The post Master this golf-swing ‘X-factor’ to add serious power to your game appeared first on Golf.

The post Master this golf-swing ‘X-factor’ to add serious power to your game appeared first on Golf.

So you want to generate more clubhead speed? Me too. Unfortunately, there’s not a single video you can watch or article you can read to make that happen overnight. The good news is, there is hope yet — and it all starts with understanding how power is created.

When you watch a pro blast a drive, you’ll notice them coil during the backswing, and then uncoil during the downswing. Simple stuff.

However, if you want to hit it like they do you’ll have to uncoil in the same sequence that they do.

Watch the pros swing in slow motion and you’ll notice their lower body firing first and then their upper body following suit. By doing this, they are creating massive potential energy that is then unleashed during the downswing.

Back in a 2006 issue of GOLF Magazine, Peter Kostis — a GOLF Top 100 Teacher Lifetime Achievement member — broke down this sequence perfectly. Read below for more info on how to incorporate this “X-factor” into your own swing.

The power ‘X-factor’

The new X-factor is achieved when you rotate your hips toward the target as fast and as fully as possible, while keeping your shoulders tured back. I see this downswing move in every slow-motion swing we replay on CBS telecasts. Yet the move is so basic that anyone can gain distance with it, even those of you who aren’t as athletic and, let’s face it, as young as guys like Tiger and Ernie (in other words, just about all of us).

You will hit the ball longer by stretching your downswing “x.” If you’re currently slicing the ball or hitting weak pop-ups, changing the way you start your downswing will help you swing the clubhead to the ball from the inside for amore explosive hit. Longer drives will allow you to hit more greens and score better.

You will max out your clubhead speed and your power when your club impacts the ball like a spring that has just been released from its tension. Imagine snapping a towel or casting a fly in fishing: You want that burst of speed to start when the object changes direction. It’s the same concept in your golf swing.

3 elements of the ‘X’

1. Hips

The key to the new ‘X-factor’ is the first move down from the top — the change in direction — and you should start it by rotating your hips toward the target just as your shoulders are competing the backswing turn. Contrast this with the common fault of starting down with the upper body, which actually narrows the “X” between your shoulders and hips. Learn to separate your hips from your shoulders and you’ll hit longer driver right away.

2. Trail heel

You generate power in your downswing from the ground up, and you can’t stretch your “X” if you’re out of balance. So before you do anything else, work on your footwork. Your right foot should roll onto its instep as you swing down. Do this and your hips can rotate forward as they should. Avoid lifting your heel straight up off the ground, which thrusts your hips toward the ball and throws you off balance.

3. Trail knee

Your legs support you during the swing, and they must do their part to allow your hips to shift forward. Imagine a second ball teed up between your knees at address. You want your right knee to knock that ball off the tee just as your clubhead contacts the ball you’re hitting. Kick your right knee toward your left knee, and your hips will have the solid base they need to rotate forward properly.

2 drills to get the ‘X’

1. Feel your new hip turn

To feel how much more hip rotation you’ll need during your swing to stretch your “X,” drape a long towel across your upper back and grab both ends. Turn back and through, keeping the towel pulled tight /right]. This action turns your entire upper body and moves your hips with it. Take note of how much hip rotation you need to rotate your shoulders 90 degrees both ways. Keep the tension in the towel all the way through to know that your hips are rotating enough. If you fall behind and rotate your hips too little, the towel will slacken.

2. Use a cart to swing under

This drill will give you the sensation of what it feels like to stretch your “X.” Grab hold of a golf cart with your left hand, get into your golf posture and mimic a backswing with your right hand. Now fire your right arm through underneath your left arm, which is still holding the cart. See how my hips turned through while my shoulders held back? That’s stretching the “X.”

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The post Seve Ballesteros’ brilliant tip for hitting putts with perfect speed appeared first on Golf.

The post Seve Ballesteros’ brilliant tip for hitting putts with perfect speed appeared first on Golf.

If you watch high-level players on the greens, you’ll be amazed by their touch. They may not make every putt they line up, but most of the time they’ll have more or less the right speed. This not only reduces three-putts, it also expands the effective hole size and helps them sink more putts.

Recreational players are quite the opposite. Hitting a putt with proper speed — and on their intended line — is an exception rather than a rule.

Things only get tougher when a putt breaks a lot. These putts require the perfect balance of line and speed to get the ball in the hole. Most amateurs struggle just getting one of these variables correct, so expecting them to get both right is extremely unlikely.

There is a trick that can help you find the right formula on these putts, though, and it comes to us courtesy of five-time major winner Seve Ballesteros.

Seve’s tip for matching line and speed

One of the club golfer’s biggest problems on the greens is being too bold and knocking putts through any break.

Because sharp left-to-right and right-to-left putts depend so heavily on pace, they require an expert touch to get the ball rolling on the right line at the right speed — slow enough to take the slope but fast enough to reach the hole. Hitting the ball just right is a tough assignment, particularly when a match is on the line. 

I understand this problem well, which is why I’ve developed a strategic — and slightly unorthodox — method for putting that takes a little pressure off hitting the putt at the perfect speed. And if you aren’t sweating the pace, I guarantee you’ll make more breakers. 

The key is swinging on an out-to-in path, which means I catch the ball on the toe of the putter at impact. Because the toe end of the putter is lighter than the center, it effectively deadens the hit, allowing for a more aggressive stroke. Naturally, the combination of cutting across the ball and catching it on the toe is going to cause the ball to move a hair to the right. By using this rightward spin, I can hit the ball on an “inside line” to the crest of the break and let it drift back and down to the hole. 

Exactly how you hit the “inside line” putt depends on the direction the putt is breaking. 

Faced with a right-to-left putt, many golfers make one of two mistakes: 1) Fearing they won’t reach the crest of the break, they hit the ball too hard and run right through it; or 2) Attempting to be too delicate, they never reach the crest so the ball falls off line on the low side of the hole. 

I take precautions against both mistakes by setting the blade square to a point inside the highest point of the break and then making a firm stroke. I take an open stance, which promotes the out-to-in stroke and a hit off the toe of the putterblade. Now when the ball reaches the crest of the break, it is moving fast enough not to fall off course, but slowly enough to take the break. 

Again, to hit the left-to-right putt I set up open and aim the putterblade inside the crest of the break. This way the ball will drift back to the normal break and toward the cup. 

I’ve been using this method for a few years with success, especially on lightning fast greens. Despite its unorthodoxy, I consider this percentage putting because even if I hit the ball a little easier or harder than I should, the ball still has a chance of rolling in one of the side doors; that’s a luxury the bold putter never has. He has to be right on the money, otherwise the ball will run past the hole or pop out because it’s moving with too much steam. 

