One of the most common culprits is your unhealthy snack when you hit the clubhouse after you make the turn. Did you leave the house without breakfast, then decide to eat a large meal after the ninth hole in order to “make up” for your lack of breakfast? Or did you simply indulge yourself in all the tasty snacks that the clubhouse had to offer?

Let me tell you why an unhealthy or too large a meal at the turn probably caused you to play poorly on the back nine. You probably ingested a large amount of sugar with that meal, either with your soda, the ketchup on your hotdog, the snickers bar or other sugary sweets. This influx of sugar and carbohydrates has given your body’s blood glucose level a huge spike. This will cause the famous Sugar Crash! A sugar crash will cause you to become tired, irritated, and unable to focus. All of which are not conducive to a great round of golf!

So what is the fix? Balance out your meals while on the course and wait until after your round to eat that huge cheeseburger. Spread out your meals on the golf course – try to eat small snacks every three holes to maintain a healthy blood glucose level. Snacks can include bananas, small protein bars, nuts, peanut butter crackers, and plenty of water.

Try that for your next round and see how energized you feel after your round – and see if your score drops too.

This is where a shift needs to be made.

I understand if you can’t get to the club earlier as there are other obligations but if you can, I would recommend splitting up your “warm up” time into 2 parts: 1.) the part where you stretch your body and 2.) the part where you focus on a target and stay confident. This is not a time for dramatic swing changes! Your swing will not change in that period of time and it will only cause harm when you step on the first tee.

Now I know this is starting to sound familiar to some of you. The question now is how I change it.

Step 1 – Show up, if possible, with ample time to warm-up. Ideally, give yourself at least 30 minutes.
Step 2 – Stretch for about 5-10 minutes focusing on your lower body, core, and neck/shoulders. Hit some short pitch shots to warm up the swing.
Step 3 – Work through your bag in even or odd numbers (9, 7, 5, etc.) hitting only a few balls with each club and focusing on your aim and target. Your swing should not be the focus.
Step 4 – End your full swing warm-up with the club you will be hitting on the 1st tee trying to visualize the hole and the shot you would like to hit. If you have never played the course before then simply hit your fairway wood or driver and focus on the target and your pre-shot routine.
Step 5 – Go over to the practice putting green and roll some short and long putts to get a feel for the green speed and break.
Step 6 – Clear your mind and focus on having a fun round and enjoying each shot. There are a lot worse places to be so you have to forget about your “warm-up” whether good or bad and focus on the round ahead and hitting quality shots each and every time.

There will be variations to this program depending on your certain situation and facility and you can change it to fit your personal needs. However, keep in mind that the warm-up is just that, a chance to warm up your body, not a place to re-invent the wheel.

Stay focused and have fun during your next round and you will amazed at the results you can achieve.

It did not come without some heartache and turmoil late in the round on Sunday. Dufner, tied with Ernie Els, pulled his tee shot on the short par 4 16h hole into the hazard. Now, most amateurs in this position might lose it. The doubt might start creeping in and the negative thoughts of blowing the tournament would be knocking at the door. This is where you can learn from Dufner. This is where I believe he won the event.
Jason Dufner is a fairly laid back and calm individual already but anyone in that situation would have to start feeling the pressure, especially when they have been so close to winning in the past without closing the deal. Dufner didn’t seem to be bothered at all because he strategized the rest of the hole and came up with a plan.

Dufner took several minutes to decide on where he wanted to drop the golf ball, as he had several choices within the rules of golf. He chose to pick a spot several yards back from the spot where the ball last crossed the hazard and in a closely mown area to get the maximum spin with his wedge.
If anyone noticed the pin location, it was positioned just over the water in a very tough position on the green. Knowing that another water ball would definitely end his chances, Dufner played conservative to the right hand side to assure no more than a bogey. An extremely smart play considering the situation and what was at stake. It could have overtaken his emotions very easily.
Dufner exceeded his expectations and drained the 45-foot putt to save the par. A par he desperately needed with only 2 holes remaining and a tough competitor in Els up ahead.

So what is the moral of the story? What can we learn from his decisions? Surely, he didn’t win the event because of that decision as he had to defeat Els in a playoff. However, staying calm and even keeled over the course of that 16th hole showed an amount of focus and patience that true champions possess. Knowing that it is not over until it’s over is an extremely hard thing for some of you to comprehend in that situation.

Whether you make double bogey on the first hole with your buddies on a Saturday morning or are in the thick of it come the final round of your club championship it is important to remember that all players face adversity during each round of golf and sometimes there are many obstacles in your way to contend. Take a page out of Dufner’s book and be patient after an errant shot knowing that there are many ways to get the ball in the hole. We are too quick to judge the outcome and think it will be negative. Why can’t you make a smart decision and have a positive result. The answer is you can and you will more often by keeping a clear mind, a positive attitude, and being patient throughout each and every round.

How Often?
As a rule of thumb, you should regrip once every year. Regardless of whether you play golf every day or only twice a year, ozone, heat, dirt, and oils are constantly at work breaking down the materials that make up your grips. Granted, frequent play and personal preference may dictate regripping sooner, but normally there’s enough degradation of the material after a year to warrant fresh grips. Keep in mind that grips lose a significant amount of their original feel long before they become hard and glazed over. Because it happens slowly over time, most golfers fail to notice it. That’s important to remember because just a tiny, imperceptible slip at contact will be magnified to many yards by the time the ball reaches its target. Many people find that getting in the routine of regripping every spring as the golf season “officially” begins is the easiest way to remember.

How to Choose the Right Grip
There is no one grip that is right for all golfers; thus grip selection varies widely with individual needs and preferences. A good starting point in selecting grips is to explore the Golf Pride Grip Selector. Once you’ve narrowed your decision check out the grip selection at your local golf retailer or on-course shop, or seek the advice of a professional club-builder.

