More Golf Tips:

Tips for The First Tee:

Everyone wants to get off to good start and unfortunately this can lead to tension on the first tee. Ideally you will have been able to hit some balls before you go to the first tee to help you release some energy and get the feel for hitting the ball. However this is often not possible for the recreational golfer. At the very least take several vigorous swings after doing some warm up and stretching. Then after the vigorous swings let yourself relax for a couple of minutes to let the adrenalin die off. For more first tee warm-up tips click here.

The key once you are ready to get going is to make sure that you build confidence on the first tee by hitting a good shot. Don't be afraid to be ultra conservative off the tee and use an iron if your chances of hitting a good cold shot with a wood is less than 50 %. You are much better off getting a bogie on the first hole than hitting your first shot terribly. Try to stay focussed on that first shot rather than thinking about what your round is going to be like.

Tips for Hitting Fairways:

Drive for show, putt for dough? Well don't be so sure. Hitting fairways is the most important thing for recreational golfers to do. Sure the tour players can get away with missing some fairways once in a while because they have skills that can help them recover. For most of us though, missing a fairway is like the pros missing them in a U.S. Open setup, pretty much an automatic bogie or worse.

There are two things to keep in mind hitting off the tee. 1) Get the ball in the air, 2) Hit it straight. The next question is which is the longest club I have that I can do this at least 70% of the time. Don't be afraid of say something like 5 or even 7 iron. If you are playing the correct tee for your ability, and you have to hit 7 iron off the tee, chances are your average par 4 will only be about 340 yards. Even if you only hit your 7 iron 130 yards, three 7 irons will get you on to the longest par 4 and you will be putting for par. Same goes for the par fives. Now your ego may not deal with this very well, but I bet your score will look good for your ego. This is not to say that you can never hit woods off the tee, that would not be much fun, but until you can consistently hit it straight and high, only use the woods when you know you will not be penalized too severely off the tee. If you hit 10 fairways a round and hone your short game, you will be making a lot of pars. Can you say that now?

Tips for Maintaining Concentration:

For recreational golfers especially, this is difficult, because it is also a social game. What makes this more difficult is when you hit bad shots. We lose our focus on the present and start thinking about past and future shots. We start trying to make up for bad shots rather than focussing on the shot at hand.

One of my favorite suggestions for learning concentration is to go play by yourself first thing in the morning with no scorecard. No distractions, no score just each shot without worrying about results. Do this every once in while to learn how it should feel to be fully present and in a state of concentration.

Four to five hours is a long time to maintain concentration on anything, so you must learn how to build your concentration before each shot and be able to turn it off between shots. Having a good routine is critical for this. Start your routine at least ten steps before getting to your ball.

Another valuable method for concentration is to visualize every shot before you hit it. Even if you only have time to do this while you are walking to the ball, try to see every shot in your mind's eye before you actually hit it.

Tips for Uphill and Downhill lies:

Not many course are completely flat. Uphill lies tend to make the ball go higher and cause varying degrees of a "pull". Try to put the ball slightly forward in your stance and aim for a little pull. Also remember that you may lose a club in distance so perhaps play an extra club if the slope is quite severe. Make sure to swing easy so you can maintain your balance.

Downhill lies tend to do the opposite, cause a low "push". The ball will also go farther and roll farther depending on the severity of the slope. Put the ball back in your stance so you don't hit it too thin, and aim for a push shot. Take a little less club and allow for more roll.

For sidehill lies remember the most important thing is keeping your balance. The ball will tend to go slightly towards the direction of the downslope, so play accordingly, but remember that balance is key and you can hit a pretty straight shot if you don't swing too hard and keep your balance.

Tips for Playing in the wind:

A moderate wind will have very little effect on solidly hit ball. Once the wind becomes more severe, you want to focus on hitting the ball solidly and slowing down your swing. Even though the urge is to try and hit the ball harder into the wind, this will only cause it to have more spin and give you even more trouble. Into a strong wing take more club and swing easy causing a lower, less spinning shot. You will get more distance on the ground from the roll where the wind is not effecting the ball as much. Play for more roll. On shorter shots use the head wind to your advantage to help you stop the ball on the green.

With the wind, you also want swing easy and take less club. Take advantage of the wind on your drives by hitting high lazy shots. Remember it will be difficult to stop the ball on the green, but swinging harder on short shots can be a good idea if you take less club. The harder swing will give more spin to the ball and keep it from rolling so much after it hits the ground.

