Golfing News & Blog Articles

This is the second in a series of blogs to help you simplify your knowledge of golf and hopefully improve your game. [Includes abbreviated tips from an article published by Luke Kerr-Dineen for a GOLF franchise called “Play Smart”.] I have only distilled nuggets of knowledge from his article to provide you with a quick reference to sharpen your games.

5/ Understand the loft and spin relationship: A properly hit golf ball will create an undercut or reversing spin on every golf ball. [Not to be confused with side spins caused by the path of impact or the open or closed face of the club which cause a draw, fade, hook or slice.] Too much spin with a driver will rob you of distance. That’s why your driver has a very low loft and you typically gain height with the launch angle off a tee. (A topped ball is never desired as it creates an over-spin which will force your ball to dive down and along the ground.)

The more loft on your club, the more it’s going to spin the ball. That’s why your pitching wedge stops on a green much faster than lower lofted clubs. A little extra spin can help you hit the ball straighter off the tee or land softer on the green, but too much of it can send the ball ballooning up into the air. Less spin can help you hit the ball lower for more roll-out. The key is getting control over spin, which starts with a good club-fitting

6/ Adjust Your Tee Height: Changing tee height has a direct impact on the launch and spin of the ball off your driver and can be used to help you get more distance with a simple adjustment. A higher tee also creates the opportunity to hit the ball above the middle of the club face. These 2 factors increase launch angle and reduce spin, which, in turn, help optimize launch conditions for up to 25 yards more distance. So, if you’re struggling to keep up with your buddies off the tee, experiment with teeing the ball higher. You could pick up serious yards.

7/ Practice Swinging in Slow Motion: Will Zalatoris said “Whenever I’m working on something, I rarely ever do it at full speed. My practice? A lot of slow-motion work. It’s something my dad really drilled into me growing up. It helps me with my body awareness and matching stuff up.” [Will’s recent successes may indicate that he is on to something.]

For our next few blogs, I am sharing a series of 30 tips that will help you simplify your knowledge of golf and hopefully improve your game. I found these tips in an article published by Luke Kerr-Dineen for a GOLF franchise called “Play Smart”. I have only distilled nuggets of knowledge from his article to provide you with a quick reference to sharpen your games.

1/ Avoid Doubles Bogeys: I love this line “The difference between the lowest handicap golfers and the rest of us isn’t the quantity of good shots. It’s what happens after the bad ones.” We all have bad shots in every round, but you need to avoid a succession of poor shots. Clear your brain and get back in the game with a great recovery shot to avoid a double or triple bogey.

In a recent study by Sherman (The Four Foundations of Golf) golfers with a handicap of 2, average 1 double bogey/round and 2 birdies/round. Golfers with a handicap of 20 average 5.5 double bogeys and only .2 birdies/round. So, focus on great recovery shots and not on trying to birdie every hole.

2/ Stretch to Improve Your Speed: We are all aware that you need to activate your muscles before any sport. To generate more power in your golf swing you need to load up your muscles or coil them up like a spring before you release that power. One of GOLF Top 100 Teachers, Chris Como, says: “Stretching your arms wide away from you on the backswing sets up a ‘rubber-band effect’ in your muscles, which allows them to contract forcefully and send the club whipping through impact with extra speed.” If you fail to feel this stretch, you’re leaving yards on the table. After you warm up your body with body stretching make sure that you hold your shoulders, arms and wrists in the same wide stretch that you want to achieve in your backswing.

3/ Swing a driver you can handle: Most recreational golfers swing their driver under 90 mph. We are all looking for more distance and control off the tee. So Luke recommends changing to a lighter club with a lighter shaft and club head to stay in better balance so that you can swing faster. He suggests trying the XXIO: “The use of lightweight and strong materials creates a distinct advantage and can help you get the most off the tee.”

Two of the recent blogs by Danny Maude reminded me why if is so difficult to control the direction and distance for every iron shot. Slope of the ground (side to side or back to front) your weight shift and your swing arc can change your impact point with every different length of iron. You need to adjust your stance, grip and lineup to execute perfect shots up your target line.

Inconsistencies are exactly the reason why mid-handicap golfers need to take a full practice swing before each hit. You need to pay attention to the direction of the club face and the point of impact with respect to the ball position. You have to visualize where your club face will RELEASE your ball. Of course, it’s so much easier to understand your errors when you see the divot after you hit each shot.