If you fall into the category of the overly bold putter, make a visit to the practice green and give my method a try. I’m sure it will give you the inside line to lower scores.

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The post 4 areas you must improve to shoot lower scores, according to data appeared first on Golf.

The post 4 areas you must improve to shoot lower scores, according to data appeared first on Golf.

Golf is an impossible game to perfect. No matter how good you get, there’s always room for improvement.

This axiom is what makes the game so tantalizing — and so frustrating. Even on days when you’ve got everything working, there are still ways you could’ve done better. That’s what keeps us coming back.

Because of this, golfers are obsessed with learning ways they can improve. Back in 2007, legendary instructor Dave Pelz capitalized on this and joined with GOLF Magazine for a little research project in which he identified four areas of focus golfers can improve to shoot lower scores.

Check it out below.

4 key areas to shoot lower scores

If you want to improve your playing skills, you have to know exactly what needs improving. It won’t help to empty a bucket of range balls with your driver when it’s your putting that’s killing your scores.

I understood this 30 years ago, when I first began measuring the skills of the PGA Tour players worked with. This was before laser rangefinders, so I had to walk off distances before tournaments then run outside the ropes during events to chart where players hi their shots. I used the shot patterns and scores to identify weak areas and help the players turn those weaknesses into strengths. This research-based instruction formed the foundation of my teaching career and Scoring Game Schools, and today it remains a driving force within both.

Last summer, the PGA Tour offered me its ShotLink laser technology and software to study the games of amateurs. With their help, the Pelz Golf Institute staff measured every shot from more than 300 amateurs on four holes over four rounds at Arrowhead Country Club during the PGA Tour Superstore World Amateur Handicap Championship, in Myrtle Beach, S.C. This data allowed us to assess amateur skills with an accuracy never before possible. (And I didn’t have to do any running!) The purpose of our research was to compare amateur skills to those of PGA Tour players (which ShotLink measures) and use this data to help you assess where your game lies within that skill spectrum. Knowing this, you can accurately identify where your game needs the most work and how hard you must goat it to become a better player.

1. Driving

Your big problem: Poor balance, direction and target selection are killing your accuracy and distance.

3 reasons your numbers are bad

1. Poor balance: Pros don’t lose balance — or change foot position — until they complete their swing and walk away. You swing your driver so hard you fall off balance.

2. Over-swinging: Pros rarely swing their driver at 100 percent. You try to hit the ball as far as you can with your driver, trying to squeeze every inch possible out of your swing.

3. Bad aim: Pros aim down the right or left sides of the fairway, anticipating that the ball will draw or fade back to the center. You have no bias in aim direction, nor do you favor a side of the tee box to compensate for your tendency to hit drives left or right of your setup alignment.

3 ways to improve

1. Throttle back: Commit to “swinging within yourself” and finishing in balance without moving your feet. This may mean only using 85 to 90 percent of your available power (or effort), but your results will improve because of it. Good balance is fundamental to good golf. You can’t hit drivers repeatedly in the fairway without it.

2. Favor the fade: Aim left if you usually slice. I know you don’t want to play for a slice and you’d rather take a chance on hitting one straight (or even with a draw), but this attitude hurts your scores. Always play the best you can with the game your brought to the course that day. If you want to eliminate your scale, work on it during practice at the range. On the course, aim down the left side and get your drives to stop in the short grass.

3. Play for accuracy: Do whatever it takes to hit the fairway, even if that means hitting 3-wood or a hybrid off the tee. If you give up 10 percent of distance for 10 percent more accuracy, you’ll shoot lower scores.

2. Par-3 play

Your big problems: Under-clubbing, toed shots, and poor target selection.

3 reasons your numbers are bad

1. Poor contact: Pros make contact in the center of the clubface more often, making it easier to control the distance they hit their shots. You make contact out on the toe of the clubface. As a result, variable and less than maximum energy is transferred from club to ball. (More than 90 percent of the amateurs came up short of the flagstick, no matter what club they used.)

2. Incorrect numbers: Pros know how far they hit each club in their bag, and seldom overestimate how much distance they will generate with the club they select. You select clubs based on an expectation of hitting them almost perfectly and having the ball carry precisely to the hole. The problem is, most amateurs don’t hit perfect shots very often. (Even the amateurs who hit a solid tee shot mostly came up short of the hole.) 

3. Bad target selection: Pros calculate pin position and hazard locations when selecting their landing targets. You aim directly at the flagstick regardless of how close hazards are to the target.

3 ways to improve

1. Cut out the cut: As you swing through the hitting zone, move your clubhead down and out toward the target. This will curb your tendency to cut across the ball and hit it on the toe. Practice this by hitting balls from three inches inside a three-footlong two-by-four piece of wood aimed exactly at your target.

Instruction

2. Go long: Select the club that will get you to the back edge of the green. The ball will end up past the flagstick if you catch it pure, but no harm done since your shots are rarely straight enough for you to make the next putt anyway. Choosing a stronger club will carry your average shots closer to the hole, leave shorter putts and keep you out of hazards short of the green.

3. Be scatter-brained: Study the shot patterns at right. Imagine hitting 100 balls to this par 3; which pattern would your shots fall into? From now on when you play a par 3, look for the safest area on the green for your shot pattern (not your perfect shot) to fall into, no matter where the flag is.

3. Bunker shots

Your big problem: You make “funky” swings in the sand

2 reasons your numbers are bad

1. Poor technique: Pros play the ball forward in their stance and use an almost standard wedge swing. They open the clubface and slap the sand to get the ball out, but otherwise the mechanics of their swing are smooth and normal. You make unique, funky swings in sand. (In analyzing play at Arrowhead Country Club, we saw hard swings, vertical-V swings, reverse pivots, players falling backwards, players stopping their swing immediately after impact, etc.)

2. Poor low-point control: Pros practice making sure their club enters the sand the same distance behind the ball every time. You never hit the sand in the same place twice. Sometimes you contact the ball before sand — or hit very close behind it — and send it flying over the green. Other times you hit too far behind the ball and leave it in the hazard.

2 ways to improve

1. Play it forward: Try this: Hit a normal wedge shot from grass. Notice how your divot is forward (toward the target) of the center of your stance. This exact same swing which contacts the ball before it hits the ground on fairway shots can also serve as your sand swing. It will correctly hit two inches behind the ball in sand if you simply position the ball forward, out from the instep of your left foot.

