Jay Morelli - 365 Golf Tips & Tricks From the Pros

GOLF TIPS

& TRICKS

FROM THE PROS

GOLF TIPS

& TRICKS

FROM THE PROS

EDITED BY JAY MORELLI,

Director of The Original Golf School

PHOTOGRAPHY BY BRUCE CURTIS

An Imprint of Sterling Publishing

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New York, NY 10016

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2013 Bruce Curtis Enterprises

Photo credits:

courtesy of LLC Val Thoermer

courtesy of LLC janprchal

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without prior written permission from the publisher.

ISBN 978-1-4027-9380-6

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

365 golf tips & tricks from the pros / edited by Jay Morelli; photography by Bruce Curtis.

p. cm.

Includes index.

ISBN 978-1-4027-8813-0 (pbk.)ISBN 978-1-4027-9380-6 (ebook)

1. GolfHandbooks, manuals, etc. I. Morelli, Jay. II. Title: Three hundred sixty-five golf tips and tricks from the pros.

GV965.A18 2013

796.3523dc23

2012019262

For information about custom editions, special sales, and premium and corporate purchases, please contact Sterling Special Sales at 800-805-5489 or specialsales@sterlingpublishing.com.

Manufactured in China

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CONTENTS

Golf is a sport that requires knowledge as well as good fundamentals. I feel the most valuable knowledge can be gained from the PGA teaching pros at the golf schools across the country. At school, you live and breathe golf. You receive good information and swing corrections as well as positive reinforcement. This total-immersion approach increases a players understanding of the game, and there is no substitute for a very good teacher, whether in a private lesson or at a golf school. So Ive gathered 365 of the most valuable tips from more than sixty of the most talented and knowledgeable teaching pros in the United States, along with others with insight into the game, and put them in this book. From knowing the rule book and the etiquette of the game to chip shots, sand play, putting, and more, 365 Golf Tips & Tricks from the Pros gives you the hands-on tips and advice from the pros who make thousands of golfers each year better at their game. Now its your turn.

Jay Morelli, Director of the Original Golf School

THE RULE BOOK

Kate Baker, LPGA Teaching Pro, Pebble Beach, California, and the Greens at Half Hollow, Melville, New York

Its important to play by the United States Golf Association (USGA) Rules of Golf. The Rules of Golf are the only way you can accurately determine your score. If you play fast and loose with the rules, youll never know if your game has improved. Adhering to the rules gives you an accurate barometer of your game. You can purchase an official rule book from the USGA at www.usga.org/PublicationsStore/. Remember that there are more free lifts in the rules than there are penalties.

OWN A RULE BOOK

Kate Baker, LPGA Teaching Pro, Pebble Beach, California, and the Greens at Half Hollow, Melville, New York

The best advice I can give is to have a copy of the USGAs Rules of Golf in your bag. Somewhere along the way you will be in a competition with someone who is, or thinks he is, a rules expert. If a violation is called on you, the best move is to take out the Rules of Golf and have him point out the infraction to you. If he is correct, you learn something. If you are correct, he learns something and you save a few strokes.

LEARN THE RULES

Kate Baker, LPGA Teaching Pro, Pebble Beach, California, and the Greens at Half Hollow, Melville, New York

The Rules of Golf may not be the most interesting reading in the world, but its a worthwhile investment of your time and money. To learn quickly, read the Definitions and Etiquette sections. They are the basis of the Rules of Golf. If you understand these sections, you will be far ahead of golfers who have played for years.

HOW GOLF RULES EVOLVED

Kate Baker, LPGA Teaching Pro, Pebble Beach, California, and the Greens at Half Hollow, Melville, New York

In the early days of golf, all play was match play. One player or team played against another player or team. Rules did not have to be consistent, as their play would not affect other players on the course. As competition changed to medal or stroke play, rules had to be consistent. The playing field had to be level. The player with an 8:00 tee-off time had to play under the same conditions as the player who had a 10:00 tee-off time.

ONE CLUB LENGTH OR TWO?

Kate Baker, LPGA Teaching Pro, Pebble Beach, California, and the Greens at Half Hollow, Melville, New York

Sometimes we are entitled to free relief (moving or dropping the ball away from an obstruction without incurring a penalty); other times the ball is in a hazard and we choose to drop from the hazard. Simply put, the rule is that when we are taking free relief, such as from casual water or from a cart path, we get relief and one club length. When we have to take a penalty stroke, we get two club lengths from the margin of the hazard.

WHERE DO I DROP FROM A LATERAL WATER HAZARD?

Mark Brown, PGA Director of Golf, Tam OShanter Club, Brookville, New York

Lateral water hazards are marked by red stakes or paint. There are actually five options:

1. Play the ball as it lies.
2. Play the ball under the penalty of stroke and distance.
3. Drop behind the hazard where the ball last crossed the margin of the hazard line, keeping that point in line with the hole with no limit to how far behind that point the ball may be dropped.
4. Drop within two club lengths from the point of entry into the hazard.
5. Drop two club lengths from the opposite margin, equidistant from the hole.

RELIEF FROM IMMOVABLE OBSTRUCTIONS

Kate Baker, LPGA Teaching Pro, Pebble Beach, California, and the Greens at Half Hollow, Melville, New York

An immovable obstruction is an artificial or human-made object you cannot move. You get relief if the immovable obstruction interferes with your stance or swing. To take relief, find the nearest point where the obstruction does not interfere with your swing or stance. Drop the ball within one club length of that point, no closer to the hole. You must take complete relief from the obstruction.