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Putting Tip: Keep Your Head Still Like A Rock

A common problem with golfers who have trouble with their putt shots is too much head movement.

In fact, as little head movement as possible is advised because just a slight vibration made before the ball is hit tends to knock the shoulders out of its natural path. The shoulders then knock the putter off the correct path and the result is a crooked stroke and a bad putt.

This bad habit is especially damaging with short putts due to a player’s natural tendency to want to take a sneak peek to check that the ball is heading towards the hole.

Total Stillness Counts More Than You Realize

Having explained the issue in its simplicity, the key objective you should start paying attention to when putting is to keep your head totally still - like a rock - throughout the entire stroke.

The easiest way to achieve this is to consciously keep your head down until you literally hear the sound of the ball sinking into the hole.

How To Find The Perfect Neutral Grip

Looking for that perfect grip? Assuming the perfect neutral hold requires some careful application:

1) Start by letting your arms hang down free from tension, with your hands on either side of the grip, palms facing one another.

2) Now feed the club into your left hand, so the club runs diagonally from the first joint of your forefinger up into the fleshy pad at the top of your palm. Close your fingers around the grip.

3) Your left thumb should rest on top of the grip, just right of center. In a mirror, only two knuckles on your left hand should be visible to you.

4) To apply the right hand to the club, keep in mind the all-important palms-facing principle. Bring the right hand in toward the grip and wrap the fingers around it. The right hand should fit snuggly on top of the left, the right thumb and forefinger forming a soft trigger around the grip.

The Perfect Swing Posture Practice Routine

The posture you use at address is important to your chances of knocking a decent shot, simply because it will determine the shape and quality of your body motion during the swing.

Falling into bad swing habits is easy, so when you practice take some time to go over this “perfect posture” routine:

1) Stand perfectly straight with your feet about shoulder width apart. Your hands should be placed firmly on the grip and the arms extended with comfort, near chest height.

2) Now bend from your hips slowly until the club is resting on the turf.

3) Flex the knees so that you can feel some tension in your thighs, keeping your back relatively straight. Hold your chin up high.

4) Before you swing be sure not to remain too static. A good golf swing should be in fluid motion, and it is hard to make a decent start on your swing from a totally stiff position.

Water Hazard Tip: Leave Your Ego At Home

Sometimes playing a ball that has gotten into trouble means putting aside your ego and walking away from a potentially rotten second shot, especially when a water hazard is involved.

It happens to us all - a shot goes terribly wrong and lands in the water, yet you can still see the top of the ball. You want to get it back onto the green on the next go, but what usually ends up happening is a frustrated player with a messier second shot.

A Special Tip From An Old Pro

Tony Lema, one of the all-time great golfers who made headway in the game during the 1960s, once gave some very simple, yet effective advice. He said something to the tune of:

“The best way to play the ball out of the water is….. don’t.”

What the late Mr. Lema was suggesting, and the point of this article, is that if you are ever facing a ball that is almost totally submerged in a water hazard, but has just enough of the top of the ball to see it, don’t try to be the hero and attempt to whack it out of the water like a hammer.

This will do nothing but plop the ball up and back into the water so learn to take the penalty and get the ball back into a solid playing lie.

Swing Tip: Don’t Be Afraid To Favor Your Dominant Swing Motion

Here is an excellent golf tip that you probably have not heard before: Play the ball with your dominant swing motion.

What Exactly Does This Mean?

Well let’s say, for example, and as most golfers do, you have a tendency to hit some type of fade or slice, sending the ball curving from left to right. You come to the tenth tee and the hole is designed with a dogleg toward the left with the out-of-bounds to the right.

Your immediate thought would be to hit a draw, which would ideally send the ball curving to the left and along the fairway. So you set up and then hit the fade as you typically do. The ball is now out of bounds.

Now had you played the ball with your “dominant swing motion”, and went with it, you probably would have hit the ball successfully onto the green and set up the next shot as a straighter pathway to the hole.

Sure it might not have gone the distance and wrapped around the dogleg as you had hoped, but it is always better than hitting out of bounds.