Tag: Distance Control

How to Chip in Golf

How to Chip in Golf

Article by Jamie Faidley







One of the most important things to remember if you want to learn how to chip better is just how important it is to have clean, consistent contact. You will need to strike the ball on the way down, avoiding hitting the ground before you hit the ball. Repeating clean contact is not easy, but once you can do it you will quickly find it much easier to control the distance of your chips. Once you learn that distance control you will be able to putt from closer distances, cutting strokes off of your game.

Ball Alignment

While you are swinging a golf club, the middle of your center of gravity is where the lowest point typically falls. Because you want to avoid hitting the ground before you strike the ball, you should move the ball just behind center at address. For beginners, use two inches behind your center, then you can adjust as you become more comfortable. Just don’t forget to keep this ball location consistent as moving it will change the angle of your club impact and you will find it harder to consistently strike the ball cleanly.

Hand Position

You will need to work on consistent hand position each time you chip. Your hands should be in the same place with each chip you make. You will want to position your hands in front of the ball. Draw a straight line from the point where your right knuckle sticks out the farthest. That line typically falls just in front of your ball and is a good reference point to use for your hand positioning.

Weight Balance

Your weight should be distributed about 40 percent-60 percent with more of your weight on your front foot. This is going to help cut down on hitting fat shots by making the lower point of the swing more toward your front foot. Getting this balance down will help you to your goal of hitting clean chip shots more consistently.

Club Alignment

Make an extra effort to keep your club face squared to your target. While playing the ball back in your stance your club face may float open, which requires that extra bit of focus for chipping.

This setup should help you make more up and downs from just beyond the green. Be sure you check my other golf chipping tips if you are looking for additional assistance with improving your chip shots.



About the Author

My goal is to offer helpful golf chipping tips for players of different skill levels ranging from beginner to advanced. With the articles on our site you will find techniques, lessons, how-to’s, and drills to help you become a better golfer.

The Art of Reading Putting Greens

The Art of Reading Putting Greens

Article by Randy Raasch







Reading greens is one of the hardest skills in golf to master. Even if you have perfected your putting stroke and distance control, you will end up missing the target most of the time if you are having problems reading greens. The ability to effectively read greens is more of an art then a science. Sure, it involves the laws of physics, but without instruments available to take accurate measurements, we’re back to the art of guessing.

Reading greens can be broken up into the following components:

Slope of the Green

During your approach survey the entire area of the green along with the immediate surrounding areas. This perspective allows you get a great idea on the general slope of the green. Take note of what the overall contours are like. Is the green basically flat or does it have ridges, valleys or multiple tiers? Once on the green, you can identify the more subtle contours of the green itself.

The slope and contours on a green determine the path a ball will take while obeying the laws of gravity. On a side slope the ball with always turn towards the lowest point. On a downhill putt the ball needs to be struck with less momentum. This causes gravity to act upon the ball sooner along its path towards the hole. So for downhill putts we need to allow for more break. Uphill putts are much easier because they have less break. This is due to the increase in momentum of the strike required to hit the ball up the hill. With the increase in momentum, the ball will roll through much of the break.

Ground Condition

You can get a good indication regarding the condition of the green while walking on it. If the green feels wet and soft it tells you that the pace of the green is going to be slow, so you will need to hit your putts a little firmer. If the green is dry and hard it tells you that the green will be faster and you will not have to strike the ball as firm. Remember for a faster green, you need to account for more borrow. ”<em>The faster the green (downhill) = less momentum = more break'</em> and ‘<em>The slower the green (uphill) = more momentum = less break</em>.’

The Grain

Grain refers to the direction in which the blades of grass grow. The way the grain runs on the putting green can have a significant impact on the speed and borrow of your putts. One method in determining the grain of the green is by looking at the sheen or color of the grass. A shiny sheen or light color indicates the grain is with you (putting down grain). A dull sheen or darker color indicates the grain is against you.

The grain dictates the amount of resistance placed on the ball as it rolls. Speed will increase going down grain but the amount of break will lessen. Speed will decrease going into the grain but increase the amount of break.

Check the line from all Angles

It is a good idea to look at the putt from at least three sides: behind the ball, behind the hole, and the low side of the hole. These three looks give your mind the best information on the break of the putt.

When reading a green, you will get a more accurate picture when you are standing in a lower area looking uphill. Check from the side of the green if you have an uphill or downhill putt. This provides the best perspective for determining the speed of the ball. Behind the ball is the best place to take a final look.

Envision the Path

Never hit the ball until you have formed a vision of the path the ball will travel. Your goal is to visualize your putt as a straight line because the slope of the green is what will make your ball curve. Pick out a spot that represents the apex of the break, now to reach this point, just try to putt your ball over a spot three inches in front of your ball.

Finally, do not make your stroke until you have the best read you can get and then commit to it. It can be disastrous if you begin to second -guess yourself while your taking your stroke.

