Swing Solutions

We all want to drive for more distance. Unfortunately golf is not our day job. As a recreational golfer you should accept the fact that you are not hitting thousands of golf balls every week like the pros.  Why try to hit a ball 325 yards like Dustin Johnson? Be realistic about the priorities for your game.  Shorter hits with fewer mishits will lower your score every day.

In this Swing Tip I’m comparing the comments of Hank Haney and Colin Montgomery.

Hank encourages us to swing faster and Colin never encourages amateurs to swing faster. We all play golf at different levels but recreational golfers have different goals than the pros. The pros play a game of distance and precision but we should strive for a game of consistency.

The pros have built their bodies to be hitting machines and their brains to be in a trance for every perfect swing. We recreational golfers rush from our busy lives, warm up on the range, putt a few balls and then rush to the first tee to share good times with our friends. Then the crisis begins. We seem to transform into strange beings (like the Incredible Hulk) when we step up to the ball. Our muscles tighten, our focus sharpens and our minds try to let loose a John Daly swing as our ball spins out of control into Never-Never-Land.

Ultimately the best solution is to let your club do the work as your hips shift then your shoulders, arms and wrists release through the ball to a balanced finish. If you can’t swing to a balanced finish, you are swinging too hard. You need to swing with a tension free rhythm as you let your club whip through impact with the ball.

I wanted to share a Golf Channel lesson by World Golf Hall of Famer, Colin Montgomerie, with his best advice for amateurs to hit better drives. He said: “Have I ever told an amateur to quicken up his swing? Never! I’ve only told an amateur to slow down. A slow swing with a driver is a good one. A fast swing is all over the place.” He continues by explaining that you just swing through the ball. You need a full follow through and a balanced finish. Avoid putting all of your energy into the down swing. It only creates inconsistency in your swing. The power comes from the whip of your wrists at the bottom of your swing.

Hank Haney is now promoting a product which helps you learn to swing faster. It actually helps you learn to whip the club with your wrist at the bottom of the swing. Your arms don’t really have to move any faster. Just relax your muscles and loosen your grip. All of the club head speed comes from your wrists releasing the weight of the club at the bottom of your swing.

Practices by letting your club do the work. Use GOLFSTR+ to remind you to keep your leading arm straight during the backswing and downswing with a reasonable pass. Let your wrist do the real work to create the whooshing noise as your club crushes the ball.  GOLFSTR+ is a great Christmas gift for any golfer.  It give them 6 training aids in 1 Gift Pack.  Buy some today: www.golfstr.com

You may have seen this offer in GOLF TIPS MAGAZINE:

Hitting a shot fat or thin is one of the worst feelings in golf. You know that you can make the shot but your body tenses up at times and you chunk the shot 5 feet or you blade it 30 feet over the green. Why is this happening when you feel so confident and you know that you can easily make the shot?

You may want to break your club in half after missing such an easy shot but choking down on a lower loft club is a much better idea. Hank Haney recently pointed out that choking down on a club will rob you of distance but he also pointed out that it will give you more accuracy and consistency.

 

If you are trying to run your shot up on a green because there are no traps in the way, a great plan is to choose a less lofted club and CHOKE DOWN ON IT. Directional accuracy and the feel for distance are so important when you want to get your shot close to the pin especially if you are under pressure and you want to avoid a chunked shot. A sweeping swing (like a putting swing) definitely gives you more control of your club for consistent impact with your ball. Keep your leading wrist flat and your leading elbow straight. Focus on distance and hitting the ball in the center of your club face.

 

Set Your Plan
1/ Use different clubs from your hybrid to your putter to learn your comfort level with each club.
2/ Sort out the clubs you like for chipping and hone in on 2 or 3 clubs where you feel you have your best control.
3/ Don’t forget to choke down on your longer clubs when you use them like a putter.
4/ You have to learn how much lift and run each of your favorite chipping clubs will give you.
5/ Practice with GOLFSTR+ to keep your leading wrist flat when hitting over short cut grass for hits up to 30 yards.
6/ For every shot you are faced with height, slope and surface changes (that will kick you ball one way or another), practice with your favorite chipping clubs to know what to expect.