2. Give yourself room: Play to reasonably safe sections of the green. Based on ShotLink data, Tour pros should take dead aim at this flagstick because they’ll end up within about 10 feet of the hole. But if your average leave distance is longer, you’d be wise to aim out to the right where there’s more green to work with.

4. Putting

Your big problem: Touch for distance, getting line-locked and not reading enough break are hurting your putting performance.

2 reasons your numbers are bad

1. Leaving it short: Pros rarely leave makeable putts (10 to 25 feet) short of the hole. You leave many makeable putts short. You’d score significantly better by not leaving so many makable putts short. Look at the scatter patterns of second putts remaining after the first makeable putt is missed. This “leaving-it-short” phenomenon was surprisingly consistent across the handicap range of amateurs but almost absent for pros.

2. Playing it low: Pros play more break and miss more putts on the high side of the hole. You almost never play enough break and leave a high percentage of missed putts below the hole.

1 way to improve

1. Focus on speed: Too many golfers complain of pulling or pushing after missing a putt. These complaints are indicative of too much focus on line, with not enough attention paid to speed or distance. The truth is, a putt’s speed determines how much it breaks, and therefore usually controls its line (left or right) as it approaches the hole. In addition, most golfers don’t read the right line in the first place.

Having said this, do me — and your game — four favors this season: (1) Focus on rolling putts beyond the hole on average; (2) Allow for a little more break on every breaking putt you see; (3) Recognize that for every putt you leave short you’ve thrown away a chance of holing it; and (4) Realize that until you miss as many putts above the hole as below, you’re STILL not reading enough break on average. Do these things for me and you just may start putting like a professional.

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The post How should you define a ‘good’ putt? Legendary short-game coach explains appeared first on Golf.

The post How should you define a ‘good’ putt? Legendary short-game coach explains appeared first on Golf.

When it comes to teaching short game, Dave Pelz is the king. Over the course of his life, Pelz worked with numerous Tour pros and major champs, and (quite literally) wrote the Bible on short game.

GOLF Magazine was lucky enough to work with the legendary short-game coach, too, and in the late 80s he penned an article outlining what constitutes a “good” putt. Check it out below if you want to enhance your own putting — and to see if you agree with the original principles of the short-game king himself.

What’s a ‘good’ putt?

“Never up, never in.” An old saying, but still words to putt by. After years of working with pros and amateurs, I’ve determined that the key to sinking more putts is to charge the cup the way Arnold Palmer did in his prime. In fact, my studies show that the speed that gives a putt the greatest chance of dropping would send the ball approximately 17 inches past the cup if missed.

A good putt, therefore, has to be hit hard enough to have a chance of dropping. But just hitting the ball hard enough to get it hole-high doesn’t always qualify it as a good putt. In other words, you may not have stroked the ball firmly enough to give it the best chance of dropping because of the effect variables such as break, grain, spike marks, footprints and even wind have on roll.

Putting

The influence of outside variables became evident in a series of tests with Tour pros Ben Crenshaw, Peter Jacobsen, Tom Kite and Tom Purtzer.

Under perfect (what I call “pool table”) conditions, where the ground is flat and the surface smooth, these pros holed on average 99 percent of 3 footers, 85 percent of 6 footers and 70 percent of 10 footers. Under real conditions (an “average” putt subject to the variabilities of slope and surface irregularities), these Tour pros made on average 85 to 95 percent of 3 footers, 45 to 55 percent of 6 footers, and 15 to 30 percent of 10 footers. (The chart running down the side of the opposite page lists a more complete run-down of the pros’ “make” probability under “real” conditions.)

The players’ success rate shows large differences between perfect and real conditions, due to the unpredictability of the outside variables. Again, the best way to beat them is by stroking a putt hard enough to minimize their influence.

When was the last time you babied the ball, and it took too much break or was knocked off line by a spike mark? Or, faced with a three footer, have you ever ignored possible breaks and simply banged the ball into the back of the cup? You probably thought, “Even if I miss, the ball won’t finish too far past the hole.” That’s the attitude you should have on every putt.

Looking at the chart, notice that the pros’ percentage on putts of more than 10 feet is nothing spectacular. But their ability to can putts jumps for 10 feet and less; this is the range that separates the pros from the amateurs. Tour players usually putt on manicured greens in tiptop condition, where any outside variables are least likely to come into play. If the pros putt best on greens almost free of these variables, it makes sense for you to putt as if those variables didn’t exist, even if they do. And my studies prove that the way to do that is to hit the ball firmly to the cup.

Try worrying less about direction of your putts and more about pace. Trust your senses to align your body and putterhead on the target line and devote your attention to stroking the putt at the proper speed. Remember, the best way to override those variables on the green’s surface that are beyond your control is to roll the ball right through them. Hit a “good putt” by charging it to the cup and you’ll sink more of them.

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The post This unorthodox putting technique could be the fix your putting needs appeared first on Golf.

The post This unorthodox putting technique could be the fix your putting needs appeared first on Golf.

Putting can be a maddening skill to struggle with. Although it typically constitutes the shortest strokes, mastering your touch on the greens can at times feel impossible. Even the pros have difficulty with it from time to time.

One such example? Twelve-time PGA Tour winner Paul Azinger. In the mid-1980s, Zinger had yet to win on Tour and ranked outside the top 100 in putting. So, he turned to fellow pro Corey Pavin for some help.

What Pavin shared with Azinger was an unconventional putting grip and technique to use on the greens. And although it looked a little funky, it was highly effective. After putting the grip in play, he started stacking up wins, culminating in a major victory at the 1993 PGA Championship.

In the midst of Azinger’s putting resurgence, he joined GOLF Magazine to show our readers how the funky technique worked — and how they could implement it into their own games. Check it out below.

Azinger’s unique putting technique

This is my putting grip [below]. Pretty strange looking, right? It may look weird, but it works. When I picked it up from fellow Tour pro Corey Pavin late in 1985, I ranked 134th on the list of putting leaders; this year, I rank fourth.

I recommend this grip, especially if you think your putting stroke is too wristy or if you want the putter to feel like an extension of the left arm.

First I’ll explain how to take the grip. As you practice it, read on: I also have some unorthodox thoughts on the stroke and a strategy for holing more putts that differs from most pros’.

To take the grip, place your left hand on the club in a very weak position, the palm almost under the handle. The right hand goes on very strong, also underneath, so the fleshy heel of the hand covers the left middle and ring fingers. Extend the left index finger over the back of the right hand so the tip lies between the two middle knuckles. Be sure the left thumb falls over the right fingers, not on the shaft.

