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From Sheri, golfer: |
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I have a difficult time with the 1/2 to 3/4 wedge shot. I often find myself
in the 50-90 yard range, but I really have a hard time getting these shots
close to the hole. I sometimes pull the shot, or else I hit it fat. What
drills can I do to improve this shot and how do I consistently hit a high,
soft ball? |
|
PGA/LPGA
TEACHING
PROFESSIONAL
RESPONSES: |
Arizona
"Sherri, the problem with your wedge play and long chips is the fact
that you try to push or lift the ball into the air with your right hand. Instead
try to swing down and through the ball pulling with the left hand. Try
to take some practice swings with just your left hand on the club
pulling it through the impact area and then out to the target area. You
will be cured once you develop the feeling for pulling your left hand
and body through the impact zone and out to the target
verse trying to push the club with your right hand and lift the ball
into the air. If you have any other questions please email me to help.
Thank you!" - Chris
Smith, Teaching Professional |
California
"If you pull the ball or hit it fat, it is probably because you have
hooded the club face in taking it away. It is probably because you intend
to keep the club face facing the target in the backswing, as you would in
a putt. The difference is that in a wedge shot, the ball is farther from
you and the plane must be somewhat flatter. This means the clubface must
have the toe pointing up to the sky at hip high in the backswing and the
same in the follow through. Tie up on both sides, but don't do it by
rolling your arms, do it by turning your shoulders on a level plane. Be
happy!" - John
DeSantis, Teaching Professional |
|
California
"Your opening statement tells me
that you are possibly putting too much emphasis on secondary issues.
Since we do not strike the ball on the upswing, forget the idea of the
1/2, 3/4, 2/3, 1/8,7/16 ideas of how far the takeaway should travel.
Instead, focus on the main issues and the immediate task at hand as
follows:
DURING YOUR DOWNSWING
A. Sending the clubhead at
the hole or your intended landing area.
B. Making sure that your
clubface (at impact) is also facing your intended destination.
C. Use the proper amount of
energy that will carry the ball to your intended destination.
There is so much more that could be
written, however, these three items are true and will only serve to
benefit the outcome you are searching for. Physics and its laws are
absolute within this galaxy. It is because of this that I am convinced
that if you follow and abide by the simple laws of physics as mentioned
above (paraphrased) that you golf ball will not only travel in the
direction of your intended destination, but also will travel more
consistently and come to rest much closer to your intended destination...some
times better known simply as the hole." - Dave
Duran, Teaching Professional
|
|
California
"I find when I am working with people on their short game, in
particular the less than full wedges, the trouble is a lack of good
references. As an example; imagine you are going to get something from a
filing cabinet, but when you open the drawer all you see is one file and
the last two years of information is stuffed inside. This makes it very
confusing and difficult to find the right answer. So we have to build a
better filing system. I like to teach that the turn of your torso
controls the length and speed of your swing. So imagine if you will that
you have a speed control on your navel, and it goes from 1 to 10, 10
being the fastest. What I want you to do is feel the slowest speed of 1.
This rotating back at speed 1 and through at speed 1. Your hands and
arms are only re-acting to this, they are not restricting or
manipulating the club, only re-acting to the speed of your turn. In
other words, your grip pressure is about 3-4. Now hit about 10 shots
that you feel you have hit at speed 1. I want you to pay attention to
the distance the ball spent in the air. Walk it off. Lets say it's 10
steps. Walk off an additional 5 steps and put a marker down, go back and
this will be the distance your ball will fly when you perform a speed 2
back and through. Keep the spacing 5 steps between each speed increase.
This will help you develop a better set of references.
Example:
speed 1 = 10 steps
speed 2 = 15 steps
speed 3 = 20 steps
speed 4 = 25 steps
speed 5 = 30 steps
speed 6 = 35 steps
Now when you're playing and you are faced
with a distance, you now will approach the shot with more confidence
knowing how far you fly the ball with the speed of your body rotation.
