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Sure, we’d all love to hit it close to the pin every time we found the green, but unfortunately, that’s just not possible. That’s why it’s essential that you become a competent lag putter.

Being a great putter from distance is hugely beneficial to your scorecard. If you can eliminate three-putts, you’ll be amazed how quickly your scores plummet. Plus, without the stress of grinding over four-footers all day, it makes the game a heck of a lot more enjoyable.

When you face these lengthy putts, it’s important you make a few key adjustments in your stroke to find success. For more on that, we look back to the April 1985 issue of GOLF Magazine where two-time Masters champ Ben Crenshaw shared his secrets.

Ben Crenshaw’s lag putting keys

When you have a very long putt, stand taller to the ball. This increases the width of your swing arc so you can develop the extra force necessary to the stroke without swinging faster or using too much wrist action. 

Take a wider stance, which will let you make a longer stroke without moving your head from over the ball. Also, as you’ll see later, there has to be some leg action on long putts. A wider stance allows you to move the legs properly without swaying, a fault that makes a solid hit difficult. 

On an extra long putt, don’t become too line-conscious. What’s more important is the pace of the putt. The more of these putts you can lag to within a foot of the hole, the more you will hole. 

To help you do this, visualize a circle with a four-foot radius around the hole. Then try to make the ball finish within the circle. 

Below is a step-by-step guide for my lag-putting technique.

Backswing

Swing the putter back with the arms. Allow your shoulders to respond to the arm movement so that they turn, taking the club back to the inside. Note that the putter blade opens in relation to the target line. However, this is not something you should try to do; it results naturally from the shoulder turn.

Use just enough wrist action to keep the action fluid. You’ll also find that a little wrist action helps you make a smooth transition from backswing to downswing.

Regarding the length of the backswing, Bobby Jones made a good point when he said always take a backswing that is “long enough.” A long backswing gives you enough force in the swing without your having to change tempo. A consistent tempo on all putts is essential to good touch. A long backswing also gives you a smooth stroke.

The leg action in the backswing is similar to that of a chip shot of the same length. There’s just a little weight shift to the right foot, with the right leg staying firm.

Downswing and impact

On the downswing, key on swinging the arms and club through the ball. The shoulders respond to this action, bringing the club back from the inside to the ball, and then back to the inside in the follow through.

In the same way the turn of the shoulders opened the blade on the backswing, so the turn of the shoulders closes the blade through the ball. At impact, the blade is in the process of closing, so it’s turning very slightly over the ball. I catch the ball a little above the equator, and it starts rolling immediately. If you hit too low on the ball, it skids a long way before starting to roll.

With such a long stroke, you need a little leg action during the forward swing. If you tried to keep your legs still, you would stab at the ball rather than making a smooth stroke. By releasing the right leg to the left, there’s no chance of flipping at the ball with your wrists and pulling the ball left of target.

Follow through

If you compare the length of my follow-through on this putt to the length of the backswing, you’ll see they are mirror images. This is deliberate.

When I’m stroking a putt, I try to feel as if I’m part of a metronome: back on a count of “One,” through on a count of “Two.” This slow, even beat keeps my stroke smooth and rhythmic.

In contrast, if you try to accelerate the putter through the ball, you shorten the backswing and rush the forward swing. On short putts you can sometimes get away with this. But it is fatal on long putts. You lose your natural tempo and your touch, leaving the ball short or past the hole.

A quick summing up. On long putts, stand a little taller and wider. Aim for a four-foot circle. Swing back with the arms and shoulders. Use a “long enough” backswing with just a little wrist. Then swing the arms and shoulders through, letting the right knee release. Keep the swing as smooth as possible with the metronome beat. Then you, too, will hole your share of “monsters.”

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Everyone wants to hit the ball farther. It makes the game much easier when you’re hitting shorter clubs into greens, and it makes it more fun, too. If you can add 20 yards to your drives, you’ll see the game in a whole new light.

Adding yards to your drives doesn’t have to require speed training or a new fitness routine, though. If you can optimize certain variables with the driver, you can add easy yards to your tee shots.

One of those things is tee height. It might seem trivial, but tee height can have a huge impact on your driving distance.

How much impact? Back in 2006, we at GOLF Magazine ran an experiment to find out. In our June issue from that year, we published our findings, outlining the optimal tee height for maximizing distance with your driver. You can check it out below.

What’s the optimal tee height with driver?

You’re on the tee box of a brutal par-4 and really need to bust one if you’re going to get home in two. What’s your swing key? One thing that you’re probably not thinking about is how high you’ve teed your ball — but you should be. Tweaking your tee heigh, as it turns out, is one of the best — and easiest — adjustments you can make yo pound higher and longer drives.

Keep reading below to find out why.

The study

Who took part

Twenty-seven golfers, aged 25 to 71, with handicaps ranging from scratch to 29. Of the players, 25 typically used a mid-tee height and two preferred a high tee height.

The tee heights

—Low: The top edge of the ball was even with the top edge of the driver, so the entire ball was below the crown.
—Mid: Half the ball above the crown.
—High: The bottom edge of the ball was slightly above the top edge of the clubface so that the entire ball was above the crown.