Eliminating Angles for Your Irons in Your Setup
Your iron shaft should be setup perpendicular from where your ball is resting. DON’T SETUP WITH A FORWARD SHAFT LEAN. Your wedge shots should be lined up in the center of your stance so your shaft should be pointing at your belt buckle. The ball position for your 6-iron is forward of the center of your stance so the shaft of your club should still be square to the ground but pointing slightly forward of your belt buckle (as below).

Setup with the Face Square
You can add draw or fade with the direction of you swing. You can also add hook or slice with a closed or open face, respectively, so setup with the face of your club square to your target line to understand the impact of a square setup. Every iron is swung in an arc so you need to focus on creating a consistent impact with your club face square and also keeping the impact point of your swing path in line with your target line. Making a complete swing allows you to return your club to square at the bottom of your swing.

Make a Practice Swing Before Every Shot
I rarely see a mid-handicap golfer take a practice swing that duplicates the swing speed and tempo of their actual shot. Each club length will change the outcome of your shots. Inconsistencies in your swing will show up during your practice swing. Just do it!

Golfers who shoot in the 80’s and 90’s need to focus on one stroke more than any other to lower their scores. Great chipping is by far the most important shot that you need to conquer before you will break into the occasional 70’s game.

Mid-handicap golfers miss over 50% of the Greens In Regulation. The higher the percentage of misses, the higher your score on every round. Missed Greens In Regulation also end up costing you more strokes if you can’t chip your next shot for a 1 putt par or a 2-putt bogie.

Of course, you need to practice your drives and approach shots but until you perfect them you need a chip shot that will get your ball close to the hole for a single putt. Too often mid-handicappers mishit their short chips because they are trying to make the perfect shot exactly the way the pros seem to make every shot. Unfortunately, by using a full backswing and wrist release through the ball, you often end up hitting your ball FAT or THIN.

It takes a lot of practice to make a professional chip shot where you hit your ball and then cut under the ball by a fraction of an inch on bare ground or through deep rough. The chance of mishitting your shot increases with the length of your WILD backswing.

WHY NOT PUTT YOUR CHIP with a perfectly controlled putting stroke? [I saw this method presented by Danny Maude.] The putting swing is the easiest swing in golf. You only need to swing in a pendulum motion to impact your ball at the bottom of your arc (exactly with the same length of arms when you setup for your shot).

It’s shocking to see ads for GOLF Training Aids that promise an instant fix for multiple swing problems. Of course, those ads are designed to get your attention. It really would be wonderful if all of their promises could instantly or ever come true.

I really admire the golf instructor who is promoting a wrist “clicking” device that will solve problems for “90% of golfers who struggle with mis-hits like fat shots, thin shots and shanks.” That really is an amazing promise. His offer is a solution for your poor “wrist position”. Of course, you need a flat or slightly bowed wrist on your down swing, but you also need the right posture, ball position, weight transfer, shoulder orientation, head position, hip and shoulder rotation and it all has to happen in a specific sequence in order to hit the sweat spot with the correct launch angle.

His offer promises consistently flush contact on ever shot and his promises continue on and on. That’s the dream of every golfer. I’m just using this ad as an example of the wonderful image that advertising creates in order to make a sale. If the ad was 50% true then most of their customers would be scratch golfers in no time. Fat Chance!

GOLFSTR+ Solutions
When I developed GOLFSTR+, professional golfers and trainers quickly pointed out 5 more uses as this training aid can be used for many more solutions than a Straight Leading Arm Trainer. Learning to play golf well is more than “a one trick pony”. There are so many unique requirements for a great game of golf. That’s why each club has its own characteristics to solve every possible combination of problems that you face in every round of golf.

I quickly realized that training with a training aid is only the starting point for great golf. When I launched GOFLSTR+, I realized that a continuous training program was needed to encourage customers to explore new ways to improve their games. To help golfers everywhere, I have created a Swing Tip Blog every week for the last 10 years. Finding useful tips from pros which I share in blogs, help me improve my game and I hope that they do the same for you too.

I recently read an article stating that the worst golf tip ever was “to keep your head down” during your swing. This may be somewhat true but there are times when your can really benefit from keeping your eye on the ball.

That article quoted Bobby Jones. “The average golfer would be a lot better off if no one had ever said anything about the necessity for keeping the eyes glued upon the ball.”

Lifting your leading shoulder as you lift your head during your downswing is really the motion that you WANT TO AVOID for your drives or iron shots. Keeping your eye on the ball DURING THE POINT OF IMPACT is really important. I have watched many professional golfers [INCLUDING RORY MCILROY] during a slow motion swing that clearly show them keeping their head motionless (and their eye on the ball) until the time directly after impact.

