Lower your handicap

Strategies and techniques to help improve

your game

tabLe of Contents

Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1

Driving Strategies

Getting the most out of your driving game . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2

Driving Techniques

Stance, swing and power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4

Wedge play

The keys to success . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6

Finding your best putting

One of the main keys to scoring . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8

Golf has earned a reputation, and rightly so, of being

one of the world’s most challenging sports.

Some of the world’s greatest athletes have turned to golf

because they enjoy chasing the unattainable—

Mastery of the sport

Golf has a blend of physical and mental challenges that always yields a worthy opponent. Any area

that is weak will be instantly exposed and reflected in the golfer’s score. These multiple challenges

also make a good score that much more gratifying. It can be done, but only through physical

proficiency, strong mental focus, and sound strategic decisions over many hours of play.

This brochure will address a number of key areas of the game, both on the mental and physical sides

of golf. There is much more to be learned, but this will help you increase your knowledge in some

of the most important scoring aspects of the game. Getting off the tee, wedge play and putting are

all covered in a way that will allow you to improve immediately. Applying these instructions through

practice will allow you to make great long-term strides toward playing your best golf.

Some of the suggested techniques may feel different for you, but if you’ve been struggling in these

areas then change may be just what you need. Take the time to try the recommended techniques

and you’ll find your golf game blossoming in no time!

You’ll often see PGA Tour Professionals hit a

3 wood or long iron from the tee to minimize their

chances of hitting the ball out of play. Are they

exhibiting fearful play or a lack of confidence? Or is this

an integral part of their driving strategy? Knowing when to

lay-up from the tee and when to hit your driver is the key in

developing a great driving strategy. The next two pages will

help you identify what’s a good gamble and what’s not, and

how to get the most out of your driving game.

If you have to challenge a hole, don’t challenge the tee shot!In every round of golf you will be faced with dozens of

decisions on whether or not to go for it from the tee and

leave an easier approach or play it safe from the tee, making

the approach more difficult. What’s the right choice? The

game’s best players average under 70% of the time in the

fairway. As a general rule, it’s far better to play the more

conservative tee shot, even if the approach is slightly more

difficult. If you try a bold tee shot and don’t pull it off, you are

often faced with having to hit the same shot over again. With

a tougher shot to the green after a conservative tee shot, at

least you’ll leave the possibility for a good chip and a putt,

significantly reducing the chance of taking a big number.

A great example of this is the 7th hole at Friendly Hills

Country Club (Figure 1). This 395 yard par-4 wouldn’t be

considered challenging from a distance standpoint. A nice

driver from a good player will leave anywhere from 100 to

135 yards to the green (Position A). However, this hole has a

narrow fairway with out of bounds only five yards from both

sides, and the left side of the fairway slopes straight toward

the out of bounds.

A better alternative is to play conservatively from the tee

with a 3 or 4 iron to the flat part of the fairway, before it

gets to the slope toward the out of bounds (Position B). Your

next shot will be much longer, around 180 to 200 yards, but

at least the ball will be on or right next to the green in two

shots. The green is large, so this will prove to be a much

better play in the long run! Challenging the tee shot might

seem like the brave thing to do, but clearly respecting a

difficult tee shot yields lower scores!

DrIvInG StrateGIeS

Getting the most out of your driving game

NO

AB

YESNO

FIGURE 1 The seventh hole at Friendly Hills Country Club Whittier, CA

2

When should you go for it?We’ve talked about keeping yourself in the game on every

hole and not playing too boldly, but some situations have

virtually no downside for making the bold play. A perfect

example of this occurs at Fort Ord Golf Course (Figure 2),

home of many PGA Tour qualifying tournaments. The second

hole at Fort Ord is a backbreaking par four of 440 yards

with an extremely tight fairway. The landing area slopes

upward until about 250 yards from the tee, and then it slopes

downward to the green. The first impression when looking at

this narrow fairway is to use a long iron just to get the

ball in play. This conservative play guarantees that you’ll be

playing a long shot from an uphill lie to a green that you can’t

see (Position A). Miss the fairway and it will be very difficult

to punch the ball under the trees from this position. Either

scenario is going to make for a tough hole.

On the other hand, if you play boldly from the tee, a straight

tee shot carries the hill and leaves a short iron to the green

(Position B). The shot is no longer blind, effectively becoming

a good birdie opportunity. Missing the fairway will still leave

you a chance because you’re now punching the ball under

the trees downhill to the green. In this situation the bold play

is clearly the percentage play.

