TIM RITTER |
can be boring , especially if it is a struggle . But that challenge is part of the grind to get better . If you can hit more greens and get it closer from inside of 100 yards , your scores will improve . But you must be willing to work at it until you find that consistent strike , until you can stop it on the green from a downhill lie , or until you can bump that hybrid near the flag from the bottom of a swale .
I am going to give you a way to work on your short game that will hopefully bring the joy back , and of course get you shooting lower scores . That process is as follows .
Start off by hitting some pitch shots about 20-30 yards , with both hands on the club . You may do this on a mat or on grass ; pay attention to your dispersion and what your typical misses are ( thin or heavy ). Then you are going to take practice swings with your lead hand only ( left hand for a right-handed player ). Your trail hand can go on your chest , as a reminder to rotate your chest and core . You do not want to swing just with your arm and shoulder when doing this . The advanced players can try to hit balls with just one hand , but for most players I recommend just doing practice
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swings . After 20-30 swings , your lead arm will get tired . Give it a little rest , and then add your trail hand to club .
When adding that trail hand , you will keep it open , meaning you will not wrap the fingers around the grip . If you interlock , it may help to start with an overlap or 10-finger grip , and then open the trail hand ( see picture ). Take practice swings and then hit pitch and chip shots . It will feel very strange holding the club with your lead hand and pulling it through , instead of pushing it with the trail hand . In your
“ I get it , practicing short game can be boring , especially if it is a struggle . But that challenge is part of the grind to get better .”
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finish position , the club should be resting on your trail hand , instead of flipping over .
The last step is to grip the club normally , but the change here is you will be firmer in your lead hand , especially the pinky , ring and middle fingers . Your trail hand will be exceptionally soft on the club , a zero on the scale of 1-10 . You must embrace the awkwardness , as now you are going to be pulling that club instead of pushing it through impact . Remember to turn your body as well , both on the backswing and through swing . That means you can then use more of your bigger muscles , your chest , shoulders , back and core to swing the club . This will make it a more consistent motion , one less reliant on the timing of your hands .
Even though I had this “ eureka ” moment thousands of miles away from Virginia , the philosophy of less hands and more body started back when I was a junior golfer , taking weekly lessons from Patrick McGuire at the Raspberry Golf Academy ( thanks Uncle Mike for driving me ). If you have the time to take lessons , do so . Find a PGA Professional , you will not be disappointed .
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