Swing Solutions

This game would be easy if we could hit every green in regulation. If your drive is reasonable and even if your drive is in the light rough you have a good chance that your next shot can reach the green. Unfortunately hitting the perfectly shaped shot to hit the green is the most difficult to make for pros and even more difficult for the Weekend Warriors.

When you are within 160 yards you can easily see the shot that will be ideal to land on or near the green and hold the green. You know the distance that your clubs will reach and you know that your lower lofted clubs will roll-out further on the green than on the fairway. So why is it so difficult to hit the green and stick on the green?

The Problem
For some strange reason, when the pressure is on to make the perfect shot we often push or pull the shot into the deep rough, a trap or the surrounding bushes. If your leading hand grip is completed correctly, the back of your leading hand should be facing directly up your target line. That is also the position that you want your leading wrist at the point of impact in order to hit directly up your target line.

If your club face is slightly open at impact, your ball will fade and if your club face is slightly closed at impact, your ball will draw. Your club face is just an extension of the position of the back of your leading wrist.

The Solution.
Colin Morikawa has the most consistent record for strokes gained when targeting the green. He slightly bows his wrist at the top of his backswing (which is nothing like the exaggerated wrist bow that Dustin Johnson creates and more like Jordan Spieth’s slight wrist bow). Colin’s goal is the same as all professionals. He wants his club to impact the ball when his leading wrist has a slight bow and is pointing directly up his target line.

NOTE: I’m not a PGA pro but I do know that we setup with our leading wrist slightly cupped for our driver and a flat leading wrist for the setup with irons (as the ball position for irons is behind the the ball position for our driver). I have tested bowing my wrist for my driver and my irons at the top of my backswing and find that adding too much of a bow shape on my leading wrist generates hooks and duck hooks. My drives and iron shots are straighter when I limit the bow on my leading wrist (as recommended by Hank Haney). My longest hits with the best directional control happen when I feel that my leading wrist is flat at the top of my swing. I also proved this when practicing with GOLFSTR+ (which is just one of the 6 swing fixes that it give you).

Controlling your leading wrist at the top of your back swing to a flat or slightly bowed position will also help you shallow your club for a more powerful impact up your target line.

Practice swinging your driver, fairway woods and irons with a slight bowed (or A FLAT) leading wrist to determine your best success. The power and strength of pros may generate the best result with a slightly bowed leading wrist but this may not apply to Weekend Warriors. Test your swing with GOLFSTR+. Buy one today at www.GOLFSTR.com

Golf Truism #72: Counting on your opponent to inform you when he breaks a rule is like expecting him to make fun of his own haircut.
 

I recently watched videos that reminded me of the 3 most important tips in golf. One tip is for your driving, one for your iron shots and one for your putting. Every hole that you play requires your instant focus on these 3 tips. Don’t start your next round without these thoughts.

The first 2 tips came from my favorite golf instructor, Danny Maude (just Google his name for a free site sign-up). His videos are excellent so I often use his video insights in my blogs.

1/ Impact Your Irons with a Forward Shaft Lean
Danny must be following my blogs as he is using the same mental cadence as I started using about a year ago. He mentally says “1 and 2” to allow for more time in his backswing to load his weight on his front foot during his transition. It just naturally happens if you don’t rush your swing at the top of your swing. It allows you to keep your head directly over your ball and to swing your irons with a forward shaft lean during your down swing.

The forward press of your hands during the downswing closes your club face and allows you to impact the ball with less loft angle and higher on the face of your iron (on the sweet spot).

2/ Power Your Drives UP with your Head Behind your Ball at Impact
Your driver has a limited loft because it is designed to impact your ball as the club head is arcing upward. That’s right, you are powering your ball with an upward trajectory as you push with your trailing foot to thrust the ball upward. Your head remains behind the ball at the point of impact.

