Golfing News & Blog Articles

I recently watched videos that reminded me of the 3 most important tips in golf. One tip is for your driving, one for your iron shots and one for your putting. Every hole that you play requires your instant focus on these 3 tips. Don’t start your next round without these thoughts.

The first 2 tips came from my favorite golf instructor, Danny Maude (just Google his name for a free site sign-up). His videos are excellent so I often use his video insights in my blogs.

1/ Impact Your Irons with a Forward Shaft Lean
Danny must be following my blogs as he is using the same mental cadence as I started using about a year ago. He mentally says “1 and 2” to allow for more time in his backswing to load his weight on his front foot during his transition. It just naturally happens if you don’t rush your swing at the top of your swing. It allows you to keep your head directly over your ball and to swing your irons with a forward shaft lean during your down swing.

The forward press of your hands during the downswing closes your club face and allows you to impact the ball with less loft angle and higher on the face of your iron (on the sweet spot).

2/ Power Your Drives UP with your Head Behind your Ball at Impact
Your driver has a limited loft because it is designed to impact your ball as the club head is arcing upward. That’s right, you are powering your ball with an upward trajectory as you push with your trailing foot to thrust the ball upward. Your head remains behind the ball at the point of impact.

If you have been following these blogs for many years you will know that I have shared my research for the best golf swings. I’m hoping that you will discover the best swing fixes for your games (and my game too). All of my suggestions are provided by professional golf trainers or by offering the tips from the pros. Unfortunately I have also discovered that swing methods and tips from the pros may NOT be ideal for Weekend Warriors.

What the Pros have that Weekend Warriors Don’t
1/ The pros are in top physical condition so they don’t change their swing to accommodate weak arms or bellies or legs. They use their strength to power every perfect swing.
2/ The pros use hours of daily training both on the course and in the gym to build their muscle strength and memory for the perfect swing.
3/ Every pro has a slightly different back swing but they all deliver the same downswing for their draw, fade and straight shots. The direction of their swing at impact and the club face direction at the point of impact are ALWAYS CONSISTENT. That’s why you need to focus on impact and follow-through more than any other component of your swing.

The speed and direction of your takeaway should be personalized to help your hips rotate and to help your arms generate a proper wrist lag at the top of your swing. It doesn’t matter how fast you complete your backswing as long as you are in position for the perfect downswing. Your stance, your grip, your takeaway direction and the speed of your backswing can all be personalized.

Customize Your Backswing for Your Body
Your personal strength and your physical injuries are preventing you from creating the perfect swing of a 21 year old PGA Professional. Don’t try to generate the power and distance expected from a younger pro. Accept your limitations and focus on the perfect downswing and impact to a balanced finish.

If you really want to improve your game, you need to track your successes and focus your efforts on what works for YOUR game. During your round of golf keep track of your performance. You should also keep a list of swing tips that are working for YOUR drives, fairway shots and putting. When you know what’s working for every type of shot you will build confidence in your game and the emotions that works best for your game.

Track Your Success and Failures
Focusing on what works for YOUR game will give you a fresh outlook at the start of every hole. To keep your mind focused on improvement at the end of each hole record your Fairways Hit in Regulation (mark “1” in the upper left corner of your score box); Greens in Regulations (“1” in the upper right) and Number of Putts (in the lower right) on each hole. Below your score box add any problems that may have increased your score: “R” for rough, “S” for sand, “C” for chip, “T” for tree and “W” for water. Of course your scores will drop if you have a full card of “1’s”.

List Your Success Factors — and use them! (This list will give you some ideas)

I can’t give you a solution for emotion because that is a very personal issue for every golfer. I can only remind you that your reaction to your last great shot or your last poor shot can destroy your next shot. Focus on being calm and relaxed before every shot to control your direction and distance.Wind in your face or wind behind you are both your enemies as they destroy your cadence. Slow down your backswing and take time to make your full swing to finish in balance.Eliminate Slices by taking your driver straight back, looping slightly at the top and shallowing your downswing so that your elbow almost grazes your side.Your driver is longer and takes more power to get down to your ball. Take double the time in your back swing as compared to your down swing. [I mentally say the words “one and two” where “two” starts the downswing.] You may also want to try opening your stance to make it easier to power drive up your target line.Use a Distance Finder to determine the distance where you want your ball to stop rolling. Get confident with the distance that each of your clubs can easily reach in flight and also how far your ball will roll out.Always swing with a full swing for any club above your wedges. Choke down on your grip when you want a shorter distance. Never swing 20% harder to reach a target or you should expect to pull your shot.Slow down your backswing to give more time to cock your wrist for lag before your downswing.Putt with your ball slightly forward of the center of your stance to ensure that you are forcing the ball to roll over the top (instead of hitting the ball into the ground so that it bounces on its way to the hole). [If you are missing 3 to 6 foot putts this is an amazing fix.]Feel Your Swing: This may sound strange but you will learn to “feel” your swing when you slow down your backswing and take full control of my downswing and the swing up my target line. You know when you have made the right swing the same way you know that pros twirl their club or drop their club at the finish of their swing.Sand Traps and Green-side Rough Shots are the most difficult shots for all golfers. Of course hitting the Green in Regulation avoids these shots. We all need to spend more time practicing different chipping techniques to improve our success in different grass and different sand conditions.