Good Luck. (P.S. I would encourage you to complete your rotation on each
shot. This will help to get the ball to go higher and land softer.
Remember it's the speed of your turn that makes the ball go farther, not
the size of your turn)." - Jeff
Harrison, Teaching Professional
|
Connecticut
"Dear Sheri:
It's obvious to me that you are not comfortable at those distances
(50-90yds). Chances are, when you pull a short iron you are swinging
to hard. When you hit that short pitch shot you are decelerating
through the shot. Again, you are not comfortable or confident in the shot
or the distance. I am sure you have seen many pros on TV marking off
yardage. The reason they are doing this is to get their next shot in a
position where they are most comfortable....they are laying up into their
strength! Try to end up 100 or 110 yards from the green. This just
might be the position where you will hit only good shots. What I just
described is the easiest way to improve on those shots from 50 to 90 yards
away from the green. Now let's talk about improving from those distances. It's
really easier than you think. The first step in hitting good, consistent
short shots is to have wedges that are similar. I.e. same company,
same weights, same lengths. Practice to determine how far you hit each
club. Maintain the same swing regardless of the distance. Let the club
determine how far the ball will travel. Swing with confidence!!! Good
luck!" - Dennis
Coscina, Teaching Professional
|
Florida
"One thing to look at is the style of pitching motion you are using.
It sounds like you are blending arm swing and wrist cock, based on both
errors described. Try Mickelson's approach. Fully cock the wrists prior to
the forward arm getting parallel to the ground on the back swing, and
control distance by the amount of shoulder turn and arm swing. this
consistently allows for a descending angle of attack, and lets you remain
aggressive on the downswing." - Joe
Sciortino, Master Teaching Professional |
Florida
"Hi Sheri: Your shot descriptions are similar to those who try to
control distance by hitting 1/2 shots with mostly arms and hands. In other
words, you are reducing your shoulder, hit and leg action and trying to
control the shot with mostly arms and hands. My suggestion would be to
make a near-full shoulder and hip turn while working on reducing your arm
swing. You can produce soft shots much easier with the smooth motion of
the shoulders and hips than can be achieved with the arms and hands. It's
also easier to slow down the arm and hand action if they are working with
the larger muscles. Good luck, Sheri, and keep smiling!" - John
Brott, Teaching Professional |
Florida
"Hitting the ball solid is your first
objective. Make sure the ball is a little back in the stance and your
weight weight 70% on the left side (if you're a right-hander). This will
help you hit the ball with more of a descending blow. Let the loft of
the club do the work. If you are still pulling the shot concentrate on
pulling the butt end of the club towards the ball when you initiate the
down swing. Thanks and good luck!" - Doug
Temple, Teaching Professional
|
Indiana
"I
would start with path errors to eliminate the pulled shots. keep in mind
clubface angle also. work on your arm speed and upper body rotation for
those 1/2 and 3/4 swings. for the higher softer shots open the face and
aim farther left of target and swing the club out to in. you might want to
experiment with ball position as well, a forward position is likely to
help along with a steeper angle of approach."
- Bruce
Cohen, Teaching Professional |
Maryland
"Start by feeling where 9 o'clock is on your backswing (about
shoulder high). Then start hitting shots from the 9 o'clock position and
finishing at the 3 o'clock position. For shorter shots shorten your swing.
