Putting Drills – Lowers Your Golf Score

Developing putting drills that work is one of the fastest ways to lower your score. Many golfers lose a significant number of strokes once they get onto the green. By utilizing putting drills, you can learn to get the ball into the hole in fewer strokes.

Any seasoned golfer will tell you that the short game can be stroke-hungry, and that what happens on the green can wreak havoc on an otherwise good score. 3-putts, 4-putts, and even 5-putts are more common than you might think—but there is good news. Putting drills can dramatically help golfers hone their skills on the green, resulting in fewer total strokes.

When it comes to putting drills, spend time concentrating on the three essentials:

Keeping the face square

Maintaining a smooth swing

Achieving distance control

Keeping the Face Square – putting drill:

If you are in the habit of hitting the ball with your blade open or closed, try this:

Place a ball on the practice green and put a tee in the ground about twelve inches behind the ball. Put a silver coin on the ground about six inches in front of the ball. Bring your putter back until it taps the tee and then swing it forward, watching to ensure that the face stays square as it passes over the coin.

Maintaining a Smooth Swing

Putting drills should have a specific purpose and specific goal. With this next tip, you can learn to swing the club smoothly, which is key to maintaining your tempo and striking the ball solidly.

Again, place a ball on the practice green and stick a tee into the ground about 12 inches behind the ball. Bring the club back until it just barely nicks the tee and then immediately go into your fore-swing.

Keep your arms moving in a pendulum fashion and keep your hands still.

Achieving distance control – putting drill:

One of the most crucial putting drills is learning distance control. The only way to master distance control is through your own touch or feel. Nothing else can replace hands-on practice time when it comes to honing your skills on the green.

There are dozens of practice exercises for distance control, but one of the best is to simply stake out five tees, four feet apart, with the last tee being 20 feet away. Then, concentrate on getting the ball to each of the tees consistently.

If the ball rolls a few inches past the tee, that’s fine. What you don’t want to see is the ball stopping short of or rolling well beyond the target tee.

Notice that you are not aiming at a flag or a cup with this exercise, as this could distract you and cause you to focus more on accuracy than distance. While it’s true that distance and accuracy must work together, there are times when they should not be learned together.

These are only a few of the many putting drills that are available from golf pros and golfing websites. To master your skill on the green, you will need to invest time and energy. Learn to read the green and how to lag a putt, but most of all, learn to love putting drills. They really do work.

For more tips on lowering your score read this post on how to learn to hit the golf ball straight.

Golf Short Game Tips – Chipping Practice Lowers Golf Scores

All golfers know the short game is important. Here are some great golf chipping tips to help you improve your short game.

Let’s begin with the disclaimer that there are many types of chips you can make when you get close to the green. In other words, there is no single approved method for getting the ball closer to the hole. The effectiveness of your chipping will depend on the lie you have, the length of the grass, how far you are from the hole, and the condition of the green.

Short Game Practice Drills for Chipping and Pitching:

This shot is played when you are close to green but not on it. Generally, you play it with either your nine-iron or any wedge you are comfortable using. The rule of thumb is that a good chip will fly about 1/3 of the way to the cup and then roll the rest of the way. This shot should be played in the center of your stance with your hands well ahead of the ball and the club face square.

As we proceed with our golf chipping tips, we’ll take a look at the soft shot. This type of shot allows the ball to fly farther and land softly close to (and hopefully rolling into) the cup. The most common club used for a soft chip shot is the lob wedge, but the sand wedge can also be used.

For the soft shot, you should address the ball with your club face open a bit. Play the ball forward and keep your hands behind it during the swing. It is imperative that you learn to accelerate the club head for this shot. When performed correctly, the ball will fly high for a short distance and then land softly and roll just a little.

When to hit a high chip shot or a low chip shot in your short game:

If there is a lot of green between you and the hole, you might try the low chip shot. This shot is normally done with a mid-iron, such as the six- or seven-iron. You must play the ball toward the back of your stance to get the descending type of impact you need. Again, keep your hands ahead of the club head and the club face square to the target.

This shot creates the most roll once the ball lands on the green, and is good to use when you can aim right at the hole but are worried about going too far past it. This can occur if a sand trap or water hazard is close to the rear side of the hole.

Above all, the best golf chipping tip you can get is to practice by regularly using all of your chip clubs, from mid-irons to wedges. Each requires its own setup and swing, and the only way to master all of these options is to get to the range and put them to work.

Start with the standard shot and move on to the soft shot, the two shots you will use the most on any given day. Once you have these mastered, move on to the low shot. This may take more time to learn than the others, but it is well worth the investment.

By putting these golf chipping tips to work for you, you can begin to master your short game and achieve a lower score, time after time. Be patient, and keep practicing.

Want to add yards to every golf shot, read this post.

Process to Correcting a Slice – Golf Slice Swing Correction Tips

Like any golf strategy, correcting a slice is a process. By working your way through the possible culprits, you will eventually find the cause of your problem. Here are some time-tested tips on correcting a slice.

