I recently saw a comment on an older post that asked — “How do you control the distance on greenside bunker shots?” I thought this was a very good question and one I’ve been asked a lot over the years. So I thought I would address that question and hopefully reduce some of your sand trap anxiety.

First, let me say that really good bunker play requires more than just the knowledge I’m about to offer. It requires thoughtful practice and some experience reading different lies and situations. That said, to hit the ball different distances requires nothing more than knowing the technique I’ll write about in the following paragraphs. So, although you may not turn into Gary Player over night — you will, after reading this post, have a basic philosophy on controlling the distance of your bunker shots.

Okay, to start, there are two basic fundamentals that you must understand to control the length of your bunker shots. Without these two fundamentals, the rest is worthless. Just as is reading all the golf magazine articles that tell you how easy bunker shots are supposed to be. The two fundamentals you must understand and control are — entry point and depth of divot. These two things are vital to good bunker play and needed if you’re going to hit short and long shots on command.

Lets start with entry point, which simply means the point where your club enters the sand behind the ball. This is important because — if one time you enter 4 inches behind the ball and the next time you enter 1 inch behind the ball — your ball is going to travel different distances. Assuming the force of your swing is the same that is. What is the proper entry point? Well, to me, it’s 2 inches behind the ball on normal bunker shots. And…when I am instructing someone in the bunker, I really don’t let them move on from this step until they can do it consistently. It doesn’t make sense to try an comprehend point C if you still can’t get past point A. And in bunker play, delivering the club to a consistent point behind the ball is definitely point A. It really is quite simple to practice and you can do so without a ball, which is probably preferable. This way you won’t focus too much on the ball and swing to it, as opposed to the point in the sand.

Here’s the drill: Draw a long line across the bunker and then straddle that line with your stance. The line should fall two inches behind the left heel in your stance. Do not use a ball at first. Once set up, I want you to take practice strokes swinging through the sand. But each time, do your best to enter the sand right on that line two inches behind your left heel. Remember, make sure to swing through the sand. We don’t want to groove a stroke that hits at the sand…so pay attention to that. Take a number of practice swings making your way down that line in the sand. But make sure the line stays in the same spot in your stance. Don’t let it get too far back or too far forward. For now, don’t worry about aim so much. Just worry about swinging through that line two inches behind your left heel. You’ll see where your club enters, so make any needed adjustments. Once you get to the point where you can enter the sand at the same spot every time, put a ball down directly off your left heel. Then, continue to do the drill, except this time with a ball down. Remember, still enter two inches behind your left heel (or from where your ball is placed) right on that line. You’ll quickly get the feeling of the sand taking your ball onto the green. That is an easy way to understand the first fundamental of entry point and should take you about 10-15 minutes.

For the second fundamental, I want to you look at the big flange on the bottom of your sand wedge. This is designed specifically for bunkers. That flange translates into bounce as you swing the club into the sand. What is bounce? Bounce is exactly what it sounds like, your club bouncing off the ground into the ball. If you have ever sculled a sand wedge from a tight lie in the fairway because your club skimmed off the ground, you know what bounce is. The manufacturer put that big flange on the club so it would bounce off the ground. The great thing about bunkers is that they are made of soft sand so, as the club strikes the sand it digs slightly and then bounces. This guarantees that you take the right amount of sand every time.

Still confused? It’s okay, I am going to show you how to use the bounce to your advantage. Raise the bottom of your sand wedge up to your face, right at eye level. Set it so the face of the club is looking at you. Now push the grip end of the club away from you while keeping the face in the same position. You are opening the clubface by in essence moving the shaft backwards. Notice what is happening to the bottom of the club and its flange. It’s getting bigger and you are seeing more of it. Next, bring the handle closer to you and watch what happens. The more you close the clubface, the more the flange disappears. You are decreasing the bounce by closing the face. From this experiment, you learn that a square clubface produces normal bounce, an open clubface produces more bounce, and a closed clubface produces less bounce.

Now the trick is to know when to use each degree of bounce. Just think about what you are trying to accomplish in a normal sand shot. Your goal is to splash the ball out softly riding on a thin blanket of sand. The amount of sand you take will determine the distance your ball travels – not necessarily the amount of sand you take behind the ball, but the amount you take under the ball. This has to be consistent to hit good bunker shots. If you skim the top of the sand on one shot and then dig five inches deep on the next one, you will never know how hard to swing. Knowing how to use the bounce of your wedge is the key to controlling the depth of your divots. The more bounce you use, the more shallow the divot. The less bounce you use, the deeper the divot. And because your goal is to splash the ball out on a thin layer of sand, you want a shallow divot, and will use an open face on your wedge to hit this shot. In fact, you should use an open face anytime you have a good lie in the bunker. One note however: Make sure to open the face of your sand wedge and then grip it. Don’t grip it then open it, as it will likely return to square at the bottom of your swing.

Okay — I know that was a lot of technical information…but some golfers really need that. But to make it simple in review — before your do anything else in a bunker — you want to control your entry point and the depth of your divot. This way the amount of sand taken will always be consistent and then you can control distance by effort of swing. This is the simplest way to get the ball close when having a long way to travel across a big green.

So, now on to controlling your distances. And believe it or not, this gets very easy if you do the first two things correctly. All that is required to control your distances in greenside bunkers is to modify your follow through. For a short shot — follow through short. For a medium bunker shot — follow through to a medium level. And for a long shot — follow through all the way. There is no need to adjust your backswing, as this will happen naturally and should, for all intensive purposes, stay consistent with all shots anyway. By controlling your finish, you will control the amount of acceleration through the ball, which will control how far the ball carries. It really is that simple. Don’t make it any more complicated then that. Yes, for specialty bunker shots, there is more required. But for a garden variety bunker shot, from a good lie, this is it.

In review…

Control your entry point by practicing swinging the club into the sand on an exact point.

Control the depth of your divot by controlling the angle of your face. An open face will create more bounce, which will create a more desired shallow divot. **Make sure to open the face, then grip it.

Control the length of your shot by controlling the length of your follow through. Have three finishes in your bag for short, medium and long shots. To get really close, you’ll have to practice — but to get reasonably close, you’ll just need to understand this concept.

A couple things about equipment and set-up. First, 90% of your greenside bunker shots should be hit with a sand-wedge that has between 56-60 degrees of loft and 8-12 degrees of bounce. To me, the perfect club for most situations is a 58 degree wedge with about 10 degrees of bounce. Most of the wedges today will say how much bounce they have on the bottom of the club. If you don’t see it there — ask your pro and they should be able to help you out. Second, you should hit 90% of all your greenside bunker shots with open feet and shoulders. That way, your open club will be aiming properly at the target. From there, just swing aggressively down your body line, and the ball will bleed a little to the right (for a right-handed golfer) directly at your target.

You can learn more about improving your bunker play in our free illustrated 60 page PDF Report, 14 mins video and 19 mins audio. To receive a copy and play better bunker shots simply fill in your name and email here.

Good luck and have fun!

There is a theory in learning called “Primacy” and “Recency”. I use this theory often when making schedules or planning lessons for my students. To me, it’s one of the best techniques for getting the most out of your practice. In simple terms, primacy and recency mean first and last. Primacy for first and recency for last. Basically, the concept is… we easily remember the first time and last time we do something. But it’s difficult to remember say the 11th or 23rd time we attempt something — unless it was a memorable result of some kind.

Here is an example…

Most adults, even though it happened years ago, remember their first kiss. And most can even give vivid details about the entire experience. From where it took place… to what they were wearing… to how they felt. It’s really quite remarkable. Now if we take that a step further, most adults remember their last kiss. For some it could have been this morning while kissing their spouse goodbye. For others, it could have been during their last relationship. For others still, it could have been 3am Saturday night at the club. We won’t go there. But you get the drift. The clearest memories are always the first and last time you do something.

For golf, I can clearly remember the first time I ever broke 70. I remember who I played with; where I played; the drive and approach I hit on 18; the sense of relief after, as I had blown numerous chances leading up to that 69. But I also remember the last time just as clearly. Sadly however, it was way too long ago. But it was a special day with a good friend. My guess is, you too, can remember certain scoring barriers and breakthroughs in your own golfing life if using the primacy and recency model.

Now, this may seem like a neat trick, but how does it help you get better at golf?

First, lets start with a practice flaw I see in a lot of golfers — from amateur to professional. I call this flaw ‘busyness’ — and I see it all the time. I’m of the school that… we all know most of the answers… to most of the stuff in life… if we could just somehow quiet our mind. But it’s hard to get quiet in the modern world with all the distractions. And when we practice golf, it’s the same thing — distractions. And with those distractions, our minds get busy. And with busy minds, we cannot focus clearly on something that may or may not help us improve. Instead, our minds scatter all over the place… and by the time we leave the practice area, we are on to a completely different theory then when we started. Sound familiar? If it does, I’ll make this promise, as it relates to golf — you will never reach your potential! But there is a way out of this confusing maze of cluttered practice — and it’s called primacy and recency.

How? Okay, let’s think about it. If we know it’s easy to remember the first and last time we do something, then logic dictates that — we should make the first and last times closer together. Instead of one-hour range sessions, where the 45-50 minutes in the middle of that hour become gray and cluttered, how about 10-15 minute focused range sessions instead? Say for example, you are going to the range to work on your swing. You just watched Andy explain his 4 New Magic Moves. You’ve watched the DVD. You’ve read the book. Your mind is all set on what you’re trying to accomplish. And… you’re really excited to start and planned a 3-hour practice session. How am I doing so far? Sound like you? It certainly used to be me.

