the game just to practice. There is no replacement for actually getting on the links and knocking it around. Playing the course is practice too!
Mix It Up: Play some different tees. The women's tees can be a great challenge and let you hit different shots think your way around the course and work on the short game too. Next time play the tips. Play with just the even or odd club. get creative and inventive and your overall game will improve.
Mix It Up #2: Mix up your playing partners. You can and will learn from playing golf with other people. Sure its great to play with the same 4 some on Sunday, but mix it up, learn, and play better over time.
Mix It Up #3 Mix up the courses. Play some different courses. this will get your mental game going, let you play shots you don't normally play and gives you practice at your course management. playing the same course can get you into a rut. Play some different ones and when you go back for your next round at home, bet a bit more on our self and your game.
The Swing: A swing is exactly that. A smooth, consistent, constant acceleration through the ball. it does not have a sudden start or a sudden stop. It flows just like the swing you used on a playground when we were young. Did you jump on and start swinging fast? Did you suddenly accelerate from the top of your back swing back towards the playground? Of course not. The same goes for a golf swing. Smooth from the start and smooth to the finish.
Eyes: Whatever you do in golf the one thing we have in common is our eyes. Have them checked and corrected often. Not seeing your best will certainly hurt your ability to read greens, judge distance and see the ball clearly. So, although it may cost money in the short term seeing is believing and believing is lower scores!
Wintertime: We all suffer from not hitting golf balls all winter. I also take every chance to hit balls when I get a little bit of warm weather. Use this time to work on tempo. Do not hit your woods but just the wedges and up to the 7 iron. Just concentrate on hitting the ball cleanly and have fun. Tempo will follow and what better thing to teach your muscles as they are forgetting the old swing all winter?
Spending Money: I believe that you cannot buy a better game with equipment, that you will be better after some lessons and you can buy a better game with hard work! Which will benefit your game more, a $500 driver, a $300 putter or $200 in lessons and range balls?
Practice on the Range: Each time you spend time on the range hitting balls consider this approach. One day you hit all the clubs with even numbers, the next hit the odd numbers. This will let you hit them all and encourage you to use the same swing for all of them. There should not be a club in your bag you are unwilling to hit. If there is, serious consideration should be given to replacing it with something useable. There is no need to carry around clubs just because they look good in the bag!
Learning From the Media. Watching golf and reading about golf bombards us with tips all the time. One word of caution. Look at the pros and if most of them are doing something the same way, then it would be a great idea to work into your swing. However, if you are trying to swing like your favorite player or even a couple of your favorites, it may not be a good idea to copy it.
Bad Weather. This isn't football but we all have to play in other than perfect weather. Will this affect your game? It can, but the important thing is to prepare and take care of you. Lightning is time to call it quits...PERIOD! Rain isn't a big problem and if you are prepared to play in bad weather you can get a significant advantage over most players. If you hear complaining, you are already one up and let it rain!
A Tip on Tips. There are so many good tips out there available to golfers that it has become an informational overload. Remember this, only try one thing at a time. Even here on this page, pick the one thing you think will help you more than any other and then give it a good college try. If it works for you great and practice until it is a part of your bag of tricks. Then go on to another tip. DO NOT think you want to try a bunch in a short period of time. All you will end up with is confusion!
Score Cards. Don't forget to read the scorecard. There is a wealth of information on the card. Local rules are made for this course due to man made objects, course improvements and can greatly help your game if you know them!
Pre round practice. When you arrive late for a tee time, hit some chip shots before the round. Chip shots use the same tempo for the full swing, will help you relax, and get you into the right mind set for the round at hand. Chipping before a round is often the last thing on your mind and the best thing for saving par!
Chipping. Flop shot? Forget it. Most courses will play better with bump and run chipping rather than pitching. Throw away the lofted wedge and chip with the 8 iron with a solid back and forth motion. DO NOT break your wrists and take the club back only as far as need to get the ball to roll to the hole. The key word is roll to the hole. The faster you get the ball on the ground and rolling the more accurate your chips will be. If the pin is farther away use a less lofted club such as a 6 iron and use the same stroke. Once you have mastered this chipping technique go back and find the lofted wedge and practice, practice, practice.
Pick a Target. Always pick a target. A spot on the green, a tree in the distance, a swell on the green, always pick a target. Every shot you play on the golf course should have a target for you to aim for. Start with a fairly large target, then work your way down to smaller and smaller targets. Pick the smallest target you can see and see that in your mind and let your autonomic system take over. If you do not aim, you will not hit the shot you want!
Balance. When on the practice tee think like you are hitting off a frozen lake...Keep those feet steady and swing smooth to keep your balance. If you over swing they will move and the rest of your body would be off balance. This may not help those folks that have never seen ice!
The Survey Page. Use the survey page for your own self analysis. The questions are designed to give clues about what your game may need. Answer them even if it hurts and do not let pride interfere with the answers. Then follow the tips to set yourself on the right direction.
Testing Your Ball Impact on the Club Face. When you want to test the area of the clubface that you are hitting the ball, use plain old masking tape. It will provide all the feedback you need, can give you the impact spread of your shots, and is readily available to anyone. Cover the whole face of the club and look after each shot for the impact of the golf ball. this information can be invaluable to stance, ball position, hand position and other key components for tuning your swing.
Know Your Distances. The range balls you hit all the time DO NOT react like the golf balls you hit on the course. Spend the time and hit YOUR golf balls on the range and find out exactly how far YOUR clubs and YOUR golf balls go. This will greatly enhance your knowledge of your game and lead to confidence and better distance control.
