General Poor Putting - No confidence on shorter putts

The common thread of good putters is they consistently have the putter face square to their intended line at the moment it impacts the ball. Although putting is certainly the most individualistic component of the game you'll find the best and most consistent putters use a pendulum type stroke. Using this method the triangle formed by their arms and shoulders at address stays intact through the stroke.
When we lose confidence in our putting we start trying to “help” the ball in the hole resulting in our head and body moving out of position. This disrupts the alignment of the putter face leading to inconsistent contact with the ball and little control over the direction or speed of the putt.
In general the fewer moving parts in our putting stroke the more consistent we are. Developing a shoulder stroke pendulum action minimizes those moving parts.
To feel this stroke take your stance then place your palms together forming a triangle with your hands, arms and shoulders. With a steady head and lower body rock your shoulders so that you move the triangle back and through. Make sure to keep your chest square to the target line rather than opening your shoulders and body to the hole.
Your left shoulder should work down on the backstroke and up on the forward stroke. Your shoulders now control the path of the putter head and keep the putter on line through impact. A good habit for shorter putts is to not look at the hole until you hear the ball fall into the cup.
If you're struggling with your putting spend some practice time with this method and you'll soon be making more putts and shooting lower scores.

Playing from Slopes

Playing from slopes


Unlike football fields and baseball diamonds golf courses are not built on level playing surfaces. Players are often faced with shots from sloped lies that make a relatively easy shot suddenly more challenging. By making a few adjustments to your stance, alignment and swing you can successfully hit these shots solid and more accurately.


Uphill lie - Hitting up the hill
When faced with an uphill lie stand perpendicular to the slope which will position your right shoulder lower than normal. This allows you to swing parallel to the slope so you won’t hit into the ground after contacting the ball. Swing down the slope on your backswing and up the slope on your forward swing. Your weight will remain on your rear side and because we tend to hook the ball from this position aim slightly right of your target. This position also creates more loft so you’ll generally want to use more club.


Downhill lie – Hitting down the hill
With a downhill lie you will also want to stand perpendicular to the slope. This stance will put more weight on your left side and your hands will be ahead of the club. Pick the club up on your backswing and swing down and through on the forward swing. Feel that you are chasing the ball down the slope with the club head. Downhill shots are easier played with more lofted clubs. Because the ball will fly lower and run farther you will want to use less club than normal.


Side hill lie – Ball above your feet
When playing a ball that is above your feet you will need to stand more erect at address and stand farther away from the ball. This posture creates a more rotary swing and a flatter swing plane. This swing path often produces hooked shots because of the added rotation of the hands and arms. This action added to the more upright lie angle of your club will cause the ball to go left so aim right of your intended target


Side hill lie – Ball below your feet
This type lie requires you to bend over more to reach the ball which also results in you standing closer to the ball. This position creates a more upright swing plane than usual. Because your body turn becomes restricted your swing will be predominantly an arms and hand movement. The steeper swing path combined with the flatter lie angle of your club will cause the ball to go right so aim left of your intended target.

Poor Long Putting

The biggest reason weekend golfers so often three putt 30 to 40 foot putts is they simply don’t practice them. Because of this they haven’t developed a feel or “touch” for putts of this length. They end up hitting the ball and hoping rather than stroking the putt with a level of confidence.
Great putters through regular practice have developed a keen sense of feel for longer putts. They also have set a more realistic goal of leaving the ball close enough to the hole to have a short second putt rather than thinking about making the first putt.
When confronted with longer putts I would first recommend visualizing a larger target. Imagine a three foot diameter circle around the hole, and then focus on leaving your first putt within the circle. If successful the longest putt you’ll be left with is 18 inches.
On longer putts stand slightly taller at address and make a longer stroke with more relaxed hands and wrists. This allows you to sense and feel the acceleration and release of the putter head. Also before each long putt make a number of practice strokes to help sense the length of stroke and pace needed for the required distance.
An excellent drill to help you develop your feel is after making your practice strokes to close your eyes just before beginning your actual stroke and keep them closed until the finish of your stroke. You'll be surprised how this enhances your feel and touch.
Make sure to include longer putts in your putting practice regiment if you’re not already doing so. With continued practice you’ll see far fewer three putts on your scorecard.