Now lets extend that scenario above out through your practice time. Instead of having a really good strategy on how you’ll attack the day — you just start hitting balls. For example, you remember the wrist cock Andy explained — so you try it.

Here’s the sample thought process as you practice…

“It feels good. Better than my old swing. This is easy. What’s next? Let’s try the shoulder move. Okay, feels good, but am I doing it right? Wait, that one wasn’t very good — maybe I forgot to cock my wrists properly. How was I supposed to do that again? Didn’t GOLF Magazine say something last month about cocking my wrists. Yeah, that’s right, I saw David Leadbetter do something on that. It was some kind of drill with an umbrella. Hey John, do you remember that drill Leadbetter had in GOLF Magazine last month with the umbrella?”

So there you are. An hour into practice and lost again. But you were so excited and thought you really, for once, had the answer. Yet, you didn’t really improve. In fact, you’re more confused than ever. And to make matters worse, you can’t even remember how you used to swing, which at this point you would take happily.

Now, let me take you through that same scenario properly, using the theory of primacy and recency.

You should watch the DVD all the way through for an overview. But then, you should should watch the new first magic move again (the wrist cock) to truly understand. Now, instead of having a ton of information about four moves — you have a better understanding of the first move. You should start the DVD with the first magic move and end the DVD back at that first magic move. Then there is a much better chance you’ll know it…and more importantly, retain the information.

Next, make a few notes about the first magic move. You don’t have to write the Magna Carta — just a few key points that will help you remember. Writing it down does two things. First, it reinforces the information deeper into your brain, as this is another way to learn. And second, it gives you a simple cheat sheet, should you become distracted on the driving range. Next, get to the range and warm up. Then, start your drill for the new first magic move. Do the drill with great thought and care. Really try and feel the changes. Do this for only 15 minutes. Once 15 minutes is up, go over to the putting green and hit putts for 15 minutes. Work on whatever it is you’re working on there — but again, just one thing. Get your mind fully off your swing and onto your putting 100%.

Then, after 15 minutes on the putting green, go back to the range and continue with the new first magic move for another 15 minutes. Again, take great care while you practice. Then, after 15 minutes, go work on one area of your short game for 15 minutes. Again, focus only on the area you’re practicing — not your golf swing. Then, after 15 minutes, go back to the range and work on the new first magic move again. Continue this process for as long as you have to practice. Don’t — I repeat DON’T — move up to the second magic move yet. Just keep repeating this process for a few practice sessions.

In a golf swing, one thing builds upon another. And if you go to step two before truly mastering step one — you’ll struggle. You’re better off hanging out too long at step one then leaving too early for step two. Remember, just because your mind comprehends the information, doesn’t mean your body does. That will always take more time. You want the first step to become part of you before moving on to step two. Once you’ve mastered step one, then use the same philosophy for step two.

So lets think about the differences above. In my example, you had short bursts of practice on one single part of your game. And because the beginning and end of each these sessions were close together (15 minutes) — there is a super chance of you retaining all that you learned and felt. And more importantly, because the sessions were shorter, there’s less chance of distraction with other non-productive thoughts. So, although you may not hit as many balls this way — the quality will go way up. And with that, your improvement will be ten-fold.

Remember, by keeping the first and the last time you do something closer to one another — your chances of retention improve greatly. So short bursts of focused practice is the key.

Good luck!

When I discuss playing in pressure-packed situations with my professional students, I’ll always try and remind them that… all great things are accomplished outside their comfort zones. Or, I might say to them — rarely does anything exceptional happen if you’re afraid to get a little uncomfortable. And then, we actually prepare for that uncomfort — and what to do when it happens.

If you think about it, this phenomonam is true in all areas of life. Whether it’s having the nerve to walk over to that beautiful woman and ask her name. Or to walk into the manager’s office and say — hey, I think I deserve a raise. As we all know, it’s never easy spending time on uncomfortable island. But if you think about it — that seems to be where they keep all the really good stuff.

Now, how does this relate to your golf game? Well, I want to help you smash through your comfort zone in 2010 and start scoring up to your capability. Basically, I want to see you get in an uncomfortable situation on the golf course…and handle it!

Let’s just say your average score is 80 for 18 holes. How many times have you had a wonderful front-nine score of 35 or so, only to follow it up with a back-nine score of 45? Or for that matter, scored 45 on the front — but came back with a great 35 on the back? My guess would be often. And really, it all comes down to comfort zone. In both of these examples, you weren’t quite comfortable. Not comfortable shooting another 35 for a 70. And not comfortable shooting another 45 for a 90. But…because you’re comfortable with 80…that’s where you’ll end up.

Now, what do you do about it?

First, let me share an example of how I smashed through a comfort zone and finally had a good score on a tough golf course. When I first started working at Cheval Golf and Country Club, just outside of Tampa in 1995, I was a pretty good player. I don’t want to exaggerate, as we all seem to get a little better as we get older. I suppose our skewed memories give all of us an over-inflated idea of just how good we “once were.” But I was a mini-tour player in Florida and capable of shooting in the 60′s on any day on any course. I was long and had a very good short game. I wasn’t the straightest guy in the world, nor was I a wonderful short putter — but I could play. I decided to work in the bag room at Cheval for playing privileges. It was a very nice private course, with great greens… and a reputation for being impossibly hard. I figured this would be a great test every day, as I tried to bring my game to the next level. The first few weeks, I had some good rounds — but nothing spectacular. But I also had some horrendous rounds. I actually shot in the 80′s a couple times and my guess is — if you were to average my scores for those first few weeks — it would have been in the mid 70′s. Hardly the scores of someone looking to make a step to the next level. But this course was hard. And for me, it was a different kind of hard. It had OB and water on every single hole. To put it simply, it was crazy tight. So, I was hitting a couple balls a day out of bounds and Lord knows where else. I was making birdies — but also very high numbers. Part of me realized what was going on. It was the course and my inability to play it — not my game. I could still go to other courses and shoot great scores — but not at Cheval. Still, I also thought, as a pro, I should be able to play any course and to that end — my scores were awful. Either way, I was losing a lot of confidence. And for the first time started thinking about where I didn’t want my ball to go, as opposed to where I wanted it to go. I was playing scared.

But then a very serendipitous thing happened. The head professional at the time, who would later become a great friend, was a pretty cocky guy. And also a pretty good player. He wasn’t too thrilled about me taking some of his thunder, in spite of my high scores. Some of the members were talking about me as a player… and it was time for him to show me once and for all that he was the best. So he challenged me. He said that I could play a two-ball scramble against his one ball. And that he would still win. I gladly took that challenge and off we went. It was amazing. Just having that second ball as an option freed me up so much. Granted, I used it some, especially on the greens — but I felt completely different on the first attempt. I shot something in the mid-60′s and easily beat the head pro. For the first time since I started working there, I left the course that day feeling good about my game. The next day, the head pro challenged me to a red tee game. We both would play the red tees and see how low we could shoot. Again, I said okay. We had a blast and I shot something like 61 or 62. But… more importantly, I started to see the course differently. There were good scores out there — even if it took me playing the red tees and a scramble to see them. However, the next day, I played the tips, shot 65 and broke the course record. Then, the day after that I shot 66. It was almost like an out of body experience. All of a sudden, I couldn’t wait to play and see how low I could shoot at Cheval. Of course, reality set in eventually, and I came back to earth. But that four day stretch of golf was all it took for me to break through my comfort zone at an extremely tough course. And it all started with a scramble and the red tees. You see, sometimes before you can actually do something — you have to know you can do something…if that makes sense. And you have to see yourself doing it. And for me, I was able to dissect those scramble and red tee rounds and say — I’m capable of doing that here. After all, the red tees are just up — but it still is the same course. And with the scramble — it was still me hitting the shots. Plus, those two days changed me back to looking where I wanted the ball to go, as opposed to where I didn’t want it to go. By the way, at the end of the day, that is the real secret.

I’ll talk more about this in future posts — but for now, I would like you to take this away in trying to smash through your comfort zone. Play a scramble and from the forward tees… and shoot the score you’ve been trying to shoot. See yourself doing it and then feel what it feels like. I can’t tell you how valuable this is to the psyche. Lets say for example, you want to break 80 – but you just can’t seem to pull it off. And you normally play the blue tees. For the next few rounds, I want you to play the whites or silver tees. I want to see you shoot in the 70′s a few times. Then, go back to the blues with those great memories and play. If after 3 rounds, you still haven’t broken 80, go back to the forward tees for a few rounds. Keep this up until you break 80. Then, whenever you go 3 rounds without breaking your scoring goal — move up a tee and break it. Or play a scramble if you’re alone. Great golf is built of mini successes — so set yourself up to have a bunch of them.

Like I said, I’ll talk more about this subject in the future — but try this for now. My guess is that you will finally smash through that comfort zone that’s been holding you back.