GOLFSTR+ is a great Christmas Gift for any golfer. It gives them 6 Swing Fixes in 1 Training Aid.  Now being shipped in a gift pack for all purchases through the end of 2016. Buy one today at www.golfstr.com

Have you ever mishit a shot and instantly said to yourself that you should’a, would’a, could’a? Golf is a thinking person’s game. If you have played golf for any length of time, you will know exactly what you should have done to create the perfect shot. Wouldn’t it be better to have thought out the shot that you wanted and committed to a setup and swing thought to make it happen?

Hank Haney said that every pro has a swing thought based on his or her big miss. They know what they are trying to correct for any wind condition, pitch, draw or fade that they are trying to achieve.

You can’t play this game well without thinking through the shot, deciding on your landing position, deciding on the direction of your backswing and the execution of your down and follow through. Don’t listen to the CRAZIES who tell you to block out all thoughts and just swing. You really should take a practice swing to feel the shot that you are about to take. Then you can relax your body and mind and hit the shot that you want.

Examples of the Thought Process for Each Type of Swing

1/ Driving off the Flat of the Tee Box: You know if your natural swing creates a draw or a fade. Determine your landing area and then setup to create your normal swing with a controlled backswing and follow-through to launch your ball for distance.

2/ Fairway Shots: Know your distance, choose your club depending on the wind and then sort out your swing and grip based on the flat or the slope or side tilt of the ground where you are standing. Your setup to compensate for the resulting direction of the ball is key for your success. Even more important is the adjustment that you make with your grip (up or down on your club to compensate for ground height) and the position of the ball in your stance for a clean hit off the imperfect surface.

3/ Hitting out of the Rough: If your ball is lying down in the rough you have no choice but to accept that fact that you are going to “take your medicine”. You should choose and iron to get out of the rough and back on the fairway. Forget making it to the green with a once in a lifetime shot. Make sure that you land your ball in a location where you can make the perfect shot to land your following shot close to the pin. Hank Haney advises that you open your stance, position the ball a bit forward of center in your stance and swing with a more downward direction for a “cut shot”. Minimize the amount of grass that you hit before connecting with the ball by cutting down and through the ball. It won’t fly as far but it can get you out of trouble.
Note: Hitting a draw shot out of the rough is very difficult as it required that you place the ball back in your stance and swing from the inside to out. You are bound to hit some tall grass before the ball and spoil your shot. Don’t try for the miracle shot. Take your medicine and get out of the rough.

4/ Short Grass Putting Stroke: When you are within 30 yards of the hole, with a lie in short grass and no hazards in front of you, use any club that you feel comfortable with and putt it. Yes, use a putting stroke with a locked leading wrist to avoid fat or thin hits.  Just swing like a pendulum with a fixed distance from your shoulders to the ball. There is no need to cock your wrists in the back swing. Just learn to hit with any club to gain confidence in the distance that you will hit through the air and the distance in roll out on the green.

Practice each of these shots and learn the right technique with GOLFSTR+ for drives, chipping, putting, pitching and lag training for more power. A great Christmas Gift for any golfer, delivered now through the end of 2016 in a gift pack. Buy one today at www.golfstr.com

If you are working on more distance, but your scores are going up, you may want to change your strategy to hitting more fairways and greens. I was surprised to see a great article by Peter Sanders recently in a GOLFWRX Blog that attempted to explain Jordan Spieth’s recent lack of success in winning the Tour Championship. After a very successful 2015, Jordan declared that he wanted to get more distance out of his drives in 2016. This turned out to be a problem for him and may be a much bigger problem for you.

 

This is a YouTube video of Jordon Spieth during 2015 when he rose to the Number 1 Golf Ranking in the World.  Control of his drives turned out to be a primary contributor to his success. 

In 2016 he is averaging longer drives but it is not paying off.

Jordan’s average driving distance increased in 2016 but his consistency and accuracy dropped. Sanders summarized how Jordan was 12 strokes off the lead in the FedEx Tour Championship. His drives were putting him in more problem areas so he lost strokes to the leaders in his Approach to the Green and Around the Green. His drives in 2016 were averaging 299 yards (17 yards further than in 2015) but his accuracy for fairways hit dropped from 64% to 50%.

If you are hitting your drives further but they are landing in the rough, on uneven ground or behind low hanging limbs you have to scramble to hit the green on your next shot. Hitting longer drives, especially for the recreational golfer, is not the best solution to lower your scores.

NOTE: Recently the Long Drive Championships were shown on the Golf Channel. Most of the contestants missed the fairway in about 75% of their attempts. Now you can understand why these guys are not on the pro circuit. In the game of golf long bombs in the rough will kill your game. The harder you swing the higher the odds are that you will be playing your next shot from the rough.

