Every golfer faces several difficult putts throughout a round of golf. Your goal should be to hole the ball in two putts or less every time. If you routinely make three putts or more there is a significant amount of room for improvement. For example, let’s say you average two putts on nine greens and three putts on the other nine greens. There is a quick five stroke improvement by cutting down from nine three putt greens to four three putt greens in your round.

Set Up and Stroke

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Nearly every player wants to hit the ball farther. It is no secret, that, on average, women tend to hit the ball with less distance than their male counterparts.  What then happens is that women are often forced to place an emphasis on their short game and, in fact, often have very strong skills around the greens. However, distance can really help in several situations on the golf course, so rather than give up on hitting the ball farther there are a few simple techniques you can try first. In general, this requires a focus on swing fundamentals to ensure maximum energy is transferred to

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Have you ever wondered how a golf professional prepares for a round? Before a competitive round a golf professional normally arrives at the course hours before their tee time. They begin with stretches to loosen their body up and move to the practice green. Professional’s focus on other short game areas such as chips, pitches and bunker shots. Next, they work on their full swing at the practice range. Typically, they spend a few more minutes on the putting green before they head to the first tee. There is no doubt they are fully prepared physically and mentally for their upcoming round. I routinely witness amateur

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The golf swing is dependent on correctly doing the previous move. Therefore, a solid takeaway promotes setting the club correctly at the top of the backswing, which in turn promotes returning toward impact with the club on the correct plane, path and face angle. Many players create a poor position at the top of the backswing. While the goal is to set the club correctly at the top of the backswing, many players allow the club to get across the line or laid off at the top. Both positions can lead to undesirable results. The club should point to the target at the top of the

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Poor aim and alignment is easily one of the most common mistakes in the set up. Watch any elite player and notice how they pay attention to little details such as the direction they are aimed. Rarely do you see a PGA or LPGA player line their body to the right or left of their target, unless they are trying to shape the shot. If you watch them practice, they routinely place a club, umbrella or stick parallel to their target line. This reinforces little details such as the correct alignment. Over ninety percent of the golfing population routinely slices

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In the world of playing golf with any consistency you have to consider two points: 1. The start line of the ball at impact…and 2. the amount of curve that occurs during the ball’s flight If you are starting the ball in a different direction with every swing then how can you aim? Two way misses don't give us very much consistency. But once you have a consistent start line then you can work on the amount of curve. The start line, where the golf ball is starting its flight, is controlled by where the clubface is pointing at impact. So if you

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Watch any elite player and notice how effortlessly they swing the club. This results from an efficient swing and smooth tempo. The takeaway is considered the beginning of the backswing. Therefore, the swing starts with the correct set up and every movement that follows. Start the club head back “low and slow.” Low and slow is a very common phrase used to describe the takeaway. Jack Nicklaus is famous for stating the takeaway is the most important 18 inches of the golf swing while Bobby Jones said, “It is not possible to take the club back too slow.” Begin the takeaway by keeping the club head

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The golf swing is dependent on completing the previous move correctly. Therefore, the swing starts with the correct set up. Everything you do before you swing the club will have a positive or negative consequence on the golf ball. Setting up correctly to the golf ball addresses many problems and corrections to the golf swing.

Similar to many other sports, the golf swing starts with an athletic set up. Begin by standing with your feet approximately shoulder width. Bend your knees slightly and bend at your waist to create the proper spine angle. The goal is to produce a swing that will move around

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One of the most daunting shots in golf is the bunker shot. For many of us, just getting out with out chunking it and leaving it in the bunker or, just as bad, skulling it across the green and potentially into worse trouble. If you watch the pros on TV, though, you will see that they aren’t merely trying to get out, they are usually trying to get it close. That’s because they know the technique that makes the shot predictable and fairly easy to execute. Then, with practice time, they all get very adept at bunker play. Follow these steps and

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In a round of golf, more strokes are played with the putter than any other club. Most people know they need to practice putting, but the challenge is with how and what exactly to practice. In his new book, Dave Pelz’s Putting Games, Dave Pelz outlines how golfers should go about assessing their overall putting skills and playing a number of games (or drills) focused on improving areas of weakness. For this edition of the KC Golfer Magazine Pro Tip, we spent some time with his new book to give you a feel for how it can make you a

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