Bobby Jones and many other pros are only trying to avoid ruining a perfect swing by eliminating the shoulder turn and follow through that you need to complete the ideal swing. So don’t mess up your swing by locking your head and eyes on your ball AFTER the point of impact.

Lock Your Eyes on the Ball when Putting
There is a time when it is extremely critical to keep you head locked down and your eyes focused on the point where your ball is resting. Do this during your PUTTING STROKE. It’s extremely sensitive to any motion which changes your exact line-up with your TARGET LINE. Your minds eye in your brain is actually controlling the target line that your planned to hit.

Of course, we all want to sink more par and birdie putts but you will never improve your odds unless your reduce the distance of your approach shots to the green and reduce the length of your putts. This is pretty obvious but you do need a strategy to improve your odds for success.
Playing more rounds of golf will help but you need a plan to improve each shot to improve your success rate:
1/ Start at the Practice Range: Don’t waste your time or money on rounds of golf until you sort out how to make consistent hits with every club in your bag. GOLFSTR+ is a great training aid to help you hone your skills for 6 swing fixes.

2/ Identify your weaknesses and find a class or professional to learn the basics to improve your swing for every club. Your driver, fairway woods, hybrids, irons, wedges and putter all require unique swings to either LAUNCH, POWER or IMPACT your ball at the right attack angle.

3/ Prioritize Your Holes for Success
a. Par 5’s Are Priority #1: With a good drive and a good approach shot you should be within 100 yards of the green. [If you aren’t within 100 yards, you need to either improve your consistency or move to a forward tee. Golf is meant to be a fun game and it’s a lot more fun when you can reach the green in regulation for a 2-putt par or a birdie putt.]
b. Par 4’s Are the next Easiest to Par: Your drive should be in the fairway and within 150 yards of the green. [These approach shots are more difficult than within 100 yards so you need to improve your direction control to ensure that you either land and stay on the green or land in a perfect approach area where you can easily chip it close for par.
c. Par 3s are the most difficult to Par: Typically, they are over 150 yards, loaded with hazards and they have tricky contours. [Improve your ability to choose the right club to land and roll up to the hole. Learn to avoid hitting the green and then rolling into the deep rough surrounding the green.]

4/ Practice with Your RECOVERY CLUB: If you miss or roll off the green you will typically be faced with a short chip. These shots ruin most of your chances to par many of your holes on every round. Choosing the right club to clear the rough and roll out to the hole is a good starting point.
Eliminate 80% of your mishit chips by PUTTING with the TOE OF YOUR WEDGE OR IRON. If the rough is not too deep, you can stand closer to the ball and sliding your hands down to the bottom of your grip creating a more vertical shaft , you can actually use the toe of your club to PUTT up to 5 feet out of the thick fringe.

YES, just use a putting swing to lift your ball on to the putting surface and rolling out to the hole.
Par and birdie more holes by practicing for CONSISTENT Toe Putting hits with every club. Spend some of your practice time (in your backyard or at the range) TOE PUTTING out of deep rough with an appropriate iron or wedge to lift your ball high enough to reach the green and then rollout to the hole.

Good starting points for every putt are to determine the perfect target line and to develop a smooth swing which impacts your ball on the center of your balanced putter face. You can’t afford to have a hitch or a yip in your putting stroke. You also need to understand the changing speed of greens, as you play 18 holes on every course and on every new day that you play.

Good Golfers Strategically Sink More Putts.
1/ Before every round, you need to practice your putting to get a feel for the speed of the greens on the course that you are about to play. Practice short, long and breaking putts.
2/ The speed of greens change throughout your round as the course dries out during the day or during the onset of fog or rain. Adjust your swing speed accordingly.
3/ Short putts never go in the hole. You should only plan for putts to die into the hole when you are making a downhill putt. On relatively flat putts you should always add enough energy in your swing to pass the hole by 12 to 18 inches to (a) give yourself a chance to sink the putt, (b) minimize the break at the hole as you ball slows down and (c) avoid imperfections of the green near the hole by sloppy golfers.
4/ Your arms and wrists need to be locked solid during your backswing and follow-through as you should only create the swing arc with the rocking motion of your shoulders. Practice your putting with GOLFSTR+ to lock your leading wrist to swing your putter up your target line like a pendulum.

NOTE: Prove that you can swing a putter on a straight line by putting 5-foot putts on a flat putting surface. Try putting with your eyes focused on the spot where the ball is lying (without moving your head during impact) and then try to make the same putt with your eyes closed. If you can’t make these putts, you must be moving your wrist instead of rocking your shoulders.

