Golf Tip Reviews

In this video post, we take a look at Camilo Villegas. But we are not going to try and pick apart his swing. And we are not going to discuss his wardrobe, his biceps, or his "Spider Man one-arm pushup" approach to reading greens. Rather, we are going to study something more mundane: his setup and alignment. Camilo is among the best at this, with textbook technique, and every Occasional Golfer can benefit by his example.

Watch his meticulous setup and preparation to hit his golf shot at the 2009 President's Cup:

Notice how he picks a definite, distant target to aim at, using his club as a visual guide to link his distant target and his close-in aiming point. Once he finds his close-in spot (at about 0:08), he never takes his eyes off the spot, and aligns his clubface and builds his stance around this spot (0:08 to 0:16). Only when he is certain of his alignment does he look one last time at his distant target (0:20). His stance is athletic, as if he about to sit on a bar stool. Then he finally pulls the trigger (0:25) and executes his shot.

His alignment and setup routine is methodical, repeatable, and meticulous. This, plus a whole lot of talent and hard work, surely contributes to Camilo's excellent stats.

You can't imitate Camilo's Spider Man method of reading greens without incurring serious chiropractic bills. But you can surely copy his setup and alignment routine the next time you play at your home course, or a new course found with golf course finder, or at the local driving range. Give it a try, I guarantee you will bring more consistency to your game!

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Symptom: You aim at the pin, no matter where it is on the green. After all, you're trying to get the ball in the hole, right? But, alas, often a well-struck shot ends up in the rough or the bunker, challenging your short game and costing you strokes.
Overview: Do not fire at the pin. Aim for the middle of the green instead.
Why it works: The essence of this tip is to manage your mistakes. If you take an aggressive line, and hit something other than a perfect shot (which happens a lot to Occasional Golfers), you put yourself in a very tough position around the green. Why do that? What are the odds of you sticking that ball within a few feet for a tap-in birdie? Why not aim for the middle of the green, or the fat part of the green, or whatever line gives you the best chance making sure your next shot is a putt and not a bunker shot or chip shot?

Often, I see Occasional Golfers who don't give the matter much thought. They see the flag, they aim at the flag, they fire at the flag. Indeed, that is what you do on the driving range, right? You aim at the flag. But that is the driving range, not the golf course. On the golf course you need to aim at a point that allows a less-than-perfect shot to avoid a major disaster. Don't allow this mental lapse to sabotage your game!

To hit the green with high probability, then, you will often need to play left or right of the flag. Be sure to pick something to aim at, and align your clubface to a spot on your target line. Then don't look at the flag again, look only at your intended target and your aiming point.

No matter how good you are at chipping and bunker shots, you are better off on the green! So stop firing at sucker pins! You'll be on the green more often, and you'll avoid those big, ugly numbers on your scorecard!

Please let us know if this tip works for you! Post a comment, email your friends, bookmark it, whatever!

Copyright 2010, GolfTipReviews.com, All Rights Reserved.