Yesterday I was 4 over par after 13 holes and then I lost my concentration or was it my MoJo ( or my real excuse: the humidity factor was 104 F). That’s exactly the reason why I decided to create this list. Plan to use this list or modify it for your personal list. Practice with GOLFSTR+ to get more consistent. Buy one today at www.GOLFSTR.com

Golf Truism #69: The shortest distance between any two points in a golf course is a straight line that passes directly through the center of a very large tree.

Watching The Open Championship I was drawn to the variety of golf swings by the leading contenders. It really did remind me that there is no such thing as a perfect golf swing. Each of the leaders have adopted a swing that works for themselves. That’s exactly the reason why you should try unique swing features that work for each of the top golf performers.

Luke Kerr-Dineen wrote an article about Marcel Siem (golfer from Germany) who lost his winning ways when he tried to copy Dustin Johnson’s dramatically bowed wrist at the top of his swing. Marcel was looking for more distance but he lost control of his direction. He recently changed back to a slightly cupped wrist to turn his game around and ended up tied 15th at The Open. Siem, who played his best golf with a cupped leading wrist and open clubface at the top of his backswing, similar to Webb Simpson, was trying to adopt something on the other end of the spectrum and it didn’t work. Referring to his attempted change to a bowed wrist at the top of his swing he said: “I was top 50 in the world…and lost my card. That was the worst decision I ever made in my life.”

Here is a list of changes that you may want to try:
1/ Slow Backswing: Hideki Matsuyama had a very slow backswing and has now been speeding it up to a more conventional backswing. The winner of The Open this year, Collin Morikawa, was the only player who starts his swing with a very slow takeaway and then speeds it up as his club travels to the transition. He seems to be searching for the perfect arm and body location before he accelerates to the top.

2/ Bowed Wrist: Dustin Johnson, Collin Morikawa, Viktor Hovland, Jon Rahm and even Jordan Spieth use different levels of a leading bowed wrist at the top of their swing. They all hold this bent wrist through the point of impact. They all use their hip and body rotation to square up the face of their club at the point of impact.

3/ Wide Takeway and Shallowing the Downswing from the Top: Rory McIlroy is not leading the field in wins but he has a beautiful style similar to Adam Scott. I prefer this swing as it stops you from coming over the top and slicing the ball. Jim McLean loves to teach this swing as you start to open your hip and then swing up the inside slot to hit the inside quadrant of your ball.

Over the past few months Jordan Spieth has reversed the winning drought that he experienced over the past few years. Every golfer experiences highs and lows in their games but when your game reaches the pinnacle of golf, you hope to continue to improve. Unfortunately Jordan informed the golf world that he was on a mission to improve his strength and the distance of his drives. That was the beginning of his 4 year golf drought. Prior to his 2021 victory at the Valero Texas Open he admitted that he had no idea where his next drive was going. That was the beginning of his golfing rebirth.

Cameron McCormick had been Jordan’s only coach from the age of 12. During Jordan’s effort to increase the distance of his drives he changed to a more vertical backswing. His driving distance may have increased but his direction control was lost. Cameron reformed Jordan’s swing by starting with the point of impact and working backwards. This focus must have helped Jordan mentally lock in his current consistent swing.

Jordan Calls his NEW SWING: “Turn and Burn”
-He changed to a lower takeaway plane with a 90 degree wrist lag near the start of his backswing.
-At the top of his swing his wrist is now slightly bowed.
-He starts his downswing with the rotation or “TURN” of his hip as he shallows his swing plane.
-As his arms drop to swing from the inside slot, his trailing elbow nearly grazes his side.
-The BURN is the acceleration of his down swing and release of his lag as he whips his club through the ball.
-He only thinks about his hip TURN followed by his downswing BURN. The shallowing of his swing plane is the major change that he added to his swing for better direction control.

I picked up this description from the TV commentary during The Open Championship as they praised Jordan for his success. [He must be controlling his draw or fade using a slightly open or closed face of his club but this was not described during the broadcast.] Jordan missed a few short putts but his driving and iron games were almost perfection as compared to his historic past 4 years of dismal results.

You can learn your straight leading arm swing and wrist lag as well as 4 other swing fixes by practicing with GOLFSTR+. Just make sure that you shallow your down swing as you start TURNING your hips. Buy one today at www.GOLFSTR.com

Do you realize that your mishits are fractions of an inch off of a perfect swing? The pros hire a team to find their weaknesses and to get themselves back on the road to success. Recreational golfers can take lessons and prey for success but I so often hear that a lesson has destroyed a friend’s golf game. So what should you be doing to take corrective action to become a WINNER?

