A = Aggressive

B = Be Conservative

C = Caution (or Cautious)

An example of an A shot would be if a golfer hits a great drive down a long par 4 and they’re in the middle of the fairway with a great lie. They have 190 yards to go to the pin and that’s the perfect distance for a solid 4 wood. There’s a big bunker in the front of the green but this golfer has a lot of confidence in their 4 wood and they’re confident that they’re going to hit a good shot over the bunker. So that’s a situation where a golfer would choose the A (Aggressive) option.

An example of choosing a B (Be conservative) shot in that same situation may be hitting a 6 iron so the ball ends up in the fairway with a simple pitch over the bunker to the pin. But here’s a clearer example where most golfers should choose a B shot.

Let’s say you’re playing a short par 5, which is playing downwind, and you’ve hit a terrific drive straight down the middle of the fairway. You have a good lie and there’s 220 yards between your ball and the pin. But there is a small lake in front of the green that you need to carry. And to carry this lake you need to hit the shot 200 yards in the air.

You have a 3 wood that could do this but it’s at the very limit of how far you can hit the ball with that club. If you miss-hit the shot slightly it will probably end up in the lake. So a B shot would be to figure out a distance you’d like to be pitching from. You decide you’d like to pitch from 80 yards as that is a distance you’re confident from. So to do that you’d have to hit a shot 140 yards. For you that’s a solid 7 iron.

See, that’s smart thinking golf and it’s those sort of decisions that will help to slash shots from your score.

Now here is an example of a C shot. You’ve sliced your drive deep into some trees on the right of the fairway. You get to your ball and amazingly you can have a full swing. You’re 160 yards from a small green that is surrounded by deep bunkers.

As you’re assessing your shot options you notice a small opening in the trees that would be about the perfect height for a 6 iron shot. Also, that is the perfect distance for your 6 iron but you decide it’s too risky, because if you hit the shot just slightly less than perfect you’ll hit trees and who knows where the ball will end up. So you then try and find a way that you can get the ball to finish just in front of the green….before the bunkers.

To do this however you’d have to hit a low punch shot and make sure the ball travels the correct height. Because if it goes too high the trees will catch it, and if it goes too low the rough will stop it and you’ll still be in the trees.

So even though that’s a B shot option you think it’s still too risky. Now the C option (remember, C stands for caution) is to chip the ball out to the fairway and have a shot of about 140 yards. You’re confident you can get that 3rd shot on the green so that’s the smartest play and one that will greatly reduce your chance of a big number.

Now after reading this I need you to understand that you’ve got to apply this mental fundamental to all your straight forward shots as well. For example, let’s say you’ve hit a great drive on a par 4 hole. Your ball is sitting in the middle of the fairway with a perfect lie…and you’re 150 yards from the pin. But the pin is hard to the left side of the green. In fact, just 10 feet to the left of the pin is a big bank that will cause any ball left of the pin to run down it leaving a very difficult shot back.

Now in that case an A shot would be to fire straight at the pin. But you would only ever do that if your confidence was sky high and you’ve been stiffing your iron shots all day. Even then I’d say it’s a very risky shot.

Then you have a B shot which is to aim 15 feet right of the hole. And lastly a C shot would be to aim 30 feet to the right of the hole so it takes the bank completely out of play.

So when you’re assessing your shots you’ve got to look at where the ball is going to land as well and what could potentially happen to it.

This is true for every shot….even putting! And here’s an example to prove it.

Let’s say you’ve got a 5 foot putt with a slight right to left break. Now the A option there would be to ignore any break and aim straight for the back of the hole. To do this naturally you’re going to have to hit the ball quite hard and you do run the risk of running the ball way past if you miss, and possibly missing the next putt. But if you’re putting really well and your confidence is sky high then that may be a good option to take.

The next option…the B option is to aim your ball to finish about 1 foot behind the hole if it misses the hole. At that pace you’ll have to allow for the break but you have much more margin for error than the A option.

