Will Curry

If you’ve been golfing for some time, you know that you have a club which is far more dependable than any other in your bag. If you haven’t found your MONEY MAKER CLUB (the one you can take to the bank), you are not enjoying this game. It’s time for you to take this game more seriously and find your club that will make your “money shots”. We are talking about the shots that really count when the pressure is on.

Of course the pros count on every club to perform and you would like to achieve the same consistent performance with every club. Why not grow the strength of your game with a club that you can control.

Driver: This club is designed for distance, but you have to learn to draw or fade every shot back into the fairway.

Fairway metals and Hybrids: They are designed to nip your ball off the grass and work very well as long as you keep your head on a level plane and swing with power through the ball within a quarter inch of the ground.

Putter: Only the most premium courses have pristine smooth greens and even then, divots and ruts from clumsy feet can distort the direction for every putt. That’s why you should be pleased when you 2-putt every green.

Middle to High Irons: Used properly by taking some or no divot, these clubs should be your most forgiving clubs and should give you more successful Money Shots. By swinging with weight transfer to your leading foot, you have more height forgiveness than any other club. Of course, your setup and lineup must be correct, but these irons don’t have to be swing quickly for speed and more distance as your choice of the correct club with a moderate swing speed should be the easiest to execute.

Start enjoying your game more with a controlled swing using irons to hit your target. Spend more practice time with your irons to hit more greens in regulation and watch your scores drop. GOLFSTR+ is a great golf training aid to practice your controlled swing with a straight leading arm. Buy one today at www.GOLFSTR.com

Victor Haviland is on a tear. His game is effortless and if he keeps this up the Europeans will win the Ryder Cup. Of course, he is only one of the players on their team but his consistency will be contagious. Wouldn’t we all like to catch his disease?

Ball Fight Control
Learn from Victor’s success. He chooses his target for every shot but even more important, he decides on his ball flight to hit every target. Pros know how to control their ball flight and that’s why they have so much success. Bend’m like Beckham, rip’m like Bubba or pitch’m like every major league pitcher. You have to choose the shape for your delivery to nail your shot.

Driver Flight
Your driver is designed for distance—PERIOD! The most successful drivers control the flight of their drives. They know that a straight drive is not easy to accomplish on every drive. It’s definitely easier to plan a draw or a fade in order to avoid a slice or a hook. We all need to learn to control the shape of our drives. DON’T expect a straight drive every time you pick up your driver.

Iron Flight
Long irons are more difficult to control than short irons. That’s why you need to develop longer drives to shorten your approach shots. The good news is that irons are designed to give you more control of your ball flight to a known distance. Victor Haviland admits that his control of ball flight with his irons is the most critical part if his game. When he has an iron in his hand, he knows that know that he can get his ball close to the pin and that gives him the chance to birdie every hole.

In Tiger’s hay days, he was one of the longest drivers, but he was not the best as hitting fairways. Fortunately for him he was one of the best scramblers to reach the green from the rough.
You should be practicing every aspect of your game but practicing to hit close to the pin from the fairway or from the rough will benefit your game more than any other shots. Victor and Tiger both know this and you should too. Practice with your GOLFSTR+ to learn to control the flight of every shot and “hit’m close”. Buy one today at www.GOLFSTR.com

As we age, our flexibility and strength deteriorate as well as the distance of our drives. I was surprised when I saw the following chart displaying Driving Distance by age and by handicap. This data was accumulated by all users of the Arccos Golf Caddie Smart Sensors so it must be the average for all of the hits and mishits for every male player as the numbers seem low.

According to the chart below, low handicap players in the age range of 70 to 79 have an average drive of about 215 yards and a mid-range handicap player is averaging about 180 yard drives.

Every golfer that I play with, admit that they are losing distance with every club as they age. Unfortunately, most of the aging golfers hate to consider moving up the a forward tee. To compensate for their shorter hits they tend to swing faster and mess-up more shots.

Best Tips for Aging Golfers to Lower Their Handicaps
1/ Move up to the tees where you successfully reach the green in 2 shots on par 4 holes.

