Consistency from Tee to Green With These Simple Golf Tips and Drills

What good is a training aid if it sits in your garage and what is the use of learning proper setup or putting if you don't put it into regular practice? Proper practice will give you a consistent golf game.

Golf tips and drills are only as good when they are put into action - if you don't use it, as the old saying goes, you lose it. 

This week, Golf for Beginners offers up three golf tips and drills for driving, chipping and putting - a well-rounded practice for the range which should help you during your round. The simpler the golf tip or drill, the more likely you are to remember and to use it so let's get started.

Golf Drill for Driving

You hit a pop-up and your golf ball only flew about 100 yards off the tee...and it was straight up! You could see your mates shaking their heads and you knew your next shot wasn't getting you on in regulation. Your golf club came down too steep and you need to shallow out your swing.

Top 100 Teacher Cameron McCormick offers this simple driver golf drill (during practice) to shallow out your swing which uses a towel or golf grip placed directly behind the golf ball.

Golf Tips for Approach Shots

PGA Tour golfer Jim Furyk says he is not as long off the tee as the big bombers on Tour but what good is finding the fairway with your drive if you can't get that golf ball on the green with your second shot (on a par-4)?

Furyk's golf tips for approach shot accuracy include:

• Choose the right club, not just based on sprinkler head distance marker, but also based on conditions such as wind and how fast the green is or where trouble might be near the green. I was told by Hank Haney to always take more club than you need - club up if you feel that you may not make the distance.
• Avoid the bunkers and go long rather than short, if you aren't the best bunker player.
• Go for the center of the green - don't try to stick it close. Instead, get on in regulation and roll a solid putt.

Golf Drills for Putting

"Good putters are good aimers." says Dale Ketola, Director of Instruction at Grande Dunes Golf Performance Center. "You have to be able to read the line, have the correct speed and read the green."

Watch this short video for techniques/drills on making putts:



READ: Golf Tips to Improve Lag Putt Percentages

These golf tips were meant to inspire you and show you that, with a little bit of targeted practice, you can improve your game.

Offer up your best golf tips and drills in the comments section of this golf blog and follow Golf for Beginners on Twitter for more ways to improve your game!

Improve Your Short Game in 2 Easy Steps

Did you know that PGA Tour golfers get "up-and-down" only about sixty percent of the time? According to Dave Pelz, that number drops greatly for the average golfer.

Driving the ball moves you down the fairway (maybe), but getting on the green, and finishing in the least number of strokes, is really what the game is all about!

The short game, whether it's chipping, sand saves or putting, should be worked on only at the practice facility - you don't want to start working on your game during a round as that could prove to be disastrous.

Golf for Beginners has compiled a few video tips and drills to help you score better down the stretch.

1. CHIPPING: I just came upon this simple golf video tip from PGA instructor Meredith Kirk yesterday - getting into a good chipping stance.




Read: Tips to Improve Consistency in your golf game


2. PUTTING: According to Dave Pelz, good putts start with tempo. Think "pendulum". Vary the length of your backswing to control the speed of your putts. Watch this Youtube.com video to see how the Master does it:




REMEMBER: Final putting tip for today: the only golf club in the bag specifically made to hit the ball into the cup is the putter – master it first, master it best!

What golf short game tips can you share with our readers? Post in the comments section below and on Twitter, tagging @Golf4Beginners.

Photo: Wikimedia

#Golf Tips to Help You Stop Hitting Behind the Ball

During the past few rounds of golf with my husband, we both start the round hitting the ball clean and crisp and then Barry begins to chunk down behind the ball.

Next thing I hear are grumblings about how much grass he took, how short the ball went, how many inches he hit behind the ball...and the list goes on.

Naturally, this problem could not continue - Barry just wasn't having any fun during his rounds and his next step was to make an appointment with a qualified instructor for help and for golf tips on ways to stop hitting behind the ball. Here is what he learned about his swing:


- Probably the most important thing Barry learned was that he wasn't properly transferring his weight. He was keeping the weight on his back foot throughout the swing. A video from PGA Teaching pro Eric Hogge suggests a baseball drill, stepping into the swing from behind the ball.


- Another problem causing chunky shots was that Barry's golf swing was not beginning with his chest (shoulders) turning; instead, his swing was beginning with an arm movement. If this is happening when you swing the club, take a tip from Michael Breed on Golf Channel - use the Elephant Drill which also improves tempo. I also regularly place a golf club parallel to the ground up against my shoulders and turn back and through.


- Finally (and isn't that enough?) Barry was using the dreaded "death grip"; he was gripping too tightly, not allowing the golf club to swing freely.

