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GOLF TIPS FOR THE AVERAGE, HIGH HANDICAP GOLFER

The foundation

If the foundation of a house is off by an inch, that could amount to a lot of problems, doors not fitting, etc.  And that's over distances of 30-40 feet.  Now consider your golf club head being off say, a 1/4" when it hits the ball.  Your ball travels a 100-200 y-a-r-d-s or more.  This puts you in the sand, the water, the woods.

In adventure movies you see some guy use a whip.  If you look carefully at a whip you will notice they always have a handle a couple of feet long.  When you hear a whip crack it's breaking the sound barrier. A piece of rawhide will not crack without the handle creating the speed.

In golf the foundation is the left arm.  It must be straight to so the club head can return to the correct spot and it must be straight so it can act as the handle on a whip to generate club head speed.  That is why keeping your left arm straight is the number one most important rule in golf.  The absolute most universal trait you see in a professional golfer's swing is that the left arm is straight. High handicapper's tend to over swing which requires bending the left arm producing miss direction and less distance.  Good golfers seem to hit the ball effortlessly not hard.  Most high handicap golfers would improve by not swinging beyond their capacity to keep their left arm straight.  Accuracy and distance would both improve.

Hold On

Hold on to the club at all times. Seems like a stupid rule?  Well you would be surprised to know most average golfers release the club at the top of the back swing. They will end up holding the club with just the ends of the fingers of the right hand and then re-grip the club on the way down. It is extremely important to keep the fatty portion below the thumb of the right hand snug against the club at all times for a correct golf swing. Another important part of this rule is to keep your right thumb against your right fore finger at all times during the swing. Many golfers lay the right thumb on top of the club. This makes it almost impossible to cock the wrists properly.   

The Slice

A big problem for the average golfer is hitting a slice. I find most average golfers do not know what causes a slice. A slice for a right-handed golfer is caused by imparting clockwise spin on the ball. The most common way this is done is by hitting across the ball with a deflecting swing where the club head travels from the outside in. In other words, the club head begins the down swing outside a straight line and finishes the follow through inside the straight line. Many average golfers aim left to offset the slice, which actually increases the likelihood of a slice.  Low handicap golfers swings are usually the opposite; that is, inside out. 

The Shank

Seems like we all have a bout of shankitis from time to time.  The solution is the opposite of what you would think.  A shank is usually caused by being too close to the ball.  You don't give yourself enough room to make a proper swing so the club travels inside too early and you squeeze the ball out like a prune pit.  Back away from the ball just a bit and your shankitis will go into remission.

Elbow control

Keep you right elbow in close to your body. It is almost impossible to hit a slice with your right elbow close to your body during your swing. VJ Singh the famous golf professional practices with a towel tucked under his right arm. He doesn't let the towel fall during his swing. Keeping your right elbow in will also prevent those strong pulled shots out of bounds to the left. I would say at least 80% of misdirected shots are due to a wandering right elbow. Many golfers will really have to work at this because they think their elbow is in when it is not.

When you address the ball, line up the ball between the center of the clubface and the club's heel. Many golfers fall away from the ball slightly during the swing, which causes the club head to make contact with the ball on the outside half of the club head, which dissipates power and pushes the ball farther to the right. By lining up the ball on the inside of the clubface you should hit more shots in the sweet spot.

Change drivers until you find one that you have confidence in. Preferably, a full titanium head 11 or 12-degree loft and light flexible not stiff graphite shaft. Avoid extra long shafted clubs if you slice the ball (Max. 44" or 43"). A little more loft will keep your ball in the fairway. You can buy this type of driver for less than $100 on the Internet.

Choose a hard, low-spin, straight-distance golf ball. Soft balata style high spin balls will slice even more. Roll your left hand to the right when you grip the club. Make sure you can see at least 2 full knuckles on your left hand.

Up and Down Hill

The average golfer adds a lot of strokes because of up and down hill lies. Try adjusting the ball in your stance toward your highest foot. Left-foot high? Adjust the ball to left of center. Right-foot high?  Adjust the ball to the right of center. This is also very important -- choke up about one inch minimum. Choke up more and adjust the ball more the steeper the slope. On a very steep down hill lie the ball may be lined up to the right of the right foot. Keep your shoulders parallel with the slope.