2/ Don’t swing harder, swing smarter. Tee up your drives so that half of your ball is above your club head when it’s resting on the ground. If you aren’t getting good altitude with your drives, slope your shoulders back in your setup. Setup with your ball forward and power your driver up as your club arcs upward.

3/ Mark the face of your clubs with foot powder or a dry powder marker to that you can determine where you are impacting the face of your club. The ideal impact is slightly higher and outside of the dead center of your club face.

Practice with GOLFSTR+ to slow down your backswing and give yourself time to rotate your hips and shoulders and to cock your wrists for lag. Buy one today at www.GOLFSTR.com

Ever wonder why your next drive, after sinking a birdie putt, sucks? It’s either adrenaline or that demon in your brain that makes you feel invincible. Golfers all suffer from this problem after you make a perfect drive and step up for the next tee shot, expecting perfection. The pros do it, but you are not a pro. What should you do to avoid our physical or mental demise in order to duplicate excellence in every shot?

What is the Cause of a Poor Shot?
Mishits are caused by rushing our swing and tightening up our muscles. We tend to shorten our back swing and reduce the length of our outstretched arms. I have learned that power, when serving a tennis ball, comes from relaxed muscles and the same applies to our golf swing.
(a) A loose grip helps your arm, wrist and hand muscles relax and whip through the ball.
(b) Tight arm and shoulder muscles tend to shorten your swing arc and generate hits off the outer end and toe of your club face.

Rotation Fix
Because we shorten our swing arc when we try to hit our drives further, try setting up with your ball inside of the centerline of your club face by up to an inch.
–In the worst case: if your impact is at that inside point of your club face, you will lose about 10 yards on your drive. But if you are adding more power and swing speed, with tense muscles, you will most likely find more success with your driving distance by impacting your ball at the mid point or outer club face.

-Best of all: you will not be hunting for your ball in the rough or OB, after you at least connect with your ball with the outer part of your club face. Why not setup to err anywhere on the inside of your club face?

Learn to Relax by Testing with a Pain Reliever

After taking a mild pain reliever, we all tend to relax and take the pressure off our next swing. You will be surprised at the successes of your next relaxed swings. This should be a wakeup call to stop trying to overswing and kill the ball.

Solution for Your First Tee Shot and Your Front Nine Jitters
Too many golfers lose distance or make mishits when they swing primarily with their arms. You need to wake-up your shoulders and hips to get them involved with your swing. After your practice swing, step up to your ball, relax and then waggle your club with a 3 foot back-swing by ONLY rotating your shoulders and hips. You need to get them both activated in preparation for your full backswing. Than make sure that you take enough time to rotate your body and add wrist lag at the top.

If you really want to take your practice swing from the range to the course, practice a controlled backswing with GOLFSTR+ to build power into every swing. Take your time to turn your shoulders and hips as well as your arms to add rotation and wrist lag. Buy GOLFSTR+ at www.GOLFSTR.com today.

Watching the FedEx Cup St Jude Championship, I saw Rory McIlroy missing too many putts on the first 3 days of that tournament. Just sinking 1 more putt, would have put him in the playoffs on the final day of that tournament. Please forward this blog to Rory as the content could have earned him an additional $2.5 Million. Of course, it should also help you too.

All golfers want to use any advantage to sink more putts. Choosing the right line to start your putts and swinging with the right weight are the 2 critical issues that I hope to help Rory and you for short putts. Pros sink about 44% of all 10-foot putts and their success drops significantly for longer putts. Distortions on the surface of the green will change the direction of every putt but small distortions closer to the hole are a much bigger problem as your ball slows down near the hole. So hitting firm enough to pass the hole is critical for your success.

1/ Ball Momentum is MORE Critical Near the Hole
Every putt needs enough speed to carry the ball at least 12 to 24 inches past the hole to avoid the distortions caused by imperfections near the hole. The most damage on every green is caused by golfers carelessly bending down at the hole to remove their ball from the hole. Pressure from a footprint or the head of a putter used for balance, cause these hidden distortions.

