The post 5 of the worst spots to miss at Augusta National appeared first on Golf.

The post 5 of the worst spots to miss at Augusta National appeared first on Golf.

Augusta National is one of the most exacting tests in golf, demanding precision and control across every aspect of competitors’ games. To go low at the Masters, you have to find the fairway, shape approach shots, dial in wedges and have the putter rolling.

As important as it is to hit great shots, ask any past Masters champion and they’ll tell you knowing where to miss is just as crucial. At a place like Augusta, misses have to be intentional, not accidental — a concept most amateurs overlook.

Going off of player feedback, course data and insights from Joe Plecker, a GOLF Top 100 Teacher, here are five of the worst spots to miss it at the Masters, in no particular order. 

No. 13: Long and right

While leaving it short of the 13th green isn’t ideal, going long can be just as punishing. Because the green at Augusta’s 13th hole, Azalea, slopes from back to front, shots from behind the green become an even more demanding test — especially with Rae’s Creek staring you down.

“A long miss to the right effectively narrows the green and turns what looks like a generous landing area into a far more difficult chip — even more so if the ball is above your feet,” Plecker said. 

No. 9: Top shelf to a front pin

According to Adam Scott, the 2013 Masters champion, the most demanding shot on Augusta’s ninth hole is the approach:

“The most challenging shot here is the approach because you are often hitting a short iron from a downslope to an elevated green,” Scott said. “Distance is key because the green has three shelves. It’s critical to be putting from the proper one.”

Miss your number even slightly, and the consequences can be dire. From the back of the green — which slopes from back to front — a putt to a front pin can easily race past the hole and, in the worst case, trickle down the false front and back into the fairway.

No. 11: Short off the tee

Playing smart and playing it safe aren’t the same thing. The tee shot on Augusta’s 11th hole, White Dogwood, is a perfect example. While accuracy and positioning are essential, the course is also designed to penalize players who get too conservative with their strategy.

According to Masters statistics, players hitting their approach from 175 to 200 yards on the left side have a 77 percent chance of making par or better. But move back to the 200–225-yard range, and the likelihood of making bogey jumps from 18 percent to 25 percent. The difference, Plecker explains, comes down to angle of descent.

“You can’t play back at Augusta because your descent angle doesn’t match,” he said, “[Distance off the tee] is such a prerequisite, because now the approach irons have a much better landing angle.”

No. 4: Over the green

Flowering Crab Apple, Augusta’s par-3, fourth hole, features a boomerang-shaped green guarded by two bunkers that are positioned front left and front right. But here, the bunkers are a far safer miss than going long. If your approach shot flies too far, you could find yourself having to pitch it from the rough into a green that slopes away from you.

“You don’t see a lot of birdies here, but you will see a lot of quick, frustrating bogeys. There aren’t many places officials can put the flagstick where you say to yourself, ‘Yeah, I’m going to get this shot close,'” Jon Rahm, the 2023 Masters Champion, said.

No. 12: Long and left

The long and left miss on Augusta’s 12th hole is one of the most devastating errors a player can make — usually because it’s not entirely within their control. As winds swirl around Amen Corner, the short par-3 can require anything from a 9-iron to a 6-iron. Making club selection a bit of a guessing game.

“It [the wind] changes from minute to minute, and that’s what’s terrifying about this [approach shot],” Plecker said. “One minute you’re into the wind, then you’re downwind with too much club.” 

“You see this [miss] a lot where players have a little indecision, maybe they don’t want to leave it short and they turn the toe over. And then they’ve got that really difficult shot to a downhill green with water behind.”

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The post How to cure your chipping yips, according to a short-game expert appeared first on Golf.

The post How to cure your chipping yips, according to a short-game expert appeared first on Golf.

Q: Dear Chef, I’m struggling with the chipping yips. Any easy remedies? —Kyle M., Wilmette, Ill

Kyle, I feel for you. The chipping yips are a huge bummer and can happen to anyone. Even Tiger Woods suffered from them for a while, back in 2015. But he bounced back, and so can you! 

