Roll it at the Hole!

I believe that every human is born with some sort of "feel" or "touch." When players come to me complaining of 3 and 4 putts, my first thought is that their speed is off. Putting is not very different than rolling a ball to a target. When I teach juniors and beginners, I have them grab a golf ball and toss it at the hole. Then I have them stand in a putting posture and toss it "sideways" a the hole. The motion your hand makes in this position is no different when you have a putter in your hands.

The picture on the right shows Kim Kardashian playing bocce ball with family(picture from http://www.life.com/). If Kim can roll this ball successfully in high heels than you can have enough feel and touch to roll a ball close enough to the hole to get down in 2.


Drill:
-Grab two golf balls and gently toss them at a hole from 30 or so feet
-Throw them again standing in your putting posture
-Grab your putter with your throwing hand and practice rolling the ball with one hand and the putter
-Finally put your second hand on the putter and imagine rolling the ball at the hole.

Note how when Natalie Gulbis used to putt split handed her right hand looks almost identical to a person that would roll a ball from a sideways position. Keep your normal grip but focus on a good "roll."

Hybrid Chip

Golfers in all parts of the country will experience wet conditions from time to time. For us in the south, winters bring thin, dormant grass that has wet soil beneath it creating an unpredictable tight surface. Some of the hardest shots under these conditions around the greens. I have found that if there is no deep grass or obstacles in front of you, using a hybrid or fairway wood is the least risky play. The way that hybrids are constructed allows a player to use a putt/chip stroke to just get the ball lifted above the grass and will produce a predictable rolling shot that will surely not get you in trouble. More often than not, it will get you close to the hole.

How:

- Use your highest lofted hybrid or fairway wood

- Use your basic chip setup

- Grip to the bottom of the grip

- Make a chip/putt stroke

- Keep your hands ahead

Most of you will find that this shot will take off much faster than a putt or chip. But with practice this will become a go-to shot under tight or wet conditions.

D-Plane in a Nutshell!

This is a tip from one of my good friends Matt Sheppard, PGA - Dixie Section Assistant Player of the Year.

When you are practicing, make sure you understand what is happening to cause the ball to do what it is doing. Only solid shots will give you the ability to correctly analyze what happened.

Face will determine initial starting direction and club path will determine curve. If the path of the club is moving left, and the club face is pointed right, the ball will curve right. Opposite for shots curving left. If the ball is curving in a way that you don't like, adjust the face angle at impact so it matches the direction of the swing path so the ball flies straight. This may be straight right or straight left, but try and make the ball go straight first before you try to make it go toward your target.

After you can make the ball fly straight, then you can try and change the path so the ball will fly straight toward the target.

High Soft Sand Shots

I know we have all be in the situation; we went for the tucked pin only to get ourselves “short sided” in a bunker. Our hopes and dreams of an easy birdie have changed to grinding out a par. I am here to tell you to not worry about these short bunker shots. I like players to focus on making a “V” with their swing. Set up open to the target, open the clubface, swing back and up abruptly and down and forward like a “V” hitting 1 inch behind the ball. This sharp angle of attack will produce a high, soft, spinning shot that will get you sandies every time!