The experiment

Players were divided into three groups of nine by handicap level: 0-9, 10-19 and 20+. Each golfer hit 10 drives at each tee height, with each group hitting from the three tee heights in varying order to ensure that fatigue and motivation were balanced within each group. Only the best five out of the 10 drives at each tee height were recorded so that mis-hits would not skew the data.

Carry distance was measured by a launch monitor, which also calculated clubhead speed, launch angle, ball speed and spin. Accuracy was also recorded: drives that landed in the fairway (33 yards wide) scored 1; those in the right or left rough (17 yards wide) scored 2; and those that landed beyond the rough scored 3.

The results

Within each of the three handicap levels, carry distance for mid and high tee heights was significantly longer than the low tee height, largely an effect of the higher tees promoting higher launch angles and less spin. The high tee height provided the most distance, giving the players an average of 12 yards more carry per drive than the low tee height.

Inside the numbers

The biggest winners

High-handicappers benefitted the most from the high tee height, picking up an average of 18 yards over their drives with the low tee height.

Long and straight

The increases in carry distance from the low to the mid and high tee heights did not come at the expense of accuracy in terms of hitting the fairway. The table below presents the percentage of tee shots landing in the fairway, rough and beyond the rough as a function of tee height.

Aftermath

Following the experiment, nine out of 27 players planned to change from mid to high tee height. Three of those nine were from the low-handicap group.

Thee tee height study was conducted by GOLF Top 100 Teacher Eric Alpenfels and Bob Christian, Ph.D dean emeritus of the School of Health and Human Performance at the University of North Carolina-Greensboro.

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Getting the most out of your drives requires that you use your body efficiently. Part of that equation comes in the form of weight shift.

If you watch the pros hit their tee balls, you’ll notice they always finish on their lead side. If you want to hit the ball like them, you’d be wise to copy this move — and it all starts with a proper weight shift.

Back in 1988, GOLF Magazine highlighted this move as Peter Jacobsen showed us a drill for proper weight shift. Over 30 years later and the drill can still do wonders for your game. Check it out below.

Peter Jacobsen’s weight-shift drill

If you are hitting weak “popcorn” drives, the problem could be your weight. I’m not suggesting that you go on a diet but that you aren’t making the proper shift to move the full weight of your body — and, therefore, your power — into the shot.

To appreciate the importance and the role my of the weight shift, think about how you throw a ball. You move your weight in the same direction as your arm — to the back foot as you swing your arm back, to the front foot as you swing the arm forward and release the ball, pushing off the back foot for power. The same weight shift should happen in golf.

Players who don’t use their weight properly make one of two mistakes. One, they make a reverse shift, moving the weight to the front foot (the left foot for right-handers) as they swing the club back, then to the back foot during the downswing. Or two, they shift the weight properly on the backswing but never shift it forward coming down. In either case, by the time they reach the follow-through, they’re falling backward, away from the target. And that’s the direction their power is moving — away from the target — resulting in a weak, arms-only swing.

If these are your symptoms, there is help. Tee up a ball on the practice range and swing at it with your driver. As you move into the follow-through, step forward with the right foot, bringing it over the left as if you were starting to walk down the fairway. Working this step into your swing will make you shift your weight properly, and has been suggested by such knowledgeable people as Gary Player and teaching professional Peter Beames.

Taking a big step

At address, distribute your weight evenly between your feet and the balls and heels of your feet. Spread them about shoulder-width and flex your knees slightly until you feel balanced.

On the backswing, your weight should flow to the right side so that at the top about 90 percent of it is resting on the inside of the right foot. If it doesn’t, and you feel yourself falling forward on the backswing, redistribute your weight more to the right side at address, and be sure your knees are flexed.

Swing down from the top without thinking about a weight shift, then step forward with the right foot in the follow-through. The step actually has little to do with the shot; the ball is gone by the time you take it. But thinking about the step to come will encourage the correct weight shift: You won’t be able to move the right leg without moving your weight to the left side on the downswing.

Keep making practice swings with the right foot stepping over the left until you become accustomed to the feeling. Then try a swing without taking the step. The shift may still be there, maybe not. If not, there’s nothing wrong with incorporating the step into your regular swing.

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The current era of golf is all about power. If you can’t bomb it down the fairways, you don’t have much a chance to compete at the highest levels. This obsession for power isn’t a new phenomenon, though. For as long as the game has been around, golfers have been looking for ways to hit the ball longer.

Our November 1979 issue of GOLF Magazine proves as much. On the cover of that issue, we promised seven easy ways to hit the ball hard. And in today’s edition of Timeless Tips, we’re resharing those tips from legendary instructor Phil Ritson. Check ’em out below.

7 easy ways to hit the ball hard

My pupils often ask me what is the secret of power? Truthfully I have to answer: There is no one secret. Every golfer would be pumping the ball out long and Straight if there were. But I have thought a lot about power and over the years have found seven master keys that make the difference between having power or not. Most golfers get these keys wrong, thereby preventing any possibility of consistently powerful shots.

The keys are simple, because golf is difficult enough without further complicating it. But don’t let their simplicity delude you into thinking that all you need to do the next time you go to the course is think of them and immediately you’ll be a long-ball hitter. No, these keys will develop into new and correct habits only if you give them the necessary practice.

Approach one key at a time. An effective way of ingraining each of them into your golfing system is to take a lot of “dry swings,” that is, swinging without the ball. Make three or four of these, concentrating on the key you want to acquire. After the dry swings, hit a ball, again with that one thought in mind. Repeat the process until the key has become a habit.

