Good Golf For Life.com     "Learn It, Play It, Love It"

Lyle Slovick

Instructor, Level I Affiliate Member

United States Golf Teachers Federation

Good Golf For Life.com    ©2007

QUICK TIPS AND ADVICE ON PLAYING THE GAME 

(This section will be added to regularly)

My ball is in a bunker.  What do I do now?

Around the green:  First of all, take a deep breath, and don’t be afraid.  It’s only a golf shot, and one that you should practice once in awhile before facing it for real on the course.  As a beginning golfer, your prime objective is to get the ball out of the sand on your first attempt, and if it gets anywhere on the green, that’s a bonus.  You should buy a good sand wedge that works best for you to get the ball out easily.  Before climbing into the bunker, get ready by making a few practice swings in the grass, picking out a specific spot on the ground and hitting it with the clubhead on the downswing.  This prepares you for the real thing.

If the sand is fairly firm or wet and there is not a high lip on the bunker, take your putter and hit it out – forget what others might think - in golf, the motto is not “how” but “how many.”  Otherwise, with a decent lie in dry or fluffy sand, use your sand wedge.  Take a square shoulder-width stance, keep the clubhead square to the target, and play the ball off your left heel.  Swing like you would if you were hitting the ball thirty yards off the fairway, but aim two inches behind the ball, keeping your eyes focused on that spot, and swing aggressively.  Don’t flinch when you get to the ball, but follow through completely.  If the ball is partially buried in the sand, take your pitching wedge instead, keep the stance and club square, aim an inch behind the ball, swing harder down through the ball and keep your head down.  Do this and you should be able to escape bunkers without as much trouble as you might think.

In the fairway: When you find yourself in a fairway bunker, you want to get the ball out and advance it as far up the fairway as possible.  Do not use more than a five iron for this shot, and if the lie is bad, just try to get it out as best you can.  Strive to keep your arms relaxed and make no more than a three quarter swing.  Grip down on the club an inch to effectively shorten its length and ensure hitting the ball first.  Then take a firm stance but do not dig your feet too deeply in the sand, placing the ball toward the middle of your stance.  Make the swing predominantly with your arms and shoulders, keeping your legs rather quiet.  Complete your backswing and stay down on the ball, resisting the urge to look up to see where the ball is going.

My ball is in a water hazard.  How should I get out?

Be careful with this one.  Unless the ball is lying at least halfway out of the water, consult the rule book and take a drop, which will cost you a penalty stroke.  Doing otherwise is courting disaster. If the ball is less than halfway submerged in the water, you can try to play it, provided you don’t have any trees or high bushes to hit over between you and your target.  If you carry a pair of rain pants in your bag, put them on to keep from getting too dirty.  Use a pitching wedge for this shot, as it will cut through the water better than a sand wedge.  Play it like a bunker shot, take a square shoulder-width stance, keep the clubhead square to the target, and play the ball off your left heel.  Aim two inches behind the ball, keep your eyes focused firmly on that spot, and swing aggressively through the ball.  You will get a little wet, but don’t flinch, commit to the shot and hit it.

My ball is in the tall grass.  How do I escape?

The nature of the grass, as well as its height, dictates how you approach this shot.  You might be in very tall grass up to your calves that is wispy and all dried out, or you might be in grass that comes up to your ankles that is thick and wet.  If you can easily see the ball however, that’s usually a sign that you should be able to get the ball out.   Whether the grass is dry or wet, the best plan is to use the most lofted club in your bag, unless you are lucky enough to find the ball lying high in the grass, “teed up” to get a lot of club on the ball cleanly.   Your objective is to get the ball out to the fairway or as close to the green as possible.  Don’t try to be a hero and hit the ball with the club you think might get you to the green, otherwise you will be slashing around in the tall stuff for the rest of the day.  Take a sand wedge or lob wedge, play the ball off your left heel, and open your stance a little.  Be sure to make a full swing and turn your shoulders – resist the temptation to pick the club up and just bludgeon the ball out.  Do not try to hit the ball extra hard, just solidly like you would a normal shot, and be sure to swing aggressively through the ball, not quitting when you get to the ball. 

How can I improve my putting touch?

