For any golfer who wants to play great golf
Posts tagged Short Game
Develop great rhythm and tempo in your golf swing by practicing bunker shots
Jul 4th
Practicing bunker shots can improve your rhythm and tempo
Bunker play. What comes to mind for you? Does it fill you with fear? Do you think, “how many shots will it take to get out”?
This is one of the areas that amateur golfers practice the least. And it’s one area where the average golfer can really save a ton of strokes. So practicing bunker shots can save you shots and has a number of extra benefits.
- Bunker shots become much easier.
- Lose the fear of being in a green-side bunker.
- Help with rhythm and tempo.
- Smooth out your swing.
30 Day Challenge: Wedges – Day 5
Mar 31st
The last few days of practice were pretty much rained out by one of the seemingly many tropical storms that’s hitting the north east. Luckily the skies will clear up for about a week.
I continued to practice short shots at the range, devoting 80% of the bucket of balls to them.
The positive thing is that my distance control is becoming better. I can get pretty close to the distances I want with virtually any club. For example there is a green out on the range at 126 yards. I can hit it pretty consistently with the following clubs 52* sand wedge, PW, 9i, 8i, 7i. I’m finding that although the 52* can get it there, in fact it can land at about 130. It gets a super high ball flight. It’s one of those shots that’s much better if there is no wind. I’m finding it’s easier to hit consistently with the pw or even 9 iron because the trajectory is more controllable. With those clubs, the shots feel like half shots almost, but the trajectory is nice, and the ball gets a lot of spin, though I’m not trying to put a lot of spin on it.
I’m still working on accuracy. Although I’m getting a good feel for the distances, I tend to miss a bit left or right depending on the target. I think that’s simply a matter of working with it. It continues to be a lot of fun and I know my accuracy will improve. I’m not missing by much, so that is exciting.
Control distance with trajectory
Mar 30th
There are many excellent reasons to learn to control your distance with trajectory. Here are some of my favorites:
- Not every shot is a full shot. The more you can learn to master partial shots, the more control you’ll have approaching greens.
- Dealing with the wind. Lower trajectory shots fly better in the wind and are less likely to be taken off line. Have a short shot and it’s a windy day? Take more club and use a partial shot to take the wind out of play.
- Helps your short game. Partial shots are all about feel, control and imagination, learn to do this and it will make your wedge game and short irons so much more effectively. It will also open up more of the green enabling you to play safer shots to tucked pins and still get the ball close.
- Learn solid contact. Partial shots require you to stay within yourself. The more you practice these the more you’ll learn to feel how a solid shot feels. Trust me, it transfers to your long game and full shots and makes you a better ball striker with every club.
Review: The Floppy – Indoor Practice Golf Ball
Jan 3rd
Master the short game and you can score well even when your long game is off.
The Floppy is a soft indoor practice golf ball. It has a woven cover, a liner and a proprietary filling.
The Floppy Close Up
The videos on the homepage do a good job of showing what the floppy does and how it reacts when it bounces of windows. When I first saw the floppy on-line I thought it was going to be a bit like a hacky sack in the shape of a golf ball. But when you squeeze it, it instantly bounces back into shape. The quality of the woven cover is very good. I would imagine that a single ball could easily take thousands of hits. The sticker on the ball won’t last that long though. It pretty quickly got worn down so that the text was difficult to read. That does not affect it’s performance. Read the rest of this entry »
