Golf Learnings from the Top 20 PGA Players

Golf coach Jordan Fuller shares his thoughts from more than 25 years on the course. Here's a sampling:
For the amateur golfer, there is a constant struggle in finding the best way to improve their golf game. But determining the best method for attacking your problems on the course isn’t easy.

Jordan Fuller

You could choose to go at it alone relying only on the feedback that the ball is giving you off the club face. Or you could find a costly and time-consuming coach to help you correct your mistakes. Or there is a third option that allows you to go at it alone with the coaching of the best PGA golfers in the world.

Tips from the best golfers on the planet is a plentiful resource with the invention of the Internet. PGA golfers post articles and videos daily that take you through every step to correct your wayward drives, your poor contact from the fairway, your thin chips and offline putts.

Here are several of the best tips out there to improve your scores and correct your swing flaws.

Justin Rose’s Top Tip for Better Drives
The 2013 U.S. Open champion is one of the best drivers on the PGA Tour over the last decade. Rose believes that to maximize your drive, you must optimize your launch angle. The only way that happens is by making sure your foundation is perfect at address for hitting the ball on the upswing.

To give his drives lift, Rose places the ball inside his front heel with a slight weight tilt to the inside of his right leg. This tilt provides the body with a minor slant that gets the driver on an upward path at impact. Rose wants a strong rotation over the right leg and then a shift of weight forward into the golf ball. The power move, however, is set up before the ball is even struck.

Rickie Fowler’s Three-Step Tip to Consistent Iron Shots from the Fairway
Every time Rickie Fowler stands over the golf ball he wants to hit it solidly on the club face and with strength. This steadfast rule that Fowler brings to every shot is achieved through repetition of three checkpoints before and after every shot from the fairway.

If Fowler is missing with his irons, the first area he looks for is a correction with his stance. He asks his caddy if his feet, hips and shoulders are square at impact. If you don’t have a caddy to help you with this, find a long mirror to check your stance.

Next, Fowler will check his posture and make sure that he’s not stooping over the golf ball. Like Brooks Koepka, Fowler wants a tall address when standing over the golf ball. Correct posture will encourage a full rotation turn away from the golf ball.

Finally, Fowler checks if his backswing is too long and his tempo is too fast. A nice and compact swing will encourage solid contact with the golf ball.

Rory McIlroy’s Short Game Tips for High Pitches and Low Chips
Four-time major winner Rory McIlroy is known as a skilled golfer when it comes to the short game. His accuracy around the greens come via two primary, yet different, shots that McIlroy spends the majority of his practice time mastering.

The first is a low chip shot that runs to the hole. McIlroy likes to hinge his wrists on the backswing and then move the swing forward and ahead of the golf ball with his wrists leading the way on the downswing. If he’s looking at a tight lie, Rory wants to assure solid contact, so his wrists stay firm on these type of chip shots.

The second shot is a higher and softer pitch shot that mimics the flight of a flop shot that golfers may need when they don’t have much green to land their shot. McIlroy starts with an open stance and an open clubface. He wants the wedge to pass through the ball as quickly as possible to help the ball get into the air. McIlroy warns about cutting the ball on the flop shot as it has a high degree of error but rather releasing the club under the golf ball and toward the landing zone.

Patrick Reed’s Surefire Way to Stop Three-Putting
The 2018 Masters champion conquered Augusta’s slick greens with a deft touch and a solid attack plan. Lag putts at the Masters must get close to the cup so that golfers like Patrick Reed can save par. Reed worked tirelessly on better lag putts, and he shares his secret with this universal tip.

Reed favors amateurs to practice with a confidence that is focused on making every putt. During practice, take numerous putts from the 30-to-40 foot range with the intention of having the ball die at the hole every time. Reed believes that this method is better for lagging putts than trying to stop the putt inside a mythical three-foot circle as most coaches will teach you.

Reed’s mantra on Tour is "to make everything." Take Reed's putting swagger to the practice green next time and turn your putting into a source of confidence during your rounds.

This article is based on a massive 5,000 research study highlighting what it takes to play golf, specially for beginners. The original paper can be found HERE.