Golfing News & Blog Articles

I know there are many golfers out there who struggle with staying on their back foot for too long. If you feel you have a hard time getting onto the front foot in the downswing then give this video a watch…

If the club face is overly open throughout the swing we will often have a tendency to hang back as this aids in closing the face late in the downswing. Shifting onto the front side will actually SLOW the closing of the face and an open face in the downswing needs that process sped up. That’s why the first objective for any golfer that hangs back should be to strengthen the face in the downswing.

 Once you have a stronger club face on the way down you should take the Scottie Scheffler Shuffle Challenge. Work to get your pelvis driving forward enough to drag that trail foot at some point in the downswing. Have some fun with this one and if you happen to hit a few shanks as you work to do this – the club face is still too open. Give it a go.

When hitting shots with the ball on the ground it is simply imperative that we lean the shaft towards the target at impact in order to expose the sweet spot to the back of the golf ball. After watching this video you will know exactly why…

As you can now see if you’re not leaning the shaft it isn’t possible to hit the ball out the center of the face. Leaning the shaft and delivering the clubhead in a slightly descending fashion gives us the best opportunity to compress the ball and deliver maximum energy transfer. A leaning shaft at impact gives us:

a delofted club face, thus improving ball speed and distance.

a sweet spot that can now collide with the golf ball.

increased ability to hit down on the ball, thus improving strike quality.

This article is an update on the many pitching and chipping articles I've written over the last few years. Not much has changed since I did the Wedge Project video, but there are certain elements I have a deeper understanding about. Experience and the smart guys at PING have gone a long way towards advancing my understanding. Let's take a look...

Discussing pitching at a Three Day Golf School

Great pitchers typically take little to no divot, flight the ball low and generate high spin rates

Lower trajectory shots are significantly easier to gauge than higher ones

When struck correctly lower trajectory wedge shots will almost always have more spin than higher shots

In the following video Andrew shares information on the most common fault he sees with the everyday golfer - an open or weak club face and the effect this one element can have on ball flight and striking.

I have no doubt that the club face angle, in particular in the early downswing, is an integral element to playing good golf. All golfers need to get the face in place in the downswing in order to be able to make a quality strike and manage the face angle for accurate outcomes.

When the club face is overly weak/open:

The weight will typically stay back as the pivot stalls

The handle will be too far back at impact, resulting in high and weak shots

The two most common mistakes I see golfers battle with when chipping are poor pace; the club head travels in a jerky fashion or at speeds that are often too fast for the requirements of the shot and they struggle to get the club to bottom out in the correct location relative to the ball. Pace and low point! Watch the video below and then let’s check in on some of the key points…

Here are a few points to take away:

Pace

Feel an even, ‘tick, tock” type pace as you swing the club back and forth

A good practice is to hit a few simple chip shots with a 7 iron. This will give you an excellent sense of what the pace should feel like

I teach far more golfers that hit down on the ball too much more than those that don't hit down enough. If you are one of those golfers that typically takes big divots and hits a low ball flight then stay with me....

I have found this sequence to work nicely with all golfers looking to shallow their attack angle and improve the crispness of the strike. Try the following (with either irons or driver):

PHASE 1 - 5 drags over the top of the ball

PHASE 2 - 5 low to high pitch style shots, keeping clubhead low in the backswing

PHASE 3 - 5 half speed and half size swings sensing an ascending strike (even with irons)

Wyndham Clark won his first major championship on Sunday, shooting a final-round 70 to finish at 10-under-par for the tournament and hold off four-time major champion Rory McIlroy by one shot. The victory was a surprise for many, as Clark had never finished better than 75th in a major championship and had missed the cut in his previous two U.S. Opens. But Clark played steady golf all week, and hit some key shots down the stretch to hold off Rory. The difference to me was the 14th hole, where Wyndham hit a 280 yard second shot to 20 feet and Rory hit his 125 yard third shot into a bunker.