The problem with the game of golf is that the slightest change in your emotions or your swing or the ground that you are standing on can destroy your next shot. A gust of wind can make you tighten up or swing faster. A slight slope on the ground can throw your ball left or right or create fat shots. A simple practice swing at your planned speed for your next shot can tell you a lot about your potential success. You need to find the keys for perfection in your drives, fairway shots, chipping and putting.

Every golfer has different strength and swing imperfections. What works for one person may not work for you but you need to sort out the simple tricks that will work for your swing.

Why Not Try the Success Found by other Golfers
1/ Longer Drives: Wilco Nienaber, one of the longest drivers on the PGA Tour, recently revealed his secret to hitting the ball 400+ yards. He changed to a 3/4 inch longer shaft and slowed down his backswing. He has a very straight arm in his backswing where his driver never reaches horizontal. Why fight a high speed backswing when you really want a high speed downswing.
2/ Sink More Putts: My wife was frustrated with her recent streak of poor putts. I told her that she must be putting down into the ball as her ball is bouncing off the ground at the point of impact. She ignored my suggestion (for about a year) to move the ball forward when putting until yesterday. She played 9 holes with the girls and shot a 40 with 6 pars. She was excited to tell me that she had moved her ball forward to a point off her leading heel. “You’re welcome.”
3/ Eliminate Slices: Take a wide backswing like Rory McIlroy and shallow your downswing so that your trailing elbow nearly grazes your rib cage. It will help you drive your shots straight up your target line.
4/ Consistent Hits: Eliminate extra angles by keeping your leading wrist flat in your straight arm backswing and your downswing.
5/ Stop Swinging for the Moon: Swing with a commitment to finish in balance. That will slow down your swing and improve your percentage of fairways and greens hit. Be happy with a 200+ yard drives and chose less lofted clubs with a lower swing speed to hit your target landing area.
6/ Matt Wolff has a pre-shot swing routine and a swing that just does not stand up to consistency. Don’t try it.
7/ Ben Hogan saw a unique move in one of Bobby Jones’ training films. He said that Bobby “shortened his left thumb to keep the club under control for repeatability during his backswing. He found that it works.” But not for me!

Practice your swing with every club for simplicity and excellence. Eliminate angles to take control of a golf swing that suits your mind and body. GOLFSTR+ is a great starting point to train your mind to minimize angles in your swing. Buy one today at www.GOLFSTR.com

Putting really is a crap shoot but the more you practice the luckier your will get. So how did John Rahm sink his 25 foot curving putts on the last 2 holes at the US Open? John gave credit to his new Odyssey Hot White putter but his putter also missed a number of other putts that week. When it comes down to putting success, every putter can sink every putt, if you choose the right line and swing with the right speed. So what should you do to sink more putts?

The professional tournaments are played on greens unlike anything that many of us will ever play. The surface of the greens for the 2021 US Open were setup with a 14 on the Stimpmeter (a ramp device used to measure the rolling speed of a golf ball on greens). Public courses are setup with about an 8 to a 10 on the Stimpmeter and Private courses are setup with anywhere from 9 to 13. I was fortunate enough to play on The Bears Club (a private Jack Nicklaus course) just prior to The Masters a few years ago, when that course was setup for the tour pros to play on greens with putting speeds like Augusta National Golf Club with a Stimpmeter of 14. Putting on those greens is like putting in another world. The pros have no choice but to adjust their swing rhythm to accommodate the speed of those greens.

What should you do to sink more putts on every course that you play?
1/ The Stimpmeter of greens is different on every course and it also changes during the day as the greens dry out with sun load during the time that it takes to play 18 holes. Even the pros suffer from the increased speeds of the greens as they approach the end of their round. They often second guess the speeds and end up hitting short of the hole as they try to reduce their putting speed. Don’t fall into this trap after you make a few surprising longer putts followed by putts that are short of the hole. Pay attention to the changing putting speed of the greens and adjust your swing accordingly.
2/ Practice Putting Greens: Never start a round of golf until your hit some long and short putts on the practice putting green. It should be setup to match the Stimpmeter speed of the greens on the course. Tune-up your putting speed before you start your round.
3/ Damage Near the Hole: Too many golfers destroy the roll of the green near the hole when they lean on their putter to bend down and remove their ball from the hole. A slight rise around the lip of the cup (caused by poor cup placement), is also a problem that will keep a weakly hit putt out of the hole. Firm putts (that can pass the hole by up to 2 feet) will have a much better chance of sinking.
4/ Slope at the Hole: Often the sadistic person who sets up the daily hole locations will place the hole on the edge of a slope. [It’s the only enjoyment they have as they think of the missed putts that they will cause.] If the hole is on a minor slope make sure that you choose a line closer to the hole and make a firm putt. If the hole is on a major slope, putt on a line above the hole with the perfect pace to die down into the hole.
5/ Long Putts are Lag Putts: Even the pros are happy to make 2 putts when they land a long way from the hole. Read the break and try to putt with a speed that will break down to the hole as it slows down.
6/ All Putts Break More Severely as they Slow Down: Putts slow down at the end of their journey as they near the hole so a firm putt will make less of a break as it passes the hole. Jack Nicklaus tried to let his putts die into the hole. He won a lot of tournaments doing that but you do have a better chance to sink a putt if you make firm putts which stay straighter as they pass the hole. Brooks Koepka sinks a lot of shorter pressure putts by BANGING them into the back of the hole.

