Golfing Tips, Advice and General Help

First topic message reminder :

Thought I'd create this thread as its something that people have suggested and asked for over the last few months. A place for us all to share tips, advice or ask for help from fellow players and posters.

Whether looking for help with your swing, course management or how to play in certain conditions. Looking for a way to shave a few shots off or just gain consistency hopefully we can all use this thread to seek the help we want or just to post something we may come across that may be helpful to others, hopefully we can all help each other out.

So I'll start off by posting something I did on another thread when a fellow poster was seeking advice in how to play in windy conditions:

Mavs Guide to playing in the wind:

-Club up
-Grip down and inch maybe more if comfortable
-Place your ball postion just slightly back of where you usually have it
-Hands ahead of ball at address
-Swing smooth but no more than 3/4 length back and through.
-Never swing flat out when doing this, as the harder you try to hit it the more spin you will impart on the ball causing it to rise/balloon into the wind and get blown back at you.
-The key is do all the above with a smooth swing and this will produce a lower ball flight with more release/roll.

That's how I was taught many moons ago by a good pro when I was a junior and having played links for years found it works a treat.

Also try to perfect hitting your driver off the deck, again you'll need to grip down and address the ball slightly open allow for a fade with the club but the low flight and and run produced with this shot is ideal for winter conditions.

Probably overly in to out or out to in. Try work out what one you were doing then hit the range and do the opposite. Where you trying to work it one way?

Another bunker one - How you get it up quickly out of a bunker when short sided? Do you come in steep and exit steep? I tend to find bunker shots easier when I come in shallow but that tends to throw the ball out pretty low?

i try and accentuate the elbow hinge on the back swing, allowing more loft on the clubface and aim to dig in an inch or so behind the ball. i have a fairly steep angle of attack for most of my shots anyway. also, weight more on the front foot too - i play flop shots in the same way, works for me - i'm sure there is a 'more' correct way to play them though, so look forward to hearing from the experts on this one.

agreed with ban_bam re the steep angle. i also try to attack from the inside too

I've been playing this game an awfully long time and I tend to get quite technical about my swing and thought process etc. Over the years I have struggled with every part of the game at one point or another with the exception of bunker play.

Maybe the reason I've never had a problem is because I never really think about it, I just get in the bunker and hit the shot.

Wonder if there is a lesson in there somewhere..............

d4s - certainly something worth trying! Seems to be a confidence thing with me and bunkers. After about 10mins of using the practice bunkers I feel fine about hitting the sand before the ball and getting it out pretty well. Get me in a bunker for the first time in a few rounds however and its either thinned or spot on - no inbetween. Its either thinned over the back or into the face or gimme range. Think I need to take more sand with the shot. Next time I'm taking your advice though.

Cheers Lairdy....maybe you can return the favour with some chipping tips??

Glad to! My chipping has been dynamite the last few rounds. Had one chip in birdie in each of my last two rounds! Whilst my recent chipping form may well be down to chipping off a mat I find chipping a lot easier if I keep roughly the same set up as putting. Same grip and bent arms. I get it running as soon as possible and read the break etc like a putt. More importantly I keep the same tempo in the stroke. I have a tempo saying that I say in my head as I make my putting and chipping strokes to help maintain the same tempo. Change the length of the stroke to vary distance NOT the tempo! Do that and distance control becomes much much easier.

Chipping = putting with loft. Ray Floyd said that.

My chipping issues seem to be related to getting anxious about distance and ending up flicking the hands at the ball to give it that little bit more.
I need to work on a more controlled tempo throughout the swing and as you say, use the length of swing to control the distance.

Basically, I just need to get back to basics. There has been a small improvement in recent weeks but it still isn't anywhere near as good as my handicap would suggest.

Lairdy, chipping is the best part of my game too. One thing that I never notice anyone except me do is look at the green and see how the ball will roll out, they just stand up and hit it. I'm trying to hole every one, it seems people just want to get it in the general vicinity. I pick a line, not just aim at the pin. In that sense to me it's the same as putting, albeit with a different club and stroke, but I treat it in the same way.

drive - been having similar troubles to yourself as you know. one thing i noticed i was doing when on the practice green on saturday was that i seem to have a stronger grip on my chips and am not holding the club with my fingers. to promote a normal grip i changed my preshot routine to setting up behind the ball as if a full pitch, then adjusting my feet to more typical chipping position then playing the shot - this seems to be promoting a less handsy (duffy) shot - i wonder if this might be the solution...

