Secret To Clean Golf Shots Out Of Fairway Bunkers

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Landing in a fairway bunker can be a stressful situation. The good news is that it doesn’t have to be. With the right tools and the right technique you can easily put yourself in a good position to save par or even have a shot at making birdie.

In this quick video tip PGA Golf Pro Bill McKinney will show you a few simple tips that will get you out of those pesky fairway bunkers with ease and confidence.

As you saw in the video your stance is crucial in a fairway bunker, or in any bunker for that matter. Keep in mind building a stance in a bunker is illegal. However digging your feet into the sand to get a stable base is perfectly acceptable.

Like Bill says in the video you’ll want to dig your spikes into the sand a bit. If you don’t do this you will slip around, especially if it’s early in the day and the sand is still wet.

Remember on most fairway bunker shots you are going to be using a full golf swing. This means a full weight shift. If your feet aren’t planted you will slip around. I’m sure you have experienced this before.

So make sure you always take a moment to get your feet fully planted. Even if your front foot only slides an inch forward it can cause some nasty problems in your golf swing (like forcing you to chunk the ball).

The other keys to successfully hitting out of a fairway bunker are: choking up on the club a bit, and aiming at a spot a little higher up on the ball to ensure that you hit the golf ball first not the sand. The last thing you want to do is hit behind the golf ball. Choking up makes you much more likely to hit the ball clean or a little thin (a much better miss-hit when you are in a fairway bunker).

The last thing to consider is what club to use. Hybrid clubs are a great choice for hitting out of fairway bunkers. They don’t dig into sand as easily as irons, so if you do hit the golf ball a little fat it won’t be a huge problem. The other advantage is that the shaft is somewhat shorter than a 3 or 5 wood making them much easier to hit out of a fairway bunker.

Now go out there and have some fun in the sand.

For Better Golf,
Doc O’Leary
Head Golf Nut, OHP Golf

Practice Smarter Not Harder

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Practicing golf can be almost as much fun as playing a round of golf. Unfortunately I see a lot of golfers hacking away at bucket after bucket of golf balls only to find themselves exhausted and frustrated.

The problem is that many amateur players have simply never been taught how to practice on the driving range.

In this short video Bill McKinney is going to show you how to get the most out of your practice on the driving range so that you can start shooting lower scores and having more fun.

If you have spent any time on the driving range (which I’m sure you have) you know that what Bill is showing here is not how your average high handicap golfer practices.

By slowing down your practice and switching up clubs like Bill demonstrates in the video you will prevent yourself from getting frustrated and cementing bad habits into your swing.

By imagining that you are playing an actual hole while you hit balls on the range you will be able to get more comfortable changing clubs during actual play.

You will also focus more closely on the distance you are hitting each club, and the simple act of visualization will benefit your golf game tremendously.

Sports psychologists have shown that imagining you are playing a sport is almost as good as actually playing it. This is especially true for golf, because so much of the game is mental.

Taking your time while you practice and changing your clubs like you are on a real golf course also helps you develop a good pre-shot routine. You should always use a pre-shot routine when you are practicing.

Don’t worry, you don’t need to use a full pre-shot routine on every practice shot. I usually use a full routine on every third ball and a shortened one on the other two. The point is that you have some sort of pre-shot routine before every shot.

This not only helps you focus, but it also helps cement good habits into your golf game. The same good habits you will take with you onto the course.

For Better Golf,
Doc O’Leary
Head Golf Nut, OHP Golf

How To Shape Your Golf Shots and Save Par

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Learning how to shape your golf shots (hit a draw or fade when you want to) is crucial if you want to take your golf game to the next level.

Shaping shots takes you from ‘decent amateur golfer’ to ‘guy who makes his buddies jealous with his incredible par saving shots.’

Being able to shape your golf shots will enable you to recover from a sliced tee shot with a beautiful fade out of the rough, and on to the fairway or green. Mastering these shots will enable you to miss-hit the occasional tee shot and still beat your buddies on that hole.

In this short video Golf Professional Mike Gorton will show you the secrets to shaping your shots without changing how you swing.

As you can see from this video once you know the tricks shaping your shots is really pretty simple.

The key is understanding the two key variables that affect where the golf ball goes. The first variable is the way the club approaches the ball (inside out, outside in, or square). The diagram to the right shows these angles in case you are having trouble visualizing this (note: the diagram on the right is for a right handed golfer, it would be opposite for lefties).

The second variable is the position of the club head (open, closed, or square).

