Gain confidence in your short putting
What to do:
You'll need a red permanent marker, a handful of golf balls, and your putter. This drill requires a bit of prep-work. With the permanent marker, dot the green 2-feet away from the hole. Do this 12 times, rotating around the hole in a circle, creating a circle of 12 evenly spaced dots around the hole. Repeat this process at 3 feet, 4 feet, 5 feet, 6feet, 7 feet, 8 feet and 9 feet, then make 4 dots at 10 feet. This should leave 100 dots around the hole. You will hit a putt from each of these markings. Make as many of these putts as you can. 80 is a lofty but realistic benchmark.
How I did:
The last time I did this drill I scored an 83. My high is 84. Good luck. :)
Scaling:
Beginner- Dot at 2, 3 4 and 5 feet, leaving yourself 48 putts.
Monday, April 23, 2012
Tuesday, April 17, 2012
Eyes Closed
Enhance rhythm and feel
What to do:
Starting with a wedge, work your way up the bag hitting one shot with your eyes open, then one with your eyes closed. Once you've done this, pick a club you struggle with and hit a succession of shots, all of them with your eyes closed. You'll find that even only after a few shots your feel will be greatly heightened. In order to find the center of the club-face, your setup, rhythm and balance must all work together. This drill increases your ability to make this happen, building confidence in your natural swing.
How I did:
My first attempts at hitting balls with my eyes shut were pretty embarrassing, so I wouldn't expect flush shots immediately. Stay patient and don't try to overwork the club. Just make a loose, rhythmical swing, letting the ball get in the way. This is what I had to do, and after a while I was able to find the center of the club pretty consistently. What I also noticed is my ball flight straightened out dramatically. Part of this surely has to do with a slower club head speed. However, because your swing falls into proper sequence, minimal distance is lost.
Scaling:
Beginner- try chipping and pitching with your eyes closed before moving on the full swings
What to do:
Starting with a wedge, work your way up the bag hitting one shot with your eyes open, then one with your eyes closed. Once you've done this, pick a club you struggle with and hit a succession of shots, all of them with your eyes closed. You'll find that even only after a few shots your feel will be greatly heightened. In order to find the center of the club-face, your setup, rhythm and balance must all work together. This drill increases your ability to make this happen, building confidence in your natural swing.
How I did:
My first attempts at hitting balls with my eyes shut were pretty embarrassing, so I wouldn't expect flush shots immediately. Stay patient and don't try to overwork the club. Just make a loose, rhythmical swing, letting the ball get in the way. This is what I had to do, and after a while I was able to find the center of the club pretty consistently. What I also noticed is my ball flight straightened out dramatically. Part of this surely has to do with a slower club head speed. However, because your swing falls into proper sequence, minimal distance is lost.
Scaling:
Beginner- try chipping and pitching with your eyes closed before moving on the full swings
Tuesday, April 10, 2012
'Round the Green
Chipping repetition and confidence building
What to do:
Take 3 balls and a wedge to the chipping green. Pick a hole and drop your 3 balls, spacing them about 1 yard apart, extended out in front of you. Hit the first ball, attempting to make the chip. Hit the remaining two chips and retrieve them. Move counter- clockwise in this fashion all the way around the chipping green, chipping to the same hole and attempting to make each shot. You may find that at certain points around the green you will have more or less green to work with. Adjust the distance from the green, giving yourself enough room so that the wedge you chip with fits the shot in front of you (for example, most likely you would not hit a long bump and run with a 60 degree lob wedge, nor would you hit a high flop with a pitching wedge. So, move back if you have too much green to work with, or move up if you have too little so that the club you're using fits the shot). When you've completed a full circle around the green, total your hole-outs.
How I did:
Last Saturday I used my 60 degree lob wedge and had 3 hole outs.
Scaling: None
What to do:
Take 3 balls and a wedge to the chipping green. Pick a hole and drop your 3 balls, spacing them about 1 yard apart, extended out in front of you. Hit the first ball, attempting to make the chip. Hit the remaining two chips and retrieve them. Move counter- clockwise in this fashion all the way around the chipping green, chipping to the same hole and attempting to make each shot. You may find that at certain points around the green you will have more or less green to work with. Adjust the distance from the green, giving yourself enough room so that the wedge you chip with fits the shot in front of you (for example, most likely you would not hit a long bump and run with a 60 degree lob wedge, nor would you hit a high flop with a pitching wedge. So, move back if you have too much green to work with, or move up if you have too little so that the club you're using fits the shot). When you've completed a full circle around the green, total your hole-outs.
