By Jack Woods
Last month we looked at a technical issue many amateurs encounter and a basic drill to correct this common chipping fault. Grab the July 2019 issue for a refresh or search the instruction tab on golfdigestme.com for the piece entitled ‘Fancy footwork to avoid heavy or bladed chips’.

Simply improving technique doesn’t guarantee consistent up and downs once you get out on the course, however. How often have you stood on the practise chipping green before a round and felt really comfortable with your chipping only to find you tense up on the course and can’t knock it close?

A great way to work on this is to create pressure practice scenarios. A simple way to create this pressure is called “Par 18”, a game where you select nine locations around the green with an even mixture of easy, medium and hard shots. From each location you try to get up and down in the fewest number of shots with only one ball and one attempt at each location. Each shot should be given your full attention so remember to follow the routine you use on the course during a normal round. In other words, line up those putts as if you’re playing in the monthly medal.

“Replicate the pressure of a round where the scorecard in your back pocket really counts.”

Each location is a par 2 so the nine holes combined add up to a par 18 challenge, hence the name of the game. It is important that the game is only played once per day and you keep your score each time to replicate the pressure of round where the scorecard in your back pocket really counts. By playing these nine ‘holes’ with the knowledge you can’t simply start again, you begin to create similar pressure levels to those experienced on the course. This way you’ll be better prepared to cope with the tension when it really matters.

Combine this game with the ‘fancy footwork’ tip from last month and watch your up and down stats rise in direct correlation with lower scores.

Jack Woods is a PGA Teaching Professional at Dubai Creek Golf & Yacht Club’s Peter Cowen Academy Dubai. For more information, visit dubaigolf.com

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By Jack Woods
In the first of a two-part series, here’s a tip to end heavy or bladed chips

The odds of hitting every green during a round are slim at best. To avoid scorecard blowouts, it’s therefore vital that you are able to chip the ball close when you do miss. Sadly, chipping is the part of the game most amateurs give the least attention to and when they do devote a bit of practice time to the short game, it is rarely effective.

With this in mind, it is unrealistic to expect you’ll get up and down with any regularity. Over the next two months, I hope to change this by looking at a key technical issue I see in poor chippers before outlining a simple practice game that will help bed in this tip.

Let’s start with the technical side of things. As a result of wanting the ball to pop up high around the greens, it is very common for amateurs to fall onto their trail leg through impact, often leading to a heavy or bladed contact. This is often because of the chest and therefore the bottom of the swing move behind the ball. As you’ll know, this is not particularly conducive to the desired result – knocking those chips to tap-in distance.

To counteract this, try setting up with your trail leg withdrawn and with the heel raised as pictured. Hitting practice shots like this ensure weight favours your lead leg throughout the shot which is a vital ingredient for crisp contact.

Combine consistent contact and flight – the secrets to improved distance control – and next month’s practice game, and you’ll quickly improve your chipping stats. See you next month.

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Jack Woods is a PGA Teaching Professional at Dubai Creek Golf & Yacht Club’s Peter Cowen Academy Dubai. For more information, visit dubaigolf.com

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Practice in front of a mirror to maintain your posture throughout the backswing

By Jack Woods
It is important to keep the golf swing as simple as possible to ensure you can repeat it consistently. One aspect of this is maintaining your posture throughout the backswing.

An all too common error I see during the backswing with many amateurs is a lifting of the club which causes a flat shoulder turn during rotation and a loss of posture. From here the first movement is likely to be a throw over the top in an attempt to regain posture.

A simple drill to work on rotating into a better posture is to place a club across your shoulders and make backswings looking for the club to be slightly down at the top of the backswing (right). If the club is level to the ground this is a sign of a lift and loss of posture.

Making this movement in front of a mirror makes it even easier to check for posture retention. Using the mirror also allows you to see how much you are rotating with the club on our shoulders ideally looking over the ball. If you can maintain posture in the backswing, the downswing will certainly be a lot easier, ensuring you’ll soon be hitting greens with more regularity. – This tip appears in the June, 2019, issue of Golf Digest Middle East.

Jack Woods is a PGA Teaching Professional at Dubai Creek Golf & Yacht Club’s Peter Cowen Academy Dubai. For more information, visit dubaigolf.com

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Until Monday that was when the Dubai Creek Golf & Yacht Club teaching professional finally flicked the switch, freeing the undoubted golfing talent within to notch his maiden victory on the regional circuit at Arabian Ranches.