In order to shape your shots you simply need to change your stance. Changing your stance (opening up or closing up your stance) will cause you to chance your swing path without even having to think about it.

Hitting a Fade:

As Mike explains in the video all you need to do is open your stance while still aiming at your target.

By opening your stance you force yourself to make an outside in swing which puts right hand spin on the ball resulting in a fade.

Hitting a Draw:

To hit a draw you need to close your stance while still aiming at the target. This will force you to have an inside out swing path.

This swing path will put left hand spin on the ball causing your golf shot to draw to the left.

Practice these shots on the range to get a feel for how much you need to open and close your stance to get the amount of movement you are looking for.

These shots are actually a lot of fun to practice so grab a bucket of balls and hit the range.

For more tips from 3 time Long Drive World Champ Mike Gorton check out his Bombing it Long Package.

For Better Golf,
Doc O’Leary
Head Golf Nut, OHP Golf

Power Loading Your Golf Swing

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If you want to add more yards to your drives you need to make sure the power in your golf swing is coming from a strong base. The base in any golf swing is the ground beneath your feet. This video will explain how you can use the ground beneath you to supercharge your golf swing and hit longer drives.

As Golf Pro Bill McKinney explained in the video the power in a golf swing comes from the ground up.

You need to have a strong stable base to deliver all that power you build up in your swing. This power is useless unless you have a strong base to deliver it from. Like Bill said in the video not having a strong base is like firing a cannon from a row boat.

You may be thinking that just because you are standing on the ground you have a strong base. This is simply not true. Yes we are all standing on the ground (it’s pretty tough not to) but standing there is much different than being firmly planted on the ground.

The video shows you how bending your knees a bit and staying on the balls of your feet allows you to literally push off the ground to deliver all that swing power into the golf ball at the moment of impact.

Although it might not seem like much simply extending your knees as you connect with the ball adds tons of power to your golf swing. It really puts your body weight behind the shot. Its little movements like this that help you to get huge distance out of your drives.

One of the biggest keys to using the ground to develop more powerful golf shots is making sure you are not casting (releasing your wrists too early). To maximize the power in your golf swing you have to hold the release back until the right moment. This is hard to explain without pictures so watch the video a few times to see what I am talking about.

Like Bill McKinney explains in the video the loading (bending) of the shaft is one of the most powerful things you can use in your golf swing. Casting releases any shaft loading prematurely.

Holding back the release until the right time and simultaneously using a strong stance as a base enables you to deliver massive power into the golf ball. It’s a waste to lose any of this golf swing power because your feet are firmly planted in the ground.

Go out and practice using the ground as part of your swing. I know you will be happy with the extra power and distance.

For better Golf,
Doc O’Leary
Head Golf Nut, OHP Golf

Hit Longer Golf Drives By Tucking Your Elbow

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If you want to hit longer drives this is truly one of the easiest ways to do it. Bill McKinney makes this golf swing tip really easy to understand. Check out the video below.

As golf pro Bill McKinney explains in the video you should try to keep your elbows straight while you take the club back. This loads your golf swing with tons of power. Be sure to fold your arms (bend your elbows) late in the backswing.

When you start your down swing focus on getting that right elbow (left elbow for you lefties) tucked into your belly button. This keeps your hands out in front of the club head, a very powerful position.

As you saw in the video the trick is to tuck that right elbow into your belly button during the release point of your golf swing.

You also want to think about your body position during the golf swing. As explained in the video you want your body to be in a hit the ball high position (torso tilted back), while keeping your hands, and the golf club, in a hit the ball low attitude (keeping your hands out in front lowers the loft of the club).

This will give your drives the proper launch angle with low spin. If you do all this you will hit longer drives.

The real secret behind tucking the elbow on your tee shots is that it forces you to keep your hands in front of the club head. By keeping your hands out in front you will prevent yourself from releasing your hands too early and leaking power out of your swing. If you want to hit longer drives you have to save up all your power until you make contact with the ball.

Go out to the range and hit a few golf balls using this trick. I know you will start hitting longer drives if you use this technique.

If you love to hit longer drives stay tuned to my blog for more free golf tips from the best golf instructors in the business.

For Better Golf,
Doc O’Leary
Head Golf Nut, OHP Golf

Secret to Approach Shots in Golf

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When was the last time you hit the golf ball way over the green on an approach shot? You probably don’t remember because for most amateur golfers over shooting the green is rarely a problem.

Let me ask you another question. When was the last time your approach shot fell short of the green? You probably do remember because it was the last time you played golf. This is why golf course architects put the majority of hazards (bunker, water, ravines) in front of the green not behind it.