Make sure that you tilt your upper body at your hips during your setup. Don’t sway back in your backswing. Just rotate your hips and shoulders while you cock your wrists to create lag in your backswing. [Danny did not recommend using the cadence count of “1 and 2” for this driver tip but I still use it to give more time in my backswing to cock my wrists during my transition.] Releasing your wrist lag, at the bottom of your swing, is where about 50% of your power comes from.

3/ Choose Your Putting Target Line and Practice the Right Swing Speed
About 40% of your strokes in your rounds of golf come from putting (or chipping and putting from just off the green). If you could eliminate your 3 chip and putt holes and make a few more 1 putt holes, your game will be a lot more fun. Great putters practice for hours daily to learn the feel of the hit required to pass a hole. Successful putter know how to:
a. Choose a target line and swing their putter up their target line (without arcing their swing) when they impact EXACTLY ON the center of their putter face as they hit up on their ball (for a forward roll).
b. Adjust for the changing slope for every putt, the green speed for the course they are playing on and for the changing speed as the green dries out during the day. Make a practice swing with the swing speed that you know will at least pass the hole. YOU WILL ONLY LEARN THIS SKILL WITH PRACTICE.

Never start a round of golf without practicing short and longer putts on a down-hill, side-hill and up-hill grade. You will never be a great putter until you learn the skill of adjusting to the green speed for the course that you are playing. For additional knowledge on this sport, there are golf apps for apple watch available.

Practice these 3 tips before you take them to the golf course. Of course GOLFSTR+ is a great training aid to help you train for the proper wrist and elbow positions for every swing with your driver, irons and putter. Buy one today at www.GOLFSTR.com

Golf Truism #71: Nonchalant putts count the same as chalant putts.

If you have been following these blogs for many years you will know that I have shared my research for the best golf swings. I’m hoping that you will discover the best swing fixes for your games (and my game too). All of my suggestions are provided by professional golf trainers or by offering the tips from the pros. Unfortunately I have also discovered that swing methods and tips from the pros may NOT be ideal for Weekend Warriors.

What the Pros have that Weekend Warriors Don’t
1/ The pros are in top physical condition so they don’t change their swing to accommodate weak arms or bellies or legs. They use their strength to power every perfect swing.
2/ The pros use hours of daily training both on the course and in the gym to build their muscle strength and memory for the perfect swing.
3/ Every pro has a slightly different back swing but they all deliver the same downswing for their draw, fade and straight shots. The direction of their swing at impact and the club face direction at the point of impact are ALWAYS CONSISTENT. That’s why you need to focus on impact and follow-through more than any other component of your swing.

The speed and direction of your takeaway should be personalized to help your hips rotate and to help your arms generate a proper wrist lag at the top of your swing. It doesn’t matter how fast you complete your backswing as long as you are in position for the perfect downswing. Your stance, your grip, your takeaway direction and the speed of your backswing can all be personalized.

Customize Your Backswing for Your Body
Your personal strength like CPR classes from CPR Certification Classes Austin Texas and your physical injuries are preventing you from creating the perfect swing of a 21 year old PGA Professional. As stated by the dog bite injuries lawyers, don’t try to generate the power and distance expected from a younger pro. Accept your limitations and focus on the perfect downswing and impact to a balanced finish.

1/ I have seen PGA professionals recommend various stronger or weaker grips to help golfers improve their swing for the perfect impact. Try changes to see what works best for your swing.

2/ You may want to try to open or close your stance to improve your impact direction and to control the release of you club directly up your target line.

3/ By experimentation I learned that my driver and fairway woods were NOT causing me to slice the ball but I was often hitting off the toe of the club. My downswing was pulling these clubs into my body during my inside to outside swing. I now line these clubs up with the ball on the inside of my club face during my setup. [Test your impact point by spraying Dr Scholl’s Foot Powder on the face of your clubs and learn from the impact point during each success and failure.]

