Tag: golf

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Golf Tips

Take Full Advantage of your Home Golf Course

By Shooting 90

As your basic swing skills come together and you begin to play more golf, you may want to become a member at a local course near you. I’m not specifically speaking of a fancy private country club. Many public golf courses also offer yearly memberships.

There are many benefits of becoming a member at a local golf course:

  • Unlimited golf
  • Some courses include free range balls
  • You can play in the club championship
  • Easier to get tee times
  • Playing repeatedly on the same course builds confidence

Along with the many benefits, there may be a few pitfalls in becoming a member. While playing the same course will build confidence, things may become too routine if you are not careful. You may find yourself knowing what club you are going to hit on each hole before the round even begins. This includes not using multiple clubs in your bag at any point in the round. It is important to regularly use every club in your bag.

Fortunately there are many things you can do to avoid things becoming to routine. The most obvious thing is to play different courses. Even with the benefits of having a home course, you should occasionally be playing different courses. Not knowing a golf course keeps your mental game and course management skills sharp. You’ll also probably see yourself hitting clubs that you normally do not on your home course. Many golf courses have reciprocal deals with other courses that will give you a discounted green fee on those courses. Even with the discounts, playing these other courses is an additional expense to the membership fee you are already paying for your home course.

Let’s look at some ways to get the maximum benefit from your home course. Playing your home course in a different way is beneficial to improving your game.

Don’t play exclusively from the white or red tees. Next round, play from a longer tee. You will find your longer irons and hybrids will come into play more often than they do from a more forward tee. This will help you be comfortable playing any club in your bag when on other courses where you will need them. Please keep in mind that you will score higher from a longer tee. We are just not as accurate from longer distances. This is normal and perfectly OK. In fact, if you keep a handicap, the handicap system accounts for what tee you are playing from.

On the flip side, do not be against playing from a forward tee once in a while. The red tees are not ladies tees and the gold tees are not senior/youth tees. They are simply red and gold tees providing an opportunity to play from a shorter yardage. The expected outcome when playing from a more forward tee than usual is to score lower. Playing up will provide you approach shots into the green with short irons ands wedges. The short game is the most important part of anyone’s game. The more times you can get real on-course work on your short game the better off your game will be. Once again, if you keep a handicap, the system will account for playing a shorter tee and your handicap will not become artificially low by playing up.

Another option on some holes when playing your regular tees is to use a different club off of the tee. For example, keep your driver in the bag for some par 4’s and use a 3 wood or other club off the tee. This gives you practice off the tee with other clubs. You may find that the increased accuracy with a different club other than your driver may increase your scoring opportunities on some holes. This, like playing longer tees, increases the length of approach shots forcing you to use clubs in your bag you normally do not.

So start mixing things up on your home course. The increased use of clubs you may normally not play will benefit your golf game especially when playing new courses.

Categories
Hit More Fairways

Master Your Straight Golf Shot

By Shooting 90

A response by Hank Haney (@HankDHaney) to a question on Twitter recently caught my eye.

Hank replied “Straight” to the question of the one shot all golfers should learn. Hank helps amateurs with their golf game everyday on Twitter. He is a golf professional who coached Tiger Woods from 2004 to 2010. He is also author of The Big Miss and host of The Haney Project on The Golf Channel.

I enjoy watching professional golf on television. While there are many things you can pick up to improve your game from watching the pros, their ability to shape their shots with draws and fades is not something you should try to emulate until your games requires it.

You must master hitting your straight shot before you purposely curve your ball to the left (draw for right handers) or to the right (fade for right handers). Notice I said “hitting your straight shot” as opposed to “hitting the ball straight”. Your regular swing may produce a slight draw or fade which is perfectly natural and not a problem as long as your flight path is consistent. Keep in mind I’m not saying to work around a hook or slice. Hooks and slices are severe draws and fades which have too much movement to effectively manage. You should work on your swing to eliminate hooks or slices.

The fact is you can easily break 80 on a consistent basis without shaping any of your shots. I enjoy when I get the change to golf with older golfers. Many of these golfers lose a considerable amount of distance as they age, but their ability to consistently hit the ball straight enables them to continue to enjoy the game they love.

There is one shot, the punch shot, that you really need to go along with your straight shot which will help you get to shooting 90 and beyond. A punch shot has much less elevation than a normal shot. Low handicap and scratch golfers use a punch or knockdown shot to keep the ball down out of the wind while hitting their approach shots into the green. That is not what I recommend a high handicap golfer use a punch shot for. A high handicap golfer should know how to pull off a punch shot so they can go under tree branches and still get decent yardage on shots where they can not take a full backswing.