Golf Approach Shot

Why am I asking you these questions? Well I’m trying to show you all the strokes you are adding to your score simply because you are using the wrong club. Yep that’s right. Most golfers are using the wrong club for approach shots. It doesn’t matter if you are 180 yards out or 100 yards out you are probably over estimating the distance of your golf clubs. Most handicap golfers don’t hit the ball as far as they think they do.

This is one of the simplest problems in golf to fix. The secret solution: use one club higher on your approach shots. Yeah we’ve all hit that career best 180 yard 7 iron with 30 mph wind at our backs and a downhill roll. But let be honest this was a once in a life shot. If your instinct tells you to grab your seven iron grab your six instead. Pretty simple stuff I’m sure you will agree. The beauty is that you can literally start slashing your golf scores over night using this simple trick (you don’t even have to change the way you swing).

There are a lot of golfers out there who have good golf swings, hit the ball solid most of the time yet get frustrated with their high scores wondering why. They usually end up thinking that they need to hit the ball harder to make it on the green (ruining the rhythm of their swing). Why work harder when you can work smarter. There is no shame in using a longer club (especially when you are the only guy making it on the green without a chip shot).

There is no point in overestimating the distance of your golf shot. Yet we all have a tendency to do this. We all remember those perfect shots we have made and boy did that feel good. The problem is we can’t do this on every shot. The truth is you may hit the ball 180 once in a blue moon, but your average is around 150. So why not just use a six iron with a nice controlled and relaxed swing?

Play your golf clubs to their average distance not their max and you scores will start dropping big time.

For Better Golf,
Doc O’Leary
Head Golf Nut, OHP Golf

Hit Longer Golf Shots With Better Balance

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Balance is crucial to hitting consistent and powerful golf shots. I talk a lot about developing your golf swing power from the ground up (not through the arms); well if you don’t have good balance you are building your swing on unsteady ground. A big no no.

In this video golf professional Bill McKinney shows you the absolute easiest way to improve the balance of your golf swing. This simple little golf drill is so easy you can do it at home, in your back yard, or in your garage with some wiffle balls. The best part is you probably have all the materials you need in your garage right now (and by materials I mean a 3 ft. long 2×2 or 2×4). Check out the video below.

This simple tip gives you a cheap and easy way to improve you golf swing by forcing your body to learn how to balance itself during a golf swing. All you need to do is simply address the golf ball with the board under your feet (check out the video if you can’t visualize this) and make a couple of pitch shots. You may be a bit wobbly at first, but your body will figure out how to balance itself after some practice.

Teaching yourself how to balance your body during the golf swing is crucial. Proper balance gives you the ability to create massive power to put into your golf swing. This is how the pro develop enough power to consistently hit 300+ yard tee shots. It may seem simple (and it actually is), but if you never practice your golf swing balance you will never be able to improve it.

Stay tuned for more great tips. Till Next Time…

For Better Golf,
Doc O’Leary
Head Golf Nut, OHP Golf

Easiest Way To Start Sinking 8 ft. Putts: And Banish 3 Putts From Your Golf Game Forever

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Checkout this cool tip from Golf Pro and OHP Golf Instructor Marc Minier:

Putting is all about seeing the right line. Putts are rarely missed because of a poor stroke. The real challenge is aiming properly. You can have the steadiest and most controlled putting game on the course, like a perfect pendulum, and still miss the hole if you aren’t aiming to the right spot.

Luckily there is an easy (and legal) way to fix this problem. You have probably seen guys who mark their golf ball with a line. They do this so that they can line up the mark on the golf ball with the line they are choosing to putt to (accounting for break etc).

This is really important and often underestimated. It is really hard to know if your putter and ball are perfectly lined up with the target line you have chosen to putt on, especially since you are standing over five feet above and to the side of the ball. A simple line on your golf ball allows you to first line the ball up with the roll line you have read on the green. Then aline your putter with the marker line on your golf ball. This is a great way to take all the guess work out of lining up your putts.

When you do this you don’t even have to think about the imaginary roll line on the green, you can look at the easy to see line on the ball.

Of course they make all kinds of ball marking devices and fancy markers. These are pretty cool and fun to play with, but to be honest they are a waste of money. All you need is the plastic ring that holds the cap onto a Gatorade bottle. Buying a bottle of Gatorade will be much cheaper than any ball marking tool, plus you get to drink the Gatorade (sounds like a good deal to me). I actually keep a hand full of these things rings in my golf bag to give guys I meet on the course…they all love this little trick.