LACC started the week off in controversial fashion with two players shooting major championship record tying 62’s along with a host of other low scores, but redeemed herself as a solid US Open venue with some more moderate scoring over the last few days. It was however, the lowest scoring average in US Open history with 71.16. I have never played there, but despite a few negative player reviews, I liked the look and setup of the course for the week. I would have liked to see the short 15th play around 120 yards long on Saturday instead of the very short 80 yard shot they had it set up for.

Rory was so close, yet again! On Sunday he hit more greens than any other player yet turned in his worst putting performance of the week, losing 2.25 strokes to the field. Here are his strokes gained putting stats by round:

1st: +2.74 2nd: +1.89 3rd: -1.19 4th: -2.25

In a disturbing trend he seems to hit the ball well, yet perhaps rather conservatively, on major Sundays and putt poorly. The longest putt he converted in his final 22 holes was a 7 foot putt for par on the 16th on Sunday. It pretty much was St. Andrews all over again!

We al know that the ball doesn’t travel as far when it’s cold and it seems to go a little farther when it’s really hot, but how much influence will temperature have on my carry distance?

Golf is a sport that requires skill, technique, and precision. One of the factors that can affect distance is temperature. Temperature can have a significant impact on the distance a golf ball will travel, as it can affect the ball's flight characteristics along with the golfer's swing mechanics. In this post, we will explore the effects of temperature on ball flight only. We don’t delve into the affect that all the extra clothing you’re wearing because it’s so cold will have on your ability to swing. This is only the effect of temperature on ball flight, not on our ability to swing the club normally when it’s either cold or hot.

Here is a chart that I created with the help of the engineers at PING. It’s super simple and easy to remember - just the way I like it!

Temperature Data:

Most of our club carry distances are acquired in temperatures close to 75º F (24º C)

This is my 4th version of a wind formula and for this one I recruited Chris Broadie, engineer with PING, for his insights and ability to model shots in windy conditions. Please note that we did not merely come up with an idea and throw it out there. We both put a fair amount of our expertise and understanding into this. I hope you take the time to watch this video and learn from the formula…

Wind Data:

 Gauge the wind by deciding if it’s 5, 10, 15 or 20mph. There is no need to be overly specific. Practice with an anemometer/wind meter will help calibrate the accuracy of how you gauge the wind. I use this model from Kestrel which I purchased on Amazon. Most golfers typically overestimate wind mph, but a quick weather app check will often serve as a good guide.

Headwinds: the mph of wind will be the yards to add to distance. For example, 10mph of wind adds 10 yards to the distance the shot will play.

Tailwinds: take half the mph of wind and make it the yards of distance to subtract. For example, 10mph of wind will subtract 5 yards from the distance the shot will play.

Speed is king when it comes to putting and far too many golfers are wasting time and effort on trying to get the perfect read and line. Please watch the full 52 seconds of the following video for my full explanation…

The average PGA Tour golfer makes 1.5 putts from beyond 20 feet per tournament! Please read that stat again. They hardly make any longer putts and, unfortunately, neither do we. Of course we all make some, but let’s keep it real. When one goes in from the depths, celebrate and enjoy the moment. The key for most of us is to deliver the appropriate speed into the ball with a “good enough” idea pertaining to the line of the putt.

Putting Pact:

For all putts outside 15 feet I will simplify my green reading by selecting one of the five possible options: Straight; slight right to left or left to right; and big right to left or left to right.

We don’t need perfection when it comes to green reading as very few golfers actually start their ball on the intended line, but we do need speed and distance control when faced with these longer putts. My thinking here is that if we can mentally clear the way for more attention dedicated to the speed we will experience fewer three putts and be happier golfers…. and people!

