We've launched the new forums! Read more here

What new tip have you learned lately that has helped your game?

rbarthle17 said:
Care to expand on this?
Click to expand...
I've never really been consistant (getting there) with driving through the ball and getting my right shoulder driving and right elbow tighter to my body.

What do you have to do to skip a rock? That right shoulder has to come through and you elbow is tight against your body. Otherwise the rock will sink fast and not get that cool hoppity hop across the water.

Has really helped me and with proper weight transfer have seen huge improvement. Also have let go of keeping my left heel down and it has also freed up some motion.

Hope that makes sense.
 
J4U said:
I've never really been consistant (getting there) with driving through the ball and getting my right shoulder driving and right elbow tighter to my body.

What do you have to do to skip a rock? That right shoulder has to come through and you elbow is tight against your body. Otherwise the rock will sink fast and not get that cool hoppity hop across the water.

Has really helped me and with proper weight transfer have seen huge improvement. Also have let go of keeping my left heel down and it has also freed up some motion.

Hope that makes sense.
Click to expand...

As a former rock-skipper as a kid, this makes a ton of sense. Thanks for sharing!
 
DevRickus said:
Make the game easier. Doesnt have to be pretty. I was struggling with chipping from tight lies last year and some guy named Hawk suggested I try just using a putting stroke with a 7 or 9 iron depending on distance and it was immediate results for me. Doesnt have to be pretty to be good. Changed my confidence around the greens.
Click to expand...
Thats a great one...JB told me this a few years ago and changed things the very first go.

Also a hooded wedge with a lot of shaft lean with a putting stroke works most excellent for just off the green in taller grass or tight lie. Very loose grip and vary distance by length of back stroke...finish the stroke and dont decel.
 
Last edited:
It took me a while to figure out why this tip doesn't work for me. It's because I'm a left hander that plays golf right handed. :p I throw terribly right handed.

J4U said:
I've never really been consistant (getting there) with driving through the ball and getting my right shoulder driving and right elbow tighter to my body.

What do you have to do to skip a rock? That right shoulder has to come through and you elbow is tight against your body. Otherwise the rock will sink fast and not get that cool hoppity hop across the water.

Has really helped me and with proper weight transfer have seen huge improvement. Also have let go of keeping my left heel down and it has also freed up some motion.

Hope that makes sense.
Click to expand...
 
Tadashi70 said:
Mine was to 'smack' the ball with back of the left hand. Like you're back handing someone. If you open up before you make contact it's a weak hit. If you slam your left side into the hit, ball go far.
Click to expand...

Same here. I will sometime start scooping at the ball a bit. I then start thinking back to that tip..."hit it with the back of your left hand".
 
Imagine hitting a tennis or ping pong ball. I was always hitting a slice, causing a lot of backspin. I was told to try and hit it with topspin. Obviously, you can't hit a golf ball (successfully) with topspin but the results were awesome and eye opening. I am a lefty but my new move is boiled down to this: Put a hook swing on the ball but try and hit it to the left of the center line. Hope that makes sense as it is a little tough to write down in words.
 
Stop the over rotation of your hips and get your arms extended before making your turn.
 
I'm not being cocky here , but I'm really hitting the ball hard this year so far . Two good tips this year 1) move the ball forward especially with driver per Fred. 2) I feel like I'm underhand pitching on the way down (like hands never turn over ) No pulls or pushes either straight to draw or slight draw . As of now , ball is really coming off the face well. Can swing as fast as I want now / or as long as my old body can handle
 
I was playing a round with a guy who marshaled for us last year (this year, we are having him do handyman stuff around the clubhouse instead). He told me I was doing two things. First, he noticed I was playing the ball off my left big toe (I flare my front foot out a little, and thought I was playing it off the inside of my heel) and that instead of bringing the club straight back, I was cocking my wrists in the first five or six inches of my backswing.

So to correct the first problem, I began getting myself lined up, and addressing the ball with both feet together so the ball had to be in the middle of my stance. Then I move my left foot out about two inches, and move my right foot back about 16 to 18 inches. That took care of the ball position issue. Secondly, I have been doing something like Justin Leonard where I begin a backswing, making sure I am taking it straight back, returning it to the ball and then swinging for real.

The result is my drives are longer, straighter and I have even drawn the ball on purpose a few times. I am probably 30 yards longer at times (not average, but my best drives are so much longer), which when I am used to 210 to 220, I feel like I am bombing it. I am very happy with my driving right now. Unfortunately, I am not scoring yet, but that will come.
 
I saw one on School Of Golf that helps us sequence the swing properly which I liked.

1. Place a SW under your back foot so that your foot is on the face of the club. This will have the shaft in the air kind of behind you.

