Archive for the ‘Special Shots’ Category

How to Practice the Driver!

Sunday, December 6th, 2009

For most of you, you probably have one shot with your driver, that is trying to hit it long as possible.

Well, let me tell you right off the bat, I can hit at least a dozen different shots with my driver including the full long drive, short knock-down drive, driver off the fairway, low-bullet slice shots around the trees, and the list can go endless.

Because of how the driver is designed, it can be a great weapon to use even off the fairway when there’s a fair amount of wind on the golf course or you are stuck under a low-hanging tree and you need to get the ball down the fairway as far as possible.

Of course, a long iron such as a 2 or 3-iron can also be good for hitting a low-bullet shot but the driver has some better results such as putting less backspin on the ball.  In the time you need to roll it more, the driver can come in very handy.

Well, let me just go over couple of these different shots you can practice with your driver so you can make 12 shots out of this driver club, not just one.

Having more weapons in your bag will help you become a scratch or better golfer but only knowing how to hit full shots will limit your potential as a golfer.

1. The Long Drive – I am sure you have this in your bag already, I won’t go much into details other than you should have a super-long drive ready to launch at a long par 5.

2. The Short Drive – At times, there’s a need for you to hit a distance off the tee, something between a driver and a 3-wood.  At those times you will want to grip down on the driver a little bit and make a three-quarter swing.  This will allow you to hit the ball little bit lower and control it better.  This short drive also works well on windy holes where a 3-wood balloon the golf ball in the air too much.  Anyways, this is probably more important driver shot than the Long Drive.  Look at the pros, even they are using it, especially Anthony Kim, he will grip down on almost every drive for better control and lower ball flight.  This isn’t an easy shot by the way if you don’t practice and learn to control your backswing so make sure you practice this before using it on the golf course. (or any of these shots for that matter)

3. The Short Drive Fade and Draw – Learn to really be able to work the ball left-to-right or right-to-left with these short drives, they can come in very handy for those dogleg-lefts and rights.

4. The Long Drive off the Fairway – This will require that you already hit the golf ball pretty solid.  This Long Drive off the Fairway can come in handy on super, long par 5s or super, windy conditions where you need to hit the ball far and run it too.

5. The Short Drive off the Fairway – This one is another one to practice for windy conditions and when you need to run the ball more than the 3-wood.

6. The Low-Bullet Shot – This low-bullet shot with the driver is basically same as a short drive off the fairway except you put the ball back in your stance slightly.  You won’t have to put the ball back too far back because the loft on the driver is already de-lofted a lot, just make a nice and short swing.

Also practice with different clubface angles.  For one, don’t close your clubface but rather open it up gradually and see what kind of results you get.

These shots can come in handy where you have to hit it under the tree then slice the heck out of it down the fairway.

Other than these, you might want to keep experimenting with different driver shots.  All these shots may seem like a waste of time but will actually help you hit the Long Drive good too because your hands will have to be light and your body will adjust to swing correctly.

Banging Long Drives one after another can be fun but they are usually detrimental to your overall golf swing and rhythm but if you mix your driver practice with all of these different ones I’ve outlined, you will make a much better use out of your driver plus better rhythm in the long run.

Remember, if you practice like everyone else on the range, you will only become like them. (a real good HACKER!)

Learn to be creative and create your own golf shots, that will ultimately be your competitive edge on the golf course when your competitor thinks you are stymied behind a tree, then stick it 2-feet from the pin using the low-bullet slice driver shot. :)

Bring out the best in yourself, don’t limit capabilities of a golf club to one shot.

Happy golfing!

Tags: , ,
Posted in A+Featured Swing Tips, Rhythm, Special Shots, Swing Tips, low-bullet shot, trick shots | No Comments »

How to Hit the Soft Floating Chip/Pitch Shot from the Rough!

Monday, November 9th, 2009

Download latest version of Flash to view video!.

Click Here to View in Full Screen Mode

In this blog post, I will show you how to hit that soft, floating chip/pitch shot from the light/medium rough.  This is a shot I practice and use constantly and can be a great par saver.

