By Matthew Kidd, Teaching Pro, Saadiyat Beach Golf Club
The key to lowering your scores is having a reliable, consistent short game.
A lot amateurs get nervous and rush their technique which can often result in poor shots. In my lessons I see a lot of students place the ball towards their back foot with their hands forward. This leads to players stabbing at the ball which consequently causes thin shots across the green, or increases the likelihood of duffing it. Here are my top tips to avoid that.
The Set Up
Adopt a narrower stance with your left foot slightly flared out. This ensures we can rotate properly through the entire shot and doesn’t restrict our body’s natural momentum when swinging the club. Ensure the hands are in line with the ball to help with the consistency of the strike.
Tempo
Smooth rhythm – especially in the takeaway – is essential in getting the ball to drop nicely onto the green and rolling out towards the hole. Use the club as a pendulum and let the weight of the club do most of the work. Learning to trust the loft on a club is an important aspect of playing decent golf.
Hip to Hip
On the backswing, the butt of the club should be pointing towards the right hip. On the way through, it should be pointing at the left hip with the weight of the club extending towards the hole. This helps control speed and enables the correct trajectory every single time by eliminating excessive wrist movements.
