Category: Golf instructions

Impact Position Golf Drill

Impact Position Golf Drill… secrets to make solid impact

Are you hitting fat or thin golf shots?

Here is a quick video lesson (two plus minutes) from Bobby Eldridge, head golf pro at PurePoint Golf.

In this video, Bobby, quickly, shows how to correct the common faults that will cause a fat or thin golf shot. You will be able to use these easy golf tips immediately.

What I really like about Bobby is that he keeps everything real easy to understand (he speaks in terms that you know) and extremely  simple.

Check out the video below, I know it will help with your fat or thin golf shots!

How To Vary Your Golf Short Game Distances

Here is a real good short video on ” How To Vary Your Golf Short Game Distances“.

I`m sure you agree that practicing short game is the quickest way to improve your scores!

The video below shows Bobby Eldridge, head pro of PurePoint Golf, explaining how to easily vary the distances of your pitch shots with your wedges. He makes varying of your pitch shots very simple and shows you how you should practice these shots.

This is an inefficient and predictable way to manage your short game. Why not use the same golf swing and different clubs to work your short game? Watch this short video clip and Bobby will show you the basics.

I hope you enjoy theses tips…I did!

How To Hit Good Wedge Shots

When you’re within 20 yards of the goal in American football—the Red Zone—you must score. If you don’t, your team’s offense failed. When you’re within 40 yards of the green—8-iron, 9-iron, and wedge distance—the Scoring Zone—you also must “score.”  Put another way, you must drop the shot as close to the hole as possible, leaving you an easy putt. If you don’t, you’ve cost yourself a birdie.

Obviously, the more birdies you make, the better your score and your golf handicap. But before hitting from this distance, you must answer six critical questions. Answering them improves your chances of dropping it close significantly. In this article we’ll discuss these six critical questions and provide golf tips on how to hit them better, improving your chances of collecting more birdies.

1. How Far Do You Hit Each Club?

Dialing in your short irons is mostly about distance control. In other words, you must know exactly how far you carry each club on the course, if you want to hit it close. Distance control is what teachers focus on in golf instruction sessions. If you don’t know how far you hit each short iron, go to the range. Practice making normal and hard swings. Get a feel for just how far you hit each club using each swing.

2. How Do You Hit Each Club?

Direction control is also vital when hitting short irons. So in addition to getting a feel for distance when practicing at the range, track your tendencies with each club. Do you draw or fade the shot? When you swing harder, do you pull or push the ball? Find the answers to these questions on the range first, so you’re not educating yourself on the course. Keep them in mind when playing a shot within the scoring zone.

3. What Kind Of Swing Do I Make?

Some weekend golfers shorten their swings when hitting short irons. Or, they ease up. This leads to bad shots. Take your normal swing and hit through the ball in the scoring zone. Hit them just like they teach in golf lessons. If you need more distance, don’t swing harder. Take an extra club. And don’t try to hit the ball really high. You may lose control of the shot. If you don’t hit these clubs well, take some golf lessons and practice at the range. Also consult golf tips on hitting them.

4. Where Do I Want To Hit This Shot?

Directional accuracy demands that you aim correctly. When you’re practicing with these clubs on the range, work on alignment, too. Begin every shot by standing behind the ball. Then follow your routine. In addition, picture an imaginary line from your long distance target to an immediate one a few feet in front of the ball to the ball. Align your club to the target line and the ball. Then, align your body parallel to the imaginary line.

5. What Are Your Conditions?

The best short iron players monitor their conditions—their sate of mind and their physical condition—on every hole. Your conditions really matter. If you’re angry or pumped up, you’ll hit the ball longer than you normal. If you’re tense or tight, you may hit it shorter.  compensate for your condition. Also, track how you hit the ball under the various conditions.

6. What Are the Playing Conditions?

Like your personal conditions, playing conditions matter as well. What type of lie do you have on the course? How firm is the green? What is the wind doing? Is the green above or below you? The answers to these questions have a major bearing on the shot. Run through them before you hit any shot.

The last thing you must do before hitting a shot in the scoring zone is remind yourself to never short-side yourself. Never miss a shot to a spot that gives you no green to work with coming back. You want to be aggressive in the scoring zone, but be smart about it. Follow this cardinal rule and you’ll be glad you did.

Answer the questions listed above before hitting a short iron and you’ll make more birdies. Make more birdies and you’ll not only trim your scores, you’ll also cut your golf handicap by several strokes. Isn’t that what it’s all about?

Jack Moorehouse is the author of the best-selling book “How To Break 80 And Shoot Like The Pros.” He is NOT a golf pro, rather a working man that has helped thousands of golfers from all seven continents lower their handicap immediately. He has a free weekly newsletter with the latest golf tips, golf lessons and golf instruction.

