Golf Digest Nov-15

He started working with Greg Norman in 1992 and brought him back to No. 1 in the world by 1994. He started working with Tiger Woods in 1993 and took him to No. 1 in the world in 1997. He started working with Phil Mickelson in 2007 and helped him revive his career with 12 more PGA Tour victories, including a Masters and a British Open. In late 2013, Butch Harmon started working with Rickie Fowler, the young kid who looked so promising after winning the 2012 Wells Fargo but couldn’t repeat. Rickie picks it up from there: “I first met Butch playing with Phil in those [high-stakes] games Tuesdays on tour. Butch was easy to be around, fun, a great guy to hang with. So much history. I liked listening to…

I know a lot of amateurs lower their expectations on approach shots from 200-plus yards. Granted, your odds of hitting a green from out there are never great, but my advice on fairway woods will help. Start with this drill: Practice making controlled swings that allow you to finish in balance like I am here. That’s the tempo you want. Treat it like you were swinging an iron to a specific distance. If a shot is too long for a 7-iron, you hit a 6. Same thinking here: Every fairway wood has a distance limit. Don’t try to stretch it. “To hit a cut, set up with your feet and shoulders open.” GO LEFT TO RIGHT FOR CONSISTENCY I like to fade or cut the ball, which I recommend for you because making…

There are a lot of bullies on the golf course. Bunkers, water hazards, tall trees, high grass—you name it. The more you focus on those bullies, the more they mess with your head, and the worse you play. So how do you ignore them? I have a method that has helped everyone from tour players to 25-handicappers. I want you to use the power of intention. What I mean by that is, before each shot go through your normal checklist, determining distance, wind direction, elevation change—all the usual variables. Then focus on what you want the ball to do and where you want it to end up. But here’s the most important part: Once you’ve done that, try to hit the shot with as much bravery as you can muster. If…

“Make a fairway wider by using the slope to your advantage.” One tee shot that really unsettles golfers is a dogleg that bends in the opposite direction of their natural shot shape. For example, No. 18 at Muirfield Village (shown) poses a dilemma to the right-handed golfer whose stock shot is a draw. If you’re a draw player on this hole, you could go with your usual ball flight, using the rationale you’re most likely to produce a solid strike with the swing you know. Or you might try the shot you don’t play as much, a fade, because it allows a larger margin of error in finding the fairway. Rather than going on gut instinct, learn to look at landing areas critically. Then you can apply the best strategy for you. RESTORING THE…

Most golfers hate partial wedge shots because they don’t have a good plan for playing them. They tend to make too big a backswing and then have to decel at impact to avoid smashing the ball over the green. When you slow down like that, everything gets out of sync, which makes it tough to catch the ball solid. The secret to these shots is making a shorter, wider backswing (below, left), so you can accelerate through the ball. You want to be able to rotate your torso and swing your arms faster on the downswing—that’s an athletic move that produces more consistent results. When everything moves through the shot together, you can make a firm strike and not worry about putting too much on it. I tell my students who struggle…

I see a lot of amateurs holding the club too tightly. I notice it most when they try to waggle. The movement looks stiff and short. To swing correctly, the right amount of grip pressure—and where you apply it—is important. You should feel the club being supported by the last three fingers of your left hand (above, left). Those fingers should grip the firmest. My longtime teach er, the late Stan Thirsk, used to remind me to keep the club in the fingers of my left hand and never let it slip into the palm. In the right hand, the middle two fingers do most of the work. The forefinger and thumb of the right hand should feel relaxed. In fact, I’ve seen many great players, including Ben Hogan and Fred Couples,…