With an abundance of golf tips to select from, these are those our staffers mentioned made probably the most distinction.
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Welcome to Shaving Strokes, a brand new GOLF.com collection in which we’re sharing enhancements, learnings and takeaways from newbie golfers identical to you — together with a few of the velocity bumps and challenges they confronted alongside the way in which.
It’s most likely not shocking to listen to that us GOLF staffers share one factor in frequent: Our love for the sport.
While a few of us are low-handicappers and others are mid-handicappers, every of us attempt for studying the keys to bettering each single day. And with entry to the highest lecturers in the nation (in addition to professional gamers once in a while), we’re all the time on the hunt for the best golf tips to assist us shoot low.
Sure, every tip tends to be fairly useful, however this 12 months, there have been a number of that stood out greater than others.
So have a look under to see the eight golf tips that worked best for GOLF staffers in 2023 — and see how they may assist your recreation get higher in 2024 (and past!).
GOLF staffers’ best golf tips of 2023
Ryan Barath, tools editor (@rdsbarath): When utilizing your driver, swing as onerous and as quick as you may whereas retaining your steadiness. I discovered that making an attempt to direct that ball off the tee was a very dangerous strategy to attempt to play the sport, and by choosing a spot and trusting my shot form, I used to be capable of swing with extra velocity — which helped result in extra distance and extra accuracy, too. So whenever you received the motive force in hand, give it a rip!
Alan Bastable, government editor (@alan_bastable): My iron play teeters between unremarkable and unthinkably dangerous, the results of a left shoulder dip in my backswing that usually leads me to hit a full inch or two behind the ball. I didn’t totally clear up the issue this 12 months, however my colleague, Josh Sens, did supply a tip that is so easy that it’s embarrassing to confess I haven’t tried sooner: transfer the ball again in my stance. It feels uncomfortable and bizarre, but it surely additionally has resulted in at the least a few vary periods the place I’m satisfied Adam Scott has nothing on me. That feeling, after all, by no means lasts, however the adjustment has given me hope. Thank you, Josh.
Nick Dimengo, instruction editor (@ndimengo): One would suppose that the GOLF instruction editor would know a factor or two about escaping deep bunkers; however you’d be incorrect — at the least earlier than my one-hour lesson with the Short Game Chef himself, Parker McLachlin. Working with McLachlin in Phoenix again in March, he confirmed me methods to cease fearing intimidating bunker pictures by engaged on a number of easy strategies. First, he had me dramatically open the clubface to make sure extra management of my shot. Next, he had me get large and low in my stance, creating extra leverage to chop by the sand to get beneath the ball. Finally, McLachlin mentioned to decrease the deal with of my membership, which allowed me to make a extra aggressive swing. This enabled me to make use of the bounce of the membership extra, and spray the sand for a strong out. The end result? No extra concern when my ball finds the seaside.
Jack Hirsh, assistant editor (@jr_hirshey): Putt with the core, not the shoulders. In placing, the article is to have a repeatable movement that you may get the ball beginning on line as usually as attainable. How you do that is as much as you. My trainer found out this 12 months that it’s simpler to make a repeatable and constant stroke in case you concentrate on placing from the core, versus standard educating of rocking the shoulders. Don’t really feel like your hips and the remainder of your trunk should be anchored in place, merely simply attempt to flip from the stomach and also you’ll discover your athletic capacity is extra concerned in the stroke — identical to every other golf shot. It’ll take some getting used to, merely due to how solidly you’ll begin to hit putts.
Jess Marksbury, multimedia editor (@jess_marksbury): I used to be in a mega-slump over the summer season, hitting a few of the worst pictures of my life. My timing was in shambles, and even my trusty driver was veering astray with practically each tee shot. My husband (Paul) is a professional, and has the benefit of figuring out my recreation nicely. So once I lastly requested for assist, he fastened me in 5 minutes utilizing our yard internet. I had been specializing in my shoulder flip, which was getting my swing out of sequence. Paul steered that I take into consideration clearing my hips as a substitute. Simply specializing in that lower-body rotation as a substitute of my higher physique completely did the trick, as a result of my higher physique naturally adopted my hips anyway. My strong strikes returned, and I’m so grateful to have such a easy key to concentrate on now.
Nick Piastowski, senior editor (@nickpia): This one’s for the toppers…and the chunkers. I’m in the previous bunch, however each teams are cousins — my gang comes up on the ball too rapidly; the opposite not fast sufficient. But a repair I’ve sworn by might assist everybody; and it comes from none apart from Lee Trevino, who first brought the tip to mild a few years in the past. In quick, whereas holding the membership, you need your arms to make strong contact with the ball. Easy sufficient. So what occurs whenever you high it? Your arms are barely previous that excellent level. So what’s the repair? Move the ball barely again in your stance. And vice versa for chunking. Here, your arms could also be barely behind the perfect level. So transfer the ball barely ahead in your stance. There’s extra, too. A transfer I’ve taught myself to assist with this tip is to examine the place I create a divot on my follow swing in relation to my toes. I wish to suppose I’ve considerably of a repeatable swing, so the real-swing divot needs to be near the one taken just some seconds earlier.
Josh Sens, senior author (@joshsens): As somebody who has by no means taken the identical swing twice, I’m all the time fiddling round with adjustments. But loads of good folks have instructed me that I ought to overlook all that and simply concentrate on tempo. One of these folks (name-drop alert) is Tom Watson, who, throughout an interview I did with him earlier this 12 months, instructed me to say the phrase ‘Edelweiss’ to myself throughout the swing. ‘Edel’ to the highest, ‘Weiss’ down by affect. I don’t suppose I’ll be following in Watson’s Hall of Fame footsteps anytime quickly, however that tempo cue has been an enormous assist this 12 months.
Marley Sims, commerce editor (@marleysims): For some motive, I had belief points with my pitching wedge. When it got here to 50-120-yard pictures, I used to be assured in myself. But when it got here to across the inexperienced, I simply couldn’t execute a reliable flop shot. For me, studying methods to belief the lie angle of my wedge, no matter diploma it could be, was an important side of my recreation that I improved this 12 months. I all the time needed to shut the face (blocking it off, so to talk) to assist hold the ball decrease as a result of I used to be afraid I couldn’t management a lob shot. But as soon as I began practising real lob pictures, my confidence grew and I began rolling and sticking these closer-range chip pictures superbly onto the inexperienced (for probably the most half). This is the place the best tip I received all 12 months comes into play — being instructed to “actually practice on the range, and not just go hit balls as hard or as far as you can with the driver.” I used to be getting annoyed with having lovely drives after which not having the ability to end nicely on a gap. My dad mentioned, “Wow, Marley, you’re hitting the ball so well … now if only you could score.” That lit a hearth in me, and altering my vary periods is the place it began.
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