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PGA professional can hit long irons out of the bunker with relative ease. However, you probably have realized by now that you are Not a PGA pro and neither am I.
For most of us, hitting a long iron from the fairway grass is hard enough, much less trying to hot one out of the bunker. Most amateur golfers would do better to hit a 5-wood or a 7-wood out of a fairway bunker.
In order to it a 5-wood or 7-wood from the fairway bunker, you will need to make some minor adjustments to do it effectively.
Open the clubface slightly
Play the ball back in your stance
Dig your toes into the sand
Swing normally
Make contact with the ball first
You need to hit ball on a descending arc rather than trying to pick it clean as most PGA pros do. Playing the ball back in your stance will help with this. I would practice playing the ball back 1 to 2 inches behind your normal positioning.
Make sure you dig your toes into the sand and not your heels.This should help you avoid hitting a fat shot.
Do not try to kill the ball. Make your normal swing and focus on making contact with the ball first.
Follow these tips and you will have greater success hitting the golf ball from the fairway bunker and land in a good position for your next shot.
For even more information about bunkers and fairway bunkers you need to checkout The Bunker DVD.
I recently received an interesting email from one of my readers. He asked “My putting was always okay until recently. However, lately I seemed to have developed a case of the putting yips. How do I deal with these dreaded yips? HELP!!!” – Jason
I thought it would be a good idea to share this email and my response with all the other followers of this blog since this is something that others may be facing.
First let me explain just what the yips are in case you are unaware. The yips are the inability to make a smooth swing or putting stoke, particularly due to tension in the hands causing jitters, uncertainty, fear, tremors and a general feeling of anxiety while addressing the golf ball. If you have ever had the yips, it is not a good feeling.
So what causes the YIPS , and what can be done to cure it ?
First the cause. It has been confirmed by world wide studies (including studies at the Mayo Clinic, U.S.A.), that the YIPS is a PSYCHO-NEUROMUSCULAR affliction. A PYSCHO-WHAT??? In simple language – it’s a MENTAL PROBLEM!
You need to restore your Confidence in your putting and get your back to enjoying the game of golf. I highly recommend Renegade Mindset Techniques for Golf.
I also recommended to Jason that he try a couple different putting grips to also help with his yips. The first grip is the clamp grip. With this grip, the left hand reaches down the shaft while the right hand clamps the left forearm to the club to help steady the wrists. The second grip is the reverse hand grip. With this grip you just reverse your hands. This helps lock the left wrist to create a pendulum swing.
If you guys have any other questions you would like me to address, just shoot me an email and I will review it and get back to you. Heck, I might even share it with the other readers.
Some golf pros refer the the push shot as a delayed shot and is something that most golfers do unconsciously. You see, if you delay your shot by a fraction of a second, you could end up hitting the ball at the wrong time and the wrong place.
When the clubface hits the ball sooner than you expected, you will find the ball traveling in a direction not to the line of the target.
What can you do to correct the Push?
Improper alignment
The alignment of your hips, shoulders, and feet, are aimed right of your target putting you in a position to push the shot. This in fact makes your club head aim even further to the right.
This position blocks your hands and arms when you try to swing them on a line towards your target. Your arms and hands will rather tend to swing on a line that is parallel to your hips, feet and shoulders creating a pushed shot.
The Fix
To correct a push shot you need to aim your body more to the left of your target. This opening of the body will help you achieve more of a free swing with the arms and hands towards your target. Your left hip will be able to clear quicker giving your arms and hands the freedom they need to swing through the ball.
These changes at address will create the correct positions at impact and help you hit the ball straighter.
Try getting in the habit of aiming your club face first behind the ball then take your address position.
Closed clubface at address and in the takeaway
Addressing the ball with a closed clubface may seem like you will hook the ball but this is not necessarily the case. Most golfers who do this actually open the clubface at impact.
Mentally speaking when the clubface reaches the top of the back swing it will be instinctively opened to prevent a hook and a pushed shot will occur.
The Fix
To cure this fault you need to understand the grip/takeaway/ hinging of the right wrist first. With your right hand in the correct position at address it will encourage an opening of the hands and club face in the take away.
Remember to blend the movement of the arms and club together with the wrist hinge. No independent hand action should be felt.
Not enough hip turn through impact
Your problem may not be at address or takeaway but rather at the impact area.
