After teaching the game for almost 30 years I have noticed that there are several golf shots that people NEVER seem to practice, yet these are the exact shots that cost them strokes round after round. Practice doesn’t make perfect in this case—it makes you prepared. If you don’t practice each of the shots below, Read more…
QUESTION: Are you struggling hitting your wedges the correct distance? Here’s how to get your wedge game in shape for those tricky shorter shots. While playing college golf at Austin Peay State University and then on the professional circuit, I found that it was imperative to make sure that the distances I hit my wedges Read more…
In any good putting stroke the hands, wrists and arms form a stable structure that stays intact during the entire motion (Photo 1). The putter head is put into motion by the movement of the shoulders and the structure created at address should remain throughout the stroke…otherwise the structure breaks down and inconsistencies in the Read more…
Every once in a while you get one of those “aha” moments. I had one when I was playing in the PGA Junior Championship at Bellerive Country Club. I had lost the tournament due to my exceptionally poor putting from four feet and in. I vowed I would never allow that to happen again. So Read more…
In a golf lesson, nothing is more important to achieving success on the lesson tee than clear, concise communication between a student and his or her coach. And that includes letting a student know when he or she achieves a square clubface. In life we use various media to communicate in a learning environment. We Read more…
Having good fundamentals in chipping is so beneficial to creating solid contact. The two tendencies I see a lot of amateurs’ struggle with when chipping is using their hands to much and feeling like they need to lift the ball in the air. By creating some awareness in your chipping set up and motion, your Read more…
Playing mountain golf, a lot of times you can find yourself in tricky situations, with uphill or downhill lies. A lot of players tend to set up a little bit “off.” Let the golf course tell you how and where to stand for uphill and downhill pitches. UPHILL Here I have an uphill lie so Read more…
Let’s discuss a big golf myth: Keep your left arm straight (or right arm for lefties). It’s one of Five Old Wives Tales in Golf. Keep your head down Keep your left arm straight (front arm) Shift your weight/turn your shoulders Hit the ball Follow through I don’t believe you should try to bend your Read more…
The legendary Mike Austin, whose 515-yard drive was the longest in competitive golf history, had a unique but very effective way to describe a square clubface, which he demonstrated to me in his front lawn many years ago. It had to do with shaft rotation. We went to the edge of his driveway which he Read more…
Most golfers are aware that swinging the club on the proper plane is important. When the plane is correct, especially on the downswing, the club head approaches the ball from slightly inside the target line, which leads to more golf swing power and potentially more accuracy as well. Here is an effective way to control Read more…
