Practicing Golf Trouble Shots

Author : George Gabriel

A lot of times on the golf course you will find that you are not in the middle of the fairway, or not on the fairway at all. Putting yourself in and around a tree on the practice range will help your decision making out on the golf course on what golf club to choose, and how to play it.

Most good golfers put themselves in trouble shot situations and bad lies on the practice range. Practicing this drill for a month, two or three times a week with a large bucket of golf balls each time, will improve your trouble shot making, and help lower your scores. You will find with practice and persistence you can save a par, or even birdie one or two holes out on the golf course more often than not. Keep in mind, saving a few strokes or better is 50% skill and 50% luck that you will succeed. The odds will increase or decrease depending on how much you practice these golf shots out on the practice range. It is always a good idea to play it safe, by chipping out.

By practicing golf trouble shot drills on the golfing range, you will sometimes visualize a prior practice shot taken on the range when you are confronted with a trouble shot out on the golf course. Visualizing the golf shot from this practice routine requires a little bit of consistent practice. The golf shot will be a lot easier if you have done it many times over. You will need to take six golf clubs, (3 iron, 5 iron, 7 iron, wedge, 5 wood and driver) or your favorite golf clubs to the practice range along with a huge bucket of balls to keep your golf memory in shape. The idea of this trouble shot practice is to memorize distance and ball flight using different clubface ball positions and lies. This is a very enjoyable practice routine and exercise that requires a little patience, imagination and memory.

Find a tree between the golf ball and the green. You do not need a green behind the tree. It would be a lot more fun to watch your golf shots land and roll on the green, if there was one nearby. Stand behind the tree and hold the grip of the golf club with your fingers, and rest the club head on the grass with the clubface facing you. Put the bottom of your foot on the face of the golf club and let the grip go. Look and see if the tip of the golf club is pointing upwards and over the tree. Should the grip end of the golf club point at any part of the tree. Chances are, you havent got enough club loft to go over. You may need to go under the tree or find a loftier club. You can do this test with any club iron on the golf course.

The idea of this drill is to know how low and far you can roll a golf ball out to the fairway or green, and how much distance and loft you need to get over a tree. The key memory for the practice would be the golf club selection for both the loft and distance for the target you are aiming for. One club may be low enough to get you under the obstacle, but may be too much club for the target area. You may want to consider choking down on the club to take a little distance off the shot. The other club may have enough loft, but not enough distance. Do this routine with different club selections often. For the distant trouble shots try a 1 wood and a 3 iron under the branches of a tree. (Use extra caution for these clubs near a tree. Also look around for other players before attempting any blind golf shot.)

With your first 10 balls, practice hitting it low to the ground. Always pick a target and put some kind of obstacle in front of you. Practice with a tree right in front of you or 100 yards away with the imaginary green behind it, if you have no access to a practice green. Try to keep the golf ball from flying into the tree, or make the ball land just before and roll beyond onto your imaginary target or green. You will have to use your imagination for this shot and practice with several different clubface positions. You need to practice playing the ball in front, middle, or back in your stance. You may want to practice going around the tree if you are a substantial distance from the green. Close the clubface to help it hook, or open the face of the club to help slice it around the tree. There are a lot of good professional teachers, books and videos on the Internet to help you master the hook and slice effect of the ball at will. Practice your chipping distance for certain clubs, by chipping out to the side of trouble. It is a good idea to know how far you can chip a certain golf club so you dont end up on the other side of the fairway, and or behind another obstacle.

Practice your trouble shots in a sand trap as well. Place a group of balls behind a big lip of a sand trap. Move some in the front and back of the trap. Do not forget to stand on a couple of golf balls for that buried golf ball effect. Now take your time hitting the golf balls, keeping in mind for an open clubface, and a slightly closed clubface for those buried lies. Is the sand hard or soft? Take more sand for shorter distances from the flagstick, and less sand for those longer shots. Your target for striking the sand should be 1 to 3 inches behind the golf ball, depending on your distance from the flagstick. Accelerate at impact. Follow through and do not quit on the shot. Again you will find more information on the Internet for mastering these types of trouble shots. Practice until you prefer to be in a trap on the golf course, because it's your favorite golf shot. This will raise your level of confidence when approaching a green on the course with bunkers around it. With enough practice you will actually see the ball drop in the hole coming out of the bunker from time to time. Eventually you will find yourself on the green trying to read the roll of the putting surface before you take the bunker shot.