For longer shots lengthen your swing. I for instance will hit a 8 to 4
shot from 35 yards 9 to 3 for a 50 yard shot etc. The KEY is to not change
your overall swing speed. Maintain the same acceleration no matter the
length. Again, most importantly YOU MUST PRACTICE there is a tremendous
amount of feel required to master this shot." - Norm
Vacovsky, Teaching Professional |
Massachusetts
"First
thing is to get soft golf balls.;-) Try playing with a little bit softer
ball. I have my students hit to targets to get used to the swing...two
main areas. 1). On my range I have targets, barrels, set at 10 yard
increments starting at 30-yards up to-110 as we hit we first just get
the feel for the length of the swing, both back and through. and then
the amount of body rotation. We then work on trajectory, up front
higher, back, lower. 2). The next series of drills is what I call, refer
to as the clock system...first we swing the arms back to 9 o'clock and
through to 3 o'clock, how far does the ball go? Then 10 then 11....after
getting comfortable with the sand wedge, we then do it with all wedges,
this teaches us distance control and we can see the difference in
trajectory with all the wedges. Address position. Slightly narrow stance
and usually weight a little more to the front, left Swing shape, I try
to feel as though the shoulders are rotating and the arms are along for
the ride...this pretty much keeps the swing on a single plane and as
long as I keep the clubface aimed at my target, I am on line. Practice
and enjoy!" - Jim
Hefti, Teaching Professional
|
Massachusetts
"Hi Sherri: First make sure you are taking 1/2 and 3/4 swings by
viewing yourself in a mirror. Check the lie angles of your clubs. If your
clubs are too upright you will pull and hit fat shots. The wedges should
be 1-2 degrees flatter. From a swing perspective try this drill: It is
called pull the pocket. (I am assuming you are right handed). Take a swing
back now stop, take your left hand and grab hold of your right front
pocket, Now swing through with right hand only pulling your right pocket
into the finish at the same time. You will notice that your body has
continued to rotate through while the club was swinging through. Explanation:
If your body stops rotating your arms become the source of direction and
they want to go up and down naturally. Try this: lift your arms up (no
club) now let them go. Did they just fall naturally? Try this next, swing
arms into a backswing (no club again), pause, now let arms fall while you
rotate your body into the finish. Now try it with a club. I think
you will see those shots disappear. Any questions just e mail me." - Phil
Fecteau, Teaching Professional |
Michigan
"Sheri, the problem I see most
often when teaching pitch and lob shots is an early release of the hands.
By this I mean the hands are actually behind the ball when the clubhead
passes/meets the ball. Most often this will cause a person to hit behind
the ball or they will have to adjust their body in order to make contact.
This can cause a pulled shot. As with all golf shots, the hands have to be
ahead of the ball (towards the target) when the club head makes contact.
With all short game shots, the left hand has to lead into the shot. If you
can think about trying to pull the back of your left hand towards your
target, this should help to get your hands in front of the ball. Another
swing thought is to pull the grip end of the club towards your target and
with loose hands, your hands should release naturally. For a lob shot, you
have to break your wrists (almost "picking it up" with your
right hand) early in the back swing and make a steeper swing at the
ball. Let the weight of the club help to release your hands, if you try to
put too much effort into it with your hands you will end up with an early
release. The best drill for getting the feel for distance is placing
targets every 10 yards (starting at 15 yards and going out to 100 yards) and
practicing with your different wedges and shots. The 1/2 and 3/4 shots are
some of the hardest to master. In your on course management, try to leave
yourself a full swing shot into the green. I think you will yourself
hitting more greens and getting closer to your target."
- Andrew
Braley, Teaching Professional |
Minnesota
"Sounds to me like you are using only
hands and arms on this shot. It should be the same as a full swing (body
rotation), just slightly smaller and slower."