It does not matter what putter you like to play with. They all sink putts. Get a putt that you like so that you can build confidence with it. Knowing that you can sink putts will allow you to sink more putts. Choose your target line and rock your shoulders to hit every putt on the center line of your putter face directly up your target line. Practice with GOLFSTR+ to keep your leading wrist flat (to control your direction). Buy one today at www.GOLFSTR.com

Golf Truism #66: If you really want to get better at golf, go back and take it up at a much earlier age.

I have always wondered why I occasionally shoot 10 strokes below my handicap index. Why can’t I just bottle that feeling and shoot under 80 in every round that I play. I finally discovered the reason while playing from the 5,400 yard tees instead of the 6,000 yard tees. As I age with less flexibility I should accept the fact that I just can’t generate the club head speed to keep up with the young bucks.

In a GOLF Blog written about Omar Uresti, a veteran PGA player, it stated that the biggest mistake golfers make as they age is that they try to compensate by swinging faster. Aging golfers lose distance as they lose their flexibility with every club in their bag. You need to accept that fact and age gracefully. When you try to compensate for your lack of flexibility and strength, you will tend to swing faster and lose control of your swing. Unfortunately the faster you try to swing the more slices and hooks you will create.

YOUR Mental Balance = Better Distance and Direction Control
I have also learned that there is a significant mental side to the equation for better golf. By selecting a club that you know can reach your target you can put your mind in a calm and relaxed state of mind that allows your body to swing with a relaxed backswing and downswing. Don’t try to fool yourself into believing that you can hit the same distance with each club that you planned to hit 10 or 20 years ago.

Change Your Mental Outlook to Avoid Over-swinging

Choose a club that you know will easily reach your target.Make a CONTROLLED practice swing with every club and grip down for shorter distances.If you land in the rough, take your medicine and get out safely with a lofted iron.Slowdown your backswing for time to cock your wrist and press forward over your ball.Let your hips and shoulders rotate in your backswing to the limit of your straight leading arm.Enjoy a smooth release through your ball to a balanced finish. Think of Ernie Els swing.Realize that most poor shots are caused by over-swinging or not accounting for sloped ground.For pitch shots within 100 yards open your stance and put more pressure on your leading foot to ensure that you impact the ball before the ground.Choose your target line for every putt and learn from your last missed putt.Putt confidently to pass the hole by up to 2 feet with less break. Short putts never go in.

Build Confidence As You Play
Ignore powerful younger players. If you swing within your physical capability you will hit more fairways and greens in regulation. As your confidence grows, your shots will be more consistent and you will chip better and sink more putts. A positive mental attitude breeds success in golf. Practice with GOLFSTR+ to learn to swing every club within your limitations. Buy one today at www.GOLFSTR.com

I loved reading a recent article about Brooks Koepka’s recent and past success at the US Open Tournaments. If you are hitting great shots where you focus on the right swing, your confidence and success will just grow. It’s easy for the pros to get this feeling but recreational players just look forward to hitting 2 or 3 perfect swings on every hole. Of course the mishits creep in but you will only shoot great rounds if you can forget about your last mishit and focus on your next great shot.

“The most important shot in golf is your next one.” Ben Hogan

That article highlighted 3 areas where Brooks picks up stokes on the field:
1/ Analyze each shot to understand where your best miss will be. (A long putt is much better than trying to hit out of a pond.)
2/ Brooks plays to avoid double bogies. (It’s OK to hit a sand trap but make sure that you next shot stays on the green.)
3/ He putts with confidence so his mid-length and short putts are firm and into the back of the cup. (Weak putts curl as they slow near the hole. Practice with enough speed to pass the hole by 2 feet and eliminate a lot of the break at the hole to sink more putts.)

The most important area of our games where we can easily drop more strokes is PUTTING. Most of us average 2 putts/hole or 36 putts/round. Unfortunately the rest of your game would have to be perfect to shoot a 72. Fat chance!

That’s exactly why I write so many blogs about putting. If you don’t have a confident putting grip and stroke you will never lower your scores. This week I received an interesting response from one of our followers from the West Coast of Australian (NSW), about a new putting grip that helped him win his club championship. Phil Parker has never putted better now that he is using his “Y Grip” Putting Stroke.

