Are you trying to ‘lift’ the golf ball? I have had this problem in the past, where I am trying to use the club as a shovel. I used to have the feeling of trying to ’scoop’ the ball for chip shots. I know this is wrong, but it seemed to me at the time the way to do it. After spending lots of time researching the proper shot, especially chips and shorter irons, I found the answers in a video from Shawn Clement.
Shawn Clement, Director of the Richmond Hill Golf Learning Centre and CPGA Professional, shows you how the right focus through impact will allow you to achieve the right positions…
I hope you find this video as useful as I have! Thanks again Shawn for your excellent video series, and keep them coming!
A routine is defined as a customary or regular course of procedure.
I have been making a concentrated effort to create a pre-shot routine that I perform before each shot. The reasoning – if you get yourself into a habit of doing the same thing before each shot, you take alot of the analytical aspects out of the game, and allow your body and mind to work as one – and most important, you build consistency into your game.
There are a few different stages to this pre-shot routine, but the key is to keep it the same each time. I try to ’see’ or visualize what I want the ball to do, then I align myself with the target, take two swings equal to what I believe to be the correct momentum, and then align myself with the ball at the right spot in my stance. I again visualize the path I want the ball to take, swing, and then begin the post-shot routine – where I try and hold the finish until the ball lands. (However, this is the tricky part – I do not hold the pose if the ball didn’t do what I wanted. I don’t want to reinforce poor swing mechanics =) )
Shawn Clement, Director of the Richmond Hill Golf Learning Centre, and CPGA Pro, shows you how to put it all together in a routine for the golf course; feel is paramount!
Hopefully you will find this tip as useful as I have. Remember – “prepare like a surgeon, swing like a hippie”. Good luck, and hit ‘em straight!
Thanks again Shawn for your excellent eLearning series.
For the past few years, I have been struggling with my golf grip. I hear, read, and see so many different types of grip – it’s difficult to determine what I should be doing. This summer, I took a step back and tried to build a better golf foundation – I wanted to hit straighter and be more consistent with my shots.
To do this, I stopped swinging for the fences and have been trying to only swing half way. I don’t have the timing (or the skill) to swing all the way back, and make proper contact with the ball.
I also decided to work on my grip. I typically wear a hole in the palm of the glove, and I know this is something that shouldn’t be happening. I searched around for reasons for this, and the reason seems to be the grip and the pressure. I found my answers on youtube.
Another great post in his eLearning series, Shawn Clement, Director of the Richmond Hill Golf Learning Centre, and CPGA professional, shows you the way the wrists work with the proper grip.
This is an excellent video for the typical golfer. Shawn goes over some of the basics of the grip, and more importantly, why. The majority of the golf sites out there will you tell you ‘how’ to grip the club, and then they start swinging away. Shawn takes the ‘Alton Brown’ approach to teaching golf, and actually explains the reasoning behind golf grip and why it’s anatomically correct. I truly think Shawn is one of the best golf teachers out there, not only because he knows what he’s talking about, but because he can explain the reasoning behind his teachings.
Another superb and instructional video. Thanks Shawn, and keep this great series going!
