Bobby Eldridge Golf

Written By
Bobby Eldridge
Founder of Golf Swing Instruction

The best kept secret in golf is to make sure you aim your golf club first then your body.  This game is tough enough without making it more difficult by aiming your body first.  Let me explain what happens when you aim your body first.

When you walk up to the golf ball and plant your feet in the ground and aim them AT the target, along with your knees, hips and shoulders, from the get-go, you are in big trouble.  Everything would be OK, except, you have to place the club behind the ball.  When you sole the clubhead it is going to be aimed MILES to the right of the target.

Now let me tell you what is has to happen from here.  You will have to compensate in order to get the golf ball to fly towards your target.  You will have to hook or pull it back on target.  That my friend is one tough way to play golf.  Don’t get me wrong, it can be done that way but it is very difficult.

Now I am going to tell you an easier way to play golf.  When you walk up to the golf ball you should sole the club first, aiming it at your target. 

Once you have done that you can begin to grip the club.

As you grip the club you can walk into the shot with your right foot behind you and then swing your left foot around so it is parallel to where you want the ball to start.

Once you have placed your feet parallel to the intended target line then your knees, hips and shoulders will follow.

From this position you look down the target line and “See” the target instead of turning your head back to the left to see it.  From this position you NEVER have to compensate during the golf swing.  You can make a full turn in the backswing and smash it from there. 

SO, repeat after me…golf club first then your body when you address the golf ball and not…body first, then golf club.

Tags: Driver, Fairway woods/Hybrids, Full Swing, Golf Instruction, Golf Lesson, Hybrids, Solid Iron Shots, Trouble Shots by admin
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There is one thing about the game of golf: score cards don’t lie.  Ok I will agree with you on one point.  I have played a number of rounds in my life where I hit the ball very well, putted great and got nothing out of the round. 

On the other hand there have been many rounds where I couldn’t find the golf course.  I was lucky no one got hurt.  However at the end of the day when I added up the score card I was very pleased with the number. 

You have to keep in mind that golf is NOT one round.  It is a lifetime experience.  The only way you are going to improve is to continue to punch holes in your score card and find out what part of your game needs work.  That does not happen in one round of golf.

I know you are wondering where you should start.  There are a couple of stats that jump out at me.  Start with the driver.  You have to track every tee shot.  Keep a blank score card in your pocket and after every tee shot record whether you hit the fairway or missed to the left or right. 

The next statistic that will help you lower your score is did you short side your approach shot?  It doesn’t matter if it is the first, second, third or even fourth shot of the hole.  Did you short side yourself?  The definition of short siding is when you leave your approach shot in a position where you don’t have any green to work with. 

Everytime you prepare to approach a green you have to ask yourself the 10 million dollar question.  What side is the short side?  The safe side might leave you with a 30 yard pitch shot with nothing but a tiny fringe and then the putting green in front of you.  The short side might leave you with a 7 yard LOB shot over a bunker with a 12 foot lip and a slope running straight down hill to the hole.  You do the math.  It doesn’t take many of those a day to ruin a good round of golf.

Lastly, grade your attitude before you tee off, when you make the turn and when you walk off of the golf course.  It is a great stat to keep track of.  If you can maintain an upbeat and fun attitude your scores will reflect it.  I have gone on record for years as saying that I haven’t found a more enjoyable place to spend four hours than a golf course-when I am playing well and having fun.  On the other hand it is the most miserable place to be for four hours when you are struggling and not having fun.

Remember, if you use them correctly, score cards don’t lie.

Tags: Chipping, Driver, Fairway woods/Hybrids, Full Swing, Golf Instruction, Green Side Bunkers, LOB Wedge, Pitching, Putting, Short game, Solid Iron Shots, Trouble Shots by admin
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I have heard so many cliches about what to do with your full swing shots from deep rough that I thought I would share a few thoughts with you that will help.  First, there are three kinds of lies in deep rough.  You could have a buried lie (all sitting down), a teed up lie (ball sitting up) or a somewhat normal lie.

Let’s start with the buried lie.  Remember the Rules of Golf states that you are not allowed to press down on the grass behind the golf ball.  When you walk up to your ball and determine that the leading edge of the golf club is resting above the equator of the golf ball, that is a buried lie.

When you have a buried lie in the rough, the chances of you making solid contact with the golf ball are very small.  It is time for you to grab a wedge and hack the ball out.  If the lie is really bad you might have to aim sideways, back to the fairway.

To insure a decent shot, #1-place the ball back in your stance, #2-weight on your left side, #3-swing the club up in the backswing and chop down in the downswing.  Keep one thing in mind.  Your number one goal is get OUT.  Hitting a quality shot is probably not going to happen.  Don’t take any chances with this shot.  Using a wood is out of the question.

Let’s move on to the teed up lie.  Every once in a while you will hit a shot in the rough only to arrive and find the ball sitting up as thou it was on a tee.  A very tall tee.  This is a tricky shot to hit solid.  Most of the time you will swing the golf club too steep in the downswing and the clubhead will slide underneath the ball.  The result will be a high lofted, short shot.