Take out your 5 wood to practice aiming for the tall timbers. Know your distance. The 5 wood flies high and far. Try to put yourself close to the trees and back, to see how close is too close, and how far back is too far back. Do not forget to practice those long high fades and draw shots.

When you have practiced this drill enough times, it will almost seem like second nature when attempting these same golf trouble shots. You will either impress your foursome or make them stand there in awe. The other ingredients you will need to benefit from this practice routine are confidence and a positive mindset. The game of golf is almost magical at times. What seems impossible at times can have yourself shaking your head in disbelief and saying to yourself. “I can play like a pro!”.

Effortless Power Golf Swing

Author : Mike Pedersen

A power golf swing is the dream of every golfer. How many times have you hit one just perfect and tried desperately to remember what you did that caused this to happen? A power golf swing is not about swinging hard. So many times a golfer will try to put a little more into it‚ to get a few extra yards. If you've tried this what happened? Did you get those extra yards or did it go shorter and even offline?

That's the point I'm trying to make! To hit a LONG drive or add yards to every club in your bag, you need to be able to generate more clubhead speed, but under control. That's where most golfers lose it. If your body can't physically make an optimum swing, from a mechanical standpoint, you have no business trying to swing any harder. The result will be a blown up score and drives that go significantly shorter, not longer.

The beauty of getting your body in better golf shape , is that you can hit the ball with more force, but with much less effort. Let me explain. If you've improved your core strength and flexibility for example, you will be able to make a FULL shoulder turn (backswing) with minimal tension. This backswing has now a ton of torque built up. With your newfound strength and flexibility, you will be able to unleash that torque, powerfully into the golf ball.Doesn't that make sense?Now imagine if you improved your overall body specific to golf. Now you've got a power golf swing that is under control and killing it off the tee!

Your playing partners won't know what hit them. So the key to remember in an effortless power golf swing is improving your bodies ability to rotate and store energy, then, unleash it into the ball at impact. If you are lacking distance and feel like you're trying to swing harder, this is the reason why. A fit golfer has a HUGE advantage over an out-of-shape one. Follow this advice and you're on your way to an effortless power golf swing!

How Different Courses Can Help You Become A Good Golf Player

Golf is an fulfilling and absorbing sport but, even so, there is a risk that you may become stale or bored if you do not change the place where you play. This makes golf different from other games, but the reason for this is the very nature of golf. To become a really good golf player, one needs to play according to the unique nature of every course, which in turn means that more than one course is ideal for the maximum development of your game.Therefore, changing courses requires more than one golf course.

While you are still a beginner, or are short of money, your choices are usually limited to golf courses near the place you live, work, or study. Usually there is more than one course there and most likely they are not too expensive.However, once you have mastered these courses, you'll probably be looking for more.The most logical place to look into, while searching for a new course, is the PGA Tour stops. The disadvantage of PGA Tour stops is that usually they are not cheap, getting inside is difficult and often they are members-only country clubs. So, before heading to a PGA Tour stop, it is wise to check its rules and make reservations a couple of months in advance.

If changing the golf course is not the sole purpose of your journey, consider one of the several travel destinations, which are suitable for the whole family. In the daytime you will play golf, while your family members are having fun, and you will spend the evening together.One of the best locations for golf and family vacations all in one is Hawaii.

There are many famous golf courses in the Hawaii Islands. Depending on which island you're staying on, there are several different golf courses for you to visit.If your destination is Oahu (if you are staying in Honolulu, it is on this island), consider the Waikele Golf Club or the Coral Creek Golf Course. They will help you to improve your golf skills, because both courses are designed in a way which includes parts of the terrain.If you are on the Hawaii Island, why not visit Sandalwood on the Maui Island? This is a relatively new and at the same time well-known golf course. Or why not try the Kona Country Club or the Mauna Key golf course on the Big Island?Another popular golf destination is Japan.

In Japan, there are literally thousands of different golf courses to improve your skills. But it is very, very important that you book your trip in advance, or you might miss the tee time on a Japanese golf club.However, no matter where you end up going to golf, you'll always be improving your game by exposing yourself to new hazards and obstacles. Just make sure that you plan ahead completely if you're going to be golfing at courses while on vacation - you don't want to get there and be unable to golf because you forgot to make the right reservations!

