Find More Fairways With These Great Golf Tips
For many of us, it's getting to that time of year when our focus turns to getting our golf game ready for next season and, if you're anything like the avid golfers here at Hole19 HQ, you'll place a premium on practice that helps you find more fairways and save shots from the tee-box.
If wayward tee shots plague your game then you're never going to hit your true potential or that next golfing milestone. With that in mind, and to help guide your off-season practice, we have gathered together a list of great golf tips and drills. Check them out below.
Have a 'go-to' shot from the tee
No matter what you may be working at on the range if it's not ready to go by the time you play your next competitive round, stick to a shot shape you can more reliably pull off.
If your go-to tee shot is let it rip and aim down the middle, that's not a good play. The better players have go-to shots off the tee and even with their driver – or a secondary club – they have a go-to curve. Check out Eric Cogorno's video on this topic below...
Know when to keep the driver in the bag
We know how tempting it can be to hit the big stick (especially if you've got one eye on keeping up with your playing partners), but the smarter golfer will choose the right moment to reach for less club.
Whether it be a shorter hole where a long iron will still leave a comfortable full shot in, or on a hole where deploying the driver would bring nasty trouble into play, reaching for one of your woods, a hybrid or a long iron will put you in better shape.
If you decide to reach for a long iron here are a few tips to ensure you pure them every time.
Position yourself correctly on the tee-box
You should use the full width of the tee-box to help you select a favourable tee position and one that best suits your own shot shape.
Not only will you give yourself the best angle to find the fairway but positioning correctly can help you take trouble out of the equation and you'll be giving yourself the best possible chance of an unimpeded second shot.
Visualisation is key
If you don't visualise your golf shot, how can you tell whether you've hit a good one or not? It's an interesting question and, in fact, you'll find plenty of examples of elite sports stars who swear by the power of visualisation.
Stand behind your ball and pick a specific target in the distance before imagining yourself pulling off the perfect shot in your mind. Of course, in this case we are considering ways for you to find more fairways, but it can be just as readily employed in your short game and on the greens.
Mark Crossfield tackles the issue of shot visualisation below.
Don't get lazy with your ball position (and alignment)
If you're thinking of too many things on the tee-box, this may have the knock-on effect of you forgetting the stuff you thought you had down.
Incorrect ball position particularly can lead to some pretty poor results as our bodies compensate on the way back down into impact. Check out the pros as they practice before a round and almost without exception, they will be working on the likes of ball position and alignment.
If the world's best need to put work into locking it in, so do we amateurs.
Grip down for more control
On a hole where accuracy from the tee is imperative, you can gain more club face control by gripping down the shaft.
You'll feel immediately more confident of a good outcome, and if you do miss the fairway, the result will likely land you in a better spot than if you took your standard grip position.
Here's 2018 Open Champion Francesco Molinari to give you some further 'meat on the bone' on these last three tips.
Here's hoping you've managed to find some veritable 'golden nuggets' within these golf tips and that they will help you keep the ball in the short stuff on a more regular basis.
When you start hitting more fairways you'll be closer to hitting your true potential. Join Hole19 FREE today by clicking your iOS or Android button below and let us guide you along the way. You can also learn more about the game-enhancing benefits of Hole19 Premium.
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