Finally a C option would be to allow for a lot of break and for the ball to just die in the hole. That way there’s no possible chance of a 3 putt but then the chances of the ball going in are much less than the B option.

Trust me, every shot you face in golf has these three options. The only exception is a simple tap in putt. So that’s the A, B, C rating that you should use before each shot you play. Now you know this you’ve got to put it into use. To help you do this here’s how to put this into action….

Before you play each shot I want you to see in your mind three types of shots. An A shot (Aggressive), a B shot (Be Conservative) and a C shot (Caution). For example, if your first hole is a par 5 and if you hit a perfect shot with a driver you’d have a good chance of getting to the green in two. That would be an A shot. Then if you hit a 3 wood off the tee you’d have more chance of hitting the fairway but you wouldn’t have a chance of hitting the green in two so that would be a B shot. Finally, you could hit a 5 iron off the tee which would almost guarantee a straight shot but you’d have a longish third shot. Naturally that would be a C shot.

So I want you to do this scenario of an A, B or C shot for every shot you face.

Important Note: An easy way to do this is simply to ask this question “what would be an A shot in this situation?”. Then ask that same question for a B shot and a C shot.

Once you’ve looked at the A, B, C options for each shot I then want you write down on a piece of paper the shot you’ve decided to use for each shot. Do this writing down before each shot and then commit to the shot you’ve chosen.

1. Charge the putt, or
2. Die the putt

Now charging the putt means that a golfer takes an aggressive attitude to the putt. They would rather be four feet past the hole than a couple of inches short.

Conversely, a golfer that would rather die a putt would rather be a fraction short than be continually faced with 4-5 feet putts coming back.

But there is no right or wrongs with this.

Dave Pelz has his theory that the best speed each putt should be hit is 17 inches past the hole. But that is only a general rule and you have to decide on which speed philosophy you are going to choose.

Now to help you do this I think you should look at your personal playing characteristics. For example, do you like attacking the golf course? Do you like hitting risky shots? Do you like to play aggressive shots?

If you do then you’re probably more suited to being a charge putter. Examples of charge putters that you would know are:

• Greg Norman
• Tom Watson
• Arnold Palmer

If on the other hand you choose less aggressive ways to play holes. You pick safer options on shots like hitting fairway woods and irons off the tees, playing for the middle of the greens, laying up on par 5’s etc. then you’re probably more suited to the die style of putting.

Examples of golfers that are die putters are:

• Jack Nicklaus
• Ben Crenshaw
• Tom Kite

Now here are some pro’s and con’s to the styles of putting…

Die Putting – Pro’s

• If the ball is moving slower as it hits the hole it has more chance of going in the hole.
• If your ball misses the hole it will most likely be closer to the hole leaving you with an easier next putt.

Die Putting – Con’s

• If you’re putting on slow and bumpy greens it will be harder for the ball to stay on line and it will not stay on the line you wanted it to.
• It can be frustrating if you often leave putts short of the hole.

Charge Putting – Pro’s

• Your putts will have a chance of going in as you will rarely be short of the hole.
• If your ball misses the hole you will have a chance to see the break of your next putt.
• On short putts you can take the break out of the putt because you’re hitting the ball harder.

Charge Putting – Con’s

• You have to have steady nerves because you’re going to be faced with a lot of 4-5 footers coming back.
• You will probably have more 3 putts than a die putter.

So let’s sum this up.

If when you’re putting you worry about having 3-4 footers coming back then charge putting is probably not for you. But if you hate leaving putts short of the hole then die putting is probably not going to suit you.

So those are two considerations ,but you’ve also got to look at your personality. If you are naturally assertive, confident and sometimes aggressive on the golf course then you’re more likely to do better with charge putting.

But if you’re a more conservative person and would rather strategize your way around a course than attack it, then die putting would probably be better for you.

The bottom line however is that you should pick one style and stick to it for 5 games and chart your putting progress. Then you should change to the other style for the next 5 games and then compare your results. Because there is no right or wrong. Simply choose a style and stick to it.

