6 Golf Tips You Must Ignore

In this video, Neil Tappin is joined once again by PGA professional Alex Elliott to discuss the 6 golf tips you must ignore.

6 Golf Tips You Must Ignore

Often amateur golfers give each other tips whilst they are playing or practising that don’t actually benefit their game and can sometimes do more harm than good.

Neil and Alex discuss those points here, dispelling common misconceptions and offering some simple pointers that can actually help benefit you & your game next time one of your playing partners tries to give you some pointers

WATCH: 6 Golf Tips You Must Ignore

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6 Golf Tips You Must Ignore

6. Straight Elbow's

Many tips around this part of the body suggest that the left elbow must be completely straight on the backswing (right if you are a left-handed golfer). Of course there is a reason for this because an elbow that is too bent will create a very inconsistent bottom of the arc of the swing.

However it is not imperative that the elbow must be completely straight because it can create a lot of tension throughout the body. Therefore a middle ground could be the way to go - never be locked out and never be at 90 degrees - just have a slight kink in the arm.

5. Locked out wrists when putting

Many people say to lock out the wrists when putting to create a repeatable stroke however this can cause more harm than good.

Locking out the wrists can create tension in the arms and shoulders, and the stroke can become very wooden. Of course there are techniques like the armlock style that require a locked out wrist so therefore putting is a very individual thing.

However most do not use an armlock grip and therefore most should seek to have a little bit of freedom in the wrists, although not enough that you start to flick the wrists at putts.

4. Lag

To many, lag is the secret ingredient to gain more power however it can cause more issues like the player stiffening up, pointing the face right of target, and becoming obsessed with creating a move that could hinder the swing.

However, for most people if you have a good grip, body movement and good sequencing, that will help you create lag rather than going searching for it directly.

3. Back of the stance chipping

A common tip heard when chipping is to create more spin you have to put the ball back in the stance, put the hands forward and hit down on the golf ball.

Of course there may be certain scenarios this shot needs to be played however for most chips all that technique is doing is exposing the leading edge which will cause it to dig and duffed chips are the result.

Alex likes to make the ball more central and the hands in line with the golf ball too. This exposes more loft and also still helps you hit down on it which is a good recipe for creating spin.

2. Slow it down

This is a common tip heard at golf clubs everywhere which might not be that useful. In terms of where the modern game is going, hitting the ball a long way is such a huge advantage so slowing down may not be the right area to focus on, instead focusing on the tempo of the swing may be more beneficial.

The analogy that Alex uses for working on tempo is a rev counter that works from transition down to the golf ball. Many people swing as fast as they can early and the revs of the car so to speak are at the top of the backswing.

Alex wants you to feel as if the revs are peaking just before impact.

1. Keep your head down

Amateurs get told this constantly and it is actually bad advice because it hinders body rotation through impact and the club face gets manipulated more.

There is an element of truth to the comment too because you do not want to lose your posture or spine angle.

However, lifting your head can be good in the swing because it allows you to make a full body, arms and chest rotation.

The exercise Alex does to get his head moving towards the target is to imagine following the spots on the ball to the target.

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