I’ve refrained from writing about Tiger Woods over the last month for a couple reasons. First, I’m genuinely disappointed with the whole mess and don’t feel ready to share my thoughts until I can see it less emotionally. And second, I don’t think anyone really knows the true story…and won’t until either Tiger or Elin decide to speak out on the subject. And, I don’t want to join in on the speculation round table, as I feel there has been enough of that going on…without my help. Plus, no matter how disappointed I am, Tiger has earned my respect with his spectacular play; his countless hours of charitable work; and his ability to take the sport I love to unprecedented heights.

So…although I certainly have an opinion on Tiger’s extracarricular activities — I will not judge.

Now, that said, golf is going to hit a little speed bump this year without Tiger Woods. Even if Tiger plays in 2010, he still wont be the Tiger we’ve known…if that makes sense. And between the economy and new TV contracts, this probably wasn’t the greatest time for us to find out that Tiger is human after all. That said, golf, long term, is of course is bigger than any one person. But for the sake of the short term, here are four things I think golf could use in 2010.

1. Phil Mickelson to have a monster year. The stars have never been better aligned for Mickelson to take his place among the all-time greats. He’s rediscovered his putting stroke after finding Dave Stockton. He’s missing full shots better than ever after finally getting comfortable with his Butch Harmon designed golf swing. And, he has a new found perspective after his wife and mother both faced down health scares. Golf needs Phil to win 5+ times in 2010… preferably with a couple of majors. And one of those majors should come at the home of golf, St. Andrews, in the British Open — so Mickelson can become a global champion and not just an American one. He’s made some international strides the last couple years in China, but all things being equal, he’s pretty much thought of as an American golfer. That’s not necessarily a bad thing — but Tiger Woods belongs to the world. And right now, golf could use a global figure who won’t drop the ball. And at this point in time, Phil is that choice. I’ve been lucky enough to attend some major events where Tiger and Phil both competed, and I’ll wager that, at least in America, fans love Phil more. They may respect Tiger more (or at least used to) but they love Phil. Maybe it’s his style of play. Or maybe, it’s that, from day one, we’ve always known he was a fallible human being. Or maybe, we love the the fact that in the middle of a practice round, he’ll buy the crowd hamburgers from the snack bar. Or maybe, we love that he smiles. Or maybe, we love that he’s the tour’s most generous tipper. Or maybe, it’s a combination of all of the above. But I know one thing for certain — if Phil can play some truly spectacular golf in 2010 — he’ll add a whole lot of respect to that love.

2. The kids — Rory McIlroy, Anthony Kim, Ryo Ishikawa and Danny Lee — to come alive in big events and preferably battle one another for a title. Golf needs a couple new superstars and more importantly… rivalries. I can think of nothing better than a couple of these kids in a back nine battle for a Green Jacket in April. Can you imagine Rory fearlessly matching Anthony birdie for birdie at The Masters? It would certainly be fun to watch. It would give us something to talk about besides Tiger Woods. Okay, you’re right, we’ll always talk about Tiger Woods. But a teenage/twenty-something shootout at Augusta would infuse some much needed excitement into the sport.

3. For a rivalry to develop on The LPGA Tour that makes people actually want to watch. Annika Sorenstam became Annika Sorenstam after Karrie Webb made her work harder and smarter than any woman professional to date. Wouldn’t it be nice if Michelle Wie could battle Lorena Ochoa or Paula Creamer for a few majors this year? I say Michelle because, even with her controversies of the last few years, no one moves galleries on Tour like her. I’ve spent a lot of time on the LPGA Tour and trust me, it’s easy to find Michelle on the golf course — just find the people. Despite her controversies, I like Michelle. I think she was the victim of a few things outside of her control the last few years. I think she will mature into a well-liked, if not beloved, golf figure over the next ten years. I don’t think she’ll dominate until she becomes a better putter — but I think, thanks to her, we’ll see women’s golf played at a level never seen before. Simply, the LPGA Tour needs Michelle. And right now, golf needs Michelle.

4. For the major tours to give back…more. Face it, this is a tough time financially for a lot of people…and I think golf has a wonderful opportunity to lead the sporting world in giving something back to fans and communities. First, I’d like to see the tours voluntarely cut their purses 20%. The current purses reflect an economic boom time and when Tiger was…well Tiger. This would go a long way with the sponsors as well as those fans who are also hurting. If companies could sponsor an event for $4.8M this year for what was $6M last year — this would prove that major tours are in this for long term partnerships and not short term gains. Basically the anti Carolyn Biven model. It would also help with the networks who are losing more and more ad revenue to the web. If they could televise an event for 20% less than last year, it would also do wonders for that partnership. Next, I would like to see ticket prices cut for the average fan and for the tour’s to expand on free tickets to kids. I would like to think, even if a family is hurting economically, that a father could take his kids to a PGA Tour event for a reasonable amount of money. Again, this would go a long way to proving to fans that golf cares and wants to continue to grow the game.

I think if these four things happen, then this time next year, we’ll be looking back on 2010 as a very successful golf year. Tiger or no Tiger.

What do you think, please leave a comment below?

One of my students, Angela Won, is playing the Futures Tour Qualifying School this coming week in Lakeland, Florida. Angela is a talented girl, with a great golf swing and owner of, perhaps, the best putting stroke on Earth. But unfortunately, she has an issue — an issue that has scared her to death and has kept her from reaching her true potential. Angela’s issue is chipping. Angela has basically had the yips with chipping for the last 5 years. During practice, she’s fine…but when she plays for something that matters, and has a chip shot, watch out — because it could go anywhere. I’ve seen her skull simple chips from the fringe over the green. I’ve seen her double-hit chips from the rough. I’ve seen her chunk chips so badly that the divot went further than the ball. It’s really quite something to see. I mean here is this girl who plays golf so naturally and so effortlessly that she is one of my favorite players to watch. But give her a simple chip shot and she turns into a 30 handicap. I’m not talking tough chips over bunkers or out of heavy rough — I’m talking little simple chips that most 15 handicappers would get up and down easily. Like I said, it really is something to see.

I met Angela a couple years ago after she graduated from UC-Irvine. She was a very good junior player and had a great college career. But…in her own words, it should have been much better. When we met, I asked why? She said it was all chipping. I was surprised, as Angela wasn’t very long, and usually, shorter hitters rely on their wedges to compete at such a high level. But her equalizer had always been keeping the ball in play and literally making everything on the greens. Still, that will only take you so far and she had reached that point. She could no longer compete by wasting strokes around the green. I watched her chip for a while, and right away, we worked on some fundamental flaws — and she quickly got much better. All of a sudden she started holing out simple chips from everywhere. She started routinely winning short game contests against my other students. She was gaining confidence by the day and it looked like her problem was solved. It couldn’t have been this easy I thought. There is no way simple set-up fundamentals and easy drills could solve years of chipping problems in just a few days. But that’s what happened. Or so I thought.

Not long after we met and worked on those fundamentals, I watched Angela play in a golf tournament. She hit the ball fine and putted like her usual self — but low and behold — sure enough — her chipping was exactly how she described. She made 3 or 4 double bogeys from the fringe area by hitting some of the worst chips you’ll ever see. It was a completely different girl than what I had saw the previous couple weeks of practice. I think she shot something like 76 — but if Stevie Wonder had been chipping for her — it would have easily been 70-72. And if Tiger Woods was chipping for her — it could have easily been something in the 60′s.

She was right…she was an awful chipper. Or was she?

After the round, the first thing I told her was to putt everything from off the green the next day. I didn’t care how much fringe she had to go through — I wanted her to putt it. Then I told her we would talk over our strategy after the event. The next day she putted everything and played better — but still not nearly as well as she should have played…if she could somehow chip in tournaments like she did in practice.

The first thing Angela had to understand is why she was a bad chipper in tournaments. And to me, it was a comfort zone thing. If Angela had chipped in tournaments like she had in practice, she would have probably been the best college player in America. And quite frankly, she wasn’t prepared for that. And when golfers are not prepared for success, they will always find a way to sabotage themselves. And to me, Angela was doing just that — sabotaging herself.

The next thing Angela had to understand was that under extreme pressure, golfer’s always revert back to what feels natural. Angela was a great-great chipper as a teenager. But once she started taking lessons and doing things “the right way”, she lost all of that feel and became very mechanical. Her chipping method as a kid used lots of legs and feet. But her chipping method after lots of golf instruction used lots of hands and arms. She was basically confused. And when she got under pressure — she had the mechanical thoughts of hands and arms — fighting her natural inclination of feet and legs, which resulted in lots of ugly chips. I told her great players march to their own drum and if she was a great chipper before, she could be a great chipper again. And that I didn’t care if she chipped on one foot if it worked. To me, changing something that works just because it doesn’t fit the norm, is like trying to square up Lee Trevino’s stance. Seriously, if a golf pro would have gotten a hold of Trevino and said “wow, you hit it great aiming 50 yards left, but I think you should square up your stance” — we never would have witnessed the genius that was Lee Trevino.

So, our strategy was two-fold. One, Angela needed to give herself permission to play well. And two, she had to be secure enough in herself to do things her own way. Sure, we would work on her chipping — but until she made those two mental decisions — none of our work would matter.

Sadly, over the next year, Angela experienced a serious wrist injury and was unable to compete. So she has never been able to put her new-found chipping philosophy to the test. But she is healthy now and looking forward to starting her professional career. And her first step is next week in Lakeland.

