Golf Tip #1 - Follow-Thru to Make More Putts
By Sarah Hilmoe
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Whether your standing over a birdie putt on the 18th hole or trying to beat your buddies out of lunch, it is not uncommon to see those short putts missed due to a lengthy backswing followed by a little or no follow-thru. Most of us recognize this stroke as the one that causes us to wince in agony while our competitors breathe a sign of relief. When we decelerate out putting stroke it often times results in the putter blade opening or closing at impact. Therefore, make those putts a lot more difficult than they need be. To make a solid stroke and to see more putts made, we should instead focus on swinging the putter like a pendulum. Equal distance both ways. This will encourage the putt to roll firmer and stay on line. The following drill will help to work on your accelerated follow-thru.

Set up 8 balls three feet from the hole making a circle around the cup. Without taking a backswing, push the ball towards the hole. Concentrate on keeping your putter blade aligned squarely to the hole. Alternate every 8 balls between the push drill and a regular stroke. This will help to transfer the accelerated follow-thru in to your regular stroke. As you move into making regular strokes, notice how much shorter your backswing needs to be when you have a good follow-thru. This will give you more control and consistency. You may even start to hear a few groans from your competitors as those pressure filled putts begin looking effortless.

Golf Tip #2 - Warming up
By Erik E. Tiele
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After the long winter layoff and the return to the golf course, many golfers will discover that they have lost their touch with the short game, that being chipping and back in your stance with the mahjority of your weight on the front instep. Posittion the handle of the golf club slightly forward of the ball. While making your stroke, continue to keep your weight positioned on that front instep. The lower body does not move from the waist down. When your chipping goes bad, you're trying to help the ball become airborne and your resulting stroke becomes more of a scoop than a swing. Always try to remember that all you should be focusing on is swinging the club and not trying to hit the ball.

One drill that I would like to suggest with chipping is to hit plenty of chip shots with your back heel off of the ground. This will encourage you to take a steeper angle of attack. The back of your left wrist should also feel flat when striking the ball. Another image that may help you is to try and imagine a small hurdle 6-8 inches directly in fromt of the ball. What do you need to do to have your ball leap overe that hurdle? Strike down into the ball rather than that "scooping motion". I hope that this brief tip will help alleviate any of the problems that you may face on the "friendly links".

Golf Tip #3 - Put Your Hands on the Club Away from the Ball
By Ryan R. Oldroyd
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A correct grip is the single most important step in order to hit the ball solidly. I see too many players trying to golf with awful grips. Also, trying to put your hands on the club after taking your stance is death.

Try putting your hands on the club “away� from the ball before taking your golf stance and posture.

Once you’ve got your “perfect� grip on the club, you can get into your stance and fire away without adjusting or regripping your hands. Put your hands on the club perfectly “away� from the ball and trust it as you take your stance and swing. You’ll hit solid golf shots.

Golf Tip #4 - Lower Your Scores The Easy Way!
By Jack Tosone
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In almost every clubhouse in the world, as you walk in from the 18th green, you are asked "How'd you hit it today?" What they really want to know is "What did you shoot?" Your results on the golf course are clearly measured in one simple number: your score, and only your score.

When most players want to work on lowering their scores, they head to the practice tee and work on their full swing with the driver. But the easiest and quickest path to lower scores is to head to the practice green, not the practice tee. By working on your short game, you will see the results of your efforts very quickly. If you were to sit down and do a breakdown of your round hole, by hole, you will see that almost 50% of your score is comprised of putting, chipping, and pitching. So it obviously makes more sense to spend more time practicing your short game than it does the driver.

By sharpening your short game, you will start saving pars with good chips and pitches, and your birdie attempts will start going in more often. Remember, a good short game is a great equalizer. The adage "Drive for show, putt for dough" could not be more truthful.

Golf Tip #5 - WHAT’S THE BEST BALL POSITION?
By Sean A. Hanley
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I’ve found in my experiences that most students have a variety of ball positions when it comes to hitting the irons from a level lie. They tend to play the short irons back in the stance; the middle irons in the middle and the long irons forward, then wonder why there is no consistency with contact or ball flight. To hit an iron correctly you need to impart backspin on the ball, that is what gives the ball lift.

If the ball position is too far forward you will tend to hit “up� on the ball and create “topspin�, the other thing that happens is that now you have added loft to the club. If the ball position is too far back, you have delofted the club and will tend to hit with a steep descending blow creating deep divots. For most players, I recommend a more centered ball position with all irons, this way you can develop a consistent contact area and will have the correct loft at impact.

The better player can play the ball more forward of center as long as it’s consistent. When practicing, place a club on the ground indicating your target line, place a second club on the ground perpendicular to the target line, (similar to a “T� square) then straddle the line and make sure your heels are the same distance from the shaft, place the ball at the end of the club and this will help you to know exactly where the middle is. You should now be rewarded by a consistent downswing, with better ball contact and the proper trajectory.

Golf Tip #6 - Balance of Power
By Keith Lyford
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The key to hitting powerful golf shots is maintaining solid balance. To illustrate the importance of balance, imagine trying to push a stalled car off the roadway. Under normal conditions pushing a car off to the side of the road is a difficult task. But now imagine pushing that car while you're wearing leather-soled shoes and the pavement is icy. No matter how strong you are, you will never be able to apply enough force to move that car with your feet slipping on the icy surface. The same is true when swinging a golf club, you need solid footing and balance to apply force to the ball. So if you find that you are off balance during your swing, either during you back swing or finish, work on maintaining your balance. You will be surprised how your power increases when you swing in balance.

A good way to work on balance is by swinging with your feet together. Once you are able to do this easily on a practice swing, go ahead and hit some balls with this same stance. When you can swing in balance with your feet together you'll find that keeping your balance with your regular stance is easy. Remember, power starts from the ground up. Only when you have a solid base, can you apply force to the ball effectively.

Golf Tip #11 - Having trouble gauging distance with your Pitch Shot?
By Micheal Cote
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Try a mini swing from 75 yards and closer.
A mini swing is just a shorter/slower version of your full swing. Think in terms of the numbers on a clock. Maybe you swing the hands from 10 o'clock to 2 o'clock for one distance and from 9 to 3 for another distance. You could also change your hand position on the grip for additional yardages.

I use 3 hand positions; top of the grip, middle and bottom. I find the difference to be approximately 5 yards.
Practice these swings in the back yard and walk off the average distance from each position. This should take some of the guesswork out your short game. Good Luck!

Golf Tip #12 - Having trouble gauging distance with your Pitch Shot?
By Michael Cote
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Try a mini swing from 75 yards and closer.
A mini swing is just a shorter/slower version of your full swing. Think in terms of the numbers on a clock. Maybe you swing the hands from 10 o'clock to 2 o'clock for one distance and from 9 to 3 for another distance. You could also change your hand position on the grip for additional yardages.

I use 3 hand positions; top of the grip, middle and bottom. I find the difference to be approximately 5 yards.
Practice these swings in the back yard and walk off the average distance from each position. This should take some of the guesswork out your short game. Good Luck!