Try this simple solution: Next time you’re hitting shots around the practice green, add a toe tap with your lead foot before you swing through to impact. You can do this in a variety of ways, even pausing your swing at the halfway point. The goal is to make sure you’re getting that toe tap in before you start your through swing to impact. 

Not only does thinking about the toe tap help you get out of your head and ease the anxiety of the impending strike, it also encourages you to have your weight properly positioned throughout the swing.

You’ll find much more of McLachlin’s advice at ShortGameChef.com, which provides golfers with a comprehensive resource to improve their short games. Through personalized tips, drills and expert insights, McLachlin helps players of all levels gain more confidence and a deeper understanding of their short game to lower their scores. You can browse membership options here.

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The post 5 keys for becoming a great lag putter appeared first on Golf.

The post 5 keys for becoming a great lag putter appeared first on Golf.

Putting can often be the lowest-risk shot choice, even from off the green — especially when the grass is cut short enough.

There’s also something enjoyable about taking a long walk to the green with a putter in hand, even if it means facing a lengthy first putt. Developing the ability to get that first putt close enough for an easy two-putt is a crucial skill, but it requires solid technique and consistent practice.

Here are five keys to keep in mind if you want to become a great lag putter.

1. Solid contact is a must

Making proper contact with the putter face is always important, but it becomes even more critical on longer putts. Clean contact ensures you transfer the correct amount of energy to the ball.

As with most areas of golf, this starts with good technique, but training aids can be extremely helpful in reinforcing proper contact. This path trainer can help you develop a more consistent strike. For longer putts, you can allow slightly more space between the guides.

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As we (should) all know by now, one of the main keys to being a great putter is having an efficient, repeatable stroke. If you don’t have a good stroke path, you’re going to struggle to square the putter face at impact and start the ball on your intended line.   The Path Perfectors are designed to help you develop a consistent reliable stroke path and also center contact on the club face. This means a better stroke, better distance control, and in turn, more putts made.   What makes our Path Perfectors different? Glad you asked. Instead of the usual aluminum or steel that most putting gates are made of, ours are built out of a custom silicone blend. Steel and aluminum not only damage your putter, they’re also loud and a little bit irritating. No one else needs to know that your putting stroke sucks, and reminding them with loud clanking against some gates and chipped paint on your putter is probably not the best way to get an invite to the next scramble tournament.

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2. The backstroke is the engine

Longer putts require longer backstrokes. This is non-negotiable if you want to become a strong distance putter. Golfers who struggle with lag putting often hesitate to lengthen their stroke enough.

If you don’t put enough “gas in the tank,” it’s very difficult to reach the hole. When the backstroke is too short, other parts of the body tend to compensate, leading to unnecessary movement and inconsistency. This makes solid contact much harder to achieve.

3. Stay steady

Maintaining stability is one of the biggest challenges on longer putts. To produce consistent, repeatable contact, the stroke should have minimal moving parts.

Your head and lower body should remain relatively still throughout the stroke. You can practice this by watching your shadow or filming your stroke to check for unwanted movement.

4. A longer lever may help

Proper putter length plays a key role in both solid contact and good posture.

For longer putts, it can help to grip slightly higher on the handle, effectively creating a longer lever to generate more power. This may require a small posture adjustment, but it can help you roll the ball farther with less effort, especially when combined with a longer backstroke.

5. Practice, practice, practice

Effective lag putting is a learned skill that requires repetition. While adjusting your backstroke length is important, it also takes time to trust that a longer stroke (rather than added acceleration) is what controls distance.

If your stroke is long enough, you can simply let the putter swing through the ball and allow it to roll out naturally.

If this concept is new, give yourself time to build confidence. A great drill is putting back and forth across the green, focusing on distance control and rhythm. This helps you trust the process and develop a reliable feel for longer putts.

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The post 3 steps for mastering the low, spinning pitch shot appeared first on Golf.

The post 3 steps for mastering the low, spinning pitch shot appeared first on Golf.

If you watch tour pros around the greens, there’s one shot they rely on more than any other: the low, spinning wedge. When executed correctly, it comes out relatively flat and checks almost immediately. That predictability in both trajectory and spin gives players exceptional control and allows them to attack pins with pinpoint precision.

