South Shore Country Club

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If you want to learn how to do something very well you have to look at who does that job the absolute best and try to learn what they do and why and see if you could copy some of their techniques to benefit yourself and your own golf game. The PGA and LPGA Tours is where to look for best technique as a rule and I’d like to bring up a few common threads when it comes to what they do on tour to chip and get their ball close to the hole for an easy tap in.

First of all before a club is even chosen the philosophy is in place. Maximum ground time, minimum air time. The best players in the world get the ball on the putting surface as quick as possible and they watch their ball roll smoothly to the cup. I remember watching an interview with Curtis Strange, 2 time US Open Champion and he was discussing the best way to play St. Andrews in Scotland. He said that a golfer could lose the ball in the air when playing the short game. A reference to hitting a high ball and having the winds deflect it off line. He also said that getting it on the ground as quick as possible will help in playing not only in high winds but in all sorts of playing conditions. This technique no doubt was instrumental in watching European amateurs even using their putter from well off the green and certainly helped in coining the phrase “bump and run”

Secondly you see the best players holding the club extremely light. Good feel is developed when you have a light grip and feel is so crucial in developing what it takes to propel the ball the proper distance.

Feet are typically very close together. Power is not mandatory in a small swing so keeping your feet close together will help you stay centered over the ball and will help you move “less” which is critical for solid contact.

The best players use a lot of different clubs. They will use clubs that I call “fit the situation”. When they are faced with a shot over a bunker and the hole is located close to that hazard they use a club that will get the ball higher quicker and stop faster. Conversely, if they have about 3 feet of rough to clear and 40 or 50 feet of putting surface they will use a club that gets them over the “trouble” and will roll beautifully back to the hole just as if they putted the ball from the front edge of the green.

Another way to think of this is if you make a larger swing chances are there is the potential for more to go wrong. Will you potentially have more issues with a full driver swing or making a 1 foot putt? Larger swing, more chance for error. Your swing will be much smaller when you adapt to changing clubs and using the “correct” club that fits your particular chipping situation. Give it a try. I am confident you will see your scores drop significantly by using these simple chipping techniques.

A Lesson Learned: Harrington prevails at the Open Championship

July 21, 2008 -- What a tremendous 137th Open Championship. The drama, the story lines and what about the weather? Congratulations to Padraig Harrington in becoming the first European to repeat as Open Champion since James Braid did in 1906. This is an incredible accomplishment considering the players who have come and gone over those years. No wonder why it is such a compelling major championship.

When I analyze this championship I can take away 3 very important "Lessons Learned". First, I believe strongly that any major championship, especially an Open Championship, can survive quite nicely without the world's number one player in the field. There are no reasons for any asterisks here. This particular championship had the oldest player EVER to lead a major after 54 holes. It had an opportunity, which came to fruition, to have a repeat champion for only the 16th time ever.

Secondly, I learned that the true essence to golf, and most likely why we all love this game, is that shot making and course strategy is so crucial in playing winning golf. We have taught and heard a million times "it isn't how but how many". That along with "there aren't any pictures on the scorecard". All great clichés which emphasize shot making and not being embarrassed to hit a 123 yard 5 iron into a gale wind like Norman did in round three. Or not wanting to feel inadequate so one would hit pitching wedge and fall short into the lake rather than connecting with a smooth 8 iron to the center of the green. I learned that this high level of golfer is a shot maker and willing to play the appropriate shot even though they may not have practiced this shot in quite some time. But remembering how it was done days, months or years earlier practicing for this very opportunity.

I remember vividly playing golf with my father as a youth and being upset that his 3 iron was closer to the flag than my 7 iron and wondering "how is this possible"? Day in and day out his shots were closer yet I was hitting less club. Naturally experience and age has helped with that lesson and want to pass along that advice today. It isn't how but how many. If you must choke down on your 3 wood to finesse that shot up onto the green than do it. Learn to play the shots that you can and learn to play within yourself. You'll enjoy the game so much more. Understand that the harder you swing the more spin you influence on the golf ball and how that golf ball will just climb incredibly high going into the wind helping it to stop well short of your target. Ironically Greg Norman's advice of years earlier comes to mind and I use this on the lesson tee as well. "Swing with ease into the breeze".

Lastly, another important lesson learned this week was who finished in the top 5 this week and possibly why. Ian Poulter -- an incredibly talented player -- flew extremely low under the radar this week until late Sunday. Greg Norman -- 53 years old and who admitted he has played more tennis than golf over the past year and just recently got married and thus he didn't have time to think about his golf -- all week long he talked about trying to keep his expectations really low. Padraig Harrington -- the defending champ who up to minutes before starting his first round was not even sure he was going to play due to his sore wrist -- all he does is goes out and wins the championship, again. This game is extremely hard. It plays with all of us mentally. I feel strongly that in this particular case these 3 golfers were distracted with the enormity of the situation and had a peace about them this week. Expectations were low and there was a relaxation throughout the week and I believe this helped them all play better this week. We all can learn from this. Have realistic expectations about your next round. Realize and understand your handicap and accept the fact that you won't be perfect that day. Even the great Ben Hogan expected to miss 7 shots a round and he practiced unmercifully every day!!!! If you miss a shot, make the prudent play back to safety and move on. Don't let the final round of the club championship get to you. It is a game. And a great one at that.

If you need any more help with your game feel free to drop me an email at jkgolfpro@pga.com

Joe Keefe has been a PGA Golf Professional for over 24 years and is currently the PGA Head Professional at South Shore Country Club in Hingham, Mass. For the past 12 years he has promoted the game of golf with his golf radio show with co-host Bob Bubka where they have worked together at some of the worlds most prestigious golf tournaments including the Masters, the US Open, the PGA Championship and the Ryder Cup. Joe has written many golf instruction articles for many publications including the Boston Globe, been seen on a number of television stations including New England Sports Network and currently is the WBZ radio golf analyst.