1. Keep your left hand straight

A key factor in power is the angle you set in the left hand at address. This angle I call the ‘‘straight’’ position. To adopt it, extend the fingers of your left hand in line with your left forearm. Make a fist, and the back of the left wrist makes a slight angle with the forearm. This “straight” position is the most powerful way to grip the club. 

I teach all pupils to hold the club so that the thumb of the left hand is at 12 o’clock on the grip. With the so-called “strong” grip (hands turned very much to the right on the grip), either they swing back to a totally shut position (convex left wrist and clubface pointing to the sky) and don’t have the physical strength to hit the ball from there, or in their attempt to cock their wrists the left wrist collapses under the shaft. They over-swing and lose control of the club. With the “‘straight’’ left wrist, they can’t over-cock the wrists because the left thumb properly supports the club at the top of the swing. 

The left hand should remain in the “straight” position from address to follow-through.

2. Turn both shoulders

The cardinal sin of most golfers is not completing the backswing. The downswing then becomes rushed, and they lose power. The most common reasons for an incomplete backswing are: 1. Swinging back with the hands and arms only and leaving the shoulders to turn for themselves, and 2. Overemphasizing the left shoulder in the shoulder turn.

Driving

Two further complications emerge from this overemphasis on the left shoulder. First, too many golfers think of “left shoulder down,” which leads to straightening the right leg. The weight is transferred back to the left foot in a reverse weight shift. Second, because the right arm sets and breaks down in the correct backswing, the right shoulder easily becomes hunched. The right shoulder stops and prevents a full wind-up. 

These problems are solved by turning both shoulders. Also, your swing will always be in the correct tempo. You will have a sensation of swinging up and down at the same tempo — what I call the “pendulum feel” — the key factor in the smooth application of power.

3. Step on a ball

A third power key is shifting the weight to the inside of the right heel during the backswing. To get the feeling of this, practice using a ball placed under the little toe of the right foot. This will make you shift your weight back to the heel. Also because the ball is placed on the outside of the foot, it will prevent the weight from moving to the outside of the right foot, causing a sway. The weight shift shifts instead to the inside of the heel. the key feeling of sitting into the right side as the hips and shoulders turn and the club swings up into position. The right knee will flex slightly more than at address as you coil the body around it. As an important benefit, this ball exercise encourages you to place the weight on the balls and heels of the feet and discourages you from hitting off the toes.

4. Carry a tray

One of the key checkpoints for a powerful swing is the “waiter’s tray” position of the right arm at the top of the swing. The proper downswing action of the right arm is an underarm move, very similar to throwing a ball underhand and it’s much easier to make the underarm move in the downswing if you have allowed the right arm to fold into the “waiter’s tray” position on the backswing. This position is the correct one from which to make the move down and through without you having to make any compensating action.

It’s possible, of course, to execute a correct downswing from a “flying right elbow” position — Miller Barber proves that at every event he lays. Remember, however, that Barber has worked for many years to make this unorthodox action workable. (It’s unorthodox in the sense it’s fine for him, but not for the average player who has far less time to fine-tune their game.)

5. Separate the knees

One of the greatest power moves in golf is the “separation” of the legs. When you start the downswing, the left knee moves laterally down the feet line, shifting the weight to the outside of the left foot, from little toe to heel. You hold the right heel on the ground — a useful image here is to think of “nailing” your right heel to the ground. Ultimately, of course, both knees will move laterally, but for a split-second, you should be in a “bowlegged” position created by the lateral movement of the left knee independent of the right. It’s almost a feeling of “sitting laterally.”

Driving

The lateral move of the knees does two things: First, it helps you make the correct “underarm” downswing action, where you are hitting underneath and down the line. All the great players work “underneath”’ Second, because the left knee starts its “bowlegged” move slightly before the upper body has completed its windup, you create tremendous leverage. Once the weight is solidly into the left foot, you can clear the hips to the left as fast as you like, in fact, the faster you clear the hips, the more pull you create in the left side and arm, and the more clubhead speed you’ll generate.

Important: Keep your left knee “soft” or flexed through the ball. This will prevent your head and upper body from working past or over the ball before impact.

6. Hitch a ride

If you ever hear anyone telling you to rotate your hands or wrists, get your bag, turn around and run as fast as you can! At no point in the swing should you ever consciously rotate the hands or the wrists. This is particularly true in the release.

If you try to turn your hands or wrists through impact, you will lose control of the ball. How much do you roll them and when? The timing is too critical and the clubface remains square to the line at impact for too short a time, and maybe not at all.

Actually, the clubface should never “‘roll’’ open or closed, but in the downswing, the clubhead does work | from a toe-up position halfway down — to toe-up in the extension position be- cause of the rotation of the body through the shot and the uncocking of the wrists.

To make a correct release, pretend you’re a hitchhiker thumbing a ride. You should feel your left forearm turning over with the back of the left hand remaining, as always, in the “straight’’ position. You accelerate through the shot.

7. Lay your right ear on a pillow

Perhaps the greatest fantasy in golf occurs when you hit the ball badly. People immediately say, “You lifted your head,”  whereas I think the opposite is true. When you make an effort to keep the head down, you can lose freedom not only in the followthrough but also in the whole downswing. You will obtain less clubhead speed and less distance.