4/ Choose your backswing speed to suit your physical limitations. Give yourself extra time to rotate your hips and spine as you cock your wrists for lag. You can take as much time as you want as long as your swing cadence is comfortable and allows you to accelerate from the top of your swing. REMEMBER: Your power is only coming from your downswing (not the speed of your backswing).

Don’t get too crazy with your swing adjustments as the swing that you see the pros make must be pretty close to the swing that you want to copy. Learn from the swing changes that you try at the range. Practice with GOLFSTR+ to learn (1) your straight leading arm backswing, (2) flat leading wrist in your chipping follow-though, (3) flat leading wrist for putting, (4) limited backswing wrist lag in chipping, (5) flat leading wrist at the top of your backswing and (6) 90 degree wrist lag in your backswing. Buy one today at www.GOLFSTR.com

Golf Truism #70: It’s not a gimme if you’re still away.

If you really want to improve your game, you need to track your successes and focus your efforts on what works for YOUR game. During your round of golf keep track of your performance. You should also keep a list of swing tips that are working for YOUR drives, fairway shots and putting. When you know what’s working for every type of shot you will build confidence in your game and the emotions that works best for your game.

Track Your Success and Failures
Focusing on what works for YOUR game will give you a fresh outlook at the start of every hole. To keep your mind focused on improvement at the end of each hole record your Fairways Hit in Regulation (mark “1” in the upper left corner of your score box); Greens in Regulations (“1” in the upper right) and Number of Putts (in the lower right) on each hole. Below your score box add any problems that may have increased your score: “R” for rough, “S” for sand, “C” for chip, “T” for tree and “W” for water. Of course your scores will drop if you have a full card of “1’s”.

List Your Success Factors — and use them! (This list will give you some ideas)

1. I can’t give you a solution for emotion because that is a very personal issue for every golfer. I can only remind you that your reaction to your last great shot or your last poor shot can destroy your next shot. Focus on being calm and relaxed before every shot to control your direction and distance.
2. Wind in your face or wind behind you are both your enemies as they destroy your cadence. Slow down your backswing and take time to make your full swing to finish in balance.
3. Eliminate Slices by taking your driver straight back, looping slightly at the top and shallowing your downswing so that your elbow almost grazes your side.
4. Your driver is longer and takes more power to get down to your ball. Take double the time in your back swing as compared to your down swing. [I mentally say the words “one and two” where “two” starts the downswing.] You may also want to try opening your stance to make it easier to power drive up your target line.
5. Use a Distance Finder to determine the distance where you want your ball to stop rolling. Get confident with the distance that each of your clubs can easily reach in flight and also how far your ball will roll out.
6. Always swing with a full swing for any club above your wedges. Choke down on your grip when you want a shorter distance. Never swing 20% harder to reach a target or you should expect to pull your shot.
7. Slow down your backswing to give more time to cock your wrist for lag before your downswing.
8. Putt with your ball slightly forward of the center of your stance to ensure that you are forcing the ball to roll over the top (instead of hitting the ball into the ground so that it bounces on its way to the hole). [If you are missing 3 to 6 foot putts this is an amazing fix.]
9. Feel Your Swing: This may sound strange but you will learn to “feel” your swing when you slow down your backswing and take full control of my downswing and the swing up my target line. You know when you have made the right swing the same way you know that pros twirl their club or drop their club at the finish of their swing.
10. Sand Traps and Green-side Rough Shots are the most difficult shots for all golfers. Of course hitting the Green in Regulation avoids these shots. We all need to spend more time practicing different chipping techniques to improve our success in different grass and different sand conditions.

Yesterday I was 4 over par after 13 holes and then I lost my concentration or was it my MoJo ( or my real excuse: the humidity factor was 104 F). That’s exactly the reason why I decided to create this list. Plan to use this list or modify it for your personal list. Practice with GOLFSTR+ to get more consistent. Buy one today at www.GOLFSTR.com

Golf Truism #69: The shortest distance between any two points in a golf course is a straight line that passes directly through the center of a very large tree.

