In wet weather, playing your best is down largely to staying dry. Jackets, rain pants, rain gloves, umbrellas all help but as soon as your towel gets wet you might as well be playing under water.
Taking a spare towel in case of rain is a vital must when playing golf. A big bath towel is best and hang it under your umbrella when its up to keep it dry longer.
I quite often get asked how to create lag in the golf swing. Lag is the angle created by the wrists on the downswing which unwinds just before impact increasing the club head speed resulting in greater distance.
The key to creating this lag is to get your body turning to the target before the arms come down. This move creates and maintains the wrist angle or lag of the club. Don’t try to maintain the angle by holding the wrist hinge just let it happen. Ask any good player if they create lag on purpose and I assure you they wouldn’t.
On slippery downhill putts its very easy to have the ball get away on you. Try putting the ball off the toe of the putter which is a dead spot on the face. The ball will come off slower than it would out of the middle of the club face and get it trickling down the slope.
If your struggling to get your short shots in the air then you are most likely lifting the club head up through impact causing a topped shot. The club head must swing down through the ball in order for the club face angle to make the ball go in the air.
Imagine a bridge in front of you and try to hit the ball under the bridge. This should instinctively get you hitting down on the ball and make the ball go up.
Too often I see golfers focussing on the flag when they are around the green. Obviously we need to be aware of where the flag is but this is simply to decide on what club to use.
Once the club has been selected focus on the landing spot, this is what you can control and then the club does the rest. Land the ball about 1m on always and let the club release the ball up to the flag. This simplifies the shot and will mean your bad executions will still be good results.
In the golf swing we want the arms to work with the trunk not on their own. This keeps the upper body connected, increases power and control.
So when you take the club back on the backswing make sure you turn as the arms swing back. The triangle of the hands, arms and shoulders should all move as one. This will get the upper half working together.
If you want more power through the ball your hips need to clear easier through impact.
Try turning your lead foot (left foot for right handers) out on about a 30 degree angle, this will allow your hips to turn easier creating a better unwinding of the club and more distance in your shots.
Its very easy to grip the club too tightly and this might be happening without you realising. As soon as the hands tighten the tension then flows through your whole body making it very difficult to swing the club with any rhythm.
So don’t strangle the club, imagine its a tube of toothpaste with the cap off and you don’t want to squeeze any out. You won’t let go of it, even though you might think you will. This will allow a rhythmic swing and better strikes.
A major cause of missed putts is the head moving due to having an early look at the result.
A good drill for this is to put a tee in your mouth and have it pointing down at the ball. Stroke your putt and keep the tee pointing at the spot where the ball was.
This will help prevent you from having the nosy look and allow the club to swing square.
If your struggling to get your clubs going a consistent distance then you are more than likely not getting enough flight out of them. We must compress down into the ball in order for the ball to come up.
Imagine throwing a golf ball on a concrete path. The higher you want the ball to bounce up the harder you need to throw down. A soft throw down and the ball wont bounce up as high.
So compress down hard into an iron shot, take a divot after the ball is struck and you will get better flight and more consistent distance control.
