Photo By J.D. Cuban

Many golfers struggle with their pitch shots. They will either chunk the ball with it stopping well short of the hole or they will hit a thin shot and have the ball run way past the hole. Either way they are now in a situation that requires a long putt.

This can be attributed to either too much lower body movement or too much of the stroke being controlled by the arms.

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Try these practice tips to improve your pitch shots

• Use the wedge you normally use for a 50 yard pitch shot.

• Keep your feet together in the middle of your stance so that they are touching.

• Take some practice swings using your upper body to control the stroke.

• Focus on turning your upper body to make your stroke. Do not use your arms only.

Take short controlled swings. Anything else will cause you to lose your balance. Hit some balls like this, making sure to use your body to control the stroke. Be sure to keep yourself in balance throughout the swing.

This will force your upper body to control the swing. Using your arms or legs to control the swing will cause you to lose your balance due to the weight shifts these actions cause.

If you try to use your lower body, you will get too far off balance to control the swing. This forces you to make the controlled, flowing type of swing with very little lower body action that the pitch shot requires.

You will develop a nice sense of balance if you practice this enough.

Take time to try this technique the next time you are practicing your short game. Improving your pitch shots will help you lower your scores and take pressure off your putting.

If you are struggling to get your pitch shots close to the hole, help is here. I recommend you get the Ultimate Short Game eBook.

© 2010, David Wakeman. All rights reserved. On republishing this post you must provide link to original post.

Have you ever noticed that when preparing to take a putt your practice stroke is smooth and easy?  Then when you stroke the putt, what felt great in practice turns into something else. You either push or pull the ball off line just enough to miss. Check out Phil Mickelson as he practices his putting and then try the golf putting tips below that is sure to help you improve your putting.

Try these golf putting tips to improve your putting:

Set up to a straight putt as you normally would and… Putt with your eyes closed. That’s it.

When you putt with your eyes closed you eliminate all of the subconscious adjustments your brain tries to make throughout the stroke.

When your eyes can’t see what your putter is doing, all your brain has to work with is the feel of what you rehearsed in your practice stroke.

Practicing this way will help you develop trust in your putting stroke. You will be less likely to try and steer the ball to the hole. More likely, your strokes will be more natural and fluid allowing you to control the putt through the length of the swing.

Take at least 10 putts with your eyes closed every time you are practicing your putting. This will help you build trust in your putting stroke on the practice green, which will translate to fewer putts on the golf course.

When you are putting during your round, pick a very specific spot on your golf ball, the number on your golf ball or maybe a specific dimple, and focus on it during your stroke. Narrowing your field of vision will decrease the likelihood that you will make subconscious adjustments during your stroke. This is one of the techniques professional golfers use when putting.

Give these golf putting tips a try to improve your putting the next time you are on the practice green.  If you are still missing putts even with your eyes closed, then your putting stroke definitely needs some work.  I recommend you pick up a copy of the Ultimate Short Game System.

© 2010, David Wakeman. All rights reserved. On republishing this post you must provide link to original post.

How often have you played a round of golf with someone who hasn’t played in years and they hit a stellar round that you would be proud of with all your practice and experience?

Have you ever wondered why this happens?

It’s not all that unusual for this to happen and there is a simple reason in most instances.

That reason is – People who haven’t played golf for a long time, have no great expectations of doing well.

They have probably told everyone before the round starts that they haven’t played, so not only have they let themselves off the hook to play well, but they have also been given a pass from everyone else.

We all know the importance of practice for consistently playing golf well and with that knowledge in mind we know that it is not possible for anyone to put in a good performance ‘if they are rusty’

So with all the pressure off the comeback king or queen they play like a demon, hitting long straight shots and putting from the edges of the green like they are Tiger Woods the second.

What allows them to continue playing well is their subconscious mind set that they are just having a lucky day, and as long as they believe in their luck it will continue.

Wouldn’t it be nice if we could eliminate all the pressure that we place upon ourselves to perform and just get out there and hit the ball?

The results would probably be better than anticipated because there would be no great expectations and no matter what the score, we would not have failed.

Once again, it is all about the mind and only we can control it or else we will let it control us.

The more relaxed we can remain throughout the course of the day the more likely the chances of getting a good score.

For more help improving your golf game check out The Simple Golf Swing

© 2010, David Wakeman. All rights reserved. On republishing this post you must provide link to original post.