First of all, remove all lower body movement - keep your legs fixed like cement on all putts up to about 30 feet.  On longer putts of 40, 50, 60 feet, you will need to swing the putter back further and this necessitates making a small turn of your hips.  But for short putts, keeping the lower body still and using only an arms and shoulders stroke will make you a more consistent putter, since you are eliminating movement in the legs that can screw up the path of your stroke.  Another great way to improve your putting is to practice one-handed.  You see Tiger do this a lot.  Start by gripping the putter with the right hand only, and work on 6-foot putts first.  You will have a greater sense of the weight of the club and will be forced to swing your arm with the proper rhythm and tempo to roll the ball into the hole.  After doing this so you can make a few, let's say 3 out of 5, try some putts from 15 and 30 feet.  Then reverse the process, and use your left hand only.  When you feel that you have got the hang of it, put both hand on the club and practice your normal stroke.  It will probably feel much more solid and your putts should have better pace and direction, and you will therefore make more of them.  For grooving a better stroke, practice striking your putts on the toe of the club instead of the face, which has no margin for error.  Or buy a training aid that is just like a putter but has a head actually shaped like a golf ball.  You cannot make a bad stroke and have the ball travel on your target line when using this.

How can I improve my tempo and get a feel for my swing?

First of all, it helps to make swings with your feet together.  It is impossible to hit the ball well if your balance is out of whack, or if your swing is out of control.  So go to the driving range and take a 7 or 8-iron and employ small swings, concentrating on making solid contact with the ball.  Keep doing this until you can make a full swing without losing your balance.  Swinging with your feet together will also encourage a freer shoulder turn, which in turn will smooth out your tempo.

Another way to develop a feel for your swing is to hit balls with your eyes closed.  But wait a minute!  Start out by hitting pitch shots with plastic whiffle balls in your backyard.  Put an old piece of carpet or a welcome mat down and hit from it first so you don't rip up the grass with divots.  You will be amazed at how aware you become of your hands, wrists, arms, and shoulders when you swing with your eyes closed, even on half-pitch shots.  It really helps get a better understanding and feel of swing mechanics, since you are not staring at the ball and being inhibited mentally by its visual presence.  When we shut down sight, our other senses come to the fore.  After getting the hang of this technique, try it at the range - but only if nobody is nearby in you line of fire.  Once you practice this your confidence will increase and when you go back to the regular way of hitting a golf ball - with your eyes open - it will feel much more solid and connected.

A final tip for helping you feel your swing it to take a backswing and hold it at the top.  Keep it still at the top of the swing for three or four seconds and then release it as you would to hit the ball.  Check your positions between shots, take it back and see where the clubs is - parallel to the line, laid off, across the line, if the face is open or closed.  If your timing and tempo are off, or the position of the club is wrong, you will get immediate feedback from the ball's flight.  This drill really helps you feel where the club head is at the top of the swing, and how the proper position should feel to you, which is crucial to hitting good golf shots.  For a couple of excellent books to help you develop a better sense of feel and tempo for the swing, read Bob Toski and Davis Love, Jr.'s How To Feel a Real Golf Swing and Timothy Gallwey's The Inner Game of Golf. 

How do I play smarter golf and not waste shots?

First of all, keep things simple.  Try playing with fewer clubs to start.  Get rid of the driver and use a 3-wood or utility club off the tee.  Practice your shots from 50 yards in, and learn how to manage your game.  This means knowing your limitations and playing within your skill level. So if you have a shot from the woods after an errant drive, choose a place to pitch the ball back into play instead of trying a miracle shot through a two-foot gap in the trees.  Be smart about your choice of shots.  If you are a poor chipper and are 10 feet off the green in dry conditions, take your putter and roll the ball up to the hole.  Arnold Palmer wrote a book called Situation Golf years ago, which is really good at demonstrating, with diagrams of holes, how golfers of various skill levels should go about trying to play holes offering distinct challenges.  One route is for low handicappers, one for middle, and one for high handicappers.  I found it extremely beneficial to my game when I read it as a teenager.  To illustrate my point, I was not accurate with my driver and sometimes my long irons would desert me.  A couple holes that called for accurate tee shots with out of bounds on both sides plagued me.  Instead of hitting driver or 2-iron on a short 480-500 yard par 5, I went with 6-iron off the tee, then would hit another 6-iron, leaving me a short iron third shot.  More times than not I'd make par and gone were my disaster 8's and 9's on those holes.  Remember the old cliché, "It's not how, but how many." 

How can I deal with first tee jitters?

Most everyone feels nervous on the first tee, so you are not alone.  There are a few things you can do to help yourself relax and get ready to hit the first shot.  Make sure to stretch out well before making any swings, the shoulders and back especially, but don't forget the legs and hips.  Slow down your breathing.  Take some deep breathes through your nose, hold it for the count of four seconds, and exhale.  Do this about ten times.  If you can't hit a bucket of range balls, carry a few old ones in your bag to hit on the range before you start, just five or six will do.  Or buy some plastic practice balls and hit a couple of them around the first tee while waiting to go off next.  If it is a tight hole with lots of trouble, use a club you feel confident about getting in the fairway, even if it's an iron.  Finally, imagine you have already played 3 or 4 holes, and are standing on the fifth tee, and don't worry so much about the outcome of one shot.  The first shot is only one of many you will make in a round, so take it in stride.