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John
Herlong, PGA
herlong@pga.com
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All tips are given with the assumption of a
right-handed golfer
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The Setup |
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A proper setup is the difference between a
good golf shot and a bad one.
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No matter what grip you choose, your hands
need to "work together." To do this, make
sure that your palms are parallel and facing
one another.
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Preshot Routine- This is very overlooked,
but important. The biggest complaint that I
receive is that "I'm not consistent." Watch
a professional basketball player shoot a
free throw or a tennis player serve. They
will go through the same routine "EVERY
TIME". This may be bouncing the ball the
same number of times, or tapping their right
shoulder before taking a shot. Have a
routine for every shot, chip, pitch, or
putt. This will make you a more consistent
golfer
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Putting |
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The quickest way to lower your handicap is
by improving your putting. If you can turn
a three putt into a two putt on every green,
you can bring a typical score of 100 to a
82.
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The biggest problem that I see is that
amateurs "hit" their putts. By this, I mean
they bring the club back very far and then
decelerate as they approach the ball and hit
"at" the ball. I like to teach my students
to "push" the ball to the hole. This means
to bring back the club a very short distance
and accelerate through the ball. This also
helps alignment, because it forces you
"follow through" to the hole.
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Use a "Pendulum Motion." You wrists should
stay locked and the ONLY movement should be
the shoulders rotating in a "Pendulum"
motion around the spine.
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Question: When putting, what's more
important, the direction (alignment) you hit
the putt or the distance (for longer
putts). Answer: The distance!! Your goal
is to get the ball close to the hole. You
can't expect to make 40 foot putts
(hopefully, you'll make a few). This is how
you get rid of the dreaded three putt. If
you hit a putt off line, but get the
distance correct, you're still only looking
at a 2-3 foot putt.
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Develop a methodology for putting different
distances. There are many good "feel"
putters on the Professional Tours, but I
like to teach more of a mechanical method.
I have my students bring the club back
different distances for different length
putts. Personally, I bring the putter back
12 inches for a 20 foot putt (depending on
the speed of the green). This is relative
to other distances also. If you bring the
putter back 12 inches for a 20 foot putt,
then bringing the club back 24 inches should
make the ball go 40 feet.
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Sand Shots |
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When hitting a sand shot, the displacement
of the sand propels the ball. The ball
shouldn't come in contact with the club
face. You should be able to hit a rock out
of a bunker with the same trajectory as a
ball.
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When hitting a sand shot, open your stance
(body points about 10-20 degrees to the left
of target) and then open the club face
(aimed at the target or slightly right).
Swing with a steep angle (pick the club up
quickly) along the BODY line and
don't "release" the club face when hitting
the sand. This means don't turnover (right
forearm coming on top of the left forearm)
the clubface. You should feel like you're
cutting across the ball. The face of the
club should be pointing toward the sky on
the follow through. You should enter the
sand about two inches behind the ball.
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Changing the ball position in your stance
(toward the left or right foot) is a good
way to control the distance the ball goes.
The further back the ball is (toward the
right foot) the further the ball should
travel (lower trajectory) and vice versa.
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Chip Shots |
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What is a Chip Shot? This is a shot that
spends less time in the air and more time
rolling. This is a VERY low trajectory shot
and used just off of the edge of the green.
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Well over half of your golf shot will occur
100 yards and in, so you should spend well
over half of your time practicing the short
game.
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Question: What's more important when
hitting a chip, distance or direction? Yes,
distance! Again, your goal is to get the
ball close to the hole.
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Setup-Put the ball back in your stance
(toward right foot) with the hands forward
(near left thigh) and stance open. Also,
keep all of your weight on your left side
throughout the entire swing. This will help
keep you from hitting it fat (under the
ball).
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Use a putting stroke. You want the ball to
come out low and start rolling as soon as
possible, so keep your wrist locked. This
will give you a pendulum motion and sweep
the ball at a shallow angle.
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Pitch Shots |
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What is a Pitch Shot? This shot will spend
more time in the air and less time rolling.
This shot has a VERY high trajectory. The
key is to get the ball up quickly.
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If you want to bounce a basketball over
someone's head, how would you bounce it?
You wouldn't throw it at a shallow angle,
but would throw it steeply down. To get the
golf ball in the air, most people try to
scoop it or help it up, but the opposite is
true. If you want to get the ball in the
air (like the basketball), you want to hit
steeply down on the ball. To hit down on
the ball, you want to use more wrist than in
the Chip Shot.
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Setup-Put the ball in the middle of your
stance (equally between the left and right
foot) with the hands forward (near left
thigh) and stance open. Also, keep all of
your weight on your left side throughout the
entire swing. This will help keep you from
hitting it fat (under the ball).
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Use a "wristy" swing. This will bring the
club up quickly and back down at a steep
angle. This will result in a higher
trajectory shot.
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Iron Shots |
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When hitting a full iron shot, you want to
make ball contact on the downswing. This
means hit the ball before reaching the
bottom of the swing. This will make the
divot in front (to the left) of the ball.
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When hitting shorter irons, the ball should
be in the middle of the stance, then as you
hit longer irons, move the ball towards the
front (left) foot.
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Fairway Woods |
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Setup-Weight should be equally between
feet. The ball should be towards the front
of your stance (inside edge of left foot).
Hands should be in line with the club head
(near the left thigh).
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Bring the club back "low and slow". This
will promote a "sweeping" swing. The wood
should make contact with the ball at the
bottom of the swing (between the downswing
and upswing). Don't hit "down" on the ball.
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Keep your center of gravity behind the ball
(right of the ball)
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The Driver |
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This is the longest club in the bag, so it
is designed to go the furthest.
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Setup-Weight should be equally between
feet. The ball should be towards the front
of your stance (inside edge of left foot).
Hands should be in line with the club head
(near the left thigh).
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Bring the club back "low and slow". This
will promote a "sweeping" swing. The driver
should make contact with the ball on the
UPSWING. Don't hit "down" on the ball.
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Keep your center of gravity behind the ball
(right of the ball)
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When driving into the wind, tee the ball
lower and put it back in your stance
(between the left foot and center of the
stance).
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