A

B

YESNO

FIGURE 2 The second hole at Fort Ord Golf Course Monterey, CA

3

Driving strategy —do it by the numbers! Imagine a downwind par four of some 340 yards with a very

wide fairway and the pin placed to the front of the green. To

most amateur players, this is a great chance for the longest

drive of the day. If you normally average 220 yards with your

driver, then circumstances like this might yield a drive of

some 280 yards. However, a downwind 60 yard approach

shot is no bargain. You might be much better off playing a

fairway wood or hybrid, leaving a long enough shot to get

some spin on the approach, allowing your ball to stay by

that front flag. The long drive would have been memorable,

but this game is challenging enough when making the right

decisions, let alone choosing a shot that takes you out of

position when you hit it perfectly!

Final thoughts Now that you’ve gotten some insight into the driving

strategies of the game’s best players, you can start

integrating those strategies into your game. Not only should

you consider the results of a perfectly hit drive, you should

also consider what may happen if you hit a not-so-perfect

drive. Once you start making this part of your thought

process, you can start getting the most out of your

driving game!

(Note: need to fix the arcs on these)

DrIvInG technIque

Stance, swing and power—three areas to improve your driving!

Many players are unaware of the fact that a

driver must be hit differently than an iron.

This lack of understanding leaves the player

to swipe at the ball with the same descending blow that

produces a wonderful seven iron, only to see the ball slice

weakly into the trees. The other option is to go underneath

the ball, leaving only a nice scratch on the top of the club. In

just a few minutes, you can learn the changes that you may

need to make to your normal stance and swing in order to

hit your driver successfully. While you may not always hit

perfect shots, you will have a clear understanding of what

you’re supposed to do.

the concept of a good driver swingFirst, it is important to understand the difference between

the impact of an iron, and that of a driver. Because the ball

is sitting on the ground with an iron shot, it must be struck

with a slightly descending blow to get to it clean. That’s why

you always see the game’s best players taking divots when

playing these clubs.

More specifically, a successful iron shot is struck with the

handle of the club slightly in front of the ball while the club

head descends through impact (Sequence 1). This is not only

the best way to catch the ball clean, it’s the only way to hit

the “sweet spot” of the club. The downward strike will help

to create backspin, which is essential for the ball to “stick”

on the green. This motion is perfect for an iron, but not so

good for a driver.

When hitting a driver, the ball is not on the ground, it’s

elevated on a tee in the air. That’s why the same tour pros

are never seen making divots with their drivers. In fact, your

club must be traveling level to the ground or at a slightly

ascending blow to get the maximum performance with a

driver (Sequence 2). This different angle of approach requires a

different stance, a different swing and a conscious effort to

try to swing above the ground.

SEQUENCE 2. Driver Swing with a Slightly Ascending Blow

SEQUENCE 1. Iron Shot with a Descending Blow

4

the shape of your swingYour driver is much longer than any other club in your bag.

The longer the club you use, the farther you are going to

need to stand from the ball at address. To help create a

visual, imagine that the club is 5 to 10 feet longer than your

driver. To hit a ball when you are this far away, you would

need to stand really far from the ball and swing with a much

flatter or rounded swing, similar to that of a baseball player.

That doesn’t mean you should wrap the club around your

waist in your backswing, but you must be aware that the

driver swing is flatter than any other club (Sequence 2).

Practicing the proper swingNow that you have a clear understanding of the shape of

your swing, there is a great drill for learning to hit the driver

properly. The game’s best players always leave evidence that

they’ve been there when hitting an iron by leaving a divot

mark on the ground. A driver must also leave evidence that

you’ve been there, but not by making a mark on the ground.

The tee should show some evidence that you’ve been there

by being displaced in some fashion, moving from its original

position of straight up and down! The best way to learn this

type of hitting motion is to swing at a tee by itself with no

ball on it, listening for the sound of the club hitting the tee

only. Once you can do this consistently at full speed at least

eight or nine times out of ten, you should experience more

consistent driving results!

the power behind your swingThe bulk of the this section revolved around the basic

concept of how to swing a driver and get the most consistent

contact, which should by itself help you experience a

great deal more power. However, superb power is not only

predicated on hitting the ball solidly, but in hitting with

maximum clubhead speed as well. Think of the physics

behind generating the maximum power in your golf swing as

being similar to that of cracking a whip. The tip end of a whip

is both completely loose, and slings forward with incredible

force. However, no power whatsoever is being generated

from the tip end itself. A good and powerful driving motion

has the body moving powerfully and forcefully, while the

arms, wrists, and hands remain very soft and free. You must

make no effort to generate speed by applying force with the

wrists! The stronger you move your body and the softer your

wrists, the more clubhead speed you’ll be able to generate.

Even the best players in the world are constantly refining

their already superb swings. They understand that changes

don’t come overnight and can actually take weeks before

being fully integrated into their games. You too should realize

that having the knowledge is the first step, and that a fair

amount of practice may be necessary to add these changes

to your game.