Watching The Open Championship I was drawn to the variety of golf swings by the leading contenders. It really did remind me that there is no such thing as a perfect golf swing. Each of the leaders have adopted a swing that works for themselves. That’s exactly the reason why you should try unique swing features that work for each of the top golf performers.

Luke Kerr-Dineen wrote an article about Marcel Siem (golfer from Germany) who lost his winning ways when he tried to copy Dustin Johnson’s dramatically bowed wrist at the top of his swing. Marcel was looking for more distance but he lost control of his direction. He recently changed back to a slightly cupped wrist to turn his game around and ended up tied 15th at The Open. Siem, who played his best golf with a cupped leading wrist and open clubface at the top of his backswing, similar to Webb Simpson, was trying to adopt something on the other end of the spectrum and it didn’t work. Referring to his attempted change to a bowed wrist at the top of his swing he said: “I was top 50 in the world…and lost my card. That was the worst decision I ever made in my life.”

Here is a list of changes that you may want to try:
1/ Slow Backswing: Hideki Matsuyama had a very slow backswing and has now been speeding it up to a more conventional backswing. The winner of The Open this year, Collin Morikawa, was the only player who starts his swing with a very slow takeaway and then speeds it up as his club travels to the transition. He seems to be searching for the perfect arm and body location before he accelerates to the top.

2/ Bowed Wrist: Dustin Johnson, Collin Morikawa, Viktor Hovland, Jon Rahm and even Jordan Spieth use different levels of a leading bowed wrist at the top of their swing. They all hold this bent wrist through the point of impact. They all use their hip and body rotation to square up the face of their club at the point of impact.

3/ Wide Takeway and Shallowing the Downswing from the Top: Rory McIlroy is not leading the field in wins but he has a beautiful style similar to Adam Scott. I prefer this swing as it stops you from coming over the top and slicing the ball. Jim McLean loves to teach this swing as you start to open your hip and then swing up the inside slot to hit the inside quadrant of your ball.

4/ Putter Grip Styles: Most golfers use a conventional grip with their trailing hand gripping below the leading hand. The trailing hand claw grip is a new version of the standard grip. Bryson DeChambeau leads the field of many players who have adopted an extended putter handle pressed against a straight leading forearm (to avoid a shaking wrist). As an aging golfer I love this grip, even using a standard putter shaft , especially for short putts.

One of the 6 swing fixes that GOLFSTR+ can be used for is to practice your swing with a flat leading wrist backswing. Buy one today at www.GOLFSTR.com

Over the past few months Jordan Spieth has reversed the winning drought that he experienced over the past few years. Every golfer experiences highs and lows in their games but when your game reaches the pinnacle of golf, you hope to continue to improve. Unfortunately Jordan informed the golf world that he was on a mission to improve his strength and the distance of his drives. That was the beginning of his 4 year golf drought. Prior to his 2021 victory at the Valero Texas Open he admitted that he had no idea where his next drive was going. That was the beginning of his golfing rebirth.

Cameron McCormick had been Jordan’s only coach from the age of 12. During Jordan’s effort to increase the distance of his drives he changed to a more vertical backswing. His driving distance may have increased but his direction control was lost. Cameron reformed Jordan’s swing by starting with the point of impact and working backwards. This focus must have helped Jordan mentally lock in his current consistent swing.

Jordan Calls his NEW SWING: “Turn and Burn”
-He changed to a lower takeaway plane with a 90 degree wrist lag near the start of his backswing.
-At the top of his swing his wrist is now slightly bowed.
-He starts his downswing with the rotation or “TURN” of his hip as he shallows his swing plane.
-As his arms drop to swing from the inside slot, his trailing elbow nearly grazes his side.
-The BURN is the acceleration of his down swing and release of his lag as he whips his club through the ball.
-He only thinks about his hip TURN followed by his downswing BURN. The shallowing of his swing plane is the major change that he added to his swing for better direction control.

