Tip Of The Month

 Pitch to success - January 2012

With the new season still a few months away, now is a good time to sharpen up the short game. Even the best players in the world miss greens occasionally but they all have sublime ‘rescue’ skills around the greens.

I would like you to concentrate on shots from within 30 yards of the green. This can be classed as chip shot or a pitch shot. If you almost exclusively use a pitching wedge or sand wedge around the green, read on!! These tips will help:

• Position the ball a fraction back in your stance. This will create the necessary downward angle on the ball to strike the ball properly.

• Try to land the ball on the first flat part of the green where possible. The sooner the ball starts to roll on the green, the better and more predictable the result will be.

• To help achieve this, use a less lofted club (i.e. a lower number) if you are quite close to the green and more loft from further away.

• Using less loft from nearer the green requires a shorter swing than with a pitching wedge and can only result in increased control.

• Keep a good rhythm to the stroke.

• Practice these shots regularly with different clubs and your scores can only improve. Use your imagination – top pros even use rescue clubs around the green sometimes!

Getting extra yardage - December 2011

To get the clubhead travelling a little faster (a necessary requirement for hitting longer shots), you need to create a longer backswing with an increase in the amount of arm swing and body turn. Not only must the swing be a little longer, but you need to pick up the pace of your swing to increase clubhead speed through impact. The pace of the forward swing should be faster than normal. If you can combine this improved action with a ball strike out of the centre of the club face you will add yards to your shots! An increase of just five mph of club head speed through impact will equate to an extra 15 to 20 yards of distance!
 

Don't top your fairway woods - November 2011

If you tend to top your fairway woods, it's because you're catching the ball on the upswing, often caused by trying to scoop or lift the ball up.  To fix this problem, you have to understand that solid ball striking is sometimes a game of opposites.  To hit the ball higher with a fairway wood, you actually have to hit down at a steeper angle-as opposed to up-on the ball. Position your ball two inches left of centre in your stance and concentrate on striking down on the ball you should be looking to take a very shallow divot at the point of impact not before!

Going out there to shoot your best score - October 2011

Going out there and telling yourself you are going to beat your best score is not the way to do it. Setting yourself expectations creates pressure and if you quickly exceed your target by several shots, you will start to judge and criticize your game. Make your focus staying in the present and executing every shot as best as possible. Just enjoy being out there regardless of your score. Making the game solely about score and equating this with your enjoyment is not the best way to improve
Go and aim to enjoy the challenge of every shot!

Hit the driver not the 3-wood - September 2011

Sometimes the right choice is the bigger one. Fairway woods have indeed come a long way. I’d actually say that my current fairway is both bigger and longer than my driver was 20 to 30 years ago. And yet, despite the advances in fairway woods, drivers have exploded in size, making them not only bigger, but also enormously longer and more forgiving.

So, why not use one as often as you can? If you’re faced with a choice between driver and fairway wood on a tight hole or shorter hole, consider the bigger, more forgiving alternative. You could do more with it, such as choking down on the grip, teeing the ball lower or even making a three-quarter slower swing to mimic a fairway wood but still take advantage of the bigger sweet spot and more forgiving head size.

Free custom fit - August 2011

The first stage is assessing the break of the putt and determining the line on which he wishes to start the ball rolling.  An increasing number of players mark a line on their ball, if you do this make sure that you take great care in aiming down that starting line.  Don’t take your eye off the line to the hole. Stay focused as you aim the putter-face before building your set-up around it. Square up your feet and shoulders to the target line and then fully commit to the putt and trust you putting stroke.

Don’t underestimate a short putt, instead give it your full attention, rate your putt on how smooth and positive it was, rather than the result! This will take some pressure off you. Always enjoy the challenge of holing out.