Well it's the first part of November and Fall has arrived loud and clear. The
indian summer was nice while it lasted, but if you're an avid golfer,it's
time to get the cold weather gear back out and invoke the "leaf rule" on
those Saturday games.
I hope that the last article on putting helped your game, don't stop
practicing "cause your short game will save you all fall and winter as well.
The next logical discussion after putting is chipping and short pitch
shots. Think about how many greens you hit in regulation..............and
for each green you miss you're obviously going to have some kind of short
shot to the pin from around the green. When practicing these shots,and very
few of you do, first get your technique down to a point of consistent
control of your distances and direction, then work on all types of shots
that you might be confronted with in a typical round of golf. Long running
shots, lob or flop shots, shots near to the pin, uphill, downhill, sidehill,
all of them. And make it fun and challenging for your self. You are not only
becoming more familiar with all of these shots, mechanically, but if you
challenge your self and push your self in practice, when confronted with ANY
type of shot around the green you will be more focused on how you WANT to
hit that particular shot, instead of being nervous or afraid of failure.
Mechanically .....be sure to make contact on the DOWNSWING...accelerate
through ALL shots...keep the club low through the ball...and be clear in
your mind as to what shot you want to hit ,picture it in your mind clearly,
and take some practice swings to get a feel for the shot you want to
execute.
In conclusion, I'de like to address being prepared for cooler or cold
weather. I will always make sure to have a warm hat or beenie, oversized ski
mittens, a hand warmer, thermal pants and shirt,some layer of synthetic
shirt or vest, a rain suit and or a pair of warm ski pants. Obviously
dressing in layers,and trying to not have to wear a long sleeved jacket. I
like to have my arms and shoulders as free as possible when swinging. I'll
put the ski mittens on , with a handwarmer in at least one, in between shots
to maintain a better touch and feel. Remember when your fingers get cold you
will lose some feel for the club and often will grip the club too tightly
without even realizing it. This in turn will have an adverse effect on your
timing of the full swing andyour touch around the green. Oh yea, dont'
forget the umbrella...the only thing worse than getting cold on the golf
course is getting WET and COLD.
As always if I may be of any help to you with your golf game please feel free to contact me at 513-470-8438 or
e-mail me at timwilkins@hotmail.com.
STAY WARM AND PLAY WELL !!!
Tim X. Wilkins, PGA of AmericaRead Tim's archived articles.
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