Lag Putting, Fairway Bunkers and Pitching

1. Topic: Lag Putting

Improve your speed control for better lag putting

Improving your speed control is the best way to become a better lag putter. The essential element to consistent lag putting is as it relates to speed control is the transition between the completion of your backswing and the start of your downswing during the putting stroke. This segment of the stroke must be smooth and flawless. A great practice drill to improve your transition is to place a small coin (penny or dime) on the back of your putter. Your goal is to make practice strokes without dropping the coin off of the putter in the transition zone.

2. Topic: Fairway Bunker

Improve your contact out of the fairway bunker

Consistency in your ball striking from a fairway bunker starts with proper club selection and set-up. It is important to set up with stability, because sand is an unstable environment. Select the club that has the proper loft for the ball to clear the face of the bunker. Your key set-up essentials include the following: 1) Ball position is one ball ahead of center, 2) take your stance with the insides of your feet lower than the outsides and your heels slightly lower than your toes, 3) hover the club slightly above the golf ball with your weight being slightly on your heels and your posture feeling tall. From this efficient starting position, you are now ready to make your golf swing and enjoy the positive result.

3. Topic: Pitching

Capitalize on Short Game Opportunities

The short pitch is one of the most important shots in golf. It is a shot that occurs on nearly every hole for the average golfer. If a player can improve this shot it will certainly lead to lower scores.

When playing golf, precise pitching can be a great asset to your game. To improve your pitch shot, we first need to get into the correct set-up position. The stance is slightly narrower than the full swing with sixty percent of the body weight on the target side foot. The hands are slightly ahead of the ball, which is placed in the center of the stance. Obtaining this set-up position will allow the ball to be struck on the downswing, providing a large margin for error.

Now that we are set-up correctly we can start to work on distance control. On each shot we want to use a consistent tempo and match up the distance on the back and forward swings. The easiest way to accomplish this is to relate three different swing lengths to the face of a clock. A swing that travels back to the 8 o’clock position will travel forward to the 4 o’clock position. (See figure A) A backswing to the 9 o’clock position corresponds to a forward swing to the 3 o’clock position, and a club taken back to 10 o’clock will follow through to 2 o’clock. Matching the length of the forward and backswing in this manner will allow you to find a standard distance for each length swing. Club selection for the pitch shot should be a gap wedge, sand wedge or lob wedge depending on the type of trajectory you desire.

Figure A

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Chris George, P.G.A. TPI C.G.F.I.
Head of Instruction
Kingsmill Golf Academy
“Top 25 Golf Schools in America”
golfacademy@kingsmill.com
“PGA Professionals: Experts in the Game and Business of Golf.”