Play the ball back in your stance and choke down on the club to setup for a punch shot. You will also want to use a club or two more than you usually would for the yardage. Shorten both your backswing and follow through as you “punch” the ball.

Practice the punch shot next time you are at the practice range. It is a valuable tool to help get you out of troublesome spots. Keep enjoying watching the pros on TV. Just save trying to shape your shots until you are a low handicap golfer.

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Golf Practice

Making the Most of the Practice Range

By Shooting 90

Hitting balls at the practice range is essential for a high handicap golfer to reach playing bogey golf. You are being unrealistic if you think working on your swing only during rounds is enough to quickly progress your game. While we all live busy lives and not many of us have the time that pros do to hit thousands of balls a week, an hour a week at the practice range could be the difference between shooting 90 or not.

Committing an hour a week at the practice range is the first and most important step but you also have to use that hour as productively as you can. Many amateurs hit too many balls with their driver or go through every club in their bag each time at the range. The best plan is to work primarily on the areas of your game that are costing you the most strokes. Keeping statistics during each round is the easiest way to know what you need to address at the practice range. Take the guesswork out of it and let your game tell you what you need to work on. Don’t work on improving an area of your game that is already relatively strong when there are other areas that truly need the work. Your golf game is only as strong as its weakest link.

Once you have determined what clubs to work on at the range, don’t just robotically hit one ball after another. Do some role playing. What I mean by this is to pick a definite target and go through your pre-shot routine. Simulate shots you will encounter during actual play. By doing this you will find it easier to translate what you gain on the range over to the course.

Along with a driving range, golf courses have a practice green to go along with it. Most of these practice greens also have a sand trap along side. The short game is the most important part of anyone’s golf game. It’s vital that you spend time on and around the practice green along with the time you spend on the practice range. More of your strokes come from putting than any other area of your game. Work on producing a consistent putting stroke so you can correctly judge the speed of your putts. Remember to work on the short putts so you can consistently drain the three foot putts on the course.

Putting is not the only part of your short game. We do not hit every green in regulation so we need to build proficiency around the green. Make practicing your chipping part of your regular routine at the practice range. Many amateurs use a wedge around the green for all their shots and attempt to fly the ball almost all the way to the hole. A better way is to get the ball rolling as soon as possible by using a less lofted club such as a seven or eight iron. Practice chipping the ball just on the green and correctly reading its roll to the hole. It’s easier to judge the slope of the green than it is to correctly fly it the right distance to the hole.

Most amateurs are terrified of hitting out of a green side sand trap. The truth is while it takes a different setup and swing to successfully get out of the sand, it is a shot that can become consistent for you with a little practice. Spend time in the practice bunker until you feel confident you can successfully land your ball on the green from a green side bunker while out on the course.

There may be some talented athletics who can take up golf and shoot 90 by just playing rounds, but most of us need to spend regular time on the practice range to elevate our game. Just spending time on the practice range isn’t enough. Target specific areas of your game that need the most work and include time for your short time in each practice session. Making time for quality practice each week will put you on the fast track to shooting 90.

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Golf Fitness

Exercise Your Way to Better Golf

By Shooting 90

As always, check with your doctor before beginning any exercise program.

Most high handicap golfers could improve their swing and score by exercising regularly. While not required to enjoy golfing, a regular exercise program will increase your strength and flexibility thus adding distance and accuracy to your shots.

There are many golf fitness programs on the market specifically geared toward improving your golf game. Most of these programs provide exercises that strengthen and stretch the muscle groups used during a golf swing. Targeting these muscle groups can take a good golfer’s game to the next level. While these golf specific exercise routines can also benefit the high handicap golfer, I’m not convinced they’re necessary for the vast majority of high handicap golfers to reach shooting 90.

I would argue a general exercise program would be more beneficial to the high handicap golfer in both general health and shooting bogey golf. A large number of amateur golfers probably do not regularly exercise. Going from doing nothing to regularly performing a golf specific exercise program may not be sustainable.

A general exercise program will help control your weight, combat high blood pressure and diabetes, boost your energy, promote better sleeping and even improve your sex life. A good overall exercise routine will target flexibility, strength and endurance. Improvement in these three areas translates into a better, more powerful golf swing and more energy towards the end of your round.

