Pitch Shot from Greenside Rough

25 11 2011

What if I told you that you did not have to be perfect to hit a shot out of greenside rough?  You would then approach the shot with confidence.  Remember Tom Watson’s famous shot on the 71st hole of the 1982 U.S. Open?  Bruce Edwards, his caddie, said “Get it close” to which Watson responded “I’m going to hole it!”  And so he did.  Obviously Watson did it under the utmost pressure as he was battling Nicklaus for the victory and he was tied with Jack at the time.

The truth is that although these shots appear challenging, they are not that difficult.  I teach a forgiving short game technique on these shots where you slide the bounce of the club under the ball.  If you maintain constant loft on the club, the bounce will slide along the grass fro 10-12 inches providing a huge margin of error.  Take a practice swing and you will see the length of the brush mark.

Next time you get this shot, follow these steps:

1)    Take a lofted club like a lob wedge or sand wedge

2)    Play the ball forward in your stance

3)    Weaken your grip which will help keep the clubface open

4)    Firm up your wrists to keep the club from twisting in the grass

5)    Hit behind the ball

6)    Make a big swing

Distance control will come through practice.  Your confidence will grow as you increase your repetitions. Give yourself different lies and targets to simulate real golf conditions.  You have the forgiveness built in to the club and technique.  Go do it!

Josh Zander


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Categories : game improvement, golf, golf instruction, pitch shot, short game, video

A Simple Lesson Learned from Stats

29 07 2010

The coach from a top women’s golf program was talking the other day about how the detailed statistics from MySmartGolf helped one of her players in a very simple but important way.  This particular player was not getting up and down from off the green as often as a player of her ability should.  That could have been seen using any stat program but only a unique feature of MySmartGolf pinpointed the problem.  The shot tracking showed very clearly that virtually all of the player’s chip shots finished short of the hole.  This was a simple problem with a simple solution which the player quickly addressed.  As a result, her up and down percentage increased accordingly.  Sometimes we just need someone or something to help point out the important information and MySmartGolf can do that.

Most golf statistics programs tell you only what percentage of the time you get up and down successfully.  MySmartGolf gives you much more information such as where your short game shots finish and why.  This is the information you need in order to improve your short game.


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Categories : chip shot, game improvement, golf, golf instruction, mental game, short game

Releasing the Putterhead

10 04 2010

There are so many ways to putt well.  Bobby Locke hooked his putts. Billy Mayfair slices his putts. Crenshaw has a long, flowing stroke.  Azinger has a short, pop-like stroke.   And Tiger has perhaps the simplest stroke I have ever seen.  All of the aforementioned putters have made their fair share of putts and all have one fundamental in common.  They all accelerate into the ball.

All golfers know that it is important to accelerate into impact.  This is an important fundamental in the swing as well as in putting.  If we all agree that acceleration is important, then we should all understand that accelerating the putter means that the putter has to release past the hands.

Too many golfers believe that the stroke is controlled by the shoulders and that the hands need to stay quiet.  Keeping your hands and wrists locked produces a block which leads to poor contact and deceleration.  Your hands are your only contact with the club.  The key is to use your hands and wrists correctly rather than eliminate them from the process.  When throwing a ball underhand, the hands and wrists remain soft and active in producing the throw.  This is an athletic motion and so is putting.  To feel the correct motion, simply anchor your putter to your belly and let the putterhead swing.  Can you feel what is happening to your hands and wrists? This is a release!

I personally can’t believe that USGA has allowed belly putters as they make putting so much easier.  You can’t block your putts if you let the putterhead swing while keeping the grip end anchored to your body.  If you have a short putter, I recommend building a belly putter to match so you can practice the release.  All you have to do is take your short putter to a club builder and have him use the same lie angle and build one long enough to reach your belly. Once you learn the feel of the proper release, your putting will improve tremendously.


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Categories : game improvement, golf, golf instruction, putting, short game, Uncategorized, video

Become a Great Pitcher

21 01 2010

Pitching seems to be one of the toughest shots for the amateur golfer. The shot will become easy when you understand the role of the bounce. The bounce is the trailing edge of the club as you can see in the video. We can thank Gene Sarazen for inventing the bounce on the sand wedge. He designed it to help hit bunker shots and pitch shots. The bounce enables the club to slide along the ground which helps avoid chunking the ball. I actually try to hit the ground before the ball on my pitch shots and the club slides right on through and I get a high soft shot as a result. This is really helpful in deep rough when you can’t contact the ball cleanly. You can hit this shot much like a bunker shot where you hit the ground two inches behind and let the bounce slide right under the ball.

Before hitting this shot, I would recommend that you have a neutral to a slightly weak grip. The reason is that a weaker grip leads to a more open/lofted clubface which will ensure that the bounce hits the ground. Any grip that enables you to close the clubface will hurt you on a pitch shot as this will send the leading edge below the bounce resulting in the dreaded chunk. There is nothing wrong with having a grip for your full swing and another to hit short game shots.

