When I started playing golf and got bitten by the golf bug, I was not that good.  It took a long time to master the technique of getting off of the tee box without embarrassing myself.  In self defense for my lack of a long game I focused on my short game and now I am fairly good at getting up and down in regulation.  Here are five short game tips that I picked up over the years that have served me very well.

• Always Keep Your Weight on Your Target Side Foot.

Whether you are pitching or chipping  you need to insure that you will hit cleanly through the ball so keep your weight on  your target side foot.  I have heard estimates of anywhere from 60 to 90 percent, I don’t know how much nor could I even tell how much while I am doing it but keeping my weight forward toward the target insures that I will make crisp contact with the ball before I hit the ground.  Whether I am pitching from 60 or 80 out or chipping from 20 yards that part of my stance is the same.

• Lead With Your Hands

When you set up to the ball make sure that your hands lead the club through the ball as you strike it.  By leading with the hands I am making sure that there is no independent wrist action to interfere with my swing. (Don’t be scooper!)  It also makes me depend on the length of my back swing for my distance.   These days most golfers carry at least 3 wedges,  I carry 4  (No 3 or 4 irons for me) I have taken the time to learn my full swing distance with all of them.   I also know approximately how far it will go with a 11 o’clock,   9 o’clock and 7 o’clock swing. (See Judging Distances) Now the only thing remaining is the shape of my shot do I want it to release and roll? Use a lower lofted club.  Do I want it to land and stop?  Use a higher lofted club.

• For Short Chips Use a Putting Stroke

So you are in the fringe; your putter cannot make clean contact with the ball.  What do you do?  Treat it like a putt.  Read the green, look for the break, do all the things you would do if it were a putt.  Now select the club which will get you to the hole, it may be a 7 iron if you have a long putt, it could be a wedge for a shorter putt or a downhill lie.   Now use a putting stoke to make contact with the ball, straight back and straight through.  Remember you are going for the hole, when you treat it like a putt and stroke the ball with the same care you would take for a putt you will be amazed at how many chips you make.

• Sand is My Friend!

In a lot of cases, on a lot of golf courses the green-side sand traps are there to challenge you.  In some cases they are a much better alternative to the other obstacles nearby.  Wouldn’t you rather hit out of the sand than the lake next to it?  Make a decision today… from now on:  “Sand is my friend!”  There, now that we have cleared the psychological issues, remember;  sand shots are always full swing shots.  Half swings will get you half way out of the trap.  Make sure that the ball is slightly forward of the center of your stance.

Why?

Your club must go through the sand to launch your ball, it is at its lowest point of arc at the center of your stance, it will enter the sand slightly behind the center of the stance, it will come out slightly ahead of the center of your stance, carrying your ball with it cushioned by a nice layer of sand.  Knowing this, you will always get out of the sand in one stroke as long as you take a full stroke.   The bigger question is how far will it go and how do you tell.  Glad you asked, for a shorter shot open the face of the club and as you open the face open your stance (Move your target foot back and face the target more with your body, open the face of your club aiming the toe of the club farther to the right).  For a longer shot stay straight and keep the club face perpendicular to the target as in a normal shot.   The sand wedge should be your normal sand club , but when you are really close use your 60 degree lob wedge.  You can take a full swing with an open faced lob wedge and only travel 5 feet if you want.  Remember, “Sand is My Friend”

• Accelerate Through the Ball

It happens to us all, we are in the rough but close to the pin, we know that we need to swing hard enough to get the club to the ball through the grass but that we might catch it thin and skull it across the green.  Oh how many times have I seen this happen or done it myself.  Midway through the swing the brakes go on and we slow the swing down.  The result? A dismal little phuttui, the ball rolls over the descending club and goes nowhere.   Put your weight on the target side foot, take a couple of good practice swings to get a feel for the grass, open the club-face if it has to be  really short (If you open your club face you should open your stance as well)  then make your normal swing and keep accelerating through the ball.  Yes, you will get an occasional flier, but more often you will have a great shot.

Several of the tips I have mentioned are fully explained by
Bobby Eldridge on his Short Game DVD   Golf Training Video

Thanks, Michael Brown

Technorati Tags: Golf Short Game

Tracy Reed of Golf Swing Control fame has a blog post up at his blog. He has spent twenty plus years in a quest for a consistent golf game. (Don’t we all) He has now followed this into a rather unique solution. He suggests that you need to get the message into the subconscious mind where it becomes a matter of life or death. I suggest that you read his whole page and if you are so inclined sign up for his old newsletters so you can follow the process which led him to the conclusion.

We have been told for years to visualize the shot; “See in our minds eye the perfect shot, landing where it is supposed to, setting us up for the next one…” Tracy says no, that is all in the future, that happens after you have made the swing. If you concentrate on the activities after the swing you are ignoring the important part of the activity that has to occur first. That is the swing itself.

The swing is constituted of the set-up, the back-swing, the transition, and the down-swing and it is here that you should be concentrating your efforts. Seeing the perfect swing is the most critical activity you can perform. However all the conscious imaginings of perfect swing may not occur unless the subconscious mind is also intimately involved in the process of making the swing happen.

So how do you get your subconscious mind involved? First, think about what the subconscious mind controls. The subconscious mind is the part of our system that remembers to breathe, it is in charge of all of our autonomic functions,(I know another big word) heart-beat etcetera. Basically it is in charge of all our life and death functions. One of those functions is staying in balance.

Think about the very best, most incredible swing you ever performed. When you finished the swing you were certainly in balance. In fact throughout the swing, you never for a micro-second lost your balance. The subconscious mind is in control of your balance, by consciously setting up for the swing in a way that will give you an optimal chance to maintain your balance you are at least optimizing the chances to remain in balance throughout the swing.

Now, how about consistency? I remember last week connecting on my drive on #9 for a booming drive that left me standing with this awesome club held high finish.  Whoohoo! I went on to number 10 and hooked my drive way left. So much for setup; I thought I did it the same thing each time. Tracy has an excellent suggestion which I have not yet tried.

Make your subconscious mind participate in the process by training it to cooperate with your conscious mind. How? Go to the range and hit a bucket of balls with your eyes closed. Sounds crazy doesn’t it? But think about it. With your eyes closed you will have to rely on your sense of balance and feel and combine it with your conscious imagination. You are allowed to set up to the ball with your eyes open, but from the time you start your back-swing until you connect keep them closed.

Nuff for now, I am going to the range.   Check out his blog

Technorati Tags: golf mental game, Subconscious Golf Training