Now, here is where my title “don’t kid yourself” comes in to play. Angela and I have talked extensively about her chipping fears in the past and how to overcome that fear. But until you put that talk into action, you never really know. Angela thought she had mastered that fear many times before in the past, only to have it reappear the first time she missed a green. So, I told her it would be irresponsible for us to just assume it’s gone forever. And that we had to prepare for that situation in case it comes up. I’m a very positive coach – but I am also a realist. I don’t subscribe to the theory of thinking everything is going to be okay, when deep down you know it may not be. We can fool a lot of people, but we can’t fool ourselves. Think about it — if you have duck-hooked every single shot for nine holes and now face a tough drive with water all down the left side — does it make more sense to just believe you can hit it straight or to have a plan or strategy in case that situation comes up? I’m all about expecting the best but preparing for the worst. Because if you’re prepared for the worst, it’s not nearly as scary.

I posed this question to Angela yesterday.

If I asked you to walk down a 100-yard, dimly lit hallway and then told you on the other end was $10,000 — would you walk down? She said yes. I then asked, would you still walk down if I said that along the way super-scary things would happen, like men in masks jumping out at you? She got a little apprehensive and said probably not. I asked, what if you knew they wouldn’t kill you and when it was over you’d be okay? After she thought about it more — she said definitely not — even if she was going to be okay. I then asked her would she go if I told her exactly when all the scary things would happen? She said maybe. I then asked would she go if I told her not just when things would happen — but what would happen? She said probably. I then asked would she go if I told her when it would happen — what would happen — and then what she could do as it happened to not be scared? She said yes, she would go for sure.

I told her this story was just like her golf. And that dimly lit, super-scary hallway was her chipping. But now instead of walking down that scary hallway with no information, she now knows when and where all the bad stuff will happen. And she now also knows how to deal with it. This seemed to make her feel better.

So, what will Angela do if she gets nervous chipping this week? Well, I showed her a simple chip with a 6-hybrid she carried in her bag. It mirrors her putting stroke, which she loves, and is super easy to repeat. She can hit it from anywhere that there isn’t a lot of rough to carry. And I’ve had her practice the heck out of it over the last few weeks. She’s gotten to the point where she is ridiculously good with this club and has tons of confidence. But the best part of this club is — she can’t chunk or skull it. Her misses are 7-8 feet away from the hole. And as good as she putts, that’s still almost a guaranteed par. But more importantly, she has a security blanket to fall back on if she needs it. And I believe that security blanket will be enough to let her have a good week. I told her — instead of practicing like you’re not going to be nervous — let’s practice just in case you are. And let’s work on a shot you can play even in your hands are shaking. That’s not saying you’ll need it — maybe you won’t — but it’s a nice thing to have in your back pocket just in case. Basically, let’s not kid ourselves.

A funny thing happens to a golfer when they have one thing that consistently bothers them in their game. It doesn’t take long before that one things starts to infect other areas of their game. For example, a person who putts poorly will put so much pressure on their iron game that eventually it will let them down as well. Or in Angela’s case, she has put so much pressure on her putting because of her chipping – that I worry it will eventually let her down if something doesn’t change. I don’t ever want her to feel like she needs to make everything to stay competitive. I just want her to just stroke it — because when she does — it’s magic. But unless her chipping gets better and takes that pressure off her putting — who knows what could happen.

I’m not sure how Angela will do this week, but I’m certainly pulling for her. It’s tough to tell how someone will do when they haven’t played in a tournament in over a year — but I have faith in one thing — Angela’s chipping will not kill her this week. She’s given herself permission to succeed; she’s gone back to what feels natural; and she has a “go to shot” just in case she gets nervous around the greens. And most importantly, she’s not kidding herself.

The great martial arts instructors talk often about pulling as your opponent is pushing. What does this mean? Basically, it’s a simple way of maintaining balance. Think of it this way…

If your opponent pushes you in the chest with all of his force…and you resist…it won’t take long before you lose balance. But if instead of resisting, you let your body step backward — you would easily keep balance. This is a great example of not fighting the laws of nature.

Another example is water. Imagine a river finding it’s way. It doesn’t try and ram it’s way trough a rock wall. It’s just meanders around the wall — basically taking the path of least resistance.

To me, great golf is a lot like these two examples. And in turn, poor golf is like standing your ground against that opponent – instead of stepping backward. Or, like water ramming against the rock wall – instead of gently finding it’s way around.

How does that relate to you and the golf course?

Too many times I see people struggle instead of taking what the golf course gives. Or, for that matter, struggling with their game — in a quest for perfection — instead of playing with what they have on a given day…or just going with the flow.

Tour professionals understand this. Well, at least the best ones do. They know that there are literally dozens, if not hundreds, of ways to achieve the same result. And when it comes right down to it — the result — or a good score — is all that matters. On one day, their swing might be so good that getting around the golf course is easy. But maybe their putting doesn’t feel all that great. So, even though their swing is great — they still only manage two or three under par. But on the next day, their putter comes alive — but their swing feel goes slightly dormant. They hit less greens – but make lots of par putts and take advantage of the greens they do hit. But the net result is the same — two or three under par. They understand that golf is a marathon — not a sprint — so they take this in stride. They’ll wait for those days when everything clicks – but aren’t consumed with it happening each time they tee it up.

This can happen with course conditions just as easy. One day, on a par four, you could hit driver within a short iron of the green. But the next Saturday, when the wind shifts a little, it might turn into a hybrid or fairway wood. The golf course is constantly changing, which to me, is one of the things that makes this game so special. But if you don’t embrace that change and expect to end up in the same spot every time — you will end up a seriously frustrated golfer.

These are some of the reasons why it’s difficult to follow up a great round with another great round. Say the last time you played — you were 2 under by the 6th hole — but now you are 1 over — so it’s very easy to think “what’s happening here?” Or, “why am I so bad today when I was so good yesterday?” Part of it could be some simple fundamentals, which I’ll address in another post shortly…but mostly — it’s about just being at peace with the game. And knowing that no one masters golf. This is why Tiger Woods doesn’t shoot 54 every time he plays. Or why Ben Hogan would always wake up from his famous dream on the 18th hole — right after making 17 straight birdies. Even in his dreams he couldn’t master this game.

Can taking a more serene approach help you score better? Absolutely!

Here are a few things that could help you go with the flow on the golf course…

1. Understand that golf course conditions are ever-changing — so it’s impossible to duplicate your play each time out.

2. Develop a balanced game — with emphasis on the short game — so when you don’t have a solid swing — you still have chances to shoot your handicap.

3. Take each shot and each round on it’s own merit. Don’t compare past rounds and past shots. Just take what you have in front of you — with whatever physical tools you have for that given day — and make a plan accordingly.

4. Understand that your score on a given day doesn’t define you as a golfer. Sometimes — a lot of times actually — luck plays a huge part in this game. I know Gary Player said “the more he practiced, the luckier he got” — but somethings are just outside of your control. Know that and be OK with it.

As strange as it sounds — you may have to think about and practice going with the flow. There is a wonderful story about the great South African champion Bobby Locke. As a young pro, Locke was a nervous wreck. He couldn’t take the pressure and would always beat himself up on the golf course. But one day he had an epiphany and decided to act calmer and easy going on the golf course. This took practice, as he was definitely a “type-A” personality. But he decided to fake it if he had to. He decided to start his new persona as soon as he left the house. On purpose, he would drive to the golf course much slower than the speed limit. Upon arriving, he would take the long way into the clubhouse. Once in the locker room, he would take lots of time putting on his shoes. Outside he would ‘shoot the breeze’ with a few other pros. Sometimes he was so relaxed and unassuming, he wouldn’t have time to warm up. But he didn’t care. He would just go with the flow. He knew other pros were concerned with all the negative stuff that used to consume him — and knew that would always work to his advantage. So even if he didn’t practice or warm up — he was prepared to take what the course gave him and stay calm. It must have worked, as he won 3 British Opens and countless other events. But none of his profound success happened until he learned to go with the flow.

My guess is — you won’t see your greatest success on the course until you too can go with the flow…

Good luck!

Okay — so you want to be a scratch golfer. I for one believe you can reach that goal — if of course, you have the requisite time and talent. And if you have access to the correct information through instruction or books/DVDs. And if…and this is a big IF…you learn that great play, which to me is the definition of scratch golf, is not…about fabulous shots. Nor is it about terrible shots. It’s about all the shots in between. Or…in my opinion — the most important 48 shots in golf — good misses. Let me explain…

I once read that Bobby Jones hit about six perfect shots a round. I also read that he hit about six awful shots a round. His words – not mine. I found it curious that I also read the same thing about Walter Hagen. When he would hit a poor shot – he would brush it off as just one of the six he knew he’d hit each day. This number six stuck with me through the years as I continued to read more and more about great players. Jack Nicklaus said the same thing. He too would only hit about six perfect shots a round, as well as six awful shots. Tiger Woods said the same thing. What was up with this number? I wondered if they all came up with this number six on their own — or were they all reading each other’s words and just going a long. Either way, I decided to investigate with some of my professional students. And believe it or not — I found the same thing. They all hit about six perfect and six poor shots per round.

Now, what constitutes perfect and horrible for players of this magnitude?