Once the ball has been hit and the shoulders and arms are past the original ball position, you must allow the head to rotate for a free followthrough. In other words, the neck rotation will follow the turn of the shoulders.

Allow the head to rise in the right way, from underneath. As you swing through, lay your right ear on an imaginary pillow. This will give you the correct head rotation and encourage an uninhibited pass through the ball and maximum power.

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There aren’t many golfers who have a swing that looks quite as good as Adam Scott’s. If you were building a prototypical golfer, using Scott’s swing would be a great place to start.

One of the beautiful things about Scott’s swing is just how smooth it looks. There are no hitches or yips. Just a smooth move that makes the ball explode off the clubface.

It’s unlikely that any of us will ever swing quite like the former Masters champ, but there are some elements of it we can incorporate into our own games. Back in 2009, Scott teamed up with GOLF Magazine to share five of his best keys for generating easy power. Try them out for yourself and see how your distance soars.

Adam Scott’s 5 power keys

Ben Hogan said that any golfer could break 80 if he set his mind to it. I don’t know about that, but I think every golfer is capable of breaking 90. 

To max out your scoring potential, you’ll need to max out your distance off the tee. Many amateurs try to get there by swinging as fast they can, but all that does is upset your rhythm. When you watch Tour events, the guys never look like they’re swinging hard, yet many regularly blast it 300-plus yards. 

How do they do that? The key to effortless power is your rotation around your spine. What that means is you want a small hip turn and a big shoulder turn to store power during your backswing. Then maintain a stable core so you can release all that energy at impact.

Scroll down below and I’ll show you how.

1. Setup: Create a stable base

My setup is the basis of my whole swing. You want to get into a comfortable position where you feel confident about hitting the ball. For me, it’s a matter of getting into the right posture, setting my hands correctly on the grip and teeing the ball at the height that allows me to contact the ball in the center of the sweet spot.

How to find your perfect setup

To find the address posture that’s right for you, follow my routine. It’s the one I use for every swing I make, whether I’m on the range or competing in a PGA Tour event.

1. Stand straight up with the club out in front of you.
2. Flex your knees until you feel comfortable and athletic
3. Then bend at your hips down to the ball.

2. Backswing: Get wide in the takeaway

Rotation plays a big part in how I create power in my swing. In fact, when I want to improve my swing, I go to the gym as much as the driving range because it’s so important for me to maintain my strength and flexibility. When I start my backswing, I focus on taking the club away by turning my shoulders while keeping my hips still. Strive for a smooth, one-piece takeaway, and feel like you’re turning into the inside of your right leg (you should see wrinkles in your right pants pocket).

3. Top: Feel the clubhead

Starting down too fast from the top is the worst kind of power leak. You want to build up speed in your downswing so you’re approaching your maximum clubhead speed as you approach impact. If you start too fast, you’ll be slowing down into impact.

Driving

Your smooth, one-piece backswing should allow you to feel exactly where your clubhead is at the top. Think about making a big shoulder turn and a small arm turn, and keep your hands as far away from your head as possible to store maximum power in your turn.

4. Impact: Lock down your core

You won’t consistently drive the ball far unless you can maintain your posture throughout your swing. The most common mistake people make is to straighten up when they swing down. You create effortless power with the clubhead speed you generate when you unwind the coil you created in your backswing around your spine, and to do this, you need to stay in the same posture you had at address.

The focus of your whole swing is to turn around your spine. Lots of people get confused when golf instructors start talking about “spine angle.” What it means is that your core needs to remain stable throughout your swing. If you stay in your posture, you’ll maintain your angles and let your arms swing freely, which will allow you to unleash a powerful strike on the ball.

5. Follow through: Finish with authority

Try to end your swing really hard on your left side, with your eyes looking at the target and your left leg straight. This means that you’ve been able to rotate fully around your spine and make a complete body turn. Your goal at the end of your swing should be to feel balanced, just like you were at address. This is easy to do when you swing within yourself.

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There is no asset more valuable in the modern game than power off the tee. If you can bomb the big stick, it makes the rest of the game a heck of a lot easier.

Adding yards off the tee isn’t a new fad, though. For generations, golfers have been searching for ways to squeeze a few extra yards out of their drives. Modern tech has made that mission easier to accomplish than ever before, but the goal remains all the same.

Back in the January 1990 issue of GOLF Magazine, we sought to help in that endeavor. With assistance from Greg Norman, we published a short feature on how to add 15 yards to your drives — all with three easy setup adjustments. Check ’em out below, and join InsideGOLF for unlimited access to our archive of the GOLF Magazine digital archive.

Add 15 yards with 3 adjustments

Every golfer I talk to wants to hit the ball longer off the tee. They’ll do anything, they say, to pick up a few yards on their drives. Unfortunately, in trying “anything” many amateurs twist their bodies and minds so badly they actually do themselves more harm than good. Rather than generating more power, they create more problems — swinging too fast, going past parallel at the top and so on. 

Let me suggest an easier way: Add distance to your drives by making small adjustments to your setup. I’ve found that minor alterations in how high I set the tee, where I position the ball in my stance and the width of the stance help me hit longer drives. 