To hit a solid shot from a lie that is sitting up in the rough you have to do three things.  #1-Make sure you are sitting back on your heels at address.  #2-During the backswing the club has to swing around you and not up and down.  #3-During the downswing the arms have to release before the right shoulder turns.  One last thing, you can hit any club in your bag from the sand wedge to the three wood.

Some times when you are in deep rough you will have a lie that is your standard deep rough lie.  Not to buried and not sitting up.  When you are faced with this shot there are a couple of things to remember.  The chances of you getting the clubface on to the back of the golf ball squarely are pretty small.  Most of the time you wind up hitting these shot fat.

Remember to do a couple of things for a solid shot out of deep rough.  First, take a lofted club.  The flatter the face the more difficult to get to the bottom of the ball.  The second thing to remember is to choke down on the club.  By choking down you have to stand closer to the ball and this will alow the club to swing steeper.  The last thing to remember is to follow through low.  By finishing low the clubhead will have a chance to find the bottom of the ball and not the top.

Golf Resource

If you’re having trouble hitting over high trees you’ll want to check out my trouble shots section of my new site over at IGolfFixes.com today!

Tags: Full Swing, Trouble Shots by admin
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I know many of you love to use practice drills that will enable you to FEEL the correct way of making a change.  I have used this drill not only for my teaching but I have also used it myself over the years.  

Keep one thing in mind.  When you hit a shot to the right you either hit the ground behind it OR you catch the ball on the upswing and hit it thin or topped.  The reason you hit it thin is because the golf club is traveling too far from the INSIDE and is headed OUTSIDE. 

When you swing the golf club on an arc it travels from INSIDE to SQUARE (at impact) back to the INSIDE on the follow through.  The other thing you have to keep in mind is the flatter the club face the less divot you will have.  When you hit a thin 4 iron (it hurts) you will never see a divot unless you hit the ground behind the ball. 

Now, on to the drill.  Grab a 7 iron and lay two straight edges on the ground, (one for the target and one for your body line).  Lay a towel on the ground about 12 inches behind the ball. When you swing the club back make sure you miss the towel in the backswing and in the downswing. 

Another way to think of it is the golf club has to swing UP in the backswing and DOWN in the downswing.  When you hit it thin you swing to much UP in the downswing.  Start with a 9 iron and progress through your set of clubs.

Tags: Bunker Shots, Chipping, Fairway woods/Hybrids, Full Swing, Golf Instruction, Green Side Bunkers, Hybrids, LOB Wedge, Perfect Golf Swing Drills, Pitching, Short game, Solid Iron Shots, Trouble Shots, Wedges by admin
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IMPORTANT UPDATE: I’m excited to announce my new Golf Video Download site over at igolffixes.com. I recommend you take a look at my new High Trouble Shot Over Trees Module in the new Trouble Shots section of the site.

YOU CAN HAVE YOUR CAKE AND EAT IT TOO!!!

The lesson today is going to pay off before you know it. When your tee shot winds up in the rough and you have to hit the next shot over some trees, there are two reasons why you struggle.

You have a shot of 220 yards left to the green. You see an opening in a tree that is just big enough to squeeze a golf ball through it, you pull out your three wood (never checking the lie first) thinking you can hit it straight up in the air 70 feet high, through the opening, slicing it around the lake in front of the green and land it next to the pin. THAT IS THE FIRST REASON YOU STRUGGLE. Thinking like that is what probably got you here in the first place.

Problem number two is proper technique. If you have the proper technique you can get more out of your shots when you are in trouble. Two secrets you have to remember when you want the golf ball to go up. You have to use a lofted club and number two you have to hit down on the ball for it to go up. Three woods from deep rough do not go up over trees-not even for Tiger Woods.

Here we go with today’s lesson for hitting high shots over trees. First things first. You must analyze your situation and see if there is another way out. Going up has its risks. If you can pitch out sideways with a clear shot to the green or down the fairway, you have to give it some serious thought.

Once you have decided to go over the trees, you have to make sure you take MORE than enough loft. Trouble first, distance second. Do you get it? You have to make sure you can EASILY clear the trees or other obstacles in the way and then worry about how far you can hit the shot.

Let there be no misunderstanding. You CAN hit a high 7 iron, you can even hit a high 6 or 5 iron, the lie has to perfect and the technique has to be flawless.

#1 Take more than enough loft for the shot

#2 Place the golf ball slightly forward of your normal ball position for the club you are using

#3 Place 60% of your weight on your left side, and stay there during the swing

#4 Swing the arms UP and DOWN

#5 Follow through low

#6 This is not a pretty swing it is a functional one

#7 The tendency for ALL golfers is to LIFT the shot in the air. You will hit the middle of the trees EVERY TIME

#8 Lastly, don’t be greedy. Make sure you get OVER the trees first

Join me tomorrow for a continuation of backspin.

Golfingly yours,

Bobby

Tags: Full Swing, Solid Iron Shots, Trouble Shots by admin
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