Having more muscle flexibility means you’ll have a more complete, fluid swing. You will be able to more easily rotate your torso through your backswing and follow through. Greater flexibility is achieved through stretching your muscles on a regular basis. There are many stretching programs available today. The one I use is Stretch Max with Cathe Friedrich. It is a sixty minute DVD that is divided into three twenty minute segments. One segment involves just an exercise mat, the second uses a stability ball and the third utilizes resistance bands. I rotate through the segments doing a different twenty minute segment twice a week.

While muscle strength isn’t the major determining factor in golf shot distance, generally speaking adding muscle strength will add yardage to your shots. There are several different methods available for strength training. Most people either use machines or free weights. Different locations are also an option – you can join a gym or workout at home. I use the Weider Pro 4850 which is a relatively inexpensive but fully functional home gym. Unfortunately it is no longer made but the Body Solid EXM1500S, although a bit more expensive, is a quality home gym. The book The Great Home Gym Handbook does a nice job of explaining home gym exercises and helping you create a strength program. I strength train for thirty minutes twice a week.

Cardiovascular exercises help build your endurance and give you a highly level of energy for a longer period of time. As with the other areas of an exercise program, there are almost endless ways to work your cardiovascular system including dancing, kick boxing and running. Walking is the easiest method while still being beneficial. You can start by walking the course during your round. Build on that by taking a few evening walks during the week with your spouse, significant other, or dog. Try to work your way up to a 5 km (3.1 mile) walk with a brisk pace.

Hopefully you will consider implementing an exercise program today. Please do not use the excuse of not having any time. Your health is too important for that. As I have explained in this article, I spend roughly two and a half hours a week exercising. Most of us could easily cut two and a half hours a week out of our TV watching schedule. Your golf game will see improvement from regular exercise.

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Golf Tips

How Statistics Can Improve Your Golf Game

By Shooting 90

Statistics from your round can help determine what area of your golf game should get priority at the practice range. There are a large number of stats you can track, but because too many stats just become noise, I like to track only a few simple stats for each hole.

  • Fairways Hit (Driving Accuracy)
  • Greens in Regulation
  • Number of Putts
  • Number of Penalty Strokes

These four statistics are easily tracked on a scorecard.

Example of Scorecard Stats

There’s one stat missing here that is commonly tracked by others and that is sand saves. A more appropriate stat, and one I may begin tracking, is green side saves. It is the percentage of times you get up and down when in close proximity to the green. The short game – pitching, chipping and putting – is the biggest area in which high handicap golfers can shave strokes off their game. I already track number of putts and tracking green side saves will not only provide feedback on my pitching and chipping but will also help further clarify my putting stats.

Let’s dig a little deeper into the stats I currently track.

Fairways Hit

This is called driving accuracy on the PGA Tour. You track whether or not your drive stopped in the fairway on each hole. At least in the way I presently track it, this is the least beneficial stat I track.

The quality of your shots off the tee can not be fully justified by a yes or no answer. You can miss the fairway to varying degrees. Your ball can be just off the fairway sitting up nice in the first cut of rough or it can be 100 yards back in the woods. Both of these count as a missed fairway. Golf Digest published a different system a few years back to track driving accuracy. It involves scoring missed fairways on a scale of zero to four. Find more information on this system by following the link below.

The Real Measure Of Driving Accuracy

This is an interesting system that does a better job of tracking driving accuracy. However, I choose not to use it. It’s more work and I prefer to keep things simple while I’m out on the course.

A yes or no answer to whether or not you hit the fairway still provides valuable information. After all, the goal is to hits as many fairways as possible. Just remember to look back on the fairways you missed. Did you still leave the ball in a good position? Did you strike your drives well today? Or did you mishit your shots of the tee and incur penalties? You need to focus on both proper club selection off the tee (you don’t always have to bomb your driver) and hitting these clubs at the practice range if you are getting into trouble off the tee.

Greens in Regulation

Greens in regulation, in my opinion, is the most important stat any golfer can track. Hitting a green in regulation means you are on the green and have a birdie putt or better. The ability to hit greens, along with putting, is the key to scoring low in golf but it also plays a big role in taking a high handicap golfer to shooting 90.

Missing too many greens puts a lot of pressure on your short game. When you hit greens in regulation, unless you four putt, the absolute worst you can score is a bogey. As an improving high handicap golfer, you should be hitting between 25% and 50% of greens in regulation depending on where you are at in your journey to shooting 90. If you are not in this range, you need to work on both club selection and hitting those clubs at the practice range.

