Golf Tips Archives

Every Category of Golfers Will Benefit From Getting A Free Golf Tip

A little piece of friendly or even expert advice is always welcome – especially when it is about learning how to improve your game of golf. Whether you are an accomplished golfer or even if you are new to the sport a few helpful and perhaps free golf tips will always be appreciated by every golfer – expert or beginner. The good news is that there are various resources available that give people of different golfing abilities the benefit of some free golf tips and advice.

Michael Lamanna

Golf Instruction Videos are available that offer free golf tips and are available at sites such as About.com. Such free videos feature the excellent Michael Lamanna who happens to be the director of instruction at the Phoenician Resort, Scottsdale, Arizona. Learning from him will certainly prove to be very advantageous.

Another way of getting free golf tips is to check out Four Keys to Hitting a 460cc Driver that provides you will some very helpful advice (for free) regarding getting the most out of an oversize driver and also how to cope with today’s golf balls.

You might also want to check out Three Keys to Successful Sand Play that too offers free golf tips. These tips come to you from Marty Fleckman who shows you what the correct setup is and what the most appropriate techniques as well as consistent points of entry are in relation to playing out of the greenside bunkers. In particular, you will learn how to create a more consistent point of entry.

The Step-by-Step to a Great Golf Setup is yet another option in regard to getting free golf tips and this resource too has been created by Michael Lamanna who will walk you through a step by step lesson in learning about elements necessary to create the perfect golf setup. In addition, Lamanna also explains the importance of a proper setup.

You can also use Faults and Fixes Tip Sheets to help you find out what makes your shots slice or draw and also why you make so many mishits in the form of fat shots as well as topping. There are fortunately many other useful resources from where you can get free golf tips that will run you through golfing basics and the proper means to play with a driver and which will also show you how to swing different irons.

You need to also learn about proper wedge play and of course you need all the free golf tips that you can get regarding the proper way of putting. Some sites from where you can get some very useful free golf tips include the likes of tomsgolftips.com and even golftipsmag.com is another useful resource that is well worth checking out.

Free Golf Tips For Beginners – Giving Your Swinging Arm a Try

Golf as a leisure sport has increased in its accessibility to what one would consider the normal people. It is the fun and exercise obtaining that makes it such a hit. It is now also a favored sport amoung women and perhaps this has increased the need for free golf tips for beginners. This way one can get all that they need from their free golf tips for beginners guide whether it is online or offline.

Help Is Never Far So Never Fear

With all the social network sites streaiming videos with free golf tips for beginners by beginers a whole lot of people are able to obtain the training and confidence they need. Indeed it does require one to have a sense of confidence in order to be able to learn a new sport. You have to have the self belief that you can make it work. It is also about having fun especially if you are taking up free golf putting tips. This will help you to understand appreciate that golf putting is not perhaps as hard as you thought. However most people fail or give up even though they do have the free gold tips for beginners due to the fact that they do not practice.

The saying about 'practice makes perfect' is a clear indication that you might not necessarily be a natural at something but the more you practice the better you get at it. The same rule applies to the application of the free golf tips for beinngers. You should not give up just after one go. And in order to make the whole experience a bit more fun you will have to be motivated. A purpose of action is also therefore required. Before you undertake any research into the free golf tips for beginners guides or video tips, you have to question yourself as to why you really want to do golf.

If it is for the exercise part of it then you have to appreciate that it might not be as easy as you think. It will require you to persevere through the hard times and that you will have to set aside time to partake in the sport. Otherwise all the time that you will have spent on researching and reading up on the free golf tips for beginners will all be fruitless.

You would've best spent your time doing something else that you can persevere with. You should not tire to aspire to getting better at your game as each achievement will put you in better standing.

How To Chip The Ball: A Simple Technique (Part 2)

Always stick to the basics when performing the bump and run chip shot. With your stance in place and your weight shifted on the front foot, it's time to make the swing.

On this type of shot you really want to avoid making too much of a divot. The club should hit the ball while it is accelerating, not slowing down. If your swing digs into the ground then it is likely to cause the clubhead to slow and your hopeful chip shot then turns into a bumbled fat shot.

Visualize hitting both the ball and the ground at once, with your wrists firm, while making a clean sweep of the club through the contact zone – then make it happen, just like described.

Flop Shot Basic Technique

When a flop shot is in order, make your stance practically identical to the bump and run stance. The only changes are that your feet should be closer together and your stance slightly more open. You may have differing adjustments than my recommended stance, and that is just fine so long as you adhere to the basic principles of what I am describing here.

Because I like to open my stance up a little more than most golfers, it allows me to play the ball far in the front and produces more loft. This means that I will be able to hit the ball with more height while reducing the amount of roll when it lands.

To hit the flop shot correctly the ball should be sitting just on top of the fluff of grass. This means that the shot is easier to hit when the ball is in the rough rather than on closely-trimmed fairway. And of course you need to pop the ball up (which requires that you hit under the ball). When playing on nicely cut grass, it is too easy to mess up and hit the ground first.

Last Minute Chipping Tips

Here are three key things to keep in mind whenever you are making a chip shot:

1) Never pass on the bump and run shot if you have a clear, smooth pathway in between your ball and the hole.

