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.
Warmup the rotation in your backswing. Use your trailing arm to hold the stretch on your straight leading arm. Your hips, arms and wrists should feel this stretch in every swing too.
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.”