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

The post VIDEO: Play our ‘Par 18’ chipping game to lower your scores appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

A simple way to control the trajectory of your wedge game is via your tempo.

When the flag is located at the back of the green, a low running wedge shot will be useful. As well as moving the ball position back in your stance and having the hands forward, a shorter faster tempo will help to keep the trajectory down and have the ball release and run up to the flag.

For flags tucked away with little room to work with, a higher, softer landing shot is a must. By moving the ball position forward and performing a longer, smoother swing, the ball will fly high and drop out the sky.

Joe Way is a PGA Teaching Professional at DCGYC’s Peter Cowen Academy Dubai. For more information, visit dubaigolf.com

The post VIDEO: Control the tempo of your swing to knock those tricky short shots closer appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Brendan O’Leary
Go on, admit it. You’re desperate to score well but instead of practising the “scoring shots”, you rush to the range and immediately reach for the driver? Who doesn’t love nailing the big stick, right? Sure, but it’s the wrong way to lower scores when you consider stats show that the average amateur will use the driver 13 to 14 times a round – and their putter somewhere between 35 and 40 times. So, let’s head to the practice green and start focusing on one of the most overlooked parts of the game.

The key to becoming a good putter is nailing the basics right from the start of your setup. By sorting your posture, alignment and ball position you’ll give yourself the best chance of achieving a consistent strike.

A lot of players will stand in a taller posture with flat shoulders, causing the putter to travel on a severe arc which ultimately leads to inconsistency at impact due to a lot of toe and heel strikes. In addition, poor putters often don’t get their eye-line directly above the ball at address (see picture 4 in the set-up sequence above right for the correct reference) which is a recipe for consistent miss reads. Follow the techniques illustrated here and you’ll be on your way to sinking more putts and lowering your handicap. Remember, that 300-yard drive has the same value as a three-foot putt but just missing the fairway isn’t half as frustrating as just missing a short putt. – With Kent Gray.

Brendan O’Leary is a PGA Teaching Professional at The Academy by Troon at The Address Montgomerie Dubai. For help with your game, email academyreception@themontgomerie.ae, call +971 4 363 1209 or visit www.themontgomerie.com

The post VIDEO: Sort your posture, alignment and ball position to start holing more putts appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

For more from Sven, get your February 2017 issue of Golf Digest Middle East today!

Sven. It’s not the most South African name?
I have certainly confused many people over the last few years. Add in my slightly Scottish accent from living on the West coast of Scotland over the last nine years and you have yourself a Scottish-South African hybrid. My parents are South African, but my grandparents were Dutch and German.

Home club?
The first club I joined at the age of six was Benoni Lake Golf Club, but I played most of my junior golf at ERPM, a parkland golf course close to my house.

Your favourite golfer?
Has to be Tiger Woods, from what he has achieved in the game to what he has done for the game of golf. I think every touring professional golfer knows they can thank Tiger for that extra couple of zeros in their bank accounts. But also how he strived to keep getting better, even when he was winning all the time, to change his swing completely to keep improving, more than once.

Tiger during the 1997 US Masters – Getty Images

Who’d make up your dream fourball ?
Tiger and Nicklaus, just so I can ask them, ‘so, who is the best ever? ‘ And Henrik Stenson – one of the nicest guys I’ve met, with a great sense of humour!

And your favourite course?
Apart from Trump International here in Dubai? The re-designed Ailsa Course at Trump Turnberry is a favourite. It will certainly take a lot for any course worldwide to beat the new re-designed Ailsa! It has everything a golfer could ask for.

Bucket list golf experience?
Augusta, just because of The Masters, from the pristine fairways to the stimp 14 greens. It’s a course I’ve always wanted to play and it will remain on top of the bucket list until I get the honour to play it.

Best round?
I think the best feeling I have ever had after a round was the first time I broke 70 on my home course when I was 13. I shot 66 in a members tournament and I remember all the adult gathering around the 18^th as the word spread around the course that I was quite a few under par. It was the first time I could picture how it would feel coming down the stretch in a major tournament having to par it to win. The lowest was 64 a few times at my home course.

Nielsen spent nearly 10 years at The Open Championship venue – Image courtesy Trump Turnberry

Best win?
Representing South Africa as a Junior Springbok was a great honour, and being the only unbeaten player in the three days was a pretty good feeling too!

Favourite sport outside of golf?
Rugby. It’s a South African thing I guess. That with a braai and we are happy! But I do enjoy watching tennis too, Djokovic has been a favourite for years – another great athlete with a great sense of humour.

Which begs the question – what’s happened to South African rugby?
It’s painful to even answer this question, especially when the question is coming from an All Black (supporter). I just think we need to change structures from school levels all the way to the top and too many South Africans are playing abroad. We will be back, don’t you worry!

Which tournament do you dream of winning?
The Green Jacket! Everything about the Masters is magical…the course, the jacket, driving up Magnolia Lane. I’d like to copy Henrik Stenson and play ‘Ice Ice Baby’ from Vanilla ice on the radio while driving up…but I’m sure the members there would feel much different if it was me doing it.

What do you like to do on a day off?
I like to play golf. I know, you would think I would like time away from the game, but no, I love the game! Always trying new things! The friends I played with it Scotland always asked me ‘So Sven, what is your swing thought for today’ as they knew I always tinkered with my own swing and technique striving to improve and see what works and what doesn’t. But then again, if I don’t tinker, how would I know if it works or not? If not golf, family and friends are important to me, so I spend time with them.

How long where you at Turnberry and what was the standout highlight?
I was at Turnberry for nine years, almost 10. The history and being a part of the team in 2009 when we held the 138^th Open. The best experience ever, to have all the best players in the world there practicing weeks before and looking after them was an experience I will never forget. Walking with Tiger for two days inside the ropes was probably the single best golfing memory for me personally!

Nielsen prepares his approach to the par 4 8th hole at Trump Dubai – Image Kent Gray

Give us your early impressions of Gil Hanse’s creation, Trump Dubai?
I love the design and unique qualities of the course Mr Hanse created. He has achieved exactly what he wanted to, a course for all abilities, which will be fun to play. It’s rewarding and challenging at the same time. Some imagination can be used around the links styled greens, with undulations reminding me of the links in Scotland.

What can members and guests expect from a Trump golf experience?
A very high quality customer service experience from a golf and F&B element while playing golf on a challenging but fun course.

The post Pro you didn’t know: <br> Trump Dubai’s Sven Nielsen appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.