How I did:
Last Saturday I used my 60 degree lob wedge and had 3 hole outs.
Scaling: None
Tuesday, April 3, 2012
Hear it Fall
Groove a trusting putting stroke
What to do:
In this drill you with make 50 putts in a row without watching any of them fall into the hole. Take 5 balls and mark a spot 4 feet from the hole. Make 25 putts in a row with your eyes closed. Reset your golf balls and make 25 more with open eyes, yet without training them on the ball as it rolls towards the hole. Rather, keep them focused on the ball’s original resting position. If at any time you open your eyes during the first 25, or allow your eyes to watch a putt go in, start over.
How I did:
This drill requires more focus than it may seem at first. I completed this drill recently on my first try, but I can tell you that it does require a lot of focus. If your habit is to peek at the hole, then you’ll have to fight the urge over 50 putts.
Scaling:
Beginner- Hit all 50 putts from 2 feet away. The important aspect of this game is that you’re keeping you’re focus on a process.
Monday, March 26, 2012
Narrow Your Focus (Playing Drill)
Tighten up your ball striking by using this mindset on the course
This drill is to be done while playing a round. My two coaches, Dr. Bob Christina and Eric Alpenfels, strongly advocate this way of playing. What you do is this: mentally divide the fairway in half on your tee shots and pick a side of the pin on your approaches. On tee shots, pick either the left side of the fairway or right and attempt to hit it. On your approach, pick the portion of the green to the right or to the left of the flagstick and try to leave your ball on your chosen side. This "shrinking" of your target will narrow your focus, bringing your attention to a much more defined area of acceptability.
How I did:
This one is difficult to carry through your entire round. I have to stay on myself with every tee shot and approach, making sure I've picked a side and made a swing towards the smaller target. The more I do this the easier it gets, and I've found my ball striking improves every time I play this way.
Scaling:
Beginner- Pick a side of the fairway and try to hit the center of every green
This drill is to be done while playing a round. My two coaches, Dr. Bob Christina and Eric Alpenfels, strongly advocate this way of playing. What you do is this: mentally divide the fairway in half on your tee shots and pick a side of the pin on your approaches. On tee shots, pick either the left side of the fairway or right and attempt to hit it. On your approach, pick the portion of the green to the right or to the left of the flagstick and try to leave your ball on your chosen side. This "shrinking" of your target will narrow your focus, bringing your attention to a much more defined area of acceptability.
How I did:
This one is difficult to carry through your entire round. I have to stay on myself with every tee shot and approach, making sure I've picked a side and made a swing towards the smaller target. The more I do this the easier it gets, and I've found my ball striking improves every time I play this way.
Scaling:
Beginner- Pick a side of the fairway and try to hit the center of every green
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
Land Them Soft
Develop touch for short chips with little green to work with
What to do:
Take your highest lofted wedge and 5 balls to the chipping green. Pick a flat spot near the green with room to back up and hit progressively longer chips to a target on the green. Select a hole 5 paces from the fringe, or if there is no hole mark the spot with a tee. The space between your tee/hole and the fringe is the "acceptable zone". Now, from one yard off the green hit 5 chips in a row attempting to land each one on the green, not letting it roll out of the "acceptable zone". Do this 5 times in a row with each of your 5 balls and you may move back 1 pace. Repeat this process, pulling off 5 "soft landing" shots that do not roll out of your boundary, then moving back 1 pace. Attempt to make it back 10 paces, executing 5 quality shots in a row to finish. If you do miss a shot, either landing it short of the green or letting it roll out of the zone, start over from the distance you currently play from. Do not completely start over!
How I did:
Using my 60 degree L-wedge, I finished this drill missing only 4 times. As the distance became longer it obviously became more difficult to hit a shot long enough to carry the fringe but soft enough to keep it short of the hole.
