A helpful tip is to keep your hands loose while you swing, this will allow them to turn over and generate more swing speed which will help add spin to your ball.  This should be done on all shots not just when you are trying to spin the ball onto the green.

Even most pros do not spin the ball backwards on a level green.  Usually when you see the ball land and jumpbackwards 10 feet, it is because of a slope on the green.  While pros know how to alter their swing slightly to help them add a little more or less spin, it is not worth it for an amature to change their swing plane for an occasional shot, as this is most likely to end up as a very errant shot.  The moral for an amature is to concentrate on learning the correct swing plane and setup, and having a repeatable swing.  This will generate more than enough backspin and even if you are not generating enough to be “impressive” to you, remember that it is better to hit a consistent shot, even if it is not traditionally thought of as a “correct” shot shape, then to occasionally hit a correct shot and occasionally hit unpredictable shots. 

So learn the correct swing plane, work on your game, and concentrate on making consistent swings, and you will find that you can generate more spin than you ever thought possible when hitting into greens.

Personally, I find it to be one of the most fun shots to hit and I use it all the time.  When I was younger and hitting a ball around my yard, I obviously couldn’t take full swings or my neighbors cars would look like they were just in a severe hail storm.  Unfortunately though when your a 12 year old male you dont exactly have the self restraint of a robot..or person..or highly trained dolphin.  I think my pet cat had more control.  So when no one was looking obviously a couple  of balls may have found their way down the street; hey its great motivation to hit it straight.  And sometimes the neighbors probably thought Russia just hit their house with an ICBM.  If anyone hasn’t ever heard a ball off a driver hit a house 50 yards away let me tell you..Helen Keller could hear it, its louud.

So anyway the point is when my parents were home I couldn’t really tee it up.  But just chipping the ball around wasn’t really acceptable so I would compromise by taking full swings, but hitting lob shot after lob shot into the tree in the center of our yard.  I got surpisingly deft with this shot and still play it better than anyone I know.  Tiger Woods used to work on this shot inside his house..he would have to hit it over lamps and other breakable objects so it gave him great incentive never to miss.  But if you get good with this shot your going to find every excuse to use it and show it off.  It looks impressive and feels great when you nestle one in close to the pin.

The shot is more about feel than technique.  I can hit this shot off my front foot, back foot, with an inside swing, with an outside swing, weight back, weight forward..you get the picture.  Let me tell you what you will not, under any circumstances, pull it off successfully with, a tight grip.  Keeping your grip loose is absolutely imperative to executing this shot.  If your grip is loose you can pull it off much trickier lies and your feel will be much stronger.  This is how I execute my lob.

• Keep your weight back, and your stance very open.  Keep your body very loose.
• Play the ball in about the middle of your stance or forward in your stance, as long as you stay inside your front foot its fine.
• Open your club face wide open at address.  This will take some getting used to in order to be comfortable but you have to almost lay your club flat.  Use a 56 degree wedge or higher but preferably a 60 degree or higher wedge as the club will be less changed from its intended lie and the shot will have more margin for error.  Essentially what you are doing is taking a club designed to be 60 degrees and making it a 75 or 80 degree wedge.
• Make sure you have some grass under the ball to hit the shot.  Hitting this off hardpan is next to impossible.
• This is the scary part, take an easy but almost full swing with your hands wrist and arms very relaxed.  If you have never hit one you are going to expect the ball to go much farther than it does, but I can take a full swing and the ball will only go about 10 yards.
• Experiment and get a feel for the swing and action of the ball.  As you get better you will be able to develop a great feel for how much to open the club and how hard to swing depending on your lie and what you have to work with.  If you get good with this stroke you will fall in love.  Remember to stay loose!

Let me qualify all that with the fact that the majority of the time hitting a lob shot will not be your best play.  Generally around the green you want to keep the ball as low as you can for the most control.  That’s why you putt whenever you can, and don’t make green side chips with a sand wedge.  For the greatest odds at the best scoring, only play a lob shot when it is your only realistic option.  However..Golf is about having fun for most of us.  I play more lobs than I should not only because I have spent hours and hours and hours working on it and am very comfortable with it, but it gives me a lot of enjoyment to swing all out 20 feet from the pin and watch the ball come in high and soft right next to the hole.  It looks impressive and feels great, so if you like it, go with it.  And stay loose!

