We’re working hard to get the new site up and running… and it should be going in a couple of days. In the meantime, I wanted to toss a post up to give you guys something new to read… so here goes.

Two Great Shots to Lower your Score

The Putt-Chip

This little shot is nearly foolproof, and with some practice it can become a very useful tool in your arsenal of shots around the green. The technique is quite similar to a putting stroke however; it’s performed with a 5 iron - PW. This shot should be used when your right off the putting surface and have some green to work with. Choke down on your iron, and grip it with your normal putting grip. The ball should be in the center of your stance, now, the stroke is all in your shoulders – no wrists whatsoever. Pretend you’re putting the ball with your iron, the loft of the club will get the ball to clear over the longer grass, and gets it rolling almost as soon as it hits the putting surface. With practice you will be able to use this simple shot in a variety of situations… and with a variety of clubs to vary the distance in which the ball needs to roll. Remember, this stroke is all in your shoulders, there is no use for your wrists whatsoever.

The Chip-Putt

Another cool little shot from a similar position as the putt-chip, it involved using your putter with a chipping stroke. This particular shot is most commonly used when the ball is sitting down in the rough just off the green. An iron can quite often get caught up in the deep grass – and thus cause inconsistency. The putter, although an unlikely choice of club in this situation, has an interesting advantage over your irons. With a buried lie in the rough, the putter blade will only make contact with the top half of the ball… this will impact top spin that will pop the ball up from it’s lie and get it rolling quickly.

To perform this shot, you need to setup with your putter, but in a chipping stance. Play the ball slightly back in your stance, and set your wrists ahead of the ball at address (use a forward press). Make a short stroke that digs into the back of the ball with no follow-through, it should pop up, and hit the green with top spin. With some practice, you get a feel for how the ball will react when it hits the green with the top spin – and you’ll soon be able to control the distance it travels.

I hope you guys give these shots the next time you’re on the range – they can really help take your short game and your handicap to new levels.

Give it a try!

Season Greetings,

I want to wish you all a safe and joyous holiday season with your families this year, and a prosperous New Year.

There are big changes happening to the site in 2009 - including a merger over to SirShanksAlot.com… the new site will be up and running soon into the new year, and the new features and design will be very something special. We’re working hard to get it ready for you.

Looking forward to seeing you there.

How to Hit your Driver off the Deck

On those windy days on your long par 4 or when trying to reach that par 5 green in two, you often need a couple more yards than your fairway woods can muster. Learning how to hit your driver off the deck can give you a major advantage over your competitors. The lower trajectory and higher ball speed should give you those extra yards you need to reach the green.

For this shot a solid rhythm and a reliable and repeatable swing is needed… as such, it should be reserved for lower handicaps only. Keep in mind, this is a risky shot, with little room for error, the lower loft of your driver will exaggerate any miss-hits.

Aim your body to the left of the target
A driver off the deck will produce a fade nine times out of ten; you will need to align your entire body – feet, knees, hips, shoulders and clubface to the left of your target. A fade will help you get the ball airborne, and will make your ball flight much more predictable.

Play the ball off your lead heel
Much like when hitting your driver off a tee, you should play this shot close to your front heel. However, considering you’re looking for ball first contact – you cannot hit this shot on the upswing. Therefore you may want to push the ball back in your stance a bit to make this shot work for you.

Be conscious of your swing path
With this shot, and the length of your driver - it’s very easy to hit a big block slice – so you must really force yourself to swing to the inside slightly after impact.

Drop the hands from the top
To avoid a worm-burning snap hook, it’s better to have to the clubface slightly open coming into impact. If you really drop your hands down into the slot from the top, you will help to keep them from over-rotating… and thus virtually eliminating the chance of hitting a hook.

Make ball first contact
This is a tough enough shot as is without grass getting between your clubface and the ball. Your ball position should help dictate your angle of attack into the ball. So fiddle with your stance to create a slightly descending blow into the ball. Your divots with this shot should be similar to hitting a fairway wood.

I highly recommend you try this shot from the range first. Once you have a handle on the technique remember, to only use this shot from nice fairway lies, or if you’re really aggressive, nice fluffy lies from the rough.

Give it a try!

Cleveland Camo Wedge, Gauge M2H

It’s weird how we can go a week with nothing new to talk about and then get a bunch odds and ends all in one day. Especially when that one day falls a week before Christmas… go figure.

First up… Cleveland Golf. We should start to see new products from these guys at the start of January. One Cleveland club that has been getting some recent buzz is the new Camo CG14 wedge. This is kind of a tribute to one of the company’s best known staffers (Boo Weekley) and is only available for a limited time. We’ll keep you updated as new Cleveland products are announced… most notably the HiBore Monster XLS driver.

Mirror Work - Golf Tips

If you’re really wanting to take you game to the next level, you must begin to practice with a purpose. Whacking ball after ball at the range, just won’t do it. It helps to really take a closer look at your own swing. I’m sure most of you know what a good swing looks like… and you’re well aware of where the club should be in specific positions… so take this knowledge and really apply it to your own swing.

Starting with solid fundamentals, finding these positions becomes a lot easier… but to help reinforce them, you will want to start working on your muscle memory. A mirror can really be one of the best training aids out there… and the best part, even if your range doesn’t have one, your home, or work most likely do. Grab a weighted club, or simply grip two clubs together… the added weight helps to reinforce the proper positions your looking for, and aids in building strength. Next, work through six positions, address, 9 o’clock on the backswing, at the top, 9 o’clock on the downswing, impact, and 3 o’clock on the follow-through. If you’re really looking for a workout, hold each of these positions for 30 seconds to a minute – it may look easy, but trust me, if you stop a dynamic motion like a golf swing mid-way and hold it, you’ll soon know how difficult this drill can become.
Couple this drill with the repetition of getting your body into the correct positions… and your muscles will soon develop a feel and memory to get you in the right spot every time.

Don’t miss this one!