While it might look difficult, mastering this shot is easier than you’d think. According to Jason Sutton, a GOLF Top 100 Alumni, to add the low, spinning wedge to your arsenal you just need to dial in two set-up keys and learn the proper sequencing. 

Step 1: Narrow your stance

To promote a lower ball flight, Sutton says to narrow your stance. As you set your feet, position them so your heels are close together while allowing your toes to flare slightly.

Step 2: Pressure on lead side

Next, Sutton says to pre-set your pressure into your lead side, focusing particularly on the heel of your lead foot. This forward pressure encourages a downward strike, which is key to producing a low ball flight and lots of spin.

Step 3: Sequence your downswing 

“I think of this [sequencing] as a four-horse race,” Sutton says.

The first “horse,” he explains, is your body’s center and hips. The second is your lead arm, followed by your hands as the third, and finally, the clubhead as the fourth.

“We need to have that order in the downstroke in order to hit that low, spinning wedge,” he continues.

If you can sequence the downswing in that exact order, you will set yourself up to produce the flight and spin that you’re looking for. 

With practice, this will become a dependable weapon around the greens, letting you attack pins confidently and convert more up-and-down opportunities.

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The post How to move your low point forward: 3 clever drills for better ball striking appeared first on Golf.

The post How to move your low point forward: 3 clever drills for better ball striking appeared first on Golf.

One of the biggest misconceptions in golf is about where the club makes contact with the ball and the ground. Tony Ruggiero, a GOLF Top 100 Teacher, explains that the low point of your swing—or the bottom of your swing arc—actually occurs just in front of the ball, on the target side.

“In order to make the low point happen on the target side of the ball, we want your body and the pressure to be moving towards the target,” Ruggiero says, “You actually want to try to get your center of your body moving towards the target and at the ball or in front of the ball.”

It sounds simple enough, but many amateurs still struggle to get their low point far enough forward. Fortunately, Ruggiero has a few clever drills that can help you practice moving your body and pressure towards the target.

Trail-foot slide drill

Without a ball, place a slider—which you can buy here—under your trail foot and get into your normal set up. Take the club back, and as you make your forward swing, Ruggiero says to think about sliding your trail foot back. 

“[This move] makes all the pressure or weight have to go towards the lead leg,” he says, “and it makes you learn to stay in posture and rotate your trunk over to the [lead] leg.”

If you’re doing it right, you should notice that the club brushes the ground just in front of where the ball would be. 

Impact drill with resistance

For the next drill, you’ll need a light resistance band and something to anchor it to, or a partner to hold it. Loop it around the handle of your club, then step away just enough to take the slack out of the band. From there, move into your impact position and hold it. As you rehearse this position, you should begin to feel a slight amount of resistance from the band.

Ruggiero explains that an optimal impact position should look like your chest rotating over the ball as your hips begin to open and clear out of the way.

Once you’re in a proper impact position, continue turning through the shot. As you rotate, you should feel more resistance from the band—almost like it’s pulling you back. Ruggiero says that feeling will help train you to push off the ground and move through the ball, rather than hanging back. 

Early release drill

This third and final drill, is inspired by players like Annika Sorenstam and David Duval. Best practiced with small, or slow swings, it’s all about the release.  

“In the old days, their [Sorenstam and Duval] eyes would release early down the range, and they’d almost be looking out down the range before they hit the ball,” Ruggiero says.

To practice this drill, make small swings while emulating that early release, training your body to naturally let your eyes, nose, hands and club release all together—pointing at the target. 

“When you learn to do that, you’re learning to move and deliver the club with your body. And that helps you get the low point out in front of the ball,” Ruggiero says. 

Practice these three drills to teach your body how to move toward the target, rotate through impact, and release the club correctly—and you’ll hit crisp iron shots every time.

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The post Do this exercise to learn how to use the ground in your swing appeared first on Golf.

The post Do this exercise to learn how to use the ground in your swing appeared first on Golf.

One of the popular buzzwords in modern golf instruction is “ground reaction forces,” which refers to how your feet interact with the ground when you swing. And if you want to swing with maximum efficiency, it’s important that you learn how to properly apply these forces in your own swing.