Strategic Golf Will Cut 10 or more strokes Off Your Game
1/ Determine the swing speed for your driver which will allow you to finish in balance and holding your finish to watch your ball flight.
2/ Focus on a driver swing to LAUNCH your ball with a consistent controlled draw or fade by hitting in the upper center of the face of your club. Think of Dustin Johnson’s power when he unloads and launches his club from the inside to outside but limit your power to land it in the fairway.
3/ Hitting short of a hazard or sand trap is a safe option if you want to cut strokes. Reduce the risk and lower your score.
4/ When you are within 30 yards of the hole in the fairway or short rough, practice pitching or chipping using your clubs like a putting swing (with your shoulders and not your wrists) to get within 1 putt of the hole.

Are you breaking 90 on every round of golf? Use these tips to play bogey golf along with some pars to shoot in the 80’s. Breaking 100 is nice, breaking 90 is fun and breaking 80 is the wonderful feeling that we all strive for.

For every swing in your game you may need help to Swing Like a Pro.  Buy a GOLFSTR+ for 6 swing solutions at www.golfstr.com

The following article was published in September 2016,

EDITOR’S PICKS, by Vic Williams  GOLF TIPS MAGAZINE:

“Bill Curry had had enough. Three decades of marginal golf had seeped into his soul and threatened his love for the game, so he got a lesson and discovered the biggest bugaboo in his swing: A bent left arm going back, which robbed him of power and caused a decided out-to-in motion. Simple, right? And common, too. But discovery and maintenance are two different things. Curry couldn’t cure that swing fault on his own so he set out to design a training aid that would remind him to keep his leading arm straight and knock strokes off his card.

Three years later he had GOLFSTR — a small, curved, clear plastic device with one end bent at a roughly 30 degree angle. By strapping it to his lower forearm with the bent end pushing against his upper bicep, he got immediate feedback when the arm broke down. The improvement was immediate and gratifying.

But that’s not the end of the story. Once Curry put GOLFSTR into production and showed it to a few teaching pros, they almost immediately came up with five more swing-straightening functions, simply by switching arms, changing positions on either arm and altering the direction of the bent end inward or outward. For instance, by moving GOLFSTR to the trailing bicep and placing the end just below the elbow, you’ll achieve a perfect 90-degree “lag” angle going back. Move it further down the same arm and the bent end will prevent too much wrist break during full shot and chip shot takeaway, while the same set-up on the leading arm (with the end bent outward instead of inward) will prevent that nasty “flip” in the chip or pitch follow-through — with the same stable-wrist effect for putting practice, too.

Our favorite is the 90-degree lag set-up (#6 in the image), but testing found us strike the ball with more accuracy and consistency through the bag. And we love the fact that it’ll fit in a trouser pocket, and that it comes with a removable and versatile rubber tip that helps solidify contact between gadget and arm or wrist. Now GOLFSTR has attracted the notice of some big-name teachers, and rightly so. It’s a winner.”

Post Script:   GOLF TIPS MAGAZINE is a great one for you to consider a subscription as it really does give you a lot of great tips.

GOLFSTR+ is a great Christmas present @ $29.99 for every golfer on your list.  With 6 swing fixes, every golfer needs one.   From now until the end of 2016 every order for 2 or more GOLFSTR Training Aids will be sent in Retail Packs.  Email sales@golfstr.com for discounts of up to 40% for orders of up to 8 of these amazing training aids.    Buy now at  www.golfstr.com

Do you ever wonder why Hank Haney releases so many swing blogs telling us to swing faster not harder? This is really confusing. Sean Foley is another pro with a better description to get more distance: “Increase your club head speed” (using lag and delayed release). For most recreational golfers the John Daly approach to “grip it and rip it”, just does not work. To swing SMARTER for more power and distance, you have to let your hips BUMP forward to start your downswing as you hold your wrist lag.

So many golfers don’t understand the importance of lag or how to create lag. I’ve seen macho golfers create just as much whooshing sound in their back swing as they do in their down swing. Their high speed backswing is NOT helping. Your Hip BUMP and LAG are the keys for more power and distance during your transition.

