pitchandchips.com

• The first thing to do when hitting a punch shot is move the ball position towards the back foot. This makes sure the ball is hit as the club head is coming down in the swing. The further back the ball is positioned the more the swing arc is on the way down.

• A punch shot requires more resistance at impact to give a golfer something to hit or punch against. This is set up with faster weight transference from the top of the backswing. To hit a punch shot it is vital to shift the weight onto the left foot much quicker than in a normal golf shot.

• The main characteristic of a punch shot is the finish position. Rather than a long flowing follow through, the punch shot finish is short and curtailed. If the body weight transfer is carried out correctly there is so much resistance at impact the golfer can stop the club only a few feet after hitting the ball. Watch the guys on television to see how short the finish position becomes when the pros play a links course.

In my opinion good iron play … making that crisp, clean contact … is one of the most satisfying of all golf shots. And it’s certainly a vital part of saving shots. If you can hit that green in regulation then you will make more pars … including the occasional birdie … and far less bogies …

And it shouldn’t be that difficult … just remember three things:

First, check your ball position. Play short iron shots in the center, middle iron shots an inch forward of that, and longer iron shots another inch forward.

Second, check your set-up. Things like poor posture, weak left-hand grip and bad aim often prevent solid contact. Look at yourself in a mirror. Make sure your set-up is solid. If not, change it. Practice your new set up in front of a mirror until it’s ingrained.

Third, check your weight shift. Good iron contact comes from a descending strike. How often do you hear the phrase ‘hit down’ for good contact (and maximum distance). To hit down, your weight must be moving toward the target. Many golfers hang back on their right sides when hitting irons. Also, make sure the knuckles of your left hand are pointing down when making your downswing.

Another thing you can try to improve your irons is to hit balls using your left hand only.
Keep hitting them one-handed until the feeling is ingrained. Also, hit balls with your feet together. It will improve your balance.

Finally is all this fails (which is very unlikely) try ‘punching’ the ball. The pros do this all the time. A punch shot is not just used when hitting into the wind … it’s a great way of getting into the ‘hitting down’ groove. Check out the article “How to Hit a Punch Shot”.

Now get down to the range and practise!

If you want that “perfect impact” you won’t be disappointed with this …

When my Doctor asked me if I led an active life I told him about my day:

“Well, yesterday afternoon, I waded across the edge of a deep lake, barely escaped from a wild pig in the heavy brush, marched along a treacherous trail up and down a mountain, stood in a patch of poison ivy, crawled out of quicksand, and barely escaped jumping away from an aggressive brown snake.”

Inspired by my story, the Doctor said, “You must be an awesome outdoorsman!”

“No,” I replied, “I’m just a shit golfer.”

… sorry that was a joke … not a golf tip …

We’ve all heard the famous expression ‘Drive for show … putt for dough’ haven’t we? But the question is ‘do we actually take notice of it?’

How often have you creamed the ball 300 yards down the centre of the fairway with the driver only to walk off with a double bogey because of a poor pitch shot and then a 3-putt … or worse?!

Well I’ve addressed the short game already … but putting … if ever there was a game within a game …

Now you can choose to just accept it … though I’m guessing that’s unlikely. You can practise and practise because practice makes perfect … right? WRONG! The CORRECT practice makes perfect!

So if you are serious about shaving strokes off your game … and I mean maybe 10 shots … yes in a single round …! then check out this guy … he is a putting genius!

http://tiny.cc/v9100

This is also really good:

and this training aid:

If you are fortunate enough to play on a course where the bunkers look like a south sea paradise … in other words the sand is beautifully soft and white (actually the colour doesn’t matter!) you may try a slightly different approach to playing from them.

I’m relatively happy playing from bunkers (I’ve had plenty of practice!) and my usual approach is to open my stance slightly, open the clubface and hit an inch of two behind the ball. This takes quite a bit of sand out with the ball (hopefully). I’m guessing you do the same more or less?

Well if the sand is very soft it might be worth doing the following:

1. Retain the open set up

2. Open the clubface more … I mean REALLY open it

3. Position the ball further forward … opposite your left heel (if you’re right handed)

4. Swing parallel to your body line (as usual for bunker play)

5. SLIDE the club face under the ball without taking too much sand … so the club passes under the sand without touching it as usual but only a little sand is taken

6. End with a full, high finish and your weight almost all on your left foot

As always, practise this first … BEFORE taking it onto the course.

Happy golfing …

By the way if bunkers are costing you dearly this DVD is awesome …

Never try to keep more than 300 separate thoughts in your mind during your swing.

When your shot has to carry over a water hazard, you can either hit one more club or two more balls.

If you’re afraid a full shot might reach the green while the foursome ahead of you is still putting out, you have two options: you can immediately shank a lay-up or you can wait until the green is clear and top a ball halfway there.

The less skilled the player, the more likely he is to share his ideas about the golf swing.

No matter how bad you are playing, it is always possible to play worse.

The inevitable result of any golf lesson is the instant elimination of the one critical unconscious motion that allowed you to compensate for all of your many other errors

Everyone replaces his divot after a perfect approach shot

A golf match is a test of your skill against your opponents’ luck.

When you look up, causing an awful shot, you will always look down again at exactly the moment when you ought to start watching the ball if you ever want to see it again.

To calculate the speed of a player’s downswing, multiply the speed of his back-swing by his handicap; I.e., back-swing 20 mph , handicap 15, downswing = 300 mph.