Key Components of Each Putt
1/ Look at the line of the putt from above and primarily from below the hole to determine the expected break. [If you are plum-bobbing to determine a fine amount of break near the hole, make sure that you are checking the break with the hole between you and the ball –NOT from behind the ball.]
2/ Practice your putting motion only by rocking your shoulders with enough speed to pass the hole and break from the high side.
3/ Focus your eyes on the hole and then trace back to your ball along your target line.
4/ Keep your eyes on the SPOT at the back of your ball (until AFTER impact on the exact center of your putter face) as you swing directly up your target line.

Sensing your putt distance and rocking your shoulders to putt up your target line are all made easier when you practice with GOLFSTR+ to lock your leading wrist. Buy one today at www.GOLFSTR.com

I recently read an article about equipment changing trends on the pro tour. Obviously, what the pros do will most likely not impact your game. They use all the latest technology and financial support to make any changes that will give their swing an edge over other pros. I just wanted to share the tidbits that I found in a GOLF.com blog and by observing success changes which can apply to recreational golfers without spending a fortune.

Shorter Driver Shaft Length
This year the PGA set a new limit on driver shaft length at 46 inches. The interesting fact that I found is that Cameron Smith is known for his putting expertise, but his recent focus has been on hitting more fairways so that he can hit more greens in regulation. At the US Open, he was using a 44.5 inch shaft to add more direction control for his drives. A drive that is 20 yards shorter in the fairway adds a lot more value to your game than one that is longer but sitting in the rough or behind a tree.

The Bryson DeChambeau Syndrome
Adding muscle, bulk and a full set of single length irons were supposed to be a great new trend to improve accuracy and length control. Not only did Bryson end up injuring himself with his over speed training but his game whet sideways. With his increasing scores he found that the only way to increase his income was by joining the LIV Tour. I don’t think we should be following Bryson as a trend setter.

Putting Solutions
Every putter can sink every putt. You ONLY have to choose the right line and swing with the right speed. Easier said than done. Tony Finau just added a more distinctive Center Line on his putter head to help with the line up and impact for ever putt. He won a recent tournament putting with his trailing hand on top of his leading hand. That just reminds us how important it is to make sure that our line up is good but even more important is that you impact your swing EXACTLY ON THE CENTER LINE of your putter face.

I also notice a change to a new putter style where the shaft connects to the putter exactly at the center of the face of the putter. In addition to putting with her leading hand lower on her grip, Brooke Henderson and other LPGA pros have started to use this type of putter. Brooke turned her game around with a few recent tournament wins by changing to this type of mallet putter. She must be on to something. You don’t need a $500 Scotty Cameron Putter to sink more putts.

Wouldn’t it be nice if you could change your setup for your driver and for your irons to hit more fairways and Greens In Regulation? That’s every golfers dream and I believe that Hank Haney has given us a few great setup ideas for more consistent hits with better direction controlled.

Hank Haney, Martin Chuck and Danny Maude have recently been bombarding blog followers with opportunities to purchase swing tips which will solve your inconsistent swing problems. They are promising to fix your swing using 1 to 10 balls at a practice range. I have not purchased their programs but wanted to provide the key tips that they shared on their promotional videos.

Basic Setup
I’m NOT going to detail the basic setup that you can find on any YouTube training video as the proper grip and stance should give you the proper distance from your ball for consistent hits. Whatever you do in your swing, your distance from you shoulders to your ball must be the same at impact as it was during your setup. Don’t pull your leading shoulder away from the ball before impact. Increasing the distance of your leading shoulder away from the ball will cause toe hits (which look like a major slice). Test for this problem by spraying foot powder on the face of your clubs as your impact should be on the center of the face.

Driver Grip Tip Setup
After you line up your shot and take your stance on a line parallel to your target line, rotate your club across your body and parallel with the ground, with the face of your driver pointing perpendicular to the ground. Adjust your fingers by holding the grip of your club in your fingers (not your palms), [You may want to rotate the face of your club 2 degrees forward to add draw to your shot). Without changing your grip; bend forward and rotate your club back down to your ball with your shaft pointing at your belt buckle.

Your swing will feel strange with this finger grip, but your result will be straight. You may want to use a swing thought of shallowing your driver at the start of your downswing to launch your club head from the inside and up my target line.