Rhythm and Transition:
If you rush your transition at the top of your swing, your swing plane will be from “OVER THE TOP” and outside to inside causing a slice. You will also lose your timing to BUMP (or sway) your leading hips up your target line as your club head starts to change from the back to the down swing. If you don’t rush your transition you can feel your body sway slightly in the direction of the hit at thetop of your backswing. The BUMP, positions your body forward to move your swing arc forward and bottom out your fairway metals, hybrids and irons in the turf AFTER YOU HIT THE BALL.

Patrick Reed has a minimal BUMP as he starts his swing with his hips and pull down with his arms well before he releases his wrists.  (His impact at the Ryder Cup was incredible.)

Lag Trick:
Lag is your ability to hold the 90 degree angle between your leading arm and your club shaft until you release your wrists to whip your club head through impact. [That is where your SMART SWING SPEED comes from.] If you have poor flexibility and can’t hold your lag position, just loosen your trailing hand grip. (Ben Hogan practiced with a 2 fingered trailing hand grip and you should too.) When you loosen your trailing hand grip, it’s easier to pull and hold the shaft to a 90 degree bend from your straight leading arm.

Avoid Thin or Fat Hits:
To maintain a consistent distance from your neck to the ball throughout your backswing and return to the point of impact, you need to keep your leading arm straight throughout the swing. Don’t straighten your back or bob your head during the swing. During the downswing first focus on the bump and rotation of your hips, then shoulders and finally the downswing of your leading straight arm.

Crack the Whip for Club Head Speed
Don’t swing faster, swing smarter by slowing down your backswing, creating lag and releasing your wrist lag as you reach your point of impact. Yes, crack the whip. To learn this trick, turn a club upside down and hold the shaft with both hands. Try swinging it to create a whooshing sound at the bottom of your swing. To create the whoosh you need to cock your wrists (don’t bend your leading elbow) when you wind up. Now swing and practice creating the whooshing sound at the bottom of your swing.

Now hold your club correctly and swing to create the same whooshing sound with the head of your club at the bottom of your swing. You can’t create the sound without cocking your wrists and releasing them at the bottom of your swing. Your arms don’t have to move any faster but your wrist release will create the speed of your club head. That’s where your club head speed and power come from.

Practice with your GOLFSTR+ to keep your leading arm straight and to hold your lag. Swing smart for power. Buy one today at www.golfstr.com

Each of the 4 types of golf clubs that you use, require a unique swing thought to get the most out of your game. The 4 types of clubs are driver, woods & hybrids, irons and putter. Your focus word for each of these clubs in sequential order is LAUNCH, POWER, CONTROL and DISTANCE. Each of these words apply to all of your clubs but your focus should be on the most appropriate word for the club that you are using.

For all of your clubs you need the same MENTAL PREPARATION.
1/ Your next shot is the most important shot in your game. (Thanks to Ben Hogan.)
2/ Your mind needs to be calm and relaxed to put your body almost into a numb state or “the zone”.
3/ Your setup must be completed with confidence that you are aiming at your target.

Ben Hogan said that “the space between your ears is the most important 6 inches in golf”. I constantly see golf blogs that preach the swing philosophy that your mind should be blank. That’s hogwash. You need a swing thought that will make your club perform at its optimum performance.

Swing Thought for your Driver is: “LAUNCH”
When you tee up for a drive and place the ball forward in your stance (opposite your leading heel), the ball height and forward position are ideal to allow you to LAUNCH your ball as the club is rising. Ideally you want about 2,000 Revolutions Per Minute of top spin (not 4,000 RPMs as your ball will dive to the ground. Your driver only has a 9 to 12 degree face angle and you want to create a 15 degree launch angle as you impact on the rise.

 

Swing Thought for your Fairway Woods and Hybrids is: “POWER”
These clubs are not designed to dig into the turf. They are designed to use their face loft for elevation to add POWER and distance for your fairway hits. They give you the least amount of space for error in your swing. Keeping a straight leading arm during setup, throughout the back swing and your down swing are critical to avoid fat or thin shots. You can’t afford to have your head bobbing up and down. Practice with GOLFSTR+ to ensure that your distance from your shoulder to the ball is consistent.

Swing Thought for your Irons is: “CONTROL”
During the transition at the top of your swing your leading hip needs to be moving forward to ensure that the arc of your swing is moving forward so that it will bottom out in the tuff AFTER your iron impacts with the ball. Irons are meant to be swung to CONTROL the distance of the hit. You are not trying to kill the ball as you should be swinging at a comfortable pace to hit the distance that you expect from the chosen club. If you feel you need to hit an iron further then up club but never swing it faster.