The 29-year-old typically did it in topsy-turvy style, taking advantage of a new driver to fashion six birdies, an eagle and even a triple bogey to negotiate the Ian Baker-Finch designed, Troon International-managed layout in 69 memorable strokes.

Woods, a regular contributor of instruction content for Golf Digest Middle East, edged Dong Lee (Emirates Golf Club) by a stroke with recent The Track, Meydan Golf winner Tom Buchanan (Al Ain Equestrian, Shooting & Golf Club), Michael Major (Dubai Creek), Jonathan Craddock (Emirates G.C.) and UAE PGA chief executive Luke Plumb in a four-way tie for third on 72.

“It’s nice to get the first win…finally,” Woods told GolfDigestme.com

“It’s taken far too long to get. I haven’t been that close in the past and have struggled with my game for a while but feel it coming together now which bodes well for the rest of the season.”

The new driver helped Woods birdie the 1st and 3rd at Arabian Ranches before he undid all the good work with the triple on the shortish par-4 6th.

“I didn’t hit that bad a shot off the tee, just a little right, but never found it.”

WATCH: Jack Woods’ short game video tip – Fight or flight? 

Woods responded well with further birdies on 7,8,9 and 11 before nestling an 8-iron to about 15ft on the par 5 13th en-route to his eagle.

“I had a couple of frustrating three putt bogeys in the last five holes to finish with a 69 but it’s great to get my first win which will hopefully allow me to kick on a get more this year.

“I drove the ball particularly well which I haven’t done for a while which makes the game much easier.”

Like all his peers, Woods is eyeing Dec. 10-11 and the UAE PGA’s 36-hole qualifier at Saadiyat Beach Golf Club for a spot in the European Tour’s Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship.

“The chance to play with the top players in the world at the HSBC would be great but there’s a lot of top pro’s out here so I’ll need another good round [or two] to have a shout at that,” Woods said.

“I wanted to have a run at the Order-of-Merit [the UAE PGA’s overall title] this year so that’s my main goal this season.”

After a slow start to the season, Woods is off and running in that quest but the Hertfordshire lad is still looking up to club-mate Major who is the latest to top the OOM ahead of the next tournament at Trump Dubai on Dec. 3.

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“I hit the ball great on the range but struggle on the course”. Does this sound like you? It’s certainly a refrain I regularly hear from amateurs, including members here at Dubai Creek Golf & Yacht Club.

One reason is that on the course we rarely enjoy the flat lies we get for every shot on the range. One such lie is pictured here where the ball is severely above my feet. This shot requires a couple of small changes to your set up and an understanding of how the ball flight will be affected.

This shot requires an understanding of how the ball flight will be affected.

Firstly, you must try to match your posture to the slope. This means you need to stand more upright whilst gripping slightly down the club, which helps the lie angle of the club sit more neutral to the slope. From here the lie angle is still going to be more upright than normal so you need to accept that the ball will, if hit correctly, curve right to left in flight (for a right-handed golfer). Instead of changing your movement to counter this, something that is very difficult to do, simply aim right of the target and allow the ball to naturally curve back towards the flagstick. The degree to which you aim right depends on the severity of the slope so this will require a little trial and error to master.

Jack Woods is a PGA Teaching Professional at Dubai Creek Golf & Yacht Club’s Peter Cowen Academy Dubai. For more information, visit dubaigolf.com

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By Jack Woods
I often start a chipping lesson by asking the player what club they would use from a series of different lies. The response is invariably the same – the same, trusty old wedge is repeatedly pulled for every shot.

The problem with this method is there are so many different scenarios that require a different flighted shot. It’s the old one club doesn’t fit all scenario so common with club golfers. Check out the video and continue reading below to develop your short game repertoire and start nailing those critical up and downs.

If you watched closely during Francesco Molinari’s run to the Open Championship, you’ll have noticed the world’s best using a variety of weapons on the firm and fast Carnoustie links to produce different chip shots, ranging from the high lob shot to the classic old bump and run.

Understanding what flight each of our clubs will produce requires some experimenting on the practice green, hitting shots with each club from different lies and observing how they differ. Clearly chipping with a seven iron will create a very different shot to that of a lob wedge, even without adjusting our technique.