Below on the left is a photograph of my normal address position; compare it to the photograph next to it and read the suggestions in between. Work these little changes into your setup and you’ll see a big change in your tee shots.

Norman’s 3 adjustments

1. Tee the ball 1/2 inch higher
2. Play the ball 1.5 inches forward
3. Widen your stance by 2 inches

Teeing the ball half an inch higher than normal and an inch and a half ahead of your left heel encourages making contact as the club begins the upswing. This means you’ll stay behind the ball longer, allowing an extra split-second to build power — capitalizing on a big turn — and delay the release of the hands. 

Widening the stance by two inches does double duty: First, you create a solid base for the swing; second, you lengthen your takeaway and the arc of the swing, increasing clubhead speed on the downswing. (Be careful not to speed up your backswing; try to draw the club slowly away from the ball.) 

Assume your normal address, then make the three adjustments I’ve described. Compare your new “power position” to the one shown here: When they match, you should see another 15 yards on your drives.

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Vijay Singh is one of the preeminent grinders golf has ever seen. When his competitors were leaving the course each day, Singh would still be on the range fine-tuning his swing.

This otherworldly work ethic paid off. Over the course of his career, The Big Fijian won 34 times on Tour, including three major titles. There may have been some golfers with more talent than Singh, but it’s hard to argue anyone had more drive.

Although Singh put together several decades of solid play, the 2004 season was his pièce de résistance. In a span of nine months, Singh won nine times on Tour, including his final major title at the PGA Championship.

In the fall of that year, Singh contributed an article to GOLF Magazine sharing a few of his keys for easy power. You can check it out below.

Vijay’s 3 keys for power

I’ve added 15 yards to my tee shots in the last two years — not bad for a 41- year-old. More clubhead speed has been a big key for me, but power starts with solid, square contact. Here’s how to gain yards without swinging out of your shoes.

1. Widen your arc

I’m tall and limber, but even if your physique is different, you can still stretch out your arc. Start with a wide stance, and as you shift to your right side going back, push against the grip with your right hand. You’ll extend your arms and move the clubhead as far away as possible, setting up a powerful downswing.

2. Get to the top

On most tee shots I swing at about 80-percent effort, but I always make a good upper-body windup. I see a lot of amateurs cut off their backswings and rush the club down to the ball. If that sounds like you, try to pause for an instant at the top. You’ll be in a good position to transfer your energy forward.

3. Let it all go

Too many amateurs stop their hip rotation on the downswing and swing through with their arms only, which limits clubhead speed. When you release, include your torso, hips and legs, so that everything moves through together. Get it right and you’ll hit the ball hard.

Don’t forget the basics!

—Tee it up so at least half the ball is above the top line of your driver. You’ll make a powerful sweep through impact.
—Every golfer has his own ideal tempo. Set aside 30 minutes a week to hit driver only. You’ll find the tempo that’s right for you.
—Work out your golf muscles. | attach an elastic band to a doorknob and practice my turn to stretch my shoulders and arms.
—Ask your pro to help you choose a driver shaft. The right shaft flex and weight can be as crucial as the right clubhead.

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Ben Crenshaw is best known for his silky putting stroke, but in his prime, he was a pretty nifty ball-striker, too. You don’t win two Green Jackets just by putting well. Being able to hit the ball with the best of ’em was also one of Gentle Ben’s superpowers.

That wasn’t always the case, though. When Crenshaw first got on Tour in the early 70s, he was known to struggle with his tee shots. Then, he made a few changes.

In today’s edition of Timeless Tips, we look back at an article Crenshaw penned for GOLF Magazine back in 1981 where he detailed the changes he made to straighten out his tee shots. Heed his advice and it might help you hit it straighter, too.

Crenshaw’s driving tips

During the last four years or so, I have learned to drive the ball better. I had to, simply to survive on the Tour. It was clear to me that had I continued driving the ball in the old way, my future was more than a little uncertain. As late as 1976, I was likely to miss as many as 10 fairways during a single round. This forced me to take a hard look at my driving and to analyze what I could do to improve it.

In comparing myself to the great drivers of the ball, it was immediately apparent that, unlike me, they hit the ball on a lower trajectory. My ball was flying out very high and as a result I had a lot of trouble playing in the wind.

There were technical reasons why I hit the ball too high and had the tendency to spray it. I’ll get into those on the next page, but here I should mention that my equipment was also hurting me. My stiff (S) shafted driver was much too flexible for me. By switching to a tipped extra stiff (X) shaft, I not only got a lower trajectory, but more accurate drives. I’ve given up about 15 yards in making this change, but if I had to choose between my old 280 yards in the rough and my new 265 yards on the fairway, I’ll take the short grass any day, and so should you.

So, even though your first item of study should be the trajectory of your drives, if you’re hitting the ball too high or low or are inaccurate, you must also look at your equipment. You have to find a playable driver, one with which you can mishit the ball and still get it into the fairway. Your professional can help you find the driver with the right shaft and other specifications to suit your game.

I am also going to suggest what to key on when driving the ball, give some technical tricks and explain the art of targeting. So let’s go.

My swing problems (and yours)

I used to set up with the ball very forward in my stance, approximately off my left instep and my head way behind the ball. I also had a gigantic turn, as well as too much lateral sway off the ball. As a result, I hit the ball too high, even though I could hit it a mile. I now play the ball off my left heel and set up more over the ball, with my right leg better, as you can see below. This has also cut down the length of my backswing and the amount of my lateral sway. Everyone needs a little sideward motion with a tee shot, but not nearly as much as I had.

