Dave Pelz: “Studying the game”

Do you have difficulty hitting crisp pitch shots that stop close enough for a realistic one-putt? If not, and you routinely take a divot behind the ball, or you try to pick them clean, I can help you. Hitting behind the ball puts too much grass between it and the clubface, while picking it cleanly produces a lower trajectory off the bottom edge of your wedge with little or no backspin.

Position the ball like normal, brush the ground, and leave a scuff, not a divot

The next time you practice try my “brush the grass” drill. Before you hit your first shot, make at least 20 pitch swings without a ball and look at your divot after every one. Make sure your wedge smacks the ground on each attempt, but doesn’t dig into it. If you think about “brushing” the grass, you’ll feel your wedge kiss off the ground at the bottom of each swing. In 20 tries you should be able to make your divot look like the bottom photo at right, where the grass is brushed (scuffed) but no dirt is taken from the ground. After you complete the drill, continue to practice your pitches, making a good “brush” practice swing before you hit each shot, until the real shot leaves only the same kind of brushed-grass divot. When you do this correctly, you’ll see crisp ball contact on or about the third or fourth groove up the face of your wedge, a nice amount of backspin and makeable putts.

Take it to the course: When you’re in a pitch situation on the course, call up the brushed-grass image and lay your wedge clubface slightly open so the sole bounce can brush the ground. Then, make three practice “brush” swings. Make sure your grip is light and relaxed (but not floppy loose). If the leading edge of your wedge keeps taking dirt divots, open the face a little more. When you’ve successfully “brushed” the grass two consecutive times without a divot, move in and immediately pitch the ball onto the green with the same swing. Read the rest of this entry »

If breaking putts of six feet or less give you problems, consider these three things:

Middle-road break (normal speed), high-road break (die speed)

1. The faster you roll a putt, the less it will break. The slower you roll it, the more it will break.
2. The three break/speed options are: The high road (at die-in-the-hole speed); the middle road (normal speed); and the low road (jam-in speed).
3. It’s important to choose a break/speed combination and commit to it even before you make your practice strokes.

Committing yourself to one of the three break/speed options may seem like an obvious thing to do, but many golfers don’t even know they have options. Most players make a cursory read of the slope, then assume the middle-road break and normal speed for almost every putt. That’s hardly the attention your putts deserve if you’re interested in making more than your fair share. Read the rest of this entry »

I see many amateurs address putts with an open stance, a curious move they think will help them see the putting line better. Don’t copy their technique. Instead, stand with your feet parallel to the line (use your toes as a guide). As you can see in the photo at right, my toes are aligned left of the cup on this straight putt by the same distance I stand from the ball. This establishes my toe line as parallel to and left of the putt line. It also sets my shoulder alignment parallel left of the putt line. Together, these setup features create a “direction of flow” for my shoulders, arms and putter to swing naturally and easily along in the same direction.

To see the putt line, stand behind the ball and look down various starting lines until you see one you like

The best way to see the putt line is to stand behind the ball and look down various starting lines until you see one you like. Many professionals (watch Anthony Kim, for example) stand in this position and make practice strokes until they commit to the line they want to start the putt on and feel the stroke they want to make.

After reading your putt from behind the ball, walk around and step in just shy of your ball and make practice strokes to get a feel for distance. Make strokes until you find one you feel will roll the ball perfectly into the hole. That’s the stroke you want. Then step into your parallel-left alignment, take one last look down the line to your aim point, and repeat the perfect stroke you just saw and felt. The better you align your body (and shoulders) parallel left of your line, the more your putter will naturally want to swing down that line, and the more often your putts will find the hole. Read the rest of this entry »

Almost every hole requires you to make three different types of swing: 1. A power swing to propel the ball long distances; 2. A finesse swing to pitch or chip the ball onto the putting surface if you didn’t hit the green on your approach; 3. A putting stroke to roll the ball into the hole.

Find a golf course with great long-game and short-game practice facilities. Photo by Leonard Kamsler

You probably focus much of your warm-up and practice sessions on some form of your power swing. Occasionally you’ll practice putting, but pay scant attention to your chipping and pitching shots.

This occurs for two reasons:

1. You believe that if you improve your power swings you won’t need your short game, and…
2. most golf facilities don’t have adequate short-game practice areas. It adds up to little improvement in your game and less in your scoring.

To solve this problem, first find a golf course with great long-game and short-game practice facilities, such as those pictured here (Atunyote Course, home of the PGA Tour’s Turning Stone Resort Championship, October 2 - 5). Then, do as I recommend to all of my students, including Tour players: Divide your practice time (whatever it may be) into 3 equal segments and focus on, in order, your 1) short game, 2) putting, and 3) power game. Write me after a few months (askpelz@golf.com) and let me know if this practice structure hasn’t made a difference in your scoring.

You’re one up in your match on the 18th hole. Your approach shot found a greenside bunker, but your opponent has opened the door by dropping his approach in the water. All you need to do to win your match is to get out of the sand and into the hole in three shots. Your lie in the sand is good, the flag is tightly guarded (the green slopes down to the flag with water four steps behind the hole), and there’s plenty of green out to the right. Thirty people including your three best friends are watching the final hole of your championship match. Don’t blow it now!

You need go-to shots all the time in golf. Photo by Leonard Kamsler

If you saw last month’s cover story, you know about having go-to shots when you need them: Shots you can pull off successfully at least 90 percent of the time. Go-to shots aren’t the greatest shots you can possibly hit, but the ones just good enough to insure that you win. You need go-to shots all the time in golf, so let’s take a look at your options here. Read the rest of this entry »