2) Not every chip shot has the same conditions so if you need less roll and more height on the ball, consider using a higher lofted club. The sand wedge or the pitching wedge are good choices. And for less hight and more roll, look to the 7 or 8 iron.

The Number 1 Reason Why Your Score Is Not Improving

What does practice mean to you when it comes to improving your golf game?

Most of you probably never practice outside of the actual course. Others spend the entire time on the driving range hitting long drives. Either way, the truth is that you are doing very little to actually lower your score and improve the shots that really count at the end of a game.

So what is it about hitting those powerful long drives that make us happy? Some of these shots will slice, while others will actually fly straight and hit the target. While this makes us happy at some level, deep inside we know that spending all day hitting long balls at the range is not the best use of our practice time.

Most of you reading this are interested in living up to your fullest potential at the game. Becoming the best we can, within our abilities, is what separates those that improve from those that just drudge along, hitting the same low score year in and year out. We want to have our best score, we want to hit those impressive shots that make our friends look on with envy.

Perhaps your goal is to shoot 90, or how about 80? Maybe you are trying to reach a score of 75 or 70. Whatever your new goals are, there is no way to get there without making the short game a priority when it comes to practice. Some people of course get a rush from hitting all of those repetitive, ego-driving long drives, but then their scorecard never dips below 100, they are not so happy anymore.

The Value Is Around the Green

More value comes from the shots that are made around the green. The accuracy and technique needed to make these shots into a winning strategy is far more important than what is needed for a drive. A hole may be as far as 390 or more yards away, and a long drive may get the ball to the 200 yard mark, which is great, but what will get the ball into the hole are your tougher shots – the pitches, the flops, and the chips.

I've seen scores drop from the high 90s down to the mid-to-low 80s just from players who shaved off a few points by spending extra moments each week on chipping, or a few 15 minute sessions during the week with putting. Such improvements may seem minor but your handicap can be dramatically reduced.

Planning Your Practice Sessions

Not everyone has the luxury of planning out long practice sessions to improve their golf game. Most of us have very busy schedules, long work hours, and family commitments - so even a 30 minute window is a welcomed opportunity. You must use your time wisely.

Regardless if you only have 30 minutes, or a half day to practice golf, the key is to properly plan your sessions. It would not be wise to spend all of your 30 minutes hitting drives.

Always include small increments of your time to hitting specific shots - five minutes on chipping, another five on pitching, maybe ten minutes on bunker shots, another five minutes on your fifty yard shots – are all examples of a plan of action towards practice with the time you have.

How To Break The 100

Everyone that I know who has ever played golf, and became serious about improving their score, has all shared the same goal of busting through the 100 score level at some point.

Chances are high that you too are in this same position. In fact, most players that hit the course these days have not even broke the 100 score mark, at least not consistently.

There is no doubt that this is an important goal for you and by getting there means that you have reached a special point in your golf game. Not only will you feel more confident, you will also gain the respect of your friends and other players on the course.

When I reached the upper 90s in my score on a regular basis, the feeling that I could best describe it would be that I actually “felt” like a real player.

Very few golfers I know at my local course break 90, but those that do have told me that it feels like they could take on the world, win matches, and enter club tournaments!

Must you break 90 to be considered a good player? Not at all! Becoming better is the key, and is different for every one of you, so do not get hung up on numbers. However, for those of you who have been playing for a while and are ready to say goodbye to the 100 mark, we have some great tips to get you started.

Simple Math

Setting up yourself to accomplish goals in golf means starting with a plan. So let's look at simple numbers. There are 18 holes on the course. If your goal was to knock the ball into each hole in 5 shots then your score would be 90. This easily breaks down your goal into smaller accomplishments for each hole.

Of course you do not have to make 5 on each hole in order to maintain this goal. Some may be higher, some lower, but the overall plan of action is the same. The key is to stay positive even when some of your holes do not go according to plan. Even Tiger Woods plays with more pars than he does birdies.

Par Is Not An Average Score

A huge mistake most golfers make is comparing their game to the professionals. As mentioned above, Tiger Woods does not always make his best shots, which means you need to be able to improve even when you go above par on some holes.

I want you to ponder this question: If you think that par is considered an “average” score for most players, and the par on the average course totals 72, then does that mean that you should be hitting 72 each and every time just to be considered “average”?

If your answer is yes then I expect you to stop reading this article and sign up for the U.S. Open! In other words, forget equaling par with being average. The best advice is to set up par on the course at the level you play, not at the level of a professional. This way you will accomplish what you have been wanting to accomplish - which is to shoot a total score under par and break 100.

How To Become An Expert In The Bunker

The best shot to take out of any sandy situation is the splash shot. However, there are times when exploding the ball, although a common shot for golfers that are unskilled in the splash shot, is actually the better strategy.

Such examples when the explosion shot from the bunker is the best choice include: the classic fried egg landing, when the ball is completely buried, and of course, those front bunker shots where the hole is too close on the other side.