To mark the ball I like to use a sharpie marker. Keep a couple different colors (in case your buddy decides to use the same one) or pick a really funky color that nobody else would use that way you always know which ball is yours. They even make mini-sharpies that come on a key ring that I like to keep clipped to the towel ring on my bag (convenience is king…no more digging through tees to find the marker.

You can usually find those mini-sharpies by the register at places like office depot if they don’t sell them at your golf course.

For Better Golf,
Doc O’Leary
Head Golf Nut- OHP Golf

How Disappearing Hands Can Fix Your Golf Swing

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Hey Fellow Golf Nut,

Doc here with one of the simplest ways to see if you are swinging “on plane.”

Swinging on plane will make all your shots more powerful and consistent. It will make your pitch shots deadly accurate and your drives long and straight.

On the other hand, swinging off plane will make your golf shots erratic and weak. You will be forced to play the kind of “army golf” that you swear is just for those other duffers on the course.

Often times the biggest difficulty amateur golfers have is simply knowing whether or not they are swinging on plane (and if they aren’t how to fix it). The golf swing happens so fast that it can be nearly impossible for anyone but a professional golfer to recognize the slightest of mistakes that are robbing power and accuracy.

This is where PGA Pro Bill McKinney’s “disappearing hands” trick comes into play.

In the following video Bill McKinney is going to show you how to make sure your hands are “disappearing” after contact with the golf ball. Your hand position, during and after impact with the ball, is a great indicator of whether your swing is on plane or not.

Okay I know this sounds a little strange but if you watch the video I promise it will make perfect sense.

The best part about this trick is that you don’t need a pro watching your swing to see what you are doing wrong. You can have one of your golfing buddies or even some guy at the range (he’ll be delighted to learn this trick too) simply stand behind you and watch.

It’s so simple a 5 year old could do it. Check out the video below.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=snn4sMMFWOs

It’s really that simple. This is a great way to fix your golf swing quickly and easily.

Stay tuned to my blog for more simple tips on how to start hitting longer and straighter golf shots.

For better Golf,

Doc O’Leary

Head Golf Nut, OHP

How Mr. Hogan Was Wrong

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Dear Fellow Golf Nut,

Doc here with a short video showing you a simple drill, originally designed by the great Ben Hogan now recreated by golf Pro Bill McKinney, that will put massive power behind your golf swing.

Ben Hogan was one of the greatest golfers ever…but…he did make one big mistake in the way he taught people how to play better golf.

Mr. Hogan created a training drill using a heavy ‘medicine ball’ (the kind you see in the gym). In this drill he compared using your pivot to throw the ball down the fairway to a golf swing.

PGA Pro Bill McKinney has taken that drill to the next level. See he understands that, YES, your core is the source of your power…but…you should be delivering that power ‘down plane’ into the ball not in a sweeping motion down the fairway. In the video above you can see that McKinney is using his core pivot to drive the medicine ball down into the golf ball on the tee.

This is much more like a golf swing, where you transfer your power and energy into the ball not down the fairway with a horizontal tossing motion like Mr. Hogan’s original drill.

Why am I telling you about this? Well many high handicap golfers suffer from something pro’s call ‘false speed,’ which is essentially a misunderstanding about where power is developed and where it should be delivered.

‘False Speed’ is the speed you develop by mainly swing with your arms, or speed you never actually put into the ball. For example some guys seem to have a wicked fast swing but can’t figure out why their drives are still lacking. The real problem is that they are developing much of this false speed from their arms that is wasted in their follow-through after impact. It’s kind of like the difference between slapping a guy in the face and stepping into him with a punch. Only one is going to knock the guy back. Just like the slap ‘false speed in your golf swing looks fast but doesn’t pack the punch.

Don’t get me wrong, this is not what Mr. Hogan was doing. He put the power into the golf ball (if he didn’t we wouldn’t still be talking about his incredible ball striking abilities 40 years after he retired). But… many guys have misunderstood him.

Allow me to straighten this out. Power is created by using your core, stored in your lag, and then delivered ‘down plane’ to the ball at impact. This power must be created and stored before contact. And remember swinging fast with your arms simply doesn’t send the ball anywhere. Learning how to do this is the REAL secret to putting power into your golf shots.

Go try this drill and let me know what you think. When you get a club in your hands after doing this a couple of times, I think you will be impressed with the results.

For more from PGA Golf Pro Bill McKinney Click Here.