This method might differ from anything else you have learned in the past but trust me, this is a fail-proof method of hitting a great soft, floating chip/pitch shot from the rough.

Also, you might be interested to learn that I have devised my own method by applying a lot of stuff here and there I’ve learned from other pros.

Short game can be limitless in the number of ways you can hit different shots and this one is specifically geared towards “simpleness” and easy enough for any weekend golfer to repeat it with little practice.

Basically, this is a short game shot that’s really a chip shot and a pitch shot since you will hit the ball soft and higher than normal, but still need to get some roll after the ball hits the ground.

The basic method of hitting this soft, floating chip/pitch shot is to open your clubface (this would depend on how high you want to hit it) and simply using a “mini version” of your full swing.

There’s couple of things you need to do and that is to take a square stance, just like a full shot, you DON”T NEED TO OPEN YOUR STANCE AT ALL.

I find that you can actually hit these little pitch shots more consistently if you setup square to the ball.  Also, make sure to hit DOWN on the ball and THROUGH the ball.  Don’t be afraid to hit this shot, you need to be confident.

One more thing, you want to try to hit about 1/4 inch behind the ball and let the clubface “bounce” off the grass.

For the shot, I recommend either a lob wedge or sand wedge.  (Btw, I used a 60 degree lob wedge in the video.)

Before you hit the shot, make sure to “visualize” exactly how the ball will fly (its trajectory) and where it will land on the green.  (read the green too so you know how the ball will roll after landing)

The greatest part about this shot is that you don’t have to change your swing at all or learn a new pitching technique.

Make sure to keep your hands super “light”, barely on the grip and let your arms feel like “spaghetti”.

Light hands are essential to every shot in the short game.  Ask any pro in the world and they will tell you light hands equal great feel.

Remember, short game is about creativity and imagination, don’t be afraid to experiment and make your own chip/pitch shots.

I assure you, if you get good at this shot, you will be making a lot more pars on the course.  I find this shot more useful than hit and run chip shots.  (which are useful too but not as used often in my experience and much easier)

Tags: , , , , ,
Posted in Pitch Shot, Special Shots, lob wedge, sand wedge, short game, wedge shots | No Comments »

My 7-Iron Knock-Down Shot!

Tuesday, November 3rd, 2009

Here’s an update on my re-entrance to pro circuit.  My latest swing…

Because I forgot to bring my HD camera, I took it with my SD750 then had to rotate the video 270 degrees when I got home, causing the video to get shorter and wider.  OOps.

swing-1

Anyways, setup looks okay.

swing-2

I’ve actually been working on a new “flatter” plane but this is fine.

swing-3

At the top, you might notice my club “looks” to be laid off but it’s not because I am actually not swinging full.  The camera angle also messes things up a bit as I took it from the bench they had instead of using a tripod.

swing04

This looks good, this is where you transfer your weight to the left, turn the left hips out of the way and let your upper body follow.

Sorry folks about the bad video, I am getting a Canon DSLR 7d next week so should have a better video of my swing.

Btw, I am hitting the ball marvelous, I am actually not trying to watch myself in videos, I think it looks horrible. :p

Video of my latest swing:

Download latest version of Flash to view video!.

Click Here to View in Full Screen Mode

I don’t know why though but I’ve been getting a really nice “smack” sound when I hit the ball now, well, it’s a good thing I think…

Hahaha, check out some of these comments on YouTube (when I was playing golf like once a year), these guys must have no balls, I will take on any of them on the real course. :p

Also check out my swing from about the same spot almost 2 years ago. (FYI, I was swinging over the top….mostly because I didn’t practice much…)

Tags: ,
Posted in Knock down shot, Special Shots | No Comments »

How to Control Distance and Trajectory of Your Iron Shots!

Saturday, October 24th, 2009

This one is pretty simple but learning how to control distance of your iron shots is one of the most effective ways to control your distance and also trajectory.

For example, you have 150 yards to the pin from the fairway.  If you hit your 7-iron 150 yards with a full swing, that’d be good to use on a sunny day with absolutely no wind.

