Sharpen Your Game with 365 Easy Golf Tips from the Pros

Have you noticed that, after taking a golf lesson with your instructor, your game shows a marked improvement? Shortly after however, and without continued guidance, your game slowly reverts back to its original state. Most golfers don't have an instructor on the range or course during the entire season but now you can have great golf tips at your fingertips 365 days a year.

Illustrations and one-page tips from putting to sand play offered in the golf book "365 Golf Tips and Tricks From The Pros" by Jay Morelli are designed to simplify every area of your game with a suggestion per day ...playing without fear is my favorite.

This golf book rightfully opens with tips on the rules, segues into Golf Etiquette, takes you through course management, drills, the mental game and even offers help on purchasing the right type of equipment for your game.

Below are three golf tips I selected from the book (one tip each for beginner, intermediate and advanced golfer). For a read into the other 362 tips, click on the link at the end of this golf blog.

Tip 40: LOGICAL BALL POSITION,
Dick Capasso, PGA Teaching Pro, Augusta Georgia
Many players get confused about where to play the ball in their stance for shots off the turf.

We have all heard conflicting advice on this subject. Each shot is a new experience and should be treated as such. The best place to place your ball is in the way of your swing. Try taking a few practice swings and pay attention to where the club nips the turf. That spot is where the ball should be played for that particular stroke.

Tip 179: PLAY WITHOUT FEAR, by Jay Morelli, Director of the Original Golf School, Mount Snow, Vermont

Golfers are so often afraid of bad shots that they sometimes play timidly, making timid golf swings. You are much better off going ahead and making a committed and strong swing. Commit to the shot and don't even think about what not to do. A non-swing will never produce a good result.

Tip 269: COIL UP FOR POWER, by Sandra Jaskol, LPGA Teaching Pro, Old Westbury Golf & Country Club, Old Westbury, New York

To get more power and distance, practice with a medium-sized rubber ball between your legs to feel the rotation of your upper body uncoiling above a stable, planted lower body. This springlike effect will keep you more centered over the ball while maximizing your coil with explosive power and speed.

If you expect your golf game to improve, you need a teaching pro. That being said, when your instructor isn't around and you require a brush up (even on the golf course), pull out your "365 Golf Tips and Tricks from the Pros" pocket-sized guide, thumb through it and you'll most likely find the answer to your questions.

About the Author:

Jay Morelli is Director of The Original Golf School at Mount Snow, Vermont and Plantation Golf Resort in Florida. He has been teaching and improving golfers at all skill levels for more than 40 years. He founded the Original Golf School and the Accelerated Teaching Method in June 1978. Golf Digest voted him the top teaching pro in Vermont, and he has been named New England PGA Teacher of the Year. He has produced four major DVDs and written four books on golf.

Bruce Curtis has been at the forefront of photography for more than four decades. As a photographer for Time, Life, and Sports Illustrated, he has been on the frontlines as a photographer of many conflicts around the world. He has won more than 25 awards and provided photography for more than 40 books.

Learn more about 365 Golf Tips and Tricks from The Pros

Photo credit courtesy of 365 Golf Tips and Tricks From The Pros

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Funny Excerpt from the golf book "The Kiss that Caused My Slice"

I have taken this selection from John Ducker's new golf book, "The Kiss that Caused My Slice".  I believe you will find John's wit entertaining: I have provided you with a poem about a mythical (?) round of golf with in-laws. Enjoy!


Raising the Ante

It was the summer after our wedding, our rings still shiny and bright.
My wife planned golf with my in-laws, perhaps on the links we wouldn’t fight.

My in-laws and I don’t mix. The reasons – would take too long to compile ‘em.
They think I belong in prison. I think they belong in an asylum.

But golf was a good idea, for golf makes strange bedfellows of us all.
Why not tee it up? We could take our frustrations out on the ball.

But the day before our round, my wife turned an ankle, which swelled, blacked and blued.
“You still have to play”, she said. “Why?” I asked, “They already think I’m rude.”

So the three of us headed to the course and took some practice swings to get warm,
When my father-in-law’s cell phone rang. I sensed a brewing storm.
A work emergency had come up suddenly, and he would have to run.
“The two of you should still play,” he said. He was sorry to miss the fun.

So now it was just a twosome, and I asked my ogre-in-law about action at the tee box.
“Sure thing,” she said grinning. She’s crazy, I tell you. Crazy like a fox.

“But let’s not bet money,” she said, “No, let’s make it more interesting than that.
Let’s be honest. You think I’m nasty. I think that you’re stupid and fat.

With this match today, let’s put an end to our bickering and brawling.
For example, if you win, I promise to refrain from any early morning calling.
I’ll visit only once a year, and then for no more than four days,
I’ll stop slandering you on the internet, and I’ll accept your slovenly ways.
For birthdays I’ll send gifts that you want, rather than try to inflict my will,
And for all of the things you break at our house, I will stop sending you a bill.

Of course you, my daft son-in-law, will also have to put something in the pot.
If I win I will visit whenever I like, which might seem to you like a lot.
If victorious, I want our picture displayed, visible from your living room couch,
And we will always share Thanksgiving and Christmas, and you will not act like a grouch.

So take the bet if you want to, if not, of course, I would understand,
It is a big risk for you to take, and generally speaking, you are a cowardly man.”

“You are on!” I retorted boldly, and tried to calmly flip the tee.
“Your honor, Your Honor” I joked, and she ripped one as far as I could see.

Like a jack rabbit she parred out, seizing the early lead.
On the par three second she stuck it so close, the putt I had to concede.
And on and on and on she went, dominating the front nine.
I was panicked, and had visions of an in-law apartment running through my mind.

But after we made the turn, I started to get a couple of breaks.
And my mother-in-law struggled, and choked on a couple of must makes.

She righted the ship quickly, playing with a determination I’d never before seen.
She was two up on the 16th tee, and driving like a machine.

But number 16 was a dogleg right that played perfectly for my slice.
And she hooked one into the woods, and screamed a curse word, when ‘darn’ would have sufficed.

On 17 she found the bunker, and took three swings to get out,
All square on the 18th tee box, round 15 of the championship bout.

I put my drive in the fairway, she followed though not quite as far.
She hit the green with her second, and cleaned up the two putt par.

I was also on in two, and had a downhiller that didn’t look so fast,
But my adrenaline was pumping like a fire hose, and I knocked it six feet past.

My heart was pounding hard as I lined up that baby for the halve,
My opponent knew she couldn’t lose, and at my expense let out a laugh.

The putt was tracking from the start, but I swear that witch stared it off line,
And as it lipped out she cackled a satanic sound that reverberated through my spine.

I’d like to tell you more about that match, but I can’t. No, not today.
I’ve got to get to the airport – she lands in an hour, for a three and a half week stay.