Putting is probably the most nerve racking thing that we do in a round of golf. The suspense builds as your playing partners hover around you and throw in comments like “don’t rush, we have plenty of time, this is really a fast green or don’t blow it like the last one.” Words of encouragement don’t help. So what should you be doing to get rid of your nervous tension?

I realized that I had to take stock of my putting thoughts yesterday after blowing a 4 foot, sloped putt for my 4th birdie of the day on the 18th hole. I was last to putt out and I heard the comment: “the pressure is on”. I took my time and lined up my putt after watching another missed putt which was almost on my line. I could not pull the trigger with a firm putt and ended up hitting the putt light and let it drift left of the hole. Bonkers!

Whatever grip and stance and putter you like to use, you need to practice your putting to sort out how to make a confident swing for every putt. I must admit that I am now somewhat successfully playing with 3 styles of putting for different distance putts:
1/ For Long Putts (over 15 feet) : I swing my putter through the ball and up my target line holding the putter only with my leading hand after I release my trailing hand at the point of impact. This is an excellent technique to swing your putter directly up your target line.

2/ For Mid-range Putts (5 to 15 feet): I use a conventional putting grip and rock my shoulders as I swinging up my target line.

3/ For Short Putts up to 5 feet: I use the same arm-lock grip that Kucher and DeChambeau are using BUT I BEND OVER MORE TO REACH DOWN MY CONVENTIONAL PUTTER. I grip down to the bottom of my grip so that the top end of my grip locks against my leading arm and stops any shaking of my putter during the putt. Make sure to practice this method to swing straight up your target line or you may pull your putts.

Even at the age of 50, the Master of the Short Game has proven that he can still win a major championship. We really should learn from Phil Mickelson’s success. He provided 3 short game tips in a recent blog which was released by SCGA (Southern California Golf Association). Following is the abbreviated version of their blog.

Knowing these tips will improve your game but you can’t expect to instantly excel like Phil. He started practicing as a young boy in his back yard. Starting early helps but countless hours of practice are needed to learn the precision that he has accomplished. Learning these 3 tips should speed up your learning curve.

Setup with Weight on Your Front Foot:
Successful chipping needs a sharp edged 60 degree wedge where you keep the leading edge down to lift the ball through impact. Setting up with your weight forward helps you impact the ball first with your downward strike. A shallow swing will end up blading your ball across the green.

Setup for a High or Low Chip
Consider what you are trying to do with your chip before you setup. A high chip over a sand trap or rough around the green with a pin close to the edge of the green, the ball needs to be placed off your front foot. A low chip which you are using for directional and distance control should be setup for hitting off your back foot. The ball should never be setup for a chip between your feet as you need to keep your weight forward to avoid hitting the ball thin or scooping the ball.

Setup with an Inverse Line
Your arm and the club must be setup with an inverse line where your trailing wrist is bent back. You need a slight forward press in your hands to get the club in the correct position for crisp contact. Setting up with this position will ensure that your leading edge will stay down.

Yes, I said thought, because your KEY thought is all that you have time to focus on. Your swing takes about 2 seconds so you don’t have time to control 20 thoughts. Your goal should be to remove the thought clutter out of your brain during your SETUP so that you can execute the perfect shot. You have plenty of time to organize your thoughts during your setup so spend that time wisely to clean up your brain for the 2 seconds that count.

I recently watched a swing simplification video by TopSpeedGolf. That video summarized the components of a swing that should create the perfect shot. It all comes down to choosing the right club and executing the swing path when you clear your brain for a simple swing. Review and practice the following check list to simplify your swing plan during your setup to make each shot with confidence.

1/ Center-Line Impact: The impact on your club face should be on the center line of your club face. This should not be a thought in your mind as you should have tested your impact point for each type of club (Driver, Woods and Irons). Your arms may stretch out for some of your clubs or your leading arm may never straighten out so you should setup knowing what to expect for each of your clubs. You should test all of your clubs by spraying Dr. Scholl’s Foot Powder on the face of your clubs to determine the ideal stance center impact on every club in your bag.

2/ Square Face at Impact: In general you want a square face at impact (or slightly closed for a draw or slightly open for a fade). You know what shot you are trying to hit so your grip and stance should be adjusted accordingly during your setup to make each shot. Your grip should be out of your mind during your swing.

3/ Driver Setup: You should be launching your ball in an upward trajectory so the ground level is not a concern in your mind. Slope your trailing shoulder down so that you will drive your ball upwards at about a 4 degree angle. The loft of your club will take care of the elevation of your ball.

Every pro that we see on TV has an amazing straight leading arm during their backswing and downswing. They depend on their straight arm for consistency and added power. So why is it that we also see some recreational golfers who consistently bend their leading arm and still play a pretty good game of golf?