A knockdown shot will stay lower with more backspin, allowing it to keep a truer flight and be less effected by the wind.  This can help you keep the ball in play off the tee and attack the pin a little more confidently in windy conditions.  Tiger Woods is famous for hitting this shot, you may have heard announcers refer to him hitting his “knockdown 3-wood” off the tee when he needs control.  He doesn’t necessarily limit himself to playing it in the wind because he knows it is a safe shot.  If you learn to hit this shot you may find yourself leaning on it in days when you just can’t find your rhythm and control is lacking.

Hitting the Knockdown shot sounds easy but can take some time to become comfortable with.  Know that you will have to hit a lot of balls at the range before using it on the course.

• To hit it simply move the ball back in your stance to a little forward of center.
• Rotate back without a lot of weight transfer, your not going to load up on your back foot as much as a normal swing.
• Think 1/2 to 3/4 swing.  The shot won’t work if you over swing.  It is meant to have less body rotation and and takeaway than a normal full swing.  Keep your whole hands below shoulder level on the back swing.
• Swing through smoothly and keep your head on the ball the entire time.  This is actually easier with a knockdown than a normal swing and this will promote crisp ballstriking. You want to minimize your divot so think smooth fluid contact.
• Remember to take a little more club than you would otherwise.
• As with all swings do not think about your finish.  How you finish is a result of everything you have done prior to hitting the ball.  If you have issues with your finish it is due to poor setup and or swing mechanics.  Trying to mold your fnish a certain way is useless since the ball is already in flight.
• Practice and more practice.

Learn to use this shot and you may be suprised how often you go to it on the course.  It is useful in a variety of situations and easy to learn if you put in the time.  If you are a high handicapper you may find the crisp contact with this stroke gives you as much/more distance than a full swing and much more control!

Keep playing and enjoying!

Golf itself is a fun game to play, but remember that you are only playing a game.  For most people, who will never win anything except a gift certificate or some pro shop credits, the end result of the game is not important, it is the journey you take while playing.  If you are not playing a round for your own livelihood, remember to relax and enjoy yourself.  Watch Tiger Woods or Phil Mickleson or any professional golfer, even they hit some horrible shots!  And no matter how good or consistent you become, you will always fail at perfection.  So stop breaking your putter in half after missing a 3 foot putt, or throwing your driver in a tree when you can’t find the fairway.  Unless you have some serious money on your game, your score is only a number which will soon either be forgotten or completely insignificant.

Take a deep breath, smell the fresh air scented with the local flora, enjoy the feeling of the sun on your face, appreciate how the course is laid out and how the colors and water and angle of light interact to form a beautiful painted scene, and most of all enjoy the peaceful serenity afforded to you for a couple of hours.

Not only will you find yourself enjoying the game more, but watch how much your game improves as you relax.  Because after all the old adage is true…attitude, is everything.

Creating a regular stretching routine is the easiest way to make yourself more nimble.  Make it part of your pre-round warmup, either right before or during your time at the range.  Doing it daily such as right before bed or when you wake up is also optimal, as sporadic stretching will not improve long term flexibility, but if you do it at least before rounds you will be much better off than before.

Start by stretching your legs.  This will also start to help loosen the rest of your body.  Take a club and hold it in both hands in front of your body, and touch your toes with it.  Be relaxed and dont stretch too hard too fast.  Hang down so you feel a slight stretch and let yourself lower slowly each time you let out a breath.  Remember, holding a stretch for anything less than 20 seconds will not do anything for you.  Do each stretch for a 20-30 second count. 

Stretch your calves by inclining your feet individually so your toes are facing as much towards the ceiling as you can get them, and try to grab your toes.  Do this for each leg.  Stretch your quadricep by standing on one leg and pulling your other foot backwards so you touch your heel to your butt.

Stretch your butt by sitting on a bench.  With one foot flat on the ground cross your other leg over it and put your foot as flat as you can on the bench.  Then twist your upper body as far as you can in the direction of the leg that is on the bench.  So if your right leg is crossed over your left you will turn as far right as possible.  It should look like this.