Here are the basic, fundamental moves to playing the explosion shot:

1) The number one goal and primary focus of the explosion shot is to dig the club down into the sand. For those of you that have practiced the splash shot, you will notice that this goal of digging the club down with the explosion is the exact opposite motion.

Think of the clubhead like a shovel, digging underneath (and behind) the ball for a quick, forward-traveling amount of sand to help lift the ball up and towards the green.

2) Always do your best to play the explosion shot from a square stance. You want the clubface to be square to the target line, therefore, if you open up your stance as you would when initiating a splash shot, you may end up leaving the ball in the bunker or yanking it wildly to the left.

3) When playing this shot you want to lean your body in towards the target. When you set up to the ball, place most of your weight on the left leg. You should feel as though your head is ahead of the ball. Keep these two feelings throughout the entire swing.

4) Forget the follow through. When playing the explosion shot properly, and in the right circumstances, you really should not have the room for a follow through due to the angle of the club when it strikes the sand.

5) Position the ball as far back as you can right along the inside of the right shoulder. This tip is important because you want the club to come into the ball at a very steep angle. And the deeper buried that the ball is, the farther back in your stance you will want it during address.

6) Choose the right club. The best club to use for the explosion shot is a personal choice on your part. Keep in mind that the deeper the ball is buried in the sand, the harder it is to get the sand wedge far enough down in order to bring it up. Some players choose the pitching wedge. You could even give the 8 iron or 9 iron a go, depending on how far you want the ball to roll once it lands on the green.

How To Become An Expert In The Bunker (2)

If you are the type of golfer who has not broken the 100 score and have yet to put forth the necessary practice into your short game to do so, specifically your sand shots, then it's time to make a decision.

Either you become a more strategic player or you stay at the same skill level while the more serious players of your group progress.

You can improve your golf game by 50% and lower your score in the shortest time possible by practicing one of the most important shots that most average golfers fail on – hitting from the sand.

Stop Exploding & Start Splashing

Your choices here are limited to only two types of shots – the splash or the explosion - but surprisingly most of you are probably taking the wrong swing. You should, at all times possible, be utilizing the splash shot, but most golfers choose the latter, thinking that every sand set up was meant to be an explosion shot.

The truth is that the splash is the very type of shot that your sand wedge was built for. It just takes practice in order to use it successfully. Any club can be used to knock an explosion shot, which may get the ball out of the bunker, but how far it gets towards the hole is just a matter of luck, not skill.

The splash shot requires the club to lightly deflect off of the sand immediately after moving through the surface. The basic idea when coming up behind and under the ball is to skim through the least amount of sand possible. To the player that is not skilled enough to work with the splash, exploding the ball is the safest route. But in your case, however, you have made the decision to step up your game and break new boundaries.

Learning To Trust Your Sand Wedge

The first rule in becoming a better splash shot golfer is to learn how to trust the sand wedge. The design of this particular club was made for a reason. At first, if you are not used to playing this shot, you may want to use a sand wedge that carries more bounce than most. As you become better you can move onto one that has less bounce.

The reason why you will want a club with less bounce as your skill level progresses is because, as you get better, you will want the club to start hitting the sand closer and closer to the golf ball. In any case, when learning how to trust your sand wedge, you will have to depend on the club to deflect up on its own when it hits the sand.

How To Become An Expert In The Bunker (1)

When playing the ball from the bunker you have two basic approaches to take to best handle the sand: a) The splash shot or, b) The explosion shot.

You may or may not have heard of the terminology here but it is important to become familiar with each shot if you are to improve your score. All golf players who have ever had the joy of starting as a newbie, then breaking 100, then down to the 90's, and even lower – all have had to specifically improve various parts of the short game, especially when hitting from the sand.

Both types of sand shots can be tweaked to various degrees in order to get the desired length and height on the ball that you want. Splash shots can also have the spin you may need on the ball. But forget about spinning the ball on an explosion shot that has it resting in a buried lie.

How To Know Whether To Splash The Ball Or Take The Explosion Shot

When your ball has decided to take a trip into the sand and you must choose what type of shot to take, the first rule is simple: Always take the splash shot if at all possible.

This is one of the most common mistakes golfers make who cannot seem to lower their overall score - once the ball hits the sand they treat every one of these shots as an explosion.

You are probably one of these players. For some reason, it got into your head that at anytime the ball hits the bunker the only way to knock it out is to explode it. It's a common issue, and one that I personally experienced some years back.

I suspect that your reason is the same - which is that you just have not taken the time to practice the proper technique that a splash shot requires, not to mention the patience needed to make it work when you want to.

Explosion Shots May Be Easier To Play, But Not Always The Best One To Take

There is no denying that trying to explode the ball out of the sand is a much easier route to take, but is it always the best?

Not at all - because by relying entirely on the explosion shot all you have on your side in getting the ball as close to the hole as possible is luck. Luck is for beginners, not those of you trying to improve your strategy and break new scores.

So what makes the splash shot so special? Why take the time to learn it and acquire the patience to become good at it?

The reason is simple: This shot enables you to limit how much sand gets in the way of the ball and your clubface. In turn, you have the ability to control the shot better and induce the spin you need. The more sand that is dug up (as with the explosion shot), the more limited your control over the shot is.

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