This doesn’t mean, however, that you can’t change depending on the greens or situations. For example, if you decide you’re going to be a die putter and you’re playing match play and you’re in a situation where you must hole a putt then you must putt more aggressively to make sure the ball get’s to the hole.

Then if on the other hand you decide you’re going to be a charge putter and you’re faced with a long slopping putt on a very fast green you would be stupid to try and charge that putt. You’ve got to die that type of putt to get it close.

So by all means, experiment on the practice putting green with both types of putting speed styles and then out on the golf course to find what works best for you. But remember to be flexible and putt according to the conditions.

Chipping

Now the big part of the short game improvement program is to learn to land the ball in the place you want the ball to land. And for chipping I want you to find one area to chip from and then with one club practice chipping until you can consistently land the ball where you want. Once you can do that then change clubs every shot and try to land the ball on the same spot. Use clubs between your 5-iron and lob wedge when doing this.

This is a great exercise to do because it will teach you quickly how far each club will roll the ball. Once you’ve done this then experiment with different chip shots and try different clubs until you find the best clubs for you generally to use on chip shots. For some people that will be high lofted clubs, for others they’ll prefer lower lofted clubs. You’ve got to find what works best for you.

Another great drill you can use to practice your chipping is to make a circle about 3 feet in diameter with golf tees around a hole. Then practice chipping from different spots trying to get each ball to stop within 3 feet of the hole.

Finally, if you’re lucky enough to have a practice chipping green with multiple holes then you should pick one spot to chip from. Then for each shot, chip to a different target. Naturally when you do this you will probably have to change clubs. For example, if you’ve got a 50 foot chip and a lot of green between you and the pin then you’ll do a lot better to choose a lower lofted club like a 5 or 6 iron. Then if you’ve got a pin that is very close to you and not much green then you’ll have to choose a more lofted club. Remember, the goal is to land the ball about 3 feet on the green for each chip shot.

This is a great drill to practice before you play a game as it will quickly give you a feel for the greens that you’ll be faced with out on the golf course (as long as they’re similar to the practice green).

OK, let’s look at some practice drills for…

Pitching

Often when you’re faced with a pitch shot your ball will not be sitting perfectly. So to become a great short game player you have to practice shots from poor lies. So do this, but when you do don’t just give yourself a bad lie for one shot and then go back to giving yourself good lies. Hit at least 10 shots from a particular bad lie so you can learn how best to get the ball out of that spot and close to the hole.

Now with pitching you have to employ a lot of imagination and be able to visualize what’s going to happen with the golf ball very clearly. And a great way of improving this skill is to get one club, e.g. a 7-iron, and place balls around a golf green and hit shots with your 7-iron trying to get each ball as close as possible to the hole. Naturally when you do this you’ll have to make adjustments from your normal setup. For example, if you’re behind a bunker and you’re using a 7-iron you’ll have to open the club up very wide, have a very wide stance and make a long, big swing.

But that’s OK. Doing things like this will help you to have some fun and learn what you can do with a golf club, and improve your visualization and imagination skills. That can only improve your short game.

All right, let’s now turn our attention to…

Distance Wedge Swings

This distance wedge drill involves a fellow golfer. To do this drill simply find an area where you can practice the distance wedge shots and practice hitting shots back and forth to each other. So start at say 50 yards away from each other and with one ball try and hit the ball to your partner so it bounces once in front of them and then they can catch it.

Then they hit the ball back to you trying to get it to bounce once in front of you.

This game is great as it puts a bit of pressure on, which can only help on the golf course. Also, it makes you focus a lot on where you want your ball to fly. And if you don’t fly it were you want then you might get a bit of flak from the person having to chase after the ball all the time.

If you don’t have a person to do that drill you can simply put targets out at different distances and then hit distance wedge shots to each target. Start with your shortest target and then move up to the furthest target. Once you’ve done that then hit each shot to a random target. By doing this it will get you more into a course mentality where each golf shot is different.