How To Hit Fairway Woods

How To Hit Fairway Woods… reap the benefits of mastering the three wood

Mastering The Three Wood

By: Jack Moorehouse… How To Break 80

The shorter your approach shot to the green, the better your chances of hitting it in regulation (GIR) and making par. The number of greens hit in regulation is a telling statistic – as I’ve explained in my golf tips newsletter. Why…because players who hit a lot of greens in regulation tend to have lower golf handicaps. Those who don’t tend to have higher golf handicaps.

The 3-wood is a great club for aggressive players. It’s also a great club for senior players who may have lost some flexibility and power over the years, but can still play well. The 3-wood is the second longest club in your bag, so it can be hard to hit for some. Hitting a crisp 3-wood from a tight lie is especially challenging, as I tell students attending my golf instruction sessions, no matter how good you are.

Used In A Variety of Situations

You can use the 3-wood in man situations. Since it’s shorter than the driver, it’s easier to control, so you can use it off the tee on tight fairways. Using the 3-wood ton the tee may cost you some distance, but it increases your chances of hitting the fairway. In fact, some players who can’t hit a driver hit a 3-wood off the tee instead. Players also use the 3-wood to chip with when on the fringe, in a fairway bunker if the bunker’s lip is low, and on long par-3s when there’s a head wind.

But the 3-wood is used mostly off the deck on par 5s, when you need a good second shot. Another common use of the 3-wood is on long par 4s, where you need a long second shot to reach the green. Hitting a good 3-wood there can put you on the green in two, something neither a long iron nor a hybrid can do. If you can master the 3-wood off the deck, you can save a lot of strokes.

Sweep The Ball From The Fairway

Unlike irons, which require a downward blow, the 3-wood (and other fairway woods) need a sweeping motion that strikes the ball as the clubhead moves parallel to the ground. Below are five keys to hitting the 3-wood:

1. Keep your weight balanced
2. Position the ball opposite your front heel
3. Keep you head and body behind the ball
4. Pull the club through with your lead hand
5. Extend your arms on the follow-through

To hit the 3-wood off the deck, you must take a wide stance similar to that used for a driver. Position the ball opposite your front heel or in some cases, slightly back from this position, and your weight balanced comfortably on the balls of your feet.

Start your swing on a low path that almost skims the grass to replicate the shallow path you want to take on your downswing. Keep your back shoulder level and pull your right hand (left for left-handers) through with your other hand. Above all, stay behind the ball after impact. Brush through the ball and extend your arms toward the target on the follow-through – something a lot of players I find in my golf lessons must work on.

Not Designed For High Shots

The 3-wood is designed to hit a line drive type of shot. But you don’t need to feel that you have to help it get the ball in the air. The 3-woord has more than enough loft to drive the ball forward for distance. If you need to hit something with more loft, use the 5-wood. It provides less distance but more height than the 3-wood. In the right circumstances, the 5-wood can be just as effective as the 3-wood.

The 3-wood is a great club in the right hands. It’s not as versatile as a hybrid, but it’s more versatile than the driver. Don’t be afraid to hit it. Used wisely, it can set you up for short shots into the green on par 5s or serve as the club of choice off the tee. If you’re serious about improving your game, master the 3-wood. It will shave strokes from your scores and your golf handicap.

Jack Moorehouse is the author of the best-selling book “How To Break 80 And Shoot Like The Pros.” He is NOT a golf pro, rather a working man that has helped thousands of golfers from all seven continents lower their handicap immediately. He has a free weekly newsletter with the latest  golf tips, golf lessons and  golf instruction.

How to Groove A Good Golf Swing

This post addresses the problem most golfers have … How do you transfer your practice golf swing to your real swing? It also outlines a couple of simple tips to help you make the transition to a good golf swing.

If you are like me. You have done it way too many times yourself and … without being rude… it can almost be comical when you see someone else do it. The point is that we all take a smooth practice swing and then step up and flail away at the real swing!

Well…I have a couple of ways for you to combat this. There are definitely two things that you can do that will help in your search for a good golf swing. Understanding the answer to this question it will make a big difference in your golf swing. When you understand that the golf swing is about technique not aggression then your body starts to work differently.

This fact is probably the most important for the average golfer to understand. Picture what pro golfers and even great baseball hitters look like when they hit one out of sight. In most cases…they look like they barely exerted any energy. In fact … what has happened is they have created the proper motion that generates power. When you make your golf practice swing you remain relaxed and free moving. When you make your real swing you immediately start to tense the big muscles in your body particularly your back and shoulders. Your brain starts telling your body that if you want to hit this ball a mile then we need to put loads of effort into it … WRONG!

Here is the first step. Next time you swing … remember to keep your back and shoulder muscles relaxed so that your real swing is as good and as free as your golf practice swing. Remember the proper and most efficient golf swing is all about technique not aggression.