At the end of televised rounds of golf, commentators attempt to glean nuggets of thoughts from the pros. Often they never really answers the questions but occasionally you really get a good insight into the success for their game. Instead of flipping your PVR fast forward, you may learn some good strategies by listening to the pros. Every successful golfer has their own game plan.

I heard an interview with Brooks Koepka who described his swing thought as “no thought at all”. He knew the swing that was needed to execute his draw or fade or height of shot to avoid trouble or land on a green. His mind blocked out any other thought as he simple executed the swing needed to make the perfect shot to the point where he wanted to land his ball. He couldn’t explain any thought process as his mind seemed to go into a blank zone as he executes the shot that he wants.

In the AIG Women’s Open at Muirfield in Scotland, after the 3rd round when Ashleigh Buhai, a South African, was leading that Major tournament by 5 strokes she was asked about her success. She simply said that she “followed her process”. She simply stuck to her routine for every type of shot. She knew what she wanted to execute and simply blocked extraneous thoughts from her mind after she made her club selection, setup her stance and fixed her grip. She actually visualized her past successful swings and swing speed in the image of another great South African golfer: Ernie Els. He made a deliberately controlled backswing and release through the ball WITHOUT TRYING TO KILL HIS BALL.

Ashleigh was actually building confidence with ever swing by focusing ONLY ON HER SUCCESSES. When playing on links courses in Scotland, you can only control the direction and length of your shot. The surface of every fairway can throw your ball in any direction. You can’t be focused on the result of your last shot. You can only apply your mind on making a success of your next shot.

Buhai, the 84th ranked player in the world, was leading the Women’s Open. She ultimately landed in a terrible bunker and lost her lead but won it back in a playoff. One mishit almost lost the tournament, but she stuck to her process, blocked the thought of losing and won the tournament. You may never be in her position, but you should keep your mind on the perfect swing that you practice. GOLFSTR+ is a training aid that helps you practice 6 key corrections in your swing. Buy one today at www.GOLFSTR.com

In a recent GolfersRX blog Christo Garcia recommend a driver swing setup that will help you generate longer, straight drives. When I tried his recommendation, I realized that his 2 suggestions were exactly what I have been doing subconsciously for my best drives. He suggested a STRONGER grip and keeping your trailing ELBOW CLOSE TO YOUR SIDE during the downswing, like Lee Trevino and Dustin Johnson. A stronger grip is easy to position during your setup, but the tight trailing elbow needs a flat or bowed leading wrist to create the inside swing path.

More Power for your Drives
The Garcia recommendation uses an inside to outside swing path so that your trailing elbow almost grazes your rib cage. I understood what he was trying to describe when he commented about Jack Nicklaus who liked to play with a “PALM UP CUT”. He was adding power to his swing by forcing his trailing hand to swing through the ball as if he is swinging a hammer with his strong trailing hand on the backside of his club and into a wall as he swung through the point of impact.

Dustin Johnson bows his leading wrist at the top of the swing in order to swing with a bowed wrist as he powers the back of his bowed leading wrist up his target line. That forces his trailing elbow to narrowly miss his side during the downswing.

Another Suggestion
If those 2 descriptions are not helping you understand how to swing with your trailing elbow narrowly missing your side, my personal option my help. As I approach the top of my backswing I remove any “cup” shape in my leading wrist by flatten my wrist. This shallows my swing path from the inside and up my target line. I’m not sure if my wrist is actually flat or slightly bowed, but I definitely shallow my swing plane and feel like I am hammering my club directly up my target line.

Slice Solution
Hank Haney highlights the fact that an open club face at the point of impact will ALWAYS create a fade or slice. If you are trying the “hammer” swing and experiencing fades or slices, setup with a 1 or 2 degree closed face on your club. That should create a slight draw or at least a straight ball flight.

Why not soup-up your game with fixes for your existing putter? You chose your putter for your own personal reasons about the feel and the ease of sinking more putts. Unfortunately, your game change over time and some of those 3 putt holes start to creep in. That puts doubt in your mind and that never helps your game. Why not try a few easy fixes with your existing putter?

I recently discovered a few ideas about changing my putting game and hope that these concepts will help you too.

Adding Weight and Momentum
My first improvement came when I tried hitting with a friend’s tennis racquet (yes, in a tennis match). We both had the same racquet model but the head weight on his racquet was a bit heavier than mine. From my fist hit, I realized that the perimeter weighting was adding momentum to my swing. Hitting balls seemed effortless.