- Jim
Manthis, Master Teaching Professional |
Missouri
"Sheri: Practice taking the club back with
you shoulders and arms together and varying the length of you swing, let
gravity accelerate the club thru the ball. Keep centered is key, there is
very little weight shift. this will allow you to concentrate on your
alignment first then trust the swing. This should help. Let me know how it
is working." - Rob
Sedorcek, Teaching Professional |
Nevada
"Dear Sheri: The 1/2 and 3/4 wedge shots should be a good
player's golden opportunity of scoring. To improve your consistency of
contact, ball flight and control, you must swing the club along the same
path, angle of attack and with maximum club speed occurring at impact,
just as you would executing a full swing. The difference in controlling
distance to less than full shot yardage for the club you are using, relies
on shortening your back swing and follow through. By approaching these
partial shots with the same fundaments of your full swing, you will be
able to develop feel for proper swing length and speed (tempo). By
decreasing your swing length and maintaining acceleration through impact,
you can begin to develop a feel for reducing your carry yardage for these
shots. I like to view a mental picture of the swing length which
corresponds to clock positions. for instance, if my full 54 degree gap
wedge swing (100 yard carry), would be from 11:00 (top of back swing) to
1:00 (top of follow through). My mental image for a 3/4 shot (75 yard
carry) would be a swing that goes from 9:30 to 2:30 in clock position. My
1/2 shot (50 yard carry) would require a swing that goes from 9:00 to
3:00. All three shots would be executed with a full 90 degree wrist hinge
at the top of the back swing and follow through. Acceleration through the
ball is at a nice controlled and balanced pace. To maximize carry and spin
on a 1/2 swing, I probably would use my 60 degree lofted wedge. To develop
touch which will take your scoring and enjoyment of the game to the next
level, acquire a shag bag full of the same make and model ball that you
play on the course. Practice to a pitching green from natural turf when
you can. Be prepared to spend hours of practice lengthening and shortening
your swing length to control distance. Top players can usually get their
yardage adjustments down to less then 2 yards with a worst shot10 yard
variance when increasing or decreasing swing length between shots. Until
spring comes and you can get outside, go to your nearest indoor dome to
practice these shots during the balance of this long Michigan winter. Come
spring you'll notice your ball striking will have improved with all your
clubs! Good Luck!" - Tony
Parenti, Teaching Professional |
New Hampshire
"For all partial shots, I
recommend choosing 3 lengths of swing: Waist-High, Shoulder-High, and
To-The-Sky. These describe the location of the head, and allow you to
commit to your shot when in a pressure situation. The first step is to
head out to a field where you can pace off distances. With each of your
lofted clubs 7-SW or LW, hit at least 4 balls. Pace off the distances and
figure the average hit with each club and each length swing. Then record
these on either a chart, or better yet, put a label on your shaft to help
you remember. As an illustration, my Sand Wedge has the following
distances: Waist=25, Shoulder=55, Sky=75. My other clubs fill in the gaps.
Then, when you are on the golf course, you will simply refer to your
chart, and commit to the shot that you choose."
- Mike
Aldrich, Teaching Professional |
New Jersey
"Sheri: I find that my students do best on part shots when I make
them concentrate solely on no wrist cock for the shots. I don't like the
term stiff wristed, but dead-hands to more precise. Try lengthening the
swing gradually but do not cock your wrists. If you want more height, open
the face, aim to left slightly, move the ball forward, and again work on
the dead-handed swings. Less wristy will cause less depth in your
divots and more consistent distance control." - Mike
Killian, Teaching Professional |
New Mexico
"The best help I could offer would be from Dave Pelz's Short Game
Bible, so I'll just refer you specifically to chapters 4 and 5. I've found
this instruction to be extremely helpful after years as a "feel"
player. I don't play as much any more and my wedge game from 30-90 yards
was suffering until
I took a more mechanized approach which Pelz recommends. I think it will
work for you if you give it a chance." - Warren
Lehr, Teaching Professional |
New York
"Try freezing your wrists, use a firm grip, and allow the club to
swing half way back and through with a good shoulder turn and lower body
turn and shift.....pointing the club at the target in the shortened
finish. Playing the ball too far forward in your stance could also cause
the ball to go left. Keep me posted." - Ric
Alberico, Teaching Professional |
New York
"Hate to say it, but practice, practice, practice. besides
that, here are some tips:
- Keep your weight a little to your left
side (if you are right-handed)
- make sure the ball position is
appropriate for the shot...slightly forward of center for high, soft
result, back portion of stance for more traditional pitch
- make sure of two things absolutely;
- minimize body movement
- that you are actually taking a 1/2 to
3/4 swing
The reason I mention #2 is that most
golfers don't realize how long their swings are. You did mention
hitting shots thin or fat, and that indicates to me the possibility that
your swing is too long and you are attempting to adjust on the way down
(most likely decelerating). Remember that the right back swing is
the one that allows us to properly ACCELERATE the club appropriately
through impact. Good luck and I hope this helps." - Robert
Whetsell, PGA Teaching Professional |
North Carolina
"Sheri: simply stated the fat shot and the pull shot are a result of
the club passing your hands. Also shaft may be a bit stiff. Usually are in
wedges. Let me know if this helps. Keep more weight on your left side and
keep your hands ahead of the club." - Steve
Prueter, Teaching Professional |
North Carolina
"Hello Sheri: your problem with those
"Off speed pitches," as it was taught to me, could be as
simple as a couple of things. First, I would be willing to bet that you
are taking the club to far back. To catch this simply get a video camera
and see if at the top of your backswing it resembles the same position
as a full swing. If it does, use the example of the face on a clock.