5

THE PROPER DRIVER STANCE

If you’re someone who struggles with a driver, then a significant change in your stance might be necessary in order to facilitate the desired level strike with your driver. Here are some important points:

• Adopt a wider stance, placing you further “behind the ball” at address.

• Place the ball more “forward” in your stance, somewhere between your heel and instep.

• Make sure that your shoulders are square and still facing down the range.

5

WeDGe Play The keys to success!

before you dive into the many nuances of wedge

play, it’s important that you establish a good

basic motion. Without a good motion, practice will

only ingrain those bad habits and serve as a reminder that

you’re likely to miss-hit most shots. You may be under the

impression that you don’t have very good feel, although this

may not be the case. Most of the time, your feel is actually

lost through poor contact. If your contact is good, then a

bigger swing will make the ball go farther and a smaller swing

shorter, enabling you to dial in the size of your swing for

different shots.

the proper swing and impactThe proper swing requires you to move the club with mostly

the turning of your shoulders and the swinging of your arms

propelling the motion. It is important to keep your wrists very

soft and passive. This means that your wrists should not be

employed to make the club move in either your backswing

or your downstroke. If your body movement and arms don’t

move the club, then your wrists will. Don’t be afraid to turn

yourself through to face toward the target with a little weight

shift in the downswing on a chip shot. Standing lock-still is

not a good fundamental of chipping.

The right focus can also have a big influence on your ability

to hit a solid shot. Your focus should simply revolve around

hitting the ground after the ball when hitting with a wedge.

It is not your job to get the ball into the air. That’s the job of

the loft of the club. Any effort to lift the ball in the air with

your swing will simply cause you to miss-hit the ball.

Get more height when chippingOnce you find yourself consistently able to hit the ground

in the right place, you’re now ready for a more advanced

technique to get more height on the ball. Simply move the

ball more forward in your stance and open the blade of the

club, so that the clubface is pointed more toward the sky.

The handle of the club should be nearly straight up and

down. As you open the clubface to the right it will also make

the ball go to the right, so you’ll need to aim a little more left

to compensate.

Once you’ve adjusted your stance, make the same swing

continuing to hit the ground after the ball. Remember that

you are letting the club get the ball airborne and shouldn’t

be making any effort to lift the ball with your swing. You

should notice the ball traveling a much shorter distance

with the same swing due to the glancing blow created by

the open clubface. This will simply require you to swing

bigger, even if you’re close to the green.

6

THE PROPER WEDGE STANCE

When making a proper stance, you will want to think of the impact of a full shot. This impact position will help you to hit the ball first, and then the ground, which is essential to solid contact. Here are some additional tips:

• Your feet should be closer together

• The ball should be placed closer to your back foot

• Place your club’s handle slightly in front of the ball

• Your weight should be toward your front foot at impact

• Your belt buckle should be slightly toward the target at impact

Wedge design and bounceThe design characteristics of wedges will also affect your

game. The main focus of wedge design is broken down

into two types: 1) Those that dig, and 2) Those that slide.

Wedges are all built with a certain amount of “bounce”,

which is the amount of metal on the back of the club. Those

with lots of bounce resist digging into the ground, while

little bounce means the club can dig. How can you identify

which is the right amount of bounce for you? As a general

rule, if your course has hard ground without much grass

and bunkers that are firm with little sand, then you want

a minimum of bounce. If your fairways are lush with deep

rough, and especially if your bunkers have lots of sand, then

maximum bounce will serve you much better.

Bounce can also be used to create a more forgiving impact,

even if you are playing from the fairway. When you lay the

club open, you are exposing the bounce. A perfectly square

club, especially with the handle forward, is not exposing

the bounce at all. It is possible to lay the club open just

slightly, exposing the bounce enough to get the club to slide,

without worrying about drop-kicking the club into the back

of the ball. This sliding impact will allow you to hit even a few

inches behind the ball and still get a playable result, giving

you a much bigger margin for error. A digging situation will

not allow you to hit even the slightest bit behind the ball

without getting a terrible result.

Practice…the final piece of the puzzleOnce you have the right tools and the right technique, it’s

time to put it all together through practice. Your actual form

of practice is not of great consequence as long as you find

it interesting and you can maintain your focus. Below are

two exercises that don’t require a fancy chipping area

to practice:

1. The leapfrog drill: Hit a short shot, just about as short

as you can manage. Wherever that ball finishes becomes

your next target. Try to land the next ball on top of that

target, creating a new target for the next shot. Repeat this

process for around 40 yards. Once you master this exercise,

try altering trajectories while practicing this drill.

2. The triangle drill: Make a triangle out of three clubs on

the ground about ten yards out, and another about twenty

yards out. Alternate hitting to the two triangles until you’re

seeing more balls than not going into the ten yard triangle

and at least one out of five going into the twenty yard

triangle. Once you are hitting the targets consistently, try

using different clubs and varying the trajectories.

