2 Minutes Tips: Continued

By Ron Kaspriske

Photos by Dom Furore

November 2010

Many golfers don't make a proper weight shift. Go out to a practice bunker and draw a three-foot line in the sand. Set up with your feet on either side of the line, and hover your club over the line as if it were the ball. Make practice swings. Your divots should start on the line. If your divots are behind the line, you haven't shifted forward enough; in front of the line, and you've gone too far forward.

Top-20 Teachers Under 40

A common chipping tip is to swing "straight back and straight through" on your target line. Though the intent of this message is to improve accuracy, it can foster an arms-only swing that can lead to poor shots (inset). If you want to improve your accuracy and hit the ball crisply, move your arms and body back and through together.

At address, square the clubface to your target. Then rotate your body away from the target as you take the club back and then toward that target as you swing through (left). Your arms should feel as if they're just going along for the ride. By rotating your body, you'll keep the club square to its path, traveling inside the target line on the backswing and back inside after impact. Body rotation also creates acceleration through the ball, a key to hitting quality chip shots.

High-handicappers tend to move the ball position around after a few bad shots. Don't be tempted to do this; instead, let the ball position teach you where you should be at impact. In a proper setup with an iron, the ball should be two inches inside your left heel. Find that spot, and leave the ball there, no matter what's going on with your swing.

Top-20 Teachers Under 40

The sequence of motion from the top is critical for consistent ball-striking. One common fault is the hips opening too soon, which requires a lot of hand action to square the clubface. To quiet overactive hips, keep your back heel on the ground longer. Your hips should move laterally, but they shouldn't be open to the target until your hands are belt high coming down.

Top-20 Teachers Under 40

Use a straight-back, straight-through path for short putts, and make sure the putterhead is pointing at the hole at the finish. If it's pointing left of the hole, you'll miss it left; pointing right, you'll miss it right. Stand a foot away from a hole and, without a ball, practice finishing with the putterhead over the cup.

If you feel off-balance during the swing, focus on your finish. I call it Swing and Stick. As the name suggests, swing your club as you normally do, and think about sticking your finish, holding it for three seconds. Take it a step further and grade your finish on a scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being a perfect finish. This exercise will help you groove tempo, balance and stability--elements that underlie every solid swing.

Many high-handicappers neglect to factor in speed when reading putts. The reality is, speed determines the amount of break. Try developing three different putting speeds: firm, medium and slow. Find an uphill five-foot putt on the practice green and place a Sharpie marker across the back edge of the hole. Practice putting so the ball raps the marker--that's your firm speed. Then slide the marker to the middle of the cup, and practice just grazing it, not hitting the back of the hole--that's medium. Keeping the marker in the middle, roll putts over the front edge without touching it--that's slow. As a bonus, when you have great speed, your green-reading will improve, too.

Nothing frustrates players more than hitting a big drive but ending up with a double bogey because they made a wild swing with a short iron or wedge. With these high-lofted clubs, many players get quick and try to over-control the swing with their hands. Instead, make a full motion with good rhythm. Concentrate on getting your right hand above your right shoulder at the top of the backswing. This thought will help you complete your pivot and hinge your wrists fully. From there, swing through and finish with your left hand over your left shoulder. Hit these two bookend positions, and you'll stop wasting those great tee shots and stick your approaches closer.

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