Number of Putts

The number of putts you make on each hole is an important stat. After all, the putter is the most used club by a wide margin. It makes senses that putting provides the most opportunity to improve your scoring.

But this stat can also be misleading. A three putt from ten feet is much worse than a three putt from fifty feet. Also, a large number of holes with one putt does not necessarily mean you are scoring well. It could mean you are missing a lot of greens, chipping on and leaving yourself short putts.

There are other ways to track putts that have been developed. One is to count the length of the last putt on each hole and totaling them up for the round.

The more feet of putts you make during a round, the better you are putting. This isn’t fool proof either as one long putt can skew the numbers. Keeping things simple, I just count the number of putts per hole. I do however make sure to look at all my stats in relationship to one another.

Number of Penalty Strokes

Minimizing penalty strokes goes hand in hand with moving towards shooting 90. I track the number of penalty strokes I have on each hole.

At the end of the round, I can look back on the holes I had penalties on. There can be several different causes of penalty strokes. Sometimes you just hit a poor shot. Emphasize that club the next time you’re on the practice range. Sometimes it might be choosing the wrong club. Try hitting 3 wood off the tee on holes where your driver is getting you into trouble.

Keeping stats for your rounds is a good way to target areas for improvement in your golf game. Keep the number of stats manageable and remember to look at all of your stats in relationship to each other.

Categories
Putting

Eliminating Three Putts

By Shooting 90

Too many three putt holes during a round are one of the major roadblocks in the way of high handicap golfers shooting bogey golf. Even if we do everything else right on the hole and hit the green in regulation, we still only reach our goal of scoring a bogey if we three putt. We need to take advantage of hitting greens in regulation by making pars or better yet birdies. High handicap golfers are not going to hit most greens in regulation. Three putts on these holes will lead to double bogies or worse. Too many of these holes, no matter how well we play on the other holes, and we can never recover to shoot a round of bogey golf.

How do we minimize three putts?

Speed is the number one factor in reducing three putts.

The speed of the putt determines how far the ball will travel. Except for a few putts with extreme slope that will break a tremendous amount, you will always be within a few feet of the hole for your second putt if you have the correct speed regardless of whether or not you judge the break correctly. Obviously the key to reducing three putts is to leave yourself high percentage putts for your second putt if you don’t sink your first putt.

A consistent putting stroke is key for having the correct speed on your putts.

There are several different putting styles, grips and putters one can use. I do not believe any of these has a major advantage over the others. The putter you choose comes down to what feels most comfortable to you.

There are things you will want to do consistently regardless of the putter you use.

  • Your eyes should be over the ball. The putting stroke and stance are much different than the full swing setup. Your head should be directly over the ball and you should be looking straight down at the ball. From this position, it is easiest to create the pendulum motion needed for a consistent putting stroke. Your shoulders act as the base of the pendulum if you are using a short putter. Your wrists remain still unlike in the full golf swing. The end of the putter acts as the base of the pendulum and is anchored to your body if you are using a long putter.
  • When putting, your follow-through should be as long as the backswing. Many high handicap golfers do not follow all the way through on their putting stroke. This is important for all putts but especially for short ones. The length of your putting stroke should also relate to the length of the putt. The longer the putt, the longer your stroke should be.
  • Try to putt the ball 12 to 18 inches past the hole on every putt within 15 feet. You’ll never make putts that do not reach the hole. The more putts you can make means less short ones to finish up and fewer strokes on your scorecard. Consistently leaving your putts 12 to 18 inches past the hole puts the ball at the ideal speed to go in when it does catch part of the hole.

Get a good read on the elevation change from your ball to the hole.

Most high handicap golfers I see only read the break of the putt from behind the ball looking toward the hole. I do what you see most professionals do. I read the putt from both behind the ball looking toward the hole and from behind the hole looking toward the ball. Sometimes the break is much easier to see from one side over the other. When walking to the other side, I pause and look at the putt from the side. This view provides the best look of any elevation change from the ball to the hole which is crucial in judging the correct speed of the putt. You may be thinking this will take too long but there is actually plenty of time on the green to do this while others are lining up chips and putts.

Judging the correct speed of your putts will get you close to the hole if not in but there is another thing needed to minimize three putts.

You need to make short putts.