7

Move your body when chipping! With a good stance and a little turn through on the swing,

you’re much more likely to hit the ball solid.

To get maximum height, move the ball toward the left foot and “open” the club so the clubface faces the sky.

FInDInG your beSt PuttInG One of the main keys to scoring!

no matter what level golfer you are, there is always

room for improvement when it comes to your

putting game. To begin the search for your best

putting game, you’ll need the following items: a mirror, a ball

with a stripe on it, a smooth putting surface (preferably a

carpet) and a quarter.

Where to beginBefore you ever hit a putt, you should spend some time

in front of the mirror to check your stance. You certainly

don’t have to have everything parallel to the target line to

putt well, though it’s probably not wise to have your feet

pointing to the north forty and your shoulders pointing to the

south forty if you’ve been struggling. If you’re interested in

a square stance, the mirror will help you find out how you’re

doing. Even if you are used to a closed or an open stance,

the mirror may show that you’ve deviated from your desired

position. Either way, seeing your stance can be a great start.

the shape of the putting strokeOnce you are set up correctly, you’re ready to make some

good strokes. A good putting stroke involves simply

allowing the club to swing naturally around you. The

common misconception among amateur golfers is that the

putter head needs to travel straight along the target line. In

actuality, you should make no effort whatsoever to make

the putter head go straight along the target line. This type of

manipulation to your stroke will make your putting inherently

inconsistent. Instead, let the club swing around you on a

natural arc, as illustrated in Sequence 3. This doesn’t mean

that you should turn the club wildly around yourself to make

it swing on an arc, as this would also be a manipulation of

your natural swing. You should simply swing the club back

and forth without thought and the putter will go to the

right place.

To check the shape of your stroke, step over to a wall and

place your putter ¼ of an inch from the base. As you swing

the putter back and forth you should notice the putter

pulling away from the wall slightly in the backstroke and

again on the way through the ball (Sequence 3). If you are

having issues with your putting stroke, this exercise will

show it immediately.

8

THE PROPER PuTTING STANCE

Before you ever hit a putt, you should spend some time in front of the mirror to check your stance. You can imagine that it’s probably not wise to have your feet pointing the opposite direction of your shoulders, or the handle leaning way forward or back! Here are some additional pointers:

• Your feet, knees, hips and shoulders should be parallel to the target line

• Your clubface should be perpendicular to the target line

• Bend from your hips and let your arms hang comfortably

Striking the ball properlyNow it’s time to make use of the stripped ball. Place the ball

on your perfect surface so that it will roll on the stripe. You

don’t need to set up a target at this time. You are simply

going to see if the ball is being struck properly.

Set up your stroke with the putter face perpendicular to

the line on the ball. Now make your stroke and see what

happens to the line as the ball rolls. If you’ve set up properly

and made a good stroke, then the ball will roll right on its

line. If the putter is sliding across the ball incorrectly, then

the line will either wobble or not be visible at all.

Putting to a targetOnce you’ve shown that you can hit the ball solidly and with

a good roll, you’re now ready to putt to a target. Put the

quarter on the ground five feet away and aim the stripe on the

ball right at it. When you make your stroke, the ball should

roll right on its stripe over the quarter. This will be a great

confidence builder as you do this over and over. Remember

that a hole is much larger than the quarter, so if you can do

this consistently, you’ll find putting to be almost easy.

your mindsetIf you are not used to a consistently positive result when

putting, you may have developed a negative mindset. Now

that you know how to roll the ball properly with a good

stroke, you’re very likely to experience a positive result when

you’re on the green. It’s also time to change your mindset

that something good is going to happen when you swing

the putter. If you continue to anticipate a negative result,

you won’t be able to make your same relaxed stroke without

some tension when you get out on the course. The more you

stoke the ball while anticipating a positive result, the better

you’ll find yourself putting.

9

SEQUENCE 3. The Shape of the Putting Stroke

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about the authorRoger Gunn, www.GolfLevels.com

Roger Gunn has spent the last 18 years perfecting his game and analyzing the golf swing. He’s rated as a

Top 100 Golf Instructor in the United States by GOLF Magazine and has also been honored by the Southern

California Professional Golf Association as the PGA Teacher of the Year in 2001 and the PGA Clubfitter of the

Year in 2000. Roger has been a contributing writer for numerous golf publications, including Golf Illustrated

and Golf Magazine. Roger has also instructed such notable golfers as Tom Lehman and Steve Pate. In fact,

they’ve been quoted as saying that Roger is one of the game’s premier teachers.

“Roger is a great player and has turned into an even better teacher.” —Tom Lehman, 1996 PGA Player of the Year & 1999 Ryder Cup Member

“Roger is one of the very few people that I will allow to watch and help me with my swing.” —Steve Pate, 1999 Ryder Cup Member