2. Take the backswing and hold it at the top.

3. In slow motion consciously rotate your front hip until you get off your back foot, then swing the arms.

If done properly the wedge will fall to the ground before your arms swing down.
 
One of the best tips that "clicked" for me was, "Back to the target. Chest to the target". A simple rotate around the spine concept that keeps your mind on one thing.
 
Good stuff smalls, good stuff
Smallville said:
I was playing a round with a guy who marshaled for us last year (this year, we are having him do handyman stuff around the clubhouse instead). He told me I was doing two things. First, he noticed I was playing the ball off my left big toe (I flare my front foot out a little, and thought I was playing it off the inside of my heel) and that instead of bringing the club straight back, I was cocking my wrists in the first five or six inches of my backswing.

So to correct the first problem, I began getting myself lined up, and addressing the ball with both feet together so the ball had to be in the middle of my stance. Then I move my left foot out about two inches, and move my right foot back about 16 to 18 inches. That took care of the ball position issue. Secondly, I have been doing something like Justin Leonard where I begin a backswing, making sure I am taking it straight back, returning it to the ball and then swinging for real.

The result is my drives are longer, straighter and I have even drawn the ball on purpose a few times. I am probably 30 yards longer at times (not average, but my best drives are so much longer), which when I am used to 210 to 220, I feel like I am bombing it. I am very happy with my driving right now. Unfortunately, I am not scoring yet, but that will come.
Click to expand...
 
I have been focusing on not getting belly up. Level hips through impact
 
The teaching pro at my club gave me a refresher last week on how to clear my left hip properly again. Been working hard on it and my consistency of contact is back to where its been before. Funny how some things just slip away unnoticed
 
You actually want that right hip higher at impact.
blugold said:
I have been focusing on not getting belly up. Level hips through impact
Click to expand...
 
This year, it would be fix my "jimmy legs." Thanks Freddie!

~Rock
 
Had one lesson this year only one of my life and it has changed my game off the tee tremendously. Basically just had me shift my weight so I was more stable and put my feet closer together as they were to wide and it was limiting my ability to turn. Two simple things but had amazing results and now I am so much better off the tee and enjoying the short grass.
 
tequila4kapp said:
I saw one on School Of Golf that helps us sequence the swing properly which I liked.

1. Place a SW under your back foot so that your foot is on the face of the club. This will have the shaft in the air kind of behind you.

2. Take the backswing and hold it at the top.

3. In slow motion consciously rotate your front hip until you get off your back foot, then swing the arms.

If done properly the wedge will fall to the ground before your arms swing down.
Click to expand...

I saw that one and first impression was about the opposite of good lol.

What I noticed was that even SB struggled with it and started sending balls way right. Just looked awkward compared to some of his other drills during that segment. Part of that could be that I've been hammered relentlessly to keep my right heel down longer in transition.
 
The one thing that helps me the most is keeping my left bicep somewhat connected to my chest.
 
There have been a bunch as my swing improves/progresses. Right now I concentrate on just finishing the swing or following through. It's made a world of difference for me.

Before I was so focused on what was going on at impact (hands, weight transfer, maintaining lag, etc.) that I was sort of stalling at/right after impact. If I didn't manage to square my hands up just right I was going to hit a push because I was sort of just dragging the club across the ball (especially when thinking about maintaining lag or transferring my weight forward). Worst case scenario, I'd leave the face open a little and hit a push-fade that really got me into trouble.

Concentrating on the follow through has allowed me to forget about the hands and weight and still make solid contact. And it's added 10+ yards to my irons and a ton to my driver because I'm no longer stalling. I hit 7/14 fairways last week with the driver and 5 other drives were in decent spots just off the fairway. This was the best driving I've ever had on course. I only had 1 pushed drive and it went OB (narrow, wooded course), but I knew before impact that I didn't swing to finish/follow through and knew where the ball was going before I even saw the ball flight.
 
Sounds like you're really coming along CRW. I'm glad to hear it man.
 
Canadan telling me to swing easier has helped me a ton. Sure, I'm giving up a little distance, but I've gained much more control.
 
Last range session, Freddie's tip to keep the hands low through impact was yielding some great distance control and consistent contact. Hoping to keep that up tonight/tomorrow (not sure when I'll get out).
 
Hawk said:
I saw that one and first impression was about the opposite of good lol.

What I noticed was that even SB struggled with it and started sending balls way right. Just looked awkward compared to some of his other drills during that segment. Part of that could be that I've been hammered relentlessly to keep my right heel down longer in transition.
Click to expand...
Yeah, this one isn't for anyone that's being told to keep the back foot down, that's for sure :)

It isn't easy for me to do, even in slow motion. I don't know that I'd even try to hit balls doing it. But I do like the way it gives me something tangible to feel for getting the lower body moving first.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top