Putting-Sand-Chipping
Here are some specialized golf shots and how to execute reasonably.
Putting
The worst thing you can do putting is watch the pros putt. They spend hours each day practicing putting with a coach watching closely. They also play on the same speedy greens every week, which will never happen to you.
Geting close to the hole is almost as good as sinking a putt. Most people play for anything withing 18 inches.
When you get better you will know if a putter feels good and most likely you will wnat the big putter grips. Right now, what putter you use is just not important.
Stance
Feet should be about shoulder width apart. Too wide and it interfere with the putting stroke. Too close and balance is hard to maintain. Make sure your weight in on the insteps. Bend the knees a bit, do not lock the legs.
Gripping the putter
Use the same interlocking grip as you use for your other clubs. There are many grips for putting. For simplicity use the same grip. Feel relaxed: Loosen your grip and arms. If you are too tense the stroke will not be straight. It's the swaying of the back muscles, not the hand or arm muscles. You may see putter grips of all sorts. I suggest the popular thick grip, about 1 ¼ inches. The one in front of me says 1.32. It cuts down on the wrists twisting.
The Swing
The shoulders are what moves the putter. The idea is for the putter stroke to be square to your putting line. So be careful of twisting wrists, arms, legs or anything else that might distract from the straight and perpendicular.
Don't poke at the ball. Adjust your distance by how far back you take the putter. If you poke at the ball you will be deaccelerating when you hit the ball and that is bad.
Just before you start your swing, push your hands in front of the putter face. This causes the ball to roll forward smoothly. If your hands are behind the ball it may pop in the air and distance will be hard being correct.
Illustration
Reading the putt
Three basic types of greens (without regard to the type of grass) are slow, medium, and too fast.
Public course can leave their greens fairly slow for protection against wear.
The you get to a non-urban course and they let the greens be faster.
Pros play on a billards table, but it is the same every course. They do not want to look bad putting on TV. You may never play on a green that fast.
Slow greens do not "BREAK break as much as fast greens. You will know soon enough. Leave some time before teeing off to practice putting on the practice green.
You should have a good idea about putting by the end of the round.
Rolling the ball on the desired line
is not to swing by rotating the shoulders, yet if you can keep a perpendicular, straight line use your shoulders. Be sure and come through the ball very lightly helping make the ball roll smoothly. Additionally, to make the ball roll foward as quietly as possible, put your hands forward of the ball so the putter blade is slightly tiltes forward. You will see many pros lineup the put and then move their hands and inch or so forward. The more cleanly the roll of the ball the better will be your distance control.
Correct Distance
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Chipping
Chipping is a trick - you need to have the correct stance and swing in a certain way. You will see, chipping, that is the short shots from 20 yarrds and closer, are really not that bad.
Stance
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Swing
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Sand
Sand is still much art as science. Making sand play even harder ar bad sand traps. The excessive rain in the Northeast, made mud puddles and hard concrete of most sand traps. Good sand is much easier.
Stance
To achieve stability in sand, spread your feet further apart than your shoulders. And as you see on TV, kind of move your feet into the sand. Then move your weight to the front foot about 70% and keep your knees loose to keep going forward in the swing.
Swing
As you are not playing competitively, draw a line in the sand about a ball width or two behind the ball and aim for that location so the club comes completely below the ball. The club, in good sand shots, never touches the ball, the sand does the work.
Keep your swing in the swing plane, don't use a vertical swing in the sand, or anywhere else, for that matter.
Wet sand takes more strength than fluffly sand.
Don't be discouraged. Once you get the idea you will be able to get out of sand traps.
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