NOTE: When you putt to pass the hole you should plan on less break at the hole.

2/ Every Putter Can Sink ANY Putt
You can’t afford to worry about using the wrong putter for each day that you play a round of golf. Rory had his caddie cut down his putter by 3/16ths of an inch “because it was not exactly the same length as the putter length that he preferred”. This was a crazy request as he was using a flat grip and could easily slide his hands up the grip. This was a dumb excuse.

3/ Pointing Your Putter Is a Dumb Solution
In the middle of the 3rd round Rory was pointing his putter to line up his ball with the hole. That was a big mistake as he missed 2 putts from about 5 feet using that method (which he rarely uses). You can’t see a break by pointing a putter and you can’t feel a slight break at the hole by standing over your putting line at any distance along your putting line. You need to trust the break near the hole as your ball slows down. ( breaks along the path of the ball need to be considered to a lesser extent)

There are only 2 legal ways to measure OR feel the break near the hole: (a) by seeing the break as you look along the line of your putt from your ball to the hole or (b) by using GRAVITY to determine the amount of break at the hole, using your “calibrated” putter as a Plumb-Bob. [Stand near the hole on the line from the hole to your ball to see if the handle end of your putter shaft lines up above or in line with your ball (to find the high side of the slope at the hole).]

NOTE: You can only accurately plumb-bob with your putter if you “calibrate” it by lining up BOTH a known side (left or right as it is tapered) of the shaft and the direction of your putter face, with any door frame.

Practice putting with GOLFSTR+ with a flat leading wrist. Buy one at www.GOLFSTR.com .

Our golfing failures are caused by our perfect expectations for each shot. Yes, we watch the successes of pros on TV and expect that we can create those successes on the golf course too. Unfortunately, your progress in golf should be taken one step at a time. Like losing weight, you can’t do it over night. Set a plan for your game and take advantage of your progress.

Work on Improvements in Every Component of Your Game: You have to accept the fact that you have weaknesses in your game. List them and then go to work on each segment of your game:

1/ Driving to Hit the Fairway: Trying to drive for distance is a killer for most golfers. Set a goal to hit more fairways (or par 3 greens) for all of your tee shots. Hitting out of the rough, behind a tree or OB are all killers for your next shot. Why not focus on hitting the fairway with an iron, a fairway wood or your driver but keep moving up to longer clubs as your success in hitting fairways improves. [Pros are happy to hit 14 out of 18 drives to hit their target.]
2/ Approach Shots: If you know that your chance of reaching the green is a low percentage shot, why not layup on the safe side of the green (away from traps and penalty areas). It’s so much easier to pitch and roll a shot onto the green.
3/ Reading the Green from the Fairway: Hitting the green and rolling off into the fringe can be another killer shot. Determine where your shot will land and roll before you take your approach shot. Take advantage of the roll to give yourself a change for a 2-putt green.

4/ Practice to Cut Your Putts: Practice putting is the best way to cut strokes on every round that you play. Don’t expect to improve your putting without practice. You can only learn to reduce your putts by learning the feel for putting and reading greens. At least 40% of your practice time should be spent practicing your putts from every distance. Learning to make a good lag putt and then sink your second putt. A single putt green is just a bonus.
5/ Reading the Break: You may have 2 or 3 breaks in your putting line, but the slope closest to the hole is the most critical as your ball will break more as it slows down near the hole. Look at the line for any putt from the slope below the hole and again from behind the line from your ball to the hole. You need a good feel for the direction of the break and the distance of your putt.
6/ Short Putts NEVER Go In: Always putt to ensure that your ball will pass the hole by up to 2 feet. Even a 3-foot putt should be hit firm enough to pass the hole by at least a feet to avoid the many imperfections on the surface of the green next to the hole as most damage on the surface is done by golfers as they remove their ball from the hole. When you consistently pass the hole by up to 2 feet with every putt, you will learn to account for less break at the hole.

