5 Instant Golf Tips to Make You a Better Golfer

Here are some tips you can try out the next time you visit one of the most scenic golf course in Pattaya, the Waterside Course at Siam Country Club.

Everyone gets frustrated with their golf game at some point in their development as a golfer. There are so many facets and techniques to the game that getting them all in sync with each other seems to be next to impossible for many beginning golfers.

But by keeping them in mind and practising them over and over, they can become second nature as you develop muscle memory. Once you are practising these aspects consistently, you’ll see your handicap start to drop over time.

The key is to develop good habits from the beginning. This means being able to identify what works for you out of all the advice you’ve been given. Once you’ve hit that perfect tee shot, chip shot or putt, stop and examine what you did and keep trying to emulate it from then on.

This examination process is also one of the keys to becoming a better golfer more quickly. Once you’ve eliminated all the bad habits from your golf game, you’ll find your scores getting ever closer to that elusive par score.

 

Attaining the Perfect Grip

A bad habit of golf pros is only to teach beginners the type of grip that works for them. There are actually three types of grip: interlocking, overlapping, and the baseball-style grip.

You should try out all three until you find the one that is most comfortable and gives you the best results. The biggest problem that most beginner golfers have is that they either grip the club too tightly or too loosely.

Once you’ve found a grip that feels comfortable and gives you the results you want most of the time, focus on the right amount of pressure applied to the club to straighten out errant shots.

Ideally, you want to see two knuckles on your left hand (if you’re a right-handed golfer) and just one knuckle on your left hand as you look down at your grip. A strong grip is one where you’ll see more than two knuckles on your left hand, and a weak grip is one where you can see only one knuckle on your left hand and a few knuckles on your right hand.s

Grips that are too tight tend to hook the ball to the left, and grips that are too weak tend to slice the ball to the right.

 

Hitting the Ball Off the Tee

Becoming consistent off the tee is the next aspect of the game you should work on. Your tee shot dictates a lot of how you’ll perform on a hole, so you want to be as consistent as you can to give you the best chance of making par.

Use your power, but don’t try to kill the ball. This may not make perfect sense at first, but using your power in a controlled manner will provide you with the best results.

Approach your tee shot in a methodical manner. Try to visualise the way your body moves on your backswing and when your left arm is parallel to the ground, begin to transition to your swing. You’ll find that the momentum of the club will continue to rise for a bit, and that’s okay.

Don’t think an exaggerated backswing will help you achieve more distance. Too much of a backswing will cause you to lose accuracy. The goals here are accuracy and distance. By practising a short, powerful stroke, you’ll be more likely to stay in control of your tee shots, and you’ll slowly see your distance increase.

 

Chipping Effectively

Many beginning golfers get it in their heads that because irons are slightly easier to hit effectively than woods, less practice is needed with them. The pros, on the other hand, will spend just as much time practising their chipping as they practice their driving.

The fact is that you’ll need to practice much more variety of shots in your chipping to develop a well-rounded game. One of the best methods to approach this essential practice is to make a game out of it with your golfing friends.

Create a variety of situations and lies, then compete with them on chipping from a distance, chipping from the rough, creating backspin when you chip, chipping from a bunker and chipping for accuracy within a circle. The competitive aspect will make the time fly by, and you’ll improve your game immensely.

 

Useful Bunker Techniques

There are a few bunker shot techniques that you’ll also need to practice if you want to avoid the frustration of being mired in a bunker adding strokes to your score while your golf companions wait for you on the green.

Splash shots are shots where the goal is simply to get out of the bunker. The basic technique is to hit the ball with an open clubface. But many golfers aim left in the mistaken idea that this opens up the clubface. But depending on how low your hands are, you can actually be closing the clubface.

The position of your ball should be on a line with your left heel, with a lot of weight shifted to your left foot to lock you into the best position. By putting your weight forward over the ball, you’ll be able to get the low part of the wedge under the ball and have a lot more success at getting out of the bunker on your first shot.

Short, or plugged bunker shots are for when your lie is close to the lip of the bunker. You’re trying to lift the ball over the lip of the bunker. To master this shot, you should aim a little left and have a very short follow-through that ends almost under the ball.

Position your hands a bit forward and low, around knee-height. This helps you cock your wrists at the point of impact. Your wrists will be providing you with the power to achieve the steep angle of attack you need to clear the lip of the bunker.

The chunk and run technique is used for bunkers that are a fair distance from the green. In this technique, you should close the face of the club and aim to the right. You also need to hit the ball a bit hard.

This will generate a lot of overspin and cause the ball to come out of the bunker low and run up toward the green.

 

Putting Consistently

Consistency inputting should be your main goal on the green. Good golfers address the ball and swing the putter the same way every single time whether they’re hitting the ball hard or soft. Place your feet at shoulder width, parallel to the ball’s line of travel and address the ball slightly forward of centre between your feet.

Develop your green reading ability and use this to determine where you aim your putts and how hard you hit the ball. Once you develop an automatic method of putting, and a good ability to read the greens, you’ll begin putting much more effectively.

 

Work on Your Game at Siam Country Club

Spend a day at Siam Country Club just working on your game at the club’s driving ranges, chipping ranges, and practice putting greens. Then, enjoy the results of this practice when you play their three championship golf courses, the Old Course, the Plantation Course, the Waterside Course and the newest golf course in Pattaya, the Rolling Hills.

Call them to make a tee time and make an entire weekend out of improving your game.