On the other hand, let’s say there’s a heavy 20MPH wind going against you on the 150 yard shot.  You could possibly hit another club and hit your 6-iron with a full shot or hit the 6 or 5-iron with a half swing, which will result in lower trajectory  and your shot won’t be affected by the wind.

Most of the time, I choose to go with the latter, choosing a much lower-numbered club and hit it with either 3/4 or 1/2 swing.  This is usually called a “knock-down” shot and it’s imperative that you learn how to do this if you want too be a good all-around player.

For example, if you play in super-windy areas like Texas, you don’t have a choice but to deal with 30+MPH winds on a daily basis.  You need to hit the ball lower but hitting a full shot won’t help you do that.

Although you could put the ball back in your stance and make a full swing at it, because you are still swinging “full”, the amount of backspin put on the ball will be too much and affected too much by the wind.

So, you need to learn to control the distance and trajectory of your iron shots.

How to do this?

Very simple actually, just take a shorter backswing.  But you will need to practice often on the range in order to “control” precisely.

Next time you go out on the range, don’t simply bang full-swings, see if you can hit the same target with different clubs, with different length of backswings.

If you have not tried doing this before, I assure you, you will won’t be too accurate, so practice makes perfect.

For example, when I go to the range, I will hit to a 150 yard target with my 8-iron. (with a full swing)  Then, I will take a 7-iron and also hit it 150 yards but with shorter backswing, which results in lower trajectory.  I will also take a 6-iron and take even short backswing.  Usually, I go about up to 3 clubs down before I move on to my next target.

This is not only great practice for your overall “feel” for distance and trajectory, now you potentially made new arsenal of shots in your golf bag.  Instead of just having 1 full shot from each club, you potentially now have multiple uses with each club.

Having more weapons in your golf bag means more ways you can attack the pin on the golf course.   Also, let’s say you have an approach shot with a tree hanging over about 30 yards out, perhaps this isn’t even a challenge to you because you have a shot in your bag with the right distance and trajectory to hit it under the tree and still get to the green.

Another great use for length of your backswing is as a swing thought.  Instead of filling your mind with too many things, simply think of the “length” of you backswing when hitting a golf ball on the course.  This will allow you to really be able to focus on one thing, that of controlling your distance.

The rest of the swing should be pretty easy and automatic if you have been practicing your fundamentals and needless to say, the less you think about your golf swing on the course, the better you play.

Well, keep practicing different lengths and trajectories by simply limiting how far you swing back.

Happy golfin!

Tags: , , ,
Posted in A+Featured Swing Tips, Knock down shot, Special Shots, Swing Tips | No Comments »

How to Hit Those Short Chip/Pitch Shots out of Medium/Tough Rough!

Monday, August 31st, 2009

rough

(Image Credit)

Today I practiced 20-50 yard pitch shots at my favorite public course Harding Park with my 60 degree wedge.  Since Harding Park will be hosting the 2009 President’s Cup this year in October, the greenskeeper was growing the grass like mad.

Anyways, those long rough conditions allowed me to practice those tough shots and here’s simple tips next time you see some of those medium to high length rough:

  1. Set up to the ball with your clubface open, anywhere from 5 to 45 degrees depending on how high you want to hit your pitch shot.
  2. Set up with most of your weight on the left side of your body and keep it there during the whole pitch shot.
  3. Try to hit slightly behind the ball.  The long rough will actually act as cushion and add a little “bounce” to your shot, meaning you actually want to hit a little behind it to hit the ball consistently.   You want to hit about 1/4 to 1/8 inch behind the ball but no more than 1/4 inch, otherwise you will end up flopping the pitch shot.  Just make sure to keep your eyes 1/4 inch behind the ball and try to hit that spot, not the ball.  This will ensure you don’t “skull” the ball while you will get a consistent results out of any medium to long-sized rough.
  4. Make sure to keep your pitch swing nice and smooth, free flowing while keeping your hands super light.
  5. Make sure your follow-through is much longer than your backswing to ensure acceleration through the pitch shot.