That made me recall a practice swing with a friend’s heavier weighted putter. I love my White Hot Odyssey putter but realized that I should try it out with some extra weight. I bought some lead tape at my local golf retailer and used it to tape on an extra weight to the top center of my putter head. [BTW Tiger Woods always adds lead tape to his putter for The OPEN to manage longer putts on the oversized British greens.] I now realize that the extra weight adds momentum which makes it easier to limit shaking hands and swing directly up my putting line. The feel is different and takes a little practice, but I love the ease of making this simple change to my existing putter to improve my game. It’s WORKING!

Change Your Putting Grip Style
Why not try different ways to grip your putter. It doesn’t cost anything. There is a trend for professional golfers to grip their putter handle with the lead hand low (instead of the traditional trailing hand low as we do for all other clubs.)

You should actually start your downswing by pressing your leading hip forward but I was hoping to get your attention by referring to YOUR BUM. The shift of your hip is caused by a slight bend of your leading knee which will shift your leading hip and shoulder during the transition at the top of your swing. This motion should happen before your forearms start their downswing.

The downswing for low handicap golfers starts during their transition as their weight starts to transfer to their leading foot. This is especially important for iron shots to ensure that you are shifting to allow your club to impact the ball before taking any divot. If you are rushing your transition, you should notice that you are often hitting the ground before the ball and losing distance. If this is your problem, we have a solution for you.

The downswing chain reaction starts from your foot to your hip and then your shoulder rotation starts your straight leading arm downswing. The release of your cocked wrists to whip your club through the ball is last and most important part of your downswing to generate power.

Solution for the Rushed Transition
If you are one of the many golfers who starts their downswing before their weight shift to their leading leg, you need to learn the feeling for this change and see the impact of an improved swing.

CHEAT your forward “pressed position” during your setup with 60% of your weight on your leading leg by ADDING bend to your leading knee. That’s the move that you really want to make at the top of your swing but by starting with this forward press during your setup, you can learn the feeling that you want to add during your transition.

You will never lower your handicap if you don’t set a plan to make it happen. Hank Haney recently released an interesting program called “Tour Consistency Clinics”, which reminded me of the ideal way to lower your scores. Just eliminate your BIG MISS — one at a time. It’s that easy!

You, like every other Weekend Worrier, have had some great rounds of golf followed by a number of high scoring rounds of golf. To lower your scores, your plan has to centered around DETERMINING your BIG MISS. You CAN correct it (with training and practice) and then determining your next big miss and repeating this process to drop your scores by 10 strokes. Consistently good shots will produce consistently lower scores. It’s that simple.

Set Your Plan
1/ Record Every One of Your Scores on a Handicap System: Members of private golf clubs enter the score from every round to establish a true handicap in order to balance-out scores for weaker players against better players in tournaments. Golf associations around the world have now adopted a consistent handicap system using the average score from 8 of your last 20 rounds of golf. The only scores entered are limited to a maximum of 2 strokes over your handicap for every hole.
2/ Obey the Rules of Golf and Be Honest: You can’t tip up a ball to improve the lie and you can’t ignore a mishit. Mulligans don’t exist. Every swing counts. You will never improve your game if you are not entering an honest score for every hole as well as only entering your maximum handicap allowance on your handicap system for a permanent, accurate record. (You may want to use: www.ghin.com or your local Golf Association handicap systems)
3/ Record Your Misses on Every Hole: On holes where you score a bogie, double bogie or worse, they were caused by a missed shot. To keep a simple record of your poor shots, enter a letter in the scoring box for each hole on your score card in the lower left corner. (ie “W” for water, “T” for tree, “R” for rough, “M” for mishit, “S” for sand etc). You also need to mark a “1” in the upper left of each box for the Fairway Hit on your drive (or greens hit on par 3’s), a “1” in the upper right of the box for Greens Hit in Regulation and the number of putts in the lower right.
4/ Analyze Your Card: After your round, sort out your worst big miss which caused your blow-up holes. Knowing this fact is the perfect starting point to improving your next round of golf.

Take Action!
Do something about your worst big miss. Find solutions on the internet or take lessons with a professional golf instructor. Get out to the practice range and make sure that you hit some great shots to overcome your BIG MISS before your next round of golf. Don’t expect miracles. Focus on your solution for your worst BIG MISS and you will eliminate those blow-up holes.

You may also want to purchase a GOLFSTR+ to practice 6 swing fixes with your straight leading arm or flat wrist. Put some effort into your game to eliminate your BIG MISSES. Buy one today at www.GOLFSTR.com

Last week we presented the 2 critical issues to help you Perfect Your Game: Mental Focus and Knowing Your Ideal Swing for Each of your Clubs. Mental Focus was covered last week and now we want to share your INDIVIDUAL SECRETS that creates distance and direction control for each club.