Instead of it being nine o'clock, let's make that as an example forty
yards, ten o'clock would be maybe fifty-five and so on. It would be up
top you to set the yardages. Now, realize the main reason for those
absolutely no game enhancing fat shots and pulls to the left come
from deceleration. If you have taken the club back to far then you have
to regulate the speed of the club at impact. WAY to hard to do. Shorten
it up, use the face of a clock to regulate your take away and accelerate
through the ball. It is much easier to release the energy than to try
and ease up on it. Oh, and did I mention more accurate and better
control? Good Luck to you."
- Karl
Kimball, Teaching Professional
|
North Carolina
"Sheri: The first thing I would suggest
is that you try to avoid that yardage....it is a 1/2 or 3/4 shot which
is difficult. Secondly, you may consider adding an L wedge to help with
trajectory. Choke down on your club and make sure your ball position
isn't to far forward, that leads to pulls and fats. Good luck!"
- Tom
Ream, Teaching Professional
|
Ohio
"Dear Sheri: My experience with people that struggle to hit the
partial wedge shots tells me that the player has in incorrect image
concept of what the club needs to do. Most amateurs will take the club
away low to the ground in the backswing, and try to lift the ball off
the turf in the forward swing. A
top short game player will do the exact opposite. They will allow for
some wrist hinge in the backswing to elevate the clubhead, and then
swing down contacting the ball first, followed by a little divot. For
your downswing, you want to have the image of an airplane landing on a
runway. The clubhead gradually swings down and "lands" just
after the ball. A simple drill to achieve this angle of attack is to
setup with your feet slightly narrow and 60% of your weight favoring
your left leg. Now place an extra club on the ground just outside your
right foot. The club would be perpendicular to the target line and the
grip end would be about a foot behind the ball. Simple swing back
and through being sure not to hit the grip on
the ground. To miss the grip, the wrists will have to hinge slightly to
elevate the clubhead, and any attempt to fall back to your right foot
and help lift the ball will be eliminated. If you have any further
questions, you can contact either the Jim McLean Golf School at Doral,
or the Inverness Club in Toledo, Ohio. Hopefully this will help you
enjoy the game more, as well as shoot lower scores."
- Jason
Carbone, Teaching Professional
|
South Carolina
"In response to Sheri, from Michigan (my home state) I would like
to give her this advice for the 50-90 yard wedge shot. I have found
that a quiet body with little or no shoulder turn is the answer. I
call it the "no-body pitch". It takes practice, but once you get
the feel for it, you will love to see that 50-90 yard opportunity. Try
different wedges to see the difference in the result. I love my gap wedge
from 50 yards with this shot. You'll want to keep the lower body and hips
still, as if you were executing a chip shot. On the take-away, lift
the arms into the 1/2 or 3/4 position, instead of turning the
shoulders. Drop the hands to start the forward motion and continue
the swing to the follow through with just the arms. The elbows stay
close to the body on the take-away and the follow through. And, remember,
the lower body stays "quiet". VERY IMPORTANT: During your
practice sessions, alternate this "no-body" pitch shot with some
full swings, so that you will remember to return the shoulder turn and
lower body motion into your full swing. Wishing you the Best In Golf and
Life." - Carole
Clark, Teaching Professional
|
South Carolina
"Sheri: Sounds as though you are trying to do too much to make
the ball go where you want it to. I can only speculate from your
description that the hands and wrists are active in this finesse shot.