I picked up this description from the TV commentary during The Open Championship as they praised Jordan for his success. [He must be controlling his draw or fade using a slightly open or closed face of his club but this was not described during the broadcast.] Jordan missed a few short putts but his driving and iron games were almost perfection as compared to his historic past 4 years of dismal results.

You can learn your straight leading arm swing and wrist lag as well as 4 other swing fixes by practicing with GOLFSTR+. Just make sure that you shallow your down swing as you start TURNING your hips. Buy one today at www.GOLFSTR.com

Golf Truism #68: You can hit a two acre fairway 10% of the time and a two inch branch 90% of the time.

Do you realize that your mishits are fractions of an inch off of a perfect swing? The pros hire a team to find their weaknesses and to get themselves back on the road to success. Recreational golfers can take lessons and prey for success but I so often hear that a lesson has destroyed a friend’s golf game. So what should you be doing to take corrective action to become a WINNER?

The problem with the game of golf is that the slightest change in your emotions or your swing or the ground that you are standing on can destroy your next shot. A gust of wind can make you tighten up or swing faster. A slight slope on the ground can throw your ball left or right or create fat shots. A simple practice swing at your planned speed for your next shot can tell you a lot about your potential success. You need to find the keys for perfection in your drives, fairway shots, chipping and putting.

Every golfer has different strength and swing imperfections. What works for one person may not work for you but you need to sort out the simple tricks that will work for your swing.

Why Not Try the Success Found by other Golfers
1/ Longer Drives: Wilco Nienaber, one of the longest drivers on the PGA Tour, recently revealed his secret to hitting the ball 400+ yards. He changed to a 3/4 inch longer shaft and slowed down his backswing. He has a very straight arm in his backswing where his driver never reaches horizontal. Why fight a high speed backswing when you really want a high speed downswing.
2/ Sink More Putts: My wife was frustrated with her recent streak of poor putts. I told her that she must be putting down into the ball as her ball is bouncing off the ground at the point of impact. She ignored my suggestion (for about a year) to move the ball forward when putting until yesterday. She played 9 holes with the girls and shot a 40 with 6 pars. She was excited to tell me that she had moved her ball forward to a point off her leading heel. “You’re welcome.”
3/ Eliminate Slices: Take a wide backswing like Rory McIlroy and shallow your downswing so that your trailing elbow nearly grazes your rib cage. It will help you drive your shots straight up your target line.
4/ Consistent Hits: Eliminate extra angles by keeping your leading wrist flat in your straight arm backswing and your downswing.
5/ Stop Swinging for the Moon: Swing with a commitment to finish in balance. That will slow down your swing and improve your percentage of fairways and greens hit. Be happy with a 200+ yard drives and chose less lofted clubs with a lower swing speed to hit your target landing area.
6/ Matt Wolff has a pre-shot swing routine and a swing that just does not stand up to consistency. Don’t try it.
7/ Ben Hogan saw a unique move in one of Bobby Jones’ training films. He said that Bobby “shortened his left thumb to keep the club under control for repeatability during his backswing. He found that it works.” But not for me!

Practice your swing with every club for simplicity and excellence. Eliminate angles to take control of a golf swing that suits your mind and body. GOLFSTR+ is a great starting point to train your mind to minimize angles in your swing. Buy one today at www.GOLFSTR.com

Golf Truism #67: There are 2 things you can learn by stopping your backswing at the top and checking the position of your hands: how many hands you have and which one is wearing the glove.

Putting really is a crap shoot but the more you practice the luckier your will get. So how did John Rahm sink his 25 foot curving putts on the last 2 holes at the US Open? John gave credit to his new Odyssey Hot White putter but his putter also missed a number of other putts that week. When it comes down to putting success, every putter can sink every putt, if you choose the right line and swing with the right speed. So what should you do to sink more putts?