What to do:
Take your highest lofted wedge and 5 balls to the chipping green. Pick a flat spot near the green with room to back up and hit progressively longer chips to a target on the green. Select a hole 5 paces from the fringe, or if there is no hole mark the spot with a tee. The space between your tee/hole and the fringe is the "acceptable zone". Now, from one yard off the green hit 5 chips in a row attempting to land each one on the green, not letting it roll out of the "acceptable zone". Do this 5 times in a row with each of your 5 balls and you may move back 1 pace. Repeat this process, pulling off 5 "soft landing" shots that do not roll out of your boundary, then moving back 1 pace. Attempt to make it back 10 paces, executing 5 quality shots in a row to finish. If you do miss a shot, either landing it short of the green or letting it roll out of the zone, start over from the distance you currently play from. Do not completely start over!
How I did:
Using my 60 degree L-wedge, I finished this drill missing only 4 times. As the distance became longer it obviously became more difficult to hit a shot long enough to carry the fringe but soft enough to keep it short of the hole.
Monday, March 12, 2012
Drive 5
Gain feel and confidence for most challenging drive
What to do:
After hitting some shots on the range and getting warm, grab your driver and reflect on the most challenging tee shot you have ever faced... one that you have struggled with in the past. Draw a fresh image in your mind's eye, seeing the hole stretching out before you in great detail. Set right and left fairway boundaries by picking out 2 distant trees, flags, or other easily seen items on your range. The fairway you've created with these points should be very close to the same width as the one you envisioned. Now you're ready to proceed with the drill.
Going through your full routine first, attempt to hit 5 drives in a row into your fairway. Before hitting each shot, conjure up the image of your most challenging tee shot faced, go through your routine just as you would on the course, then pull the trigger. If you complete this drill, gain confidence and know that you can hit the fairway under pressure.
How I did:
I just thought of this drill today... think I will use #18 at Mission Inn's El Campeon. Almost every tee shot there presents a challenge, but this one definitively sticks out. It's a sharp dogleg right with water running along the right all the way up to the green. There is a bunker and jungle left of and through the fairway, and a tree just right of the tee preventing a corner-cutting high draw. Adding to the challenge is the fact that the water pinches in 200-240 yards from the tee, pretty much forcing the player to hit driver. Finally, there is almost always a strong prevailing wind coming from in and from the right. So, the shot one must hit is a low 260-290 yard fade. You must miss the tree and its overhanging limb, not hit it too far into the palmetto forest, but not fade it too much into the water. The fact that it's the last hole of the day adds a bit of pressure as well. Sound like fun? That's why I chose it :)
Scaling:
Beginner/Intermediate: Hit 3 in a row into your fairway
What to do:
After hitting some shots on the range and getting warm, grab your driver and reflect on the most challenging tee shot you have ever faced... one that you have struggled with in the past. Draw a fresh image in your mind's eye, seeing the hole stretching out before you in great detail. Set right and left fairway boundaries by picking out 2 distant trees, flags, or other easily seen items on your range. The fairway you've created with these points should be very close to the same width as the one you envisioned. Now you're ready to proceed with the drill.
Going through your full routine first, attempt to hit 5 drives in a row into your fairway. Before hitting each shot, conjure up the image of your most challenging tee shot faced, go through your routine just as you would on the course, then pull the trigger. If you complete this drill, gain confidence and know that you can hit the fairway under pressure.
How I did:
I just thought of this drill today... think I will use #18 at Mission Inn's El Campeon. Almost every tee shot there presents a challenge, but this one definitively sticks out. It's a sharp dogleg right with water running along the right all the way up to the green. There is a bunker and jungle left of and through the fairway, and a tree just right of the tee preventing a corner-cutting high draw. Adding to the challenge is the fact that the water pinches in 200-240 yards from the tee, pretty much forcing the player to hit driver. Finally, there is almost always a strong prevailing wind coming from in and from the right. So, the shot one must hit is a low 260-290 yard fade. You must miss the tree and its overhanging limb, not hit it too far into the palmetto forest, but not fade it too much into the water. The fact that it's the last hole of the day adds a bit of pressure as well. Sound like fun? That's why I chose it :)
Scaling:
Beginner/Intermediate: Hit 3 in a row into your fairway
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