10 Best Tips

(You've Never Heard)

10 Best Tips

Editor’s Note: Back in 2009, former Golf Tips editor Ryan Noll got together with renowned Southern California-based teaching pro A.J. Bonar, who has long been known for his unique approach to golf instruction. The 10 tips you’ll discover in the following pages will help shave strokes off your scorecard in places you might not have thought of. We hope you’ll find that it’s the perfect spring tune-up prescription to have more fun and think of the game in new ways. — Vic Williams

If you’ve ever received a lesson, or better yet, a series of lessons, it’s likely you’ve been told to do the same thing more than once. Golf instruction is often plagued with repetition, which, if you’re an astute student of the game, you’d know is a necessary directive for helping you improve. But it also can be a bit tedious to be told the same thing over and over. So instead of doing that, I’ve put together 10 of my favorite, lesser-known swing tips that will break you free from the monotony of typical golf instruction and help you not only lower you scores, but also have a whole lot more fun in the process. Turn the page and get started on improving your game, the atypical way.

10 Best Tips

1. HIT THE DRIVER FROM THE BUNKER

It’s not uncommon to see PGA Tour players occasionally hitting the driver off the fairway, but what would you say if I said it was possible to hit the driver from the bunker? You can!

Hitting a driver from the sand is actually doable, so long as you follow a few simple guidelines. First, the ball needs to be sitting up on a clean lie. Second, the sand should be on the firmer side. Third, it helps to have a slight uphill lie. And fourth, make sure there isn’t a big lip between the ball and the target.

If your shot passes those four variables, here’s what else you need to know. Play the ball as you normally would, with the ball positioned forward in your stance. As for your swing, try not to swing at 100 percent; instead swing as hard as you can without your feet sliding around. Finally, unlike your normal driver swing, which requires you to shift your weight forward, it’s okay to hang back a little and let the club swing out in front of you. Hitting it fat isn’t likely, mainly because the driver has such a flat, wide sole, making it easier to slide across and bounce off the sand instead of digging down into it.

10 Best Tips
1. The trick to becoming a good wedge player is to make a swing that produces consistent results. Hitting a slight draw is an easy way to do just that.

2. To hit a draw, concentrate on swinging more from inside the target line to outside the target line. At impact, the body should not stop—make sure you keep rotating.

3. In this photo, you can clearly see that my clubshaft is pointing to the right of the intended target. This means my ball will start to the right and draw toward the left.

4. No matter what shot you hit, a good one always finishes with the weight transferred to your left side and your right heel off the ground.

8 thoughts on “10 Best Tips

  1. Yeah, never mind that for 90% of amateurs hitting it decently off the tee is what they strive for.
    Most asinine golf tip yet. Next you’ll be giving advice on how to hit a golf ball that’s resting on a branch in some shrubbery. Oh wait! That’s been done, thanx to dave pelz.

  2. This web site is actually pretty well written and illustrated considering no videos immediately pop up. But our golfers world is filled with tips is it not? You would think that the people at Golf Tips Magazine would have written in a bunch of fake “”this is great”” stuff but they have seemingly left well enough alone. But then again this note could be fake. Just another swing thought to think about at the top of your backswing.

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