These SECRETS are unique for every golfer and every type of club. The weight and flexibility of each club from your driver down to your putter require a special setup and swing for each type of club. You should take lessons to sort out the proper techniques and then you should sort out the exact setup that works for your strength and flexibility.

If you can recognize a pro, just by watching their swing, you can understand why each pro and each golfer actually swings every type of club differently. That’s why you need to tailor your perfect swing for every type of club to your PHYSICAL AND MENTAL CAPABILITES.

I have finally sorted this out for my clubs and I’m starting to shoot just over par for 9 holes on the back nine of every round. I have studied what works for my swing on every type of club but my changing flexibility over 18 holes must be another variable for my swing.

Study Your Ideal Setup and Swing for Every Type of Club
Start by taking lessons to add distance & consistency and to avoid slices & hooks. Each club and type of club has a unique weight, flexibility and function. You need to sort out what works for your body and your set of clubs. The following summary details my idiosyncrasies to help your get started. Make sure that you write down and refine the unique features that work for your game and your clubs.

I’m a real fan of Rory McIlroy. His swing is perfection but like every golfer in the world his mind can wander, and his swing may look perfect but his ball does not comply. During the first round of the Travelers Championship, he shot a bogie-free 8 under par. During his second round he was on track for another great round with 1 bogie and 6 birdies when his mind lost his FOCUS.

On the 12th hole he made a wild tee shot which led to multiple poor shots and a quad-bogie. Yes, that’s 4 over par. That was followed by a par and then a double bogie. self destruction reminded me of his 10th hole duck hook drive a few years ago during the 2011 Masters. Even Rory must question why his mind starts to wander.

We can only imagine the soul searching that Rory must go through to first identify the cause of those shots and then to overcome his fears for all future rounds of golf. All golfers and especially Weekend Warriors (WW) make poor shots. How can we minimize these poor shots?

https://youtu.be/qtYoo4C9quQ?t=32
Click on this YouTube URL to see an amazing video of Rory McIlroy displaying the simplicity of his lag and release swing.

What Causes Poor Golf Shots
1/ Pros are faced with a continuous barrage of stupid comments from spectators and the roar of excitement when others make a great shot on adjacent holes. WW don’t have those problems.
2/ Pros are faced with perfectly manicured courses but the greens have Stimpmeter speeds that we rarely experience. Putting those greens is an artform that we rarely encounter.
3/ Weather, wind and ground moisture are problems that we all face.
4/ An injury will cause problems but when you are playing as well as Rory was playing, we can rule out any physical or exhaustion problems.

SOLUTION:
A. Learn to keep your focus on YOUR NEXT SHOT for direction and distance control.
1/ Recognize that your mind controls your focus.
2/ Every shot needs a target and a plan to reach that point.
3/ Rory has a caddie who can lay out the options and recommend the best approach. For WW’s, you have to rely on your past experience to set your plan and practice the swing for your shot.
4/ BLOCK OUT EXTERNAL THOUGHTS: You can’t think 2 thoughts at the same time if you mentally say words to control the motion and cadence of your swing.
[I mentally say the words: “Flat aaand 2” during my swing, to help me slow down my backswing. Saying “FLAT” reminds me to keep my leading arm straight and my leading wrist flat. Saying “aaand” gives me time to finish my backswing and add wrist lag. Saying “2” just starts my down swing to a balanced pose.]

The US Open was a spectacular display of golf perfection by the best golfers in the world. The Country Club in Brookline, Massachusetts was a ball strikers dilemma. Many of the fairways were setup like a snake going through grass and the rough was even worse than the deep rough plays the previous week at the Canadian Open. Only the best ball strikers survived.

I was surprised to see that most golfers who hit errant shots seemed to know that they were in trouble as soon as they hit the ball. Their swing either ended up with a one-handed grip on the club or they were struggling to keep their balance. They seemed to sense that their shot was in trouble from the get-go. They had either rushed their backswing or tried to add more power into their down-swing. They lost their balance!

Frustrating Miss-Hits Happen
Recreational golfers create a lot more miss-hits than the pros. That becomes a lot more evident when you play with golfers who shoot under 40 for 9 holes. Most of their drives are dead nuts on the center of their club face. Then, out-of-the-blue, they hit a duck hook or booming slice for no apparent reason. Of course, this happens more often for higher handicappers and their miss-hits get worse as they try to hit the greens in regulation.