I found in mu own game that the most important principle of good driving is to trust you to release the club correctly and hit straight. If you’re hitting wildly, you’re probably trying to steer the ball. The club is not traveling at its maximum through impact and that upsets your timing. That’s when you hit off target.

Another good rule is to avoid giving yourself technical advice when you’re actually on the course; reminders such as “Keep the left arm straight” only add to your problems. Key on simple concepts, on clubhead feel or tempo. If you find a swing key when warming up that seems to help, use it, but don’t use two or three keys at once. One is enough.

About the only technical point that can help you at times is grip pressure. When you’re driving badly and getting tense as a result, lighten the pressure to the point at which you can feel the clubhead. Then go ahead and swing it.

Technical tricks

The teeing ground is defined by the outside edges of the tee markers and is two club lengths deep. That’s important to remember. Normally, you tee up from a flat spot, because then you can put your best swing on the ball. Some tees, however, have slight slopes. If you’re forced to tee up the ball above your feet, you tend to draw the ball. If you tee it up below your feet, you tend to fade the ball. If you need to work the ball around a dogleg, try to find the appropriate slope. If you want to guard against a hook or slice, pick the slope that will have the opposite effect. 

The height of the tee also affects ball flight. Tee the ball lower on tight holes. You will get a lower trajectory ball that will get on the ground faster and stay out of trouble better than a high ball. A lower tee also encourages a fade which will bring the ball quickly to a stop. The converse of this is also true. Generally, a higher tee than normal encourages a draw.

You should also realize that choking down on the driver stiffens the shaft a little as well as reducing the size of your arc. This is a useful technique to have on tight holes. On long holes, grip more at the end of the grip. This gives you a bigger arc and you can truly feel the clubhead.

In addition, the golf course architect usually has a few tricks up his sleeve. the sneakiest is the misaligned tee. For example, on the 6th hole at Merion, if you align yourself parallel to the sides of the tee, you’ll hit straight out of bounds. Don’t fall for this one. 

How to pick a target

There are two basic steps for picking a target. First, analyze how wide or tight the target area is and where the trouble is. Second, picture in your mind the ideal drive for you on that hole — see yourself setting up, swinging and see the ball landing in your target area. The mind directs the body, and without good thinking and visualizing, the drive can go anywhere. 

When picking a target, it’s important that you recognize and compensate for the way you’re hitting the ball. I played golf with amateurs who are slicing, and all day they target the middle of the fairway and wind up in the right rough. Had they targeted more to the left, they could have played their second shots from the fairway. 

It’s also vital to pick a target that you can realistically reach. If you are a 220-yard hitter, target a spot 220 yards out. Target further out than that and you’ll tend to swing too hard and ruin the shot.

When there’s trouble on one side of the whole people say you should tee up on the same side as the trouble and hit away from it. This is excellent advice for the high handicapper. for the more skillful player, there is a second option. My teacher, Harvey Penick, used to tell me to line up at the trouble and then draw or fade the ball away from it. It still works for me.

On open holes, you have to work hard on your targeting. It’s very easy not to pick a target, and then you’ll often hit your wildest drives. Force yourself to find a focal point, even if it’s the difference in color between the edge of the fairway and the rough. When lining up, work off that point. With no focal point in the landing area or with a blind tee shot, find some distant object, such as a distinctively colored tree or a rock, a chimney or a church spire, and line up on that. I should add that on wide holes there’s a great temptation to swing too hard. Resist it. Pick your spot and swing smoothly.

Tight holes, on the other hand, literally force you to target correctly and concentrate better. The temptation here is to steer. You have to make an effort to swing freely. 

Lastly, never be too proud to drive with a three-wood on tight holes. Think of it as the amateurs 1-iron.

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The post What you can learn about your swing by looking at your divot appeared first on Golf.

The post What you can learn about your swing by looking at your divot appeared first on Golf.

When you hit a crisp shot with an iron or a wedge, you’ll likely move a little bit of turf. This chunk of grass that goes flying — your divot — is one of the hallmarks of a well-struck shot. Divots aren’t just satisfying aesthetically, though. These chunks of turf can tell you plenty about your swing.

Back in the the 1970s, GOLF Magazine ran a feature about divots and how you can interpret them. You can check it out below.

What you can learn from your divot

Stop! Before you replace that divot, take a moment to check your divot mark. It may seem just a scar in the dirt, but believe it or not, you can learn from it. In fact, if you’re off your game, this is one of the first places you should check. Knowing the difference between a good divot mark and a bad one can immediately indicate appropriate corrections.

To establish a frame of reference, let’s first pin down what a good divot mark should look like. When you hit an iron flush, the divot mark will start right underneath where the ball lay and point directly at your target. It descends fairly steeply into the ground for a couple of inches or so past the ball, then becomes gradually more shallow toward the front end.

Now let’s get to the various bad divots and what they tell you about the shot.

No divot

If you’re taking no divot at all or very little, the first thing to check is whether you are playing the ball a little too far forward in your stance. This will result in a shot flying higher than usual and with slightly less than normal distance. Of course, you can play this shot deliberately — to an elevated green, for example, or over a tree in your path to the target, but you should not do it for a normal shot.