If you watch the best players in the world take a swing, you’ll notice that they shift the pressure in their feet as they go through the motion. This not only helps them generate more power, but also improves their sequencing. This pressure shift is crucial to learn if you want to become an elite ball striker.

GOLF Top 100 Teacher James Leitz likes to teach this pressure shift by having his students hold a kettle bell out in front of them in their golf posture. He then uses a metronome set to around 150 bpm and has them sway the kettle bell back and forth on each click. As you do this, the momentum of the kettle bell should shift the pressure back and forth between your feet.

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“You want to feel your feet dance with the kettle bell,” Leitz says. “We have to create a fast cadence, and this is a great way to do it.”

As you continue swinging the kettle bell back and forth, you can start to lift your heels off the ground slightly to really get a feel for how your weight and pressure are shifting between your feet.

Once you’ve gotten that feel down, swap out the kettle bell for one of your irons (a mid or short iron will do). Continue that “dance” with your feet and then eventually, graduate to a full follow through.

“It really unlocks a golfer’s athleticism,” Leitz says. “It’s a great drill to teach you that the swing starts before the club moves.”

If you can incorporate the feel of dancing with the kettle bell into your full swing, you’ll be able to better use the ground and hit more crisp shots than ever before.

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The post How to teach yourself the perfect impact position with your irons appeared first on Golf.

The post How to teach yourself the perfect impact position with your irons appeared first on Golf.

The golf ball does not move when you swing, but that doesn’t make hitting it on the center of the face any easier. In fact, the ball’s static position can actually make hitting the ball more of a challenge.

Unlike other sports where you swing at a ball (baseball, tennis, etc.), in golf, it can be difficult to rely on instincts and athleticism to make contact. Instead, you can fall into the trap of thinking rather than reacting.

One such thought that high-handicappers have that inhibits their ability to make great swings is that the club’s position at impact should match what it looks like at address. In reality, that couldn’t be further from the case.

“Nobody playing elite-level golf will look the same at impact as they do at address,” says GOLF Teacher to Watch Jake Thurm.

If you try to return the shaft to its impact position, you won’t get enough forward shaft lean and you’ll lose tons of power and spin. So, if you want to hit it like the pros do, you need to match their impact positions.

Thurm suggests learning this position with a simple drill using two alignment sticks. Grab one and stick it in the ground to match your shaft lean at address, then stick the other one in the ground leaning forward, which you can see in the photos above.

The goal here is to match your shaft lean with that of the alignment sticks at both address and impact.

“The first thing that’s gonna happen is I’m gonna push my hands forward,” Thurm says. “The center of my hips also shifted forward. I cannot find an elite-level player whose hips are not forward at impact.”

If you can get both the handle of the club and your hips in front of the ball at impact, you’ll be in position to make ball-first contact and hit high, towering iron shots.

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The post How to hit Gary Woodland’s signature stinger with 2 simple moves appeared first on Golf.

The post How to hit Gary Woodland’s signature stinger with 2 simple moves appeared first on Golf.

The stinger is a shot you turn to when precision matters most. Low, piercing and built for control, this ball flight cuts through the wind, stays under trouble and rolls out. While many pros can hit the stinger, few have made it a signature shot quite like Gary Woodland — as we saw this week at the Texas Children’s Houston Open.

“The stinger has been a huge shot for me really my whole career,” Woodland said in 2023.

The origin of the shot, Woodland said, dates to his college golf days. As he told GOLF Top 100 Teacher Chris Mayson, the stinger became a solution when distance wasn’t the problem — control was.

“I’ve always hit the golf ball a long way, but when I was in college I had no idea where it was going,” Woodland said. “I was working with Randy Smith at the time and he’s like, ‘We got to find some way to get it in the fairway.’”

Let’s break down Woodland’s 3 keys for hitting a stinger.

1. Open stance, ball back

When hitting a stinger, Woodland says his priority is trapping the ball — and that starts with setup. He begins by opening his stance slightly to the target. Then Woodland moves the ball back in his stance.

According to Mayson, those adjustments work together to shape the proper path into the ball.

“He’s moved the ball back in his stance which actually gets the club coming to the inside,” Mayson says. “That’s why he’s moved his alignment more to the left to kind of offset that ball position.”

