If you want to improve your golf score then one part of your game that you have to improve on is making better chip shots around the green and better pitch shots from 100 yards in. Too many people focus solely on improving their drives or tee shots and neglect to work on their short game. When you think about it, you are only hitting off the tee 18 times per round and using your driver maybe fourteen times per round. Think about how many times in a game of golf that you use a pitching wedge or sand wedge approaching the green or chipping onto the green. If you want to lower your handicap and score better in golf then you have to improve your short game.

High handicap golfers make two fatal mistakes when hitting their approach shots or when chipping. They have a tendency to take a full or three quarter back swing and then stop swinging when they make contact with the golf ball. This leads to errant shots, duffs and skulled shots. As soon as you stop your swing when you make contact with the ball you are going to hit it about two yards or you are going to send it flying low across the green at a thousand miles an hour.

The goal of a chip or approach shot in the game of golf is getting the ball up in the air and having the right distance to land on the green and roll up to the hole. You will never obtain this unless you make the proper swing and this means following through on your swing. Take a nice follow through swing just like you do when hitting off of the tee.

The closer you get to the green the more you want to choke up on the club. This is a way that you take distance off of your shot. When you are close to or beside the green you want to be fully choked up the club. You will be able to control your distance and speed much better. When you are 100 yards out or more you will want to slightly choke up on the club so you can get more distance out of your shot.

The key to making that shot is how much backswing to use. Take your backswing only as far back as you think you have to. This might sound confusing but it makes sense. If you have half a pitching wedge shot to make then take your backswing halfway back. If you have a 30 yard pitch shot to make then take a backswing thirty per cent of the way back. You obviously don’t want to take a full backswing because you will hit the ball 100 yards. (more…)

Many people think that purchasing as set of golf clubs is as easy as walking into a golf store and buying them. This is far from the truth as there many factors which must be considered when purchasing a new set of golf clubs. You will find that there is a wide range of brands and styles of golf clubs available, all of which cater to ones style of play and skill level.

Your first step in purchasing a set of golf clubs is to recognize your skill level. Just because a set of golf clubs are more expensive does not mean that you will be able to hit them long and straight down the fairway. There are many different styles of golf clubs. A beginner would be better off with an oversized set of irons while a veteran golfer may want a small set of blade irons. A beginner or high handicap golfer will find it very hard to hit a set of blade irons as the heads are very small and do not have a large sweet spot.

Once you recognize your skill level the first place to go to look for golf clubs is the internet. There are many golf club review sites online that can help you find a perfect match for your golf game. You can find golf club review websites where golfers just like you leave their comments about particular brands and styles of clubs. For example, I purchased a set of Taylor Made Oversized Irons last year. Before I purchased them I read a dozen review websites to see if they were a good fit for a high handicap golfer like me. I found that many golfers liked their forgiveness, large sweet spot and quality of workmanship. In short, they were rated very high amongst high handicap golfers and beginners. I knew that they were the clubs I was interested in.

My next step was to visit a golf store. Not just any golf store but one with driving net so I could test the clubs out to see how they feel. This is an important step. Just because other similar type golfers like a club you may not like their feel or weight. Most large golf stores will have golf cages set up where you can hit the balls into a net or computer screen. Some will even have a professional on site to watch your swing and make suggestions on what particular golf club suits your swing. It is very important when purchasing golf clubs to test them out first. (more…)