Essential Golf

I settled down on Sunday as I normally do to watch the last group complete their final 18 holes with my usual feeling of expectation. We would see some drama on these final 18 holes. Nerves would get the better of Louis Oosthuizen and we would be in for a close and entertaining finish. It was not to be! No challenge was made in the first few holes from Casey or Westwood thus applying pressure and testing Oosthuizen’s nerve. As early as the 5th I felt it was all over. Congratulations to Louis Oosthuizen. Winning The Open is no mean feat. I am particularly impressed that after the first 2 rounds he was able to continue to build on it and win. If you take away McIlroy’s 63 on the first day, Oosthuizen effectively led The Open from start to finish. He has some record now – played 4 missed the cut 3 times, won once.

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Written by Andy Moyes, keen amateur golfer and founder of www.essential-golf.com

I played a round of golf last week and discovered my lob wedge. An ideal club for the flop shot.  It has been sitting in my bag for years after I won it for the longest drive in a competition. I have however, been reluctant to use it but some reason last week decided to give it another go and it worked. The lob wedge is ideal for playing the flop shot.

A flop shot is when the golfer purposely hits the ball high into the air without sending it much distance. Flopping the ball like this became popular with the creation of the 60° wedge and square grooves.

A perfect example of a common scenario on the golf course is when a player misses the green with their approach shot. The ball is sitting right off the green, but buried in medium length grass.

When you assess the situation, you notice that the green is a bit elevated above the ball.  In addition, a bunker stands in the way. You cannot just hit the ball, as it will fly far over the top and you will face a long comeback putt. The chip shot will fly too low, and travel too far. The pitch shot will fly longer, but may still travel too far.

The only answer? The flop shot! The ball will fly for a short distance, and will barely roll after it lands, which is exactly what you are after. It worked for me on a couple of occasions last week and got me out of some tricky situations.

Congratulations to Graeme McDowell, 2010 US Open winner. Good to see a Brit being in contention in the early rounds and finishing it off with a win. As he says his “career has started”. Did anyone notice a little know Frenchman also having a go? One for the future?

Now we look forward to July and The Open at St Andrews.

US Open golf courses are set out as tough examinations of golf. One of the big tests that golfers will have is the need to play out of thick rough. We have all been there. If you find your ball, very often it provides an unwanted challenging test. Take a look at this useful video below from Barry Power on how to get out of the rough.

The US Open is upon us and it returns to Pebble Beach in 2010. For me Pebble Beach is      everything you expect from a test of golf and as host for the US Open will be set out to be  an even bigger test. Holes 17 and 18 are wonderful finishing holes and I look forward to  the drama over the course of the next four days. Mention Pebble Beach and I always  remember Tom Watson in the 1982 US Open ( Watson US Open 1982).  Watson played his  tee shot into rough on the edge of the 17th Green. Trailing Nicklaus he probably thought  it was all over however, what does he do, chip it in! A fantastic shot which was no mean    feat given what I always remember about US Golf Opens and how the rough is kept long  so close to the greens.

It will be interesting to see how Tiger in his current state of mind plays on a course where  he triumphed so well in 2000 (Woods Pebble Beach 2000). I don’t expect him to repeat that feat and do feel that he finally has competition – Mickelson and Westwood to name but two. Here’s to an exiting weekend.

…you wait an age for one to win a tournament and then three win in the space of a few weeks. Luke Donald, Justin Rose and Lee Westwood have all won tournaments. I feel that myself and colleagues in work have contributed in some way to this as each of them have been on the receiving end of adverse comments. “Choker” has been mentioned along with “promised much over the years but as usual has not delivered”. Lee Westwood has found a rich seam of form and deserved his victory over the weekend. A British prospect for US Open I feel although paired with Tiger will be a good test. Justin Rose and Luke Donald were, as usual in the British press lauded as the next great golfers in Britain. This however, was at least 6 years a go and very little has happened. I am pleased for them that recently things look like they could be changing.  The true test of a great golfer will be their ability to maintain consistency over a number of years. Can they do it? Only time will tell but it is encouraging in this Ryder Cup year to see form from some British golfers. On a personal note it would be good to see some Scottish golfers showing the same promise.