Don't worry too much about side winds. A solid, low side spinning shot will not be affected much in the air. More people get in trouble overcompensating for a side wind than if they had just played at their target. Never give the wind more than ten yards of credit either way.

Tips for Hitting out of a greenside bunker:

Many amateurs are nervous when they end up in a bunker and can't understand why the tour players would rather play from a bunker than the rough around the green. With the following tips and some practice to build confidence, you will feel the same way.

The absolute key to hitting from a bunker is to have a smooth swing. Do not stab at the ball and do not stop your swing when you hit the ball. Take the club up and imagine your swing is "V" shaped, rather than going back low. Make sure to dig your feet in to get good traction and when you swing keep your lower body more still than you normally would. Aim for a spot about two inches behind the ball and come down smoothly but a little more steeply than normal. It is then critical to follow through and finish your swing. Don't be afraid to take lots of sand as the ball is being carried on the sand. Trying to pick the ball on a short bunker shot can be disastrous.

At setup open your stance a little and open your club face a little, of course you have to aim appropriately when you do this. To control the distance, vary the length of your backswing, not your follow through. If you have a longer bunker shot don't be afraid to trade the sand wedge for a pitching wedge, or even an eight or nine iron. Using the same technique will give you more distance and still get lots of spin. In fact the harder you swing from the sand the higher the ball will go and the more spin you will get.

Tips for Proper weight shift:

Weight shift is crucial in the golf swing. It is crucial for power and timing, and it is the most problematic part of many recreational player's games. An improper weight shift can dramatically reduce your power and is the cause of the dreaded reverse pivot.

Fortunately it is also one of the easiest things to learn to do properly. In order to get a feel for proper weight shift you have to completely forget about what you are doing with your upper body for a while. To start, I suggest just holding your golf club in the setup position without the club touching the ground. Then simply rock your body side to side by putting your weight from one foot to the other, not unlike dancing. While doing this, just relax your hands, wrists, arms and shoulders and let them move with your movement. The club should start swinging in front of you as you step from foot to foot.

Now just increase the movement until the swing starts get bigger. You will be much like a pendulum, and if you are doing it right, you will be making about a three quarter swing. Continue this movement for about thirty swings with the same easy tempo, then start putting balls in place and hit them with the same motion. As you get the feel for this motion, you can begin to increase the length of your swing while maintaining the weight shift and rhythm.

Tips for Warming up on the range before a round:

Go to a tour event and just about player you watch on the range will be doing pretty much the same routine.

Start with a sand wedge and pick a target about 60-80 yards away and start by hitting leisurely shots to that target. Work on making easy contact and having a nice relaxed tempo. Hit as many of these as it takes to get into a nice groove.

Then start working your way up. You do not have to use every club as you work your way up, but don't go straight to the driver. Take your time between shots, and stay focussed on good tempo, not results.

Ensure that your last shots are with the club you will be hitting off the first tee. Then go finish off with some chipping and putting to get a feel for distance on your chips, and the speed of the putts. Do not get caught up in making putts and chips at this point, just concentrate on feel.

Tips for staying focused and present on the golf course:

You have heard time and time again how important it is to stay in the present when playing golf. Here are some suggestions to help you do this.

Like in the rest of life, the present moment is the only place you can take any kind of action, so it is important to ensure that your mind is focused there. On the golf course the two main things that get in the way of staying focused in the present are thinking about past shots, and thinking about your score. You want to be totally involved in the shot at hand.

The first tip that can help is to focus only on your breathing. I would suggest silently counting your breaths as you are setting up to and taking your shot. This comes from Zen and is a very effective way of being present and keeping your mind from being distracted. Focus on nothing else but your breath and allow your senses and body to take over as you prepare for and execute your shot. This is especially effective when putting.

A strategy to use in between shots in addition to counting your breaths is to focus on your footsteps while walking to your next shot. Even if you are riding in a cart you can do this by stopping your cart at least a few steps from your ball. Just pay attention to the feel of the ground beneath your feet and imagine that your are very solidly connected to the ground.

Of course you need to do some mental work prior to your shot like choosing your club and visualizing the shot you want to play, but make sure that this is all you are doing with your mind. Be totally focussed on what you are doing with the shot in front of you. If you find your mind wandering to your score, a previous shot, or any other mental distraction, go back to focusing on your breath and footsteps before setting up to your shot.

You will be amazed how good you can play when you get your mind out of the way and treat each shot as a new game.

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Copyright 2003 Lowerscoregolf.com
Sean Harder (owner)
Mission, B.C., Canada
sean@lowerscoregolf.com

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