Too much squeeze and everything in your swing gets affected from wrist hinge to a loss of power and control. A tip to improve your golf grip pressure comes from one of our early Golf for Beginners podcasts and from this visual at Golf Tips Magazine.

Hold the golf club in front of you with just enough pressure to stop it from falling down in front of you. Also, something that I always try to do is to think about holding a bird in my hands - you don't want to crush the little one so you want just enough pressure to keep her from flying away.

Do you have tips or drills to stop fat shots? If so, please share here on this golf blog and on Twitter @Golf4Beginners.

photos: videojug.com, Golf Tips Magazine

Wie versus Sorenstam: which brand would you buy? Extreme golf experiences, Rich Beem's sand-trap easy out and old vs new golf balls

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Branding a product is supposed to personify the qualities inherent in the celebrity whose name is on the package. Tiger Woods' name, for example, has been chosen not only because he is a champion but because he is credible, likeable and probably the most visible person on the planet. Woods basically embodies all of the most sincere qualities of golf while, at the same time, adding a youthful "hip-ness" to any product he endorses.

Annika Sorenstam, although presently retired from golf and expecting a child, has decided to remain in the public eye by 'capturing her essence' in products from wine to perfume, all prominently displaying the moniker "Annika". "The scent will particularly appeal to golf enthusiasts, career-minded professionals and active, fashion-forward women," mentioned a press release. "Like Annika, the fragrance will be casually elegant and unpretentious."

Sorenstam will be celebrated this week by the Golf Channel, which will include highlights of her illustrious career.

Michelle Wie is now interested in branding herself as opposed to her early career in which Sony, Nike and Omega took advantage of her celebrity in order to advertise their products. These contracts are ending soon and the way Wie's LPGA career has been wavering, those winnings may not be enough to sustain her!

If Michelle becomes her own brand, would you be comfortable buying a product endorsed by her even if she's never been a champion within her own sport?

Popularity seems to be winning out over achievement. Name and face recognition may be all that Michelle Wie needs to succeed. As long as magazines like "Time" consider her to be a person who "shapes the world" her "brand" will be triumphant.




Golf for Beginners also discusses extreme golf travel experiences throughout the world, ranging from a $1 million dollar golf hole off of a mountaintop in South Africa where the only way to get to the teebox is by helicopter to a crocodile-guarded water-hazard in which you can play it safe or take your chances. Which would you do?

We also include a sand trap visualization tip from Callaway Golf staff professional Rich Beem and a few thoughts on why picking up that golf ball you find in the woods may not be such a great idea!

Send your golf questions and comments to golfforbeginners@aol.com.

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This podcast is supported by MyrtleBeachGolf.com, 866-409-2177.

Photo Credit: The Scented Salamander, Theworsthorse.com


Credit: YourGolfTravel.com

Tiger Woods taking a lesson from Michelle Wie, Sorenstam delivers, golf tips from Leadbetter and Rick Smith

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Michelle Wie reportedly received $700,000 in appearance fees to attend the Asian Tour's 2006 SK Telecom Open. Tiger Woods' bonus for showing up at the Australian Masters will top the $3 million mark with the state government footing half of the bill! Are appearance fees a good idea and can they help fuel a weakened economy?

Crowds no doubt swarm to an event where Tiger Woods is in the mix. A report from Ernst and Young stated that an estimated "10-20,000 overseas and interstate visitors would travel to the southern city to see Woods." That translates into over $19 million dollars in income for Australia! This is a win-win situation for the Masters but the Open, which plays only two weeks later, will probably suffer with a lax in funding and attendance.

Endorsement deals are lining pockets but, in the future, will larger-than-life players require appearance fees before even deciding to play? Phil Mickelson's presence at the Barclays in Singapore grossed him seven figures, Michelle Wie is said to have received over $20 million in just one season and, although fees for LPGA golfers are far less than their male counterparts, Annika Sorenstam earned over $12 million off-course and champions like Cristie Kerr and Natalie Gulbis are known to travel to events on private jets.

In this new media age, you can even "rent" your very own sports personality right off of the internet! Procurement agencies such as Mastergolf.com claim to be able to "turn events into sold-out standing room only spectacles". Gulbis is said to command a mere $18-38,000, Nancy Lopez' fee is over $35k and Crenshaw and Couples top out at over $65,000 each.

Although no blame is to be exacted in this column, one of the earliest golfers paving the road with appearance fees could be tracked down to Greg Norman who, as far back as the mid-nineties, is said to have commanded honorarium upwards of $200,000 and fuel for his private jet.

Top golfers are now considered celebrities and are basically being paid to perform. Whether they win or lose, they are still the draw that bring fans, and their dollars, out to the courses. So I ask, is it better to be Tiger Woods who happily accepts, and seeks out, appearance fees or Lorena Ochoa who, according to her brother and manager, is "not the kind of girl who's looking for options to be on TV or in magazine articles,” but "just wants to be the number one player in the world."




