"Attack Plan" for the new Golf Season

Now that the summer holidays are coming to an end and cooler dryer weather is round the corner, it's time to get back to the golf routine. I have put together an "Attack Plan" for your next golf outing and to help you practice more productively at the range.

Learn your average distance with each Iron

How many times do your irons come up short of the pin, even when you hit the ball well? This happens because most players choose a club distance by their best hit. Work out your average distance by hitting 12 shots with each iron. Ignore the 3 best and the 3 worst and take an average of the 6 remaining shots. This is the distance you should use at the course.

Make straight drives your goal on long holes

On long par-5's, or long par-4's, most players believe they need their longest drive to conquer the hole. Unfortunately, this is the sort of thinking that promotes a reckless swing more likely of missing the fairway rather than hitting the 300 yards drive we dream of. My suggestion on these holes is to think about your rhythm and timing in the swing, not how far the distance will be. You will hit more fairways meaning more consistently good scores on these tough holes.

Par-4's club decision

Driver is not always the club on par-4's. Sometimes, short par-4's look easy. 330 yards for instance is just a drive and pitch for many players. But often short par-4's are more guarded than long ones with more bunkers, water, and quite often narrow fairways. Next time, before reaching straight for the driver, check fairway width, bunkers and water because normally a well placed iron, rescue or fairway wood will leave you short of all the trouble and you will still be able to comfortably hit the green with the second shot, thus, avoiding the nightmare number on the scorecard.

Develop reliable long game

Pitching, chipping and putting will save you shots and keep you scoring well but you have to consistently put your ball into a position near to the green to be able to do this. For instance, nobody enjoys chipping or pitching to the green if it is the 7th or 8th shot. Your wood play certainly is importantly. So take these thoughts into your next round.

1. Play the ball position more forward. Driver off the left heel, fairway wood back a couple of inches of the left heel. This gives you space behind the ball to create a shallow angle of attack which is needed for the longer clubs.
2. Make sure you do not get stuck on your left side in the back swing (reverse pivot). This is the worst case scenario for the woods or long irons. Concentrate on placing a bit more weight into your right side even at address. Then, into your backswing, turn into a flexed right knee, keeping your right hip feeling down. This will keep your shoulders and head behind the ball at the top of the back swing.
   
   
3. As you start the down swing, move smoothly starting from the feet and knees, feel that they gently pull your left shoulder behind the ball ready for impact.
   
   
4. Your arms are now ready to swing the club ahead of the body, sweeping the ball away with a shallow angle of attack.
   
   

Think small to hit big

Aiming at small targets will allow you to hit big ones. This is a big difference between tour players and amateurs. The tour player will look at the pin or a small point on the green, draw an imaginary line to his ball, and then aim precisely down that line. The ball may miss the point of aim but will probably hit the bigger green.

The amateur just wants to hit the green, so will quite often just aim at the green. This is not precise enough. If the green is missed, it means bunker, tough chip and sometimes out of play.

Routine for the green

Getting into a habit of routine will help your putting. Did any of you watch the recent PGA championship won by Phil Mickelson? On the last hole Phil roughly had 3 and 1/2 foot putt for the championship. He is well known for having a different routine compared to the other players, where he practices his putting stroke from a different line around the hole than that of his intended putt. This is a part of his routine that works for him, so when it came to that last pressure putt, he did exactly the same nothing changed in the routine and holed the putt like any other.

Find your own routine, practice it and stick with it every time. Here are a few points you might want to include.

1. Read the green assessing slopes, grain and distance to the hole.
   
   
2. After processing this info make the same amount of practice swings each time. 2 or 3 should be plenty but they are essential to feel the distance.
   
   
3. Be sure to use your practice swing and intended line for the real putt. No second guessing over the ball.
   
   
4. If your ball shaves the hole and runs past, watch which way it curves it may help you on the line for the one coming back.