How to Become a Shotmaker - Golf Swing Tip (Video) - by Pete Styles
How to Become a Shotmaker - Golf Swing Tip (Video) - by Pete Styles

I always think that some of the most attractive golfers to watch on the golf course. The golf is that you would describe as shotmakers. You know Hogan was a shotmaker. Corey Pavin was a shotmaker, and Bubba Watson, the modern day shotmaker, and there's no surprise that people want to see Bubba Watson play. He doesn’t play the standard par 4 in the same boring fashion in 2 shot straight down the middle. He'll see every single shot as a curve one way or a curve another way drawing it off the tee, fading it into the green, and it's quite an attractive way to play and it will actually help you improve your golf.

If you the ability to shape the ball on demand, but also the knowledge and the understanding of how that ball flight is created and the way we do this really is just through sheer quality of practice, so just getting yourself down on the driving range, picking a club that you're quite comfortable with, and then setting yourself the challenge of how can I hit this ball straight, but higher. How can I hit it straight but lower work on the things that you're changing your swing to do that? Think about how you would draw the ball, and how you would fade the ball, and it’s a great way of helping you understand that if you see that shot by accident and it’s a problematic shot. Well, I now have to correct it. I know that if I have the ball too far back in my stance, my hand is too far ahead. I'm going to hit my 7-iron very low. That could be a nice shot because I was trying to punch it out under the trees and punch it into the wind. Likewise if I have the ball too far forwards in my stance, and my hand is too far back that's going to hit the ball very high and that might be quite useful if it wants to go over a tree for example. But it would be very detrimental if I was playing on the windy day and all like I can do is hit the ball straight up into the air all the time. Also if you have a good understanding of the ball flight laws what makes the ball draw? What make the ball curve? Whether it’s the relationship between the swing path and the club face whether it's hitting from the toe or the heel, if you have a good understanding about that, you can get yourselves out in the driving range. You can pick a mark and pull out that over 100 yards. Imagine that's a tree, and think I'm going to try and draw the ball around that tree onto the green or fade that ball around it the other way, and there's times when that's going to be useful to you on the golf course either playing around dog legs, or playing with, or against the wind or even towards or away from trouble and that's where the shotmakers will come into their own. They don’t always see a shot dead straight towards the green. They see as a draw or fade, a high shot or a low shot. Try and practice to become a shotmaker by working on the driving range then you'll see the benefits pay off next time you're on the golf course. 2013-09-16

I always think that some of the most attractive golfers to watch on the golf course. The golf is that you would describe as shotmakers. You know Hogan was a shotmaker. Corey Pavin was a shotmaker, and Bubba Watson, the modern day shotmaker, and there's no surprise that people want to see Bubba Watson play. He doesn’t play the standard par 4 in the same boring fashion in 2 shot straight down the middle. He'll see every single shot as a curve one way or a curve another way drawing it off the tee, fading it into the green, and it's quite an attractive way to play and it will actually help you improve your golf.

If you the ability to shape the ball on demand, but also the knowledge and the understanding of how that ball flight is created and the way we do this really is just through sheer quality of practice, so just getting yourself down on the driving range, picking a club that you're quite comfortable with, and then setting yourself the challenge of how can I hit this ball straight, but higher. How can I hit it straight but lower work on the things that you're changing your swing to do that?

Think about how you would draw the ball, and how you would fade the ball, and it’s a great way of helping you understand that if you see that shot by accident and it’s a problematic shot. Well, I now have to correct it. I know that if I have the ball too far back in my stance, my hand is too far ahead. I'm going to hit my 7-iron very low. That could be a nice shot because I was trying to punch it out under the trees and punch it into the wind.

Likewise if I have the ball too far forwards in my stance, and my hand is too far back that's going to hit the ball very high and that might be quite useful if it wants to go over a tree for example. But it would be very detrimental if I was playing on the windy day and all like I can do is hit the ball straight up into the air all the time. Also if you have a good understanding of the ball flight laws what makes the ball draw? What make the ball curve? Whether it’s the relationship between the swing path and the club face whether it's hitting from the toe or the heel, if you have a good understanding about that, you can get yourselves out in the driving range. You can pick a mark and pull out that over 100 yards.

Imagine that's a tree, and think I'm going to try and draw the ball around that tree onto the green or fade that ball around it the other way, and there's times when that's going to be useful to you on the golf course either playing around dog legs, or playing with, or against the wind or even towards or away from trouble and that's where the shotmakers will come into their own. They don’t always see a shot dead straight towards the green. They see as a draw or fade, a high shot or a low shot. Try and practice to become a shotmaker by working on the driving range then you'll see the benefits pay off next time you're on the golf course.