My Favourite Chip Shot

I have talked about chipping with my 7-iron many times in past posts. I often try to discuss what to do to make the magic happen, but may not have hit the nail on the head. That is until I found this video by Nick Faldo.

I have used this drill about hitting out to distance, but I never thought that hitting the ball backwards. It makes great sense and I will definitely be adding this drill to my list next spring. Until then, my search for great, simple and repeatable drills continues.

I am a grateful golfer! See you on the links!

Brad Faxon And Putting

Brad Faxon is a well respect professional golfer who has turned mentor and teacher. He offers advice in many areas and I have used his sage wisdom in previous posts. I happen to stumble across a short video on putting where Faxon offers a fundamental tenant that all golfers should follow. It should be the basis of your putting stroke and maintained as you build your unique style of putting. It is a great tip and needs to be watched by all golfers.

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Do Results Point to the Cause of a Poor Golf Swing?

Determining what happened during any golf swing is a challenge. Sometimes golfers, especially me on certain days, over analyze the tiniest mistakes and think that corrective action is required. Experience has taught me that waiting to see if this swing error persists over a round or two before trying to worry about making adjustments. If I do decide that something needs to be addressed, then I have to determine what is causing the problem before making any changes. This step is a bit more challenging because I find that the results do not always point the the cause of my swing woes. It really is a bit more complicated than it seems.

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Any golf swing can be dissected into large, medium, small, and minute movements. The plethora of actions during any golf swing need to timed is such a manner as to produce a square club face on impact. Or at least the position required to produce the shot shape needed at that time. It really is a magical dance that has the potential for something to go wrong on every swing. Obviously, I cannot break down every movement because of the complexity of the interaction, but I do have a thought process that helps me narrow down my search and analysis.

The first thing I do is take a step back and look at the larger picture. Understanding the result of my consistent poor shots is is not always based in the where the ball finishes. Well, actually where the ball finishes is a big indicator, but not always. The point is that I think that it is important to look at the big picture of my poor results.

Next, I focus on my specifics. I watch to see what my divot looks like; I see if my ball is pulled or pushed consistently; Is my ball long or short of my target; how did my contact sound; how does my contact feel; or am I making the right course management decisions. There is a longer list of possibilities, but I think you get the point. There are many specifics that will give me a clue as too what the problems might be taking down my golf score.

So, the real question is do the results of poor results point to the cause of the golf swing? I would say probably. **Side note** I was going to stop writing my article right now, but I thought all the screaming at the monitors would be a bad thing 😉 ** I actually think that most amateurs should seek professional help to solve most of their swing woes. However, mature golfers, like Brian, Kevin, Lorne and BMc, understand their grooved swing enough to dissect swing woes without always seeking professional advice. We understand that consistent errors are caused by a plethora of possibilities. I think if you asked these sage players they would be able to tell you that results of their swings do indicated what the problems could be.

Results do help point out swing errors. The more experienced you are, the better opportunities you have to identify our swing errors. But until you are that level, seek professional help from your local golf pro.

I am grateful golfer! See you on the links!

Is Equating Our Golf Score To Success The Proper Approach To Good Golf?

Why keep score in golf? This fundamental question is likely garnering many quizzical looks right now, but it is a legitimate question. Short of competition, does the score really matter or is it an arbitrary number that does not really mean that much? If we are only competing against ourselves during most rounds, than the score really should not matter that much. The joy of hitting the ball into the hole is the goal of each hole and if we succeed at this small task, then how many strokes it took really is irrelevant. Right? Yet, most golfers (including myself most rounds) feel it is important to equate our success to the score. This might be the wrong approach for beginners and I dare say some more experienced players!

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The One Golf Shot Every Player Needs In The Bag

If you ask experienced golfers which shot they feel that every player needs, I bet the overwhelming response would be the same. Anyone who has played golf for any length of time has lived through the requirement of this shot and paid the piper for not having it in their bag. Personally, my game suffered until I decided to focus on learning and refining it over may years of effort. Other than a great putting stroke, as a beginner I believe that all beginners should learn how to chip the ball from 25 yards or closer to the pin. This shot is a stroke saver and should be in everyone’s golf bag.

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