Golf Tips

I play golf from time to time with Skip Kendall and Pete Lonard, both very successful PGA tour players. I am consistently impressed by certain aspects of their game, but most notably their iron game, and in particular, their short iron approach shots. Let me share a few observations with all of you that might help your games:

1- They never swing a wedge full tilt. They are always under control, in balance, and never over-swinging.

2- Generally, they hit wedges a shorter distance than they could were they swinging hard, but they sacrifice control when they do so.....so they don't.

3- They putt for birdie virtually every time after hitting a short iron or wedge into the hole, and oftentimes, it is inside 10-12 feet.

4- They are "trajectory control" masters, so to speak. They flight the ball properly...mid-trajectory, penetrating, and straight. Usually the ball hits the green and then stops, whereas with a full swing you can get a lot of backspin and suck the ball too far back from the pin.

5- They are pin-point accurate with their shots. They take dead aim at their target, (the flagstick), and focus all of their energies on firing the ball right at it.

So what does all of that mean to each of you? Well, none of us will probably have the skill level those two players have, but what each of you can do is quite simply learn that control, and not distance, is the key to great wedge play.

With a wedge, you need to leave yourself a birdie putt, or a par putt of a make-able distance. So hit more 3/4 shots with your short irons, finish in balance, and don't over-swing. Doing so will help you control the direction, height and spin of your shots. Consequently, you should have many more make-able putts.