Correct Common Golf Problems

Here are golf's most common trouble spots and what you can do about them.

For lots of golfers putting is very difficult. You have to be so precise to drain a long putt, a small mistake in this area of the game can really add to your score. If you want to become a better putter, just follow the tips below you will be making birdies in no time.

Read the green

• Reading the green is one of the most difficult skills to learn. If the greens were perfectly flat, putting would be a whole lot easier. But that is not the case. Greens have many peaks and dips, which make putting difficult. You really have to get down and focus on reading the texture of the green. Until you know how to do this really well, it does not matter how good your stroke is or how good of a putter you think you are, you will not put the ball in the hole!

• Be smooth. Often, a lot of people get over anxious when putting just because they are so close to putting the ball in the hole or because there are a lot of people watching them. Be smooth, and just relax. If you stiffen up like a robot and rush, you will be making bogeys all day. But if you just chill out, do your normal pre-putt routine, read the green, take your time, and make a nice putt, birdies and eagles will be the norm for you.

• A lot of people try to rush when they are on the green. They think that if they do not go fast, they will be inconveniencing the other golfers in their group. The fact is, though, it takes time to setup a good putt. Why do you think it takes a pros on the PGA Tour so long to make a really good putt. They have to plan, they have to read the green, and then they revise their plan, then reread the green again. You only get one shot at making a good first putt, so take your time and make sure you are right.

• For a lot of putting problems, it is difficult for you to fix the problems all by yourself. It usually takes a golf pro or a friend with some golf skill to walk through the whole process and explain what you are doing wrong. As you try to make a putt, you are not really thinking about what is wrong with your form, you think about putting the ball in the hole. Having an extra set of eyes on you observing your whole process from an outside point of view and telling you what was wrong can drastically improve your putting.

To some golfers the slice is the biggest obstacle to playing golf, but for thousands of other golfers it is the dreaded hook. Hooking the golf ball is something that can be so frustrating that it almost caused the great Ben Hogan to quit the game before he over won a major championship. Now, after Hogan fixed his hook he went on to win 9 major championships, and here is how you can fix your hook to improve your scores.

1. The good news is that a hook is typically easier to fix than a slice. The most important thing about having your ball dive into the left hand rough is to understand why. The ball hooks because of excessive right to left spin, and this also puts some overspin on the ball causing it to crash into the ground.
2. To stop hooking the golf ball the first thing you need to do is open your stance. This means for a right handed golfer having your left foot about an inch further back than your right. This will enable you to swing more across your body which will counteract the right to left spin that you have been putting on the ball. This should help straighten out your shots by reducing spin.
3. Another cause of the dreaded hook is due to an excessively strong grip. This means that your left hand is on top of the club too much, and your right hand is under the club too much. To correct this, grip the club with your left hand first and make sure that only two knuckles are showing. On your right hand you want to be more wrapped around the club, and this will promote a square club face at impact and reduce your hook.

These 3 tips can help you to stop hooking the ball, and then you can learn to hit a little draw or fade and play the best golf of your life!

In an average round of golf about 70% of shots are made from 120 yards or less from the pin. That means your chip shot is key to taking those extra golf strokes off. A chip shot in golf is a low-trajectory flight that rolls further than it flies. A pitch, by contrast, flies higher, carries farther, and rolls less.

Start with the right golf club. Save the wedge for pitching and use an 8 iron as a middle and work up or down the numbers depending on the distance. The following information will give you a rough guideline:

9 Iron - For every foot in the air the ball will roll about 2 feet.
8 Iron - For every foot in the air, rolls approximately 3 feet.
7 Iron - For every foot in the air, ball rolls about 4 feet, etc

As always, stance is important so be sure your feet are close together, for shorter shots, slightly wider for longer chip shots. About one foot apart for medium golf shots.

Your stance should be open at about 30 degrees, with the club face directed at the target. Shift your weight slightly (about 60%) on to your lead foot. (Left foot for right-handed golfers, right foot for left-handers.)

Your hands should be positioned ahead of the club head and they lead the head through the shot. Most bad chip shots happen when the club head overtakes your hands.

Ball position should be slightly back of center, off the trailing foot toe.

Take the club back with the shoulders, no wrist break, with your hands leading the clubhead on the downswing. To check this: Grip your club far down the shaft and hit some practice chips. If the handle strikes you, you're breaking your wrists. The handle will stay well away from you if your wrist action is right.

You'll feel a tendency to point your shoulders left, because of the open stance. But keep a check on it; shoulders should line up parallel to the target line. But be aware of your lower body, as well. When it's rigid, you're overdoing it.

The basic stroke is the familiar pendulum swing using just the shoulders and arms. Since you're not driving the ball long distances, your backswing should be relatively shorter. As a guideline, if you swing back to your waist, and accelerate the clubhead down, the average golfer will shoot the ball in excess of 25 yards. Adjust the amount of backswing for the distance.

The two most common errors in chipping are chunkers that fall too far short and skulls that fly past the green.

Chunkers are the result of hitting up. Be careful not to get too far under the ball, hitting the ground. Don't scoop it. But don't go too far in the other direction and hit the top of the ball with a rising or leading edge. That causes a low shot that overshoots the pin. Just slide the head barely under the ball in a smooth pendulum motion, keeping your wrists still.

Experiment with different clubs to find out what works best for your height and strength for a given distance. Pretty soon, you'll be in the chips!

I think these are amazing tips which will help your game a lot.