You can do a great job of judging speed, but you will inevitably misread the break on a lot of putts leaving two to three foot putts. You have to have the mindset that you are going to make all of these. The biggest help in making short putts is to practice them. I see people practice their putting on the practice green all the time but how many of them do you see practicing short putts or at least finishing up the putts they leave from their long attempts? Include some time on the practice green to practice three foot putts.

As we touched on earlier, remember to follow through on every putt – especially the short ones. I have a tendency of not following through on short putts. I end up “stabbing” at the ball and pushing the putt to the right.

Three putts can wreck an otherwise good round. You can shave a lot of strokes from your score on the green. The correct speed of putts and the ability to make almost every short putt will reduce the number of three putts you have.

Categories
Golf Fitness

The Benefits of Walking Around (of Golf)

By Shooting 90

I’m not sure of the exact breakdown, but golfers who ride in a cart substantially outnumber those who walk. I guess I should not find this surprising in our society. In my opinion, there are very few benefits riding in a cart will give you over walking.

You can complete a round in less time by riding a cart if you are playing alone. However, there is significantly less time saved when playing in a foursome. Besides, what’s your hurry?

Since most carts have roofs, you will stay drier in rainy conditions by riding a cart. You will still get wet when playing your shots, and once you’re wet you’re wet, this is not a huge benefit.

The last benefit of riding in a cart, and the biggest one in my opinion, is that it allows people who may not physically be able to walk a complete round to still enjoy the game they love. This post is to those of us who are physically able to walk the course to rethink riding in a cart and consider the benefits of walking.

The most obvious benefit of walking is a healthier you. The length of an average 18 hole golf course is around three and a half miles or five and a half kilometers. Since we all tend to zigzag around the course a bit, plan on walking over four miles or six and a half kilometers for 18 holes. Walking can lower your bad cholesterol, raise your good cholesterol, lower your blood pressure, reduce your risk of diabetes, help manage your weight and keep you fit.

Besides the health benefits, walking instead of riding in a cart also benefits your golf game.

First, you can set your own pace. Unless you are playing alone, you will likely have another golfer sharing your cart. Many times the other golfer will be next to you waiting in the cart when you are preparing to shoot. This instinctively creates a rushed feeling and more tension in your golf swing. By walking, you still get the social enjoyment of playing with a group, while being able to set your own pace for each shot.

Setting your own pace will create more consistency in your pre-shot routine. I’m not a fan of a long pre-shot routine, as 15 to 20 seconds is plenty long enough, but you do want the same routine every time. Walking enables you to take the time, every time, for a consistent pre-shot routine.

When you walk, you’ll never be stuck with the wrong club. Many times when riding a cart with a partner, you’ll grab a club for your upcoming shot before taking a good look at it. The thinking is you can save some time by having your partner take the cart to their next shot. Does this give you enough time to properly judge your lie, the wind, or your target? Many times it may but there will be times when you wish you could change clubs but go ahead and hit the wrong club anyway. Proper club selection is crucial for every shot. Hitting the wrong club can easily lead to a big score on a hole for a high handicap golfer.

Try walking your next round instead of riding in a cart. You will feel better physically and see benefits in your golf game.

Categories
Golf Equipment

Choosing the Right Golf Ball

By Shooting 90

Some amateurs use golf balls they may have found on the course or whatever might have been on sale at their local sporting goods store. Others use the same balls of they see professionals use on TV. These balls are known as tour balls and the Titleist Pro V1 is an example. While using professional equipment can improve an amateur’s performance in many sports, including golf, it can also have little impact or even hurt your performance if your skills do not match the equipment.

Golf ball manufacturers utilize today’s technology to create a wide variety of balls. Golf balls vary from one piece construction to five piece construction. Different materials can be used for each layer depending on the manufacturer. The different combinations of construction and materials allow manufacturers to produce golf balls targeted to many different skill levels and swing speeds.

It is important to match up your golf game with a golf ball that matches your skill level and play that ball exclusively. While professionals can detect the most subtle differences in the performance and feel between different balls, even high handicap golfers will notice differences on some level. Playing the same ball is an easy way to provide more consistency to your game. I’ll grant you it may be a small thing in the grand scheme of your golf game, but knowing your ball will perform consistently will improve your game. Though playing a tour ball may seem like the best thing, they provide a large amount of spin. The spin is partially achieved with the soft cover of these balls which also provides a great deal of feel around the green. This spin is crucial for a professional’s or low handicap golfer’s short game but can adversely affect the high handicap golfer by exaggerating slices off the tee. This is one reason it is important to match up your skills with the ball that is right for you.