Another possibility is that you are raising the upper body slightly in the backswing. This raises the arc of the swing so that you take little or no divot. An extreme case could result in a topped ball. If you suspect this problem, concentrate on turning your shoulders around a steady head, coiling instead of raising the shoulders.

Fat divot

If your divot starts behind the ball, it could be that you are swaying to the right on the back- swing. When you do that, you often don’t sway to the left enough to catch the ball clean. Instead, the lowest point of the arc is behind the ball and you catch it ‘‘fat.”’ To correct this, kick your right knee in a little at address and, as you take the club back, keep your right knee braced inwards.

Another cause of the “fat” divot is the reverse weight shift. Instead of coiling properly on the backswing, the golfer dips the left shoulder while over-bending the left knee. This puts too much weight on the left foot at the top of the swing, and results in a weight shift to the right foot as the player returns to the ball. Again, this puts the lowest point of the arc behind the ball, and yields a fat shot. The key here is even weight distribution at the address. If your weight is even here, you will find it natural to shift your weight to the inside of the right foot on the backswing as you should.

Push divot

Although this divot does point straight at the hole, it is incorrect in that it starts far in front of the point where the ball lay.

The most common cause of the push divot is “frozen” wrists. On the downswing, the golfer slides forward and there is far less release of the wrists than with a normal shot. The resulting trajectory is lower than normal and thus this is a good shot to have in your bag against the wind. But on a normal iron shot, your wrists should be free enough to cock and release fully. You can test for freedom as you waggle at address.

Hook divot

This divot points to the right of target and shows that the arc of the swing was from inside to outside the line to the target. If the clubface was square to the target line at impact, you would hook the ball; if it was square to the line of swing, you would push the ball straight to the right.

The first thing to check in this case is your alignment, since a hook swing can be caused by a closed stance (right foot withdrawn from a line parallel to the line from the ball to the target). At address, check first that a line across your toes is parallel or “square” to this target line. Also check that your hips and shoulders are square to the target line. The line across the shoulders is especially important, as it is the shoulders that create the arc of the swing as much as, if not more than, the feet.

If your feet and shoulders are square to the target line, then you are probably swinging on too flat a plane, i.e., too much like a baseball batter. The way to correct this is to emphasize turning your left shoulder down and under your chin on the backswing. This will give you a more upright swing arc.

Another cause of a flat swing is standing too erect. Make sure that your back is inclined forward about 20 degrees from the vertical for a driver and more on the shorter clubs.

Faulty ball position can also cause a hook divot. Playing the ball way back in your stance toward the right foot can lead to contacting the ball when the club is still traveling from inside to out, i.e., facing right of target. Most of the time this leads to a pushed shot.

Slice divot

This type of divot points to the left of target, and shows that the swing arc was from outside to inside the line to the target. If your clubface is open in relation to the line of swing, you will slice the ball; if square, you will pull the ball to the left.

Like the hook divot, a slice divot can be caused by faulty alignment. So, first check that you aren’t standing too open (left foot withdrawn from a line parallel to the target line). Also check that your shoulders are square. It’s quite common to find that shoulders are misaligned even though your feet are square.

If your feet and shoulders are square to the target line at address, then a “‘slice divot’’ is a clear indication that it is the swing itself that is from the outside to in. An “early warming system” that can alert you to this fault is that your shoulders will arrive at their finish position too early. The left hand and arm will tend to quit and collapse on you as you go through the ball.

Basically, the most common reason for a slice divot is an over-active right side. So, concentrate at address on setting up with a strong left side: Keep the left arm and hand fairly firm with the arm and shaft in more or less of a straight line, lighten the right hand’s grip and leave the right arm ‘‘soft’’ and more in toward your body than the left. Emphasize a full shoulder turn going back. This will put you on the inside track to start with and lead to the desired downswing path from the inside.

As with the hook divot, don’t forget your ball position. Playing the ball way forward in your stance off your left foot can lead to contacting the ball too late in the swing, when the clubhead is already going inside. The result is a slice divot and probably a ball pulled left of target.

As the above indicates, there is much that you can learn from your divot. If your divot is right, then the odds are your swing is right, too. However, if your divot is one of the “bad” ones discussed here, a trip to your professional would be in order.

In the meantime, there are some practice techniques that you can use to help yourself get back on the right track.

If you suspect that you’re taking either a “fat” or “punch” divot, check this by pushing a tee into the ground at the address outside and opposite the center of the ball. After you have hit the shot, you can readily see where the divot starts.

Another way of checking on this is to scratch a line on the ground at right angles to the target line. Sole your club just in back of the line and take your normal swing. Not only can you see whether the divot starts at the right spot, but also whether it is dead on line to the target or pointing to the right or left.

If you still have trouble taking a correct divot, push a tee into the ground just in front of the ball. This not only encourages you to swing through the ball, but is a great aid to straightening out the divot and the resulting shot. One of the beauties of working to get the correct divot is that it concentrates attention on the business end of the swing — the impact area — rather than getting confused by too many details in the swing itself.

As one great teacher put it: There’s only one categorical imperative in golf — hit the ball!

