15 Hot Golf Tips

1. Always always warm up by hitting some balls on the range
before you start. Don't go through the usually-taught routine
of starting with your wedges and working your way up to the
driver.

That's practicing.

Just do some stretches and get a swing weight or use 2 clubs
together to get your muscles going. Then, hit shots on the
range like you will be playing on the course.

Pretend you just got to the course with no time for warmup and
have to go straight to the first tee. Get rid of those first
few bad holes before you get to the first tee.

Start right off with the club you will use off the first tee,
probably driver. Hit your next shot based on how well you hit
your first shot and what the hole demands.

SIMULATE ACTUAL PLAYING CONDITIONS on the range.

This is what you would do if you showed up late right?

And it takes a few holes before you get to scoring well right?

Doing the old standard warmup routine of hitting 5 shots of
each club is nothing like you will be doing on the course.
But this will mentally prepare you to play!

2. Understand that you CAN hit the ball well while nervous.
Those first tee jitters happen to even the best pros. Use
some loosening movements, like shoulder shrugs, and then just
tell yourself that you are going to accept your nervousness
and still hit the ball well.

Tommy Bolt said: "stomach butterflies are ok as long as they
are flying in formation".

3. From here on out, you are done berating yourself for bad
shots. If you were playing a best ball or scramble with partners,
and they hit a bad shot, would you tell them: "that shot was
sorry, boy you stink at this game"?

NO you wouldn't because you know it would only hurt their
confidence and their game and you need them to play well.

So why in the world do we do that to ourselves when the same
results come from talking bad to ourself?

4. Did you ever notice that you play better when you are on
vacation? Or right after hearing some good news?

This isn't a coincidence and you can put yourself back in that
place at any time and get the same benefit. Just spend some
moments during the round remembering some great events in your
life.

Force yourself to smile more often. You cannot have negative
thoughts while honestly smiling.

5. Spend some time learning the rules! I guarantee you that
you have left strokes out on the course because you didn't know
about a rule that would have helped you. I'll be passing some
good ideas for you in future emails about this.

6. Forget your score. Don't even look at the scorecard. Have a
partner do all the scoring from now on unless of course you are
in a tournament and you need to know for strategic reasons.

But even then, you can turn that over to your caddy. All you're
going to think about from now on is THIS NEXT SHOT!

7. Control anger and frustration. Turn it into FOCUSED ENERGY!
Sam Snead talked of playing "Cool Mad". When something gets to
you at work, you usually can't cuss and yell and so you are able
to control it at work.

Use that same skill you developed there on the course. Playing
angry is like adding a stroke to every hole, and I know you've
experienced that!

8. Whenever you are waiting to tee up, you should be chipping.
It's perfectly within the rules. Chip to specific distances you
have paced off. Pay attention to the lie you have and the reaction
off the club for that lie.

Get your 10 yard chip down COLD because you will use it this
round and it WILL save you strokes.

9. Whenever nobody is behind you and you finish up a green, you
should be putting a few more times to get the feel, speed and
read of the greens of that round. Again, within the rules.

10. Drink more water! Yep, there is no easier way to reduce your
score on any given round. Lack of water will simply make you
tired and lethargic. You will lose focus.

One moment of low concentration can equal one bad swing that can
easily turn into a double, triple or worse bogey.

11. When in doubt, use more club. If you feel you are in between
clubs, take the higher one and grip down a half inch. Keep the
same swing and tempo, don't slow the swing down to adjust.

12. From here on out, once you decide on a club or a specific shot.
Don't look back. Commit to it. Confidence is far more important
according to all the golf psychologists than making the "correct choice."

Brad Faxon said: "It's more important to be decisive than correct.

As far as I'm concerned if you're decisive, you are correct.

The closer to the hole, the more valuable that philosophy becomes"

13. Change your mindset from "How many pars and birdies can I make
today" to: "I will have zero balloon score holes today".

I know you've done this. You finish a round, go to the 19th hole,
tally up your score and then kid yourself by saying "I played pretty
well today except for that triple on #8 and double on #17".

I hate to tell you this, but, those holes count too. When playing
for zero balloon scores, you will be playing a lot smarter. More
on this coming emails.

14. Forget that old school teaching that says you have to "identify
your weaknesses." You know darn well what holds you back in your
game. Start focusing this round, for every shot on what you do well.

ON WHAT WENT RIGHT! Build a storage of good things you are capable
of to come back to time and time again. When you do something bad,
quickly analyze it for what can be learned AND THEN FORGET IT! FOREVER!

15. For putting, you can solve most of your problems with this one
tip: Always hold your finish. Hold your putter in the air, pointing
at the target after you stroke the ball.If you do this, it is necessary
that you had to have had a smooth, controlled stroke and didn't jab at it.

This is big and it works for every putting style. Do it!

How to Develop a Fluid Golf Swing

Every golf player knows it from experience.
Tensing up during play courts disaster.

Your golf swing should be easy and fluid.
But just how do you develop that kind of
free swing?

The real pivotal center of the stroke isn't
the hands wrist or head. It's the point
exactly between the two shoulders.

All of the muscles of the body are below that
pivotal center in action and putting energy in
propelling the club forward.

Now let's address the muscles that are controlling
the head. If you keep your head still, you can
preserve the pivotal center constant in relation
to the ball.

Balance is paramount and if your arms are straight,
the elbows are bent and you hit the ball at the toe
of the club instead of the center of the face, this
will give you the correct distance.

When you come back to the ball, there's more power
transferred to the arms by the shoulders and back
when the arms are extended than when they are bent.

So you have more narrowly a fixed guide for guiding
the club and the club shaft when the club shaft and
the left arm are in line.

When making the swing most players spend too much
time on their address thinking about this angle and
that angle.

What results is they move their heads and stiffen
their muscles. Where's the freedom in this swing?

You will be a better golf player the second you
find the muscles getting tense at any point in the
stroke find a way to loosen up because the tension
will destroy your accuracy and reduce the power of
your swing.

It's an advantage to you to keep your arms well in
toward the body, because it's easier to control the
amount of play you will allow the arms in the downward
stroke if you'recoming down inside the ball than if
you're going beyond it.

So you'll only have to yield a little to reach the
ball. But if you're going beyond the ball you have
to overcome the centrifugal force) (force which tends
to pull the club outward) when pulling in the hands.

So it's a good idea to keep your arms in toward the body.

Let the centrifugal force carry your club out in the
downward swing until it reaches the ball. Then you can
put all your energy in to propelling the club. You won't
need much effort to guide it.

Also, make sure that you don't reach for the ball in
the address because that will stiffen your muscles.

Beginners usually swing too short. Because the amount
of centrifugal force is so great, the beginner will
involuntarily pull in his hands because he's scared
he'll go beyond the ball.

If your hands and arms were in motion in the address it
would be necessary to have them reaching for the ball.

But since they're still, the idea should be to obtain
the easiest and most comfortable position so that as
the player reaches the top of his swing his muscles
won't be tired from holding a set position.

The angles at which you address the ball have little
influence. It's the way you take your gauge at the top
of the swing that counts.


This will give you firmer control of the club with your
left arm or guiding arm than if your left arm was bent.

If you practice these tips, your swing should become
more fluid and free. Above all, relax. Breathe deeply.
Approaching the game with a fun spirit encourages freedom
of movement!