Although there are countless issues that can lead to slicing the ball, some are more common than others. One of the most frequent causes happens during address.

Most golfers prefer a square stance at address, where the feet, hips, and shoulders are in line with the target. If you move your left foot too far forward, the club face is likely to open at impact and the ball will fly to the right. The left foot should be directly under the left shoulder.

The same holds true for the shoulders and hips. If they are not square, the ball will not fly straight and true.

Your Grip is Key in Correcting a Slice:

The next step is correcting the grip. Many newer players grasp the club too tightly, which can cause the club head to open as it strikes the ball. Again, this will make the ball fly to the right. If the grip is too loose, the head will wobble at impact and that, too, can lead to slicing or hooking.

Along with tightness, your grip on the club should be neutral. Check your grip by looking down at it. You should be able to see two or three of your left-hand knuckles. If you cannot see any knuckles at all, this is a sign of an improper grip. As your hands come back into the hitting zone, they will rotate to a neutral position, causing the face to open.

Rotate your hands—not the club, just your hands—until you see a couple of knuckles. Try hitting a few balls using this new grip. Keep in mind that minor adjustments to your grip can go a long way. Keep working at it until you discover the right position for you. Once you have it, remember it!

Tempo, Do this and Correct Your Slice:

When correcting a slice, swing tempo is important. Many golfers have a tendency to try to use their arms as their power source to get some extra yards, but this almost never works. Once they get to the top of their backswing, they allow their hands to take over and lead the downswing. As the hands come down, with everything else following, the club face will almost undoubtedly open.

From start to finish, your swing should be smooth and relaxed. Avoid the temptation to jerk the club once you get to the top of your back swing. Let your hips start the downswing and everything else will follow.

Take a Look at Your Divot, Learn to Notice a Slice Divot:

Another useful tip to correct your slice is to look at your divot. If your divot is pointing too far to the right, this may be your problem. Again, check your posture at address and make sure your feet, hips, and shoulders are in line with the target.

Above all, correcting a slice is a matter of finding the one or two things you are doing wrong and fixing them. This, of course, takes time and patience. If you work through the possible causes, you will eventually find the solution, and your enjoyment of the game will soar to new levels.

More tips on hitting the ball straight in this post.

Hitting Fat – Try these tips

A golf swing problem that is as common as a slice is hitting the golf ball fat, and it can be just as frustrating. As with all golf swing procedure, once you know what you are doing wrong, you can begin working on correcting it.

When trying to correct this problem, get a golfing buddy if possible to watch your swing, and ask him or her to be on the lookout for the items discussed below.

Do You Drop Your Shoulder when Hitting the Golf Ball Fat:

The most common problem with hitting the ball fat is dropping your shoulder. This is the one that is farthest away from the target or back shoulder: right shoulder for right-handed golfers, left shoulder for left-handed golfers.

When your rear shoulder drops, the club hits the ground before it should, resulting in a nasty shot. More often than not, hitting the ball fat happens when a player tries to swing excessively hard, causing the downswing to start with a lot of hip motion.

As an example, try this effortless exercise. Take a club and assume your standard address. Bring the club up to the very top of your back swing and stop. With the golf club is at the top, shift your hip toward the target area, horizontally, and notice what happens to your back shoulder. It’s as expected dips down too!

If your friend is around, do this exercise over again, bit by bit, and ask him or her to observe your hips and shoulder and see if your shoulder dips. If so, you’ve possible found the cause of the trouble.

To right this issue, you have to learn how to use your lower body appropriately during the swing. Your hips need to twist, but don’t allow them to move. A straight forward way to make this happen is to concentrate on starting the downswing with your arms, and your hips will naturally follow.

Practice and Watch Your Shoulder on Your Back Swing:

Another good practice is to focus on keeping your forward shoulder down. During practice shots, your body will get the message. Always take into account to keep your forward arm straight as you go into your back swing. When you get to the top, think “down” for your forward shoulder, and then move into your downswing. Your hips will uncoil, but do not allow them to move laterally.

The ideas presented here are easy enough to apply, but they require some time spent practicing and experimenting. The practice range is the best place to do this, also if you do not have a buddy available, you might be able to find someone to observe your swing.

As you work on this fix, remember to go through all of your clubs, not just the driver. Striking the ball fat can occur with any club, and you need to practice with each one to truly master a solid, crisp ball strike. Many players favor to start with the short irons and work their way up when learning a new skill set.

Fatigue and Sore Muscles Can Cause Hitting the Golf Ball Fat:

I am sure that you have been on the back nine and playing well when you go to hit that 180 yard approach shot to the green and thud you take out a big divot behind the golf ball. This could be from fatigue. I have found that a great way to prevent this is with a good muscle pain relief gel like AMR-7. AMR-7 is a specially formulated menthol based gel that is cool to touch and immediately provides a relaxing and soothing relief form sore muscles. For me it also prevents muscle spasms on the back nine.