FROM A HACKER TO A FIVE HANDICAP
I used to play golf three times a week and even though I couldn't chip and had a swing like an octopus falling out of a window, I regularly threatened to break 80. Then I moved abroad, played once a month and for a good few years, I struggled to break 100.
So what went wrong?
Well, in short, when you're playing regular golf, you learn to do things that compensate for your swing flaws. I always had a good natural tempo and when you're playing on the same course every week; you figure out how to cobble some decent scores together.
But as soon as I wasn't swinging regularly, then it all went south. The swing started speeding up and coming more over the top whilst the confidence hit new lows. But now, I'm back shooting under 80 and even and I hardly saw a golf course or had a single lesson to get here.
I changed my entire swing and learned to chip based solely on videos I watched on YouTube. Don't get me wrong, it took a lot of trial and error, an awful lot of useless golf improvement aids and a pandemic in a country where there wasn't much else to do but hit range balls.
But a few months of regular golf after that and I was playing off 5.2. So, I thought I'd pull together a list of the tutorials that made the difference.
LET YOUR SWING DETERMINE YOUR BALL POSITION
Consistent position, degrees of separation; different pros, conflicting advice. That’s been my experience. What this video does, is to explain what the position of the ball means for the shot and therefore, why it’s different for every player.
SET THE WRISTS EARLY TO STAY ON THE INSIDE
I spent years trying to stay on the inside, then i saw this video from some Nick Faldo fella and all of a sudden I was drawing a 4-iron. Who knew?
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START THE DOWNSWING WITH YOU LEAD LEG
There’s lots out there about the correct sequence for the downswing, but this is the tutorial that I kept coming back to.
DON'T BE SCARED TO RELEASE TOO EARLY
Do you know the difference between lag and release? I didn't. This video put 5-8 yards on my wedges, because I'm now not scared to release the club too early.
PUTT THE SHORT CHIPS
Not the best quality video, but this tip transformed my short game when I figured out how to do it with an 8-iron. No more skulling, no more babying, even the poor shots are getting in range now.
VISUALISE YOUR TEMPO
Pros talk about 'seeing the shot'. But this is a better idea for me, because it helps you visualise a rhythm and (together with the Orange Whip that you'll go out and buy) fully complete your swing. It also helps create a great golf workout and stretching routine before a round.
USE CLUBS FOR THE RIGHT THINGS
This is a promotional video for Titleist’s new TSi hybrid line. However, it also talks a lot about how you fit a hybrid properly (at the end of the video) which is something that I'd never really thought about. Is it a long iron replacement or a fairway gapping club? When you have the answer, you stop trying to fit square pegs into round holes (and spraying balls around a golf course). Which is handy, because golf holes are not usually square!
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BUILD A WEDGE MATRIX
What is a wedge matrix and why should you build one? In short, it's just a table of all your pitching yardages from different length swings. But it's one of the best scoring tips in golf because it helps you hit consistent shots in clutch situations rather than on trying to be José María Olazábal.
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START THE DOWN-SWING WITH YOUR LEAD LEG
There’s lots out there about the correct sequence for the downswing, but this is the tutorial that I kept coming back to.
DON'T BE SCARED TO RELEASE TOO EARLY
Do you know the difference between lag and release? I didn't. This video put 5-8 yards on my wedges, because I'm now not scared to release the club too early.
PUTT THE SHORT CHIPS
Not the best quality video, but this tip transformed my short game when I figured out how to do it with an 8-iron. No more skulling, no more babying, even the poor shots are getting in range now.
VISUALISE YOUR TEMPO
Pros talk about 'seeing the shot'. But this is a better idea for me, because it helps you visualise a rhythm and (together with the Orange Whip that you'll go out and buy) fully complete your swing. It also helps create a great golf workout and stretching routine before a round.
USE CLUBS FOR THE RIGHT THINGS
This is a promotional video for Titleist’s new TSi hybrid line. However, it also talks a lot about how you fit a hybrid properly (at the end of the video) which is something that I'd never really thought about. Is it a long iron replacement or a fairway gapping club? When you have the answer, you stop trying to fit square pegs into round holes (and spraying balls around a golf course). Which is handy, because golf holes are not usually square!
BUILD A WEDGE MATRIX
What is a wedge matrix and why should you build one? In short, it's just a table of all your pitching yardages from different length swings. But it's one of the best scoring tips in golf because it helps you hit consistent shots in clutch situations rather than on trying to be José María Olazábal.