2. Glove logo at the target

“The biggest key for me is I want to hold the back [of my lead hand], so I want that Crown C logo at the target as long as I can,” Woodland says. 

Keeping the back of his lead hand — or his glove logo — at the target allows Woodland to control his clubface through impact, which is key to trapping the ball. When he does that, the result is exactly what he’s after: a shot that comes out hot, low, and piercing.

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The post 5 setup adjustments you need to make when hitting from a bad lie appeared first on Golf.

The post 5 setup adjustments you need to make when hitting from a bad lie appeared first on Golf.

Part of the fun — and the challenge — of golf is the wide variety of situations you encounter. Not every shot is played from the middle of the fairway with a perfect lie. While that might be ideal, it isn’t realistic even for the best golfers in the world, let alone recreational players.

If you understand how to adjust for a bad lie and why those adjustments work, you can apply these principles to many different situations. I like to give my students simple ways to remember key concepts on the course. One of these is: “Lean for a Lousy Lie,” or the three L’s.

In most of these cases, the ball is sitting down, making it difficult to make clean contact before the obstruction. In others, it’s critical to strike the ball before whatever lies beneath it.

Here’s how to adjust your setup when you encounter a bad lie — and why it works.

1. Adjust the ball position

Moving the ball back in your stance increases the likelihood of contacting the ball first. This happens because the club is still traveling on a steeper angle of attack at that point in the swing. This is especially important when the ball is sitting down or in a tricky lie.

2. Lean toward the target

Shift your upper body toward the target so your chest and center of mass are positioned ahead of the ball. The club tends to strike the ground near where your head is positioned, so this adjustment helps ensure ball-first contact with a steeper attack angle.

3. Drop the lead shoulder

As your upper body leans toward the target, allow your lead shoulder to sit lower, creating a slight tilt. Your shoulder line plays a major role in both swing path and approach angle. Pre-setting this tilt helps guide the club downward into the turf or sand, allowing it to strike the back of the ball cleanly without interference.

4. Forward shaft lean

Match your body position by leaning the shaft forward at address. This will slightly reduce loft, so be mindful when selecting a club and determining swing size. However, this forward shaft lean is essential for solid, ball-first contact.

5. Swing steep

With the proper setup, swing more steeply with speed and commitment. This added momentum helps the club cut through the lie and propel the ball forward. The steeper angle comes from your setup, but maintaining speed and a confident, assertive motion is key to clean contact.

There’s no need for a traditional full follow-through. Given this setup and the intention to strike down into the ground, the turf or sand may naturally limit your finish. Trying to force a full follow-through can cause you to fall back, leading to poor contact and reduced distance.

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The post How using a split grip can help you hit straighter drives appeared first on Golf.

The post How using a split grip can help you hit straighter drives appeared first on Golf.

Distance is important for your tee shots, but all those yards are worthless if you can’t keep the ball in play. That’s why spurning accuracy in the pursuit of distance is such a dangerous game. You need a healthy dose of both skills to be truly effective.

Controlling the clubface is crucial in the pursuit of accuracy. While a face that’s a few degrees open or closed might not hurt you too much with the shorter clubs, with a driver in your hands it can be quite detrimental.

Sometimes when you’re really trying to get after it with a driver, your hands and wrists will get very active during the swing. And while this can generate some extra mphs on the radar, it can make controlling the clubface through impact difficult.

If this sounds like you, there’s an easy fix, courtesy of GOLF Top 100 Teacher Joe Hallett.

Use a split-hand grip

When you’re standing on the tee box and are staring down a tight driving hole, don’t make your practice swing as you normally would. Instead, grab the club and take a split grip and then make a practice swing.

It’ll feel weird at first, but you’ll notice that as you go back and through, the clubface is much more stable.

“It’ll be really hard to overly flip your wrists and hand through impact,” Hallett says.

Instead of relying only on your hands and wrists to generate speed, the split grip forces the club to get in sync with your body. Now, the big muscles are doing the work — and keeping the clubface much more stable through impact.

“Split the grip, and you’ll split the fairway,” Hallett says.

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