SHORT SHOTS
I have written for this excellent magazine now for over six years and I spend a substantial amount of time on the headings. As with all editorials the headline is there to tempt the reader to explore the content and if the content is carefully written and thought promoting perhaps the entire content will be read.
This article is focussed on shots that are less than full shots. These shots are invariably called chip shots; chip and run shots pitch shots, floating shots etc.
All shots that are less than full shots I simply call them short shots. Nearly all short shots can be played with adjustments, NOT changes to your normal swing.
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IMPACT – FACTS and THEORIES.
IMPACT is the moment of truth.
IMPACT is when the club head strikes the ball and within one half of 1,000th of one second the ball has gone.
IMPACT is the agony and ecstasy of the game. Will the ball go in the hole or out of bounds? Will the ball move ten yards when you want it to go 210 yards or will it move 50 yards when you want it to move five yards?
IMPACT is the culmination of everything that has gone on before.
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The Mystery of the Swing Plane
Golf is a difficult game and I find that my pupils who take the time to understand what they are attempting to do improve faster than pupils who are looking for the ‘secret’
The secret is in fact that there is not a ‘secret.’
One of the most misunderstood aspects of the swing is the swing plane.
It is really important to have a correct concept of the swing plane as without a correct concept you will be reduced to guess work and endless experiments so this article is intended to present you with the facts.
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The First Move
Assuming the grip, aim, stance, posture and a proper club selection has taken place - by looking carefully at the lie, checking the wind, where the ball is going to land (pitch) and what you want the ball to do after it has landed - the next move is the first move.
But, hold on a second, why do we assume that all of the above is as it should be?
I have always believed that the first move is of the utmost importance as within two seconds the ball is on its way (well, most of the time!). But there is little point in starting the swing in motion if the aim is incorrect, the club selection is poor and you do not know what you want the ball to do when it returns to the ground.
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Grip, Aim, Stance and Posture
The computer programme I have used for the last 6 years is an excellent programme called GASP. GASP stands for Golf Analysis System for Professionals.
It also stands for GRIP AIM STANCE and POSTURE.
In my opinion the Grip Aim Stance and Posture represents approximately 75% of the shot.
We will examine these four aspects in some detail and in the sequence they should occur prior to the shot-taking place.
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Separating facts from Theories
Golf today is big business and having been involved in the game for almost 60 years (Over 40 years as a professional) I am pretty sure that my experiences have given me a good insight into the complexities of the game. My profession is to teach people how to improve THEIR golf game. No one else’s just his or hers. My pupils are aged between 6 and over 80 with handicaps ranging from not having one to +5. Many of my pupils are professionals themselves.
The gross scores of my pupils have ranged from 180 (yes 180 ) down to 59 ( yes 59 ) over an average 18 hole course.
The absolute key to learning almost anything is to understand what to do. It is also vital to understand what not to do.
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Always play for your lowest possible score
This sounds so obvious but with a little thought it is possible to reduce your scores.
To achieve your lowest score you need to forget all about the par of the course and the par for each hole.
In a medal or stableford competition the par is actually irrelevant as the objective is to produce your lowest possible gross score on each hole.
A perfect example of why you need to ignore the par would be the following scenario:
Standing on the tee you are faced with a hole playing into the wind and the card says it is a par 4 of 435 yards. A par 4 to most people requires 2 shots onto the green followed by 2 putts. In reality very few golfers would be capable of reaching the green in 2 shots but the card says it is a par 4 so out of the bag comes the driver and off the ball goes into the trees etc.
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