- 3 hours ago
Neil Tappin is joined by PGA Professional Alex Elliott look at the keys to breaking one of golf's biggest milestones - 100. Alex offers some simple guidance on how think while you are out on the course, what to practice and he also offers some practical advice on the shots you'll need to develop. These tips are designed to be simple and achievable for any golfer looking to break 100.
Category
🥇
SportsTranscript
00:00Hello and welcome to The London Club. Now, in this video, we have 10 top tips that are going
00:06to help you break 100. We look at everything from what clubs you have in your bag, some mental tips
00:12and how to get out of trouble. Yes, let's head out onto the golf course here at The London Club
00:16and look at our first tip on our list. The first tip on our list, number 10,
00:25is about relaxing between shots. Now, golf is, for a lot of people, myself included, quite stressful
00:30at times. I can join that club. Yes, but it's crucial that you don't get kind of caught up
00:35at trying to focus for large periods, isn't it? Yes, I mean, golf is one of them sports. We
00:40perceive there's a lot to think about over the shot and for some time, there is. It's about
00:45concentrating at the right point. Okay, so how do you do it then? How do you switch off? Because
00:49that's the key, isn't it? We've seen a trend of all top players now. They have one of their best
00:53friends on the bag or a companion on the bag. Having someone that you can relate to and talk
00:58to is key. Now, for most of us, we don't have a caddy. I don't have a caddy. But we
01:01play with
01:01our friends on the weekend, right? Yes. Having a chat with them whilst walking around from the T
01:06to the green and then when you get close to your ball, then switch on. You're not having to concentrate
01:11for four and a half hours. You're just doing 30 to 40 second stints. I guess it's important to
01:15remember this, particularly when these signs get nervous. You've got a good score going, maybe with a few
01:19holes to go. I can imagine this shot. One of the last few holes here in your round,
01:22you've missed the rear on a par three. It's a difficult chip. You want to be fully concentrated
01:26on it. Yeah, you could have been thinking about it for five minutes while you're walking here.
01:29It's maybe not a great preparation. No, definitely not.
01:32Yeah, so a really simple tip. Try and focus when you need to and relax when you don't need to
01:36be concentrating.
01:41So the next tip for golfers looking to break 100 is to avoid three putting. Okay, we all do it.
01:47It doesn't matter what handicap you are. Everyone does it. But Alex, what do you think the mistakes
01:51are that cost people in this scenario? I think when we get to a distance like we've got now,
01:56we just sort of go on to the green. Oh yeah, it's about this. Hit the putt away. A bit
02:01of autopilot
02:02comes into play. Yes. So we've put up some alignment sticks around the flag. And what are you trying to
02:07do
02:08then from here? All I want you to focus on is getting it inside that bin lid, that three foot
02:12range,
02:13where actually we make our next putt as stress-free as possible. Okay, go on then. So explain to us.
02:19So this is a little bit uphill right to left. So I know I'm aiming a little bit right of
02:24the hole.
02:24I'm trying to die it into that space. I always picture that ball dying near the hole, not accelerating too
02:31far past.
02:31Yeah, okay. Perfect. I mean, this just shows you that if you can get the pace right, the odd one
02:41will drop in the hole. But the crucial point is scenarios like this, make them stress-free,
02:45get it down in two, you'll keep the score ticking over.
02:53Tip number eight is so important, and it's about developing a fairway finder. So every golf course
02:59you'll ever play, there will be holes on that course that you don't fancy the look of off the
03:03tee. You're worried about losing the ball off the tee, or you're just worried about hitting a bad shot.
03:07So every golfer needs to find a fairway finder. How do you do it, Alex? I think there's sort of
03:12two scenarios we can look at here. Doing it with a driver, preferably. Now, if you're not comfortable
03:16with a driver, finding a club, like maybe a fairway would, that allows you to hit that fairway,
03:21you've got more confidence. But I guess the main thing is, is just going the range,
03:26finding a swing with some nice rhythm, with a club that gives you a repeatable shot.
03:31Okay, so what are you going to, how are you? Well, I'm going down that route of,
03:34I think most golfers have a bit of a love-hate relationship with driver, but their fairway
03:39would, their five would, their three would, it's probably something that they get on with
03:41more often than not. Just because it's a bit shorter, a bit more loft.
03:45Okay, so what's the swing thought that you would have when you're on a fairway, like a hole like this,
03:50bunkers everywhere, tricky shot. What's the fairway finding swing for you?
03:53I just put my seven iron rhythm on it. Okay.
03:56So, for me, getting good rhythm gives me a better chance of squaring that face,
04:01with driver are more prone to giving it a bit of a welly. Yes.
04:04So, rhythm is key, and don't overcomplicate it too much. Most people, if you're balanced through
04:10the shot, you're going to hit a better shot than if you're unbalanced.
04:13Okay. Well, show us your seven iron rhythm then, would you?
04:15So, I'll have two practice swings.
04:19One.
04:22Two. Most people are comfortable with seven iron right.
04:25And we're in. Account for the wind a little bit off the left today,
04:30and then put that rhythm on.