If the pros and recreational golfers could just eliminate their adrenaline rush to avoid those miss-hits, golf would be easy. I must admit that Matt Fitzpatrick’s miracle bunker shot on the final hole of the 2022 US Open must have been filled with adrenaline.

Strategy to Avoid Miss-Hits
1/ Make a controlled practice swing exactly with the speed that you want to execute your shot.
2/ Your drives need more body rotation to generate more power, but your focus needs to be on a smooth accelerating swing through your ball and up your target line
3/ Limit the backswing for your iron shots with your straight leading arm at about the 10 o’clock position. Your power is primarily coming from the release of your lagging wrists through impact. 4/ A limited iron backswing also helps you avoid casting from the top and helps you control your swing direction up your target line.
5/ Include a flat wrist lag in your backswing and a full follow through to a balanced pose for your drives and fairway shots.

When you look back at your most successful rounds of golf, you may realize that your CALM state of mind was the most important factor for your success. Of course, there are many contributing factors which create confidence in your game. Your skill level for every swing with every club will only culminate in success if you can minimize the fear of failure. Your mind needs to focus on the simplicity of every shot and then doing it well.

I was reminded of the importance of a CALM state of mind when I watched the movie, King Richard. It was about a father’s tenacity to teach 2 of his daughters, Venus and Serena, to overcome the fears of racism and failure by committing to the sport of tennis and practicing to built confidence that they could win, both inside and outside of the actual game of tennis.

You will never reach the skill level in golf that the William’s sisters achieved in tennis. But you can apply everything that you have personally learned about golf if you allow your CALM mind to focus your simple skills.

State of Mind Can Lead to Failure
I saw this example of a tournament leader arriving late for his tee time on the second day of a 2-day tournament. Without any time to practice, his mind was in a state of panic. He made a few jokes about his late arrival and tried to calm down, but he shanked his first tee shot. By the end of the round, he was 10 shots out of the lead. Yes, he was rushed but he never calmed down enough to focus on success for each shot.

A CALM Mind Allows you to Focus and Make Better Shots
-When you hit a great drive, your ball lands in the fairway on a flat lie and closer to the hole to make your next shot that much easier.
-When you hit the green in regulation, it just makes it that much easier to make par with a 2-putt green.
-When you pitch or chip your shot close to the hole it’s also easier to sink your putt.

Every golfer wants to break 100, then 90 and then 80. That’s why we watch rounds of golf on TV and continue to receive golf blogs to improve our games. Every pro has unique features in their swing, and you can too. You need to start with the basics that every professional depends on, but you should consider making modifications to suit your swing for your physical limitations.

Every golfer ages with different injuries and different physical activities which create limitations or unique strengths for our bodies. I know that I have had back and head injuries caused by snow skiing and a car accident. I’m also left-handed in every activity but I learned to play golf with the only clubs that I could find in our attic, and they were right-handed clubs. My swing is far from perfect but I make adjustments to keep improving.

I golf with several different people from all walks of life. Over time I see their games change: some for the better and some for the worse. In most cases the golfers who are NOT improving are trying to swing faster and are ruining the natural cadence of their swing. I’m hoping that the following summary of successful swing changes may help with your game.

Discoveries for Success
Massive Hook or Slice: Narrow your stance to reduce the power of your swing. [This golfer still uses a “strong” grip with his trailing hand, but his narrower stance reduced his power and creates amazing straight drives and fairway shots.
Miss-hit Drives: Slow down your backswing to allow more time for your weight transfer from your trailing foot to your front foot during your transition. [This golfer was hitting the ground 3 inches before his club topped the ball and added top spin which forced the ball to dive to the ground.]
Toe or Hosel Shots: Setup with your ball to the inside or outside of your club face to compensate for the clubs for each club where this is happening. [These golfers are swinging with bent arms where they miss-hit the face of their clubs.]
Miss-hit Fairway Shots: Avoid hitting off your trailing foot by setting up with your weight forward on your leading foot. [Irons are lighter and shorter clubs so it’s easy to swing them faster before your weight shift to your leading foot.]
Limited Power: Swing with a flat leading wrist (instead of cupping your wrist in the backswing) and make sure that you cock your wrist for lag so that you release creates a whooshing sound at the bottom of your swing. [A cupped wrist is adding slice to your swing.
Direction Control: Adjust your stance during setup. Some golfers start with a major open stance and some with a closed stance. Only you can sort out what will works best for your swing.

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