The main advantage of this grip is that it stabilizes the left wrist so the left arm and putter shaft work as one. With the wrist locked, neither hand dominates the action. This keeps the putterface square to the target line as you draw the club back and swing through.

But the grip isn’t all I do differently. I like to “zing” the ball with a short rap, not a long, flowing swing. I never worry about how long to make a backswing. Instead, I stand over the ball and imagine the line I want to roll the ball on running away from the front of the ball, then I “pop” it along that line. I make sure to follow through toward the hole, and I hold my finish position — the blade up and away — instead of recoiling.

My stroke may be firm, but I’m not an aggressive putter, that is, I don’t try to bang the ball home by bouncing it off the back of the cup. To do that, you must roll it right over the center of the hole, and if you’re off by just a little, the ball will most likely lip out. I stroke softly enough so that if the ball doesn’t catch the hole dead-center, it still has a chance of catching the lip and dropping in.

Charging the hole has another drawback: A long second putt. If you miss an aggressive putt, you’ll probably face a three or four footer coming back. When my soft putts miss, I have only an eight to 10 incher to negotiate. If my second putt is longer than that, I feel I’ve hit it too hard. My feeling is that if I miss my birdie, I prefer to have an easy tap-in left instead of a missable three footer to grind on. I would rather have a “gimme” par putt than risk a three-putt bogey.

My plans change slightly on long putts. With 40 or more feet to cover, I try to get the ball within a two-foot-wide bucket around the hole. And while I normally don’t like to leave the ball short of the hole, I don’t mind a long one finishing a little shy, so long as ’m left with nothing more than a two-footer for my second putt.

A case sometimes made against rolling the ball softly on short, pressure putts is that it’s more reliable when you’re nervous to make the firmest stroke possible and bang the ball into the back of the cup. I don’t buy that argument because you still have to hit the hole squarely to make the ball drop. I still prefer to make a soft approach even on the most crucial putts, thanks to a pre-shot routine I’ve developed to calm my nerves. I control my breathing: I inhale to a slow, leisurely count of four, then exhale to a count of four. If you’ve ever watched me walking up the fairway to face a pressure putt, you can be sure I’m doing this, and that I continue to do it while I prepare for the stroke. 

This routine calms my pounding heart, which helps me avoid making any nervous, jerky motions that could interfere with the stroke. The routine also gives me something to think about as I get ready, helping take my mind off the pressure of having to make the putt.

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The post Gary Player’s technique for easily escaping fairway bunkers appeared first on Golf.

The post Gary Player’s technique for easily escaping fairway bunkers appeared first on Golf.

Fairway bunkers are scary hazards. With deep valleys and high lips, reaching the green feels all but impossible. Heck, sometimes just getting out feels like a win.

When you’re in the fairway bunker, you’ve got to be extremely precise. If your contact is anything but near perfection, the ball will not react the way you need it to. It’s a shot that most recreational players have little idea how to hit. They simply swing and hope.

It doesn’t have to be this way, though. With a few technique adjustments, you can hit fairway bunker shots that will make your playing partners swoon.

In the text below, we’ve pulled an article from the June 1971 issue of GOLF Magazine in which Gary Player shares his best advice for hitting from a fairway bunker. Follow it and your struggles from the sand traps off the fairway will be a thing of the past.

Gary Player’s fairway bunker advice

I’ve seen people enter the fairway bunker as though they were stepping into a snake pit, swing so fast the club looks like a propeller at full rev, then, once they do get the ball out, run after it as if they were escaping a forest fire. There need not be such apprehension.

The key to the shot is the word “fairway.” When you’re faced with a middle or long iron from a bunker, the shot should be played almost exactly as it would be from clipped grass. The ball must be struck first, the divot taken afterward. Repeat: The ball must be struck first!

In aid of this, I do make one compensation in my mental approach to the shot that might be helpful. I look at the front of the ball instead of the back, figuring that if I do make a mistake it’s better to hit it thin rather than catch sand before contacting the ball.

Now let’s get down to the specifics of the stroke.

Address

As with any shot, setting up is very important. However, a little extra care is called for here because the footing is different than you normally have on grass. Since you are dealing with loose material, you must dig in solidly to avoid body sway. This can be done by rotating the feet once you have determined their placement. I like to favor the inside of the right foot in fixing the entire right side firmly. Since you are going to take the full swing you would from the fairway, the ball should be played slightly left of center, with the hands forward of the clubhead. The weight should be primarily on the left side. You need not, however, overdo any of these. The phrase to keep in mind is, “Be Natural.”

Takeaway

The backswing should be in the conventional plane, but you should avoid any excessive weight transfer to the right side. Be sure to extend the club fully on the way back. The turn should be primarily with the hips, but don’t let too much body turn pull your feet from their implanted position. On top the club is in the proper horizontal position. 

You don’t have to overswing on this shot for if you make proper contact with the ball it will go just as far as it would from off the fairway grass. To insure that I have completed the backswing, and to prevent rushing the shot out of fear, I feel my hands fully cocked at the top of the swing.

Downswing

The move back to the ball is the same pulling action that you employ for all shots, with the hands remaining cocked and the clubhead lagging behind. There has been a definite move to the left side, developed by pushing the right knee significantly toward the left.

The ball gets struck first, and then the sand “divot” is taken. Notice that the head is fixed over the spot where the ball had rested, and that my weight is very much to the left side. However, there has been no body sway because my left foot is still firmly implanted in the sand. Because the ball has been played from a conventional position in relation to the feet, the club is able to move easily through to the target. Only after the ball is well on its way to the green does the right hand begin to turn over. My head will come up to follow the flight of the ball only after the follow through is nearly completed.

How to practice

Just before the British Open in 1959, I had serious doubts as to my ability to even compete. It seemed that I hit every other shot “heavy” in the practice rounds, and couldn’t seem to get anywhere from the treacherous fairway bunkers at Muirfield, in Scotland. I spent one evening hitting practice shots off the sand on a nearby beach and quickly taught myself to catch the ball first, not just out of the sand, but in the fairway as well.

What I did was draw a line in the sand, place the back of the ball on the line, and then hit the shot. If contact was made correctly, the line would still be there after the ball was sailing on down the beach. This little tip enabled me to regain my confidence, and I went on to not only complete, but win the event.

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The post Why you struggle shifting your weight during the golf swing appeared first on Golf.

The post Why you struggle shifting your weight during the golf swing appeared first on Golf.

Weight shift is an integral part of the golf swing — but if it’s done correctly, you seldom even notice it. When it’s not done correctly, though, it can cause a ton of problems.

