There are many Nicklaus “signature” moves you can borrow. My favorite was his indelible head turn away from the ball, a subtle rotation that triggered one of the most winning swings of all time. The reason for it was simple — to initiate a fuller, more powerful shoulder turn. What you may not realize is that this trigger was just part of Jack’s pre-shot routine.

To fully understand Jack’s trigger, we have to look at something Jack did before he addressed the ball. When lining up, Jack would pick an intermediate spot somewhere between the target and the ball. He’d then draw an imaginary line through all three and set up his feet parallel to that imaginary line. This is when he’d make his first move, by turning his head and checking to see if that spot he’d picked before is still in line with the target and that his stance was parallel to that line.

Next, he’d take “one last look for comfort,” as he’s called it, turning his head to glance at the target before coming back to gaze directly at the ball. All this movement happened before initiating the famous, steely-eyed head turn we all have burned in our collective memories.

For Jack, his swing trigger was really just another move to keep the body and mind in motion before starting his swing. Whether it be a head turn, knee flex or even a slight forward press of the hands, having both a pre-shot routine and a swing trigger improves your cadence and rhythm. It can also calm your nerves and make it easier to execute your swing under pressure. The more you can rely on a routine, the less time you’ll have to worry about negative swing thoughts.

Hallett teaches at Vanderbilt Legends Club in Franklin, Tenn.

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Towering drive and precise iron play might make for a more aesthetically pleasing round of golf, but without a reliable short game, your scorecard will not be pretty. Having a deft touch around the greens is crucial for any player looking to keep positive momentum in their round, from amateurs to Tour pros. And let’s face it, sometimes a simple pitch shot around the greens can be as intimidating as a 200-yard carry over water. When you’re feeling like those seemingly “simple” shots are anything but, lean on these tips from Callaway Golf’s Roger Cleveland to cozy it up there close.

1. Pitch shot

For your standard pitch shot, Cleveland recommends getting your feet closer together and the shaft more vertical. “What you’re doing is putting the sole more in play,” Cleveland said.From this position you can stay tall and allow the club to slide underneath the ball and on track towards the flagstick.

2. Bunker shot

A bunker shot has the same fundamental components as the pitch shot, but the positions are more exaggerated. You want to stand further from the ball and create a more stable base with a wider stance.“I’m releasing the clubhead so the trailing edge is hitting first,” Cleveland said.This shot is simple and effective for players of any skill level as it doesn’t require much strength, just solid technique.

It’s technically the offseason, but if you’re hard core enough, you’ll still be able to play some golf. The general rule of thumb in golf courses during the offseason is that if there’s not snow or frost on the ground, the course is open. The trade off? You’ll probably have to play in some rather frigid temperatures. And that cold weather can have a small but significant effect on your game.

How much does cold weather affect your golf ball?

Most golfers know the golf ball won’t fly as far in cold weather. But how much, exactly, does it impact your flight? Enter Andrew Rice, one of our GOLF Top 100 Teachers who, at his Coach Camp conference in 2018, conducted a series of tests on Trackman to figure this out. He determined that for golfers who hit their drives about 250 yards (with a ball speed of about 150 mph), they will lose about two yards on their drives for every 10 degree drop in temperature. On the flip side, golfers will gain about two yards on their drives for every 10 degree rise in temperature.

The distance increase/decrease will decrease the shorter the club, though. For a pitching wedge, you’ll only gain or lose about 1.3 yards per 10 degrees, according to the findings.

So, using Rice’s formula, we put together this handy little chart. Full disclosure, it’s not perfect because everyone’s distances vary, but hopefully it will help provide a general baseline for the next time you’re out there in the cold.

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Every golfer needs to shift on their backswing, but not every golfer needs to shift the same way. There are three basic shift types, as illustrated below:

1. Front post: Front-post golfers like Bryson DeChambeau prefer to stay more on their front leg on the backswing. Many think that staying on your front leg is bad, but it’s not.

2. Center post: Players like Tiger Woods shift a moderate amount to their trail leg on the backswing. If they shifted too little or too much, their timing would be thrown off.

3. Rear post: Gary Woodland is a rear-post golfer who likes to shift entirely to his trail leg on the backswing, then use lots of lateral force on the downswing to get back into position at impact.

You can experiment with all three methods, but it’s better to find out for sure. Place a club across your thighs and rotate as in a mock backswing. You’ll instantly feel where your pressure goes: to the rear, forward or center. That’s your post—and your road map to instant improvement.

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It’s never a good feeling when, after you’ve striped a drive right down the middle, you get to your lie only to discover that there’s a large chunk of mud attached to one side of your ball. For years I had heard that mud on the ball causes it to do crazy things in the air, but I was never sure.

Since the best way to build clarity about a theory is to test it, I did, at my school at the Club at Savannah Harbor in Savannah, Ga. Here’s a sampling of what I found:

Mud on the Left Side of Ball

Mud on the left side of the ball will almost always will cause the ball to move strongly to the rifght in the air with a “neutral” swing.

Mud on the Right Side of Ball

Mud on the right side of the ball will almost always cause the ball to move strongly to the left in the air with a neutral swing

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Mud on Top

Mud on the top, front, or back portions of the ball doesn’t necessarily affect direction (i.e., left or right), but it will cause the ball to carry significantly shorter.

Mud After Impact

Large clumps of mud will be ejected off the ball very quickly after impact; it’s the remaining small particles that alter ball flight.

Glossing over the fundamentals has always been a popular trend among recreational players.

Professional golfers and elite amateurs, on the other hand, are out there every day sweating the small stuff. They understand that their setup is one of the few things they can easily control, and even a little tweak can often prove to be the difference. Just ask four-time PGA Tour winner Marc Leishman.

“I recently realized in practice that my stance was too narrow, which changed my ball position and messed everything up,” he says. “Once I figured that out, everything changed. It was a simple change, but it’s been a very, very productive one.”

Leishman’s small adjustment helped him to a top-10 finish at the WGC Match Play earlier this year.

From Middle to Left Heel

Every golfer’s swing is different, of course, but a basic rule of thumb is that the farther up in your stance the ball is, the more you’ll hit up on it, while the farther back it is, the more you’ll hit down on it. The chart below is a good starting point. The ball position with the driver should be farthest forward, just inside your left heel, then move progressively farther back until you get to your wedges, which should reside squarely in the middle of your stance.