Flight your short irons lower to be a better iron player!
Golf Chats is a website to encourage discussions on various subjects relating to the game of golf. I am Mel Sole, Director of Instruction of the Mel Sole Golf School and SAPGA Master Professional. I invite you to enter into a discussion on this or any article on the golfchats.com website. The input is for the entire subscriber base to learn something new each time! Please post your comments below. Keep it clean and tasteful. We are here to learn from one another!
If you want to become a good short-iron player, learn from Travis Fulton and Callaway Golf to fly your short irons lower for better control and accuracy. Turning your lower hand down as you move through impact is one of the big keys to learning this shot!
If you struggle to keep that angle of the lower hand through impact, there is a training aid on the market that will help. It’s called “The Secret” and was based on Ben Hogans’s move through impact. Many instructors thought this was Hogans Secret to becoming a phenomenal iron player. Certainly something worth looking into. Here is the link.
When you first start working on this drill, I suggest the backswing and follow-through are even shorter than Travis suggests. Build up your confidence slowly, then build up the pace as you get better!
PGA Professional Travis Fulton shows you how to take dead aim with your short irons and ensure you’re making solid contact.
Draw the ball at will with the help of David Leadbetter!
Golf Chats is a website to encourage discussions on various subjects relating to the game of golf. I am Mel Sole, Director of Instruction of the Mel Sole Golf School and SAPGA Master Professional. I invite you to enter into a discussion on this or any article on the golfchats.com website. The input is for the entire subscriber base to learn something new each time! Please post your comments below. Keep it clean and tasteful. We are here to learn from one another!
To take your game up a notch, you need to know how to draw and fade the ball at will. These two invaluable shots can help you A) Get out of trouble when you need to curve the ball around an obstacle like a tree, and B) Hit the ball away from trouble off the tee. For example, if there is an out of bounds on the right-hand side, and you have the ability to hit a draw (right-handed golfers) to move the ball away from getting a potential penalty, you have just taken your game to the next level! In conjunction with Callaway Golf, David Leadbetter shows you exactly how to learn to draw the ball at will. So, head to the range and try this out!
Alignment is the key: aim your body a little to the right, your club face (a little less) to the right, and “think draw” with your swing.
When it’s a very breezy day – have a swing very easy day!
Golf Chats is a website to encourage discussions on various subjects relating to the game of golf. I am Mel Sole, Director of Instruction of the Mel Sole Golf School and SAPGA Master Professional. I invite you to enter into a discussion on this or any article on the golfchats.com website. The input is for the entire subscriber base to learn something new each time! Please post your comments below. Keep it clean and tasteful. We are here to learn from one another!
I’m sure you have heard that saying a thousand times. However, I notice that amateurs seem to forget that tip when I play with them. Time and time again, I see the ball come up short, and the amateur will say to me, “I did not take enough club.” No, that is not the reason. The reason is you swung too hard, creating too much backspin, which makes the ball “balloon” into the wind and comes up short. By taking the same club, positioning the ball slightly back in the stance to keep the trajectory down and swinging a lot easier, you will get a beautifully flighted ball that will reach the target with ease! The next time you are playing in the wind – swing easy! Thanks to Tom Watson and Roger Cleveland of Callaway Golf for this important reminder!
Golf legend Tom Watson and renowned club designer Roger Cleveland demonstrate the keys to hitting wedge shots into a stiff breeze.
Which one of the Dude Perfect guys is King of the Flop?
Golf Chats is a website to encourage discussions on various subjects relating to the game of golf. I am Mel Sole, Director of Instruction of the Mel Sole Golf School and SAPGA Master Professional. I invite you to enter into a discussion on this or any article on the golfchats.com website. The input is for the entire subscriber base to learn something new each time! Please post your comments below. Keep it clean and tasteful. We are here to learn from one another!
This is a really fun video with four buddies trying to outdo each other with the art of the flop shot. Their technique is something to be desired, and, amazingly, nobody was hurt filming this. Phil Mickelson would get a headache watching these guys, but it is supposed to be fun! Thanks to Callaway Golf for providing this great entertainment to see who is King of the Flop!