If you’ve found yourself reading this article, there’s a good chance you’re searching for answers on why you’re doing it wrong. If that sounds like you, fear not. The fix is probably easier than you think.

Back in 1973, GOLF Magazine‘s instruction editor, 1966 PGA Championship winner Al Geiberger, wrote about just that. Check it out below and you’ll soon be shifting your weight just like the pros do.

Weight shift basics

You know how to cure a weight problem — you eat either more or less depending on your condition. What you’re trying to do is to establish a balance between your bone structure and the matter that covers it. That balance allows your body to operate efficiently, comfortably and effectively. Your body should operate in the same way during a golf swing and, again, balance is the key.

The moment you lose your balance, you lose the coordination of your bodily parts and destroy their ability to produce an effective golf swing. Unbelievable as it may seem, every mistake made by any golfer of any size and any caliber is a direct result of a loss of balance.

By definition, balance can refer to the mind and the body as well as to the forces that act upon them. In this article, I’ll deal specifically with balance as bodily equilibrium, on the maintenance of that equilibrium and on the release of the forces stored in a moving but balanced lower body.

The mistakes you make

There are three ways to lose balance in the lower body.

The first way is the sway, which is allowing the weight to move too far to the right on the backswing. The usual result of this is an equally over-extensive shift of the weight forward on the downswing, causing the club to reach the critical impact area later than the body and without any force provided by the body other than the hands and arms. With the club and body acting independently, there is no possible chance for consistency and distance.

Instruction

The second way to lose balance is the reverse transfer (aka reverse pivot). Here the golfer takes the club to the right but leans to the left on the backswing and reverses the action on the downswing. This golfer constantly tops, slices and hits generally weak shots. With the weight moving one way and the club the other, the golfer is actually defeating himself. His ball usually winds up in the same place as his weight — way over on the right side.

The third problem is lunging, where the golfer allows all his weight to go up and down during the swing. This can take the form of rising onto the toe on the backswing and collapsing toward the ground on the downswing, or, more rarely, sinking toward the ground on the backswing and then lifting onto the toes.

What causes these mistakes?

Swaying

Swaying is an overzealous weight transfer which can be caused by setting up too far behind the ball at address, lifting the left heel improperly on the backswing, or — this is the most likely cause — poor left knee movement. 

Problems with the left heel and the left knee are often connected. Although it’s not wrong to allow the left heel to lift (Jack Nicklaus is a good example of this), the average golfer usually turns his left knee at the same time. This means he has no means of weight support on his left side.

The knees are the answer to the problem. The left knee should go towards the ball, not towards the right leg. If you’re a man who sways, your left knee probably turns in. I move the left knee towards the back of the ball, which is the exact center of balance at the top of my backswing. My whole body is poised directly over the ball and my left side moves immediately through the ball at the start of the downswing. This ensures a cleared left side and a fluid weight shift.

There’s another positive point evident in my position at the top. The right knee although still bent, is braced inward. This is a natural movement if the left knee goes out to the ball because the body wants to stay balanced. When the left knee turns in, however, the weight transfer is too rapid and too severe for the right leg to react and it follows the action of the left knee. That’s why the swayer’s lower body has both knees bent and to the right of their address positions at the top. His weight is centered well behind the ball, making it almost impossible for him to transfer it back to and through the ball before the club arrives.

Reverse transfer

The reverse pivot is usually caused by rigid knees. If your legs are too tight, their rigidity prevents your muscles from reacting naturally to outward pulling forces of the backswing and followthrough. You become, in effect, a pole with its balance point between your legs. In order to keep any sense of equilibrium, the body will move one way as the club moves the other.

Driving

Another cause of the reverse transfer is attempting to keep the . left heel glued to the ground on the backswing. This can lead to too much weight being kept on the left foot, and the left knee collapses under the strain.

The result of being heavy on your left side at the top is you start the downswing with your right side. As I’m sure you’re aware, hitting from the top brings the club down across the ball from right-to-left. This forces your left side to get out of the way of your arms immediately. The only way it can do that is to turn to the left, forcing the weight to drop back onto the right side. To cure the reverse transfer, first check that at address your knees are nicely flexed. During the swing, emphasize the correct leg action — the roles of the left and right knee I have detailed above. Allow the turning: action of the shoulders to lift the left heel slightly while the right leg resists. The knees are the “level” of the swing. If you keep them level during the swing, good balance is assured.

Lunging

Lunging is the result of excessive effort on the part of the upper body. The golf swing has to be a balance between the upper and the lower body as much as a balance between the body and the earth. You’re trying to “muscle” the ball instead of swinging the club and letting the natural power created do the job for you.

A lunger has the wrong conception of the swing. He thinks he can get power by rearing back and using the shoulder muscles in a sideways action. Because of this, the legs are not used properly. 

The best thing he can do is to imagine staying in one place and taking a nice, full shoulder turn. The shoulder turn must also be tied in with proper leg action.

Another tip for the lunger is for him to take one more club than he thinks he needs for the shot in hand. Very often a fit of lunging can come from trying for too much distance. Having one more club encourages a smooth swing.

Summing up, proper use of the legs will help with all these problems. A good posture at address, with flexed knees, will prevent one cause of reverse transfer — stiff legs. Good leg action prevents swaying and dipping onto the left leg, the other cause of reverse transfer. And in turn, good leg action allows the body to make a proper turn, which eliminates lunging.

Exercises to improve balance

Sam Snead has always claimed he’d play two shots better every round if they’d let him play barefoot. I suggest you go out and find out why. Take your shoes off the next time you’re hitting balls and you’ll notice an immediate improvement in ground awareness. Spikes tend to dig in and minimize your feelings of excessive weight movement. But in bare feet, you know right away if you’re overdoing it.

As an exercise, stand with your feet flat on the ground and press downward slightly. Do this with your knees rigid and then with them comfortably flexed. You’ll notice quite a difference in how much more ready the body is to move gracefully when the knees are flexed.

Instruction

Now lift your left heel off the ground until you’re up on your left toe. You’ll notice how unnatural that position is. It’s fine for ballet dancers with wooden blocks in their toes, but the natural support for the average person is the ball of the foot.

Still barefooted, hit a few balls with your feet together. Not only will this show you how little the weight really transfers in the golf swing, it will give you more awareness of how your upper body functions.

If you’re really ambitious, try standing on the left foot only. Lift your right foot off the ground and set up to the ball. You’ll notice that the ball should be played forward in order for the left side to balance properly. Try to hit the ball this way. If you shift your weight too quickly or too far, you’ll fall over. If you hit from the top on the downswing, you’ll fall back. If you make a smooth, unhurried swing, you’ll be able to stay in balance and will probably surprise yourself with how well you hit the ball.