Points to Consider

1. Make your first move straight to the right. In order to hit the ball with power, you must transfer you weight from the center to the right then through center and then forward to the left. At the beltline this movement may be just an inch or so. There are many warnings for golfer's to avoid a sway. The problem I see is that many average golfers' first move is toward the ball. This is easy to recognize: just watch the left heel and knee come up when the average golfer takes a back swing. This is called a false weight shift. Begin with your weight back with knees slightly bent as though you were sitting on a barstool. Remember, move your weight straight to the right, then left, by rolling your left foot and knee inward toward your right knee.

2. At address, hold your hands about 6 inches from your body and keep your chin up a bit. Many average golfers extend their hands forward out away from their bodies and hold their head down. With hands out away from the body the first move is to roll the shoulders twisting the body creating a too flat swing plane. Sharp hooks and big slices are the result. When the hands are closer to the body the back swing takes the left shoulder under the raised chin rather than around.

3. Extend your arms as much as you can while still keeping your balance during the back swing. The wider the arch of your swing the more power you will have. This also helps with many other things that are necessary; it makes it much easier to keep your left arm straight, it gives your weight some place to go when you are transferring it to the right, and makes a strong follow through almost automatic.

Tempo and Marilyn Monroe

Many golfer's swings suffer from being too quick on the back swing. They take the club back so quickly that the swing does not have time to develop, causing all kinds of errant golf shots. A method that can help slow you down is to think of a first name during the back swing and a last name on the downswing -- M-A-R-I-L-Y-N  M-O-N-R-O-E.

Around the Green

For the average golfer the high lofted clubs like the pitching wedge are the hardest clubs to hit. Yet, it seems the pitching wedge is used far too often, especially close to the green. I see frustrated golfers hitting chunked, chopped, 1 foot dubs all the time. Inside 20 feet or so, if you don’t have some unusual lie or obstacle, use a 7 or 8-iron. Play the ball inside the right heel, choke up and hit the ball with your left arm straight, yet relaxed. Use a short back swing and accelerate to the ball.  Follow through is almost non-existent. The ball is going to roll after it lands, so hit to a landing point. A good rule of thumb is to hit the ball about 1/3 of the distance to the pin in the air. Play the roll portion of the shot like a putt and take advantage of the breaks in the green. Practice this shot a bit and you will find your 1-foot dubs a thing of the past.

Putting

Distance is most important, distance is most important, distance is most important, distance is most important, distance is most important, and distance is most important. I do not believe there is a perfect stance or setup when putting since everything seems to work for somebody. However, the average golfer could reduce the number of putts by shortening their back swing and concentrating on distance first. Make a fist; then make a vow never to take more than the width of your fist as a putting back swing. Believe me, you can't putt accurately with a long looping back swing that slows down just before the ball is hit. Shorten your back swing and follow through the putt line. Always putt for distance first so that second putt will be a tap in.

To improve your line, play the ball slightly forward of center. When you are over the ball imagine a line the width of the cup coming back to your club head, use a putter that has at least 2 line up lines on the top, putt down the line. To play a break in the green, just mentally move the imaginary line right or left.

Most average golfers under estimate the amount a putt will break. You will increase your chances of making breaking putts by adding 20% to your break estimate.

When Your Game Crashes

Most average golfers experience a full collapse of their golf game a time or two.  You know, all of the sudden your game goes to the land of chunks, hooks, slices, thin hits, fat hits, and worm burners.  You would give up the game, but you've got 6 holes to go.  Here's a mode you can shift into to get back on track.  LOW - SLOW - THUMBS UP - EASY  Take your club head back LOW and SLOW.  Make sure your THUMBS point straight up on your back swing and swing EASY.  Club down when you can.   That is, use a 7 -iron where you would normally use an 8-iron, etc.

From personal experience we have seen these techniques work time and again. They do take time to master. Stick with them and you'll see improvement.

Have fun.