The guys at Dude Perfect are back at it again, this time with a Dude Perfect Battle. The boys tried their luck behind an 8-foot wall, trying to hit a flop shot closest to the pin on the other side.
Some of the results were predictable, ie. bladed back into the ribs, but for the most part, the Dude Perfect guys impressed us with their flop ability.
Getting Fairway Bunker shots onto the green with Pat Perez!
Golf Chats is a website to encourage discussions on various subjects relating to the game of golf. I am Mel Sole, Director of Instruction of the Mel Sole Golf School and SAPGA Master Professional. I invite you to enter into a discussion on this or any article on the golfchats.com website. The input is for the entire subscriber base to learn something new each time! Please post your comments below. Keep it clean and tasteful. We are here to learn from one another!
Fairways bunker shots should be played exactly the same as playing off the fairway with one slight adjustment. Play the ball slightly back in your stance to promote a slightly downward blow and ensure that the ball is hit first with absolutely no sand between the clubface and the ball. Thanks to Callaway Golf for this informative video by Pat Perez!
Fairway bunker shots are one of the most difficult for amateur players to master. The loose footing and soft surface make it hard to make the same swing you would in the fairway or rough.
PGA Tour Pro Pat Perez has a few adjustments that should help you hit the ball cleanly when facing a long and challenging bunker shot.
How to work the ball with a fade or draw when you need to!
Golf Chats is a website to encourage discussions on various subjects relating to the game of golf. I am Mel Sole, Director of Instruction of the Mel Sole Golf School and SAPGA Master Professional. I invite you to enter into a discussion on this or any article on the golfchats.com website. The input is for the entire subscriber base to learn something new each time! Please post your comments below. Keep it clean and tasteful. We are here to learn from one another!
Learning how to hit a fade or draw at will can certainly take your game to the next level. The ability to move the ball in the air to either go around something like a tree or bush or to work the ball into a tough pin position definitely makes you a better player. Here, Travis Fulton, Director of Education for all TOUR Academy facilities and is Head Instructor for the PGA TOUR Golf Academy at the World Golf Village in St. Augustine, Fla., explains how to do this with the help of a hula hoop!
Having a stock ball flight will always be beneficial. If you are a drawer or fader of the golf ball, going back to that flight under pressure will give you the best results. However, you will benefit from having the ability to work the ball both directions.
Travis Fulton has an easy drill illustrated by using a hula hoop that will help you to visualize your club path through impact, thus allowing you to hit the ball straight, left-to-right and right-to-left.
Callaway and Boeing Team up for Improved Technology!
Golf Chats is a website to encourage discussions on various subjects relating to the game of golf. I am Mel Sole, Director of Instruction of the Mel Sole Golf School and SAPGA Master Professional. I invite you to enter into a discussion on this or any article on the golfchats.com website. The input is for the entire subscriber base to learn something new each time! Please post your comments below. Keep it clean and tasteful. We are here to learn from one another!
In a previous post, I spoke of Ping’s innovation using “anti drag” technology on their Driver’ heads. Now Callaway and Boeing have teamed up. Boeing, who is obviously the ultimate expert on moving things efficiently through the air, has taken the technology game to another level. Where is this all going to lead, and when will enough be enough? That is a question that has been asked since the days of Old Tom Morris when gutta-percha balls replaced featheries!
Don’t eliminate our great golf courses!
But I think there has to be a limit, or all our great courses like St. Andrews Old Course, Ballybunion, Royal County Down, and Augusta National will no longer be able to host PGA Tour events, and only 7700 plus yard courses will be relevant. That being said, I’m all for technology to help the amateur golfer have more fun on the course. The subject of Pros being required to use different equipment from amateurs, as in other sports, will one day rear its ugly head.
It seems fair to say golf club innovation has reached a stage where the concept of making things “better” requires more effort than ever before. And perhaps nowhere is that complexity more apparent than in the area of aerodynamics.