The answer to this question lies in the way we think a good golf swing works…we need to convince ourselves that the pro golfers swing works…power without effort…and we too will follow their lead. Tensing prior to moving doesn’t help … you need to relax to let your muscles work properly at the right point in your swing. One of the main problems that generates this tensing motion is caused by the way many amateur golfers practice.

How many golfers have you seen at the golf range who go straight for their driver and start trying to knock the ball out of the range? Many I would guess. These golfers are simply trying too hard. Golfers should concentrate on accuracy on the range not distance , i.e. how close can I hit it to a line from me to the target?

Here`s the second step. One way of practicing that takes out the need to try and knock the cover off the ball is to use plastic balls … you know the ones you can buy at the discount store.

Once you start hitting these balls you quickly realize you can’t hit these balls 300 yards…so you don’t try to. It results in you concentrating far better on technique. They also have the added benefit that you only need about 30 yards of space to practice in.

The end result is that by using the plastic balls the “ONLY” thing that you can do is practice your technique and tempo. Also, practice hitting half shots…little swings. Think about how powerful practicing with plastic golf balls is…there is zero “hit or target anxiety”.

You will be amazed at how quickly you can groove a good golf swing.

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These general ideas and the use of plastic practice golf balls to groove a good golf swing came from Jon Barrett, the author of Golf Swing Eureka!.

How to Fix Your Slice

How to Fix Your Slice… learn easy steps to cure you slice

Here is a quick golf tip from Bobby Eldridge on how to fix your slice.
 
Bobby is the head pro at PurePoint Golf, the #1 golf instruction resource.

In this short video, Bobby shows you how you can check to see if you are leaving your club face open at impact. If you are not getting your club head square, this could be an easy way to fix your slice!

Watch the video to see if you have this fault and quickly learn how to fix your slice.
PurePoint Golf #1 Golf Instruction Resource

How Do You Generate Clubhead Speed

This single answer allowed me to make a huge leap in my understanding of the golf swing, and in everything I had seen and read about the golf swing none of it emphasized it anywhere near like enough.

I carried out a survey on the Internet over several weeks and asked visitors to my web site the question:

‘What part of the body contributes the most to generating the maximum clubhead speed?’

Only 20% got the answer correct – That’s only 1 in every 5 golfers! And these golfers had a wide range of handicaps down to single figures.

Interestingly this figure corresponds to another golfing statistic – Did you know that only around 20% of golfers have a handicap of less than 18?

It made me wonder whether the misunderstanding of the fundamental aspect could be the one thing that is holding so many golfers back.

Which part of the body do you think creates the maximum speed of the club head?

Is it:

• Shoulders
• Arms
• Hands
• Hips
• Legs
• Torso
• Wrists

The part of the body that generates the maximum clubhead speed in golf can also be found in other sports such as Tennis, Baseball and Cricket.

In all of these sports…the role of the hands or wrists is such that they contribute the most to generating the speed of the club, racket or bat.

When the club reaches the point on the downswing where it is level with the ground notice the position of the shoulders. Then take a look at the point when the club is parallel with the ground again, after the ball has been hit and again notice the position of the shoulders.

Look at how far the club has moved (over 180 degrees) compared to how little the shoulders and arms have moved (around 45 degrees).

So the answer to the question that I posed above is that it is the hands (or wrists) that contribute the most to generating the maximum clubhead speed. The club is moved through over 180 degrees whilst the arms move through less than 60 degrees – all of the rest of the movement of the head of the golf club is generated by the movement of the hands.

Unfortunately the large majority of golfers think that it is with the shoulders and arms.

So we have shown that the club head travels a long way with very little body movement in the final stages of the swing, and this is how the pro’s generate clubhead speeds of over 120mph!

We have focused on the movement of the wrists but it’s important to point out that the wrists are only really hinges at the point that the two arms meet and are therefore under the control of the arms.

At the point we have highlighted in the swing where the club is about to travel through 180 degrees (see images below) the right arm is bent at the elbow and the left arm is straight.

Just put your arms and hands into this position (you don’t need a club in your hands but use one if it helps). Now simply straighten your right arm and allow your straight left arm to move towards the centre of your body (simulating the point of impact).

Can you see how the wrists actually move in response to the straightening of the right arm? This is a key factor as developing the correct swing relies upon you getting your right elbow close to the right side of your body – if you move your shoulders early in the swing you won’t be able to
achieve this position.

When you get this move it feels like you are throwing the club head into the back of the ball, which in reality is what you are actually doing and it feels great as you release all that power right into the back of the ball!

Let’s see less emphasis on the movement of the shoulders and more control with the wrists.

This will create a totally different feel to the way you’ve been hitting the ball in the past.