Well, a perfect shot is just that — perfect. For example, they have 148 yards to a right pin and decide to hit a little cut 8-iron just slightly left of the flag. Their result is perfect. The shot goes 148 yards. It ends up right at pin high and leaves the 10-foot birdie putt they wanted. It was dead solid and came off exactly how they saw it in their mind. This would be a perfect shot. This could also be a drive that goes 300+ yards right on their intended line. Or a 25-foot breaking putt that curled into the hole just like they envisioned. These too are examples of perfect shots. Granted, some days the top players have exceptional feel and can hit many more than six perfect shots per round. But I’m talking about on average. We tend to remember the 63′s and 65′s — but these players also shoot a lot of 70′s and 72′s. And at times – even higher.

On the other hand, a horrible shot is something that looks nothing like they intended. They were aiming down the left side of the fairway, trying to hit a little cut, only to double-cross it into the left trees. Or, they have a simple 7-iron shot…which they pull left of the green into a bunker. Or worst yet, they yip an easy straight in 4-footer. These would be great examples of horrible shots. And if you were to follow the PGA or LPGA Tours around — you would see many of the top players in the world hitting tons of horrible shots. Of course, as we only get to see the guys and girls on TV (which means they are playing great that week), we can sometimes get a false impression of just how “perfect” these golfers can be. What about all the players not making the TV cut that week?

Remember, this is an average. I’m talking about the majority of the time — not the 5-10 times out of 100 that a pro can shoot over 75-76. Or for that matter, the 5-10 times out of 100 that a pro can shoot under 65-66. I’m talking about the 80-90 times out of 100 when the pro shoots scores that when combined fit right into their average — between 70-72. I know there are a handful of players out there that average less than that — but I am talking about the majority. And for you — as someone trying to get to scratch (basically a 72 average) — this is even more pertinent.

Ok — so what about the title? Based on the information I just gave you — how did I come up with the most important 48 shots in Golf? And what are they? Well, basically the most important 48 shots in golf are just good misses. As a scratch golfer…or someone who averages 72…you will hit roughly six perfect and six awful shots per round. Lets subtract those 12 shots off 72, which would leave us with 60 more strokes left to play. Now, from that remaining 60 — we have to take off tap-in putts. And scratch golfers average roughly 12 tap-ins per round. This would be anything after a missed first putt — to a tap-in after a good chip. Basically, anything that you SHOULD make. So, if we then take those 12 tap-in strokes off 60, it leaves us with 48 remaining strokes. So what are these remaining strokes if not great, awful or tap-ins? They are simply good misses. And that my friend is exactly what great golf is all about — good misses.

It’s not the quality of your great shots — or for that matter — the quality of your horrible shots (As long as horrible doesn’t consistently mean penalty shots for you) — that determine your score. It’s the quality of your misses, as they will make up the majority of your strokes, that will determine just how good you get at this game. Because if the greatest players in the world can only expect to hit six perfect shots per round — how can we expect to hit any more? But the funny thing is — that attitude is usually what keeps players from reaching their full potential. They think about the one perfect 7-iron that flew 155 yards, as opposed to the other 90% that flew 145 yards. Or the one bombed drive that flew over that fairway bunker positioned 235 yards from the tee, as opposed to the other 20+ that flew directly into that same bunker. Bob Rotella calls it “a conservative strategy with a cocky swing.” I think that’s great advice. Take a club and/or line that takes stress away — instead of one that increases mental anguish.

Let me give you an example of a good miss. You have 155 yards to the pin with 10 yards past the flag before you run out of green. So, basically 165 yards to the back. And to top it off, there is no trouble on the back of the green. And you’re a great chipper of the ball. In front of the pin is a deep bunker that is almost impossible to get the ball close from. You have 146 yards to carry the bunker. Now, you can hit a 7-iron 155 yards. You’ve done so in the past. But realistically, you only carry it about 145-148 yards. So, instead of selecting a club you would have to hit perfectly, take a 6-iron, which you carry easily 155-158 yards, and swing confidently. If you miss it slightly, great – you are right at pin high. If you hit it normally, you’re more to the back of the green. If you absolutely flush it — you are slightly over the green with an easy chip — your strength. So, in this example, no matter what happens — you will probably make a par or birdie. But if you hit 7-iron, you could be either in the bunker or perfect. Those are your only two choices. And if you play those percentages throughout the round — the golf course will eventually get you. But if you play the 6-iron type percentage — you will always be in control and…even when you miss it — you’ll be in position to score. And this is how great players work themselves around the golf course.

Alright, her are some tips to help you get better at the most important 48 shots in golf.

1. Develop a sound course strategy based on your strengths and weaknesses
2. Understand your strengths and weaknesses
3. Develop a sound pre-shot routine that gets you into a consistent mind-set and set-up
4. Develop quality practice habits that focus on set-up fundamentals, which are key to missing it well
5. Become a great putter inside 5 feet
6. Know how far your clubs go on average in the air — not just your best. And then, based on what’s in front of you, plan accordingly
7. Play from the hole backward when you devise your strategy. Imagine yourself on the green before you hit your tee shot and then ask yourself — “where would be the best place to miss this for an easy chip or putt?”
8. Develop a “go-to” shot that can get you around the course when you’re feeling off

If you work on these things and more importantly — make a choice to say “Hey, I’m not going to try and be perfect in an imperfect game” — you will start making progress on that goal of scratch golf. Embrace your misses because no matter how great you get at this game — you will always have more misses than perfect shots.

Good luck and play well…and smart.

One of the most common problems in golf is first tee jitters. People go from the driving range, where they are relaxed and calm, to the first tee, where they are anxious and nervous. What causes this? Could be a number of things – from stage fright to uncertainty of technique. But what ever the reason — there is one simple exercise that can help you hit your best first tee shot.

When we’re nervous or stressed, our heart rate speeds up — so we have to slow it down. And learning to breath properly is the quickest way to get your heart rate under control. So, before your next round of golf — try this simple breathing technique and you’ll find it much easier to hit that opening tee shot.

Start this process 10 minutes before tee off. Get by yourself somewhere, whether on the range, putting green or just off the first tee. Then, clear your head and begin this simple method to slow your heart rate.

4-7-8 Breathing Method

Sit with your back straight. Place the tip of your tongue against the ridge of tissue just behind your upper front teeth, and keep it there throughout the exercise. Exhale through your mouth around your tongue with your lips slightly pursed.

Follow these steps

1. Empty your lungs, making a wooshing sound

2. Close your mouth and inhale through your nose to a Mental count of 4.

3. Hold your breath for a count of 7.

4. Again, blow through your mouth. making a wooshing sound to a count of 8.

**This is one breath. Repeat the cycle 9 more times for a total of 10 breaths. Do it once or twice throughout the round in stressful situations.

As you are doing your breathing exercises, visualize the first tee shot and your ball going right down the middle.

Good Luck!

All of us, regardless of our skill level, have at times, swung the golf club very well. And, I imagine all you fortunate readers who’ve completed Andy’s course — The New Four Magic Moves To Winning Golf– swing the golf club exceptionally well at times. But what makes this game so frustrating is not the good days — it’s the bad ones. Especially if they happen very soon after a great day. What gives?

Why can we swing the golf club perfectly one day, hitting it long and straight, yet barely find the clubface on other days? Most assume they’re not talented enough. Or they don’t work hard enough. Or better yet, that PGA Tour pros have some secret for consistency they’re not sharing with the world.

For some, yes — you may lack the requisite athletic ability to hit the golf ball long and straight. But even so, in all my years of teaching, with thousands of students, I’ve only met one I considered hopeless. And to this day, I still can’t figure out why I couldn’t help him. But that’s another story. My point simply is: if you’ve hit it well in stretches before — you can and should be able to do it consistently.

Let me share a couple of my favorite tips on how to maintain a great golf swing — or get one back that seems to be on vacation.

First, to maintain a great golf swing — you must maintain your body. It’s amazing how may people can’t figure out the reason for a slump, yet in the last year — they’ve put on 20-30lbs around their belly. So now the feels they used to feel are gone. Maybe their 90 degree shoulder turn has become 75. Or their distance from the ball changes. Or their posture changes slightly. Or their transition at the top of the swing gets quicker because it’s shorter. Either way, it doesn’t feel the same. And with that loss of feel comes a search for new mechanics. And looking for answers — which rarely works. Look at the players who are consistent throughout the years and you’ll see very little change in their bodies. Hale Irwin and Bernhard Langer are both great examples of this. In fact, I read a few months ago that Bernhard can still fit into the same size pants he wore in high school. That’s nuts — but speaks volumes to why he is so consistent.

So, my first tip to staying consistent: Maintain your fitness level. This may require more effort as you age — but you’ll see the benefits in your handicap.

Second, to maintain a great golf swing — you must maintain your set-up. After years of teaching some of the best players in the world, this next piece of advice is the absolute best tip I could ever give you.

**You don’t lose your golf swing overnight. It’s impossible. But you can lose your set-up overnight, which in turn will impact your golf swing — especially how it feels. So, as a golfer, you’ll try to recreate a feel you have when playing well (such as back to the target at the top of your swing), but will fall short — because it’s impossible to feel the same thing from a different set-up. So, you spend the day manufacturing feels. Anything to get you back to your best days. But hear this — if you find your set-up, your swing will find you. You won’t have to look for it.