XR 16
It seems fair to say golf club innovation has reached a stage where the concept of making things “better” requires more effort than ever before. And perhaps nowhere is that complexity more apparent than in the area of aerodynamics.
Manufacturers have been studying how to make drivers move through the air more efficiently for over a decade.
The forgiveness you can get from a large driver can be compromised by how its bulk negatively affects the way the club moves through the air. Trying to understand how to balance these factors has led manufacturers to seek partnerships with various independent and non-golf outlets. Adams Golf worked with Texas A&M a half-dozen years ago on its Speedline drivers. TaylorMade has gleaned knowledge from the San Diego Low Speed Wind Tunnel to improve its AeroBurner and M1 drivers.
And, of course, Ping has championed the aerodynamics technology behind its successful G30 and recently introduced G driver, understanding fueled by a partnership with the Arizona State University.
Now, Callaway is breaking new ground in identifying the effect of aerodynamic drag on driver performance by partnering with a company whose primary function is getting big things moving through the air extremely efficiently. Boeing, the largest airline manufacturer in the world, helped Callaway’s new XR16 drivers combine a large clubhead with aerodynamic efficiency. It was not a simple exercise.
Would you like to curve the ball left or right at will? Watch!
Golf Chats is a website to encourage discussions on various subjects relating to the game of golf. I am Mel Sole, Director of Instruction of the Mel Sole Golf School and SAPGA Master Professional. I invite you to enter into a discussion on this or any article on the golfchats.com website. The input is for the entire subscriber base to learn something new each time! Please post your comments below. Keep it clean and tasteful. We are here to learn from one another!
Many golfers cannot curve the ball at will.
Yes, they curve it inadvertently at times, but how about when they are behind a tree and have to hit an intentional hook or slice? PGA member Travis Fulton explains how to go about this with the use of a hula hoop. Thanks to Callaway Golf for sharing this video!
Once you have watched this video, head off to the range and practice hitting high draws, low draws, high fades, low fades. It is something I really enjoy doing on the range. At the same time, I am gaining confidence in curving the ball. When faced with one of these shots, you can pull it off, knowing your practice sessions have paid off!
PGA Professional Travis Fulton explains what swing direction is and how it effects the curve of the ball.
Bryan Brothers are at it again – This time at the Callaway office!
Golf Chats is a website to encourage discussions on various subjects relating to the game of golf. I am Mel Sole, Director of Instruction of the Mel Sole Golf School and SAPGA Master Professional. I invite you to enter into a discussion on this or any article on the golfchats.com website. The input is for the entire subscriber base to learn something new each time! Please post your comments below. Keep it clean and tasteful. We are here to learn from one another!
The Bryan brothers are trick-shot artists, supremo! I have featured many of their videos over the past few months, and this time they visited the offices of Callaway Golf to wreak some havoc with the furnishings! They certainly know how to have some fun! Thanks to Bryan Bros Golf for sharing!
We stopped by the Callaway offices and decided to have some fun. A basketball goal, squishy ball and a MD3 milled wedge were all we needed to make a video. Enjoy!
Master of the Flop Shot shows how to Master the Flop Shot!
Golf Chats is a website to encourage discussions on various subjects relating to the game of golf. I am Mel Sole, Director of Instruction of the Mel Sole Golf School and SAPGA Master Professional. I invite you to enter into a discussion on this or any article on the golfchats.com website. The input is for the entire subscriber base to learn something new each time! Please post your comments below. Keep it clean and tasteful. We are here to learn from one another!
Phil Mickelson once hit a flop shot from the back of the 15th green at the Masters in the final round when the pin position was near the front left of the green. Phil hit this beautiful, soft flop that landed like a butterfly with sore feet about 3 feet from the pin and stopped. I jumped right out of my chair! That was one of the greatest shots I have ever seen and Phil is the only one on the planet who would have the cahones to hit that shot at that moment in time! Thanks to Callaway Golf and Whitley Golf for sharing Phil’s insights in this highly instructional video!