How Do You Determine Your Golf Grip Pressure

Determining Ideal Golf Grip Pressure…

How do you determine how much grip pressure to apply?

Some teachers recommend gripping the club as if you were holding a small bird in the palms of your hands. Since few people have actually done that, that scenario might not work for everyone.

Here`s another approach to determining the ideal grip pressure.

Below are 6 steps to finding the ideal grip pressure:

* Check your grip first
* Raise the club vertically
* Let it slide down
* Firm up your grip
* Lower your club horizontally
* Place it behind the ball

Maintaining just enough grip pressure throughout your swing helps you swing smoothly and rhythmically.

Check your grip before you address the ball to determine if you are holding the club correctly. Now, raise the club vertically. When the club`s vertical, release grip pressure until the club slides down through your fingers. That`s obviously too little pressure. But it`s a starting point.

Next, grip the club and raise it vertically again. This time apply just enough pressure to prevent the club from sliding through your fingers, but no more. Now, lower the club horizontally. This move increases grip pressure to the level you should use when swinging the club. Finally, lower the club to the ground. Your grip tightens naturally as you lower the club. And you should feel most of the pressure in the last three fingers of your bottom hand, especially the little finger.

That`s your ideal grip pressure. Try maintaining this pressure during your swing.

Apply too little grip pressure and you lose your grip and maybe the club. But strangling the club is just as bad. It prevents your hands and wrists from doing their jobs. It also causes you to tense you arms and body, destroying your swings rhythm. Use the technique above to determine your ideal grip press and you?ll find yourself with a more fluid, more rhythmic swing.

About the Author

Jack Moorehouse is the author of the best-selling book…How To Break 80 and Shoot Like the Pros!. He is NOT a golf pro, rather a working man that has helped thousands of golfers from all seven continents lower their handicaps quickly. His free weekly newsletter goes out to thousands of golfers worldwide.

Hank Haney-When To Hit A Fade

Hank Haney (born August 24, 1955) is an American professional golf instructor best known for coaching Tiger Woods[1] and two-time major championship winner Mark O’Meara. A graduate of the University of Tulsa, Haney owns and operates four teaching facilities in the Dallas, Texas area. Haney says, “My philosophy as a teacher is to teach my students to become their own best teacher by getting them to understand the flight of the golf ball and how it relates to the swing, with emphasis on swinging the golf club on their own correct swing plane”

Getting back to the fade. I totally agree that it`s the best and or easiest way to hit a fairway. You may not get the full distance but you will be playing from the fairway. Here`s an excerpt from Hank Haney`s Golf Digest article…

Hank Haney-When To Hit A Fade

The no. 1 goal off the tee is putting the ball in play. And probably the easiest shot to control with a driver is a fade because the ball doesn’t roll as far. The most important thing to know about playing a controlled fade is that the clubface must be slightly open to the swing path at impact. When you’re playing a fade, the timing of the swing is the real key. If your hands and arms outrace your body through impact, the clubface tends to close too fast, causing the ball to hook. Feel that your body–and in particular your hips–are leading the clubhead through the shot (left). The faster you turn your body through, the less chance the face will close too much.

Golf Tee Height

Instruction – Tee Height – Improve Swing

Two minutes from now I’m going to have an answer for all of you on how high you should be teeing your tee shots so you can improve your swing. The new drivers that have come out in the last 5, 10 years have what is referred to as a deep face.

From the bottom to the top it’s about two or more inches. Most players associate all of that space with teeing the golf ball high. We even have three-inch tees now.

So, that isn’t true. You don’t need that. Some of you might, but most of you don’t.

So, here’s my rule of thumb for how high should you tee the driver: If the mistake you make is that you constantly top the golf ball, that isn’t always the answer. You could fix your posture and bend over a little bit and that would fix topping the golf ball.

If you always hit underneath the golf ball, this isn’t always the answer, where you tee it down so low. Maybe you simply need to get your chin up.

So, a great rule of thumb is that the golf ball should be slightly higher than the center of the club face.

If the golf ball sits much higher than the center of the face, the swing tip to improve your golf would have you hitting the golf ball on the upswing. If it was teed down close to the ground, and you tried to hit the golf ball on the upswing, you might wind up hitting a little grass behind it. Instead, you would have to hit this one on a little bit of the downswing, which is defeating the purpose of the driver. The driver’s swing is a sweeping swing. And you want to catch the golf ball at the bottom of the arc.

At worst, you want to catch it on the way up but not too much on the way up.

Experiment with your tee shots. Play a whole round of golf where you tee it a lot lower than normal, then the next round a little bit lower than normal. And then play the third round where you tee it real high.

I promise you that real high is not the answer. Try that the next time out.

Bobby Eldridge is the Head Instructor for the PurePoint Golf Academy where he teaches “The Simple Golf Swing” theory.