Dale Affleck PGA - Harwood Golf Club

🚨How to stop the ball when pitching🚨

With the dryer, hotter conditions recently. We hear a lot about not being able to stop the ball on the greens as they’re “too firm!” The key is being able to generate some spin, not necessarily about trying to hit it higher.

Here are a few things you can do to help:

1️⃣ Don’t automatically grab your 60 degree. We now know that higher launch actually REDUCES spin. I used a 50 for this shot.
2️⃣Hit down on the ball. Get your weight forward at setup. Trying to scoop the ball into the air only causes contact issues. You need to strike the ball first to get the friction between clubface and ball.
3️⃣Stand up on the finish. Straightening up through impact and into the finish will allow you to release the club & generate the speed needed to get some spin and also make it easier to use the bounce and stop the leading edge from digging into the turf.

It’s also worth noting that to get some action on the ball you also need a few things:

A premium ball - sorry guys you can’t spin a distance ball

Clean fresh grooves - mud and grass on the face? No friction/no spin

A good lie! Don’t bother trying to zip the ball back when playing from a heavy lie in the cabbage

Some low point work when chipping. Thin shots to crisp strikes. Plenty of check on landing 🙌🏻

🚨How to SAVE shots from the trees🚨

A tour pro makes bogey around 50% of the time after driving the ball into the woods.

You are not a tour pro………

There’s not enough reward in trying to hit through a gap the width of your new slim 50 inch tv.

Also the emotional damage done when you inevitably hit the tree full on is just as bad as the double bogey (or worse) that you make afterwards.

Take your medicine, chip it back into play and try to make a par from the fairway

🚨How to increase your speed🚨

I’ve never been a power hitter (nor have I ever tried to be). However, this drill really helped me to increase my swing speed from low 100’s to 112 at course speed.

When the body stops rotating the arms/wrists/clubhead fire. Much like when you slam your car brakes on and anything on the back seat flies forward.

Give this drill a go next time you head to the range

Send to your buddy who can’t hit it past you.