Golf Forums - Which single piece of advice most improved your game?

I have recently been playing some awful golf & couldn't figure out what was going wrong. I have always been a bit inconsistent but my game was getting worse. During a game last Monday (about half way through) A fellow player said "I can't believe how bent your left arm is when you swing!" I was a bit shocked because I thought I kept it straight. Now, I will always listen to any advice that is given, even from a 25 handicapper as he is. I started to really concentrate on keeping my left arm straight & started to hit the ball much more efficiently, and ended up with 18 points on the back 9. On Wednesday I played at my club, whilst still concentrating on keeping my arm straight I scored a massive 40 points (the best i'd scored since June) Now I'm not saying this will continue, but at the moment I am feeling a lot more confident about my game. I would like to say thanks to peter Walton for his comment, and would like to know if anyone else has had any single piece of advice, that has vastly improved their game. Get posting

the best piece of advice i have had revolves around the grip and it is to feel the knuckle on your right forefinger is pushing towards the target. When i took this on board recently my iron play improved no end. it really helps to keep the club square during the swing and at impact. It felt strange at first but the results were good. Thanks Mr Hogan!!

The best piece of advice I was given was 'Take up darts!'

Russ

Mine was " leave your driver in the car park "

It worked, my best ever round was scored wihout my driver.

KEEP YOUR HEAD DOWN

The best piece of advice I was given was imagine your mother in law is standing just where you want to land your ball, that was a few a years ago and it still works for me.

Like most of us, I slice the ball and during the summer it was getting progressively worse with each round - until it was pointed out that I was playing the ball 'in front' off my left foot. Something I knew that was a bad habit but it wasnt until it was pointed out that I realised how far I had let the ball creep forward in my stance. Once back 'inside' my front foot I saw a massive improvement - culminating in my handicap dropping from 17 to 15 (alas, now back to 16!). Still have a slice, actually more of a fade now but am hitting a lot more fairways!

A piece of advice that I was given about chipping has helped a great deal - and people I've passed it on to have also said they found it useful.
When chipping  from around the green, imagine there is a low coffee table a couple of feet in front of the ball. When you play the ball, try and play it UNDER the coffee table. This ensures that you strike down and don't try to 'help' the ball up.

The best advice I was given - that improved my game the most - was at a recent golf school in Las Vegas.  They put me on video, and I was shocked at how vertical my swing plane was.  The pro got me swinging the club much more AROUND my spine angle, instead of up/down (I had the club up way too high near my neck on the backswing).  

Once I got the hang of it, not only did it improve my consistency with irons, it virtually eliminated my slice with the driver.

two pieces of advice :

1. The last movement before you start your swing should be to move your head to the right - this promotes a better shoulder turn for us more mature golfers. Jack Nicholas & Sam Snead both used this technique in their swing routine. I have found it helps me a great deal.

2. When standing over a putt longer than 6 feet - the last think I do in my routine is to look at the cup for about 3/4 seconds, then look down at the ball and hit the putt. I am a much better putter now I do this - the brain computes the distance control, it really does work.

 

The best piece of advice I have ever received was 'dont try to hit it too hard. Let the club do the work'
It has really helped me, granted I am quite a bit shorter than I was but at least the ball is now playable rather than in the lake, tree, ditch or wherever it went.
Thanks for that Tim

I know it's single bit of advice but all the members i've played with this week have given me advice, probably the most important is ENJOY the game but there was things like, i keep lifting my head far to early, my stance was on my back heels, regarding my short game 2 members one said use a high club just around the green and the other was in my grip with PW/SW and to bring my hands forward.

I put all this into practice today and i got my best score. 

Cheers Dan

My mate i play golf with always takes the p### so i think of him before i take my shots. he gave me some advise early on....
..head up swing fast..
Steve

I've had lots of 'single pieces of advice' most about swing plane stuff, which with my suspect back are often unusable BUT the single best piece of advice I received (courtesy of Duffy Divot) was when chipping, focus on the front of the ball to avoid 'chunking' and use a simple putting stroke to get the ball to the hole...

This has saved me shots around the green (on a good day) and there is no cost to implement...

whilst at the range and having just taken up the sport, i was hitting everything as hard as possible and the balls were flying everywhere, when this little old man came up to me and said

"you dont have to kill it, it's already dead". 

This made me slow the swing speed right down and I now hit the fairway on the odd occasion

For those short putts of 4 feet and under - listen for the ball to drop into the hole, don't look for it . My ratio of holing to missing has improved since I adopted this technique.

Hit down and through to the target.

Step One         Line Up Your Golf Ball
Tiger Woods does it. And the only reason Jack Micklaus never did it is because nobody had thought of it yet. I don't know who first thought of it, but they are a genius.
Think about like this. If you do not use a line on the ball to line up on your target line, there is no other visual reference. The line doesn't exist and you are left to a mental picure that is vague at best.
Fortunately, most ball makers are putting a line of sorts on their balls. But still, the more visible the line, the better. So get out your Sharpie and put something on that ball that really jumps out at you
And it will help if you practiced lining up the ball a little bit. You don't have to be at the golf course. Just point it at something on the carpet at the house. But don't let the word practice scare you. I just mean work on it for about five or ten minutes and you will have it mastered and ready for use at the golf course.
And, this is important, if you are not comfortable with the alignment of the ball once you get over the putt, back off a look at it again. Nobody is going to care and it only takes 10 seconds to do it. And most likely by the time you you stand back up to the putt it will look right. If it still doesn't look right, then it is wrong and you should realign the ball.
There is nothing that will improve your putting quicker than to create a physical visible reference to what has, up until now, been an imaginary line

Step Two            Focus on the Speed
Speed is KING! Put it in its proper place.
I work at a golf course and play with players of all levels. I myself shoot in the mid 70's. In my experience, speed is the biggest problem for most players when it comes to putting. The same players who spend a lot of time on the line hit the ball way to hard or too easy.
You should think hard about the speed and make a couple of practice strokes while you are standing behind the ball. I also find it helpful to look at the hole as I do this.
It is a matter of feeling the arm stroke required to get the ball into the hole. And you have to get feeling for the speed before you ever step over the putt. If you are trying to figure out the speed after you step over the putt, it is too late.
You have to commit to the speed before you get over the ball, and then establish the feel for the speed from your putting position with two or three practice strokes. Don't make the mistake of worrying about the path or anything else on your practice strokes. They are only for the speed.
Always remember that speed is crucial and should be your primary concern. You can't really read a putt if you don't have an idea of the speed to base the read on. And that's just another reason for speed to be on the top of your list of putting concerns.

Step Three             Follow the Line
You have lined up your golf ball, and committed to your speed. Now it is time to approach the ball and and get set up to hit the putt. Most people just waste the approach to the ball, when it can really be a beneficial few seconds.
The only thing that comes close to speed in importance is line, and it is a close second. By the time you have gotten behind the ball for a final look at the read, you should be comfortable and committed to the speed. As you take that final look at the read, follow the line on the ball for a final visual check.
You will likely have a few little steps to make as you walk up to take you stance. As you do, follow the line on the ball out to the area directly in front of the ball for a foot or so. Do this repeatedly until it is time to get lined up. When line up time comes, you will be very familiar with the line in front of the ball that it will eventually roll over on the way to the hole. It reinforces your perception of the line on the ball by extending that line in your minds eye. It also allows you get comfortable with the line so you will not have to second guess yourself while you are aiming the putter.

Have to ask - who was the "Deleted User" ?????

Some kind of golf guru, maybe ?

Anyone with any ideas

Tiger has a lot of time on his hands at the moment......?