Also, on this week's Golf for Beginners show, Barry and I offer several swing drills. One assist comes from the David Leadbetter Academy which can help set your hand position in your backswing and the other drill comes from Rick Smith whose drill will help increase your accuracy!

We also talk about Annika Sorenstam's two big announcements and their effect upon the LPGA Tour!


Send your golf questions and comments to golfforbeginners@aol.com.

Subscribe to our weekly podcast through this RSS feed: http://feeds.feedburner.com/golfforbeginners or through iTunes. Click Here to receive our archived podcasts and 100's of easy golf tips free!


Get to know us on You Tube and MySpace and TWEET US on Twitter!

"Shiny Tech" courtesy of Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)"

This podcast is supported by ResortsGolfandSpa.com, 866-643-6078.


Photo Credit: © GameLife

Sorenstam, Ochoa and Michelle Wie have the leaderboard covered. Also, where to keep your eye on the ball and playing with better golfers to help your

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Annika Sorenstam has officially begun to chip away at Lorena Ochoa's top Rolex Ranking. A win at the season-opening SBS Open led a "Tiger-esque" charge that has remained strong through her latest victory at the Michelob Ultra Opening this past weekend.

Sorenstam is back in the "feared-zone" once again!

Challengers are falling by the wayside. Even Lorena Ochoa could not keep up on Saturday, pushing herself out of a chance for a Sunday duel with a disappointing 74. It was the first time Ochoa has been out of a visible top-ten spot on the leaderboard since 2007.

Did Sorenstam's charge give Ochoa the jitters?

With a wedding plan in the works and her increasing reliance in other golf interests, are we seeing Annika's final push for glory or the beginning of a new commitment towards "untouchable" status?

I also found Michelle Wie's name on the leaderboard. She was in her usual "cut" position, a spot which seems to be more comfortable a fit as times goes on. "I just feel really rusty" claimed Wie who needs to borrow more than an oil can from the Tin Man in order to elevate her game...maybe an infusion of Annika's blood?

Where Wie's game is stagnating, other LPGA rookies seem to be coming on strong. Na Yeon Choi is eyeing the Rolex Rookie of the Year Award loading up on points over her nearest competitor. Oh, I'm sorry...I thought Michelle Wie was in the race too but...that's right...she never went to Q-School and qualified like the rest of the Tour!

This week Golf for Beginners discusses the challenges that Michelle Wie faces and wonders whether or not her constant disappointments as a professional golfer have helped her grow as a person.

We also offer up a few easy golf tips. One simple visual we offer is where to focus your eyes when hitting the ball for best contact. Another is the role a golf companion has on your game. Is it better for you to play with better golfers or those who play more on your level?

Click here for more easy golf drills.

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Photo Credits:ZeeNews.com, DAN VIDETICH/SCANPIX
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Could Tiger Woods continue his reign without a golf instructor? Also easy drills for weight transfer and clubhead speed

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The rumor mill, once it gains momentum, just doesn't seem to let up. The discussion of the possible split between Tiger Woods and Hank Haney appears to have been initially fueled by that ever-effusive announcer, Johnny Miller, during the FedEx Cup playoffs. Miller insinuated that the newly enhanced swing of Tiger Woods was a blend of both Harmon's and Haney's instruction.

But aren't all of us products of our environment? It would be ludicrous to believe otherwise and so, in my opinion, Johnny Miller made an astute judgment. Techniques taught to Woods by Butch Harmon over nine years most certainly left its imprints. Remember when Coach Harmon told Mickelson to watch for Tiger's idiosyncrasies during a round to try and throw off his game?

Haney states that his teaching principles involve a golfer "to help someone become more independent, to become their own teacher." Top golf professionals like Tiger Woods learn how to "fix themselves", Haney explained. They're not like the amateur hacker who needs regular tutelage on the basics. "They figure it out themselves."

Although "Tiger (Woods) has gotten really good at fixing himself," he still keeps in constant contact with his golf instructor. Even the top golfer in the world needs to keep his swing properly tuned and, for now, the person helping Tiger improve and grow remains Hank Haney.

Golf for Beginners also offers up several drills this week. With help from Duncan McGillivray, a.k.a. the Golf Drill Guru, we learn how a balloon can help you transfer your weight more effectively. We also discuss a swing thought you can use while chipping from just off the green.

In addition to these drills, learn from Golf Courses Guide how you can release the clubhead more effectively and gain distance and power!

Send your golf questions and comments to golfforbeginners@aol.com.

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"Shiny Tech" courtesy of Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)"

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