About the Author: Peter Dewerth is the owner and operator of FYPR Golf which is a popular resource with extensive information about golf. For more information, go to: http://www.fyprgolf.com

When Pulling, Check Ball Position

From Donald Crawley, a Golf Magazine Top 100 teacher, director of The Boulders Golf Academy in Scottsdale, Ariz., and president of GolfSimplified:

If you pull your irons to the left, check your ball position. The ball may be too far forward in your stance, which will align your shoulders open and to the left of the target.

After aiming the club face, take your stance with the handle pointing in line with the center of your body. This will place the ball forward of center, but not up on the target foot. A bonus of this ball position is that your shoulders will be aligned square, not open. A combination of correct ball position and square shoulder alignment will fix that pull.

How to Break 80

From: Jack Moorehouse

Dear Fellow Golfer,

Let's face it, golf is probably the most difficult sport in the world. It takes a great deal of skill, mental fortitude and perseverance to excel at it. You have to have great hand-eye coordination, balance, athletic ability and creativity. You can receive all the best golf tips in the world and take countless golf lessons but you still can't seem to create any consistency...

Now, there are a ton of people who play golf just to hack around and have some fun. But more avid players are always trying to improve their swing and overall game. The problem is that golf is a very difficult game to master and you don't have enough time to practice to really improve significantly. Even the guys who play golf for a living and have the best golf instruction in the world still struggle and they practice every day!

BUT...

If you're like most golfers, though, you want to improve, not just hack around. Golf, when played poorly, is not a lot of fun. What do I mean by poorly? Let me see if this describes YOU:

I play golf 2-4 times/month and have never broken 90 or even 80
I can't work the ball (fade, draw, general trajectory)
I have at least 3 or 4 three putts per round
I rarely hit greens in regulation
I can't get up and down when I miss a green
I make a birdie once in a blue moon
I don't really know where the ball is going when I swing (hit and hope)

Even worse, I'm a more advanced player and typically shoot in the low or mid 80's frequently but can't break 80.

If you can identify with even one of those characteristics of a poor golfer, then it's time to do something about it. No one, and I mean NO ONE should have to play bad golf. Here's why YOU shouldn't settle for poor golf either:

Bad habits will only get worse if you don't fix them.

You are wasting money on every round of golf you play because it turns out to be an expensive practice round!

Golf does not have to be so complex and difficult. If you knew how easy it was to break 80 you would have far less gray hair, anxiety and uncertainty..

Golf is infinitely more fun in the 70's than it is in the 80's, 90's and 100's. TRUST ME on this one.

It really doesn't matter if you want to shoot even par or simply break 100 for the first time....the techniques and strategies in How To Break 80 will help you lower your handicap quickly. When you truly have a confidence in your game and your swing and have good consistency, it becomes more than a sport, but a true accomplishment. According to NGT Research, there are over 60 million golfers in the world today and less than half of us will ever break 100. 33% will break 90. However, only 5 % will ever break 80. That's 3 million people out of 60 million golfers. I have helped hundreds of people across the globe to break 80 and I am confident I can help you too.

"How to Break 80 and Shoot Like the Pros!" has quickly become one of the best selling books on the Internet because it is written and designed for those of us who actually have to do something else than golf to make a living. This is not a simple collection of golf tips, golf lessons or golf instruction...it is your personal guide to lower scores.

So, stop wasting money on expensive golf lessons and read on to learn how you can play better golf immediately.

My name is Jack Moorehouse. I'm an average Joe, not a Pro and most importantly, I know how to explain things in extremely simple terms. I am a working man like everyone else and golf when not working; carrying a respectable 5 handicap index. I used to play golf really well and then one day I lost it. Finally, after years of practice and tinkering, I discovered the magic formula that has me breaking 80 nearly every time I play!

You see, I was able to and do exactly what the pros do consistently and apply it to my own game. The results were astonishing. In this book, you will learn the simple steps to create more consistency with your swing and game in general. To learn these steps takes approximately 30 minutes and he also provides drills to ensure you can incorporate these new techniques into your game. Now, this isn't simply a guide that shows you 4 steps. It is a complete manual on how to shoot your best scores ever. I cover all aspects of the game so that you can develop a solid all-around game in your quest to drop shots. This golf instruction guide will be the last book you read on this subject. All contents of the book are designed to do ONE thing.....lower your scores!

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