In the interests of keeping things as simple as possible, we earlier defined a good divot as one that points directly at the target. However, next time you go to a professional tournament, go to the practice ground and study the divots that a top-class player takes. You will discover that, in most cases, their divots point slightly to the left of the target, yet the ball flies essentially straight toward the target. It seems, therefore, that they have used a slightly outside-to-in swing, yet the shot flies straight. How come? Why doesn’t the professional slice with this action?

The answer is that, during the downswing, the shoulders rotate around the spine, the axis of the swing. Thus, the downswing path for a straight shot approaches the ball from the inside, is square to the ball at impact and then goes inside again to the finish. This inside-square-inside path of the clubhead means that the divot on a straight shot will usually point very slightly to the left of target, since the club is moving inside after impact while the divot is being taken.

Returning to the practice tee at the pro tournament again, you will notice that some of the players do take divots that point straight at the hole. There are two reasons for this. First, the player could be aligned slightly right of target. Second, they could have exceptional extension through the ball, which would keep the clubhead on line longer after impact.

What this means is you must “read” your divot in conjunction with the flight of the ball. If your shot is straight, just replace the divot and go hit the next shot!

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The post Jack Nicklaus had a ‘mystery’ power move. Here’s how it worked appeared first on Golf.

The post Jack Nicklaus had a ‘mystery’ power move. Here’s how it worked appeared first on Golf.

Jack Nicklaus is the greatest major champion in golf history. With 18 titles – plus another 19(!) runner-up finishes — no one was in the mix on Sunday afternoon more than the Golden Bear.

To achieve that level of consistency, you’ve got to have one heck of a golf swing — and Nicklaus had just that. But while his move was effective, it had a few quirks that were, well, Nicklaus-esque.

In today’s edition of Timeless Tips, we turn back the clock to 1986 when veteran teaching pro Johnny Myers penned a breakdown of Nicklaus’ “mystery” swing move for GOLF Magazine. You can check it out below.

Jack’s “mystery” power move

Jack Nicklaus is the most successful golfer of all time. The Golden Bear owns virtually every important record, from major championship victories to all-time money winnings. He remains the game’s preeminent superstar.

Since rising to prominence, Nicklaus has been analyzed by every expert and from every angle. Yet all these critics — and even Nicklaus himself — have missed a subtle move that is crucial to the consistency of his shotmaking. Very simply, he changes the position of his left foot during the swing to create leverage and power.

Nicklaus has stated that he turns his left toe out at address to get a freer turn of the hips through impact. And as you’ll see on the following pages, he does start with his left toe pointed out sharply. But after raising his left heel at the top of the backswing, Jack returns it to a different spot so that on the downswing his left foot is almost perpendicular to the target line. This new position creates a solid left side to hit against while eliminating any spinning that could result in cutting across the ball. 

Let’s look at Jack’s “mystery move” below.

In the first photograph, Nicklaus at address, his left foot is angled at least 30 degrees left of perpendicular to the target line. His right foot is much closer to perpendicular, angled out only about 10 degrees to the right.

From this setup, Nicklaus is well-positioned to make a full yet contained ‘backswing turn. The nearly squared right toe keeps him from swaying to the right which would lead to mishits and loss of accuracy. Jack could make an even bigger turn if he set his left foot perpendicular to the target line, but he probably wouldn’t be able to contain his backswing coil as well.

Look at photograph 2, showing Nicklaus at the top of the backswing. His left ankle has turned inward and what little weight he has on his left foot is on the inside of the big toe. Jack’s enormous backswing windup has pulled the left heel well off the ground — a key feature of the Nicklaus swing. Despite all this movement, however, the angle of his left foot in relation to the target line has remained relatively constant — it is still turned out about 30 degrees 

The position of Nicklaus’ right leg has also remained constant through the backswing. Almost all his weight has shifted onto the inside of the right foot, but notice that he hasn’t swayed even an inch to the right. Also notice that if Jack’s right foot were angled out more sharply at address, he’d have trouble keeping his right side so solid. At this point, his left foot isn’t set up to give a similar bracing effect on the left side. For that, Nicklaus has to move the left heel — which he does starting in the next photograph.

As Nicklaus starts down, in photograph 3, he slides his knees laterally and replaces his left heel in the new position, slightly closer to the target. Now the left foot is nearly perpendicular to the target line.

It’s a small movement but it gives big results. By replacing his heel closer to the target, Jack is making a slight diagonal shift of his hips (along with his knees and shoulders) so they’re more closed to the target than at address. It also allows his arms to drop straight down, which returns the right elbow to his side. Consequently, Nicklaus swings down a little inside his backswing plane, while his wrists remain cocked. 

So far, Jack’s key “pieces” are working together. His knees are moving laterally and his hips haven’t spun left at all. The shoulders are unwinding, but they, too, still point right of target. At this point, Jack is a captive of his “mystery move” — he has to hit the ball with the club moving from inside to along the target line. 

The final photograph shows Nicklaus approaching impact. The left foot now braces a firm left side. Jack’s tremendous lateral thrust of the legs and hips has just started to turn left of the target, allowing his hands to release the clubhead freely so it strikes the ball squarely before heading back inside the target line. 

If you’re pulling or slicing, you may be “spinning” your hips to the left before impact, in which case you need to create a firm left side. Realigning during the swing is a lot to ask, so try setting up with your left foot set squarer to the target line. As Jack shows, the results can be dramatic.

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