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    25 May 2011

    Gaining feel when chipping

    Not all chips are the same. Some hit and roll more than you want them to. Others bite and stop faster than you want. The key is the amount and type of spin you put on each shot. The best way of controlling spin is hitting either near the toe or the heel of the club. If you chip out on the toe with a slightly open blade, you will impart backspin and the ball will stop quicker. Conversely, if you hit with the more closed blade – or hit the shot nearer to the heel of the club – the ball will release and roll further. Practice chips on or near the toe with varying degrees of open blade, and after some experimentation you’ll find a shot you can hit with consistency and control.

    20 May 2011

    Reason to believe

    For every shot that you take, your mind has to have a reason to believe you are going to pull it off. Of course, your mind knows you will tap in one-foot putts, but it has doubts about left-to-right six footers. You know you can hit drives, iron shots, chip shots under wide open, pressure-free conditions, but does your mind think it can handle shots with out of bounds, lakes and trees lurking nearby? That's why practicing to hit shots under various forms of external pressure is so important. You need to satisfy your mind you can pull off a successful outcome on these shots. Make this the goal of some of your practice sessions. Give your mind a reason to believe. Once the mind has been won over, the body will be able to pull most anything off.

    15 May 2011

    Set-up position for arms

    One thing nearly all good golfers have in common is a set-up that allows them to be in position to hit consistently good shots all the time. If you look at pictures of pro golfers head on at address, one area of the set-up you will always see (besides good posture) is a tight triangle formed by the two hands on the grip, up through the arms to the shoulders and across the chest. For a right handed golfer to have this tight triangle at address, he would have the tip of his left elbow pointing at his left front pocket, while at the same time, he'll have the tip of his right elbow pointing at his right front pocket. The exact point on each pocket you point at may vary, but all good golfers set up this way. Look at a picture of a pro at address, stand in front of a mirror and mimic the stance, and you can set up like a pro, too.

    10 May 2011

    Target practice on the green

    When hitting shots to the green, think like you’re throwing darts. A great shot would be the bullseye. Each concentric circle further out would be one degree removed from that perfect shot you were aiming for. However, the bullseye center of your target is not always the flagstick. Using a tightly tucked pin as the target could result in your slightly off-centered hit ending up in the bunker, or on the short, wrong side of a green. Instead, think of your concentric-circled target as being located where the greatest percentage of shots that hit the target also end up staying on the green. Usually this is somewhere near the center of the green, and usually, the pin is included within your target. If not, be sure to choose your targets wisely, get into less trouble and hit more greens in regulation.

    5 May 2011

    DON'T FORGET THE EARS

    This is not really a golf tip, but it's a good health tip. When you are putting on sunscreen, and EVERYONE should be doing that, don't forget to put some on your ears. Most people think about face, neck, arms, etc. and forget that ultra sun-sensitive ear area. Skin cancer happens there. Cover your ears!!