64 degree wedges are fun but if you want to get really good at pitching, try doing it with your 3 iron as I demonstrate in the video. You need some flexibility in your hips to get as low as I do but flexible hips help your all-around golf game so start stretching. You will impress your friends pitching with a low-lofted club and it will make pitching with a lob wedge a piece of cake. Seve Ballesteros grew up with one club. It was a cut down three iron. He became known as the best short game player in the world.  -jz


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Keep it Square

15 11 2009

Everything in moderation is a pretty good philosophy in life and it is in your golf game as well. Opening your stance for short game shots is ok if it is done in moderation but opening it too much leads to disaster. Setting up too open leads to glancing blows, pulls, chunks and excessive sidespin on your short game shots. More importantly, it seeps into other parts of your game which leads to inconsistency.

I recommend putting a shaft down on the ground to monitor your alignment. It will give you the sense of what is square so when you remove the club, anything other than square will feel awkward. If square is your baseline, you are setting yourself up for success. Setting up square leads to solid contact due to an on plane swing. Your ball will come off with pure backspin and an absence of sidespin. You hear people talk about trying to get the ball within a three foot circle in order to have a good chance at getting up and down. I try to hole all my short game shots. Knowing that my ball will have a predictable bounce because of pure backspin enables me to give the ball a good chance of going in. I even read the green on my chip shots much like you would on a lag putt. If your goal is to hole your shot, chances are that if it doesn’t go in, it will be inside that three foot circle.

The key to scoring in golf is predictability. Whether you are a hooker or a slicer, you can plan your aim and find the fairway if you know beforehand how your ball will curve. Setting up square will give you predictability of distance control because of your solid contact and predictability of direction due to square spin. Now go practice and hole some short game shots. -jz


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Categories : bunker shot, chip shot, golf, golf instruction, pitch shot, short game

Putting In the Wind

11 10 2009

Have you ever noticed that the European Tour players tend to have wider putting stances than their American counterparts? The reason is that they are used to playing in windy conditions and they need to widen their stance to maintain balance. Putting represents 42 % of your score and putting in the wind is extremely difficult. I am writing this blog on the eve of the Open Championship at Turnberry where we will surely see the elements take their toll on the participants.

Distance control is the key to great putting and this is especially true in the wind. The speed you hit the putt determines its line; therefore, every putt other than a straight putt is determined by how hard you hit it. The first element to distance control is solid contact. Because the wind throws you off balance, it is difficult to hit the ball on the sweet spot. The way to maintain your balance in the wind is to widen your stance and engage your core muscles. You can also try standing pigeon-toed like Arnold Palmer. This will keep your hips very still. Try to feel like your spikes are rooted into the ground. You should feel like it would take a Mack truck to move you from this stance. Believe me, the wind will try! Have a friend give you a gentle shove to see if you are indeed balanced. Now you are ready to make solid contact.

The next key is to keep your head still. Don’t peek to see where the ball goes. You need to keep your head as quiet as possible to make solid contact. You will see the result soon enough. The fewer moving parts in your putting stroke will pay dividends in the wind.

Now that you are stable and your head is still, understand that the wind will affect your golf ball. Use your common sense. If you are into the wind, hit it harder. If you are downwind, hit it softer. If the wind is blowing left to right, aim more to the left. If the wind is blowing right to left, aim more to the right. Let’s face it, you are not going to make as many putts in the wind. The key is to hit the ball as solidly as possible and take into account what the wind is doing when you read your putt. Remember, par goes up in the wind so stay patient and enjoy the challenge.


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Basic Chipping, a Must-Have

7 09 2009

The basic chip shot should be a part of every golfer’s arsenal. Next to putting, it is the simplest motion in golf yet so many players struggle with it. The reason players struggle is very basic. There is no room for compensation when the stroke is so small.

The components of solid impact on a chip are correct set-up, swing plane, weight on the forward foot and a forward-leaning clubshaft at impact. If you set up incorrectly, get off plane, shift your weight to the back foot or try to scoop the ball, your contact will suffer and there is no time for recovery as the motion is so small. Use the technique I demonstrate on the video and you contact will be solid. Once you make solid contact, it is just a matter of time before you get really good at distance control.

Students often ask me whether it is better to use one club or several clubs when trying to achieve the correct distance. The answer is they both work. If you want to learn one length swing, select different clubs to make the ball go different distances. A more lofted club will produce less roll and a less lofted club will produce more roll. If you are more advanced and have good hands, take a sandwedge and alter your swing size to vary your distances. Whether you like to chip with one club or with several is up to you but you better make solid contact if you want to get it up and down.

Distance control or “touch” as we call it in golf is the key to scoring. The best chippers have habituated the motion that creates the proper impact so when they are on the golf course, all they think about is hitting the ball the correct distance. Don’t get down on yourself if you hit it solidly and have poor distance control. This is just a sign that you need to shift your attention to the target and less on the technique. This is when short game becomes a lot of fun.