The professional tournaments are played on greens unlike anything that many of us will ever play. The surface of the greens for the 2021 US Open were setup with a 14 on the Stimpmeter (a ramp device used to measure the rolling speed of a golf ball on greens). Public courses are setup with about an 8 to a 10 on the Stimpmeter and Private courses are setup with anywhere from 9 to 13. I was fortunate enough to play on The Bears Club (a private Jack Nicklaus course) just prior to The Masters a few years ago, when that course was setup for the tour pros to play on greens with putting speeds like Augusta National Golf Club with a Stimpmeter of 14. Putting on those greens is like putting in another world. The pros have no choice but to adjust their swing rhythm to accommodate the speed of those greens.

What should you do to sink more putts on every course that you play?
1/ The Stimpmeter of greens is different on every course and it also changes during the day as the greens dry out with sun load during the time that it takes to play 18 holes. Even the pros suffer from the increased speeds of the greens as they approach the end of their round. They often second guess the speeds and end up hitting short of the hole as they try to reduce their putting speed. Don’t fall into this trap after you make a few surprising longer putts followed by putts that are short of the hole. Pay attention to the changing putting speed of the greens and adjust your swing accordingly.
2/ Practice Putting Greens: Never start a round of golf until your hit some long and short putts on the practice putting green. It should be setup to match the Stimpmeter speed of the greens on the course. Tune-up your putting speed before you start your round.
3/ Damage Near the Hole: Too many golfers destroy the roll of the green near the hole when they lean on their putter to bend down and remove their ball from the hole. A slight rise around the lip of the cup (caused by poor cup placement), is also a problem that will keep a weakly hit putt out of the hole. Firm putts (that can pass the hole by up to 2 feet) will have a much better chance of sinking.
4/ Slope at the Hole: Often the sadistic person who sets up the daily hole locations will place the hole on the edge of a slope. [It’s the only enjoyment they have as they think of the missed putts that they will cause.] If the hole is on a minor slope make sure that you choose a line closer to the hole and make a firm putt. If the hole is on a major slope, putt on a line above the hole with the perfect pace to die down into the hole.
5/ Long Putts are Lag Putts: Even the pros are happy to make 2 putts when they land a long way from the hole. Read the break and try to putt with a speed that will break down to the hole as it slows down.
6/ All Putts Break More Severely as they Slow Down: Putts slow down at the end of their journey as they near the hole so a firm putt will make less of a break as it passes the hole. Jack Nicklaus tried to let his putts die into the hole. He won a lot of tournaments doing that but you do have a better chance to sink a putt if you make firm putts which stay straighter as they pass the hole. Brooks Koepka sinks a lot of shorter pressure putts by BANGING them into the back of the hole.

It does not matter what putter you like to play with. They all sink putts. Get a putt that you like so that you can build confidence with it. Knowing that you can sink putts will allow you to sink more putts. Choose your target line and rock your shoulders to hit every putt on the center line of your putter face directly up your target line. Practice with GOLFSTR+ to keep your leading wrist flat (to control your direction). Buy one today at www.GOLFSTR.com

Golf Truism #66: If you really want to get better at golf, go back and take it up at a much earlier age.

I have always wondered why I occasionally shoot 10 strokes below my handicap index. Why can’t I just bottle that feeling and shoot under 80 in every round that I play. I finally discovered the reason while playing from the 5,400 yard tees instead of the 6,000 yard tees. As I age with less flexibility I should accept the fact that I just can’t generate the club head speed to keep up with the young bucks.

In a GOLF Blog written about Omar Uresti, a veteran PGA player, it stated that the biggest mistake golfers make as they age is that they try to compensate by swinging faster. Aging golfers lose distance as they lose their flexibility with every club in their bag. You need to accept that fact and age gracefully. When you try to compensate for your lack of flexibility and strength, you will tend to swing faster and lose control of your swing. Unfortunately the faster you try to swing the more slices and hooks you will create.

