Butch Harmon From Tee To Green

By Luke Kerr-Dineen

October 09, 2013

Driving

Butch says to drive it great, you need to set up right -- literally.• Shift weight onto your back foot and give yourself a stable base by widening your stance with your back foot.• Save the speed for the downswing and take it back slow. Swinging hard on the backswing only leads to more problems.• Power is about swinging through the ball fast, so swing fast into the finish.Read More__→__

Fairway woods

Trust your club (and Butch) to do the heavy lifting.• Fairway woods aren't drivers. Play the ball a little further back -- a few inches inside your front heel -- to help compress the ball.• Take the same tempo you would use with an iron -- the club is designed to go far, so let it.• Tiger Woods and Ben Hogan both took divots with their fairway woods, so you should too. Focus on hitting down.Read More__→__

Hybrids

To hit the ball up, Butch says to swing down.• High shots don't come from staying back and trying to lift the ball, they come from moving your weight to the left and hitting down.• Hit more hybrids on the range. Too often golfers pass over them for a few extra 7-irons.• Hit hybrids more from the rough -- modern hybrids are designed to glide through taller grass.Read More__→__

Irons

Butch says the only way you'll hit good iron shots is if you compress the ball.• To improve your compression, feel like your chest is covering the ball at impact.• Turn your entire body so it's facing the target after impact -- it'll help you move your weight through the ball correctly.• Thinking about swinging to your target will help you approach the ball from a better plane.Read More__→__

Fairway bunkers

Butch has a solution for making some of the most difficult shots in golf a little easier.• Fairway bunker-chunks often come from swinging too hard, so take a longer club and swing easy.• Stand taller at address than usual -- it'll shallow your swing and help you pick the ball.• Pretend the ball is resting on a pane of glass; hit down on it as much as you want, as long as you don't break what's underneath.Read More__→__

Out of the rough

Butch's key to hitting good shots from the rough? Keep everything steep.• Hinging your wrists quicker on the backswing will steepen your swing and help make it easier to cut through the rough.• Hitting a fade will also make it easier to cut through the rough, so aim a little left and open the face.• Keeping the face open through impact is also a key part of hitting a fade, so make sure to keep your wrists firm during the through swing.Read More__→__

Uneven lies

Hitting good shots from uneven lies is easy ... once you follow Butch's formula.• Uneven lies ensure gravity will be working against you, so stand wider for a little extra stability.• Don't fight the slope, accommodate it. Keeping your shoulders parallel with the hill will allow you to get a full clubhead on the ball.• Keep your balance by swinging at 70 or 80 percent of your usual speed -- steep slopes aren't the time to swing hard.Read More__→__

Wedges

Dial in your wedges -- Butch style.• Avoid decelerating -- which almost always leads to chunks -- and instead control your distance by varying the length of your backswing.• No need to swing softly. Swing as you usually do and let your backswing length control the distance.• Solid contact comes from keeping your weight on your left foot. Do this by kicking your right leg in at address.Read More__→__

Pitching

Here's how to Butch-up around the greens:• Why do amateurs try to fly the ball high when pros try to keep it on the ground? Opt for the low roller whenever you can.• Play the ball in the middle of your stance with a bit of forward lean -- it'll help you make crisp, solid contact.• Avoid scooping the ball by keeping your hands in front of the ball throughout the pitch.Read More__→__

Chipping

If you think chipping is just about your arms, you're sorely mistaken.• Get your body engaged by bending your knees and shifting your weight onto your front foot.• Great chippers avoid thin shots by leaning the shaft forward at address and keeping it there through impact.• On the downswing of your chips, kick your knee towards the target and rotate your body forward for a cleaner strike.Read More__→__

Lob shots

Butch will teach you how to hit flop shots -- but don't go crazy about it.• The first rule of flop shots is understanding that it's difficult; only use it when you have no other options.• You'll need to get the ball high, so help your wedge by playing the ball forward and opening the face.• If you want to flop it well, you have to commit to it. Make a long, lazy swing and watch the ball fly.Read More__→__

Greenside bunker

Get out of the bunker in three easy steps:• The key in bunkers is for the club to enter the ball about two inches behind the ball, so play it just off your front instep.• Put about 75 percent of your weight on your front leg. It'll help you hit down on the ball.• Because you're hitting sand first and ball second, you'll need a bigger swing than you think. Most bunker shots require the swing of about a 40 or 50 yard pitch.Read More__→__

Lag putting

Butch says long putting is about staying loose and relaxed:• Instead of jabbing at your putts, make a longer, slower stroke -- the power needed will come from the momentum of the putter.• Create a little hinge going back, and let the wrist flatten through the strike. It'll help give those putts an extra push.• On a stroke this long, it's only natural for the putter face to rotate close. Let it; forcing it open will lead to bad pushes.Read More__→__

Short putting

Butch's key to short putts: keep it simple and foolproof.• Get comfortable at address. Good feel on the greens only comes when you feel good.• Letting the putter move down the target line on the way through will help you start the ball where you want to.• The best putters have the fewest variables, so don't manipulate the clubface. Let it rotate, and swing where you want the ball to go.Read More__→__

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