If 2023 is going to be the year where you start compressing the golf ball with some sizzle and penetration off the club face then it’s time to get to work on that pesky little chicken wing you see at impact and beyond in your golf swing. It will take some time, but with a clear picture and a few solid practice sessions it can be done. Here’s how…

The two key areas are as follows:

The club face is invariably the culprit here and its almost always overly weak or open. Practice the “pump drill” demonstrated in the video where you really exaggerate how closed you’re getting the club face. Yes, you’ll hit a few shots to the draw/hook end of the spectrum, but just the same way you learned to hit it “straight” with an open face, is how you’ll learn to hit it straight with a more neutral face.

Let’s get DIRECT with this drill and make sure the lead arm stays extended. Keep in mind - face first and then the 9-3 drill demonstrated in the video. Use a 7 iron and keep the drill smaller than you might think. No need to hit it hard just yet. Please make sure that both arms are still extended as things come to a halt after the strike.

I know that if you commit to these two ideas you will not only improve the quality of your ball striking, but you’ll also get rid of the infamous golf swing chicken wing.

I encounter many golfers who are unconsciously trying to manipulate the club face through impact in an attempt to keep the face square and the ball on line. They have a sense that holding the face off will somehow keep it square through impact. I get it, but the message I’d like all to get from this article today is that holding off when it is not required simply doesn’t work. In fact, I’m of the opinion that holding the face off actually decreases the golfer’s ability to control the face angle at impact. Watch this for a better understanding…

Here are a few notes to take away:

In the downswing the club face is always closing relative to the target. This is purely a function of the rotation inherent to the swing.

The release starts long before impact and is strongly influenced by the face angle in the early part of the downswing. An open face will encourage an early release, while a closed face will delay the release.

The lead wrist goes from flexion (bowed) to extension (cupped), while the trail wrist does just the opposite, just the same as if you were throwing a frisbee with your lead hand and a ball with your trail hand.

There are so many ways I see that golfers can improve without ever going to the range, or gym, or without having to take a lesson. Better understanding and decision making is the low hanging fruit for improved performance and scoring. As a result I came up with my five part, strategy cheat sheet quite a while ago. Here you go….

The Five Yard Pact

Five yards is fifteen feet. If you hit any full swing shot to that distance from the hole, you’ve done nicely. My pact is simple. If you have a front pin, try to hit your shot 5 yards long. If you have a back pin, try to hit your approach 5 yards short, and the same goes for left and right pins. The only time the Pact is off is if there is a center pin and there are no “major” hazards around the green. However, if the pin is centered and there is a water hazard on the left edge of the green the Pact kicks in and you must plan for 5 yards right of the centered pin. Make sense?

You might wonder why you need the Five Yard Pact? These are some of the best players in the world trying to keep their golf ball between the left bunkers and the water on the 17th hole in the 2021 PGA Championship. Any more questions?
Stick to One Shot Shape

Yes, we all like to think that we can work the ball both ways, but all the data shows that we are “less good” at our atypical pattern than our regular shape. Play one shape on every tee and on every approach, unless you have an obstacle in your direct path. Moral of the story - dance with who ya brung and work on improving or upgrading your typical pattern on the range.

While it’s not the bane of every golfer, slicing or ‘large fades’, certainly taunt the vast majority of golfers out there. If you commit to the following simple steps to help you overcome your nemesis I can guarantee you’ll no longer have a problem. Watch this short video…

The keys are:

Get that club face as closed as you can possibly get for every ‘frame’ of your golf swing. That doesn’t mean you need a stronger grip, but I’m sure you need better wrist conditions in order to close that face down for the whole ride.

Once you’ve got the face closed, now keep the body closed throughout the downswing. Feel like your back is to the target and it’s going to stay that way for the entire downswing.

Glide! Glide on over to the front foot with some lateral weight shift. Make a positive effort to get your mass over to that front foot in the downswing - without unwinding or opening up.

My role as a golf coach is often to help my students neutralize the manner in which they deliver the club to the golf ball. I might help them with less slice, longer shots or simply a higher or lower ball flight. Today’s lesson will give a simple assist to any golfer looking to improve the trajectory of their shots. Whether you’re looking to hit the ball higher or lower the following video will help. Watch….

