The Golf Slice

The reality about golf is that it’s really a pretty simple game. People like you and I just make it tough by overanalyzing things and worrying about the little stuff while avoiding the obvious.

This is painfully true when it comes to putting.

The key to a good putt is to hit it straight down your target line. Obvious, right? What I really mean by that is to make sure you’re hitting the ball straight at the point of contact. I know your actual line can’t be straight every time because of breaks and whatnot.

Hitting the ball straight while you putt is a simple thing that you might be overlooking when you’re standing on the green. Try and remember the basics and fundamentals and you’ll see your handicap and putts per round go down.

A lot of us stuck in winter weather are forced to keep our game alive by visiting in-door driving ranges. Here are four practice tips for the driving range to help you keep your golf game sharp until the weather warms up.

1. Don’t go out there just looking to make contact. Find a flaw in your game and work on correcting it. Everyone should have a game plan before hitting the range.
2. Try and always aim for a particular target. A lot of ranges will put flags or yardage markers out for you to aim at. If that’s not available, just try to hit a general area each time.
3. It’s not all about the long ball. It’s key to get in time to work on your short game as well.
4. Don’t play for too long. It’s really easy to overwork yourself at the driving range. Your shots come fast and furiously without the normal downtime in between shots you get when playing a real round. Be careful not to overextend yourself.

These tips should be useful to any golfer, actually, regardless of the season. If you can actually go out and play a round right now then getting in practice at the driving range is important as well.

It’s winter here in Ohio. On Thursday morning it was zero degrees outside but this weekend things are starting to warm up. It’s almost 30 outside right now. That’s practically springtime weather around here.

What I’m saying is… I miss golf.

Nine times out of ten when you’re stuck hitting out of a bunker you’re looking to hit the ball just high enough to get it over the lip of the pit and on to the green. In other words, it’s less about the distance and more about the air.

If you don’t have a sand wedge in your golf bag you should use the next shortest club with the most loft available.

The best way to hit a good bunker shot is to be aware of what your clubface is doing. When you’re using a like your sand wedge it’s important to keep the face lofted so that it brushes across the sand and sends the golf ball upward.

Be careful not to do anything during your swing that will ruin the loft of the ball. It’s really easy to try and “help” the ball get into the air by moving your wrists or changing your angle. Trying moves like that will lead directly a bad shot.

I have a pretty steadfast rule against ever walking while golfing. Since golf cart rentals are usually so cheap I personally see no reason to lug a golf bag around and walk 18 holes. Of course, a lot of people golf for exercise (imagine that!) and they prefer to walk the course.

If you’re one of those people, please make sure you are using the proper golf bag. There’s a wide variety of golf bags available on the market today and some are better served for walkers and some are better for golf carts.

A good golf bag for someone who wants to walk has two shoulder straps so that you can carry it like you a backpack. You’ll definitely want to find a golf bag that is light in weight too. A lot of newer golf bags also come with built-in stands that come out when you set the bag down. This saves you from having to bend over and pick your golf bag up off the ground after each shot.

The right golf bag will help prevent shoulder and back aches and general fatigue as you work your way through your round.

A flop shot is basically a high flying shot that doesn’t go very far and lands with very little extra movement. It’s great for those times when you need pinpoint placement and you are a short distance from the green.

You’re going to need a golf club with a lot of loft to hit a good flop shot. I’m talking about using either a wedge or maybe, if you need some extra distance, a nine iron at most.

Here are some swing tips for hitting a good flop shot:

1. Your stance should be similar to what you use for any regular pitch shot. Try and target the area slightly to the left of where you want the ball to eventually land.
2. You’ll want to open up a bit more clubface for this shot than you normally would. Make sure your hands are a bit ahead of the ball as you strike to make sure maintain the open clubface.
3. As you swing keep the club at a steep angle to make sure you get under the ball.

As they say, practice makes perfect so you might want to give these steps some trial runs at the driving range sometime.

A lot of golfers, when they’re first starting to play the game, can’t justify the cost or time investment to take proper lessons. As time wears on they develop bad habits and poor swings and their games spiral out of control.

Remember that old habits die hard so the longer you wait to get proper instruction the worse things are going to get.

If you’re interested in taking golf lessons start by checking with your local golf course. Their resident golf pro might offer lessons to the public. If not, you might want to try calling any area driving ranges and see if they have lessons available.

Most places offering golf lessons have individual and group plans. If you’re worried about embarrassing yourself (or others) you might want to go with the private lesson. It’ll probably be more expensive but you’ll also get more out of it.

There are days when I could put on an absolute clinic on how to hit the ball fat. I have had rounds where I left nothing in my wake but fairway ditches. It’s embarrassing.

The worst part is that I know exactly what causes a fat shot. If you’re hitting the ball fat you are probably moving your head during your swing. It’s just that simple. All you need to do is keep your head steady. Most people hit fat shots when they either dip their head down or their head sways to the right during their swing.

The easy way to stop the head dip is just through concentration. There’s no need to do it so quit it. A neat tip for stopping the sway is to push down hard on the inside of your right foot while you’re in the middle of your backswing. Try that out once and see if it helps.

If you aren’t sure what your head is doing during your swing ask someone to watch you take some practice swings. They should be able to spot right away what’s going on.