***The Information and content in this article was provided by www.golfpride.com.

I think the best thing the average player could take away from August this year is to stay in the moment. I think Phil Mickelson lost focus of the overall picture and it very well could have cost him a fourth Green Jacket.

Phil was able to rebound and finish a couple shots out of the playoff but had he stayed in the moment and played the higher percentage shot he could have captured the years first Major. This situation was very similar to the 2006 U.S. Open at Winged Foot. Phil sliced his tee shot into the tents left of the fairway and preceded to try and play a very low percentage “hero” shot from U.S. Open rough. We all respect how Phil plays the game, and it is tough to question a four time Major winner, but had he managed himself better under tough low percentage shots could his major total have been 10?

When you find yourself in a situation that requires the “hero” shot to succeed – ask yourself “what is on the line”? Making a guaranteed bogey or risking making triple may be the difference in you shooting your lowest round ever. Make sure that the next time you are faced with an improbable situation you way your options against the overall goal of the round.

Preparation begins weeks, if not months ahead of time for the average tour professional. They might play the course in early March just to get reacquainted with tee shots and green complexes. They take notes of any changes and can prepare for shots they might face during tournament week.

Altering their equipment is another major force in preparation for Augusta. Perhaps they add a hybrid, or adjust the loft on their putter. They let the course dictate the clubs in their bag.

When the average player gets to a tournament they are out of their element. They start trying to act like a tour professional – getting there an hour early, hitting lots of golf balls, putting for 30 minutes. They think this is what they “must do” in a tournament.

For your next event try some of these tips:

• Make sure your equipment is ready to go
• Know the golf course, don’t play it blind (you should have an idea of what to expect on every hole)
• If you don’t have a pre-round warm-up let’s get one. I will help you get the most out of your warm-up so you can play your best.

This should be an exciting Masters – and all because each Professional is prepared to play his best.

Alignment is very easy to understand but hard for most people to repeat.  You must trust your instincts.  Here are a few key points about alignment:

1. The “Target Line” is referred to as an imaginary line between your ball and the intended target.
2. Your Body MUST be parallel to the target & target line and NOT aimed at the them .  This is probably one of the biggest mistakes in golf
3. Your clubface (think of the grooves on the club) must be perpendicular to the target line and be what is deemed as a “square” clubface

If you do not aim properly then there is a really good chance the ball won’t start out and go where you want it to plus your body will start to learn bad swing habits in order to try to get it going the right way.

For a Right-Handed golfer, it may seem at first that you are aimed far left of your intended target but it only looks this way because you’re standing parallel to the target line and not directly on the line.  This is something you must get comfortable with.

How to practice this:

1. Lay a club or stick directly in front of your ball on the ground 2-3 feet and in line with a certain target you have chosen.
2. Now, put another club 2-3 feet behind the ball on the ground on the same line as the one in front
3. Finally, place a club about a foot in side of those clubs and parallel left of the intended target line

What you have now done is set-up a station so you can be sure you’re aimed properly to an intended target.  When you are standing over the ball you can now look at the target and although it may seem as if you’re aimed incorrectly, you can confirm you are in fact at the target and properly aligned.

By practicing this and understanding how to properly align, you can start to make repeatable swings where your body and brain can confirm you are aimed properly.  This will lead to a more “natural” swing motion where your body does not have to continue to make adjustments day in and day out.

Take a Sharpie marker and draw a straight line on your golf ball. You have seen PGA Tour Players do this all the time. After you have marked your ball on the green, replace it with the line aligned with your intended putting line.

This will give you a great visual as to how and align your body and putter to the putting line and not the hole.

Now just make your stroke so that you send the ball down the intended putting line and allow it to break into the whole. If you do this correctly you will be able to see the line on your ball stay perfectly straight and not wobble when rolling across the green.

Watch this great video on Brad Faxon (one of the greatest putters of all time) and see how he puts this into practice. Notice how he focuses on the PUTTING LINE and not the HOLE.

If you slice the ball, or “power fade” it – you need to embrace that part of your game on the course. Off the course I would recommend trying to straighten that slice (which will lead to more consistency).

I want you to try this the next time you tee it up – Don’t look at the flags! For all 18 holes I want you to aim towards the left side of the green and fade / slice it back to the center of the green (and vice versa if you draw it).

Guess what will happen. You will have many more putts at birdies and pars and will hit more greens. Being in the middle of the green will mean that you will always have a chance to make a putt.

Try this the next time you play and I promise that you will shoot one of your better scores of the year.

If you are “right-eye” dominant you will see the hole to the right of its true location because you’ll set up with your right eye too far inside the ball and the target line. This will cause you to push your putts to the right and most likely adjust your stroke accordingly (outside to in) to then pull the ball back online.
This means that you can have a perfect read and still miss!

According to Dr. Lawrence Lampert, Vision Specialist and author of the book The Pro’s Edge: Vision Training for Golf,

The proper position for consistent alignment in putting, chipping, and bunker play is to have your eyes directly over the golf ball, square to your target line, with your dominant eye over the back tip of the ball.

Learn which of your eyes is dominant to account for this optical illusion by taking the test below:

1. Hold your arms out in front of you and make a triangle by overlapping the space between index finger and thumb with the same space on your opposite hand. Make a peep sight with the webs of your thumbs, and stare at an object in the distance.
2. Look at an object through the triangle hole made by your hands, preferably something round like a door knob.
3. Focus on the object, not your hands.
4. Now close one of your eyes. If you still see the object with your left eye open you are left eyed. If you still see the object with your right eye open you are right eyed.