I have been working on a straight leading arm swing for years. That’s why I developed GOLFSTR+. I needed a training aid that I could use during my practice rounds of golf as a constant reminder to keep my leading arm straight in the backswing.

Realizing that I had limited spine and shoulder rotation, I started using one of the Golf-Info-Guide exercises to train my body to rotate. I use my trailing arm to pull the elbow of my straight leading arm across my chest as I rotate my spine. It’s just a great stretching exercise. I still have limited overall rotation (due to age and upper body injuries) but my straight arm swing is crutial for consistent drives and fairway shots. It forces me to coil my upper body for a more powerful swing release.

My wife has a much worse problem with spine rotation as a result of a major auto accident. She almost wraps her leading arm around her neck and releases her arm with tremendous power for her driver. I have never tried to change her swing as her neck is fused and her drives are very consistent as she is able to straighten out her leading arm before impact with the ball.

Unfortunately she has lost the ability to straighten out her leading arm for her iron shots. Her lighter irons don’t extend her leading arm as easily as her driver so she is either hitting off her trailing leg (as she does not shift her weight to her leading leg) or she tips the ball off the toe of her club with her shortened bent leading arm.

It’s amazing to see how many putts the professionals sink. If you practice their techniques, you can putt with the same amazing precision and win more dough on the course. Pros work on (1) reading the break, (2) feeling the distance and (3) learning how to hit a straight putt up their target line. This blog is a summary of Andrew Tursky’s recent article covering the techniques used by Aaron Baddeley, one of the PGA Tour’s best putters of the last 20 years. [In 2004 Baddeley finished in the top-10 in the putting category ten times and he led the tour in 2015 which is nearly unmatched.]

“Poor putting tends to wear down the psyche of a golfer more than any other part of the game.” Aaron’s putting strategies and practice tips may be your gateway to success:
1) Just putt it: Baddeley’s approach is to allow his inner athlete take over, rather than doubts or concerns. “I just putt…I just try and hole it,” Baddeley says. “It sounds funny, but it’s like throwing a ball to first base.” He sees downhill putts gently falling over the front lip of the cup and on uphill putts he sees the ball going into the back of the cup. From there, he simply reacts to the speed he has in his mind.
Speed Drill 1: Find a putt with a good amount of break on your practice green, and place three balls down about 4-5 feet from the cup. Hit each putt with different speed; one fast, one slow, and one medium. Each putt will break differently, and over time, you’ll get comfortable controlling the speed needed for all 3 balls to tumble into the hole.
Speed Drill 2: The tee drill. Surround a practice hole with tees at around 5-6 feet, and go around the circle from tee-to-tee hitting putts at the cup. This helps simulate the different breaks of putts you’ll see on the course.

2) Setup the same way every time: The swing needs to be is exactly the same to hit the center of the face to create straight putts. Only the swing distance changes to compensate for distance. To ensure he sets up the same distance from the ball on every stroke, Baddeley uses his putter head to measure the distance from the golf ball to his feet. His sweet spot is 3.5 putter head lengths. At that distance, Baddeley has his eyes over the ball in the proper spot where he can make a free-flowing stroke. Measure your gap and check it (while your play) if your putts stop sinking.

3) “Measure” your aim: Baddeley says the most important part of putting is aiming the face properly at your starting line. Reading the putt correctly is only half the battle. Butch Harmon taught Baddeley to putt off the end of a ruler to get his putter face square. Setup a ruler about 10 feet from a hole and pointed directly at the hole on a dead straight putt. When you setup to the ball, check to see if the ruler looks like it is pointing left or right of your target? Hit putts to see what “square” really feels like.

Improve your putting by practicing to feel the break and to set up exactly the same way with a square putter face to hit up your target line. The GOLFSTR+ Training Aid is a great way to practice putting with your locked leading wrist and to build your confidence for your successful putting. By one today at www.GOLFSTR.com

Because you make about 36 putts on every round of golf, shouldn’t it be the easiest way to lower your scores. Lydia Ko won the Lotte Championship in Hawaii with drives that were 30 yards shorter than the longest drivers but averaged 4 putts less per round than the longest drivers. That is great inspiration and wake up call for recreational players. You need to apply a unique strategy for every putt specifically if its a lag, uphill, downhill and sidehill putt.

A great starting point is to practice making straight putts by swing straight up your putting line. Your ball position should be slightly forward of the center of your stance to ensure a top spin roll without any bounce. Putt by rocking your shoulders and locking your wrists to make a straight putt. The best putters use their brains. They determine the speed of greens by using the practice green before they play a round of golf. They get a feel for the speed of up-hill, down-hill and side-hill putts as they are tuning up their brains. They also use these strategies:

Chip or Lag Putt Close to the Hole
Your good approach shot to every green is the starting point for your first putt. Of course you want to minimize the length of your first putt but if you don’t have the skill to stop on a dime, plan for a safe landing area on or near the green (avoiding perimeter sand traps and extreme slopes). Improve your chipping skills and lag putting skills to get your ball within the 10 foot of the hole where you have a real chance to sink your putt.