Do you want to know a common trademark of golfers who have the knack for sending the ball flying with phenomenal distance? It’s the turning of the hips to the left during the downswing, while at the same time extending the right arm through the swing.

Here is a quick drill that can help you accomplish this:

1. Start by teeing up the drive in your normal stance.

2. Now set the ball down off of your left heel (and/or opposite of the left armpit).

3. Without moving your stance, reach down and slide the ball towards your target at approximately the same distance of the grip.

4. Tee up your ball at that very spot, which should be 10 to 12 inches closer to the hole. Your address for the ball should be back where your normal position was at.

5. Now to finally hit the ball you will have to move the hips to the left so your arms will be able to “reach” the ball. This will invariably cause your right arm to extend.

This drill should be practiced at least 30 times before hitting the ball in its normal position. By that time you should have made significant improvement in your distance.

Tiger Woods missed the cut at Quail Hollow. The reason he has given is a poor short game. Understandable. Those golfers reading this will know the impact of taking time out from the game. A couple of weeks off no problem but a few months and the short game is the first to suffer. A good short game relies on “feel”. In the case of Woods though, something else needs to be considered. Wood’s would have being doing practice over the past few months. Sure, he has not had tournament golf but he would still have maintained that “feel” so important to a good short game. No, what is to blame here is mind games – being mentally strong.

Throughout his career to date, Woods has been way ahead of his competitors in his ability to remain mentally strong. It can deliver so much more to a golfer. Being mentally strong will often make the difference between win or lose.  What Woods has put himself through over the past few months will no doubt have made what was once a strong mental game into mush. It has to be playing on Woods mind and will only resolve itself when he has made the decision on where his priorities lie – golf or family. Now I don’t now the current situation and I was surprised when Woods came back to play the Masters, but if the priority is family I would suggest Woods forgets about playing tournament golf and focuses on family life. Golf can take a back seat and when resolved he will be much better placed mentally to win those 4 majors and overtake Nicklaus’s record.  He has the game to make it happen the question now is is his mental game, always so strong, up to it? Either way an enormous amount of personnel change is required and one should not underestimate the impact this has mentally.

And by the way congratulations to Rory McIlroy in winning at Quail Hollow – a new kid starting to deliver.

Deciding if and when to pitch the ball when you are close to the hole depends on several factors, especially if putting is out of the question (which is always the best shot to take near the hole whenever possible, on or off the green).

Here are some tips to help you decide the next time you play:

1) Always play the pitch shot whenever you must carry several yards of rough in order to get the ball to travel to the edge of the green.

2) You should attempt the pitch shot whenever the ball is buried in the rough with only the top half showing.

3) When playing from the fairway, a pitch shot is the ideal choice if at any point you feel that chipping the ball makes you uncomfortable (learn to listen to your instincts).

4) And finally, a wet golf course means pitching the ball almost entirely throughout the game. Why? Because it can be almost impossible to predict the length the ball will run when the course is drenched.

After you read the break of the green, find your target line, choose a spot, and get your eyes over the line, you need to concentrate on swinging the putter back and forward along the line, always keeping the following three fundamentals in the back of your mind:

1) Throughout its entire movement, keep the putterhead exactly on the target line. The putter needs to travel straight back on the target line and then straight forward on the target line, never going off the mark.

Note: To help your stroke stay on the line, keep your head, shoulders and legs as still as possible. This will help you swing the putter with mostly your arms and hands.

2) The putterhead must be kept square and aimed directly at the target. The face of the blade should be kept perpendicular to the target and stay that way throughout the entire stroke.

Note: The blade face should not wobble. It should remain true to the arc of the putterhead. (You can help maintain the direction of the putterhead by keeping your wrists solid).

3) During the swing, never decelerate the putter. As you often hear in golf: “Deceleration kills”. Doing so will kill your putting stroke and ultimately your score. Keep the same acceleration as you use on the backswing.