Practicing with GOLFSTR+ is a good starting point for every club in your bag. Stick to your plan to hit more fairways; make realistic layups or approach shots, hold more greens and make more 2 putt greens. If you make a poor shot, ensure that your next shot gets you back on track. Buy your GOLFSTR+ today at www.GOLFSTR.com

After Rory McIlroy’s win at the Scottish Open I anxiously read a blog which highlighted his victory which was based on a fresh new swing thought.  That heading was a real teaser as the article never exposed his wonderful thought.  But it certainly made me realize how your focus on a single swing thought can turn your game around.

I agree that a swing thought is critical if you want to be successful with each type of club, but it may change with every type of club. Each of your clubs have a different weight and swing characteristic so it’s only in your best interest to focus on a thought that will help you achieve excellence for each type of shot.

Driver Thought: This club is designed for distance so any swing thought should be to generate power with a shot that will land in your target fairway.  I personally aim to the right side of the fairway and setup to create a draw by slipping my trailing foot back slightly from my target line and teeing the ball up to ensure that the ball will launch higher.   My swing thought is to bow my wrist at the top (to shallow my down-swing) and rotate my leading hip to swing up the inside slot. (Rory does not use a bowed wrist.)

Iron and Hybrid Thought: These clubs are designed for a unique distance with better direction control.  At the point of impact, your sternum needs to line-up just in front of your ball to ensure that the lowest point in your swing arc is just beyond the point where your ball is resting.  Low handicap golfers shift their chest to line up their sternum during their down-swing.  Higher handicap golfers may find it easier to setup with extra bend in their leading knee to lining-up their sternum forward of the ball at setup (and hold that position through out their swing to impact).

Wedge Thought:  Plan your shot by choosing the right club and setup to allow your ball to land and roll out to the hole. Impacting with the ball before the ground is important but you need to practice the right amount of backswing to generate the distance and rollout that you want.  Focus your thought on the right amount of backswing.

Putter Thought:  After you line up your putt based on the expected break and distance you should practice your feel for the right amount of swing required to pass the hole by about 1 to 2 feet.  Your only thought during your putt should be to impact dead center on your putter face as you swing up your target line: DON’T MOVE YOUR EYES OFF THE POINT DIRECTLY BEHIND YOUR BALL until 2 seconds after impact.]

You may have your own personal thoughts but keep them simple.  Practice with GOLFSTR+ to perfect the correct swing with your arm and wrist for all 6 swing fixes.   Buy one today at www.GOLFSTR.com

NOTE:  Golf  Magazine said that Rory focuses on a wider takeaway so that he can shallow at the top and swing up the slot with rotated (open) hips.

I found 3 surprising opportunities that fired up Brian Harman to win The Open. They are not what you are thinking. He has NOT been winning for many years, but his game has recently been improving in spit of his aging body at 36. He has finally rejuvenated his game after 20 years of trying to find the magic again.

The most important fact that we should pay attention to, is that he never stopped trying to find perfection in his game and we should all do the same. These 3 points were critical for his success.

1/ An Unpleasant Inspiration
On day 3 of The Open, he started his day leading the field. Unfortunately, he made 2 early bogies in his round. Most golfers may see this as the end of their good fortunes and continue to crash and burn. Fortunately, a hostile fan heckled Brian with the comment: “ Harman, you haven’t got the stones to win” . Those vicious words were enough for Brian to turn around his day. It put fire in his belly. It not only inspired him on Saturday but carried him to victory by 6 strokes.

2/ Sticking to His Strategy
Harman had decided that the pot belly bunkers were the evil plague that destroyed the rounds for so many of the pros. He decided to select clubs on every hole to hit short of the bunkers. Most of the greens were surrounded by those bunkers so he also used high shots onto every green to avoid them. Even more important was his skill to hit long iron shots safely to the greens.

3/ Always Searching for Success
In recent years Brian was making a good income from golf but he wanted to find perfection. Knowing that his putting was letting him down, he found an old Golf Training Aid in his collection of golfing paraphernalia. He called it a “silly mirror”. He was “cutting” his putts and used the mirror to help him put a “baby draw” on his putts. [These are very strange words to describe any putting motion when the object is to hit putts STRAIGHT.]