YOUR Mental Balance = Better Distance and Direction Control
I have also learned that there is a significant mental side to the equation for better golf. By selecting a club that you know can reach your target you can put your mind in a calm and relaxed state of mind that allows your body to swing with a relaxed backswing and downswing. Don’t try to fool yourself into believing that you can hit the same distance with each club that you planned to hit 10 or 20 years ago.

Change Your Mental Outlook to Avoid Over-swinging

1. Choose a club that you know will easily reach your target.
2. Make a CONTROLLED practice swing with every club and grip down for shorter distances.
3. If you land in the rough, take your medicine and get out safely with a lofted iron.
4. Slowdown your backswing for time to cock your wrist and press forward over your ball.
5. Let your hips and shoulders rotate in your backswing to the limit of your straight leading arm.
6. Enjoy a smooth release through your ball to a balanced finish. Think of Ernie Els swing.
7. Realize that most poor shots are caused by over-swinging or not accounting for sloped ground.
8. For pitch shots within 100 yards open your stance and put more pressure on your leading foot to ensure that you impact the ball before the ground.
9. Choose your target line for every putt and learn from your last missed putt.
10. Putt confidently to pass the hole by up to 2 feet with less break. Short putts never go in.
    

Build Confidence As You Play
Ignore powerful younger players. If you swing within your physical capability you will hit more fairways and greens in regulation. As your confidence grows, your shots will be more consistent and you will chip better and sink more putts. A positive mental attitude breeds success in golf. Practice with GOLFSTR+ to learn to swing every club within your limitations. Buy one today at www.GOLFSTR.com

Golf Truism #65: Every time a golfer makes a birdie, he must subsequently make 2 double bogeys to restore the fundamental equilibrium of the universe.

I loved reading a recent article about Brooks Koepka’s recent and past success at the US Open Tournaments. If you are hitting great shots where you focus on the right swing, your confidence and success will just grow. It’s easy for the pros to get this feeling but recreational players just look forward to hitting 2 or 3 perfect swings on every hole. Of course the mishits creep in but you will only shoot great rounds if you can forget about your last mishit and focus on your next great shot.

“The most important shot in golf is your next one.” Ben Hogan

That article highlighted 3 areas where Brooks picks up stokes on the field:
1/ Analyze each shot to understand where your best miss will be. (A long putt is much better than trying to hit out of a pond.)
2/ Brooks plays to avoid double bogies. (It’s OK to hit a sand trap but make sure that you next shot stays on the green.)
3/ He putts with confidence so his mid-length and short putts are firm and into the back of the cup. (Weak putts curl as they slow near the hole. Practice with enough speed to pass the hole by 2 feet and eliminate a lot of the break at the hole to sink more putts.)

The most important area of our games where we can easily drop more strokes is PUTTING. Most of us average 2 putts/hole or 36 putts/round. Unfortunately the rest of your game would have to be perfect to shoot a 72. Fat chance!

That’s exactly why I write so many blogs about putting. If you don’t have a confident putting grip and stroke you will never lower your scores. This week I received an interesting response from one of our followers from the West Coast of Australian (NSW), about a new putting grip that helped him win his club championship. Phil Parker has never putted better now that he is using his “Y Grip” Putting Stroke.

[Will Curry: “I tried the “Y Grip” and I was impressed with my very solid grip and swing up my target line with my 34” putter and just wanted to share it with all of our followers.”]

Phil uses a 40” Odyssey V line Armlock Mallet Head Putter and he also uses the same grip with a fairway Metal when putting out of deep grass to avoid getting caught in the grass. His comment: “I’ve never putted better”.

Just to summarize: Learn to putt with a firm and confident swing to pass the hole by 2 feet. The “Y Grip” is really a solid grip and it definitely prevents any wrist break in your putting stroke. Of course GOLFSTR+ is also a great training aid with 1 of its 6 swing fixes being that it helps you practice a flat wrist putt and see your great results. Buy one today at www.GOLFSTR.com

Golf Truism #64: Since bad shots come in groups of three, a fourth bad shot is actually the beginning of the next group of three.