They need not be. First, forget all of the information you have taken to
be factual regarding wrists. Second, as I further speculate that you are a
right-handed golfer, take some balls, a tee, and the short iron of choice
to a chipping green and position yourself about twenty-thirty yards from a
target hole. Tee one up and take the club in you throwing hand and do not
put forward hand on the handle. Position the club head behind the ball. I
would like for you to make an underhand tossing motion as if to toss the
handle toward your target. This means that you are not going to stop or
slow the forward motion at the ball and the club shaft should not come
into a straight line relationship with the forearm during the entire
throw. Done correctly, you will note that the wrist would stay bent and
quiet in a tossing situation. The upper arm does all of the work. Once
accustomed to making this move put both hands on club and try it. Allow
leading elbow to bent on the forward side of the ball as if it were wet
spaghetti. Again, the trailing wrist would stay inactive here as well.
Once you have achieved success here you can try it without a tee. Then, in
short increments extend shot and corresponding target distances. Good
Luck!"
- Michael
Lucas, Teaching Professional |
South Carolina
"It sounds like two things are
happening that are easy to correct. Both of these items can be done prior
to encountering the situation. First, I am assuming that you incur
this problem when you either lay-up to a par five. Or you have hit a
second shot as a recover from an errant drive. In either case, picking the
proper club prior to executing the shot can help eliminate this problem.
Pick a club that will either put you in a “comfort zone” where you can
execute a full swing shot. Or pick a club that will put you closer to the
green, so you now have more choices with your short game. By thinking
through the shot before the problem, and eliminating the problem prior to
it happening, you should reduce the number of times this situation occurs
within a round of golf. The second way of correcting this problem is by
ensuring sure you have the proper equipment in your bag. Most amateurs
fail to see the importance to having a full compliment of wedges that can
cover varying distances within 125 yards of the flag. If you have not
already done so, make sure that you have at least three wedges, preferably
four, in your bag. Lofts should be equally spaced (ie: 48, 52, 56, 60
degrees). Practice with those wedges to towels, umbrellas, flags, or any
other targets that you have placed on the range at varying distances. More
wedges will give you more choices. Lastly, when practicing these types of
shots ensure that you have placed yourself in proper set-up positions. 1)
Your hands should be mid-way on the grip. 2)
Weight should favor your front foot. 3)
The club head should be square to your target; shoulders parallel
to the target. 4)
Do not hold the club tightly. Once these positions are
accomplished, make sure that you have finished you swing. Most chunky or
fat shots are caused by deceleration. By completing your swing similar to
that of a full swing, the fats should go away. Your pulls are caused by
the club working primarily with only the arms. Make sure your hips are
turning through the shot, again similar to that of a full swing. By
completing the swing and using proper swing technique, you should become a
better mid-wedge player. Always think of this shot as a mini full swing,
and you can’t go wrong."
- John
Hughes, Teaching Professional |
South Dakota
"Sheri: First, this is a very difficult
shot even when one is confident. Regardless, there is no substitute for
practicing and learning the feel for the distance. Secondly, I would be
sure that the lie angle on the wedge (presumably) is accurate. As we
choke up and down, the lie angle changes as it is directly related to
length. If it is too upright, the ball will go left. The chunk can be a
result of you manipulating the club to not go left. The engineers at
True Temper, who have more degrees than they've had dates, tell us that
at a distance of 100 yards, with the loft of a PW (approx 50 degrees),
for every one degree the lie angle is off the shot will be 10 yards off
target. This is a staggering statistic given the accuracy we strive for
at this distance. There is nothing that says this specialty wedge has to
be the same lie angle as your other irons. Just get it right so that you
can eliminate the club from the equation and learn to swing freely in
this shot. If you need further assistance feel free to contact me."