Final Thoughts

Good green reading comes with experience. After putting over enough different greens, you will develop a sixth sense of how the ball will roll.

I hope you have found these tips useful. Good luck in all your golfing adventures!




About the Author

Randy Raasch has been in golf for over thirty years. His website, Golf-Fever shares information and products that are sound and easy.

If you are looking for great Putting Tips to improve your game, visit: http://www.golf-fever.com/Putting/PuttingTips.html

In addition you will receive a free report ‘The Art of Reading Greens’.

Odyssey BackStryke 2-Ball Putter-The Best Putter I’ve Ever U

Odyssey BackStryke 2-Ball Putter-The Best Putter I’ve Ever U

This is one of those sad cases where you think you have a no miss/win win combo coming out of the gate, but somehow something just doesn’t jibe. The 2 Ball was definitely one of Odyssey’s best putters . It is as Iconic a putter as The Titleist Bullseye or The Ping Anser. The T-Balance, though able to achieve cult status, was deserving of much more than that. Problem was, Tour Edge spends less money on marketing than just about anybody out there. Even though they were founded and funded by a golf pro, they still don’t pay anyone to use their sticks. The T-Balance was a revolution that never took place. Later on, hoping to gain more traction from a concept they knew to be a winner, they built the Bazooka Mallet Automatic, sporting the same “In Line Axis Shaft.?”

I believe the problem with this concept, and the 2-Ball is that the basic philosophies of each design are mutually exclusive. I have tried almost all the 2-Balls. 2-Ball Original, 2-Ball Plumber’s Neck, 2-Ball Center Shaft, and my favourite, 2-Ball Saturn Ring w/steel insert within polymer insert technology. The Odyssey BackStryke 2-ball always feels much better balanced as a club with an offset heel shaft. I believe that was the best balance point for the shaft, and my hands, and personal results over many years continue to reinforce that conclusion.  Not to mention, that is the design that made it what it is, and the one that continuously shows up on tour. Just today I was trying both the Backstryke for the 4th time, and Center shaft for G*D only knows how many times, and in all honesty, I kept going back to the original design w/the offset heel shaft.

Distance control is okay with this design, but talk about heading for the hole “with a hop, skip, and a jump.” Definitely unsettling to me. The forward press, something I am more than familiar with, as at one time I was hooding all my clubs , save for the driver and fairway metals, in order to increase both distance and backspin, just doesn’t seem to sit right with a club which rode the wave of success based on it’s easy alignment and follow through at normal address. It’s simply one of those great duets where the chemistry just isn’t there. Don’t let that stop you from trying it–BUT—I give much higher marks to the Backstryke Blade and The Backstryke Divine Line Marxman Mallet. Both of them stay much truer to the original Tour Edge designs from which they were spawned. If you need an exceptioanlly well balanced blade–Check out The Backstryke Blade. If you need an exceptionally well balanced mallet–try The Divine Line Marxman. Otherwise you’ll end up paying top dollar for a 2-Ball that doesn’t perform like a 2-Ball, and more like a very overpriced Tour Edge T-Balance Wannabe.

Odyssey BackStryke 2-Ball Putter-An extended mallet head with legendary 2-ball alignment technology and a Stroke Balance shaft. The new Backstryke 2-Ball is a putter so revolutionary it just might improve your stroke, put your mind at ease, and change the way you think about putting forever. Visable Face Alignment gives you a clear sight for parallel and perpendicular alignment aids, while Forward Press Stabalization delivers proper hand position and creates true roll and stability. Stroke balance ensures an in-line axis, which promotes the smoothest, most consistent stroke possible.

Visible Face Alignment
Allows you to clearly see if the face of the Odyssey BackStryke 2-Ball Putter is square to the target line, without the shaft impeding your line of sight. This provides an unprecedented visual aid in lining up putts to the target line for precision and accuracy.

Forward Press Stabilization
Hands-forward position, without de-lofting, promotes an upward stroke into the ball. The shaft position also helps create a stable, straight line with your leading arm, so your wrists are less likely to break down during the stroke. This type of ascending stroke imparts topspin faster, generating true roll. The position of your hands also encourages a longer and lower follow-through for better consistency.

Stroke Balance
Creates a putter balanced on the axis of the putting stroke, which promotes a fluid, stable stroke path that is more consistent and accurate, and also leads to better distance control.

White Ice Insert
This multi-layer insert has been fine-tuned to enhance sound, responsiveness, resiliency and consistency. The inner core is 19.6% firmer to enhance the feel and 92% stiffer for better resiliency. The face surface has been roughened to enhance the sound at impact with softer golf balls; this rough texture also helps increase friction between the ball and the insert to promote forward roll.

Advanced Roll Technology
The multi-material construction results in the lowest and deepest center of gravity of any Odyssey putter line, giving you better, quicker, and truer roll.

This putter is the best one I have ever used before .

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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.