Now, apply these tips next time you go out to the practice green.  I tend to like to spend a lot of time around the greens, not much of a ball-banger anymore (I used to be).  But I can assure you that when you can hit well and consistently close to the hole out of these medium to long-sized grass, you will definitely play better next time you play a good course like Harding Park.

Of course, hitting behind the ball only applies to 1 inches of grass(rough) or longer.  Anything shorter, you can keep your weight evenly distributed and focus on the front of the ball itself. (otherwise you will flub it for sure)

These shots are not easy but they are really fun if you master them and you will have a great advantage over your playing partners, especially if they are not accustomed to hitting those pitch shots within 3 feet circle like you do.

Have fun practicing and I should have some more tips on various different pitch shots.  (And yes, practicing with 1-ball can help greatly to these shots as you will learn to manipulate your 60 degree wedges better.)

Tags: , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in A+Featured Golf News, Golf DIY, Pitch Shot, Special Shots, lob wedge, short game, wedge shots | No Comments »

Ben Hogan Iron Knockdown Swing Analysis!

Wednesday, June 25th, 2008

I have been studying Ben Hogan’s swing for about 20 years now and I’d have to say he’s the best ball stiker in the world.

Here’s some analysis into his iron knockdown swing, which he was very good at and Tiger Woods has copied his moves.

Ben’s takeaway is simply rotation of his triangle formed by his shoulders, arms, and hands to the right. (sorta like shaking hands with person on the right)

There’s no “visible” weight transfer whatsoever here. His belly or the stomach, also turns along with his triangle.

This is probably the most important takeaway you can learn from Ben.

To put it simply:

Rotate your triangle and belly together to the right from a fixed single axis.

At top of Ben Hogan’s swing, you can tell that he’s almost doing a “reverse-pivot” by traditional teachers’ standards. In my opinion, he’s proving to you that there’s no need for a visual weight transfer to the right side. Hey, this picture proves that point.

This might be why there’s so much buzz with the tilt and stack swing when in reality, they are all derivatives of Ben Hogan’s swing.

On the downswing, you can notice Ben’s head has “dipped” 2-3 inches compared to position at address and top of his swing. This proves that the “dip” is actually a necessary natural action to a golfer’s swing provided the golfer doesn’t dip too much. Look at every top player in the world, they “dip” their head a little because it’s human nature.

Do note the fact that Ben’s lower body has aggressivly cleared to his left side while his spine tilt is actually a little straighter, meaning his upper body “moves” toward the target.

This move is inevitable to Ben’s swing in order to hit the ball square, you need to feel like you are on “top” of the ball on the way down in order to extend your arms correctly through impact.

After impact, notice how straight both of Ben’s arms are and the club dissecting between the two arms. This is something Ben is really good at.

At finish, notice how straight Ben’s lower body is and his upper body is pretty straight too. What impresses is how much his whole body is stretched on his finish while he remains in perfect balance with no sign of extra force exertion.

Bloody Ben Hogan, he’s the greatest golfer with the greatest swing ever. Even Tiger has great swing but won’t come close anywhere near Ben Hogan in my opinion.

Now, this is way back in the 50-60s when they had no cameras or any type of visual feedback for the pro golfers. How amazing is his swing when you think of that?

Very amazing indeed that Tiger’s still trying to copy Ben’s moves.

Even after 50 years, every tour pro including Tiger is trying to copy Ben Hogan’s moves, not Jack Nicklauses, not Arnold Palmer, but Ben and only Ben Hogan.  That my friend, IS amazing.

Here’s Ben Hogan’s Iron Knockdown Swing in action:

(Mind you, Ben Hogan was the first master of these knockdown shots, not Tiger. Tiger only copied his moves.)

Download latest version of Flash to view video!.

Click Here to View in Full Screen Mode

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Knock down shot | No Comments »

Junger Woods – How to Hit Knock Down Shots!

Friday, May 30th, 2008

Well, here we go again, I got the golf buzz and had to go out hit some balls again…

(more…)

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Knock down shot | 1 Comment »

How to hit the Knockdown Shot!

Tuesday, May 27th, 2008

How to hit the Knockdown Shot!

I went to the range today and couldn’t help hitting these knockdown shots.

