Flat Right Thumb - Putting

I was approached recently by a member that was struggling from 5 feet and in on the green. He had the tendency to either shut the face down, or wipe it wide open at impact. The cause of this fault was movement of the hands right before impact that would change the face angle of his putter.

The thought we had to fix this problem was to focus on keeping his right thumb on an imaginary flat surface(like the ruler in the picture above). If the thumb stays flat on the paddle of the grip and it moves on the flat surface the putter face will stay square through the ball at impact. Practice this and you will hear more putts hit the bottom of the hole!

In Between Clubs - Grip Down

I'm finding that when the average golfer gets stuck in between clubs they ease up on the longer club. These players end up pulling the shot or not committing to the shot and they don't finish their swing. I love to watch Geoff Ogilvy swing in this situation. His tempo and rhythm is always the same on every shot. So how can Geoff swing the club the same every time even when he is in between clubs? He simply chokes down on the golf club.

There are two factors that separate the clubs distance in your bag. Length and loft. If you choke down one inch on a club it should produce about half-a-club less than normal. After you shorten the golf club make your normal swing and you will find that the ball will fly with more control and just a bit shorter.

Yellow - Red - GREEN!

I have spoke with a few players lately that are struggling either taking the club back or following through. Some players take it back very quickly and decelerate into the ball while others struggle with taking it back slowly only to swing way too fast through the ball. In either scenario, they player has is sequencing off.

I want players to think of a stop light when they make the swing. The the takeaway begins with a smooth "yellow light" pace. At the top of the swing, imagine a "red light" that gets you a small pause at the top aligning everything for the down swing. Finally, you need to think "green light" on the way down. Always keep in mind you will get a ticket for running a red light, speeding through a green light, and you will miss your tee time if you don't get through the intersection on a yellow light.

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!