John Hamarik's Tips of The Trades - Advice from a PGA Pro.

Prepare for Success

A good golf shot starts with proper preparation. Long term preparations include good equipment that fits you properly, good instruction that you can understand, and a good attitude that expects success in play. More immediate preparation includes an organized pre-shot routine. Often the difference between successful shots and successful days on the course is nothing more than the degrees to which you were organized in your pre-shot routine.

As you approach the ball you should be evaluating the lie of the ball, the type of stance you’ll have, any obstacles between your ball and its destination, and finally the distance to your target. Most of these evaluations take place while you are riding or walking up to your ball. If you have any remaining questions, always take a couple of extra clubs so you’ll have exactly what you need. Walk up to your ball from behind, stopping at least three to five feet behind it. This is a good time to make a practice swing, if you use one. Then make yourself see the shot in your mind, complete and successful . . . exactly the way you WANT it to look.

This is not the time to notice trouble like bunkers, water, out-of-bounds, etc. You should have observed all these potential obstacles in the planning of the shot. Once you are behind the ball visualizing the shot and picking your target line, you never again consider any trouble. You should be focused ONLY on what you EXPECT to happen.

While standing behind the ball, visually trace a line directly through the ball to the target, and from your target back to your golf ball. Find a spot on the line close to the ball. Keep that spot in mind. Next move to your hitting position, placing the club head behind the ball, facing the spot on your target line. Now simply face the imaginary line with your body, having your feet, knees, hips and shoulders square to that line while taking your address position. Remember, none of your body parts face or point to the target, only your club head.

Everything is aligned parallel to the target line.

Having prepared well, you now need to only to give yourself your one or two word cue phrase and swing with confidence. Even if you don’t hit the perfect shot, many times your miss will be so good that your scorecard will never show it as a miss. Remember, good golfers are measured as much by the quality of their misses as their good shots . . . and good preparation is a big key to making better misses!