Free Golf Tips Online Archives

Fairway Shots and Ball Placement

Play the Ball Further Back In Your Stance

Did you know that Ben Hogan played ALL of his shots at the same spot in his stance, from 2 iron up? Well, fact is we will never be Ben Hogan, but there are lessons to be learned here.

Many of us fail to make good contact on the fairway because of ball placement relative to our stance. The objective of a good ball strike is to make contact with the ball while your club is in the downswing.

The perfect divots you see the Pro's make are made IN FRONT of where the ball lies. Which makes sense. You DON'T want to hit the ground before you hit the ball!! Talk about a loss of momentum and velocity. Bad.

So, what does this lead us to? The average golfer should play his low irons in the middle of their stance, and move SLIGHTLY backwards as you go up a club.

Many of us make the mistake of playing the ball with a 3 or 4 iron off of our left in-step (if you are a right handed golfer).

If this is new to you, you need to also remember that because the ball is further back in your stance than normal, it should also be a tad bit closer to your body.

Try it the next time you are on the course. Remember exactly where the ball was when you hit it. Adjust your body, not the placement of the ball relative to the stance, if you mishit. When you finally hit that shot that jumps off your club, you got it right. Practice that shot until you get it down (Practice doesn't make Perfect, Perfect Practice makes Perfect).

Bear in mind that your head must be kept down. My favorite method is too pick out a dimple on the golf ball, and stare at that through my back and down swing, until my natural momemtum lifts my head up.

Let us know how this has worked for you, by emailing us here!!

Tip of The Week

The key to hitting low, crisp chip shots is keeping your left wrist (if you are a right hand golfer) straight. Most errant shots occur because the left wrist bends at impact. It should remain straight.

By keeping your left wrist solid, the ball will stay on the target line, and you'll find the ball rolling towards the pin. You do not have to scoop the ball on a chip shot. Think of it as an extremely long putt!!!

How to Hit Out of the Rough

You hit a long, long drive, it hits the middle of the fairway, bounces off a sprinkler head, goes left, and your are in that nasty, thick rough that is just off the fairway. After you stop cursing (I must be politically correct: Don't curse on the golf course. Instead, throw your clubs in anger. It's much more acceptable). -- Kidding!--

After you get over your bad luck, and you decide not to simply kick the ball out of the rough to the low stuff, you have to hit your ball.

How?

At address, play the ball BACK in your stance. This allows you to ATTACK the ball with the club coming in at a steeper angle, which makes sense. It makes the ball go get up and out quickly, and the least amount of time your club and ball spends in the rough, the better! Aim your target line slightly left (righthanders!) of target, because the rough will send the ball right.

This is one time that I believe a TIGHTER grip should be used. You are hitting into hard stuff, and you can't afford to let your club head come apart on impact.

Your backswing should be slightly longer, and taken further back. This helps with the angle of attack. Hit and swing firmly (DO NOT COME OUT OF YOUR SWING. IN OTHER WORDS, DON'T TRY TO KILL IT. THE PROPER SETUP AND GRIP WILL TAKE CARE OF THAT). Now, watch the ball soar out of the rough, and smile...