Basically, setup with the ball in about the middle of your stance.

Swing about half-way.

Really try to swing about 50-75% of your total effort.  You need to swing easy for the knockdowns and hit it super-crisp.

Make sure your follow-through is longer than your backswing.  A lot of teachers will teach you to stop at waist-level.  That is not a good way since there’s a chance you might de-ccelerate.  The best way is to swing nice and easy but make sure you follow-through.  There is no need to abruptly stop the club.  (If you watch Tiger hit knockdowns, he makes a nice follow through.)

You also want to try to see if you can get your right arm straight like the red line.  (Obviously, I didn’t do that, still working on it…)

Tags: , , , , , ,
Posted in Knock down shot | 1 Comment »

Adam Scott’s Knockdown Shot!

Wednesday, May 21st, 2008

Download latest version of Flash to view video!.

Click Here to View in Full Screen Mode

Well, I was just browsing through Youtube today and found this great video of Adam Scott’s knockdown shot.

If you fast foward to the last part where Butch Harmon is standing, that’s how you should hit a knockdown shot.

Really try to play over and over to hear the crisp sound of the ball being hit.  If you listen very carefully, he made almost no divot on the knockdown shot and only the ball.  When you hit the knockdown shot correctly, you should be able to hear the “knock” sound.  It’s the sound that’s made when you “almost” hit it a little thin.

Next time you go on the range, try to see if you can make that “thud” or “knock” sound, that is the secret to great knockdown shots with minimal backspin and drop and hop action.

Tags: , , , , , ,
Posted in Knock down shot | No Comments »

How to Play the Knockdown Shot! – Part II

Monday, May 12th, 2008

There has been a lot of discussions on the internet about how to play the knockdown shot. I did go over it in brief detail couple months ago but here it is again.

A knockdown shot is nothing but a mini version of your full swing.

There are variety of knockdown shots too. Depending on what kind of lie you have and what kind of results you are trying to achieve, there’s about a hundred ways to play the shot.

But for 99% of golfers and 99% of situations, you play the knockdown shot for the following reasons:

1. You are between clubs. Let’s say you hit your 5-iron 185 yards and you hit your 6-iron 150 yards. You got a 160 yard shot, you can hit a knockdown shot here.

2. It’s windy. Whether that wind is against/with you or a cross-wind, by hitting a knockdown shot, you can keep the flight of the golf ball 20-40% lower than your normal shots and not get affected by the wind. That means you don’t have to worry about how the wind will affect the shot as much.

3. You need to hit it lower than usual to avoid high hanging trees and also put lots of backspin. If you hit a knockdown shot, usually you will get a lower ball flight and get a nice hop and stop action on the ball.

Again, here’s the simplest and the most effective way to hit the knockdown shot that I personally learned from Butch Harmon:

1. Put the ball near center or slightly forward of center of your stance.

2. Swing easy, anywhere between 1/2 to 3/4 swing.

3. On the downswing, feel like you are “trapping” the ball with your body. Now, this “feeling” might take a lot of practice to achieve.

4. Try to contact the ball first, not the turf. Better yet, don’t hit the turf at all. Hitting the turf only makes the ball lose backspin. If you look at Tiger in practice (not in competition), you will see him take zero turf on every one of his ‘good’ knockdowns. If you are awed by tour pros hitting really low sand wedges and they ‘hop and drop’, this is how they do it.

This may be the most important in knockdowns since the less you hit the ground (or take a divot), the more ‘hop and drop’ backspin you will get PLUS your ball will fly a lot lower since you are not hitting down on the ball. The only way to achieve this is to really hit the ball from 0 degree angle, meaning you don’t want to hit down or up on the ball.

Now this method is great since you will be able to use your knockdowns “everywhere” once you get good.

I tend to favor it even if it’s not windy and I don’t need to hit it under a tree since you don’t have to do a full swing and stay in control of your ball flight.

Look at Tiger and he’s doing that.

Next time, I will take a video to show you exactly what I mean. These days, I don’t have much time for golf practice. I hope that changes soon and maybe I will have to try out for PGA again soon.

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Knock down shot | No Comments »