2022 September

Golfers who shoot in the 80’s and 90’s need to focus on one stroke more than any other to lower their scores. Great chipping is by far the most important shot that you need to conquer before you will break into the occasional 70’s game.

Mid-handicap golfers miss over 50% of the Greens In Regulation. The higher the percentage of misses, the higher your score on every round. Missed Greens In Regulation also end up costing you more strokes if you can’t chip your next shot for a 1 putt par or a 2-putt bogie.

Of course, you need to practice your drives and approach shots but until you perfect them you need a chip shot that will get your ball close to the hole for a single putt. Too often mid-handicappers mishit their short chips because they are trying to make the perfect shot exactly the way the pros seem to make every shot. Unfortunately, by using a full backswing and wrist release through the ball, you often end up hitting your ball FAT or THIN.

It takes a lot of practice to make a professional chip shot where you hit your ball and then cut under the ball by a fraction of an inch on bare ground or through deep rough. The chance of mishitting your shot increases with the length of your WILD backswing.

WHY NOT PUTT YOUR CHIP with a perfectly controlled putting stroke? [I saw this method presented by Danny Maude.] The putting swing is the easiest swing in golf. You only need to swing in a pendulum motion to impact your ball at the bottom of your arc (exactly with the same length of arms when you setup for your shot).

Learn to chip using any iron like your 6 iron to run up to 30 yards to the hole or a wedge to chip and run 5 feet. Choose the appropriate club depending on how far your ball will run-out on the fairway leading to the green or the depth of the green. Because you are only making a pendulum swing by rocking your shoulders, you can minimize the chance of mishits.

Putting-Chip Execution
1/ Slide your hands down to the bottom of your grip (on your chosen club) so that the angle of your shaft is almost vertical, and the blade of your club is only touching the ground with the outer toe of the face.
2/ Make a flat wrist swing (like a putting stroke) in a pendulum motion so that the toe of your club impacts your ball by clipping it off the ground at the bottom of the swing arc.
3/ Practice your backswing and follow-though with enough distance and speed to carry your ball over the rough and to roll out to the hole. [For deep rough just use more power and practice.]
4/ Focus your eyes on your ball during your backswing and through impact as you must hit your ball exactly on the toe of your club and up your target line. [Don’t rotate your head.]

Practice your Putting-Chip pendulum swing with a flat leading wrist using your GOLFSTR+ training aid. Buy one today at www.GOLFSTR.com

Thought for the Day: Never wash your ball on the tee of a water hole.

It’s shocking to see ads for GOLF Training Aids that promise an instant fix for multiple swing problems. Of course, those ads are designed to get your attention. It really would be wonderful if all of their promises could instantly or ever come true.

I really admire the golf instructor who is promoting a wrist “clicking” device that will solve problems for “90% of golfers who struggle with mis-hits like fat shots, thin shots and shanks.” That really is an amazing promise. His offer is a solution for your poor “wrist position”. Of course, you need a flat or slightly bowed wrist on your down swing, but you also need the right posture, ball position, weight transfer, shoulder orientation, head position, hip and shoulder rotation and it all has to happen in a specific sequence in order to hit the sweat spot with the correct launch angle.

His offer promises consistently flush contact on ever shot and his promises continue on and on. That’s the dream of every golfer. I’m just using this ad as an example of the wonderful image that advertising creates in order to make a sale. If the ad was 50% true then most of their customers would be scratch golfers in no time. Fat Chance!

GOLFSTR+ Solutions
When I developed GOLFSTR+, professional golfers and trainers quickly pointed out 5 more uses as this training aid can be used for many more solutions than a Straight Leading Arm Trainer. Learning to play golf well is more than “a one trick pony”. There are so many unique requirements for a great game of golf. That’s why each club has its own characteristics to solve every possible combination of problems that you face in every round of golf.

I quickly realized that training with a training aid is only the starting point for great golf. When I launched GOFLSTR+, I realized that a continuous training program was needed to encourage customers to explore new ways to improve their games. To help golfers everywhere, I have created a Swing Tip Blog every week for the last 10 years. Finding useful tips from pros which I share in blogs, help me improve my game and I hope that they do the same for you too.

There are about 6000 GOLFSTR+ users. Many share their stories of success and others improve their game and then store this training aid in their bag for future use. There is always another way that golfers learn from this it. In addition to Straight Arm Backswing, it can be used for Takeaway Lag Training, Flat Wrist Backswing, Limited Wrist Lag Chipping, Flat Wrist Putting and Flat Wrist Chipping.

Like Michael Breed once commented about GOLFSTR+: It’s the ideal training aid as it has so many applications and you can just fold it up and slide it in your pocket. Golf Training Aids can work if they provide solutions for the many flaws in your game. Buy one today at www.GOLFSTR.com

Thought for the Day: Nothing straightens out a nasty slice like a sharp dogleg to the right

I recently read an article stating that the worst golf tip ever was “to keep your head down” during your swing. This may be somewhat true but there are times when your can really benefit from keeping your eye on the ball.

That article quoted Bobby Jones. “The average golfer would be a lot better off if no one had ever said anything about the necessity for keeping the eyes glued upon the ball.”

