Neil Tappin is joined by PGA Professional Alex Elliott look at the keys to breaking one of golf's biggest milestones - 100. Alex offers some simple guidance on how think while you are out on the course, what to practice and he also offers some practical advice on the shots you'll need to develop. These tips are designed to be simple and achievable for any golfer looking to break 100.
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00:00 - Hello and welcome to the London Club.
00:02 Now in this video, we have 10 top tips
00:06 that are going to help you break 100.
00:08 - We'll look at everything from what clubs
00:10 you have in your bag, some mental tips,
00:12 and how to get out of trouble.
00:13 - Yeah, let's head out onto the golf course
00:15 here at the London Club and look at our first tip
00:17 on our list.
00:18 So the first tip on our list, number 10,
00:25 is about relaxing between shots.
00:27 Now golf is, for a lot of people, myself included,
00:29 quite stressful at times.
00:31 - I can join that club.
00:32 - Yeah, but it's crucial that you don't get
00:34 kind of caught up and trying to focus
00:36 for large periods, isn't it?
00:38 - Yeah, I mean like golf's one of them sports
00:40 we perceive there's a lot to think about over the shot,
00:42 and for some time, there is.
00:44 So it's about concentrating at the right point.
00:47 - Okay, so how do you do it then?
00:48 How do you switch off?
00:49 'Cause that's the key, isn't it?
00:50 - We've seen a trend of all top players now,
00:52 they have like one of their best friends on the bag
00:54 or a companion on the bag.
00:56 So having someone that you can relate to
00:57 and talk to is key.
00:58 Now for most of us, we don't have a caddy.
01:00 - I don't have a caddy.
01:01 - But we play with our friends on the weekend, right?
01:02 - Yeah.
01:03 - So having a chat with them whilst walking around
01:05 from the tee to the green,
01:07 and then when you get close to your ball,
01:09 then switch off.
01:09 - Yeah.
01:10 - Not having to concentrate for four and a half hours,
01:12 you're just doing 30 to 40 second stints.
01:14 - And I guess it's important to remember this,
01:16 particularly when you start to get nervous,
01:18 you've got a good score going,
01:19 maybe with a few holes to go.
01:19 - I can imagine this shot,
01:21 one of the last few holes here in your round,
01:23 you've missed the rear end of par three,
01:24 it's a difficult chip.
01:25 You want to be fully concentrated on it.
01:27 - Yeah, you could have been thinking about it
01:28 for five minutes while you're walking here,
01:29 it's maybe not a great preparation.
01:31 - No, definitely not.
01:32 - Yeah, so a really simple tip,
01:33 try and focus when you need to,
01:35 and relax when you don't need to be concentrating.
01:38 (upbeat music)
01:40 So the next tip for golfers looking to break 100
01:45 is to avoid three putting.
01:46 Okay, we all do it,
01:47 it doesn't matter what handicap you are,
01:48 everyone does it.
01:50 But Alex, what do you think the mistakes are
01:52 that cost people in this scenario?
01:54 - I think when we get to a distance like we've got now,
01:56 we just sort of go into the green,
01:58 oh yeah, it's about this, hit the put away.
02:00 A bit of auto-pilot comes into play.
02:02 - Yes, so we've put up some alignment sticks
02:05 around the flag,
02:07 and what are you trying to do then from here?
02:09 - All I want you to focus on is getting it inside
02:11 that bin lid, that three foot range,
02:13 where actually we make our next put
02:16 as stress-free as possible.
02:17 - Okay, go on then, so explain to us.
02:20 - So this is a little bit uphill, right to left,
02:22 so I know I'm aiming a little bit right of the hole,
02:24 I'm trying to diet into that space.
02:26 I always picture that ball dying near the hole,
02:29 not accelerating too far past.
02:31 - Yeah, okay.
02:32 Perfect, I mean this just shows you,
02:40 if you can get the pace right,
02:40 the odd one will drop in the hole,
02:42 but the crucial point is,
02:44 scenarios like this, make them stress-free,
02:45 get it down in two, you'll keep the score ticking over.
02:48 Tip number eight is so important,
02:55 and it's about developing a fairway finder.
02:58 So every golf course you'll ever play,
03:00 there will be holes on that course
03:02 that you don't fancy the look of off the tee.
03:04 You're worried about losing the ball off the tee,
03:05 or you're just worried about hitting a bad shot.
03:07 So every golfer needs to find a fairway finder.
03:10 - Yep. - How do you do it, Alex?
03:11 - I think there's sort of two scenarios
03:13 we can look at here.
03:14 Doing it with a driver, preferably.
03:16 Now if you're not comfortable with driver,
03:17 finding a club, like maybe a fairway would,
03:20 that allows you to hit that fairway
03:21 and you've got more confidence.