OK, now let’s finally look at…

Bunker Shots

To do this first bunker drill you simply have to place the ball on a tee and push the tee down into the sand. Once this is in place then you simply have to swing and try to cut the tee in half with the leading edge of your golf club. If you have trouble getting your club through the sand then you should definitely try this drill, as it helps greatly to accelerate through the sand.

Another great drill to improve your bunker shot technique is to place a ball in the middle of your foot print. Then when you swing simply focus on removing the imprint completely from the sand. This is a great drill if you’re afraid of hitting the sand. Finally, when you’re practicing bunker shots make sure you don’t just practice perfect lies. Give yourself bad lies and learn to get the ball close to the pin from anywhere.

So that’s some ways you can practice the short game. But finally, probably the best way to improve your short game is to practice with someone that is better than you. If you can find someone like that then play games with them trying to beat them in getting the ball closest to the hole.

To put it simply, a stock shot is a shape of shot that you can rely on whether that be a fade or a draw.

The best golfers in the world have had a stock shot. For example…

• Jack Nicklaus – fade
• Ben Hogan – fade
• Lee Trevino – fade
• Nick Price – draw
• Berhard Langer – draw
• Tom Lehman – draw
• Bobby Jones – draw

So why would such great players not just hit the ball straight?

Simply because it’s virtually impossible to hit straight shots. Jack Nicklaus has been quoted as saying he’s only ever hit 3 straight golf shots in all his life.

And he’s one of the best golfers who has ever lived!

So what chance do you and me have of hitting straight golf shots consistently?

Obviously very little to none.

The reason it’s virtually impossible to hit perfectly straight golf shots is because the clubhead is traveling very fast and at impact the clubhead has to be moving exactly along your target line. And I mean exactly, it can’t be a fraction of an inch off. Equally the clubface has to be perfectly square when it contacts the ball. Also, you need to hit the ball directly out of the center of the clubface.

But then, even if you achieved all of this you would probably have wind to deal with which would put some sidespin on your ball.

Now the theory with choosing a stock shot is that it will help you to have greater consistency from one shot to the next. So to hit either a draw or a fade you need to put sidespin on the ball. And to do this you need to contact the ball with a glancing or crosscutting blow.

Here is a practical example of why you need to pick a shape of shot that you can hit consistently.

Let’s say you’re faced with a 5-iron to a green. The pin is on the left side of the green just 10 feet from the fringe. So if your stock shot was a fade you could aim at the pin and if you fluked a dead straight golf shot your ball would be right on the pin. If on the other hand you hit your standard fade shot you would probably end up about 10 feet to the right of the hole with a good chance at holing the putt. But if you had a bit more of a fade than you liked then you might end up 20-30 feet to the right of the hole.

That’s smart golf.

So you have to make a decision which way your normal golf shot (your stock shot) is going to fly. And you only have two options:

1. A fade.
2. A draw.

Now there are pro’s and con’s to both shape of shots, and let’s look at some.

The Fade

A fade is a shot that curves slightly from left to right.

Fade Example

• This shot is easier to control than a draw in my opinion.
• It flies higher and lands softer.
• If a lack of distance is a problem for you then this is probably not the best shape of shot.

The Draw

A draw is a shot that curves slightly from right to left.

Draw Example

So you have to make a choice as to which shape of shot you want to hit.

The major factors in making this choice are height and length. If you play on a course that often requires high shots to stop the ball then the fade will be better at doing this. If on the other hand you need to play a lot of lower shots then a draw is better. Then if you play a golf course that is very, very long and you struggle with distance then a draw will give you more distance. For a shorter tighter course, then a fade will do better.

The bottom line is you have to weigh up what will work better for you.

Now by doing this it doesn’t mean that you can’t hit the other shape of shot. It just means that most of your shots will curve one way, and you’ll know that is going to happen before you play the shot.