Along the same lines, you can stand on your right foot. If you transfer your weight excessively on the backswing, you’ll get a distinct feeling of falling.

Balance, then, is a feeling. It requires a reaction of forces that keeps your weight centered over the ball. If you’re having problems with weight transfer, analyze your problem through the exercises given and then use the corrective measures that suit your problem.

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The post Fred Couples has a simple technique for high, soft-landing wedges appeared first on Golf.

The post Fred Couples has a simple technique for high, soft-landing wedges appeared first on Golf.

Shots around the green are always easier when you’ve got plenty of room to work with. Unfortunately, you won’t always be afforded that luxury. Sometimes, you have no choice but to try to loft the ball high and land it soft.

This is a shot that’s thrilling to try, but difficult to execute. If you don’t quite clip it right, you’ll dump it short or blade it over the green. The contact has to be close to perfect if you want the ball to settle near the hole.

These shots look quite easy when the pros try them, but for weekend warriors, the shot is anything but simple. Luckily for you, learning how to hit the high-lofted pitch is easier than you may think.

Back in the July 1992 issue of GOLF Magazine, Dick Harmon explained Fred Couples‘ secrets for easily executing the shot, which you can read below.

How to hit a high-lofted pitch

There’s no denying the wedge’s role in Fred Couples’ fantastic year. So far: A wedge to two feet turns up the heat on Davis Love III on the first hole of the L.A. Open playoff; a wedge to within a foot of the hole forces a playoff with Corey Pavin at the Nestle; a wedge stops three inches from the cup on the third hole in the final round at Augusta, jump-starting a sluggish round into a victorious one.

Fred’s wedge play is unique (and brilliant) because unlike some pros, who hit low, spinning shots that skip once on the green, then scoot backward, Fred launches his ball high into the air with less backspin. The ball floats upward, then drops nearly straight down, stopping almost immediately. Fred never has to factor “action” into his distance equation: He throws the ball right at the pin, knowing it’s going to stay there.

You may not have problems spinning your wedge shots back from the pin, but chances are you’ve had a few roll farther forward than you planned. Wouldn’t it be nice to know that the ball is going to stop where it lands?

The key to a high-flying, soft-landing wedge is something golfers have traditionally been told to avoid: a loop. Look at the sequence of Couples’ swing above. Standing with his feet pointed left of the target, Couples brings the club back outside the target line, as if he were planning to cut across the ball. Then, in an effortless, almost lazy motion, the club drops to the inside and swings from inside-to-out relative to his feet, but square to the target. The result is a shallow angle of attack and a clubface that is laid back slightly, adding loft.

You might notice that Couples’ swing with a wedge looks no different than his swing with any other club. He takes the club outside the line with everything from sand wedge to driver, then drops it inside as he makes his powerful move down and through the ball. Taking it back outside the line for full shots is a move I’d recommend only for the good player, who has the ability to reroute the club to the inside coming down. Keep your loop limited to the wedge if you have any doubts. That’s where it’s easiest to pull off, and where it will do you the most good.

Start with your feet pointed 20 to 30 degrees left of the target and the ball off your left heel. Be sure, as always, to coil your upper body as your arms swing the club outside the line to the top. Then let your arms drop to the inside. Gravity takes over from here, pulling the club into the ball. Don’t force it: You should have a feeling of slipping the club under — rather than crunching down upon — the ball. 

Slipping the club under the ball is easiest from a fluffy lie, so stay in the light rough until you feel comfortable with the move. Once you have it down, try it from a tighter fairway lie. 

Why it works

Most golfers hit their wedge shots with a steep up-and-down swing. The descending blow, made with the blade square, creates a “pinching” impact that can create unpredictable action when the ball hits the green.

Fred’s wedge shot also begins with an upright backswing, but the “loop” at the top brings the club sweeping through impact on an inside-to-out path. The face is more laid-back, adding loft without the pinching action that imparts extra backspin. The result is a high shot that stops quickly after landing.

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The post 11 of the best golf tips of all time, according to top teachers appeared first on Golf.

The post 11 of the best golf tips of all time, according to top teachers appeared first on Golf.

Golf tips are a dime a dozen. If you’re into golf, you likely can’t go a single day without your social media algorithm feeding you posts about how to fix any swing ailment you may have. It’s both a blessing and a curse.

On one hand, you’ll never be left searching for answers when you find a problem with your swing. On the other hand, it can be difficult to discern what’s actually good information and what’s just noise.

A good rule of thumb: Only take swing advice from teaching pros. You wouldn’t treat your illnesses based on the advice of a random Tik Tok video, so why would you do so for your golf swing? If you’re serious about getting better, only listen to those with the proper credentials.

In the text below, you’ll find a collection of the best golf tips some of our GOLF Top 100 Teacher alums ever received. The tips were originally published back in 2002, but there’s a good chance some of them can still help you today.

11 great golf tips

There hasn’t been an original idea in golf instruction since Old Tom Morris gave Young Tom his second lesson. Every tip you’ve ever read or heard — even in GOLF Magazine — has its origins somewhere else. They have been handed down through generations of instructors and players via lessons, clinics, books, magazines, observation, and word of mouth. Even Ben Hogan’ alleged secret, wasn’t. It’s just that nobody had won nine majors with it before.

But that doesn’t mean recycled tips are worthless. Far from it. Like precious heirlooms, tips that do get passed down are valuable, because they get results. If they didn’t, they wouldn’t keep popping up over and over again.

Below, 11 of our Top 100 Teachers tell us about the best tips they’ve ever heard and explain why they work so well. After these tips help you, feel free to pass them on. Just be sure to tell everyone you saw them here last.

1. “Swing the club back to 7 o’clock and out to 1 o’clock.” —Bob Toski

During a golf school that I was observing, Bob Toski was teaching a student who was swinging out to in and hitting slices. To help this pupil, Toski drew a clock on the ground with spray paint-with the target at 12 o’clock and the target line running back through the 6-and had his pupil swing the club back through 7 and forward through 1. Helped by this visual aid, the student was able to fix his swing path.

You don’t really need to paint a clock on the grass. Just visualize the face on the ground as shown, and feel as if you are swinging from 7 to 1. In reality, the clubhead will never reach 1 o’clock, but this image will help straighten out both the path and ball flight. —Rick Grayson

2. “Feel like your left shoulder is intersecting the target line about 30 yards in front of you at address.” —Al Gerring

My father, Al, who was the pro at Union Country Club in Union, South Carolina, would say this all the time. Most players hit weak slices, and this set-up tip helps load up the right side, prevent a reverse pivot and promote a swing from the inside — a path that encourages draws. 

