LifeLong Golf

Your finish position can be one of the simplest ways to create consistency with your short game distances.
When you give your mind a clear finish position, your body can begin to organize how far the club needs to swing to produce that motion. This gives you a much more distinctive way to control distance around the greens rather than trying to guess how far back the club should go.
Try creating three different finish positions:
Level 1: The end of the grip points toward your left hip. Think of this as your chip shot.
Level 2: The end of the grip could go into your left pocket.
Level 3: The end of the grip points toward the ground.
Now experiment! Hit each of these finishes with different wedges and take note of how far the ball travels. You’re building a clear system of distances that is easy to recognize, repeat, and most importantly, transfer onto the golf course.
When you practice, hold your finish and observe. Where did the club finish? Was the distance correct? Are you balanced? Did you choose the right club for the shot?
Practice is your opportunity to gather information. The more you understand how each club responds to each finish, the easier it becomes to make smart, confident decisions on the course! Titleist FootJoy GOLF.com // GOLF Magazine

We’ve all heard the idea of hitting the “dollar bill” out from underneath the golf ball in a bunker. But that visual can actually put our focus too far behind the ball and lead to taking too much sand. 

Instead, think about entering the sand much closer to the back of the ball, with the club still traveling downward as it enters the sand.

Think of your swing more like a Ferris wheel. The club is working more vertically, allowing it to dive into the sand rather than traveling too shallow underneath it.

From there, you still have to keep the club moving! Speed is your friend in the bunker. Let the club enter slightly behind the ball, continue moving down into the sand, and maintain your speed all the way through the shot.

Don’t make bunker shots harder by trying to take a huge amount of sand. Get the club entering in the right place, keep it moving, and let the sand do the work! Titleist FootJoy GOLF.com // GOLF Magazine

Your pre shot routine is more than just getting ready to hit the ball. It’s about creating comfort in uncomfortable situations.

Golf constantly puts us in environments that feel unfamiliar. A new course, a difficult lie, a little wind, or a shot that simply doesn’t look appealing to your eye. Having a routine gives you something familiar to fall back on, no matter where you are or what the shot looks like.

A good pre shot routine also helps you make smarter decisions before you ever step over the ball. In a pre shot routine we often consider the following:

What’s my yardage to the pin?
How far to the front and back of the green?
What is the lie telling me?
What is the wind doing?
What is my target?

Then take your practice swing, create a clear picture of what you’re trying to do, and go.

The environment and the shot may change, but your process doesn’t have to. Build a routine you can trust and take it with you everywhere you play! Titleist FootJoy GOLF.com // GOLF Magazine

The golf course rarely gives us a perfectly flat lie!

When the ball is above your feet, a few simple setup adjustments can help you make your normal golf swing and create the shot you want.

First, grip down on the club.

Because the ball is above your feet, it is now closer to you than it would be from a level lie. Gripping down allows you to account for that difference while maintaining your normal posture. Instead of changing how you stand to reach the ball, adjust the length of the club to fit the lie.

From there, think about ball position and direction.

A ball above your feet will naturally have a tendency to travel to the left for a right handed golfer. Rather than changing your swing to compensate, you can use your ball position to help influence the direction of the shot. Moving the ball slightly back in your stance can help the ball start farther to the right.

For uneven lies, the goal is to understand what the lie is going to do and use your setup to create the shot you need. Then trust your setup and make your normal swing!

The golf course is never perfectly flat. Learning how to adapt your setup to the environment in front of you is part of becoming a better player! Titleist FootJoy GOLF.com // GOLF Magazine

Are you an athlete when you swing a golf club?

Think about throwing a ball to a target. As an athlete, your intention is simple, you see where you want the ball to go and your body responds by creating and sending energy toward that target.

You aren’t thinking about every position your body needs to move through along the way. You have a task, you have a target, and you react.

The golf swing is no different.

Too often, we become completely focused on the golf ball sitting in front of us. We make the ball the destination of the swing instead of remembering that we are trying to send energy, and ultimately the golf ball, toward a target out in front of us.

Try changing your intention.

Instead of making a swing at the golf ball, pick a target in front of you and allow yourself to be an athlete. Where are you trying to send the energy? Where do you want the motion to go?

A simple throwing exercise can be a great way to experience this. Pick your target, react to it, and throw. Then bring that same intention into your golf swing.

Take some of the focus away from the ball and put it back where it belongs: on your target.

Be an athlete. See the target. Send the energy. Titleist FootJoy

Sometimes old school tech is the best way! If you are struggling with contact hitting thin or heavy shots, a 2x4 may be all you need to finally compress the ball.

There are a number of ways you can bottom out your swing early (aka, hit the ground before the ball) but this lesson was addressing a very common tendency. In this case my student was leaning his chest back and up as he was swinging through, weight staying on back foot.

These two 2x4 drills were successful in training a new low point— one where the swing bottoms out AFTER the ball which is needed for great contact with irons. All you need is a 2x4 cut to about 3 ft and a golf ball. The drills train the feels for weight transfer, shaft lean, and chest rotation. Pushing the 2x4 really helps you feel the transfer of energy from your legs to your arms to the club to the board. Squeeze it!

You cannot train the exit of your swing too much! Becoming clear in the visual and feel of the moment from impact to a few feet past impact is a game changer!

Have some fun discovering new sensations with a 2x4 and see your trajectory and distance improve 😎

Happy summer of golf!

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