If you really struggle with chipping and cannot get the basic motion down, consider using a hybrid or fairway metal around the greens. There used to be a club called a chipper. A chipper was a putter length club that had about 8 iron loft on it. In short, you could use a putting set-up and motion to chip the ball. These days, you can grip down on your hybrid or fairway metal and you have the old-fashioned chipper in your hand. This is a good temporary solution but understand that if you struggle with chipping, chances are that your impact position on your full swing needs improvement. Fix your chipping and you will be surprised how much you improve your ball striking. Now your score is really coming down!  -jz


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Distance Control, the Key to Great Putting

31 07 2009

I think back to Ben Crenshaw’s 60 foot putt at the 10th hole at Augusta National when he won the Masters in 1984. He must have played 20 feet of break and poured it right in the heart. The distance control was absolutely amazing and doing it on that great stage made it even more memorable. The key to Ben’s prowess on the green was his ability to roll the ball the proper distance. If you think about it, every putt that breaks is a speed putt. The harder you hit it, the less it breaks and the softer you hit it, the more it breaks. In short, anything other than a straight putt, the line is governed by your speed. As I have said before live by the “DIE” rule, “Distance Is Everything”.

The only thought in your mind when you are over a putt should be distance control. You should spend most of your time looking at the target to get your mind oriented to the target. Your practice strokes should be made looking at the hole. Trust that your subconscious will help you roll it the proper speed. Butch Harmon once said that touring pros glare at the target and glance at the ball while the weekend golfer glares at the ball and glances at the target. Stare that target down with the steely gaze of Clint Eastwood when he says “Make my day!” If you do, you just might make your day and make a Crenshaw like putt in the process. -jz


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Your Wedge Game

3 07 2009

How important is your wedge game? Just ask Masters Champion Angel Cabrera. After hitting a tree on his second shot of the first extra playoff hole, he hit a wedge shot to about 6 feet and holed the putt to stay alive in the playoff. The rest as they say is history. The bottom line is that your wedges are important scoring clubs. They can help you birdie par 5’s and save pars on par 4’s when you cannot reach the green in two. Tom Kite made a great living on tour being a master with the wedge. In fact, he pioneered the three wedge system as he knew that wedging it the proper distance was the key to scoring.

Notice that barring a miss-hit or miss-alignment, you don’t hit your wedges off line. The misses tend to be short and long. Do you know how far you hit your wedges? Can you hit a 55 yard shot, a 68 yard shot, or a 91 yard shot? The tour players can. It’s not because they have super-human talent, it’s because they practice wedging the ball different distances. I want my students to be able to land their ball within 2 yards of their target so they have no more than a 6 foot putt left. This gives them a reasonable chance at getting it up and down. When I was a touring professional, I had 36 distances that I knew I could hit right on the number. I was excited when I had a wedge in to the hole as I knew exactly the swing that would get me near the hole. At that point, it was all about execution.

There are a couple of very good methods to hitting wedges precise distances. One is to vary the length of your backswing. You can do this with several wedges to give you even more distances. This system made famous by Dave Pelz requires the player to maintain a consistent tempo.  Another system is to find a comfortable backswing position and accelerate through at different speeds to adjust your distance. Both are effective but require practice in order to achieve precise distance control. When you hear about a player having great touch with his wedge game, it means that he has great distance control. Cabrera had great touch on that wedge shot at Augusta National.

I have found that the best wedge players are the ones who trap the ball and bring the shot in on a lower trajectory with more spin. They de-loft their wedge which allows the ball to rebound off the face and produce more consistent distances. For those of you who may scoop the ball or add loft at impact, the ball tends to run up the face and lose it’s distance. Paul Azinger is a great example of a player who traps his wedges and has great distance control. Find your best way to control your wedge distances and lower scores will be right around the corner. -jz


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Categories : ball flight, full swing, game improvement, golf, golf instruction, pitch shot, short game

Get it up and Down from Greenside Rough

21 06 2009

When it comes to scoring, getting it up and down from difficult situations around the green is crucial. I grew up on a golf course that had a 9 hole par 3 course adjacent to it. All the holes were between 40 and 75 yards. I used to go there with my junior golf buddies and we had competitions all day long. We used to challenge each other and put our balls in ridiculously difficult lies and see who could get it up and down. And yes, there was money on the line.

These competitions helped me learn the valuable skill off assessing a lie and understanding what I could do with it. I learned this from the best teacher I know, trial and error. The shots I demonstrate in this video come from hours of trial and error. I had to learn quickly or my lunch money was on the line. I also liked to compete against the older kids so I needed to be sharp.

The two techniques I show in the video are actually very forgiving. When you use the bounce of the sand wedge, the club slides along the ground for about six inches so you can hit between two and four inches behind the ball and hit a great shot. The key is to hit enough of these to get the distance control down. Since you are sliding the club under the ball and using so much loft, you need to make a pretty fast swing to get the ball to go anywhere.

The second technique where you put the ball well back in the stance enables you to minimize the amount of grass that gets caught between the clubface and the ball. Remember to stick with a sand or lob wedge as well because you will be taking quite a bit of loft off the face with the ball back in your stance. Now that you have de-lofted your club, it does not take much swing to get the ball to go a long way. Remember to only choose this technique when you have plenty of green to work with.

Distance control is the key to short game. You now have two new techniques in your arsenal. Now trial and error will dictate how good you get. Don’t let them win your lunch money!


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Categories : chip shot, game improvement, golf, golf instruction, pitch shot, short game, video

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