Swing Thought for your Putter is: “DISTANCE”
During the setup for your putt you have already determined the break in the putt and you have chosen a direction for your putt. The only control that you have during your putting swing is DISTANCE. Use your practice swing to get the feel for the amount of swing you need to hit your ball the distance required to pass the hole by 10 to 18 inches. Take a last look for distance make sure that your ball is centered between your feet to ensure that your putter swing hits the center of the putter face on the upswing of the putter just like Rory McIlroy at the PGA Tour Tournament to take home $11.5 million.

Focus on your key words and practice with GOLFSTR+ for every swing in your game. Buy one today at www.golfstr.com

Positive Mental Attitude (PMA) is the most important support that you can take with you for any round of golf. Use your memory of great shots in the past. Knowing that you have scored well on a hole in the past will give you the PMA to repeat your performance on all 18 holes. Why not? Just dig back into the archives of your mind and feel that moment. Feel the calm and ease of the swing.  Cease the day!

Arnold Palmer once said “golf is at least 80% mental. Knowing that you have played a hole well or knowing that you have made a certain shot is a great starting point for each shot.”

Learn from your Past Mistakes and Dwell on your PMA for Successes
Dustin Johnson is the perfect example of a player who has had his share of failures down the home stretch. In the past Dustin Johnson was counting his victory before they happened. Now he takes his game one hole at a time. He avoids excitement after each success.

Dustin Johnson proved his renewed PMA at the 2016 U.S. Open, when he was advised that he may or may not be faced with a 2 stroke penalty. He ignored it, played his game and won in spite the distraction. At the BMW Championship, it was more of the same–and Johnson has now established himself as one of the strongest closers on tour. He does it by matching huge power and a single-mindedness that blocks out negative thoughts about what happened earlier in the day–or what could happen ahead.

PMA is Critical for Putting Success
The instant your putter hits the ball is the instant that you have no further control over the success of your putt. So why not put your focus on the direction of your swing and the amount of acceleration. Hitting the ball dead center on the putter face is far more beneficial than looking up and wagging your putter at the ball. Sure it’s nice to see the break if your ball misses the hole but you don’t want to distort your swing by shifting your head too early.

According to Brandel Chamblee, (Golf Channel), “Statistically, Bubba would be the worst putter on the USA Ryder Cup team. He’s almost the worst putter on the PGA Tour (ranking 165). He is the 7th ranked player in the world but he is sliding fast. Bubba Watson has lost his confidence in putting (especially 6 to 8 foot putts). He is self-taught but his PMA in putting is killing his game.

Develop Positive Mental Attitude by practicing without watching the roll of the ball. It’s not easy to make this change. You need to develop the confidence that you are making the right swing to increase your odds of sinking the putt. Start by making the perfect practice swing. Then duplicate that swing and make sure that you keep your head still for a second or two after impact. The pros do it and you should too.

Build PMA by practicing with your GOLFSTR+. You are going to love your new game. Buy one today at www.golfstr.com

How many thoughts can you focus on during the time it takes to make the perfect swing? If you don’t clear your mind with the right preparation you will set yourself up for failure. The problem is that no two shot are the same. Your brain has to be confident that you are prepared to hit the right shot with the right swing.

Mental preparation is the best solution for the perfect execution of each unique shot.  Lydia Ko walks through a check list with her caddie before she hits each shot. They plan the goal, determine the conditions and choose the shape of her shot in the preparation for her swing. Subconsciously we all need to go through the same steps to clear our minds and execute each unique 2 second swing.

1/ Before you start your round of golf you need to be in a comfortable state of mind. Slow down your pace and calm your mind. Led Zeppelin is probably not the best music to listen to on your way to the course.

2/ Stretch out your swing muscles and legs and back before you get to the practice tee. Take some moderate swings holding a few irons to get the feel for the whipping action as you release your wrists and move your body into a balance finish.

3/ Hit a variety of shots with different clubs to build confidence that your body has changed modes from sitting and standing and walking to the right swing motion. You need to turn on your “golf switch”.

4/ Sink practice putts from different distances to build confidence in your putting stroke as you swing with sufficient pace to pass the hole by 10 to 18 inches.