For a lower ball flight:

Hold the club in your lead hand and elevate the lead wrist

Place the trail hand on the club so that it is less ‘on top’ and more ‘alongside’ the grip

Have a sense throughout the swing that the club face is stronger and more downward

I have been blessed to teach several hundred golfers each year for the last six or so years in a Golf School setting and as a result I’ve learned a tremendous amount about how any golfer can make the most of this special ‘golf education and vacation’ experience.

Beyond the basics of sunblock, a big hat, finger tape and lots of hydration, my intent with this article is to share a few ideas and concepts you may not consider as you prepare for your school. Some people do this, but most don’t. I feel that we could all benefit from this approach…

Write down five important notes or objectives that you feel your coach should be aware of. This will serve as your list of the things you hope to upgrade during your time together.

Manage your expectations. You will not be a scratch golfer at the end of the school, but you will certainly have the necessary tools to start making improvements in the upcoming weeks. Remember that frustration is the product of unreal expectations!

Don’t come flying out of the gate on the opening day and burn yourself out. Pace yourself. This is going to be an environment where you will most likely hit more golf balls than you’ve ever hit in a two or three day period, so take it easy. You will get the job done!

Move the upper body up through impact when chipping. Wow! This idea is relatively new to golf instruction and very new to most golfers. Far too many everyday golfers are doing their utmost to stay down through the strike as the clubhead approaches the ball. Staying down only stalls rotation and forces the arms to collapse. Please don’t do that!

Please watch the above video a few times and really pay attention to what the chest and upper body are doing as the club gets close to impact. Ideally I’d like to move up more as I know all of the following great golfers do this: Stricker, Woods, Ballesteros, Spieth, Day, Na and Zalatoris. Quite a handy line-up there if you were building a team of world-class chippers!

Know that as you experiment and try to implement this into your chipping motion it will feel strange and you’ll never be moving up as much as it feels like you are. Have a friend take a video and keep chipping away - you too can be like the Jeffersons and move on up.

Have fun with this idea and please give it a try. I’d love to hear from you how it worked out for you.

To learn more about how to wield your wedges around the greens check out my Wedge Project HERE

This is a fairly straightforward drill that will activate the trail side in the downswing and reduce any “tipping” tendency that might get the clubhead stuck behind the golfer. If you struggle with thins, and fats in tandem with blocks and hooks, then this is one for you to try.

A few points to note:

This drill works nicely with a 7 or 8 iron struck off a low tee.

Keep the stance fairly narrow and drop the trail foot back about a foot inside where you’d normally place it.

Rehearse and then rehearse again. Remember that as you practice this you’re trying to make technical changes, so go slowly and get it right….every time!

Most of us should be working towards better rotation through impact. One of the biggest differences I see between the everyday golfer and the pros is the amount of hip rotation that has occurred at impact. What I call the “two cheek” impact position where both butt cheeks are visible from down the line at impact. This drill will help! Take a look…

Notes:

Grab an 8 or 9 iron and set up to the ball which initially should be on a tee.

Wind about halfway back into the backswing and pump down to where the shaft is approximately parallel to the ground. Here you should feel your chest and hips as open as you can possibly get them.

After a few rehearsals give the ball a light hit and slowly build up speed while incorporating this sense into full speed swings.

It has been incredible to watch my students work this concept into their golf swing and witness how much better they start to strike the golf ball. It’s ball first, crisp contact where the compression improves almost immediately. If you struggle with thins, scrappy heavy hits and even some blocks and hooks then this thought is a good one for you to try. As always there is a video coming, but today I’m going to lead off with what I’d like you to feel….

As you get to the top of your backswing your lead/front side is lower than the trail side. In transition I want you to keep the lead side low for as long as possible into the downswing

Feel like you’re “surfing down the wave” into the golf ball

Work against drifting the upper body in front of the ball. There should be no upper body sway as you start down

While the lead side will elevate at impact, strive to keep that front shoulder staying as low as possible