OK, let’s say you’ve chosen to play a draw shot as your stock shot.

How are you going to make sure you hit a draw shot consistently?

Well, you’re not going to change anything with your swing. Hopefully you’ve grooved a good solid swing by now. o you’re going to achieve a draw shape of shot by adjusting your setup. Here’s what you need to do.

When you’re standing behind your ball I want you to visualize a straight line from your ball to your ultimate target. Then pick out an initial, intermediate target from your ball to your target. This initial, intermediate target should be about 2-3 feet in front of your ball.

Now, you’re going to pick another intermediate target to the right of your first one. Once you have this second, intermediate target you then use that to setup to your shot.

So you setup your body parallel to the second intermediate target. And by doing this all parts of your body will be aligned to the right of your ultimate target. Here is a picture showing you this setup…

Now the only other adjustment you need to make is to square the clubface up to where you want your ball to finish. So for this example, you would have to close the clubface a fraction so that is pointing at the initial intermediate target. Here is a closeup picture of this…

So there you go, that’s the two main things you have to change in your setup to hit a draw (or fade for that matter).

• Body Alignment
• Clubface alignment

Once you have changed these factors you then simply need to swing along the line you’ve setup. And in the example I’ve just given you that would mean that your swing path will be swinging out to the right of your target. The ball should then curve from right to left because at impact the clubface should be slightly closed and your swing path is in to out.

To hit a fade you simply need to reverse those instructions that I just gave you for a draw. Remember, you simply have to change your body alignment to your final target and then align your clubface to your final target. After doing this you then simply have to swing along your alignment line.

Now there are some other things that will help you to hit one shape of shot or the other. Here they are:<

So the main things you need to adjust are your alignment and cluface positioning at setup to help you hit a stock shot consistently. And the other things I’ve mentioned above are things you can try to help you hit a better and more consistent stock shot.

The bottom line of this lesson is that you need to pick one shape of shot that you can almost certainly always hit. Then make the necessary setup changes and learn to hit that shape of shot consistently. When you do that you’ll have much greater ball striking consistency and consequently much more fun playing golf.

P.S. Until midnight on the 24th of December 2009 you can try the online consistent golf school for just $1.  To do this simply go here: http://www.consistentgolfschool.com/$1trial.htm

Tiger Woods sure is making news at the moment!

And a lot of people are arguing about what he’s done, whether it’s right or wrong or any of our business.

Well, this is the way I’m looking at it.

I don’t care what Tiger Woods has done or not done. We are all sinners so I’m not going to jump down his throat on any of that. I will however express how very sad it must be for Elin and the kids right now. What a terrible situation for them.

Now on the privacy issue. This is the best quote I have found about whether Tiger Woods should have privacy or not over any of this. It’s a quote from the CEO of Google Eric Schmidt. In an interview with CNBC, Schmidt said….

“If you have something that you don’t want anyone to know, maybe you shouldn’t be doing it in the first place.”

That sums up all of this privacy talk up for me perfectly. And really that applies to all of us whether we’re in the public eye or not.

Before all of this I did think Tiger Woods was intelligent. He seemed like he was intelligent at least. But everything that has come out over the last week or so is making me come to the conclusion that I may have overestimated his intelligence. However as my wife said….intelligent people can make bad choices and intelligence does not equal wisdom. Wise woman.

Now when Tiger Woods comes back to playing golf next year it is going to be an absolute circus as far as the media is concerned. I’m sure before that there will be the “Oprah” (or someone similar) interview to try and repair his battered image. I was just reading today that Gatorade is pulling the pin on its Gatorade Tiger Focus drink. Naturally they are saying they had it planned months ago anyway.

What an unfortunate name for a drink in hindsight, along with Nike’s “Just Do It” slogan.

Anyway those are my current thoughts on this Tiger Woods situation. Let me know what you’re thinking is. By the way here’s a question to answer….do you think this is going to be good for golf or not and why?