03:23 But I guess the main thing is,
03:24 is just go in the range,
03:26 finding a swing with some nice rhythm,
03:28 with a club, that gives you a repeatable shot.
03:31 - Okay, so what are you going to,
03:32 how are you going to do it? - Well,
03:33 I'm going down that route of,
03:34 I think most golfers have a bit of a
03:36 love-hate relationship with driver.
03:38 But their fairway would, their five would,
03:39 their three would, it's probably something
03:41 that they get on with more often than not.
03:43 - Okay. - Just because it's
03:44 a bit shorter, a bit more loft.
03:45 - Okay, so what's the swing thought
03:47 that you would have when you're a fairway,
03:49 like a hole like this, bunkers everywhere, tricky shot.
03:51 What's the fairway finding swing for you?
03:53 - I just put my seven iron rhythm on it.
03:56 - Okay. - So, for me,
03:58 getting good rhythm gives me a better chance
04:00 of squaring that face,
04:01 with driver, I'm more prone to giving it a bit of a welly.
04:04 - Yes. - So, rhythm is key,
04:06 and don't over-complicate it too much.
04:08 Most people, if you're balanced through the shot,
04:11 you're going to hit a better shot
04:12 than if you're unbalanced.
04:13 - Okay, well show us your seven iron rhythm then,
04:15 with your clover. - So I have two
04:16 practice swings.
04:17 One.
04:21 (club thuds)
04:22 Two.
04:23 Most people are comfortable with seven iron, right?
04:25 And we're in.
04:26 Count for the wind a little bit,
04:28 it's off the left today.
04:30 Then put that rhythm on.
04:31 - Yeah, very good.
04:35 I think, actually, it doesn't really matter
04:38 what the club is or what the swing thought is,
04:40 but the key thing is, you need to practice it,
04:42 you need to go to the range, you need to groove it,
04:44 so that when you are stood in a position like this,
04:47 it's not alien, it's not new to you,
04:49 you've done it before, you've repeated it,
04:51 and then you might just produce a shot like that one.
04:53 (upbeat music)
04:56 So this one is about bag setup
04:59 and the clubs that you choose to carry.
05:01 Alex, what's the advice here for people?
05:03 - I think really nice and simple,
05:04 I prefer most golfers to carry a five wood over a three wood,
05:08 a little bit more loft, a little bit shorter club,
05:10 and then hybrids over long irons,
05:12 just a little bit more forgiving.
05:14 - Yeah, I mean, it's that simple.
05:16 If you can do those things, you should find a setup
05:17 that's just that bit more forgiving,
05:19 that's going to let you get away with the odd dodgy swing
05:22 and not going to cost you too much
05:23 while you're out on the course.
05:25 (upbeat music)
05:27 Okay, so number six on our list is about pressure
05:32 and how you handle pressure on the golf course.
05:34 It's something that we all need to do,
05:36 it might well be the first tee shot's
05:38 incredibly nerve-wracking,
05:39 but then there's also going to be holes like this one.
05:42 This is the ninth hole here
05:43 at the Heritage Course at London Club,
05:45 really tough par four.
05:46 And you might want to go for your fairway finder, Alex,
05:48 we've already discussed,
05:49 but equally you might want to just hit driver
05:51 'cause it's such a tough hole.
05:53 In this scenario, when you need to do it most,
05:56 what can we do to hit a good shot?
05:58 - That's the golden nugget, isn't it?
05:59 - Yeah.
06:00 - Well, I mean, if we're looking to break 100, right,
06:02 this scenario here, we're probably going to have two shots.
06:05 So that's going to hopefully calm us down a little bit.
06:07 But the key thing here is,
06:08 is not just to pick your club, rush,
06:10 and just get it over and done with
06:11 because you don't feel comfortable.
06:13 - Yes, which I have definitely done in my past, for sure.
06:16 And if we actually look at golf,
06:17 we want to be in scenarios where we're playing good golf
06:20 and we're not feeling comfortable
06:21 'cause that means we're doing something different,
06:22 we're playing well, right?
06:23 - Right, okay.
06:24 - So I want you to think about aiming really small.
06:26 So if you aim really at a small target
06:28 rather than just a general fairway,
06:30 if you just miss a small target by a little bit,
06:32 you're still going to be okay.
06:33 - So we're going to talk later in this video
06:34 about how to aim, but in this particular scenario,
06:37 what are you aiming at?
06:39 And what's your kind of miss, I guess?
06:42 - So for example here, trouble looks to be more left.
06:45 So I'm going to take something that's a very small target
06:48 to the right of the trouble.
06:49 - Okay.
06:50 - So I'm going to hone really in small.
