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A dozen GOLF employees have spent the past few days at the Talking Stick Resort in Scottsdale, Arizona chatting with some of the world’s best teachers at the GOLF Top 100 Teachers Summit.
We picked up hundreds of tips along the way, all of which you’ll see in GOLF Magazine or GOLF.com (or both) in the coming months. But for starters, let’s quickly empty the notebook. Here are nine tips or takeaways that stood out to me after two days of talking to teachers on the driving range.
(And yes, we’ll be going into more depth on each and every one of these in the near future.)
1. Should you use a 5 wood or a 3 wood?
Most trainers say 5 wood. Many amateurs don’t have the swing speed to generate enough power when hitting a 3-wood. The 5- is easier to hit from the fairway, generates higher ball flight, and you probably won’t lose much distance anyway.
2. Bunker problems?
If you have problems from the bunker, the vast majority of the time it is because you have a bad set-up and incorrect technique. Figure that out first and you’ll be on the right track. You can start here.
3. In life as in golf?
We asked many teachers what was the best advice they received. Most talked about a teaching philosophy or something they learned in their youth. But a handful of them also talked about life lessons they learned that had nothing to do with golf, but instilling them in their students has made massive golf gains on the course. Interesting, right? We also think so. (More on this later).
What tees should you *really* play from? This nifty formula will tell you
“Make all my lessons end in 10 words or less,” is what 100-greatest teacher Don Sargent said, which is the best advice I’ve ever heard. “Because I want my 10 words to be precise, simple and easy to apply.”
Sargent said he learned this from David Leadbetter, with whom he trained. How does this translate to you? Easy. If you’re going to the course, don’t have too many swing thoughts in your head. keep it simple Your swing will thank you.
5. The key to put?
More speed than precision. Practice that first. There are many good exercises to delay the launch, like this one that has worked wonders for me. Once you manage to reduce your lag, your second putts are now 2-3 footers (or gimmes!) instead of 4-5 footers. That makes a big difference in the scorecard.
6. Never hit this type of shot with this club, says a teacher
Todd Sones told me that you should never hit a “hard” pitching wedge, which means if you want to hit a 120-yard shot but your wedge is your 115 club, you shouldn’t try to “strengthen up” and hit it harder. Why? Because the harder you swing, the more spin you’ll give the ball, and you’ll still lose that extra distance when it spins back. Also, a high handicap player taking off his shoes with a wedge is not always a great idea. Sones suggests going up a club, like a 9-iron, and hitting a 3/4 shot.
7. More putting practice
Do you want to do more than 10 feet? Here is an exercise you can start with. Tired of putting three? Look at this.
8. Adult Beginners vs. young beginners
Many teachers talk about how when kids get involved in the game it’s important to start on the green and work your way back. Let young players see the ball go into the hole, get immediate positive feedback, learn to enjoy the game, and get further from the green from there. But adults? A teacher says that he may want to teach them differently.
Top 100 Sun DiJulia says adults should learn to tee off first. His thinking is that if you’re starting the game late in life, it’s usually because you want to play with an in-law, partner, co-workers, or at a work function. Do you really want to raise the 8 lying down when you are still 100 yards from the green? No, you don’t.
For those players, he says, it makes more sense to learn how to get off the tee and onto the green, rather than being off the hole once you’re there. (Plus, a bad drive looks a lot worse than a bad putt, right?)
9. Do you need a street finder?
Play below.
Josh Berhow
Source: news.google.com