We’ve all the seen the long accurate drives of Tiger Woods. The ball flies through the air and lands in the middle of the fairway, 300 yards away.

The green-eyed monster of envy consumes us as we wonder if we could ever hope to drive like that. Fortunately, long drives are not the be-all-end-all game of golf.

Enter the short game. Without good short game skills, all the long drives are for naught.

The short game is those shots that get us onto the green from about one hundred feet out, be it from the fairway, a bunker, the rough or a drop zone and includes chips, sand shots and pitches.

This is where your higher numbered clubs would be used, as well as your pitching iron, sand wedge or lob wedge.

Most golf courses have practice areas as well as a driving range. Spend some time working on hitting your ball onto the green from different distances. Aim for a ten-foot circle in the center of the green at first. Experiment using your wedges; what works for someone else, might not work for you and your particular swing.

After you get accustomed to doing this drill consistently, it’s time to spend some time in a sand trap. Knowing how to get the ball out of a trap will cut your score.

Plant your feet firmly into the sand, with your left foot turned toward the hole. Imagine a 4-inch circle around the ball and try to hit the edge of the circle that is away from the ball.

Take lots of sand with your ball and swing completely. Don’t decelerate at all when or after you hit the ball. It should pop up onto the green and stop. This doesn’t work unless the sand is very soft and powdery. On hard surfaces, you might need to avoid actually hitting the sand.

As in all aspects of the game, only practice will help you to improve.

Pirates-Of-The-Green

The long game refers to your drives (shots off the tee) and fairway shots; everything short of the shots
you make to get onto the green.

Each hole has a different difficulty level, different par and distinctive hazards, so instructing you to use
your Driver on every tee would be blatantly wrong.

This is something you will learn over time as you learn the various shots you make according to the club, the placement of the ball and your personal swing.

Generally speaking, the lower the club number, the longer and lower your ball will go. A 4-iron shot will
travel long and low and will most likely roll, whereas a 9-iron shot will have much more loft and go less
distance both in the air and on the ground.

The professionals on television make it look so easy, they consistently hit the ball long and straight and never miss-hit the ball making it dribble ten feet, or completely miss the ball.

Driving is very important to the game, and many hours spent at the driving range will help improve your
distance. Experiment with the same club to see what works for you if you move the ball forward or backward in your stance. Take a lesson, if possible, and learn
the proper swing from the beginning.

Mastering the long game helps you get to the green in fewer strokes, keeping your score and frustration
level down. Remember that it takes a long time to learn consistency and remember to have fun!

Pirates Of The Green

Proper stance and posture in golf is extremely important, not only in the mechanics of the game but to protect you from injury. Posture is defined in the Golf Biodynamics Manual, (Check 1999) as “the position from which movement begins and ends”. Correct posture also reduces golfing injuries, promotes the ability to actually strike the ball, and enhances your power and stability. Anyone can work on achieving a correct posture; you don’t need to be a top athlete, or even a top golfer, but your golfing game will improve a great deal if you start with the correct posture and stance.

Good posture is where your shoulders are directly above your feet, and your head and spine are aligned. Your arms should be rotated outwards to keep shoulders and head back. You should not be standing with your back hunched over because this is what allows your head and shoulders to come too far forward. You can check that your spine is correctly straight by touching your golf club to it. Both butt and upper back should be touching the club.

The correct stance is one in which your heels are about the same width apart as your shoulders. Keeping your back straight, bend from the hips and let your hands hang down. Keep the ball in the bottom half of your vision to stop your chin from tucking in too far. Your knees should be slightly bent. Try and keep your body free from tension. If your muscles are tense, you could well suffer an injury that may take weeks to recover from. Many back and shoulder injuries come from poor posture and stance.

If you are right-handed, your right side should tilt slightly further down than your left, but your weight should be evenly distributed on, and more to the front of your feet. Your left foot should be flared about 20 degrees if you are a right-handed player. If you have good flexibility, you may also want to flare your right foot. You should practice all this in front of the mirror until it becomes automatic. Once you have achieved the correct posture and stance, the accuracy of your actual golf swing will be greatly enhanced.

When using a driver your feet should be slightly wider, with the inside of them in line with the outside of your shoulders. A good rule to remember is that the shorter the club you use, the less width there should be in your stance.

Pirates Of The Green

Playing golf should be an enjoyable experience, so if you find yourself losing your temper when you make a bad shot, what can you do about it? One thing that might help is to practice acceptance.

The first thing you need to accept is your own limitations. All players vary in their playing ability and this is not always due to experience. Physical ability has a lot to do with it. If you suffer from arthritis it will affect your game, no matter if you have the best teachers. If your body is simply not flexible enough for a good swing, it will affect your game. Find out what you can do about this – if anything - and do it. For instance, if you are simply not very limber, take off-course lessons in exercises and stretches to make you more fit. Your golf game will improve and your temper will have less reason to spark up.

Accept the game. A perfect game of golf is rarely if ever played by anyone. Even the pros have bad golf days. Why should yours be any different? Accept that bad shot as a challenge and concentrate on what you will do about recovering instead of wasting energy jumping up and down and shouting. It’s much smarter to get that ball back into play as quickly as possible. Once you’ve done that congratulate yourself on meeting the challenge.

Work out a game plan before you arrive at the course and stick to it. Decide you will choose a safer shot and use an easier club to manage it. This may take a bit of discipline, but you’ll thank yourself in the long run. Remember high blood pressure is a killer!

Accept the bad, but focus on the good. When you make a bad shot, immediately tell yourself what you liked about that good shot you played just before it. Say it out loud to trick your subconscious mind into feeling pleased. In your mind’s eye, see your ball rolling straight down the center of the green and into the hole. If it doesn’t happen, shrug and tell yourself it will next time.

Forget about being embarrassed at bad play. Heck, who’s perfect? Not you and certainly not your golfing friends. Remember that negative emotions make you tense and tension is likely to spoil your game and could even cause injury, so do yourself a favour and lighten up.

Breathe deeply and enjoy the day apart from the golf. Feel the wind in your hair, the sun on your face, listen to the birdsong, and breathe in the aroma of the green. It’s all great - enjoy it.