Shotmaking
Chip from the sand, control trajectory and enhance your shotmaking ability. Uncover the secret of golf shot making with advice from the pros.
Sunday, June 1, 2003 5 Driving, 5 Wedge Play and 5 Putting MistakesFix common errors in three key areas and watch your scores plummet Mistakes—we’re all going to make them, especially on the golf course. Luckily, this isn’t a game that demands perfection. Even on Tour, low scores can be had without being perfect on every swing. The key is to limit the mistakes that can cause the most damage and jump on scoring opportunities whenever they arise. |
Thursday, May 1, 2003 Sweet Spot: Ernie Els To say that Ernie Els is one of the greatest golfers of our generation is about as gutsy as laying up from 150 yards. Already a three-time major winner (’94 and ’97 U.S. Opens, ’02 British Open), Els has notched 42 professional victories worldwide (12 on the PGA Tour) in just over a decade. More impressive, Els has 11 second-place finishes to his credit, including four runner-up calls in the majors. Often dubbed “The Big Easy,” Els is certainly big (6’3”, 220 pounds) and his swing is ridiculously effortless. It’s a study of contrasts, as he generates power not by his obvious size, but by employing the proper sequence of downswing moves. Here’s how he does it. |
Tuesday, April 1, 2003 Correct CallsDistance control starts with selecting the right club You’re in the middle of the fairway, 150 yards from the flagstick. “Perfect 7-iron,” you say to yourself, after which you promptly sail the ball over the pin—and over the green. What happened? Likely, you only gave yourself a fraction of the data you needed to select the right club for the shot at hand. |
Tuesday, April 1, 2003 The Chicken Swing Most teachers will instruct you to fold your left arm into your left side during your followthrough so your hands and arms can release the clubhead down the target line. That’s certainly good advice, but at times, especially in pressure-packed situations where you absolutely have to hit the ball onto the green with an iron or drive it into the center of the fairway off the tee, not folding your left arm into your side can pay huge dividends. |
Monday, July 1, 2002 Drop 5 StrokesAdd 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. |
Monday, July 1, 2002 Score From AnywhereShotmaking tips from the seaside links of Scotland to help you save strokes wherever you play Regardless of how good your golf swing is or how crisply you strike the ball, you won’t post good scores if you don’t know how to think your way around a golf course. Obviously, solid technique helps, as does driving the ball long and straight. But throughout the course of a round, there are a variety of situations in which fundamentally solid golf skills simply won’t get the job done. Instead, you must be able to rely on good decision-making to put yourself in position to shoot the lowest score possible without risking double and triple bogeys. |