Strategic Putting
You need a different strategy for uphill, downhill and side-hill putts. Walk around your putting line to determine the direction of the slope and the amount of slope. The best putters will make a firm putt to minimize the break as the ball reaches the hole (at its slowest speed where it will break the most). Remember that all putts that dies short of the hole never goes in so plan putting with enough speed to pass the hole.

Uphill Putts (Make a firm putt and expect less break.): When your putt is primarily uphill, looks for the side hill break and make sure to account for that break but your FIRM PUTT UPHILL will limit the side-hill break. Make sure that you are putting to pass the hole by up to 2 feet to MINIMIZE the side-hill break.

Too many golfers destroy their swing by starting their downswing with their arms and wrist release from the top of the swing. If you are one of these golfers you need to “FEEL” A NEW approach to your swing. You will never improve the consistency of your swing unless you commit to learning the correct way to swing. START YOUR DOWNSWING WITH YOUR LEADING KNEE AND YOUR LOWER BODY ROTATION.

As shocking as it may seem, your downswing STARTS WITH YOUR WEIGHT SHIFT TO YOUR LEADING LEG as your backswing reaches the transition from swinging up to down.

Because this is a new approach for your swing, you should learn this move at half the speed of you normal backswing. Remember that the change in direction from up to down is ZERO MILES PER HOUR. The transition of your club reaches a dead stopped at the top BUT YOUR LOWER BODY IS IN CONSTANT MOTION as you start your down swing with an EARLY LEADING KNEE BEND for a weight shift to your leading leg.

Your backswing and downswing must include:
1/ a rotation of your hips and shoulders to coil up your body for POWER and wrist cocking for lag at the top of your swing.
2/ a BEND IN YOUR LEADING KNEE for weight transfer to your leading leg during the transition at the top of your swing.
3/ a straight leading arm (and flat wrist) or a leading arm that will straighten out before the impact with your ball to keep a consistent distance to the ball for your setup and your point of impact.

How to Create Your Weight Transfer
1/ Weight transfer happens as your swing approaches the top of your backswing. YES, your body weight is shifting forward with the momentum of your backswing. It happens as you reach the transition point where you change club direction from up to down. Give yourself more time in your backswing to make this weight shift. Instead of using the UP and DOWN cadence of “1, 2”, mentally think the words “1 and 2”. Adding the word “and” to give you a little more time to bend your leading knee to shift your weight to your leading foot and cock your wrist to create lag at the top of your swing.

Are you missing short putts that you expected to sink? I recently discovered an immediate solution using any conventional putter. I have been practicing my short putts with a GOLFSTR+ to putt with a locked leading wrist. That practice improved my confidence to putt with a locked wrist but using GOLFSTR+ during any competitive rounds of golf is PROHIBITED.

BINGO!!! I have now discovered a way to use my existing putter to lock my leading wrist and solve my problem with shaking, nervous hands for short putts under 6 feet.

I got this idea when I noticed Bryson DeChambeau, Webb Simpson, Bernhard Langer and Matt Kutcher using an ARM-LOCK TECHNIQUE with longer putter handles pressed against the underside of their leading forearm. I have seen the method used for some time but when the up and coming Will Zalatoris used this technique to win runner up at The Masters, I realized that shaky hands and wrists could be a problem for most golfers, young and old.

Solution
For my short putts under 6 feet I have now improved my putting by gripping down on my putter handle with both hands at the same level and allowing the extended putter grip to press against my forearm. To do this with my standard putter I just have to bend over a little further at my waist. I almost bend over like Michelle Wei West in her table-top putting stance. The good news is that if I choose a putting line, I definitely hit that line.

I just putt with a normal shoulder rocking motion to swing my putter directly up my chosen line. Shaking hands and wrists are no longer a problem. Now that I have more confidence I am hitting more firm putts to ensure that I have enough speed to pass the hole and limit the brake as the putt slows down near the hole. Short putts never go in.

If you have made par or birdie on a hole, what’s stopping you from doing the same on every hole that you play?  Your swing must have been perfect for the successful holes that you played in the past so what is holding you back for your future successes in golf.  As it turns out, it’s all in your MIND.

There have been some amazing wins and accomplishments from new and also past winners in recent tournaments.   Why are these golfers suddenly re-surging?  I started thinking about this when Sean Foley brought Lydia Ko’s golf career back to life.

Sean Foley (Certified PGA Trainer for Tiger and Lydia Ko) shared an emotional Instagram, praising Lydia for her first tour victory in 3 years.  His primary focus on training Lydia was to build confidence from her past successes.  He recognized that she just had to find and release the game that he knew was within.  He helped her understand that she had performed well in the past so her skill and attitude was already in her mind and body. All that he did was to give her the conviction to let it re-emerge. 

