Tips For Your Golf Game

by Dan Rozek, PGA Teaching Professional @ Fox Creek Golf Club

Too many times we watch students practice without having a sense of their target. They are simply hitting balls aimlessly on the range and being frustrated by the flight of the ball . Golf is a target oriented sport and our practice needs to be oriented around our targets.

Alignment aids such as clubs, or sticks on the ground can be extremely helpful in positioning our bodies parallel to our target. When we are not properly aligned we have to make compensations in our swing path in order to manipulate the club to make contact with the ball. These manipulations often times are difficult to repeat and will have to change with each swing if our alignment is not consistent.

Have one of the PGA Teaching Professionals at Fox Creek, or Legacy further explain the importance of correct alignment in order to help you build a more consistent swing.

Receive 20% off a lesson when you mention this article.

by Dan Rozek, PGA Teaching Professional @ Fox Creek Golf Club

Ever feel that on the range you seem to hit the ball quite well, but can’t take those shots to the course? Of course, most of us experience this. One reason can be the way we tend to practice on the range. For most of us after we warm up, we tend to hit a series of shots with each of our clubs. After hitting 5 to 10 shots with our low irons, we begin to move up the bag to our driver and then back down with the few remaining balls.

Next time you practice try this. After warming up, simulate a round of golf. Envision your favorite golf course in your mind and play each hole. Hit the club you would normally play off the 1st tee keeping in mind the conditions on the range that day (wind direction, temperature, ect…). After your drive, play the next shot based on how your drive would have turned out. If your second shot would have hit the green, move to the 2nd hole. If not, hit the appropriate pitch or chip shot to the 1st green. Play 9 or 18 holes in your mind. After “the round,” go back and work on the shots that gave you the most problem.

By practicing in this manner, you can work through your set and get into the rhythm you will need and use on the course. Rarely do we hit the same club twice in a row on the golf course. By changing clubs with each shot, you will simulate your round and begin to be able to take your game from the range to the course.

by Dan Rozek, PGA Teaching Professional @ Fox Creek Golf Club

It has been said that putting is ½ the game. And that is basically true. Yet when you observe most golfers, they are far more concerned with practicing and taking lessons on the full swing. The average golfer could benefit greatly from working on their short game: putting, chipping and pitching to lower their scores. Sure we all want to hit it further and straighter and that is important, but we must learn to have the touch for the short game to score better.

Dr. Bob Rotella, a sports psychologist who works with many PGA Tour Professionals, says that when practicing, “you should hit twice as many wedges as you do drivers, and twice as many putts as you do wedges”. How many times have we hit two good shots and are just off the green only to make a score of bogey or worse, thus negating those great shots? Focus your practice on the short game to improve your scores.

Mention this article and receive 20% off a short game lesson.