“Success is where preparation and opportunity meet.”- Bobby Unser
As the famous phrase goes “April showers bring May flowers”, Mother Nature has been challenging us with wet days and finally having the grass and flowers showcase their true colors. As the golfing world got overcome with the excitement of the best in the world taking aim at the iconic island green at TPC Sawgrass, May brings the full swing of summer golf season. As amateurs look to conquer their local courses, I still find too much fascination in the long game and not enough practice down around the greens. As fun as it might be to open up the clubface to the sky, and holler “watch this” to your playing companions, it is not worth it to put down an eight on the scorecard.
So for added consistency around the greens the hands, arms, and body need to work together as unit to produce more frequent distances. To help accomplish this proper body connection, in my instructional sessions we visualize our hands as if they are locked into a clothes hanger. The more we can focus our torso being the leading engine on body rotation, with our torso improving its ab ability to turn around the left leg. The more we can take the hands out of the motion the better. Try to eliminate any wrist hinge within the backswing, to help produce a more consistent pitch motion. The more a player can recreate an action the more comfort one will have in need for recovery.
With improved fundamentals, the next step is to gain added distance control. The majority of missed greens will result in a recovery shot between 15 and 25 yards. The biggest mistake I see players make is practicing too much around the collar of the green. This is a shot that will happen much less while on the course as well as could be better recovered with the putter. While upgrading your practice, focus on having full rotation with your torso. The more the clubface, arms, and chest can be together while finishing the better. The key is trusting that the natural loft of the club will send the ball the desired distance, not the change of movement with your hands. This way you can have more “up and downs” during your next rounds, rather than “mega flops” that don’t get out of your shadow.