From here we need to decide which club is most appropriate for each shot we are presented with out on the course. The best way to do this, as shown above, is to trust our instincts by imagining how you would throw the ball given the chance. If you feel you would instinctively run the ball along the ground because there is a tier to go up or a lot of green between the ball and the hole, this would suggest something with less loft such as a seven iron (far left) is best.

On the other hand, if you would throw the ball up high and land it near the flag because there is a bunker to go over or little green to work with, your most lofted club (right) is the option. Practice this lob drill, repeat with the required club and watch your scores dip.

Jack Woods is a PGA Teaching Professional at Dubai Creek Golf & Yacht Club’s Peter Cowan Academy Dubai. For more information, visit dubaigolf.com

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By Jack Woods
The surrounds around greens are often undulating, a challenging prospect for amateurs suddenly faced with a touchy downhill chip onto the putting surface. In reality, a few small changes to your set-up can make this shot a lot easier than it first appears.

When faced with the situation shown here where we are confronted with a downhill lie, it is important to set our body as neutral as possible in relation to the slope. As you can see I have tilted my whole body to match the slope which will allow me to make a normal movement and still ensure a good strike on the ball. I have also widened my stance a little to remain balanced through impact. It is important to maintain this tilt during the entire shot as the temptation is to move onto the trailing foot. Match your body to the slope and you will soon start to look forward to this shot rather than fear it.

“It’s important to maintain this tilt during the entire shot .”

Adjust for the slope

Be aware that the ball will naturally travel lower and run further than normal as we are reducing the loft of the club given the set-up. Remember to adjust your club and landing spot to knock it close to the hole… or maybe even in!

The post VIDEO: How to knock those nervy downhill chips close appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

Actually, make that good start a great one. The young Al Zorah professional opened the UAE PGA’s flagship event with a five under 67 at Arabian Ranches on Monday. It earned the tournament’s defending champion a four-stroke halfway lead over the trio of Jack Woods (Dubai Creek), Joe Marshall (Butch Harmon School of Golf) and Shane Peacock (Al Ain).

More importantly, Wears-Taylor enjoys a six-stroke buffer over Smith (The Address Montgomerie) heading into Tuesday’s final round after the newly minted UAE PGA Matchplay champion signed for a one-over 73.

It means Smith has it all to do on Tuesday although the way Wears-Taylor is playing, a fourth 2017-18 UAE PGA title looks his to lose. The real excitement could yet be lower down the leaderboard as players jockey for the last spots in the UAE PGA team for the May 12-13 Dubai Trophy.

As captain, Smith has two picks in his 14-man team for the matches at Emirates G.C. and Dubai Creek where the pros will be out to avoid a hat-trick of losses to the Emirates Golf Federation’s leading amateurs.

With defending OOM champion Cen Mills (Dubai Creek), currently third in this season’s points race, unavailable, there are spots up for grabs and Creek colleague Woods (17th) and the Monty’s Martin Robinson (18th) are well positioned after the first round to make a last gasp bid. Robinson was T-10 overnight after an opening 74.

Meanwhile, Jumeirah Golf Estates hosts the 36-hole EGF OOM Championship on May 4-5 to finalise the amateur team for the Dubai Trophy. One name guaranteed for the youngsters is JGE 14-year-old Josh Hill who has won seven EGF titles this summer, including six in an incredible three month spell.

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A great drill for this involves drawing a line an inch behind the ball and another two to three inches past the ball. This gives you a great visual as to where the club should enter and then exit the sand in relation to your ball. If you are entering and exiting too early you are likely falling onto your back foot in the downswing.

Photo by Mustufa Abidi

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By Jack Woods
Weight shift is something that many amateur golfers struggle with. Often, in an attempt to shift weight to the right side (for right handed golfers) during the backswing, amateurs end up swaying their hips which can negate the rotation necessary to make a full, powerful take-away.

The swaying movement can also cause the upper body to tilt left, creating a position “at the top” that is the opposite of what is desired. From a top of the backswing position like this, there are far too many things that can go wrong with players needing to make too many corrective movements in the downswing. This leads to inconsistent strikes and ball flights.

Ideally you need to feel like the lower body remains more central over the ball. The key is to use the upper body to shift weight right instead. This in turn allows for much better rotation and better posture retention throughout the backswing.

Check out the video here:

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