Should your hips slide instead of turning to the left, the club head will not be able to close through impact resulting in a push shot. (It gets delayed in squaring up)
The Fix
You need to use a mental key of “Bump and turn”Bump the left side to the left and turn the hips left. It is a “one move feeling.” The bump I am referring to here is a slight lateral shift till the left hip is directly above your left foot. There will be enough lateral motion created in the turn too. Feel the hip turn pull your left arm into the impact area. They work in unison.
Every golfer wants to hit the ball as clean and accurate as possible. It really just comes down to your hard work and your technique. If you want to learn more, check out Perfect Impact DVD – Angle of Attack Tip.
Work on fixing these areas and you will eliminate the push from your golf game and lower your golf scores.
This quick golf tip comes courtesy from David Christenson of Lyman Orchards Golf Club in Middlefield, Conn.
In the illustration, you can see that I’m standing in the middle of railroad tracks. Well, I’m not really standing on the tracks; I’m using the image to help aim and align myself to my target. Picturing the tracks’ parallel lines helps me identify my primary target (and intermediate target) and keep my body lines parallel to one another. All too often I see golfers address the ball with contradictory body lines (their feet aim to the right, but their shoulders aim to the left, for example). Not only do these “crossed lines” minimize a golfer’s chance of making solid contact, but they force him or her to make awkward adjustments in the swing just to get the club on path. Notice how my feet, knees, hips, shoulders and clubhead are all parallel to the tracks. That’s how you want them (unless you’re purposefully trying to cut or draw a shot). The next time you play, bring this railroad tracks image with you. Set up parallel to your target line and swing away.
Use the image of a railroad track to align yourself for each shot. It will help you keep your body lines parallel and your stance perfect for each shot.
Today, I want to share with you a quick golf tip that I recently sent to a reader that asked me a question about how far should he be standing from the golf ball.
This is a great question and something that I struggled with for a while. Years ago, I followed a tip from a buddy of mine and I ended up standing too far away from the ball. And I have to admit that it really screwed up my swing and my contact with the ball.
Sometimes it just doesn’t matter if you have great posture, a perfect spine angle and everything feels right at setup. As long as you’re standing too far away from the ball, you’re going to struggle hitting consistent golf shots. From watching and talking with many golfers on the practice range, most golfers tend to stand too far away from the ball. Most stand too far awy because they have a fear of shanking the ball off the hosel or hitting a fat shot. But the intersting thing is, standing too far away can actually cause those kinds of shots due to having to overcompensate and lunge toward the ball during the swing.
So, how do you know how far is too far?
Here is a simple tip. Begin by addressing the ball as you normally would,then place one of your headcovers under your right underarm. Hold it snug, and try and keep it there during the start of your backswing. If the headcover falls from your underarm before you reach the end of your backswing, then you know you’re standing too far from the golf ball. If the headcover stays put, you’re setup just right.
The arms should be free of tension, hanging naturally from the shoulder sockets. Any overextension will cause not only inconsistent golf shots, but may also put strain on your lower back.
You will also notice that the length of your golf club also determines the length between you and the golf ball.
Also, anytime you are on the golf course and you feel you may be standing too far from the ball, back away and take some practice swings with this simple drill with a headcover until you feel more comfortable. Then set up to the ball and swing away!
You have probably heard the saying “drive for show and putt for dough.” One of the quickest ways to lower your golf scores and beat your golf buddies is by improving your putting.
If you want to shave a few extra strokes from your next round of golf, you need to practice using this quick drill.
On the practice green put a marker or tee down 3 feet from the hole. No you do not need a measuring tape, just get it close. Put another mark down on the same line 6 feet from the hole, and a third marker down 9 feet from the hole.
Start at the three foot location with three balls. Sink all three balls consecutively and move on to the 6 foot mark. You can not move on until you have sank all three golf balls consecutively. Sink all three consecutively again to move on to the 9 foot mark, but if you miss a shot at any point you must start again at the 3 foot mark. Finish when you have made all 9 shots in a row, 3 from the 3 foot mark, 3 from the 6 foot mark, and 3 from the 9 foot mark.
Once you sink all 9 putts, you can either challenge yourself by move back 3 more feet or you can move the markers to a different line with different breaks on the putting green.
This drill will be challenging at first but progress comes faster than you would expect.
Do this drill a couple times a week and watch your putting improve dramatically.