These are a few of the recent golfers who changed their mental focus into success (in addition to Hideki Matsuyama).

1/ Stewart Cink winning RBC Heritage at Hilton Head by 3 shots at the age of 47.  He focused on a hole by hole game plan each night before each round with his son who happened to also be his caddy.  He said that it cleared his vision and his ability to make the shots that he wanted.

Every golfer has a certain skill level based on the time that you have golfed and the amount of training and practice you have put into the game. You have improved your game by adjusting the clubs that you use and the balls that you prefer. At this stage in your game you have hit perfect shots with every club in your bag and you know that wonderful feeling of executing perfect shots. So why do you still mishit a percentage of shots?

Each type of shot requires a different set of skills. Putting is the easiest skill but it is the most difficult to perfect. You have to learn to read every green based on the speed of the green to estimate a line for your putt and the power required to at least reach the hole. An approach shot to the green requires the skill to choose the right club and power for your swing to get your ball to stop on the green near the hole. The easiest shot should be a tee shot on a par 4 or par 5 where distance is your preference because you only need to land your ball on the fairway in preparation for your next shot.

Personal Pressure Causes Mishits
So why is it that you still mishit tee shots as well as every other shot that you have made a hundred times? You are actually putting pressure on yourself to control your shots and to hit longer shots. You can only blame yourself for that pressure to make the perfect shot. You need solutions to minimize that pressure!

How Do YOU Minimize Mental Pressure?
1/ Practice Builds Confidence: If your driver is not working, get fitted for a club that works for your swing speed. Over the years I have changed from a stiff to a regular and now to a senior shaft. When your speed and strength goes, you need to let the whip of your shaft do the work.
2/ Take Pressure Off: Don’t go for the hero shot. Use a less lofted club and swing at 80% for better direction and distance control. Restrict your backswing as your bent arm backswing is not helping you. Learn to swing with a straight leading arm as you coil your body for more power. GOLFSTR+ is a great training aid to help you cure this problem.
3/ Choose a Club That you Know Will Reach Your Target. Don’t choose a club that you know can only reach your target 25% of the time. It’s better to swing at 80% and choke down on a club to ensure that you can reach your target.
4/ Take an Unplayable. When you know your swing or shot is obstructed take a stroke penalty for a 2 club relief. It’s much better than hitting into more trouble or burying your next shot in a bush. [On day #4 at the Masters, Billy Horschel hit into Rae’s Creek and lost 2 strokes before he used an unplayable to escape. It was an expensive 8.]
5/ Expect More Rollout on a Green. When hitting any club into a green plan for extra rollout. It’s far better to stay on the green than to roll off the back.
6/ Layup When the Green Won’t Hold Your Shot: Hit to a good entry point if you know that your long iron will not check up on that green.

Knowing what to do and doing it are 2 different things. You can’t change your mind after you make the shot so why not play it safe and avoid the high numbers on any hole. Build confidence by practicing with your GOLFSTR+ and save more strokes. Buy one today at www.GOLFSTR.com

We have all struggled with the bunker shots, especially when we are playing in a match where every stroke counts. A messed up shot on a fairway is a pain but 2 or 3 attempts to get out of a bunker is a real disaster. We all land in bunkers so wouldn’t it be fantastic if we knew that we could get out in our first attempt?

I was excited to watch a friend escape a bunk with a perfect swing. She had taken a lesson from a PGA Certified Instructor who showed her the ideal bunker shot:

1/ Using your sand wedge setup with an open stance and the ball in the center of your stance and weight slightly forward (on your leading foot).
2/ Wiggle your feet down about an inch into the sand for stability and to lower your swing depth in the sand.
3/ Open your club face so that the face points almost straight up from the sand (depending on the distance that you want your ball to fly). You still need to make a three-quarter to full swing and finish your follow-through.
4/ KEY POINT: Imagine a quarter placed in the sand beyond your ball. Your goal is to launch your ball, the imaginary quarter and sand on to the green. Depending on the distance you want to fly your ball take a three-quarter swing to power the head of your sand wedge under your ball and LAUNCH YOUR BALL & SAND (about 3 to 5 inches) BEYOND THE BALL ONTO THE GREEN.

Unfortunately after working on this method I was still leave about 30% of my bunker shots in the bunker.
Amazing Discovery
I discovered that if I STARE AT A SPOT IN THE SAND ABOUT 1 INCH BEYOND THE BALL DURING MY SWING I can now make most of my bunker shots. I have never heard a pro recommend this trick. If I want to land my ball further across the green, I just focus on a spot about 2 or 4 inches beyond my ball.

After you try this revolutionary method out, I hope to hear from you. I realize that it’s difficult to change your focus from your ball to a point in the sand beyond your ball. Just drop a number of balls in a practice trap and feel the thrill of success before you take this trick to the course. Start enjoying your bunker play forever.