What The Best Golf Players Do – 5 Tips 

Golf can be challenging , that’s for sure. But it can also be extremely rewarding, both mentally and physically. The sense of achievement you get from sinking that perfect putt, or hitting that drive down the middle of the fairway is unlike any other sport.

Have you ever wondered what the Best Golf Players do? Or even what it is that separates the best from the rest?

The best golfers in the world make it look easy, but we all know that it’s not. It took them years of hard work and dedication to get to where they are today.

Let’s break it down to the 5 main things that the best golfers do, that you can too!

1. Driver

Callaway Paradym X vs Cobra LTDx

The driver is only golf club in the bag that you actually hit up on, you hit it in a sweep motion. The tour players would describe it as an attack angle . It means that you hit up on the ball and sweep it through the impact zone.

The best golfers in the world, they actually have a really big shoulder turn and they have a really big hip turn. They don’t necessarily use their arms that much. Their shoulders and hips are doing most of the work.

What most of the amateur golfers do is they do not sweep up on the ball. They hit down on the ball and they are using their arms too much. This then results in slice, cut, or hooks.

Tour players hit up on the ball, using their shoulders and hips to create speed, rather than using just their arms.

Driver Tips

Rick Shiels Posing, Hitting a driver

Credit – Rick Shiels Instagram

There are few tips that the tour players such as Tommy Fleetwood work on to make sure they hit the ball in the fairway more often.

The main focus when at the driving range is to work on an attack angle. The ball position plays an important part, if you are usually hitting down on the ball put the ball further forward in your stance.

By doing this, it will help you to hit up on the ball and create that speed that is needed.

Move your right foot further away from the golf ball, this will help you to make a bigger shoulder and hip turn.

Rick Shiels Hitting a Driver at Royal Liverpool Golf Course

Credit – Rick Shiels Instagram

When you make a bigger turn it results in more speed. The left foot should be slightly open to help you achieve the correct body position at impact.

Keep your head behind the ball, keeping it centred and creating this up sweep motion rather than downswing motion.

The good exercise for the driver is putting a tee peg in front of the ball to try and miss the tee peg, so you are forcing yourself to hit up on the ball.

2. Irons

The way you normally hit the irons is the opposite direction to how you hit the driver. With the irons you are trying to hit down on the ball and sweep it through the impact zone.

The idea behind this is that if you are hitting down on the ball, you will compress the ball, and as a result, it will go further.

Golf Irons 3 - PW

Most of the beginner golfers, they try and hit up on the ball, just like they do with the driver. This then results in a thin shot or a top. They don’t trust the loft and they try and help the ball in to the air.

Lots of Tour players talk about feeling the ground and really getting the weight transfer from the right side, through to the left side as they are hitting down on the ball.

PXG 0311 Iron

When you make a good contact with the ball, and you are hitting down on it, you will actually hear a much purer sound.

The ball will come out hot off the club face as well. Whereas if you are hitting up on it, it will come off thin and you’ll get that clicking noise.

Iron Tips

One of the things that the Tour players work on is to make sure they are using their body weight to help them compress the ball at impact.

When you have your set up, make sure the ball is in the centre of your stance and that you are slightly leaning towards the target.

Golf Shot

Step in through the down swing and make sure the club is travelling down the line, so that you are hitting down on the ball.

The club should be coming from the inside and you want to make a consistent divot.

The weight should be transferred from your right foot, through to your left foot as you are making contact with the golf ball.

This will help you to hit down on the ball and compress it, making the ball go further. Strike ball first, ground after.

3. Chipping

What we keep forgetting around the green is to plan the shot. If you are looking at hitting the ball close to the hole, you need to read the shot first.

Plan the shot and look where you want to land the ball.

Golf Balls on Practice Green

Check the lie of the ball, is it sitting up nicely or is it in the rough? The angle of attack will be different depending on the lie of the ball.

Select your club and commit to the shot. Imagine you are drawing a line from the hole to the ball and take your set up.

Golf Course - Clubhouse

Your weight should be on your left-hand side and make a smooth back and through motion, rather than hitting at the ball.

Plan the shot, be positive!

Tommy Fleetwood

The club should be travelling up the line that you have imagined, so that you are making a nice consistent contact with the ball.

4. Distances

Do you know your distances? One of the things that all good players work on is their yardage. They know how far they hit each club and they make sure they are practising with that in mind.

Cobra Ltdx Improved Yardages

Knowing how far you hit the ball with all your clubs will help you so much on the golf course.

It will help you to pick the right club for the shot that you have to hit. It’s also a great way to improve your scoring.

Do some simple yardage tests, so that next time you are out on the golf course, you know exactly how far you can hit each shot.

A number of golfers can hit it straight but they don’t know the yardages.

Be Realistic

A good tip is to be a realistic with your distances . If you are a high handicapper, don’t expect to be hitting the ball as far as the Tour players.

They have been doing this for many years and they have spent hours on the range perfecting their craft.

What is a Mulligan in Golf

It’s important to be realistic with your yardage, so that you can make good decisions on the golf course.

If you are hitting the ball shorter than the Tour players, make sure you take that in to account when you are making your decision on which club to hit.

5. Putting

Putting is one of the most important aspects of the game and it’s something that all the Tour players work on. They know that if they can putt well, they will give themselves a good chance of winning golf tournaments.

Golf Putting

There are a few things you can do to improve your putting. Firstly, make sure you have a good routine. Read the green, plan your shot and take your time. It’s important to be patient over the putt.

Do a couple of practice putts and then take your time over the shot. Make sure you have a smooth stroke and follow through.

What do The Best Players do After the Round?

It is imperative that you analyse your game after you have played. It’s so easy to just forget about it and move on to the next round, but if you want to improve your game, you need to analyse what went well and what didn’t go well.

A good tip is to keep a golf journal. In this journal, you can write down all your thoughts after the round. This will help you to track your progress and see what areas you need to work on.

It’s also a good idea to get a lesson from a PGA Professional . They will be able to give you some pointers on what you need to work on.

A great piece of advice from Tommy Fleetwood is to try and remember your three best shots from your round. This will help you to focus on the positive aspects of your game and it will give you something to build on for your next round.

Tommy Fleetwood’s 5 IMPORTANT golf tips!
The Golf Bandit
The Golf Bandit

Hi, I'm Jan. I love golf and I have been playing for a while now. I really enjoy trying out new golf clubs and equipment, and like to review them on my blog. I consider myself lucky as I have access to the latest clubs and gadgets, so I can get a feel for how they perform on the golf course. I also like to share my tips and tricks on how to improve your game, so if you're looking for help with that then look no further! Thanks for visiting, and I hope you find something useful here.

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