Slick Greens – Smooth out the Stroke – Andrew Baines

It happens every summer, the superintendant double cuts and rolls the greens just before the club championship. All of a sudden, your putts are just racing by the hole. To help, place a nickel in the back cavity of your putter and make some putts. Did the nickel fall off? Most likely. We want to achieve a nice smooth tempo with the putting stroke. Now hit some putts, focusing on keeping the nickel in place. By keeping the nickel in place we have created a much smoother swing, that will help us achieve better distance control when the greens get slick.

Your divot tells a story - Andrew Baines

The shape, depth and direction of your divot can tell you a lot about your swing and the shot you just hit.
Your divot should be fairly shallow and not to deep. A deep divot is often the result of a steep swing which could cause a wrist injury. If your swing is steep, try swinging the golf club more like a baseball bat, to get a more rounded swing.
The direction of your divot can tell a story as well. For a right handed golfer, if your divot points out to the left, the ball probably went right as a result. This is because the club cut across the ball and imparted side spin on the ball – the classic “over the top” move.
A divot that is heel deep will result in a shot that went left, and a divot toe deep is a shot that went right. Being able to analyze your divot will tell you a lot about your swing.