Dustin Johnson (BMW Championship and soon to win the FedEx Cup)  has a very fast swing which is not ideal for recreational golfers. He also bows his leading wrist at the top of the backswing (not a good idea for Rec. Golfers).  He swings from the inside to out for amazing results with a consistent swing and consistent swing thoughts.

5/ Before you select your club for each shot decide on a the right spot to land your next shot. Consider the wind, slope of the hitting & landing surface and depth of the turf to build confidence in each shot.

6/ Jason Day prepares for his shot by squinting his eyes to mentally visualize exactly where his ball will travel. He is building the feel for his shot and clearing his mind to focus only on his shot. His memory is only focused on the success of his shot as he takes his stance and relaxes his shoulders and grip.

7/ Sports psychologist Dr. Gio Valiante says, “The best thought is always somehow related to either a specific target, or visualize the shape of a specific shot to put your mind in ‘the zone’. This of course depends on the particular type of brain the individual has. Some people see targets, some people see shapes.”

8/ You have practiced the swing that allows your ball to draw or fade. Keep your mind in the zone by focusing only on the simple key for your swing. It may be tempo or the amount of shoulder rotation or creating wrist lag for a smooth transition. Valiante says: “Generally speaking anything more than two or three thoughts is too much”.

Practice with GOLFSTR+ to learn the correct position in each swing to get your mind in the zone when you take each shot. Buy one today at www.golfstr.com

Almost 90% of us are right handed, for some strange reason.  You develop manual dexterity with one hand at a very early age. Your brain controls your skill to putt a ball with better control for direction and distance with your left or right hand. You really need to discover what works best for your physical and mental make-up. It may surprise you to learn that you have better control with your left hand and a right handed golfer.

The pros are learning to test out their skills with both hands to ensure that they are getting the best result with their mind and body. This listing will give you ideas which you should to try out.

1/ Golf Digest suggests that you test your putting skills from different distances by putting 10 balls with one hand and then 10 balls with the other hand. Surprisingly your dominant hand may not be your best putting hand. After 10 putts at various distances you should be able to tell which hand gives you the best results.  Is your leading hand pulling your putter up the target line or is your trailing hand pushing your putter up the target line?

2/ On the other hand, Phil Mickelson (a lefty) is putting with his right hand high and he has changed his trailing left hand to a “claw grip” (to limit the left hand influence). Phil is actually a right handed person but he golfs with left handed golf clubs. He putts with a left handed putter but lets his right hand control his putts for direction and distance.

3/ Justin Spieth uses a right handed putter (and clubs) but he putts with his left hand low to pull his putter up his target line with the left side (the leading side) of his body.

4/ Rory McIlroy just won the 2nd leg of the final FedEx Cup series. He attributes his new success on his improved putting after switching to Henrik Stenson’s putting coach. “He’s trying to get his right side in better sync with the rest of his body.” He also said that he “moved his right hand more on top of the grip.” (*Both palms are now parallel. ) He is right handed so he now feels like he put his right side in control of his putt. His grip is conventional but I can see that he no longer shifts his body up the target line as he finishes his swing. He swings with locked wrists and rocking his shoulders but his putter now swings in the arc of a pendulum WHICH ROLLS THE BALL INSTEAD OF PUSHES THE BALL.

 

 

5/ Score Golf Magazine ran a report by Liam Mucklow, PGA of Canada Teaching Professional of the Year (The Golf Lab).  He found that “a simple way to reduce face rotation in your putting stroke is to grip the club with your hands turned out so your palms face each other. It might look and feel awkward at first, but doing so greatly reduces the ability of your wrists to rotate, which is what causes the putter head to twist. This simple grip change will help you sink more of those should-make putts.”  [It’s similar to Rory’s new grip.]

 

6/ Brittany Lang won her first major at the 2016 US Open. She said that she was working on two things with her putting: “staying down and fully committing to every putt.” Reading the putt and committing to the line was her success. She works with Dave Stockton, and he’s big on the left hand (for righties with a traditional grip) being the aim hand. So the left hand is super important to me. I like to hit practice putts left-hand-only, isolating the feeling of the left hand in control. My putting grip is left index finger over right pinkie, which gives me the feeling of the back of my left hand going to the hole. Where the left hand goes is where the ball goes.”

Putting is personal as all of these professionals are choosing their personal path. So sort out your controlling hand and let your mind depend on that hand for direction and distance. No matter what path you take you should practice with GOLFSTR+ TO LOCK YOUR LEADING WRIST. Buy one today at www.GOLFSTR.com