A MUST read tip for improving your game.

[Springbok]

I am a scratch golfer. However, I had been suffering from what I thought to be putting yips. In desperation, I decided to Google the issue, and stumbled upon an article that suggested that I did not really have the yips, but was moving my head/body because my eyes were subconsciously following the putter on the way back, and the ball on the way through. I had someone on the putting green verify that this was indeed the case... not that I really needed the verification, because I knew I was doing this.


I tried the tip, and found that my putting dramatically improved. However, I knew that the same issue with my putting, often crept into my swing. I was not really following the club head and ball with my eyes, but I found myself swaying often. I decided to use the tip on my swing, and lo and behold, it worked VERY well. This past weekend, I played with someone who is a member here that I have played with numerous times in the past six months that I have been in Vegas. He has been struggling with his game, so I past on the tip to him. Not only did I have the best ball striking week I have had all year, but he hit the ball the best I have seen him hit it as well.
 

This morning, I was at the range. Will chipping, I watched an elderly gentleman chipping, and getting very frustrated. He hit them fat, thin, and all over the place. I could not help but notice that he was moving laterally both back and through while chipping. I shared the tip with him, and it instantly fixed his chipping. He said to me that he has never chipped that well before.

 
So what is this magic tip? It's actually quite simple, and really nothing new....
 

Place your club (whether it be your putter, iron, wedge, or driver) 1" behind the ball. Pick a blade of grass between your club and your ball that stands out, and focus ALL and I do mean ALL your concentration on that blade of grass. Continue to focus on that blade of grass on your backswing and follow through. This will do 2 things:

 
1) Your eyes will no longer follow your clubs on the way back, or the ball on the way through.

2) If you focus all your attention on that blade (and I do mean ALL of it), you will no longer be thinking of swing mechanics during your swing.
 

A couple of notes:

 
1) For putting, I always pick a blade of grass directly between the ball and the putter blade.

2) For irons, wedges, and driver, if I find myself picking a blade of grass on my side of the ball, i.e. between me and the ball. I find that doing this helps me drop the club in more, and hit from the inside. IMPORTANT: DO NOT pick a blade of grass that is too far from the ball. The trick is to focus on the blade of grass, but hit the ball.

3) On setup, DON'T forget to aim and align. Once you have your line, find a blade of grass, focus on that blade, and think of nothing but that blade of grass. I actually pick a blade while approaching the ball, focus on that blade, get over the ball (still focusing), make sure I am aligned and aimed correctly, then refocus on that blade.

 
I hope this helps.  I would love to hear feedback, whether it be positive or negative. I hope it helps you as much as it has helped me.

[idiotbox]

I will try it this evening with putting and chipping. Thanks!

[CalleW]

Same here. Thx. for sharing.

[idiotbox]

Ok, I tried this today. When I hit balls with full swings, I concentrated on something on the range balls then hit the ball. I did notice improved ball striking. I cannot confirm if that was the drill or if it was my confidence in the drill working. Was it a placebo? The jury is still out. I will try it when i am hitting the ball shitty. One thing I did notice is that I wasn't preoccupied with doing anything else but swinging. Does this work the same way as listening to music as you are working? I have notice that when I listen to music and practice, I hit the ball similarly.

As far as putting, I concentrated on the number on the ball. Whatever the number was, I repeated it over and over in my head. It also seemed to work. I will echo the same comment above concerning the placebo effect.

Since this is the first time I have tried this, I will continue to try it and take it on the course and see how it works. Thanks again for the tip.

[Captain Joesterio]

I am that member that SpringBok was talking about.  I did hit the ball very well, kind of reminded me when i could hit the ball somewhat consistently.   

Its such a simple tip, but it works so very well. 

Golf is such a stupid game....the smallest thing works wonders.   

[Backspin9]

This is a great tip and I'll give it a try.

My whole season has been inconsistent.  I am firmly convinced it's from playing golf swing and not golf.  Maybe this will help.  Just focus and swing the club.  Hit the freakin' ball.  A novel concept.

[Jaylasvegas]

great advice, I have always picked a dimple on the ball to concentrate on and it works awesome

[idiotbox]

great advice, I have always picked a dimple on the ball to concentrate on and it works awesome

That is what I started to do to get in the habit of not picking up the ball and sitting it up perfect.

[SC Golfer]

I have had my best putting rounds when I concetrate on a blade of grass or brown spot just behind the ball.  I never thought about it on regular shots.

Thanks for the heads up.

[kiwi]

I tried this today when I'm putting. I tended to smash every putt past the hole 4 feet. Every other shot it worked great. But then again my putting has needed work for years.

[Boomchoo]

This tip helped my chipping tremendously. Thank you for sharing.

Mike

[Springbok]

I wanted to add to this tip.

Over the past week, I have been experimenting quite a bit with it. I have always been a low ball hitter, since I grew up playing in wind. I use a 12* driver, and still hit it lower than any person I play with. I found that by putting my driver 5 or 6" behind the ball, and picking a blade of grass 4" behind it, I now can hit my driver on the upswing, and much higher. 2nd, with irons, if I want to hit them lower, I pick a blade of grass just ahead of the ball.

[tedwood]

Hi im new here but this is a really good post and if the quality of posts is this much on the forum. I might hang around a some more
Will be trying this out tonight

[Springbok]

Welcome Ted. I hope you meant to say "good" and not "goof". Hope it works for you.

[tedwood]

oops sorry yes been edited. Maybe i should check on my spelling before i focus on that blade of grass