My chipping has improved immensely recently. The improvements are because I'm:

* using a PW instead of a LW or SW
* playing it like a putt
* having soft hands

I just think that you've got to pick a line or else how do you pick a landing spot? and if you dont even know where you want to land it then you've no chance.
Generally I will select an area that I want to land it, usually the first flat(ish) spot on the green beyond the area that I am avoiding with the chip. Then trace the line back and forth from that area to the hole, reading break etc, to find the exact spot I want to hit. If anything reading the line gives you a little more room for error with how far you fly it.
Love chipping right now. Last round I holed one for birdie, hit the pin with one and burned the edge with another. I think a lot of it is down to having to play off a mat for shots on closely mown areas, takes the worry of contact away, but I dug a few out the rough as well recently that ended up as gimmies.

Occasionally get a long iron out in the house and just practice chipping tempo, makes a difference IMO. Another thing is I like varying the club I use. I work with 6, 8, and PW mainly depending on how much room I have for roll out. I think I've heard Super say he just uses one club? Do you close the face down/open it up much to vary the shot length Super?

B_B, have you tried the same grip as your putter? Keeps things loose IMO. I do go back to a normal grip for those longer chips though or if it needs a bit of digging out the rough. Its funny, you'd think that would breed inconsistency but after you get a feel for the putter grip chips around the green you develop a feeling for when and when its not needed.

Correct Lairdy, I think people generally try to chip with a club with too much loft, hence why they have little control, pick a club with which you are confident you can control the amount it runs out. For me it's a 52 which has a nice combination of check on it. (I even chip on the greens of TOC with it!!!)
This club is good enough for virtually all the chips I face, unless I need to land it soft or get it up and over something in a short distance, where I'll use a 58 to play a bunker like shot, Actually holed out from 60 yards with that very shot at the weekend.
Loose grip, long follow through, but as lairdy says picking the spot in which to land is vital, you'll never hole out without considering that.

Chipping should be the most fun thing to practice.

Something already mentioned here is picturing the shot from start to finish.
I'll chip with any club in my bag and I mean every club. I've chipped with everything from a wood to a toe end of my putter and never restrict myself to one club or one type of shot. I think the important thing with any part of the short game is visualisation, if you can picture the shot and how its going to react when it hits the putting surface then you can play it.

I always get strange looks when playing with new people when they see me reading the green from the point I want the ball to land before I chip(doesn't make me a slow player as I do it whilst others are playing) because I want to know what the ball will do once it hits the surface.

Last thing I do before playing once I've addressed the ball, is one last look at the spot I want it to land, and that's the only thing in my mind when playing the shot.

Good points mav, like putting, chipping is a part of the game that everyone could be good at, but very few can be bothered to learn, its all very simple, people just overcomplicate it in their minds as being difficult. It's easy and as mav says, fun

raycastleunited wrote:

Lairdy wrote: I think a lot of it is down to having to play off a mat for shots on closely mown areas,

eh? Never heard of this. Are you playing in Iraq or something? Is this normal?

Sorry I meant closely mown areas through the green. Winter rules I'm afraid. Takes away some fear of the duff depending on what mat you use though.

Agree with Mav and s_r with how much fun chipping is and should be. Always think when you get over any fear factor and realise the fun involved the ability to absorb all the information you need to play a chip becomes so much easier.

i wonder if perhaps a better use of this thread would be to provide links to discussions on topics where advice etc is requested/offered - rather than a general free-for-all. the topic could be locked so only appropriate material is dropped in by navy or whoever. otherwise its going to become a little difficult to navigate. i think its nice to read bunker/chipping tips etc as a thread in their own right - and with this thread providing a catalogue of previous discussions it could work rather well.

Best tip I ever read - many years ago in a Sunday paper in Scotland - was a Gary Player strip....

Most amateurs never go through a green and are usually short, so if you can't make your mind up if its eg. a 4 or 5 iron... hit the 4 iron.

You will swing easier, therefore better - because your not trying to thrash it and you will find that very rarely is the ball too long.

I made my return to the game of late, two games in the last few days after about 3 months away. For some reason I decided I would just concentrate on keeping everything very relaxed and free of tension. It seems to be working especially in the transition at the top of the swing.

As a swing thought it is quite simple compared to thinking of something more technical or getting into a specific position at some point in the swing. Not sure if this is just one of the mad ideas you get after a long spell out or whether it will work long term.

Does anyone else use this sort of thinking and how did it work for you?

McLaren wrote:I made my return to the game of late, two games in the last few days after about 3 months away. For some reason I decided I would just concentrate on keeping everything very relaxed and free of tension. It seems to be working especially in the transition at the top of the swing.

