1) Move ball position back 1-2 balls

2) Hands slightly forward

3) Weight slightly on left side

4) Swing smoothly

5) Take more club

Technique (From 10 yds, with medium lip (4-5ft)):

-Weight 80% on left side; but torso back (i.e. shoulders parallel), keeps hands behind ball

-Hands back; handle at belt buckle

-Ball off instep

-Club 3 inches behind ball

-Open stance ~ 10-45 degrees, open grip to compensate

-Firm grip (usual length)

-Practice swing above ball, with acceleration!

-Settle well into sand /stance (important: lowers club head below ball)

-Hinge club: point butt of handle at sand

-No sway whatsoever!

-Stay connected

-Thump sand

-Follow through with acceleration! Face the target, and hands towards target about head high

“Hinge and Turn”

3/30/12 – six (6) straight out of bunker onto green, holed one (1).

4/6/12 – more than ten (10) straight out of bunker, but then started leaving everything in. Need consistency!!
Have been using even weight distribution to this point. Try weight 80% on left side (minimize swaying) –> works!

9. Learn course management

8. Practice your mental game

7. Learn to hit your 150 yard club consistently

6.  Hit your driver sparingly – not on every par 4

5.  Take individual lessons with a PGA pro

4. Move up one set of tees temporarily

3. Take one more club than you think you need on approach shots

2. Know your club yardages

1. Use a GPS unit or rangefinder

Setup:

-Ball off left heel

-1/3 of ball above top of driver

-Clubhead in middle of stance (let arms hang, bend from hip, feel solid stance)

-With driver soled, tip of driver in line with ball

-Eyes on back of ball (not clubhead), focus out on target

-Regular swing (grip, turn, hip bump, stay connected, release)

-Accelerate through impact (feel whoosh at bottom of arc during practice swing)

2 pars on front 9, 3 pars on back 9.

Ball striking very solid; staying connected.
Putting needs improvement (several a few inches short); accelerate thru.
Sand shots need practice (1 in and 1 short); get 60 degree wedge.
6 iron very solid; 4 hybrid pulling, so practice unused 5 iron.

Broke 90, Scorecard Part 1

Broke 90, Scorecard Part 2

My problem has been 50 yds and in. I tend to always hit sand wedge, which often comes up short, hit fat, or bladed. Practiced with 8 iron today, what a revelation! So much easier to hit solid…plus the margin of error on mishits is huge…instead of laying sod on the ball, a mishit has a different trajectory but goes almost the same distance.

Here are my “owned” short game shots as of today:

Pitching wedge: full swing, 110 yd
Sand wedge: full swing, 75 yd
Sand wedge: 9 to 3 swing, 50 yd carry, no rollout
8 iron: 9 to 3 swing, 50 yd carry, 25 yd rollout
8 iron: 8 to 4 swing, 30 yd carry, 20 yd rollout

Regards,

NG

I was focused on club low on the takeaway, turn with chest in place, hip slide to start the downswing, AND head down till after impact.

If I get eager to look I will lift the head early, leading to a thin shot left or right. Keeping the head down till after the thwack of impact results in much better shots.

Regards,
NG

Hit the first couple of shots with my 4 hybrid, these started left and stayed straight left. See the front part of the accumulated divot pattern in the photo.

This made realize that I was making my common miss of swaying and not getting my weight back forward, releasing my hands quickly through the hitting area to compensate.

After practicing my turn a bit, I hit several solid shots in a row, see the back of the divot pattern in the photo. Perfectly square to target.

Hitting off grass is clearly valuable for giving feedback on our misses…

Regards,
NG