For Better Golf,

Doc O’Leary

Head Golf Nut, OHP

Tee Box Control Drill

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Dear Fellow Golf Nut,

Doc here with another Golf Tip for you.

This one comes from my good friend Billy McKinney.

I call it The Tee Box Control Drill, and this drill will give you a confidence boost like no other right from the start of each hole!

I’ll tell you what, when I first learned about this drill I tried it out on the driving range by taking my time with each shot I took.

Visualizing everything from a dog leg left with water hugging the left side of the bend, to a dog leg right with a bunker lying right in front of my targeted flag stick.

After only one bucket of balls, I went out and had my best round of golf in months, my golfing pals were all left stunned in amazement on how low my score was.

It was all they could talk about back at the clubhouse!

Anyways in this tip, Billy shows you how ball placement at the start of every tee shot can effectively help your game and boost your confidence by providing you with the best shot possible down the fairway.

Simple and VERY effective.

Check it out.

If you would like to purchase Billys’s Avalanche of Power Video Package, which this tip was taken from, simply click on the link below.

Bill McKinney’s Avalanche of Power

Till next time… for better golf.

Doc O’Leary
Head Golf Nut, OHP Golf

Understanding Club Release

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Dear Hellow Golf Nut,

Doc here, I’ve been so busy the past few months working on a secret little project of mine that I completely lost track of time. I can’t get into much detail about it just yet, but once this thing is completed I will definitely be letting you know about it.

So in the mean time, here’s a quick tip from golf instructor Marc Minier on understanding the release of your club swing. In this video he quickly covers the basics of understanding how and where the build-up of energy is being delivered through the club shaft into the ball. Creating massive drives with little to no effort at all…

Check it out.

For more info
Click Here

Till next time… for better golf.

Doc
Head Golf Nut, OHP

Golf Tip – Harnessing Physical Forces

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Hello again, it’s Doc…Good News — another golf video tip for you.
Understand this… and your golf swing will NEVER be the same…

This one is from golf pro Gregg McHatton – it’s solid advice,from one
of the games most respected teachers.

Tapping into your hidden power can start with a simple step
like this…look, you want to harness the power you generate
in your golf swing.You’re simply dead-in-the-water if you try
and over-power it…Get this down and you’ll learn to hit it hard.

…you can either avoid it…over power it…or harness it.

Try this cool tip -find out where you stand

I’ll keep you in the loop with more golf tips.

For better golf…

Doc O’Leary
Head Golf Nut, OHP

Shaft Tilt Drill

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Alright, here’s a simple video tip from golf pro Les Johnson
that’ll show you how to add more power and distance to all your
shots…by simply focusing on ‘ONE-FINGER’. That’s right…

Okay…Your club has a payload of power already
waiting inside of it.

It’s just that most golfers ‘un-load’ their power
waay before they get to the ball…Simple to fix!

The key is not to allow this’ONE-FINGER’ to “disconnect” from
the shaft by activating the arms and hands during the down-stroke.
Look…”speeding up your hands” and throwing the clubhead at the
ball is killing all your power and distance.

Forget it… it doesn’t work.

Watch this cool video tip to stop killing all your power…

If you would like to purchase Les Johnson’s High Thrust Power Video Package, simply click on the link below.

Les Johnson’s High Thrust Power

Til next time… for better golf.

Doc O’Leary
Head Golf Nut, OHP Golf

Impact Zone Training

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Hello again, it’s Doc…Good News — another golf video tip for you
from golf pro Bill McKinney to tap greater distance & power from your
swing — and learn to consistently find the “sweet-spot” at impact…

What Bill has for you is (1) the easiest secret to hitting longer
and straighter drives you’ve ever seen.

Well, guess what?

All great ‘ball-strikers’ have one thing in COMMON…
…perfect impact alignments — forward lean at the moment of truth.

You see, most handicap golfers on the other hand get too eager to hit
the ball with the clubhead, Closing the club face too early. The result
is that the wrists breakdown before impact (something called “throw-away”). The “Hackers” trademark…

Okay…focus on cleaning up your impact conditions — and you’ll
see your swing improve quickly.

Do yourself a favor…Try It Out!

Simply train your hands where they need to be at impact
with Bill’s “Impact Zone Training” drill. Pre set the club at release
point, move through impact into follow-through. As you make contact
the clubhead will naturally “lag” behind your hands. This is a
great drill to do in the back yard with plastic practice balls
and it forces you to keep you right wrist bent at impact.

To discover more: Click On This Link

Till next time… for better golf.

Doc
Head Golf Nut, OHP