So, how do you keep your set-up? I’ll give you an easy tip — one I share with all the touring pros and scratch amateurs I teach — and that’s go buy a cheap hitting mat. I don’t want you to hit a lot of balls off the mat — only a few occasionally. But you’ll use it to maintain good form. Here’s how. Next time you’re hitting it well — I mean really well — go hit some balls on the mat. Then, have a friend trace your feet and ball position. Use a 7-iron or so. Also, have your friend draw your target line — as well as your body line. But only draw your body line — using your feet as the reference — once you’re hit a couple well on the mat. Why? Well, you may hit your best shots slightly open or closed. And this is valuable information to have. Lee Trevino – one of the best ball strikers ever — aimed way left. While Sam Snead, another of the all-time greats — aimed way right. You see, if anyone ever tried to get their stances to fit a model of perfectly square — they never would have been so consistent. But — they found their set-up all the time, which is why they were so good. Does that make sense?

Then, once you have your feet, ball, target line and body lines traced — put the mat away. Keep it in the trunk of your car or in the garage. Then, next time you are struggling — go stand on it and hit some balls. Your swing will find you in no time. Or better yet, stand on it for a few minutes a week and you’ll never have to worry about losing you swing.

Good luck!

Like most golfer’s — I don’t like to play slowly. Of the best rounds from my past, almost all involve a very consistent pace. Almost like I was walking up to the ball, seeing my shot and then hitting it right away. Most of those rounds happened when there were very few people on the course — and it was just me or my group — with no one in front or behind. We would establish our pace early and keep to it for the entire eighteen. Those were almost always good days. My favorite time to play golf has always been late in the afternoon, when the sun’s going down, there’s no one on the course and I am trying to get finished pretty quickly. I almost always shoot par or better in these situations. Sadly however, I’ve never been able to consistently take that quality play over to competition. And now, with much more experience, I realize it had everything to do with my pace. I would play well when I could play quickly and not think too much. And would play poorly when things got too slow and I had time to think and not just react.

I am going to spend my next couple posts discussing the problem of slow play and then — how you can — no matter the situation — find your ideal pace to play great golf. But first, lets talk about how you can get things moving a little quicker at your golf course. I would make these suggestions to your pro or golf committee and in turn — they can make these suggestions to the golfers playing your course. Reminders on the carts, letters to members and education by the professional staff are also great ways to get play moving.

When I took over as Director of Golf at Cheval Golf and Country Club back in 2000, one of the first things I addressed was slow play. I spent the first few weeks monitoring how things worked and was appalled to see the average time for a foursome on Saturday morning was over four hours and forty-five minutes. Crazy! Yes, we had a difficult golf course with lots of hazards — but still, this was completely unacceptable.

So, I talked to my assistants and came up with a very simple approach to take 36 minutes off every foursome’s round. But, much to my surprise, it got much better than 36 minutes, as we almost took a complete hour off the average time. Here’s how we went from an average time of 4:48 to 3:57 in less than a month.

First , I decided to include the membership in on the “speeding up” process. I wrote a letter explaining how slowly things had been moving and how much more fun they would have if they could all play a little faster. On top of that, they would have much more time to do other things throughout the day if they could play, eat lunch and get home within 5 hours or so. I told them we were going to do two things — one the shop’s responsibility and the other theirs. I am happy to say it worked well.

The first thing we did was to ask each member to take 15 seconds off their tee shot and putting routine. We explained that — if each golfer was ready to go when it was their turn to hit — and had their putts lined up when it was their turn to putt — that would just about do it. Think about it — if each member of a foursome plays just 15 seconds quicker on the tee — that’s a minute. Then, if they each play 15 seconds quicker on the green — that’s another minute. Over 18 holes, that translates to 36 minutes. This was initial goal. For the golfers who felt rushed, I had my assistants give them each a 15 minute lesson on “ready golf.” Within a few weeks, 90% of the groups were playing fast golf. Yet, we still had a problem with the other 10%. And as you know, if that 10% is in front or in the middle of groups — the foursomes behind cannot play quickly — even if they want to.

So, the next thing we did was to post a pace board for peer review. We put this up every Saturday afternoon outside the golf shop, which solved the problem almost immediately. Next to every group, we posted their finish time. This proved to be an effective way for players to self-govern and feel some peer pressure. Imagine your name listed as the 10th group of the day — and the first nine groups all had less than four hours next to their names — but yours had 4:30 in bright red. It wouldn’t take long for you to speed up or force the slow guy in your group to do the same. Especially when all the groups behind come in and want to know who it was holding up the golf course.

So, if you are dealing with slow play at your golf course — and like me, don’t like it – try these simple things. Educate players on how to be ready on the tees and greens and have peer review for final end times. You will be amazed at how quickly things start moving in front of you. Just make sure your group keeps up.

Its happened to everyone. You’re playing great and then wham — you hit a wall of people. The golf course slows down to a crawl and with it — so goes all your rhythm and ultimately — your patience. From there, it doesn’t take long before your scorecard is loaded with bogeys and double bogeys. So, how can you stop this from happening? How can you — with pace and rhythm such an important part of good golf — continue to play consistently when something outside your control impacts the speed at which you play?

To me, the easiest way to deal with issues like this is to play something I like to call “bubble golf.” Basically, all it means is — getting inside your bubble when it’s your turn to hit or putt — no matter the pace your group is playing. This way, your pace will never change — no matter what happens on the golf course.

Let me show you how it works.

Every golfer should have a key — whether physical or mental — that puts them inside their bubble. And, inside their bubble, they should focus only on the shot at hand. They should gather all key data. They should visualize the shot. They should pick a club that matches the shot they see. And, they should walk into the ball with a consistent pace, which will put them in the best position to succeed. And just as importantly, once the shot is over, they should have a quick post-round routine while still in their bubble. Then, they should leave their mental bubble of concentration and think about whatever.

In his prime, Billy Casper would enter his bubble as he pulled the club from his bag. If something happened to interfere with his concentration during his pre-swing or actual motion — he would put the club back in the bag and start completely over. He had done it so many times — it was his key to concentrate. And he would never take the club out of the bag until he was ready to enter his bubble. I like that. It’s simple. On the greens, Payne Stewart would tap his putter lightly when he was ready to enter his bubble. Some players take their gloves on and off. It doesn’t really matter what your key is — just have one.

Here’s an ideal example of what should go through a player’s mind as they enter and leave their bubble.

It’s their turn to hit…they activate their key to focus…in this example, it’s a simple key word — go…so, they say “go” quietly to themselves, which puts them in focus mode…from observing — they have already made some decisions based on yardage, wind or hole shape…so they are not necessarily starting from scratch when entering their bubble…but — the first part is definitely the evaluation stage…how far is it…where is the wind going…what’s the actual yardage…these are the type of questions a player in a bubble will ask themselves before committing to a shot…they basically have a checklist…this will get easier and more efficient the more they do it…once they make their club choice based on their evaluation — they should see the shot one more time in their mind…really see it…paint a very detailed picture…this process of evaluation should have flexibility…some shots are easy to see…some shots are not easy to see…so — the evaluation stage may vary in pace…this is okay and normal…however, once the player sees and commits to the shot — the walk into the ball, look and waggle — should always be the same pace…this should not vary at all…this is the trusting phase…if the player is unsure during the trusting phase — they should start over and go back to the evaluation…they should never try to take longer or try and change something while over the ball…then, after the strike, the player should take 10-15 seconds and evaluate what happened…if it was a great shot — they should enjoy it…they should take a picture of it for their mind…and put it somewhere easily recallable….if it was a poor shot, they should take a couple practice swings and try to leave that spot with a positive feel, as opposed to a negative…once that’s accomplished — they should leave the bubble…from there, they should talk to their playing partners…think about whatever…but, they should not obsess about the game…when it’s their turn again — they should simply return to their bubble and start the process over again…

Now, if you play this way — it won’t matter if you hit a wall of people on the golf course. It won’t matter because — you are the one who is controlling the pace of your game. No matter if the pace is fast or slow — your pace never changes. It never changes because — it doesn’t actually start until you enter the bubble.

Practice this. I know if you do — you will see a big improvement in the rounds of golf that vary in pace.

Good luck!

I have spent the last few weeks on the road with some of my students at Futures Tour Events in Florida. These were the first events of the season and as expected, I learned a lot about my student’s games. I always say a golfer has four games or swings: They have their practice range game; their golf course game; their golf tournament game; and lastly – their last nine holes, with a chance to win a tournament game. Ideally, we want all of those games to match. Unfortunately, even for the highest level golfer, sometimes they get progressively worst.

I would like to share Stella Lee’s experience over the last few weeks and show you a couple things that can help improve your scoring. Stella had two problems which didn’t allow her to play up to her scoring potential in the first two events – rhythm and comfort zone. On the golf course, her rhythm got much slower on short shots and she wasn’t quite ready mentally to shoot a score in the 60′s.

Let me first give you some background on Stella and what we’ve worked on the last few months. Then, we’ll tie it together — so just like Stella will hopefully do this summer — you can also play golf up to your true potential.

I first met Stella at The LPGA Qualifying Tournament last fall. We met to discuss the possibility of working with one another after she missed the cut. At the time, she was living just outside Los Angeles and was understandably frustrated with her game. After spending an hour with her, I saw a number of simple things we could incorporate that would help achieve her two main goals — more distance and accuracy. I was happy to hear later that week, based on our initial meeting, she had decided to move to Orlando to work with me this past winter. I was happy for a couple reasons. First, she is a great girl who is lot of fun to be around. And second, I thought I could help “unclutter” her mind and simplify the way she swung the golf club.

