Pick Up Golf

Question: The timless question: how can i improve my golf game?

(Posted by: Fear #52 on 2009-08-12 13:20:52)

I'm 17 years old and usually score about a 95 through 18 holes (It's not good, I know.) I've been golfing for about 14 years now and i've been getting better recently. About a year ago I was really good with my woods and not so good with my irons and after taking about 6 months off I come back and find my wood shots to be horrible and my irons to be pretty good. I am trying to find my wood shot again, do you have any tips for me? I use a 8.5 degree driver and I when I hit it good I hit about 260 yards. I've also got alot better at my chipping and putting recently but still have much room to improve, are there any exercises I can practice in my yard? Questions: 1) How can I get my good wood hits back? 2) Are there any exercises to practice my putting and chipping in my yard without any special equipment? Thanks for all the help, I really appreciate it.

Posted by: ixnaytim on 2009-08-12, 15:22:07

To strike your woods more solidly, you will need to take a wider swing and sweep the edge of the ground. With the irons you want to swing down, more steeply, and the ball will rise. Woods you want to contact at the bottom of your swing. Irons, two inches from the bottom. Whether your driver is 8.5 degrees or 10, the important factor is that you hit it relatively straight. As for the short game....... I have a great shortgame that has only gotten better through practice, repetition, and imagination. In the back yard, i try to hit all my clubs, the same distance( I have a very nice lawn) and learn the roll each one provides. On the course i add 10 % roll because while my lawn is nice, it is no putting green. This has given me the ability to pick a landing area with my game, and let the physics of loft and direction do the rest. To become a better putter, putt on tile. 5 footers, not for speed, but for direction. Tile is very unforgiving, and if you mis hit at all, you will end up way off line, and you will feel what a bad stroke feels like as well. For distance, You will need a putting green. Then take only one ball to the green. This can emphasize to you that you only get one chance, and not to hit three balls, to find the right speed. If you do this drill, you will see better results on all of your putts, as opposed to the few you work on before a round...

Posted by: Bones BicBicker on 2009-08-12, 13:35:29

Practice, practice and more practice. Theres no substitute. Here are some tips, though... A good wood shot is different than an iron strike. With a wood, you're literally sweeping the ball off the surface of the grass, unlike an iron where you hit down on it. So, knowing this, practice swing the hell out of your woods in your yard, and concentrate on keeping the clubface on a flat trajectory, barely grazing the grass. Do about 15-20 practice swings a day. Keep up with it and it will come naturally when you go to the course. I dont have any advice on putting and chipping, sorry. I never practice either and seem to do okay. Its all about the feel when it comes to the short game.

Posted by: Mike on 2009-08-12, 15:03:00

The first answer is correct. The swing is different between irons and woods. You need to sweep woods and hit down on irons. Its an age old problem, and not easy to fix. Most of it is mental, when you approach you driver get into a driver mentality (your mentality may be to “kill it” or “smooth sweeping” it doesn’t matter as long as it works) same with irons. The only place to work it out is the range. As for overall game improvement the best thing you can do is practice putting. You must putt to play! A distant second is short game, than driving.

Posted by: googie on 2009-08-12, 17:08:05

First of all, get rid of the 8.5 degree driver and go to 10,5 which gets the ball air born much easier without having to develop an extremely high swing speed. Then work on the chipping and putting until you have mastered these shots so that you are getting up and down about 70 percent of the time. Now work on the irons within 100 yards. These must hit the green at least 65 percent of the time to be considered acceptable.

Posted by: KommunisT on 2009-08-12, 18:41:46

Although practicing is important you need to make sure you have a good swing and are striking the ball properly. Lessons can help. I'm 21 and have golfed for about 12 years and started taking lessons right when I started. By doing this I had no bad habits and was taught the basics right in the beginning. Now I'm about a 3 handicap because I learned all the right skills at the beginning and practiced these skills. My friend has played for longer then me yet I'm a better golfer because he never took lessons and he has some very bad habits. So my advice to you is go see a pro. It doesn't have to be private lessons, it can easily be group lessons which tend to cost less. But go and get a golf pro to analyze your swing. They can help you with every aspect of your game. Good luck

Posted by: GolfCC on 2009-08-13, 14:47:27

I'm going to put it simple for you.....to improve your golf game, concentrate on just hitting the fairway with your driver, and instead of "pinseeking " the flag everytime you hit your irons, concentrate on just hitting the big fat green and have a putt for birdie, despite how long it would be..... putting is where you score, practice your putting in your room, etc. and you should see a slight improvement