The important thing to remember is that only the shoulders are closed. Begin by lining up the feet, hips, and shoulders square, or parallel, to the target line. Then swivel just the shoulders until they intersect the target line. This way, you’re not changing your aim while setting up for a more powerful swing. —John Gerring

3. “Throw the clubhead.” —Jack Nicklaus

Jack Nicklaus offered this tip at a clinic I attended. It means you want to produce a whipping action that increases clubhead speed and puts your club on the correct path from the top of the backswing. When your right wrist is fully loaded at the top, it forms a 90-degree angle with the club. Trying to hold this angle for as long as possible in the downswing, as some suggest, is too difficult to time properly.

Instead, “throw” the clubhead so the toe passes the heel just after impact. If you slice, throw the clubhead to the right of the target to promote an inside-out path, and feel like the toe is passing the heel before impact to close the clubface. Just make sure the right elbow drives toward the target and the shoulders keep moving along with the clubhead. If the right elbow stops before reaching the ball, you will lose power and accuracy. —Robert Baker

4. “Make the freest swings on the tightest holes.” —Jack Nicklaus

I read this in Jack Nicklaus’ Golf My Way years ago, and it has stayed with me. On tight holes with a lot of trouble, people tend to try to steer the ball, which causes them to apply extra pressure with the arms and manipulate the club improperly. 

Provided you have the correct alignment, grip, and sequence of movement, the club wants to swing properly; let it. Don’t try to influence it with excess tension. If you let everything rip, you have a better chance of swinging the club on the correct plane and hitting straight shots that avoid trouble. —David Lee

5. “Move the grip of the putter back and through during the stroke.” — Doug Sanders

I was a young assistant pro at Westwood Country Club in Houston, and Doug Sanders was the resident tour pro. One-evening, I was trying to fix.a wristy putting stroke when “Doug Walked by. He gave me this tip, and I’ve been sharing it ever since

To prevent the breakdown of the wrists, move the grip in the same direction as the putterhead. Wristiness comes when the grip moves in the opposite direction of the head. In short, make the grip an extension of the putterhead and pretend you’re hitting the ball with it. This will keep your wrists firm and the putter on the right path. —Todd Sones

6. “Keep your right elbow under the right forearm at the top of the swing.” —Fred Daly

I was 17 years old and suffering from a bad case of the shanks when I received this tip from 1947 British Open champion Fred Daly. The next day, I shot a course record at Shandon Park Golf Club in Northern Ireland.

This position of the right elbow at the top of the swing helps to keep the club on plane. If the elbow juts out away from the body, the club will “cross the line” (point to the right of the target) at the top. This requires downswing compensations that are difficult to time properly. So to keep your swing on plane, try to achieve this position, as if you were a waiter holding a tray of food. —Geral McCullagh

7. “Keep your butt against a wall during the entire swing.” —Jon Fiedler

Jon Fiedler, now head professional at Las Posas Country Club in California, gave me this tip to cure my hook. It prevents the club from dropping too far inside on the downswing, which promotes a hook. If you tried this drill with a hook swing, the clubhead would hit the wall. In addition to correcting swing plane and path, standing against a wall will help your posture.

Find a wall and simulate your swing without a club. Touch the right cheek against the wall at the top of the swing, both cheeks against it in the downswing, and just the left cheek at impact. With a club, the wall should be about belt-high. —Bruce Hamillton

8. “In a greenside bunker, take a wider stance and set up low with lots of knee flex.” —Seve Ballesteros

After the first round of the 1991 Scottish Open at Gleneagles, Seve Ballesteros was having a greenside bunker contest with Per-Ulrik Johansson that turned into an impromptu clinic. A group of us gathered to watch Seve explain his technique as he hit soft bunker shots.

Many people think you want a steep path in a-bunker, but that will just cause the leading edge of the club to dig into the sand. As Seve showed, you want to.set up wide and low, which encourages a shallow swing that will keep the clubface open and allow the.clubhead to slide under the ball and use its bounce to produce soft, high shots. 

By the way, Seve won the contest. —Gary Smith

9. “Never let the distance between the wrists change throughout the entire swing.” —Mac O’Grady

I was on Tour in 1987 when Mac O’Grady gave me this tip. He explained that because of the wide range of movement possible in the wrists, they could produce many swing flaws. Maintaining this gap will ensure that the clubface remains square with the proper loft. If the gap changes during the swing, the wrists are manipulating the clubhead. For example, if the hands flip the club through the ball and change the distance between the wrists, the result can be fat or thin shots.

Think of this gap as an indicator of what the clubhead is doing. Keep this gap intact, and your clubhead control will improve. —Mike Bender

10. “Pretend you’re bowling: Throw left-handed hooks in the backswing, right-handed hooks in the followthrough.” —Hank Haney

Hank Haney introduced this image to me. In the backswing, envision the lane extending away from the target; start the imaginary bowling ball along the left edge of this lane and hook it into the middle. In the follow-through, the pins are at the target; start the ball along the right edge of the lane and move it left.

To throw hooks in bowling, swing your arm up then across your body so the palm faces down at the finish. Duplicating this motion during the golf swing will put the club on the correct plane and encourage the clubface to close through impact. —Peter Krause

11. “Try to hold your back to the target in the downswing.” —Nick Price

Nick Price said this as we were sitting in a cart seven or eight years ago, when he was in his prime. I have also heard Fred Couples mention it since. This tip really helps amateurs overcome one of their biggest faults: Coming over the top, caused by the chest opening too early in the downswing.

When you keep your back to the target in the downswing, the arms drop straight down from the top, then swing the club from the inside. It will be easier to square the clubface and you will hit the ball more solidly with more distance. Don’t worry about turning toward the target; the momentum of the swing will pull you through impact and into a full finish. —Rob Akins

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The post Ben Crenshaw’s legendary coach reveals secrets to elite putting appeared first on Golf.

The post Ben Crenshaw’s legendary coach reveals secrets to elite putting appeared first on Golf.

Ben Crenshaw’s putting stroke is one of the best ever. The long and languid move brought him tons of success, including 19 PGA Tour titles and two green jackets, culminating in a spot in the World Golf Hall of Fame.

Gentle Ben honed his craft on the grainy greens of Austin, Texas, under the guidance of his lifelong coach, the late Harvey Penick. There aren’t many coaches in the history of the game who command as much respect as Penick — and for good reason. His teachings guided some of golf’s all-time greats, and his Little Red Book became gospel for many more.