06:51 So if I take this tree straight down,
06:53 I've got the one that sticks up a little bit more,
06:55 I'm going to use that.
06:56 I know if I miss just a little bit left, I'm okay,
06:58 but equally, if I miss just a little bit right,
07:00 I'm still okay as well.
07:01 - Okay, so aim small, miss small,
07:04 still end up on the fairway.
07:06 - Exactly, exactly.
07:06 - Let's see if it works, Alex.
07:09 - Here we go.
07:10 (club smacks)
07:15 - Bingo, it's like cut off that mark,
07:17 middle of the fairway, no trouble.
07:19 Aiming small, it really is very important
07:21 and it could help you in a scenario like this.
07:24 (upbeat music)
07:26 This one is all about club selection.
07:30 And I think, Alex, we've chosen this particular hole
07:33 here at the London Club for a very good reason.
07:34 So we've got water short of the green
07:37 and most golfers would know in this scenario to do what?
07:40 - Take one club more, avoid going short.
07:42 - Yes, and the problem is that how often
07:44 do you take the same approach on holes
07:46 where there is a water short,
07:47 but there is other trouble like bunkers
07:49 or other things that might be short of the green?
07:50 - Well, where do most club golfers finish,
07:52 even on a good strike?
07:53 Short, right? - Yes.
07:54 - So they don't take that advice.
07:55 So what we're saying here is,
07:57 think that you're always in a scenario like this.
07:59 Like there's water short or the trouble short,
08:02 put the bunker in the same category,
08:03 take one more club and make sure you're in the green.
08:05 - Yes, so that you are avoiding failing to carry
08:08 the front of the green, which is the kind of,
08:10 the big mistake I think a lot of players make, right?
08:12 - Exactly.
08:13 - So Alex, you've got 153. - Three.
08:15 - And you would usually hit--
08:17 - Seven iron, usually.
08:18 - So I will look for your six iron.
08:20 There you go.
08:21 - Thank you.
08:22 - Now, being a pro, I expect this to finish close to the flag.
08:26 - Feel a bit of pressure.
08:27 And even this is a tough one, the wind into as well,
08:29 you might have to adjust that even further sometimes.
08:32 - Lovely contact.
08:38 Very good shot.
08:39 But has it made the green?
08:41 Yes, pin high.
08:42 (upbeat music)
08:45 So number four on our list is developing the punch shot.
08:50 Being able to hit a shot when you're in a scenario
08:53 like this.
08:53 - Yeah.
08:54 - How do you play it?
08:55 - So essentially, if you want the ball to go lower,
08:57 we need to lower the loft of our club,
09:00 so use less loft, lower the loft of our club at impact,
09:03 and hit down on it more.
09:04 That's going to lower the launch.
09:06 - Okay, so set up for the ball then,
09:08 explain to me what you do at address.
09:09 - So how I would do with this is I would put the ball
09:11 towards the back of my stance,
09:13 that allows me to hit down it more.
09:15 I'd grip down on it.
09:16 Now with that ball going towards the back of my stance,
09:18 that's going to encourage a bit more forward shuffling,
09:21 taking some loft off the club.
09:22 Now all I want you to feel is you're going to keep your
09:24 weight left throughout,
09:26 and just make a bit of a slower swing.
09:27 And I always like to feel it's more of like a curtailed
09:30 follow through with my chest pointing to target,
09:33 rather than this nice full follow through on a full shot.
09:36 - Okay, go on then, let's have a look at it.
09:38 - So this is a real toughie actually,
09:40 because we're not too far from the green.
09:41 So I've gone eight iron and I'm trying to picture that ball
09:44 flying through this window here, down and running up.
09:47 - Yeah.
09:48 - So ball back, hands forward, grip down.
09:51 - Well it clipped the tree, but it's fine.
09:58 You know, as Alex said, it's a really tricky shot.
10:00 And I think the key thing is,
10:01 often in a scenario like this,
10:03 the punch shot is really important,
10:05 but it's about getting yourself back into place.
10:07 So not trying to do too much with it,
10:08 just get yourself back in the game
10:10 and then take it from there.
10:12 The punch shot is a really important shot for golfers,
10:14 no matter what their handicap.
10:16 Okay, so number three on our list.
10:22 It's a simple one, but it's so important.
10:24 It's knowing exactly how to aim the club.
10:27 Alex, what's the advice here?
10:28 - I mean, what I think is, is always come into the range
10:31 and pressing the reset button occasionally,
10:33 where you can get into bad habits that creep in
10:36 at time after time, aiming a little bit right,
10:38 or a little bit left,
10:39 and there's nothing worse than the right.
10:41 Ripping a swing, feeling an amazing swing,
10:43 out the middle, and the ball's just sailing
10:45 in the wrong direction.