04:34Yeah, very good. I think, actually, it doesn't really matter what the club is, or what the swing
04:39thought is. But the key thing is, you need to practice it, you need to go to the range,
04:43you need to groove it, so that when you are stood in a position like this, it's not alien,
04:48it's not new to you. You've done it before, you've repeated it, and then you might just produce a shot
04:52like that one.
04:57So, this one is about bag setup, and the clubs that you choose to carry. Alex, what's the advice
05:02here for people?
05:02I think really nice and simple. I prefer most golfers to carry a five wood over a three wood,
05:07a little bit more loft, a little bit shorter club, and then hybrids over long irons, just a
05:13little bit more forgiving. Yeah, I mean, it's that simple. If you can do those things, you should
05:17find a setup that's just that bit more forgiving, that's going to let you get away with your dodgy
05:21swing, and not going to cost you too much while you're out on the course.
05:29Okay, so number six on our list is about pressure, and how you handle pressure on the golf course.
05:34It's something that we all need to do. It might well be that the first tee shot's incredibly
05:38nerve-wracking, but then there's also going to be holes like this one. This is the ninth
05:43hole here at the Heritage Course at London Club, really tough par four.
05:46And you might want to go for your fairway finder, Alex, we've already discussed, but
05:49equally, you might want to just hit driver because it's such a tough hole.
05:53In this scenario, when you need to do it most, what can we do to hit a good shot?
05:58That's the golden nugget, isn't it? Yeah.
05:59Well, I mean, if we're looking to break 100, right, this scenario here, we're probably going
06:03to have two shots. So that's going to hopefully calm us down a little bit. But the key thing here
06:08is it's not just to pick your club rush and just get it over and done with because you don't
06:12feel
06:12comfortable. Yes, which I have definitely done in my past, for sure.
06:16Yeah, and if we actually look at golf, we want to be in scenarios where we're playing good golf and
06:20we're not
06:20feeling comfortable because that means we're doing something different. We're playing well.
06:23Right, okay.
06:23So I want you to think about aiming really small. So if you aim really at a small target,
06:28rather than just a general fairway, if you just miss a small target by a little bit,
06:32you're still going to be okay.
06:33So we're going to talk later in this video about how to aim. But in this particular scenario,
06:37what are you aiming at? And what's your kind of miss, I guess?
06:42So for example, here, trouble looks to be more left. So I'm going to take something that's a very
06:46small target to the right of the trouble. Okay, so I'm going to hone really in small. So if I
06:51take
06:51this tree straight down, I've got the one that sticks up a little bit more, I'm going to use that.
06:56I know if I miss just a little bit left, I'm okay. But equally, if I miss just a little
07:00bit right,
07:00I'm still okay as well. Okay, so aim small, miss small, still end up on the fairway.
07:06Exactly, exactly. Let's see if it works, Alex.
07:09Here we go.
07:15Bingo. Slight cut off that mark, middle of the fairway, no trouble. Aiming small,
07:19it really is very important and it could help you in a scenario like this.
07:27This one is all about club selection. Alex, we've chosen this particular hole here at the London
07:33Club for a very good reason. So we've got water short of the green and most golfers would know
07:38in this scenario to do what? Take one club more, avoid going short.
07:42Yes, and the problem is that how often do you take the same approach on holes where there isn't
07:46water short, but there is other trouble like bunkers or other things that might be short of the green?
07:50Well, where do most club golfers finish even on a good strike? Short, right?
07:54Yes. So they don't take that advice. So what we're saying here is, think that you're always
07:58in a scenario like this. There's water short or the trouble short, put the bunker in the same category,
08:03take one more club and make sure you're on the green.
08:05Yes, so that you are avoiding failing to carry the front of the green, which is the kind of the
08:10big
08:10mistake I think a lot of players make, right? Exactly.
08:12So Alex, you've got 153 and you would usually hit... Seven iron, usually.
08:18So I will look for your six iron. There you go. Thank you.
08:22Now, being a pro, I expect this to finish close to the flag. I feel a bit of pressure.
08:26And even this is a tough one with the wind into as well. You might have to adjust that even
08:30further
08:30sometimes. Lovely contact. Very good shot. But has it made the green? Yes, pin high.
08:47So number four on our list is developing the punch shot, being able to hit a shot when you're in
08:52a
08:52scenario like this. How do you play it? So essentially, if we want the ball to go lower,
08:57we need to lower the loft of our club. So use less loft. Lower the loft of our club at
09:02impact
09:03and hit down on it more. That's going to lower the launch.
09:05Okay. So, okay. Set up to the ball then. Explain to me what you do at address.
09:09How I would do with this is I would put the ball towards the back of my stance.
09:13That allows me to hit down on it more. I'd grip down on it. Now, with that ball going towards
09:17the
09:17back of my stance, that's going to encourage a bit more forward shuffling, taking some loft off the club.
09:22Now, all I want you to feel is you're going to keep your weight left throughout and just make a
09:26bit of a
09:27slower swing. And I always like to feel it's more of like a tailed follow through with my chest
09:31pointing to target rather than this nice full follow through on a full shot.