As a swing thought it is quite simple compared to thinking of something more technical or getting into a specific position at some point in the swing. Not sure if this is just one of the mad ideas you get after a long spell out or whether it will work long term.

Does anyone else use this sort of thinking and how did it work for you?

This is something i'd be interested in hearing about as I don't ever use a swing thought when on the course. My preshot routine begins with a practice swing based on feel of the shot, e.g a pitch just feel for length of swing but once I approach the ball theres nothing in my mind except the target so thoughts of what to do or how to maintain it. Just address the ball, once last glimpse of target and pull trigger with that in mind. Always fascinates me hearing others swing thoughts as IMO this just creates tension during the swing

mav

I dont tend to visit the range so any improvements/tinkering tend to be done on the course. I usually end up thinking of something I think will help and try to implement it.

i dont think i have ever played without thinking about my swing. obviously i try not to think about things while im swinging!!..but sometimes i cant help it. i have a fairly natural swing but i get very quick and i tend to hit at the ball because i havent completed my backswing so i am always thinking about something before i hit. i suppose thinking about how i want to swing IS my pre shot routine.

mac.
i never go to the range either and like you tinker with thing on course if its not going so well. one of the guys i came through the juniors with takes great delight in putting a score in even when he is hitting it like a dog...which is regular...i am the opposite...if im playing badly i will try and find the cure to my poor play... we are all different i guess

Maverick wrote:This is something i'd be interested in hearing about as I don't ever use a swing thought when on the course. My preshot routine begins with a practice swing based on feel of the shot, e.g a pitch just feel for length of swing but once I approach the ball theres nothing in my mind except the target so thoughts of what to do or how to maintain it. Just address the ball, once last glimpse of target and pull trigger with that in mind. Always fascinates me hearing others swing thoughts as IMO this just creates tension during the swing

I'm much the same. In general, I keep any 'swing thoughts' for the range. I might have a general thought about rhythm but I certainly don't think about anything complex on the course. At the moment, I'm just focusing on making sure I stay centred and don't weight-shift back off the ball at the start of my take-away but that's as complex as it gets.

navyblueshorts wrote:

Maverick wrote:This is something i'd be interested in hearing about as I don't ever use a swing thought when on the course. My preshot routine begins with a practice swing based on feel of the shot, e.g a pitch just feel for length of swing but once I approach the ball theres nothing in my mind except the target so thoughts of what to do or how to maintain it. Just address the ball, once last glimpse of target and pull trigger with that in mind. Always fascinates me hearing others swing thoughts as IMO this just creates tension during the swing

I'm much the same. In general, I keep any 'swing thoughts' for the range. I might have a general thought about rhythm but I certainly don't think about anything complex on the course. At the moment, I'm just focusing on making sure I stay centred and don't weight-shift back off the ball at the start of my take-away but that's as complex as it gets.

Sounds like you're still generally using the 'Stack & Tilt' method Navy. I too 'generally' follow S&T. Very few swing thoughts for me (I've got a memory like a Goldfish anyway) I just try and visualise where I want the ball to go and try to ensure a turn back and through impact.

Generally, my games as good as it's ever been although having a bit of a problem recently through hitting the ball a bit fat in these soft lie conditions. Playing the ball a bit further back in the stance seems to help.

Yadsendew wrote:Sounds like you're still generally using the 'Stack & Tilt' method Navy. I too 'generally' follow S&T. Very few swing thoughts for me (I've got a memory like a Goldfish anyway) I just try and visualise where I want the ball to go and try to ensure a turn back and through impact.

Generally, my games as good as it's ever been although having a bit of a problem recently through hitting the ball a bit fat in these soft lie conditions. Playing the ball a bit further back in the stance seems to help.

I wouldn't say I'm a devotee of S&T but there's a lot that they advocate which just makes simple sense and is based on sound mechanics and a lot of analysis. The idea that staying centred (or stacked) makes ball striking more consistent just makes basic sense.

The Swing thoughts is my biggest flaw, i play my best golf when my only thought is keep my eye on the ball, i swing smoother, slower and make better contact.

But as soon as a i do 1 bad shot i start thinking about why and what should i do to fix it, concentrate on pretty much everything other than hitting the ball, the main aim of it all

Nay Bother wrote:concentrate on pretty much everything other than hitting the ball, the main aim of it all

I went through a pretty bad spell a couple of years ago for exactly that reason. The last thing on my mind was actually hitting the damn thing

I actually realized there was so much going through my head that if the ball happened to be in the way at the crucial moment it was almost a bonus!

Did you find it crept into your putting as well, it does for me

Not so much with putting - but certainly the iron shots. At my lowest point it almost came as a surprise when the ball got in the way in just the right position!