- Craig
Hatch, Teaching Professional
|
Texas
"You need to win with wedges every time on the practice tee or
before a round. Indecision is the cause of thin and fat wedge shots. The
golf club and your body are out of sync. Here's how you win with wedges.
Take the most lofted club in your bag. Say a sand wedge. Make a half back
swing and see how far in the air you hit the shot. Then make a 3/4 swing
and see how far you hit the shot.
Then a full swing and so on. Do the drill with every wedge you have. Very
soon you will find out how far you hit each club with the different length
swings." - Dave
Baron, Teaching Professional |
Texas
"Check to make sure the club is not going too far inside. Also
pulled shots usually result from a lack of body rotation very common among
middle-handicappers when executing in between shots. There is a training
aid called the chip-n-pitch available from GolfAroundtheWorld.com that is
very helpful in promoting body rotation on shorter shots. On the high soft
shot make sure the ball is slightly forward and face is slightly
open." - Dan
Winget, Teaching Professional |
Texas
"Dear Sheri: the secret to hitting a 1/2 to 3/4 or any portion of
the full swing is to learn to control the pendulum motion of your arms and
hands. Many times using the hands to "swat" at the ball cause
the ball to travel left of your target, as well as hitting the ground
before the ball. During a swinging motion, the shoulders swing the arms
and the hands are only used to "hold" the golf club. Learn to
"ALLOW" the golf club to "swing" by rotating your
shoulders and "LET" the club swing (more from it's own weight)
forward. Don't allow the club to stop after the follow-through.
Swing the club backward and then forward, backward then forward... again
and again, until you begin to feel the "swinging" motion of the
weight of the golf club. Try brushing the grass on both sides of the swing
(back swing and forward swing). The golf club should strike the ground in
a consistent manner. Then, find how much of the back swing you need to hit
a certain distance. Use your arms to represent the hands on a clock...
swing from nine o'clock to three o'clock. Notice how far the ball
travels when you make this swing... When you get out on the golf course,
you now have a starting point to define a particular distance! If
the golf ball needs to travel a greater distance simply provide more back
swing and follow-through... Whereas, less distance would require
less back swing and follow-though. Get it? I thought you could! Good Luck,
Sheri!" - Dan
Howard, Teaching Professional |
Texas
"Sheri from Michigan: First look at what you are leaving yourself
from the green. If it is a short par 4 and you constantly hit driver, then
use a three wood to lay it back a little farther , thus avoiding the 3/4
shot...leave the full shot ever chance you get. The other solution is to
learn to use the body properly to create proper power and direction from
any point of the backswing. Find a qualified PGA instructor. Quite often,
without sounding sexist, ladies tend to use too much arm swing and no
body, thus the pull shows up... shot goes left or weak or fat. Proper
coiling and sequence allows the club naturally to be delivered to the
ball, squaring the clubface and hitting ball first and not an over the
top, weak motion. Please feel free to contact me regarding any
questions...and for female success, see "Real Golfer" 1/25 issue
of Golf World Magazine...last name, swing, game, and the genes..."
- Bob
Hasbrouck, Teaching Professional |
Utah
"Hi Sheri: I learned a technique at one of our PGA clinics in Utah
for this exact shot. It kinda goes like this if you can imagine. This is
for shots around 50-90 yards in to the green. Play the ball toward your
back foot. Open your stance and have a narrow width between your feet.
Swing the arms back directly away from your target in a straight motion
keeping the club blade closed on the back swing. You gauge the
distance by the amount of back swing you take. You then swing the club
forward toward the ball and hit down on the ball. Finish with the hips and
upper body turning towards your target, use lower body for power. You
will have to practice this shot a few times to find out distance and
accuracy. I hope this will help you. It was shown to me by M. Don Larsen,
PGA Professional, Utah Section."
- Brent
Wootton, Teaching Professional |
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