Let’s break down the main types of golf balls to find the best one for you.

Two Piece Construction Golf Balls

Most amateurs use a two piece golf ball and it should be the ball every beginner uses. These balls usually have a solid core covered with a hard, durable cover. With a low compression and hard cover, the two piece ball delivers more distance and less spin than other balls. Many high handicap golfers have lower swing speeds that will benefit from the added distance. High handicap golfers also have the tendency to slice the ball off the tee. The lower spin of the two piece ball will help minimize the severity of slices.

Another advantage of two piece golf balls is that they are less expensive than other types of balls. You will feel less pain in the pocketbook when they go into the woods or water.

Some two piece golf balls are:


Titleist DT TruSoft

Callaway Supersoft

Bridgestone Extra Soft Golf Balls

Tour Golf Balls

Tour balls are just that, balls that are used by professional golfers on tour. Unlike two piece balls, they have three, four or even five layers of construction. The multi-layer construction along with a very soft cover give tour balls a large amount of spin and feel around the green. The high amount of spin allows professionals and low handicap golfers to more easily draw or fade their shots along with stopping the ball quickly on the green. Both require golf skills that almost all high handicap golfers do not possess. For this reason, high handicap golfers will not see a return on their investment of the high price tag of tour balls. Some examples of tour balls are the Titleist Pro V1, the Callaway HEX Black Tour and the Bridgestone Tour B330.

Advanced Two Piece / Three Piece Balls

Somewhere between basic two piece balls and tour balls, there are advanced two piece balls and three piece balls designed for the mid handicap golfer. An advanced two piece ball’s core still has low compression for distance off the tee but it usually has a softer material for the cover than ionomer to give more spin and feel around the green. Three piece balls in this category utilize the middle, or mantle layer, to increase spin and feel around the green while the core material still gives the ball low spin off the tee for added distance. Depending on the construction, these three piece balls can either have a harder ionomer cover or a softer cover made from urethane or other materials. As a high handicap golfer builds more consistency and speed into their swing, approaching bogey golf, they should begin playing an advanced two piece or three piece ball to take advantage of the added spin and feel around the green.

An advanced two piece golf ball is:

Titleist Tour Soft Golf Balls

Some three piece golf balls are:

Wilson DUO Spin


Bridgestone e6 Soft Golf Balls

Whether you are a high handicap or beginner golfer, or an improving golfer closing in on consistent bogey golf, it is important to match your game with the correct type of ball. What brand and model ball you choose from the correct type comes down to personal preference. I suggest you try several side-by-side and choose the ball you like best.

Categories
Hit More Fairways

Create a Proper Pre-Shot Routine

By Shooting 90

You may be like me and enjoy watching professional golf on television. At the very least many of you watch at least part of the majors. Professionals spend an incredible amount of time working on their game. There are not many things you can watch pros doing on TV that can be directly applied to your game. There are a few however, and the pre-shot routine is one of them.

Take an hour or two to watch a professional event on TV. Watch the players’ pre-shot routines. You’ll notice they differ from the pre-shot routines of many amateurs. Many amateurs take a few practice swings along side the ball and then address the ball. Unless they need to test the lie by the ball, professionals do very little along side the ball besides addressing and hitting it. Most of the professional player’s pre-shot routine is spent behind the ball facing the hole. They are visualizing their perfect shot and aligning their target.

After selecting the right club, stand a few yards behind the ball facing your target and visualize the shot. Visualization is imagining the ball flight of the shot you have planned. Professionals know their confidence grows with the positive affirmation of visualization. With so much of the game of golf being mental, visualizing every shot is important to your success.

After visualizing your shot, take a practice swing. One practice swing, a few yards behind the ball, is plenty if you have a good lie. The only time you need to take a practice swing next to the ball is when you have an unsure lie, which includes sidehill, uphill and downhill lies.

Next, you need to line up your shot with a target in the distance. Depending on the lie and the wind, the target may be the flag, a tree, a sand trap or just about anything. Standing a few yards behind the ball, draw an imaginary line through the ball to your target. Pick a spot on the imaginary line three to five feet in front of the ball. Address the ball by placing your club face behind the ball in line with the spot you just picked three to five feet in front of the ball. Line up your feet perpendicular to the imaginary line. Keep a relaxed grip and take the shot.

Developing a repeatable pre-shot routine is an important step in consistently hitting quality shots. A consistent pre-shot routine will improve your scores.