Hazards attract; fairways repel. Keep this in mind

A ball you can see in the rough from 50 yards away is not yours.

If there is a ball on the fringe and a ball in the bunker, your ball is in the bunker. If both balls are in the bunker, yours is in the footprint

It’s easier to get up at 6:00 AM to play golf than at 10:00 to mow the lawn

A good drive on the 18th hole has stopped many a golfer from giving up the game.

Golf is the perfect thing to do on Sunday because you always end up having to pray a lot.

A good golf partner is one who’s always slightly worse than you are….that’s why I get so many calls to play with friends

If there’s a storm rolling in, you’ll be having the game of your life.

Golf balls are like eggs. They’re white. They’re sold by the dozen. And you need to buy fresh ones each week.

If your opponent has trouble remembering whether he shot a six or a seven, he probably shot an eight (or worse).

It takes longer to learn to be a good golfer than it does to become a brain surgeon. On the other hand, you don’t get to ride around on a cart, drink tea and eat hot dogs, if you are performing brain surgery !!!!

Two Mexican detectives were investigating the murder of Juan Gonzalez.

‘How was he killed?’ asked one detective.

‘With a golf gun,’ the other detective replied.

‘A golf gun! What’s a golf gun?’

‘I don’t know. But it sure made a hole in Juan.’

Sorry … couldn’t resist …

Do you realise how important it is to have the correct swing plane? It is critical to striking the ball solidly and directly affects how far, high and straight you hit the ball.

Learning to achieve a good swing plane is something that could take several pages to explain … to list all the finer points and technicalities that are required to get the plane perfect. But who is inclined to read all this detail … and who is going to be able to remember it to put it into practice? Even if you did remember it there would be so many thoughts going through your mind that it would be virtually impossible to get it right on the day. When you are playing in that important competition you want your mind free of swing thoughts.

So I’ve reduced the information to three points … as always try these on the practice range first … NOT on the golf course …

• First, keep your hips steady and rotate your upper body only.
• Second, keep your knees bent throughout. On the back swing you have to resist the temptation to allow the right knee to straighten.
• Third, maintain that all so important triangle on takeaway … don’t collapse the right elbow and keep the left arm straight … this will ensure that the club does not move behind you. Keep your hands parallel to the target line … don’t let them go inside or outside or slicing or hooking will be the result.

Even just these three points will need lots of practice to set them into ‘muscle memory’ … so don’t expect to become a Luke Donald overnight … believe it or not he practises quite a lot …

24 Laws of Golf

LAW 1:

No matter how bad your last shot was, you should have Inner Peace knowing that
a shittier one is yet to come. This law does not expire on the 18th hole, since
it has the supernatural tendency to extend over the course of a tournament, a
summer and, eventually, a lifetime.

LAW 2:

Your best round of golf will be followed almost immediately by your worst round
ever. The probability of the latter increases with the number of people you tell
about the former.

LAW 3:

Brand new golf balls are water-magnetic. Though this cannot be proven in the
lab, it is a known fact that the more expensive the golf ball, the greater its
attraction to water. Expensive clubs have been known to be partly made with
this most unusual natural alloy.

LAW 4:

Golf balls never bounce off of trees back into play. If one does, the tree is
breaking a law of the universe and should be cut down.

LAW 5:

The higher a golfer’s handicap, the more qualified he deems himself as an
instructor.

LAW 6:

A golfer hitting into your group will always be bigger than anyone in your group.
Likewise, a group you accidentally hit into will consist of a football player,
a professional wrestler, a convicted murderer and an IRS agent — or some
similar combination.

LAW 7:

All 3-woods are demon-possessed. Your Mother in Law does not come close.

LAW 8:

Golf balls from the same “sleeve” tend to follow one another,
particularly out of bounds or into the water. See LAW 3.

LAW 9:

The last three holes of a round will automatically adjust your score to what it
really should be.

LAW 10:

Golf should be given up at least twice per month.

LAW 11:

All vows taken on a golf course shall be valid only until the sunset.

LAW 12:

Since bad shots come in groups of three, your fourth consecutive bad shot is
really the beginning of the next group of three.

LAW 13:

If it isn’t broke, try changing your grip.

LAW 14:

It’s surprisingly easy to hole a 50-foot putt for a 10.

LAW 15:

Counting on your opponent to inform you when he breaks a rule is like expecting
him to make fun of his own haircut.

LAW 16

Nonchalant putts count the same as chalant putts.

LAW 17

It’s not a gimme if you’re still 4 feet away.

LAW 18:

The shortest distance between any two points on a golf course is a straight
line that passes directly through the centre of a very large tree.

LAW 19:

You can hit a 2-acre fairway 10% of the time, and a 2-inch branch 90% of the
time.

LAW 20:

Every Time a golfer makes a birdie, he must subsequently make a double or
triple bogey to restore the fundamental equilibrium of the universe.

LAW 21:

If you want to hit a 7-iron as far as Tiger Woods does, simply try to use it to
lay up just short of a water hazard.

LAW 22:

There are two things you can learn by stopping your back swing at the top and
checking the position of your hands: how many hands you have, and which one is
wearing the glove.

LAW 23:

A ball you can see in the rough from 50 yards away is not yours.

LAW 24:

Don’t buy a putter until you’ve had a chance to throw it.