10:46 - Yeah, and I guess the point here is that if you aim wrong,
10:48 then suddenly your swing path is out
10:50 and you can get other faults that creep into the game.
10:52 So it really is important to get this right.
10:54 - 100%, yeah.
10:55 - So how do you do it?
10:56 - So I always have a bit of a process.
10:58 I always come to the range and I'll place
11:00 one alignment stick down first,
11:02 that's my ball to target line.
11:03 So we've chosen this red flag down here.
11:06 I would then put my feet line,
11:07 which runs parallel to that.
11:09 Now, this is getting me to have two parallel lines.
11:11 On the golf course, if we're drawing or fading,
11:14 we would slightly aim different to that,
11:16 but use this as like a coming back to neutral reset button.
11:20 So now I can stand over here.
11:23 I've also used a line of a ball to extend that line,
11:26 address the ball, make sure everything's neutral.
11:29 And you know what?
11:30 It might feel like aiming a bit left,
11:31 or it might feel like aiming now a bit right,
11:33 but it's getting ball to target line,
11:35 then shoulders, feet, hips, and knees running parallel.
11:38 - Yeah, take pride in getting this part right.
11:40 If you do, it will definitely pay off.
11:43 (upbeat music)
11:45 Okay, so number two on our list
11:49 is to have two different short game shots up your sleeve.
11:53 Two that you feel really comfortable with.
11:54 One, Alex, is a chip and run.
11:56 You'll be able to find advice on how to hit the chip and run
11:58 on the Golf Monthly website.
11:59 Alex, I'm sure you'll have some content
12:00 on your YouTube channel about how to do it.
12:03 But we're now going to look at how to hit a bunker shot,
12:05 because this is so important.
12:06 You're going to face it.
12:07 - Yeah.
12:08 - A lot of golfers struggle with it.
12:09 So give us a tip, Alex.
12:10 - So first thing, choose your most lofted club.
12:13 I tend to buy wedges that have a lot of bouts.
12:16 This helps the club sort of glide through the sand.
12:19 Also, I think it's all to do with setup, really.
12:21 If we set up to this club correctly,
12:23 we've got a better chance of hitting it good.
12:25 So nice, quickly here, and simple.
12:27 Dig your feet in.
12:29 We've got ball position of club head inside a left heel.
12:31 We want to then grip it with the face open.
12:34 Sit down and left.
12:36 And all I want you to do is feel like
12:37 you're sliding that club underneath it with some speed.
12:41 - Okay, got it.
12:41 - Just like that.
12:42 - Yeah, and you'll notice, I mean,
12:49 Alex has swung at that really quite hard.
12:51 It's just popped it straight up into the air.
12:53 Loads of control, not gone very far.
12:56 It's a simple way to do it, but it does take some practice.
12:58 Put some time into it.
13:00 It will really pay off.
13:01 (upbeat music)
13:04 Okay, so our number one top tip for breaking 100,
13:09 Alex, is to break the round up into small segments.
13:13 Explain what people should be doing here.
13:15 - I mean, most people who are trying to break 100,
13:17 they'll go out there going, right, okay,
13:19 well I've got to do this and this on each nine.
13:21 And that whole focus is coming to that end score.
13:24 So breaking that round into six sets of three,
13:26 you can set yourself a target on those sets,
13:30 reset after one, go on the next.
13:32 - Right, okay, so it might well be
13:34 that you look at the first three holes
13:35 and think they're three of the hardest holes
13:36 on the golf course.
13:37 Try to get away from there
13:39 no more than four over par or something.
13:41 - Exactly like that.
13:41 But also, equally, if you have a bad set of three,
13:45 don't let that impact the nine holes.
13:47 'Cause most people go, oh, I'll reset after the ninth.
13:49 We'll start again on the 10th.
13:50 Reset after three, start again.
13:52 But equally, if you have a good set of three,
13:54 don't get too far ahead of yourself
13:55 and start trying to chase it even more.
13:57 - Yeah, so managing a score across 18 holes,
13:59 it's a lot to do.
14:01 Managing the same score over three hole chunks
14:03 is much more achievable.
14:05 Give it a go.
14:06 Okay, so that's our look at our top 10 tips to break 100.
14:10 Breaking 100, such an important barrier
14:12 that so many golfers are looking to get through.
14:15 If you can just do a few of those things that Alex said,
14:17 not many of them very technical,
14:19 all of them really, really useful, they should really help.
14:22 If you think there's anything that we've missed
14:23 that you have used in the past that really helped you,
14:26 leave some comments below.
14:27 We'd love to hear your thoughts.
14:28 But that's it for now from the London Club.
14:30 Thanks for watching.
14:31 We'll see you next time.
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