Category: Short Game

GURU TV – A Drill To Help You With Your Chipping

June 15, 2010

The chipping stroke is simply the bottom of your golf swing. If you can perfect the chip by hitting it solid, you are ultimately helping your full swing. This is an old drill that is great in the fact that it gives you immediate feedback when you scoop.

Feel free to leave a comment and let me know what you would like to see in future Guru TV shows

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See you on the lesson tee,

Guru

GURU TV – The Chip And Run Shot (another tool for your tool box)

June 3, 2010

To have a well-rounded short game, you must have all the shots. I understand that there are many ways to get the ball up and down but you must have a sound philosophy that makes sense and is in your realm of possibility for your skill level. I try to get my students to play the percentages. The LOWEST shot with the SHORTEST SWING is usually the highest percentage play. Every pitching shot or lob shot stems from a sound chipping stroke. Next week we will revisit the basic fundamentals that we all need reminded of from time to time, so stay tuned. Enjoy the video and good luck with your short game.

See you on the lesson tee,

Guru

Creating Bunker Music: Are you in Tune?

April 22, 2010

How is your bunker play? Are you getting it out or are you wasting shots? Are you getting it close? I have included an archive video from a short game series that I did last fall. I know that the bunker shot can be a very scary shot for the average player. There are so many misconceptions on how to play from a green side trap. Here are a few ideas that you might have about bunker play that are false. I have two views of the Guru (me) hitting a short bunker shot….(Phil Mickelson said that he practices 30 foot bunker shots and has improved his bunker play).

Misconception #1 – You must open your stance. Not true. You can play great shots with a square stance and a square blade as long as you lean the shaft backwards slightly so the club doesn’t dig (Claude Harmon Sr. used to teach this method)

Misconception #2 – You cut across the ball in a bunker swing. Not True. I encourage an early hinge which creates a steeper angle of approach but not an outside to in swing. Remember: The ball flies the direction that the sand is thrown. The sand is thrown the direction that you swing. If you swing too much to the left, the ball will likely pull the left.

Misconception #3 – The ball will fly the direction the clubface is looking. If you open the club face to the right, you can still hit the ball at the target if the club is swing on plane.

Misconception #4 – your spine needs to tilt away from the target at address. Wrong. Tilt your spine towards the target to ensure that the bottom of the swing is close to the ball. Get the buttons on you shirt over the ball.

Study the video and you will be making bunker music and saving strokes before you know it. I will be back soon with some new videos.

See you on the lesson tee,

Guru

To schedule a lesson, call 704-542-7635 or visit our website at danarader.com

Aimpoint golf: “What It Takes To Win”

April 8, 2010

We often talk about the importance of putting but I don’t think we fully understand what it takes to be reach our goals. Aimpointgolf.com was developed by Mark Sweeney and is the technology that you see used on the PGA Tour to show the actual break line of a putt. This is a  chart that I found interesting and might make you think about what is really important in achieving your golfing goals. I want to thank my good friend, John Graham which is a certified Aim Point Instructor and a great resource for golf instruction and information for making me aware of this wonderful technology. Check his site out at johngrahamgolf.com. I will be checking into getting more info about the green reading information developed by AimPoint to help my students and peeps of Guru Nation. I hope you enjoy the post and enjoy the Masters.

http://aimpointgolf.com/whatdoesittake.html

See you on the lesson tee,

Guru

To schedule a lesson call The Dana Rader Golf School @704-542-7635 or visit our website at danarader.com

GURU TV – “So You Want To Be A Tour Player-Episode 2”: Pitching With John Eades

March 16, 2010

This is the follow-up with a tour player that I work with, John Eades. One of our goals for this year is to improve our wedge play. Here you get a live look at one of our lessons and what we are working on with Johns technique. Listen closely because this is a technique that I have been working on that might be a little different than you have heard before. I think it will help all of you out there in Guru Nation. Enjoy and ask questions.
Pitching is one of the most important shots around the green and where I see the average golfer lose a lot of strokes.

See you on the lesson tee,

Guru
Dana Rader Golf School
danarader.com