How to Hit a Golf Ball

Hi Everyone,

Years ago I remember some advice from a well respected former touring pro turned teacher, Bob Toski, who said if you can’t hit a solid chip shot or short pitch shot (50 yards and in), you can’t hope to make any kind of good contact on a full swing.

The reason I raise this is twofold: I want to get your advice on something I recently heard about. And I want to ask you to do a very brief experiment for me. I realize this won’t be entirely scientific research, but it should confirm that we are heading in the right direction.

First, here’s how this all got started. I was watching an interview with Ted Purdy at the Valero Texas Open last week and he was telling the story of how he was going through an airport recently and wandered into the PGA Store. He ended up buying a copy of Phil Mickelson’s new dvd on the short game ( so much for us thinking that these guys get all this swag for free!).

After reviewing the dvd, he realized that what he had been doing was not at all what Phil is teaching. Try not to forget that Ted Purdy has been on the PGA Tour for 11 years!

Anyway, Ted said he was still confused about a couple of the things that Phil was saying on the video, so he approached him at the practice green at one of the recent tournaments to see if he would mind helping him sort things out. (Oh that we should be so lucky to wander up to Phil for a mini-lesson!) Anyway, Phil graciously spent 15 to 20 minutes with Ted to walk him through the lesson.

Ted went on to share with the interviewer that he saw immediate improvement in his chipping and pitching. Way more control and accuracy. Also, predictably, way more confidence.

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This got me to thinking what a difference there might have been to the outcome of that tournament if Paul Goydos had the benefit of Phil’s instruction. Like most golf fans, I really like Paul Goydos, both as a player and as a down to earth guy. It was painful to watch him struggle on 17 with his shot selection.

He didn’t trust his chipping/pitching game and putted from way off the fringe on 17 (Bermuda velcro). The ball bobbled badly and took the steam out of the putt which came up 10 feet short. He missed that putt and fell into a tie for the lead. On 18, Goydos pulled his approach slightly and was sitting on the up slope of a little mound about 6 or 7 paces off the green and about 30 or so feet from the hole.

I couldn’t bear to watch. Ever have one of those moments when you know exactly what is going to happen? Like watching Shaq shooting foul shots late in the game. Well, as we used to say when we were kids, he “gunched it”. It landed in the fringe and barely rolled on the green some 20 to 25 feet short of the hole. He went on to bogey and missed out on the playoff.

Here is where I need your help. Has anyone here tried Phil’s method? If so, does it work with your current swing?

 Here is what I am trying to sort out: can you really have a very good short game swing technique if your full swing is not really that sound? In other words, can you have pro level execution when you are chipping and pitching while at the same time having a flawed or unpredictable swing on your full shots? If Mr. Toski is right, it should not happen. I would be very interested in your results. You should be able to hit ball after ball solidly and close to the target once you get the hang of something like Phil’s technique. Wouldn’t you agree?

Even if you haven’t got Phil’s dvd, I have something else you can try. This is a test that a very good - actually really good - golf teacher shared with a few of his students. ( He has been Southern California PGA Teacher of the Year on at least two occasions and his students get real results!).

Here goes. Take out your 8 or 9 iron. Limit yourself to 10 balls. Let the club drop by or just behind your right foot 3 times. It should just thunk to the ground with no sense that you are “manipulating it”. Just after the club hits the ground for the third time, simply pivot into a short follow through ( you are ONLY trying to put the ball out there no more than 30 yards!). There should be absolutely no manipulation of the club. If done correctly, the club should hang pointing down at the end of this swing. The toe of the club should not be pointing in the air, and the shaft of the club should not be parallel to the ground or pointing skyward.

If done right, the ball will be compressed and explode off the club face. The sound at impact will be a “thunnnnk”, not a “tink” where it feels like you are picking the ball off the grass. Sorry for the acoustic metaphors! This is a very challenging test as you will discover. Let me know how you do? If you are mediocre or sporadic with your chipping and pitching, learning this drill will provide enormous improvement. But don’t beat yourself up if you are having trouble getting it.

The really good news? It will do wonders for your long game as well. If you would like more help with your game, click here and let me give you a free gift which will do a whole lot more for your golf game than another $500 driver.

By the way,I went over to the PGA Tour website and looked up Ted Purdy’s record this year. I conservatively calculated that if Phil’s short game tips could save Ted something just less than a “shot a round” ... one up and down a round ... he would be in the top 50 on tour and would already be $200,000 dollars richer this year!

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Quite a difference and payoff for learning the proper technique, wouldn’t you agree! Did I tell you Ted has been on tour for 11 years? I did, didn’t I? Guess it’s never too late to learn, no matter where you are starting from. Look forward to hearing how you do.