After the US Open, Brian started using his training aid as a reminder to improve his putts. His putting heated up even more at Hoylake, where Harman led the field in strokes gained putting (+11.57 for the week). He sank 58 of 59 putts from inside 10 feet.

GOLFSTR+ may be the Training Aid that will kick-start your game with 6 swing fixes. Buy one today at www.GOLFSTR.com

Can you learn from Scottie Scheffler’s swing? He recently returned to World Number 1 with 6 wins since February 2022. He achieved this feat in spite of his wild footwork during his swing. Most swing lessons tells us to finish in balance. Scottie does this but his feet are flying throughout his swing. Should you attempt to duplicate his fancy footwork?

Scottie adds a lot of motion to his footwork during his downswing in orderto add more power. Others, like Rory McIlroy, achieve the same distance with a balanced finish using a more conventional golf swing.

I found this interesting review of Scottie’s swing in a recent blog:

[The defining trait of Scottie Scheffler’s golf swing is his footwork. During his downswing, his trail (right) foot slides towards his left. Greg Norman did something similar, and Scottie himself says it’s become a way that helps him feel athletic through the shot. His feet slide in the same direction as the club when it swings through, which helps transfer his weight and prevent a left miss.

It’s a move that may have been coached out of a player in a bygone era. But Scottie and his longtime coach, Golf Digest Top 50 coach Randy Smith, built around it. And therein lies the lesson, said fellow PGA Tour player Michael S. Kim on Twitter: “Find your best swing, don’t copy others.”

Kim’s point is a good one: That rather than caring how something should look, the ultimate goal is to meld a swing to your unique body. Everybody is slightly different, which means they’ll be more prone to swing the golf club in slightly different ways.]

In the long run Scottie may wear out body parts or he may lose his magic touch for direction control as his body tires out during each round of 18 holes (as noticed in a recent tournament).

Scottie’s spectacular record may inspire you to try his technique or your own unique swing features for distance and direction control. If that’s not working, you can always convert back to a traditional swing the way that Rickie Fowler got his game back on track.

Before you try to innovate a new swing, you should learn the basics by practicing with GOLFSTR+ for 6 swing fixes. Buy one today at www.GOLFSTR.com

Over 10 years ago, I developed GOLFSTR+, a golf training aid to remind me to keep my leading arm straight during my backswing. I knew that I had a winner when I started playing a round of golf at Indian Wells Golf Resort in Palm Springs, CA while wearing my GOLFSTR+. After hitting a number of greens in regulation, I removed my training aid and soon lost my magic. Practicing and playing with GOLFSTR+ was a great start for my future golfing success.

I had learned that if I kept my leading arm straight, I could generate more distance, but my limited flexibility was limiting my backswing. In every round while playing without GOLFSTR+, I found that I would start bending my leading arm to increase my backswing to gain more distance. That bent leading arm would eventually destroy the consistency of my hits.

If you have been reading my recent blogs, you will be aware of my testing program to roll my leading arm elbow clockwise so that it faces up my target line during my setup.

BINGO: I now realize that this leading arm muscle roll is creating a strain in my arm that locks my leading arm straight DURING MY BACKSWING.

This is the miracle that I have been searching for to create consistency in every shot for distance and direction control. I just have to remember to set up with the elbow roll for every shot. I may add a 2 to 3 foot takeaway waggle for my driver but I definitely have to take my time to add a full backswing and a cocked wrist for lag at the top.

Many of the best pros and most of the female pros make a slow and controlled backswing as it has very little impact on the speed of their downswing.

Practice your lead elbow roll wearing your GOLFSTR+ for every shot and you will quickly see improvement in your drives and fairway shots. You will overcome the feeling of a strain in your leading arm as your swing becomes more consistent. Of course, you still need to transfer your weight as you execute your downswing and complete your follow-though. GOLFSTR+ reminds you to keep your leading arm straight. Buy one today at www.GOLFSTR.com