Among the biggest differences between a player with a low golf handicap and one with a high golf handicap is club control. Players with low golf handicaps have better club control than players with high ones. Better club control enables players to make shots that other players can't. When combined with the right course strategy, making good shots cards lower scores.
Club control is the ability to hit the ball how you want to, when you want to. If you want to hit the ball low, such as when the wind is against you, you can keep it low. If you want to hit the ball high, such as when the wind is with you, you can it high. You can hit the shot you need to hit on command. That's club control.
Golf Tip #1: Distance and Accuracy
Players with low golf handicaps know how to shape their shots. Players with high golf handicaps don't. When we think of shot shaping, we usually think of hitting a draw or a fade on command. But there's more to club control that just that. In fact, there's whole other dimension to it—knowing how to hit for distance or for accuracy.
K.J. Choi, a right-hander, hits for accuracy. He hits low iron shots with left to right ball flight that lands softly. How does he do it? That's a golf lesson in itself. But he has a key to doing it. His hands and arms go immediately left after impact. This move keeps the shot's trajectory low and achieves a soft landing—a great shot when accuracy is what you want.
Luke McDonald, also a right-hander, hits for distance. He maximizes his power by allowing his hands and forearms to shoot out away from his body. This allows him to have his forearms and hands pass his body before making impact, transferring energy from his body to the ball. That in turn generates the distance he needs when he needs it.
Golf Tip #2: Lean the Shaft Forward.
If you want to learn to control your shots more effectively around the green, you must do two things. One is setting up with a narrower stance than usual. A narrower stance lets you avoid flubbed shots—a common error among players with high golf handicaps. The other is leaning the shaft forward.
To chip with greater control, place your hands in front of the ball when assuming your stance. This simple move has a major impact. It automatically places the shaft in a forward slant. That in turn helps you control trajectory AND spin on shots around the green. If you're looking to chip it close, learning to control trajectory and spin is a must.
Golf Tip #3: Keep Your Head Up
It's not uncommon to tell yourself to keep your head down after flubbing a shot. That's not necessarily good advice. If you keep your head down, chances are good you'll hit a slice. Keeping your head down restricts your body turn. This in turn means your arms and upper body will lift upward instead of going around, creating an upright, outside-to-in swing path and producing a slice. It also can lead to neck and back injuries.
Instead, keep your head up. When your head is up, it facilitates a good shoulder turn. It also helps keep your spine straight. By standing tall you can rotate your head more effectively and keep your swing on a flatter plane. This leads to better swings and helps prevent injuries to your neck and back.
Golf Tip #4: Spread Your Feet Wide
Optimum control is not an issue when playing a bunker shot with a downhill lie. But there's no way you're not going to play for the flag, which takes a degree of control. The tendency with this type of shot is losing your posture when swinging, making it difficult to make solid contact. To pull the shot off, you need a stable base from which to swing.
To achieve stability, spread your feet a little wider. Feeling some firmness and pressure in your legs also helps. With a slightly wider stance and some pressure to bear, you won't lose your posture and you'll make solid contact. Don't forget to swing with the slope.
These four golf tips help you make solid contact by improving club control. Good club control translates into good shotmaking. And good shotmaking, combined with the right course strategy, translates into lower scores. If you want to achieve a low golf handicap, you must find a way of generating lower scores consistently.
Jack Moorehouse is the author of the best-selling book "How To Break 80 And Shoot Like The Pros." He is NOT a golf pro, rather a working man that has helped thousands of golfers from all seven continents lower their handicap immediately. He has a free weekly newsletter with the latest golf tips, golf lessons and golf instruction.
