Flip through the latest issue of Gulf Weekly.
The Royal Golf Club's PGA teaching professional James Martin gives tips on keys to playing good shots
COLIN Montgomerie once said he could save most golfers six to eight shots if he were to caddy for them in a round. He believed that poor decision making is heavily responsible for high scores and I would tend to agree with him.
I am going to outline some of the easily avoidable mistakes that I see out on the course.
Having spent many years watching tour players hit the ball you notice that they only have a couple of things regarding the swing in common.
They don't all stand the same, hold the club the same or swing the same; however, they all have control of the low point. By this I mean they have control of where the club is at the lowest point in the arc.
As the handicap of the golfer goes up, the control of the low point decreases meaning the dispersion rate between swings is much higher - this can cause many problems such as fat, thin and air shots.
TIP
One of the best tips to help create a closer dispersion rate between low points is to draw a line or create a mark on the grass and try to remove the mark by taking divots.
Use a high lofted club such as a pitching wedge for this drill.
The more you practice this the more accurate you will become. The divots will start to appear in the same place and become a more consistent size and shape. Once you have mastered striking the line or mark, place a ball on top of the line, try to strike the ball and take a divot after the line, this will help create a descending blow to the ball.
The descending blow is needed to help create a consistent trajectory and length with your irons.
Consistency is one of the keys to good golf; try this practice the next time you come to the Royal Golf Club driving range and see your consistency of strike improve.