If you’ve never digested any of Penick’s teachings, do yourself a favor and dive in now. The legendary Texan had a knack for simplifying even the most complex of topics, and his track record is hard to argue.

Back in the late 1970s, Penick joined GOLF Magazine to share some of his wisdom on developing a proper putting stroke on the greens. You can check it out below.

Harvey Penick’s keys for great putting

It often has been said the best teachers are those who teach least. Harvey Penick is a dramatic case in point. His most famous pupil, Ben Crenshaw, is acknowledged as one of the best putters in the game. Yet the lessons Harvey did not give him — on putting — may have been the most valuable.

“If I can see natural ability,” says Penick, “I’m not going to fool with anyone. Ben might have gotten that nice, long, smooth stroke from his father, who has one just the same. I believe you inherit muscles that are conducive to certain kinds of strokes.”

There also is an emotional makeup “conducive” to a certain type of putting stroke, Penick suggests.

“It takes steadier nerves for that good, long stroke. A nervous individual can’t putt that way. He tends to have, or maybe should have, one of those short, snappy strokes.”

Still, Penick believes this “feel” must be combined with sensible fundamentals, and in the following article refutes many of the much espoused theories on putting.

Grip

Horton Smith, a very fine putter in his day, always believed you should — hit against a locked left wrist, and believe that still holds. But the more interesting development in putting — over the past 10 years or so has been the positioning of the right hand. Check players like Nicklaus, Palmer and Casper and you’ll see that the | right hand is in a “strong” position, rolled slightly clockwise and under the shaft of the putter.

If a man puts his hand more on top of the shaft, the general position for hitting full shots, he’s going to roll over on it. The putter blade has a much better chance of staying square if the right hand is under the shaft a bit.

You don’t want that strong position for hitting the other shots, which goes along with my feeling that you don’t putt the same way as you swing a hitting club. I don’t tie them together for one reason — the putter is not made like the rest of the clubs. 

A chip shot is nothing but a little drive, because the ball is played to be hit at the lowest point of the arc. In putting, at impact, that arc should be extremely shallow. You simply don’t need the kind of power you get with a grip that allows the right hand to roll over.

Grip pressure

I like the words “at ease,” because if you get too relaxed and loose I’m afraid that in the pinch you’re going to snatch it, grab the club at impact.

Putting

Whether you hold the putter tight or loose is determined by how far you’re going to hit the ball. That holds for all shots. If you’re going to hit the ball as hard as Arnold Palmer does, you’re going to hold the club tighter than if you are going to hit it as hard as my wife does. In putting, you simply hold it tight enough to control the club.

Alignment

If you have trouble lining up, you should walk up to the ball from behind, glance at the putter blade, then the hole, put the blade down square to the line and take your stance. The blade often looks crooked because you look at it so much from above and thus lose the sense of angle. But if you get the blade into position the way I suggest you’ll be fine.

Lie

Almost everybody flexes their knees some at the address, or should. The way to know the putter is setting right for your build or the type of stance you take is to look at the angle of the shaft. It should conform with the angle of your thighs. The more you “sit down” to the ball, the more tilt to the angle of the shaft and vice versa.

Ball position

At address your eyes should be directly over the ball. You can test yourself by holding a putter to your eye and letting it hang vertically. If you should drop it, the putter should hit the ball. You might be somewhat inside the ball or behind it, like Nicklaus, but you should never be outside or in front. You should never lean so far forward that you are looking back at the ball, because it is very difficult to see if the blade is square.

Now I don’t like to give up a good stroke, one that works. But I believe a low-to-the ground takeaway is the best. You get that by playing the ball off the left heel or even the left toe. The farther toward the right foot you play the ball, the higher the backstroke will be, and if you’re high on the backstroke, you’re going to hit the ball with a descending blow. 

I’m not too concerned about the follow-through because the ball has already been hit. I do believe, though, that the length of the follow-through should match the length of the backstroke.

The stroke

I’m sometimes criticized in my teaching for allowing people more play in their bodies. But some people, particularly women, have to have some. That’s mostly in respect to full swings, but I also believe a little movement, or freedom, in putting is not bad. 

Putting

Those knees together to keep from moving helped Arnold Palmer be a very bold long putter. I don’t like to say I told you so, but I always did say one day he’s going to have to make those three-footers coming back, and I’m afraid that’s what has happened. I don’t mean you should move a lot, maybe none at all, but if your body is too rigid over the ball you’re going to lose some feel.

Short vs. long

I teach that on short putts you concentrate on line. If you practice enough, your muscles will tell you how hard to hit the ball. For long putts you concentrate on distance. Practice as though you were pitching pennies. You want to stop the ball at the right distance to give luck a chance. I don’t like the notion, “Never up, never in.”

Very few putts are left short if a ball is hit solidly, and I believe every once in a while, when practicing, you should put some chalk on the back of the ball to see where you’re catching it on the blade.

Breaking putts

I don’t believe in picking a spot around the hole. I think you should picture the entire roll or curve of the putt. I also think it is wrong for a golfer to rely on a caddie or anyone else to give him the line, because only the golfer knows how hard he’s going to hit the ball. Speed of putt is important. Once you’ve decided how you’re going to putt, go with it. 

Now I have an aspirin for those of you who have trouble with breaking putts. For either break, but especially right-to-left, which is probably the hardest for right-handed golfers, I suggest hitting the ball off the outside end of the blade, near the toe. That’s for shorter putts. Most golfers who miss right-to-left putts are hitting the ball on the heel, because they throw the clubhead out to be sure they get the ball high enough. They heel the putt and give the ball the wrong spin.

Confidence

I think everybody who wants to pay the price can become a good putter. The price is practice, although admittedly it can be kind of dull.

There also are certain people who can make a putt when they most need it. An old story about Harry Vardon relates that he missed a short putt once, and a fellow in the gallery told him he should have made it, that it was a pretty easy one. Harry bet the man a hundred pounds he couldn’t make a three-footer. The bet was advertised, a gallery came out to watch, and, of course, the man missed.

Now, confidence, I believe, is the result of making putts — not the cause of it. I’ve been studying the words faith and confidence an awful lot. A friend, who knows words, gave me this: You have faith first and then confidence. If a pupil believes what I teach him, or what he learns any other way, and will work on it, he’ll gain confidence when he starts making them.

People have asked me what the three most important shots in golf are. Ben Hogan says that it’s drive, chip, putt. In professional play that seems correct. But for the mass of golfers, I believe the order is putt, drive, and chip.

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