Showing posts with label Short Game. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Short Game. Show all posts

What is the best golf drill for learning how to control the golf ball, and improving power and distance?


One of The most important thing in golf is controlling the golf ball. Control is accomplished by solid club face to ball contact, while the club face is square to the target line, and traveling on the target line swing path.

One of the best drills for accomplishing these two goals is the L to L drill. The picture to the left is of Tiger Woods hitting a full shot. Notice the L formed by his arms and the shaft in the downswing. If you are unfamiliar with the drill, google “golf L to L drill”. There are many links that will demonstrate how to do it properly. I would check out a few links as there are differences in what some feel is important. Here are two of my favorites: L to L one. L to L two.

The drill will help you develop a good weight shift, proper hand action through the ball, and a feeling that you are controlling the golf ball. I recommend using your 7 iron. While performing the drill concentrate on extension on both sides of the ball, letting the right knee, and hip lead the arms through the shot, keeping your head behind the ball until after contact, staying balanced, and holding the finish with your weight on your forward side and your back foot up on the toes. If you swing a little past the L on the forward swing, that is OK. Do not try to muscle the ball. Concentrate on a smooth motion and solid contact. All experts agree that the number one key for more distance is solid contact. That is what you are trying to groove with this drill. Swing, don’t hit. This is also a great drill to practice Hogan’s Power Move.

You can keep track of your progress by seeing how many shots it takes to hit ten perfect shots. A perfect shot will be defined as one where there is good crisp contact, and the ball is traveling on the intended target line. You should usually be able to complete a session in 10 to 15 minutes. If after 15 minutes, you still have not reached 10 “perfects”, just record how many perfects you had that session.

When you are ready to hit a full shot just extend your swing, and use the same action you grooved through the hitting area. You will also become very proficient from a hundred yards in (the scoring zone) once you get the feel for how far the ball will travel with the L to L swing using different clubs. You will hit these short shots with confidence knowing that you will make crisp contact and the ball will be sailing straight to the target.

Now there is only one problem, finding time to perform the drill. Anyone can find 10 or 15 minutes, but we put off practicing because getting to the range takes time. The perfect practice aid that will allow you to perform this drill, using a real golf ball, in the limited area of your own backyard is the Ropeit. Just click here to see a youtube video of the Ropeit in action so you can check it out. After viewing the video you can get your own Ropeit at www.theropeit.com. It comes with an unconditional money back guarantee, so all you have to lose is strokes off your handicap.

Perform this drill three or four times a week, in total less than an hour of practice, and I guarantee that your ball striking will improve immensely. Please post a comment and let us know how the drill has worked for you.

Tour Sticks Complement Many Golf At Home Practice Aids

In this video, Hank Haney shows how you can improve your aim and alignment by placing two golf clubs on the ground.







This is a great way to improve your aim, but if you want an alignment guide that is a little more specialized, you may be interested in Tour Sticks.



Toursticks are one of the most popular practice aids in the pro golfing world.

While practicing at the driving range with Tour Sticks is obviously very helpful, there are ways you can get extra use out of this product right in your backyard.

Take a look at some of the innovative ways you can utilize your Tour Sticks:





1) Work On Your Alignment



Now I know it's hard to work on a full swing shot at home, but there are many options to get around this. You can buy a hitting net, or alternative products such as The Rope It or Birdieball. These products all allow you to hit full swing shots in your backyard, giving you a whole new place to practice with your Tour Sticks.


2) Improve Ball Position


Get your ball position fine tuned by using your Tour Sticks like a cross. Place your toes on the line parallel to your swing plane, and keep your club head at the top of the cross.

3) Fine Tune Your Aim


This last use for the Tour Sticks is the one I thought was most interesting. You can create a column in your backyard and attempt to chip through it. If you have precise aim on a short chip, you will lower your scores.

Hopefully this opens up some possible ways to utilize this product past normal conventions. We really like this product and it is one of our key tools in our backyard practice toolbox.

The Floppy: Indoor Practice Golf Ball


Now you can have the freedom to practice your golf game when ever and where ever you like. The Floppy® will give you the same feel and feedback of a golf ball but without breaking things. Designed for the short game The Floppy® works wonders with your wedges and short irons.

Cool video here of a guy chipping Floppys into a bucket then he goes for it with a real ball!




The Floppy provides a great way to practice your short game indoors, away from the elements. Practice short chips or even hit full swing shots against the wall without breaking anything!

When practicing with The Floppy It is best to have it land on something as close to turf as possible. I found that on carpet it does react very much like a golf ball. It checks up pretty well, and can even spin back a little bit. You can hit it high or low and it will behave predictably. seems like a good way to practice at home. A 4-pack is $19.95 delivered. seems like a good way to practice at home.