Golf Instruction

Master the most difficult shots and learn long drive secrets with our golf instruction articles. Our online golf lessons will help you transform your game.

Saturday, February 1, 2003 Tension-Free Driving Driving the golf ball consistently can lower your scores and increase your enjoyment faster than any other area of the game. Likewise, nothing is more frustrating than having your driver go sour in the middle of a round. When it comes to driving, one of the most common problems for amateurs and pros alike is too much tension. Overly tense muscles not only rob you of distance, but also make accurate driving, and long driving for that matter, extremely difficult. Plus, tension saps your body of energy, making it that much more difficult to play your best. To help get your driver back on track when you need it most, try this quick tip for greater relaxation and better swings.

Saturday, February 1, 2003 Unlock The Magic Solve golf?s toughest puzzle by widening your swing In golf, there are the “haves” and the “have-nots.” The “haves” are blessed with an uncanny ability to achieve the perfect plane through the impact zone, regardless of what occurred before it.

Friday, November 1, 2002 Slice: Rights, Boomers And Flares Discover which slice is yours, then leave it forever Golf Fact #1: There are millions of golfers who have never hit a hook, but there isn’t a single player alive who hasn’t at one time or another sliced the ball. Why? Think of it this way: In terms of golf survival, the mother of all musts is getting the ball into the air—it’s the first and by far the most important problem you must solve. And to get the ball airborne, many golfers feel the need to chop down on the ball with an open clubface and with a very steep approach. While this technique works well as in “Houston, we have liftoff,” the joy in the control room is short-lived because while steepness is your friend during liftoff, it’s your enemy during the rest of the flight, imparting too much sidespin on the golf ball.

Friday, November 1, 2002 Rethink Your Game How do you really lower your scores? A change of approach can lead to a favorable change in score Many of you scour the pages of this magazine looking for the magic answer to this question. If that’s your motivation, then this article is for you. On the following pages, I’ll show you how to drop strokes from your game by simply changing your approach on the tee box and on the putting green. After all, if you can get down the fairway regularly and hole the putts you’re supposed to make—and some of the ones you shouldn’t—you’ll be well on your way to playing your best rounds ever.

Friday, November 1, 2002 Connect The Rights In the boxing world, the fighter who can connect his rights has a good shot of knocking out his opponent. In golf, the same holds true, but instead of crosses and uppercuts, you need to connect your right hip and shoulder, a move that augments your balance, puts greater power into your swing and otherwise facilitates a pure, on-plane motion.

Thursday, August 1, 2002 50 Best Swing Keys What to do and where to be throughout the swing for guaranteed success When you watch Tour pros on television, you probably notice certain similarities in their respective swings. Good tempo is common, as well as good balance. Do you remember the last time you saw a professional golfer fall down after a swing or take a hack that looked awkward or rushed? Amateur golfers also tend to notice the look and feel of effortlessness Tour pros project during the swing. Of course, the prodigious distance their shots travel and the crispness of their ballstriking are impressive as well. The problem is, most amateurs simply don’t do the things the pros do before, during and after the swing and, as a result, are unable to get the same results. To hit the ball like a pro, you have to understand the moves they make and learn to do them yourself. Then, you’ll be solid.

Thursday, August 1, 2002 Stop Coming Over The Top To fix golf's most common flaw, find out what's causing it It's a phrase heard on driving ranges, tee boxes and fairways nationwide. “I’m coming over the top.” It’s a lament as common as “I’m lifting my head” or “I’m swinging too fast.” And as hard as golfers try to correct this fault, most endure little success.

Thursday, August 1, 2002 Toss For Distance Here’s a drill that transforms golfers into more consistent ballstrikers and longer hitters. The most remarkable aspect of this drill is that it doesn’t involve swinging a golf club at all, but I feel strongly it best teaches the athletic movements involved with swinging a club.

Thursday, August 1, 2002 Are You A Candidate For Cross-Handed Putting? For most golfers a left-hand-low grip cures all setup flaws Every golfer is built differently, but in constructing a putting posture that will yield the most successful results, you have to take into account subtle, less obvious differences in build. The most important of these “anatomical fingerprints” is shoulder lines. When standing naturally, every golfer has shoulders that are either open (left shoulder behind right), closed (right shoulder behind left) or square. Most golfers have open shoulders, and the putting setup that best accommodates this anatomical structure is one that features a cross-handed (left-hand-low) putting grip.

Monday, July 1, 2002 Putt The Percentages Live on the pro side and sink more putts There’s no quicker way to establish yourself as totally clueless on the greens—and to inspire confidence in your opponent—than to set up for a right-to-left putt, make a little pull stroke that sends the ball dead left, and watch the ball meander aimlessly on a path five or six inches below the cup, totally oblivious to the hole. Ditto the left-to-right breaker that you push well right of the hole. There’s a reason they call this “missing on the amateur side”—these are the putts that haven’t got a chance.

Monday, July 1, 2002 Drop 5 Strokes Add to your arsenal of short-game shots and hit to tap-in range every time Instead of taking advantage of clear scoring opportunities from less than full-wedge distances, most recreational golfers unnecessarily struggle, often needing additional strokes to get the ball into the hole following a poor approach. Not only does this situation work to balloon your scores, it robs you of the momentum you might have gained had you made par or birdie.  Fortunately, it doesn’t have to be this way.

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