Leaving your greenside bunker shots in the sand

My first question to you would be “Are you using a sand wedge?” I say this because I often work with students who have been attempting these shots using a pitching wedge or other fairway iron. If this is the case with you then the club selection is a major part of the problem.
A sand wedge is designed differently than a fairway iron. The sole of a sand wedge angles downward from the leading edge to the trailing edge. This angled sole, also known as “bounce” prevents the club from digging too far down into the sand. In contrast the sole of pitching wedges and fairway irons angle upward from the leading edge to the trailing edge enabling the club to cut through turf.
The sole design of a pitching wedge or other fairway iron causes it to dig too deeply into the sand leaving too much sand between the club head and the ball. The result is not enough club head speed to propel the sand and ball the required distance.
If you are using a sand wedge and still digging too deep into the sand then a closed club face is to blame. When closing the face of a sand wedge the angled flange is transformed into a digging sole similar to a pitching wedge. To correct this aim the club face to the right of the target while aligning your shoulders to the left and swing along this path.
If the club is still taking too much sand make sure to clear your left hip while swinging through the sand. The club head will now enter the sand trailing behind your hands with the club face open. The open club face increases the “bounce” of the sand wedge creating a shallow path through the sand and sufficient club head speed to displace the sand and the ball. The open face also increases the loft of the wedge so the ball comes out higher and lands softer with less roll.

Do your shots start right then hook left, often hitting the turf behind the ball or topping the ball?

I earlier discussed that straight, solidly struck shots are the result of three occurrences at impact:

• The club head has moved from the inside to parallel to the target line
• The club face is square to the online path of the club head
• The club head is at the bottom of its arc

These occur when a player’s timing is correct. The simplest definition of timing is the coordination of leg and hip movement with the swinging of the arms. A player’s timing can be off in two extremes. First, the legs and hips can turn before the arms swing down. This is generally the case with players who slice the ball. Second, the hands and arms are too fast for the leg and hip action. If your shots fit the above topic then you fall in this extreme. You are casting the club with your hands and wrists at the start of your downswing.

Because your hands and arms are too fast the club reaches the bottom of its upward and downward arc too soon – before it gets to the ball. This is why you take divots behind the ball or the club has begun its upward arc before impact resulting in topped shots. The ball usually starts right because the club is moving in that direction. It hasn’t returned to the on line portion of the path because the hips haven’t turned and cleared. The ball curves left because the hands and arms being too quick have closed the club face at impact.

The main cause of casting the club is from the hands separating at the top of the swing. The left thumb and right palm separate at the top then reconnect to start the downswing. This causes the wrists to uncock too early in the downswing. To correct this place a small coin or piece of string between your left thumb and right palm and hold it in place during the swing. This will stop the separation of your hands and the resulting casting of the club.

This adjustment along with the clearing of the hips will allow the club head to be along the target line and at the bottom of its arc when impacting the ball. You'll soon be hitting straight and solid shots once again.

Pushed Shots – Solid impact but ball flies right of target with little or no curve

Generally players who currently push the ball in the past tended to hook their shots, but have since learned to square their clubface by changing their grip. Their shots now fly right because the club is moving in that direction at impact.

As I’ve mentioned before the correct swing path arcs inside on the backswing then returns from the inside to along the target path then back to the inside on the follow through portion. Because of his previous hooking tendencies the player still aims his club head and aligns his body right of the target. This also causes him to play the ball too far back or to the right in his stance. His shots now go right of the target because the club head makes contact with the ball too early when the club head is still moving to the right of the target path.

These players often feel as well that their left side is in the way at impact and on the follow through. Because their shoulders are aligned right of the target they will tend to rock or lift up the right shoulder rather than turn it during the backswing. The reaction is for the hips to tilt or lift up during the forward swing rather that turn and clear to the left allowing room for the arms to square the club head to the target line.

To correct this play the ball further forward or to the left in your stance. This gives the club head more time to return to the target path. It also aligns your shoulders more to the left which encourages the right shoulder to turn rather than lift during the backswing. This results in the hips turning rather than tilting during the forward swing.

Experiment until you find the correct ball position and related shoulder alignment that results in your shots starting on target.

You're making solid contact but the ball is going left of the target.

Remember that because at address we stand to the side of the ball our clubhead path does not travel on a straight line. It arcs to the inside during the backswing then returns from the inside to the target line during the downswing, and arcs back to the inside on the follow through. Pulled shots occur when the ball is positioned too far forward or to the left in the player's stance. With the ball too far forward the clubhead impacts the ball after the club has already begun moving back to the inside along the follow through path of the arc.
Playing the ball too far forward also positions the player's shoulders too far to the left at address. In an attempt to get the club to the inside on the backswing the player will overturn his shoulders to the right causing him to overturn them on the downswing further exacerbating the outside-in clubhead path at impact.
To correct this play the ball farther back or to the right in your stance. This will align your shoulders correctly eliminating the need for them to overturn during the backswing and the "out and over" shoulder heave in the forward swing. This also allows you to contact the ball sooner in the downswing before the clubhead has had a chance to return back to the inside. I recommend hitting shots with various ball positions and related shoulder alignments until you determine the one that enables your shots to start on target.