Here’s a quick tip on playing a wedge shot. I thought about this because a friend of mine use to do this time after time. Sometimes a good golf tip tells you what not to do.
Never whip the club just before it hits the ball to gain more power.
Simple but this might be something you do? The idea is to use a smooth, firm, even stroke.
In a good golf stance when preparing to swing, your feet have to support your upper body. Then, once the golf club, your arms and your body get moving in the downswing, considerable force is created and your foundation has to support that force.
The feet should be just slightly further apart than shoulder width as picture #16 shows. This distance has to be far enough apart so that you maintain a solid base.
As your golf club starts to build up speed, your the left hip will make the first move down the target line before it actually turns backward. If your stance is correct, the width of the stance will hold up with no problem.
If you find yourself losing your balance, your stance might be to narrow, as shown in #15.
In a proper stance, your weight is evenly distributed between your toes and heels.
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Break it down. On the average golf course you will hit your driver 14 or 15 times. You are going to use your putter for probably 30 – 40 putts, hopefully on the lower side.
What’s that tell you?
Yep. You can drastically slash your golf score by improving your putt. What if you can get your number of putts down to the 30 area?
Chart it next time you play. Count the number of putts you take. Mark it down hole by hole and see how many times you three putted. Hopefully no more than 3 times on any hole.
Now, if you simply 2 putted every green, how would that affect your score?
The greens have always been the place where strokes are reduced or lost.
Do you see the importance of practicing your putting?
Here’s a golf secret. If you want to improve your golf score, you have to practice. I know that really isn’t a secret but sometimes you wonder.
And don’t limit yourself to practicing drives. I go to a golf range and people are swinging as hard as they can with a driver to see how far they can hit the ball. I’m seldom seeing long or short irons coming into play. Just clobber it and, when it occasionally goes straight and far, a big smile appears.
That’s fine once in awhile. We need to remember this is a game and it’s important to have fun. But if you are trying to cut strokes, that won’t do it.
Not only that, but make sure you get to the golf course early before you start your round and practice your shots. And don’t forget putting.
The goal is to loosen your muscles and get your confidence up. Even if you don’t have time for driving, hit some short irons and putt.
If you take more than one shot to get out of a sand trap or any other hazard, you are simply taking too many shots and your score will suffer.
With the wedges that are available, there is no reason you should be playing in the sand.
You are going to need to practice this shot the same way you practice your other shots. That will give you the confidence. But you need to simply get out of the trap, even if you haven’t mastered the shot.
What I mean is you hit your first shot off the tee into a sand trap. You have 150 yards to go to get to the green. What happens now is the weekend golfer makes every attempt to hit the green from the trap, which oftentimes results in not getting out in the first place.
Get out first and do it with 1 shot! Once you practice and master the shot, you may be able to try to hit it down the fairway. Until you do, just get out! If you don’t, your score will skyrocket.
You can drastically reduce your golf score if you learn to putt properly. One of the most important tips I can give you is to relax while putting.
Yes, this goes for all shots but I want to emphasize it when it comes to putting.
We have all blown a putt at one time or another due to lack of confidence. Put your hand down. We all have. 
Follow this tip and it should help you relax. Line up your putt with consideration as to what line the ball is going to follow. Now put everything else out of your mind. Concentrate on stroking the ball.
Don’t worry about the contour of the green after you have lined up your putt. You figure that out when setting it up.
Don’t punch the ball. The follow through is just as important here as it is when hitting a drive or fairway shot. Follow the putter head through on the same line the ball has to follow.
Your swing needs to have some snap in it and palming the club, or gripping it tightly, is not going to allow you to get that snap.
Don’t palm the club!
Hold the handle as much in and with the fingers as possible. The idea is to get the feel of the club in the fingers of each hand. The golf club should not be held in the way you would hold a baseball bat.
Now your grip needs to be firm, but your fingers are going to hold and control the club throughout the swing.
In the short game you need a fine touch and a sense of feel. This is not going to happen when your palm is controlling your club. It just won’t.
Once you get this aspect down, you’ll walk up to your short approach shot and know you are going to drop the ball near the pin.
The bigger the loft of an iron, the more chance you have for a crooked shot.
Practice some short chips from around 5 feet. Use both an 8 iron and a 5 iron; or similar. Those are 2 of my favorites.
Hit about 5 practice shots with each and the chances are you will find that you get more accuracy when the face of the club is straighter.
Let’s go further. You are about 150 yards from the green. Golf instruction books probably tell you to use a five iron. Well, that may work for you. But what if you took out a four iron and swung it with less effort. Would that work out better for you?
Try it and decide for yourself.
To improve your golf score, decide you are going to place more emphasis on accuracy as opposed to distance. You don’t want to over swing trying to reach the green or clear a hazard.
In other words, you will begin to know about how long your shots are. When you face a water hazard and your normal swing is likely to not clear it, don’t force it. Play a shorter shot to set you up to clear it with your next swing.
Use a club you are most accurate with for narrow fairways. If you get a long drive but end up in the rough, the chances are your next shot is not going to be easy and likely will be a short one. Two nice straight shots will usually put you in better position and further down the fairway than a long drive into the rough and a shot out of it.
Play within yourself and you will be amazed how much better you become.
Golf is not that complicated of a game. The key is to play in a relaxed manner. Not sloppy – but relaxed.
You begin to relax more when you learn the fundamentals and feel confident in your swing and overall game. That comes from practice. Once you feel comfortable with your golf swing or your putting, you stop tensing up and things begin to go naturally.
It all begins with placing your feet naturally. They should be wide enough apart to have a strong foundation. You will bring your feet closer together for a shorter swing and up to shoulder width apart for wood shots or longer irons.
Again, playing relaxed does not mean playing sloppy. Concentrate on what you are doing for efficiency, but don’t tense up. If your muscles are tight, you will never master golf.