After a very good junior and college career at University of California Irvine, Stella turned pro in the 2004. She played the Futures Tour and had a reasonable first year. She made 6 of 8 cuts and had a stroke average of 73.5. But, something happened to Stella during her first season that happens to many girls when they make the transition from a junior/college golfer to that of a professional. She started to change things. She went from a very good scorer in her junior days, who relied heavily on short game, to someone obsessed with more distance. She had never been long as a kid, but neither were the courses. Now, the courses and girls were longer — and she started to feel somewhat inadequate.

Does this sound familiar? So many times we play with someone much longer, and if not careful, it makes us change things in order to compete. When in reality, we don’t compete with length. We compete with score. Granted, hitting it longer, with no loss of accuracy, is a great advantage. But very few players have it all. And,, a lot of times we’ll play with someone who’s very long while theyre having a great day – and because they make it look so easy – we feel the need to change. But, I promise you this – a lot of those long players would change positions with a short straight hitter on many a day. I for one was one of those players back in the 90′s when I competed in events. There were many times my 300 yard drives couldn’t find the golf course, when I thought how much easier life would be if I hit it 250 yards right down the middle. So, the moral is, everyone is searching a little.

Okay, back to Stella. When we did our initial talk, I asked about her short game. She said putting was her strength. First, I love when a player tells me they are a great putter. I know someone who really believes that, has chances to make the LPGA Tour. I’ve known many girls who hit it like a top 20 player in the world — but putt and chip like a 10 handicap — who now have “real jobs.” But, I also know many girls who’ve made a living on tour for years, who are very unimpressive on the driving range. Of course, do not get suckered into a putting match with these girls, or else you’ll be buying dinner. Trust me, I speak from experience. So, because of Stella’s assertion that she had a great short game, we did not spend too much time this winter working on that area of her game. Basically, we worked on swing mechanics for a couple months and then started playing golf to test her new move on the course. As we started playing, I was happy with her swing progress, but was not too thrilled with her short game. But, she, and some of my other students who also play the Futures Tour, kept assuring me that her short game was great. So, against my better judgement, I didn’t say much as it related to short game. However, I did make some comments and reminded her that 68% of all shots happen inside 100 yards. So, 68% of her practice should also be inside 100 yards.

As the first event drew closer and her swing felt more comfortable, Stella did start working on her short game more. We practiced a lot together and her stroke and chipping method were spot on. However, when we played, she wasn’t getting the most out of her game inside 100 yards. I recommended she work on a more consistent routine, as it seemed she was taking an awful long time of chips and putts. But, she wasn’t comfortable with hitting it quicker on short shots and was okay waiting until she was ready. Even if that meant standing over the ball longer on certain shots. I told her – I was okay with that on one condition – and that she was controlling the situation and not letting the situation control her. If she was waiting to get more focused – okay. But, if she was waiting because she was unsure – then not okay. I described Jack Nicklaus’ putting routine. Nicklaus was potentially the greatest pressure putter in the history of golf (at least before Tiger Woods came along) and his routine varied from stroke to stroke. Basically, Nicklaus would stand over a putt until he knew it was going in. And would not stroke it until he had that very positive feeling. So, I told Stella — if this is why you are waiting so long, then cool. She said it was and reassured me again — that her putting and chipping were the best part of her game.

Stella hit the ball beautifully during the first Futures Tour at Cleveland Heights in Lakeland, Florida. And again during the second event at LPGA International in Daytona, Florida. She averaged an amazing 13 fairways hit per round, as well as 13 greens. In the two events, she only had one penalty stroke. So, based on those hitting stats, you would assume Stella had a great two weeks. In fact, for someone who has such a great short game, with those hitting numbers, you would probably assume she won or came very close to winning both tournaments. Well, sadly, you would be wrong. Stella had a disappointing two weeks. She finished well down the pack in Lakeland and missed the cut in Daytona. Why? Simple, her short game let her down.

In my opinion, these two reasons are why Stella struggled with her short game in the first two events. And why I think she will get better and better each week if she works on this as diligently as she worked on her swing this winter.

First, her routine was awful. I know that sounds harsh – but it’s true. Here’s the thing – and we all fall victim to this – myself included. If you practice a certain way and then play differently – you will certainly struggle. And especially when there is pressure. Stella was spending the few weeks before the first event making 100 five foot putts on a chalk line every day. She got so good at this drill, she literally could do it with her eyes closed in 15 minutes. But, the one thing she didn’t take into account as she was practicing and making those 100 putts every day was rhythm. As she practiced, she would roll a ball over, look at the hole and stroke it in. It was the same tempo every time. Yet, when she got on the course in the tournament, her rhythm completely changed. Instead of looking and rolling the ball in. It was looking and waiting. Sometimes as long as five seconds just staring at the ball. So, now all that great practice she did on that line was useless really. Useless because she didn’t take the same feeling to the course. Instead of her five foot putts being an instinct – which is what we all want – it became a mental endeavor. She was thinking about it too much. Looking back at it now, we both learned something from the experience. She either needed to do one of two things. Practice on the line slower – just like she would do in the event. Or, putt in the event quicker – just like she practiced on the line. If she had done that, I believe she would have won the first event and come in the top 3 in the second. Wow – what a difference in confidence level that would have been. And all because of pacing.

Pacing is such an important fundamental. I bet you can think back to a lot of your great rounds and remember you pace. So many times I’ve asked people what they remember about their best scores. And almost always, they say the same thing. It felt like I was in slow motion they say. Or, sometimes they say it felt like they were moving much quicker and not thinking. Either way, it’s the same thing. It’s pace. Try and recreate your ideal pace as often as possible — especially recreate the pace you practice at — and you’ll find yourself scoring much better.

The second thing that stopped Stella and also stops the average golfer is comfort zone. Comfort zone is a very underrated factor to a golfer’s improvement. Think about it. How many times have you had a great front-nine followed by a lousy back-nine — only to shoot the same exact score you always shoot? Or vice versa? Sometimes we all get a little uncomfortable scoring lower than we’re used to. And for Stella, who had struggled for a couple years, it wasn’t time for her to be one of the best players on the Futures Tour. She wasn’t ready yet. She was finding ways to shoot the same exact scores she had shot the year before. In spending her entire winter focusing on a mechanical change, she lost sight of something very important for a professional golfer — score. She hadn’t quite given herself permission to be the best player yet.

I see this a lot with average golfers. They hit the ball better because of lessons or a program like Andy’s – but still don’t score that much lower. I hear it all the time – George, I’m hitting it so much better – but now I can’t chip. Or, my short game is so much better, but now I cannot hit a fairway. This is the same situation – they are not quite ready to get out of their comfort zone.

I believe you will see a great improvement in your scoring ability if you focus on these two things. First, recreate the pace you practice on the golf course. And secondly, see yourself shooting lower scores. Give yourself permission to be a lower handicap.

Good Luck!

Not sure if there is a quantifiable list out there — but I believe hands down — the best tournament golf course in the world is Augusta National. I would rank St. Andrews a distant second — but without a doubt, Augusta National is my number one. I promise it’s not just because it hosts the Masters (my favorite tournament) every year. It goes much deeper than that. Augusta does something no other golf course does — it identifies the best player in the world. And it does so almost every year. Yes, that’s right – the best player in the world usually wins the Masters — or at the very least, has the chance to win. You cannot say that about any other major event or golf course.

1985 was the first year of the Sony World Rankings and the first recipient of the number one ranking was Bernhard Langer. That year, Bernhard Langer won the Masters. In 1986, Jack Nicklaus (probably the best player ever and owner of more Masters titles than any other golfer) won – but a close second was Greg Norman and in third, two strokes behind, stood Seve Ballesteros. Greg and Seve were the two best players in the world in 1986. In 1987, Larry Mize beat Norman and Ballesteros (again the two best players) in a playoff. In 1988, Sandy Lyle was the number one ranked player in the world and yes – he won the Masters. In 1989 and 90, Nick Faldo won, which vaulted him to the number one spot. In 1991, Ian Woosnam won and was also the world’s number one ranked golfer. In 1992, number one ranked Fred Couples won the Masters. Do you see the pattern? In the first 8 years of the Sony World ranking, the number one ranked golfer in the world either won or came in second — and that pattern has continued to this day

The list of winners since 92 is stellar. Tiger Woods has four victories. By the way, Tiger has been the number one ranked golfer longer than anyone in history. Vijay Singh, a former number one – is a Masters champion. The year Mark O’Meara won the Masters, he was not ranked number one, but most would agree he was the best player in the world in 1998. Phil Mickelson has won twice and although he wasn’t officially ranked number one – each time he took home the green jacket, he was undoubtedly the world’s hottest golfer.

Additionally, the top finishers each year are loaded with top ranked players; Ernie Els, David Duval, Retief Goosen, Sergio Garcia, Davis Love, and many other highly ranked players have had many chances to win at Augusta. Simply, if you are going into the Masters on top of your game, and you are one of the world’s elite – you will have a wonderful chance to either win or finish well.