Do this on both legs of course.  While you are seated also stretch your hip flexors.  This is an easy stretch to accomplish.  Simply make a move such as to cross your legs, except instead of crossing them you will rest your ankle on top of the opposite knee.  Then lean forward as far as you can towards your knee.  This stretch should look like this.

Remember, your legs are an important part of the golf swing.  Keep them nimble with regular stretching.  More stretches to come!

On the practice green put a marker or tee down 3 feet from the hole.  Put another mark down on the same line 6 feet from the hole, and a third marker down 9 feet from the hole.  Start at the three foot location with three balls.  Sink all three balls consecutively and move on to the 6 foot mark.  Do not move on until you have sunk all three consecutively.  Sink all three consecutively again to move on to the 9 foot mark, but if you miss a shot at any point you must start again at the 3 foot mark.  Finish when you have made all 9 shots in a row, 3 from the 3 foot mark, 3 from the 6 foot mark, and 3 from the 9 foot mark.

Do this drill a couple times a week and watch your putting shore up.  It will be challenging at first but progress comes faster than youd expect.  Start with straight lines then as you improve you can add more challenging breaks.

When designing a golf ball product, ball manufactuers use various ways to change the most important characteristic of a golf ball, the spin rate. This by far has the strongest influence on ball flight and therefore the result of a particular shot.

Many amateurs think that a more expensive ball will give them a longer and straighter shot, but the reality is they do the opposite.  Depending on your personal skill level, the workeability of the ball can be important, meaning a higher lateral movement for a swing intended to fade or draw can be prefered.  Since more expensive balls are designed with the lower handicapper in mind, the ball is actually designed to have more lateral movement than a less expensive ball, to allow a skilled golfer to take advantage of his or hers’ ability to purposely “shape” or draw and fade a shot.  If you are a power hitter but notice your ball “balloons”, or starts out low but flares high into the sky, killing distance and allowing the wind to have more influence over your ball; you need a ball with a lower spin rate.  While this is often symptomatic of a greater problem with swing mechanics and even equipment, this simple change could still drastically improve your game.

A more skilled golfer is also interested in being able to “bite” the green, or stop the ball where it lands for greater control.  This means that a ball must have a high backspin rate.  The problem for higher handicappers is backspin hurts distance, and a ball designed to have a higher spin rate will not go as far or as straight.

So what should the average weekend golfer look for when choosing a ball?  You needn’t spend a lot of money to get the right ball for your game.  Pass up the $5 a piece balls designed with only the best players in mind, they will probably hurt your game.  Many companies offer a wide range of balls, so you cant really say one particular brand will suit your need, but keep a few things in mind.

Stay away from any ball made by either a tire manufacturing company or company that otherwise does not have a core business in golf.  These balls have minimal R&D and the company is not invested in making a strong product.

Any ball advertising pure exhilarating distance probably feels like a rock on your club.  The feel of a ball is very important around the greens and while putting, so dont discount its ability to help your game.  Dont hit any ball made of titanium! It is a marketing gimmick and not a quality ball.

The best balls for most amateurs are those mid price range offerings from a trusted company like Pinnacle, Top flight, or Nike.  They are designed for the average golfer and offer a good blend of distance, feel, and spin rate.  Try a few different kinds out and see what feels best. 

Stick to one brand.  Different balls will feel drastically different off the club face, and around the green you need predictability.  Because this is where most shots occur, it provides the opportunity to save the most strokes.  Try using only one kind of ball for a couple months and watch your feel improve.

Remember, the most important thing is the integrity of the ball itself.  Do not use a ball with a cut in the cover or a golf ball that is not older than the current golf season, or one that has spent any time sitting in a body of water.  While the low prices of these salvaged balls is very tempting, they will absorb moisture and will be heavier.  This will cost you distance and mess up the manufacturerers intended design characteristics.  Similarly throw out those balls sitting in your bag from last year.  They can absorb moisture from the air, or the integrity of the cover will be reduced from not being kept in the proper conditions.  If youu dont like the idea of throwing out perfectly good balls, its fine they wont degrade that much from one winter, but never ever ever buy balls that are salvaged from ponds! 

The beauty of golf is in the experience, make it better by using the proper ball.  If you have to spend a couple extra bucks to use that fits your game, its well worth it, but remember, buying premium balls will not help the games of 95% of golfers.  Find the right ball for you, and stick to it!  Happy golfing!