Online Golf Instruction – Page 86

13 Proven Best Golf Tips Ever! Understand the Ball Flight Laws Cure the slice once and for all! Learn what brings about solid and consistent contact Learn to manage your game Save more pars through better chipping Stop hooking the golf ball Eliminate one side of the golf course Make those 6-10 footers Learn a good wind shot Learn to control your minset Gain more swing speed! Develop a stock shot Control your low point Update: Three years later and I believe #11 - Gain more swing speed is the single most important tip in today's game of golf! If a golfer can gain 5-7 miles per hour on the driver and hit the ball 20-30 yards further they can reduce their average score even if they don't get much better elsewhere! My own experience includes taking my average driver swing speed from 98mph to 108mph. I am now averaging 4 birdies per round, up from 2 birdies per round. Many golfers are seeking ways to get better. Whether you are a beginner golfer or the expert golf, we all experience times of good golf and times of bad golf. Regardless of where you are at in this cycle, it is vital to keep learning about the golf swing. You might find something that makes you even or a different tip that can finally be the solution to your golfer struggles. Below we have our top 11 tips, we break them down into beginner and then the more advanced tips. Many beginner golfers struggle with issues such as slicing, poor contact, three putts or chunking chip shots. Many of the expert golfers struggle with fighting the hook, distance, or overall consistency. We want to be your resource to help you get better. We have explored many online tips and believe these are the best ever and what we could recommend. Best Golf Tips Ever Tip 1: Understand the Ball Flight Laws I believe that understanding the ball flight laws is a major aha moment for most golfers. When you learn the new ball flight laws, things seem to make more sense in the golf swing. Growing up I always heard that you needed to close the club face to hit a draw. So many of us would throw our hands and try to ensure the club face was closed. However, there was one missing piece of advice. The club face only has to be closed to the swing path, so in reality it can be open to the target line, but has to be closed to the swing path. Let’s explain further. The ball will start where the club face is pointing for the most part. For example, if the club face is 2 degrees open to the target line, the ball will start to the right. Then the direction it curves is relative to the swing path. So if the path is 4 degrees to the right of the target the ball will start right and then curve away from the path. These numbers above would result in a push draw. On the other hand, if the club face is once again 2 degrees open, but your swing path is 3 degrees left of the target line. The club face is open to both the target line and the swing path. The ball will start to the right and then curve away from the path once again which in this example the ball will curve right. The result is a push fade that is going to potentially end up in a bad result. The bottom line is that the ball will start where the club face is pointing and then curve away from the path. In order to hit a slight pull fade, a swing that has a face pointing 2 degrees left and a path that is 4 degrees left will result in a shot that starts slightly left and fades back towards the target. So how does this information help? It helps you solve your own issues. By reading your ball flight you are now able to understand what the club face and the swing path are doing. They work hand in hand. It is essential that you can be consistent. They don’t need to match up, but they should be within a certain range. Here is an excellent video on the new ball flight laws. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N2q4NRSmvic&t=3s Tip 2: Cure Your Slice Once and For All Now that you understand the ball flight laws, fixing your slice once and for all is possible. The reality is that a slice can happen regardless of where your club face is at impact. If the face is open to the path the ball will curve right. That’s when when you aim further left the ball just curves more to the right. The reality is that your face is open to the path. Which means it can be closed 5 degrees left, but if your swing path is 10 degrees left you will hit a pull slice. The best instructor I have come across to not only cure your slice, but to actually help you hit a draw is Jim Venetos. Now his swing is quite unique in that he promotes stillness in the body, the pre setting of the body, allows you to produce a path that is out to the right. With the face set up towards the target, you are almost guaranteed to not hit a slice if you maintain your pre set positions and stay still. Here is a video by Jim Venetos explaining how to end your slice. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WHL3i5Gnmoo Tip 3: Learn what brings about consistent, clean contact Clean, crisp contact in the golf swing is a result of getting your weight into the right spot at impact. If your weight it too far back, your shot might be a chunk or a top depending on what you do with your arms. I first learned the value of striking the ball this well through my studies in the Stack and Tilt method. Now before you turn away, understand that the Stack and Tilt has some great principles that many of the PGA Tour pros apply to their swing. The ability to ground in the same spot every time is a sign of an excellent golfer. The golfer who has a wide variation is almost guaranteed to have a high handicap. Here is a video showing this drill. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=im5UAZHeoDc Tip 4: Learn to Manage Your Game Managing your game is the key to improvement. Know what your strengths and weaknesses are and play to your strengths. If you are not a long hitter, stop forcing shots on par 5’s and instead try to turn a 5 par into a short par 3 by managing your 1st and 2nd shot. If you can turn the par 5’s into 100 yard or less par 3’s you will score better, as long as you can hit the green from 100 yards or less. Also, be careful with short siding yourself on your approach shots. Aim for the middle of the green and try to work the ball towards the flag. Too many golfers aim right at the flag and if they miss to the short side they are left with a near impossible up and down. If you are aiming in the middle, the chances of short siding your shot greatly decrease. Sidekick Golf has many great videos on course strategy. Here is one on breaking 100. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n-zRBOtIsjw Tip 5: Save More Pars Through Better Chipping The number one way to reduce your score is to become better at the short game. As a young golfer learning the game, I couldn’t hit the ball very far, but I could get up and down more than 50% of the time. This means if you only hit 8 greens in regulation over an 18 hole round, but get up and down 5 out of the other 10 times, you can shoot a 5 over par 77 assuming no 3 putts and that you don’t make any birdies as well. When you start to break it down to this point and consider that you can get up and down to save par, you realize the value of chipping well. One of the main issues we see with high handicap golfers is the shot they blade over the green. Related: Alternative Chipping Techniques (2 Options) Here is a video by Monte Scheinblum that brings a new idea and approach to the short game. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fk-xuhVjbME Tip 6: Stop Hooking the Ball The hook is the number one dreaded shot for the better golfer. A golfer hates nothing worse than hitting a hook with the drive on the tee shot. Ben Hogan fought this early in his career and did everything in his game to prevent the hook. He eventually found his secret and became one of the best in the game as a result. The fixes seem opposite of what one would think. Related: Why do I hook my driver? Tip 7: Eliminate One Side of the Golf Course This goes back to the ball flight laws. If you can consistently swing along a swing path that is controllable, whether this means swinging left or right of the target, this consistently will help you eliminate one side of the course on every hole. My favorite in this area is Shawn Clement. I believe he is the best teacher at instructing golfers how to work the ball. By working the ball both ways you can maximize the hole and attack pin placements. Doglegs or holes that curve a little in either direction can be played with the driver on the tee shot because you don’t have to worry about hitting it through the fairway. A must watch by Shawn Clement. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BeVBB7h9rgI Tip 8: Make More 6-10 Footers Did you know that the make percentage on the PGA Tour from 8 feet is right around 50%? If you really want to take the game to the next level focusing in on this distance and spending time practicing could make a big difference in your swing. Too many golfers spend time practicing from 20 feet when the reality of being able to make putts from this distance is pretty low. Instead practice those 6-10 footers. Related: 20 Golf Putting Tips (Make More Putts Today!) Here is a video that may help. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RtMRYYjZOtc Tip 9: Learn A Good Wind Shot The unfortunate fact is that on some days the weather can bring about new challenges. If you are someone that can only hit the ball high and far, the wind is going to get the best of you on those windy days. Having a go to wind shot for when the wind is in any direction other than to your back will be key in getting you to the next level. Tiger Woods made the stinger shot popular around 20 years ago and many golfers playing in The Open show the technique that we must have. Related: Playing golf in the wind Check out this vide on hitting the low stinger shot. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0FYwsdxTj4s Tip 10: Learn to Control Your Mindset When playing in a big tournament there are many golfers that can play stellar rounds and strike the ball very well. What will set those in the field apart from each other is the ability to have the right mindset. Golf is a difficult game, golf is even more difficult when you beat yourself up all round and get out of your game. One approach is to live with the outcome of every shot and just focus on going through your routine of the next shot. You can’t control the outcome, you can only control your response, which will hopefully influence the outcome. Focus on the process and try to find your happy place. Too many golfers base their identity on how they play. The reality is that not many people outside yourself really care how good of a golfer you are. Relax, enjoy the outdoors and be grateful you have the opportunity to play that day. Related: 3 Best Mental Game Resources Tip 11: Gain More Swing Speed Whether you are high handicap or low handicap golfer, what we can all benefit from is an increase in swing speed. The analytics are pretty clear on the importance of distance and the chances of being closer to the hole on a 120 yard shot when compared to a 160 yard shot. The further you can hit your driver, the better chances that you will create more birdie opportunities and make those long par 4s more manageable. I believe the best option on the market for improving your golf swing speed is the SuperSpeed Golf System. This approach gives you a clear protocol to follow with three different swing weighted clubs in as little as 10 minutes a day, every other day. Check out our review of SuperSpeed Golf, here. You have the chance to add 5-8% in your swing speed which could mean 20-40 yards of extra distance. Is it going to take some work...yes! Will it be worth it….YES! Take the challenge today and see if you can add some speed for your next major tournament. Use discount code Golfjourney365 for a 10% discount at SuperSpeed Golf. Here is one other option for additional speed. Gain 30-40 yards in 30 Days - Swing Man Golf Tip 12: Work on a stock shot Did you know that you don’t have to be able to work the ball both ways. That hitting a specific shot over and over again is actually desired by many golfers. First, it allows you to eliminate one side of the course and second, it provides the consistency that many of us desire from our golf game. Here is a wonderful drill you can use to build a stock shot: At the driving range, set up an alignment stick about 6-8 yards in front of you, straight down your target line. If you have a second alignment stick, set the stick 3-4 feet right of the first stick (for a draw) or left of the first stick (for a fade). Complete your initial assessment see how many times out of 10 you can start the ball to the right or left of your target. Pick one side and measure your game at this point. The goal is to eventually get 7 out of 10 shots to start to the correct side and draw back towards the target. Related: Deeper dive on developing a stock shot in golf Tip 13: Work on low point control The best golfers control their low point 99% of the time. The weakest golfers might only control their low point 50% of the time or worse. Regardless of your current age, controlling your low point is vital to your overall success. Not only does it help maximize your distance with the driver and longer clubs, but it helps you control your distance with your irons. It also eliminates really poor shots. Gone are the days of hitting it into water hazards short of greens or blading a shot over the green. The low point control is one of the keys to any golf game. The Drill: The Low Point Control Drill Take some yard paint and paint a 1-2 yard long line. Setup with 55% of your weight on your front side. Try to hit the target side of the line and see how many times out of 10 you can do this successfully! Repeat this drill every day for a month, tracking your progress and your ability to to this successfully in trials of ten. You may need to start with half swing and progress to full swings. If you are struggling, put more weight forward and work on keeping your head still to help control the low point in the swing. Related: 5 Golf Drills for Consistency Take Action... Get better today, we have some other resources to help: We have provided guides on how to break 100, 90, 80 and 70. Check out more below, if interested. How to Break 100 How to Break 90 How to Break 80 How to Break 70