Lifting your leading shoulder as you lift your head during your downswing is really the motion that you WANT TO AVOID for your drives or iron shots. Keeping your eye on the ball DURING THE POINT OF IMPACT is really important. I have watched many professional golfers [INCLUDING RORY MCILROY] during a slow motion swing that clearly show them keeping their head motionless (and their eye on the ball) until the time directly after impact.

Bobby Jones and many other pros are only trying to avoid ruining a perfect swing by eliminating the shoulder turn and follow through that you need to complete the ideal swing. So don’t mess up your swing by locking your head and eyes on your ball AFTER the point of impact.

Lock Your Eyes on the Ball when Putting
There is a time when it is extremely critical to keep you head locked down and your eyes focused on the point where your ball is resting. Do this during your PUTTING STROKE. It’s extremely sensitive to any motion which changes your exact line-up with your TARGET LINE. Your minds eye in your brain is actually controlling the target line that your planned to hit.

DON’T ALLOW YOUR EYES TO FOLLOW THE SWING OF YOUR PUTTER.
The best putters like Cameron Smith and Rory McIlroy hold the stare of their eyes directly on THE IMPACT POINT ON THE BACK OF THEIR BALL until ONE second after the impact with their ball. There is no benefit in letting your eyes follow the ball immediately after the impact with your putter. The point of impact is only an instant but the shift of your eyes and and the sway of your head and spine can easily destroy the impact direction for your putt.

Execute YOUR PUTT
-Make a practice swing to feel the amount of swing required to pass the hole by 12 to 15 inches. -Choose a target line to allow your putt to drop down from your expected break to the hole.
-Focus your eyes on the distance to your hole and then trace your target line back to the impact point on the back edge of your ball.
-Swing with your shoulders and keep your eyes focused on the impact point for 1 second after impact.

Learn the right way to keep you eyes on your ball for every swing. For your power clubs (driver and irons) make sure to follow-through with your eyes and body to complete your swing. For putting, learn to lock your leading wrist by practicing with GOLFSTR+ and holding you focus on the ball for one second after impact. Buy one today at www.GOLFSTR.com

Thought for the Day: The only sure way to get a par is to leave a 4-foot birdie putt 2 inches from the hole.

Of course, we all want to sink more par and birdie putts but you will never improve your odds unless your reduce the distance of your approach shots to the green and reduce the length of your putts. This is pretty obvious but you do need a strategy to improve your odds for success.
Playing more rounds of golf will help but you need a plan to improve each shot to improve your success rate:
1/ Start at the Practice Range: Don’t waste your time or money on rounds of golf until you sort out how to make consistent hits with every club in your bag. GOLFSTR+ is a great training aid to help you hone your skills for 6 swing fixes.

2/ Identify your weaknesses and find a class or professional to learn the basics to improve your swing for every club. Your driver, fairway woods, hybrids, irons, wedges and putter all require unique swings to either LAUNCH, POWER or IMPACT your ball at the right attack angle.

3/ Prioritize Your Holes for Success
a. Par 5’s Are Priority #1: With a good drive and a good approach shot you should be within 100 yards of the green. [If you aren’t within 100 yards, you need to either improve your consistency or move to a forward tee. Golf is meant to be a fun game and it’s a lot more fun when you can reach the green in regulation for a 2-putt par or a birdie putt.]
b. Par 4’s Are the next Easiest to Par: Your drive should be in the fairway and within 150 yards of the green. [These approach shots are more difficult than within 100 yards so you need to improve your direction control to ensure that you either land and stay on the green or land in a perfect approach area where you can easily chip it close for par.
c. Par 3s are the most difficult to Par: Typically, they are over 150 yards, loaded with hazards and they have tricky contours. [Improve your ability to choose the right club to land and roll up to the hole. Learn to avoid hitting the green and then rolling into the deep rough surrounding the green.]

4/ Practice with Your RECOVERY CLUB: If you miss or roll off the green you will typically be faced with a short chip. These shots ruin most of your chances to par many of your holes on every round. Choosing the right club to clear the rough and roll out to the hole is a good starting point.
Eliminate 80% of your mishit chips by PUTTING with the TOE OF YOUR WEDGE OR IRON. If the rough is not too deep, you can stand closer to the ball and sliding your hands down to the bottom of your grip creating a more vertical shaft , you can actually use the toe of your club to PUTT up to 5 feet out of the thick fringe.

YES, just use a putting swing to lift your ball on to the putting surface and rolling out to the hole.
Par and birdie more holes by practicing for CONSISTENT Toe Putting hits with every club. Spend some of your practice time (in your backyard or at the range) TOE PUTTING out of deep rough with an appropriate iron or wedge to lift your ball high enough to reach the green and then rollout to the hole.

Sink more par and birdie putts by reducing the distance your each holes. For shots that land in the heavy fringe just off the green, practice your TOE PUTTING swing with GOLFSTR+ by locking your leading wrist. Buy one today at www.GOLFSTR.com

Thought for the Day: With practice and strength training you can easily get more distance off your shanks.