Leave a comment below and let me know how this drill is working for you.
Every golfer, no matter their skill level, wants to improve and develop the best golf swing for their golf game. Whether you are an experienced golfer or are just learning how to play golf, you want to learn the best golf swing.
Below are some tips to help you achieve your best golf swing:
The Grip
Let’s first focus on your golf grip. To develop your best golf swing, you need to be aware that the grip is the foundation of the golf swing. If your grip is not correct, your entire game is going to be off. So if you want to improve you golf swing lower your golf scores, you are going to have to learn how to correctly grip the golf club.
To learn how to grip the golf club correctly read an earlier post The Proper Golf Grip.
Pause at the Top
Another quick golf tip that will help you to develop your best golf swing is to pause at the top. Some golfers swing too quickly and lose any rythym and sequence of your golf swing. If you swing to quickly you are not alone, many golfers suffer from a golf swing that is too quick. At the top of your golf swing you need a slight pause just to make sure every part of your backswing is in the correct position before you begin your downswing. I am not saying that you need to pause for 5 seconds, however you may want to try pausing longer when you are practicing this tip. You just need a quick pause to get in position to start your downswing.
Over the Top
Another common problem I see with most golfers is the action of “Coming over the top”. If you are going to develop your best golf swing you must avoid this action. Swinging over the top can cause a whole host of faults. The cause of this swinging over the top is due the upper body getting way ahead of the lower body, and the initial move in the downswing is the shoulders. The correct start of the downswing should be weight shift in the lower body, with a slight dropping of the club and then your body starting to rotate.
If you want to develop the best golf swing you can, follow the above helpful golf tips and tricks.
The golf grip is much more important than most amateur golfers think. Without a sound grip you will never be able to advance your game. Maybe you are at that point, where no matter what you try you can not seem to improve your golf swing. The good news is it can be the easiest fix you will ever experience in golf.
If you can do any one thing to improve your golf game it would be ensuring your grip is correct. Even with excellent golf swing form your game will suffer from an improper grip.
If there is only one thing you learn from me, it would be to perfect your golf grip!
The most traditional and widely used grip in golf is called the interlocking golf grip. If you are right handed you should start by gripping the club in your left hand naturally with the shaft resting in your fingers and your thumb running down the right hand side of the grip (see image below). If you can envision your left hand being perpendicular to the ground, as if you were shaking hands left handed, you would turn it over slightly farther so your left thumb is running down the right side of the grip and the shaft sits closer to your palm in your pinkie finger than your index finger.
It should feel natural and comfortable on the club. To properly grip the club with your right hand you should interlock your pinkie finger on your right hand with your index finger on your left. The club should sit comfortably across your fingers (do not place the club in you palm) with your thumb running down the middle right hand side of the shaft.
The most important part of the grip is to stay loose! I can’t stress this enough. I know this sounds backwards to most amateur golfers, but come on has your game really improved by trying to grip the club tighter? By loosening your grip you will experience more solid contact, more distance, and more accurate shots. You will be amazed what loosening a grip can do improve your golf shots and lower your scores.
I suggest you grip the club only enough so it will not twist in your hands, and if you have the proper grip setup you’ll find that you can let yourself grip it fairly loosely. A loose grip will reduce the tension in your wrists and arms, which results in a freer, more natural and less inhibited swing.
There is also a variation on the popular grip where the pinkie finger does not interlock with the index finger but overlaps it instead. Thus it is called the overlap grip.
The last grip is referred to as the baseball grip. None of your fingers interlock or overlap. Some people claim this grip feels more natural. For this grip, think like you are holding a baseball bat but maintain the shaft in your fingers and the thumbs in the correct position, with the left hand thumb running down the right side of the grip and the right thumb running down the middle left hand side of the grip.
Personally, I prefer the interlocking grip because I think it naturally puts your wrists in a better position during the swing and allows a looser grip pressure. I suggest you try each one for yourself and see which gives you the best results.
Did I mention that the most important part of the grip is to stay loose! If I did not, the most important part of the grip is to stay loose!
Find the proper grip for you and enjoy the experience of improved golf shots and lower golf scores.
Leave a comment below and share with us which grip you like to use.
PGA professional can hit long irons out of the bunker with relative ease. However, you probably have realized by now that you are Not a PGA pro and neither am I.