09:36Okay. Go on then. Let's have a look at it.
09:38So this is a real toughy actually, because we're not too far from the green. So I've gone eight iron
09:42and I'm trying to picture that ball flying through this window here down and running up.
09:47Yeah.
09:48So ball back, hands forward, grip down.
09:55Well, it clipped the tree, but as Alex said, it's a really tricky shot. And I think the key thing
10:00is,
10:01often in a scenario like this, the punch shot is really important, but it's about getting yourself
10:06back into play. So not trying to do too much with it. Just get yourself back in the game
10:10and then take it from there. The punch shot is a really important shot for golfers, no matter what
10:15their handicap. Okay. So number three on our list, it's a simple one, but it's so important. It's
10:24knowing exactly how to aim the club. Alex, what's the advice here?
10:28I mean, what I think is, is always coming to the range and pressing the reset button occasionally,
10:33where you can get into bad habits that creep in a time off the time of aiming a little bit
10:38right
10:38or a little bit left. And there's nothing worse, is there, right? Ripping a swing, feeling an amazing
10:42swing out the middle and the ball is just sailing in the wrong direction. Yeah. And I guess the point
10:47here is that if you aim wrong, then suddenly your swing path is out and you can get other faults
10:51that
10:52creep into the game. So it really is important to get this right. So how do you do it? So
10:56I always
10:57have a bit of a process. I always come to the range and I'll place one alignment stick down first.
11:01That's my ball to target line. So we've chosen this red flag down here. I would then put my feet
11:07line,
11:07which runs parallel to that. Now this is getting me to have two parallel lines on the golf course,
11:12if we're drawing or fading, we would slightly aim different to that, but use this as like a coming
11:18back to neutral reset button. So now I can stand over here. I've also used the line of a ball
11:24to
11:24extend that line, address the ball, make sure everything's neutral. And you know what? It
11:30might feel like you're aiming a bit left or it might feel like you're aiming now a bit right,
11:33but it's getting both target line, then shoulders, feet, hips, and knees running parallel.
11:38Yeah, take pride in getting this part right. If you do, it will definitely pay off.
11:47Okay, so number two on our list is to have two different short game shots up your sleeve,
11:53two that you feel really comfortable with. One, Alex is a chip and run. You'll be able to find
11:57advice on how to hit the chip and run on the Golf Monthly website. Alex, I'm sure you'll have some
12:00content on your YouTube channel about how to do it. But we're now going to look at how to hit
12:04a bunker
12:04shot because this is so important. You're going to face it. A lot of golfers struggle with it. So
12:09give us a tip, Alex. So first thing, choose your most lofted club. I tend to buy wedges that have
12:15a lot of bouts. This helps the club sort of glide through the sand. Also, I think it's all to
12:20do is
12:20set up really. If we set up to this club correctly, we've got a better chance of hitting it good.
12:25So nice,
12:26quickly here and simple. Dig your feet in. We've got ball position, a club head inside a left heel.
12:31You want to then grip it with the face open, sit down and left. And all I want you to
12:36do is feel
12:37like you're sliding that club underneath it with some speed. Okay. Go on then. Just like that.
12:48Yeah. And you'll notice, I mean, Alex has swung at that really quite hard.
12:51Yeah. It's just popped it straight up into the air. Loads of control, not gone very far.
12:56It's the simple way to do it, but it does take some practice. Put some time into it. It will
13:00really pay off.
13:05Okay. So our number one top tip for breaking a hundred, Alex, is to break the round up into
13:12small segments. Explain what people should be doing here. I mean, most people who are trying
13:16to break a hundred, they'll go out there going, right, okay, well, I've got to do this and this
13:20on each nine. And that whole focus is coming to that end score. So breaking that round into six sets
13:25of three,
13:26you can set your little self a target on those sets, reset after one, go on the next.
13:32Right. Okay. So it might well be that you look at the first three holes and think they're three of
13:36the
13:36hardest holes on the golf course. Try to get away from there, no more than four over par or something.
13:40Exactly like that. But also equally, if you have a bad set of three, don't let that impact the nine
13:46holes. Because most people go, oh, I'll reset after the ninth. We'll start again on the 10th. Yeah.
13:50Reset after three, start again. But equally, if you have a good set of three, don't get too far
13:54ahead of yourself and start trying to chase it even more. Yeah. So managing a score across 18 holes,
13:59it's a lot to do. Managing the same score over three hole chunks is much more achievable. Give it
14:05a go. Okay. So that's our look at our top 10 tips to break a hundred. Breaking a hundred is
14:10such an
14:11important barrier that so many golfers are looking to get through. If you can just do a few of those
14:16things
14:16that Alex said, not many of them very technical, all of them really, really useful. They should
14:21really help. If you think there's anything that we've missed, that you have used in the past that
14:25really helped you, leave some comments below. We'd love to hear your thoughts. But that's it for now
14:29from The London Club. Thanks for watching. We'll see you next time.
Comments