In my opinion, the reason for this is the golf course. Augusta National tests all facets of the game. And more importantly, allows for recovery. U.S. Open style courses don’t allow for this style of play. If you’re not hitting fairways and greens at the U.S. Open – you’re not going to win – no matter who you are. Same with the PGA and British Open. But, at the Masters, the golf course lets the best players find a way to still compete. If they aren’t hitting it well, they can make it up with a creative short game. A well rounded golfer always has a chance to do well at Augusta — but a golfer with limitations will be exposed immediately. And when you come right down to it – that’s really what the best player in the world is – well rounded. Ball striking, course management, short game, trouble shots, putting, mental – they can do it all. And if one area of their game is off, they make it up in others. Augusta allows this.

Like I said, a distant second is St. Andrews. If the tour played there more often, it might make a better run at first place. Using the same argument as Augusta – if you look at the major events held there in the last 40 years or so – you get similar results. 1970 – Jack Nicklaus, the best player in the world won. 1978 – Nicklaus won again. 1984 – Seve Ballesteros, the best player in the world won. 1990 – Nick Faldo, the best player in the world won. 1995 – John Daly, who could sometimes play like the best player in the world, won. In 2000 and 2005, number one ranked Tiger Woods won. So it also has a history of finding the best golfer. Bobby Jones once said you could never be considered a great champion unless you won at St. Andrews. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that Bobby Jones designed and built Augusta National as an homage to St. Andrews

Two courses each identifying the best players in the world – what more evidence do we need?

What do you think? Agree with my opinion? The Masters is coming up in a couple weeks. If history holds up — Look for Tiger, Phil and Ernie in a back nine battle.

Most golf fans would love to be commissioner of the PGA Tour for a day. Then, we could all implement our pet projects for the betterment of the game. I for one would change two things in my one day in office. First, I would do away with Q-School completely. Second, I would make it mandatory for each PGA Tour member to play every event at least once in a five year period. Why would I do away with Q-School? (Q-school = yearly 3 stage qualifying tournament for aspiring PGA Tour players) Answer – it’s an antiquated system that no longer does the job of finding the most qualified players. Think about it – you need to play your best golf in one week segments (the length of each stage) and if you don’t — you’re out! No chance to get on tour for another year. It doesn’t make sense. If you want to find the best players to compete on a tour that spans 10 months – why not challenge qualifiers for an equitable amount of time?

As it stands today, the top 25 finishers on The Nationwide Tour year-end money list receive PGA Tour cards for the following year. I say make it more. Make it 35 or 40 and do away completely with Q-school. Then, run the Nationwide Tour like the old days on the PGA Tour, when there were only 60 exempt players and many spots open for Monday qualifying. These qualifiers were called “rabbits.” The great thing about this format was…if you were a good player, you were going to get into an event. And if you were a really good player, you would use this system to win tournaments and forge a career. I say do the same thing on the Nationwide Tour today — 60 exempt players and 60+ rabbits for every event. That way, the best young players in the world today are almost guaranteed a tour to play. And if they have a bad week, they can try again the next tournament and not have to wait a year. In this scenario, you would have the best Nationwide players – determined by a full season – graduating to the PGA Tour. This system almost guarantees a constant stream of battle tested pros graduating to the PGA Tour, which ultimately only enhances the product.

Right now, the PGA Tour has a rule stating each professional must play a minimum of 15 tournaments per year to maintain their membership. However, there is nothing in the rules telling professionals what tournaments they must play. Pros are independent contractors and free to make their own schedule. I believe in the contractor system, but I also believe it will eventually ruin the PGA Tour, as top players disregard second tier events year after year. We are starting to see the residuals of this system now as long standing events are closing down. They just can’t stay competitive without top players making an appearance — because they can’t keep their title sponsors. Sponsors are putting up the enormous title fee (up to $6,000,000 per year) to get a message to customers who want their product. It only makes sense – if the television ratings are higher – more people are getting their message And lets be honest, television ratings are higher every time Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson play. Plus, the daily attendance at top events is always higher with the stars show up. So, as a second tier tournament, trying to secure sponsorship without the best players, is almost becoming impossible. Just ask the folks at “The International”, a long running tournament on the PGA Tour who shut their doors this past year. The tournament director said he just couldn’t compete without Tiger Woods in his field.

I’m not saying the commissioner needs to tell Tiger to play every week to save the tour. Tiger is a global figure who could never play every event. But if there were a rule stating each player must compete in every tournament at least once every five years – I think that solves the problem. Now the folks selling sponsorships can secure five year deals knowing that Tiger and other top players will at least make one appearance. And the fans outside the loop of the greatest tournaments will be treated to watching the greatest players live and in person. This is only good for the game and in turn, will make all the players more money. It’s a true win-win.

So, what would you do as PGA Tour commissioner for a day?

For a lot of you, this is the time of year to watch the golf season start on television and dream about playing again sometime this spring. It’s just too cold. That said, there are still couple things you can do this winter to guarantee a much better start in 2008.

First thing: Make a commitment to get in better golf shape over the next few months. You’ll be amazed how much better your first game will feel with new found flexibility and posture.

Check out one of my favorite Websites — www.coreperformance.com

Mark Verstagen (founder of Core Performance) is one of the best there is in the fitness world and his Website is very easy to navigate. Simply, go to the “Fitness” menu item on the top left. From there, click on the “Exercises of the Day” on the drop down menu. There you will find a plethora of simple exercise videos with great explanations on “why” and “how.” Look for the exercises that are specific to golf and learn how to do them properly. I promise, they will really help. You know, so many times I watch people trying to make a move in their swing that their bodies will just not allow. They get frustrated and think it’s impossible. But really it’s just a physical limitation that causes their grief. A proper workout will fix this problem. Imagine taking all the great information you’re learning from Andy and Golf Swing Secrets Revealed and applying it with an “in shape” body. Your improvement would certainly come much quicker.

Another great Website for fitness is www.mytpi.com

This program is the brainchild of Titleist and was founded by Dr. Greg Rose and PGA Professional Dave Phillips. I’ve met and worked with these guys on a couple occasions and it doesn’t get much better. They really know their stuff. Almost all the information on their site is free. You just have to register with an email and can even get a customized program over the Internet.

So, make a commitment to strengthen your core this off season. Also, work on other often neglected body parts, such as ankles, calves, hip flexors and hamstrings — all vital to consistent ball striking. You will find exercises for all these areas at the above Websites.

**Remember, before you start any exercise program, first make sure you are physically capable. Contact your physician if necessary.

Second thing: Make a commitment to improve your mental game in 2008. We’ve all heard the saying that golf is 90% mental — and although I wouldn’t necessarily agree with that statement — it is very important. When I say I disagree — people usually ask why. I believe golf becomes almost a purely mental pursuit the better your physical skills become — but a great mental game doesn’t help too many people who can’t get the ball airborne. I could put Jack Nicklaus’ head on somebody who hits a 100 yard slice and shoots 120 and they wouldn’t magically become a scratch golfer. The physical skills have to improve as well. That said, lets make sure your mental skills are equal to your physical skills.

Here are a couple great mental exercises I use with my students to get their mind “quiet” and in the moment.

First one — Learn to breath deeply and quiet your mind.

Here’s how it works: Take a very deep inhale through your nose. Try to make the inhale last for 5 seconds. Then, slowly exhale through your mouth for 10 seconds. Total time for one breath should be 15 seconds. People usually have a hard time with this at first for two reasons. One, they are out of shape and don’t have that much oxygen available in one breath. Cardio exercises will help with this. And two, they aren’t used to breathing so deeply. They have been “shallow” breathing through their mouth for a long time and just need time to retrain their technique.

So, if each breath takes 15 seconds — then you should average 4 breaths per minute. This would be ideal. At first, just practice the breath. Concentrate on the act of breathing and improving your lung capacity. Do this for 10 minutes a day for the next week. You will find yourself breathing better and getting more relaxed each session. Then, after one week — add 10 more minutes a day. Spend the first 10 just breathing and relaxing. Then spend the next 10 minutes — with the same breathing pattern — visualizing yourself playing golf. Start on the first hole of your club or the course you’ll play once spring arrives. See yourself hitting a great drive. Then a great second shot. See yourself making putts and shooting great scores. Play this same course everyday in your second 10 minutes. Get to the point where it is automatic in your head and you score 18 under par. Hit nothing but perfect golf shots over and over again. But make sure you keep a consistent breathing pattern during the visualization stage.

Second one — Learn how to quiet your heartbeat and mind very quickly to focus.

Here’s how it works: When we get nervous, our heart rate goes through the roof. The best players can calm their heart rate to a normal tempo even during the most stressful of situations. I want you to be able to do this as well. Here’s how you’ll practice. While at the gym or exercising, I want you to wear a heart rate monitor. After sufficiently warming up, exercise in such a way that spikes your heart rate very high at your maximum heart rate. (Warning: Again, make sure you can physically do this before starting an exercise program). Here’s how you find yours. Subtract your age from 220 and take 70% of that number. This would be your high number.

Once you get to that high zone, practice getting your heart rate low in a hurry. Here’s how you do that. Just repeat the breathing exercise in step one. Deep breaths through the nose and out the mouth. Shoot for (4) breaths a minute. Watch the heart rate monitor. You’ll see how quickly your heart rate drops. It is the quickest way to calm yourself down. This is exactly what you’ll do on the first tee or when you encounter a nervous situation. Breath!

If you spend the winter learning how to breath and visualize, your mental game will improve tremendously.

I promise you this — if you enter your 2008 season with a better body and stronger mind — you WILL play better.

Good Luck!