1. Left thumb print right of center on the grip.
2. Left “heel pad” on top of the club.
3. Right hand lifeline directly over the left thumb.

A final thought ... The grip is the world when it comes to building a golf swing. With a proper grip, the club face wants to square naturally.  With a proper grip, there is no need to pull the club left to fight off a right shot, or push the club right to fight off a left shot. A proper grip is the first fundamental, and in fact, the one that breathes life into all the others.

1. Spine straight.
2. Hands hanging straight down from the shoulder sockets.
3. Getting down to the ball by way of hip tilt instead of knee flex.

 A final thought ... Your spine should be straight, from top to bottom, or consistently solid impact will be difficult to achieve.

1. 50/50 for most full swings from level lies.
2. Most of your weight stays on the front foot for everything less than a full swing.
3. As it relates to apportioning the weight on each foot, simply lean and tilt toward your toes until you feel the muscles in the front of the upper legs (quadriceps) engage, but not so far that you grip the ground with your toes.

A final thought ... Most people would be surprised by how well they play half- and three-quarter wedge shots if they would just keep the weight a bit more on the target leg from takeaway to finish.

1. Never aim your body too far right of the target. It leads to severe miss-hits.
2. Make sure your whole body is squarely aligned to your feet (knees, hips, shoulders, and eyes).
3. Wherever your shoulders are aligned at address is where the ball is likely to begin its flight.

A final thought ... The more repeatable your swing, the more important you take proper aim. In other words, a sound swing will make for a consistent ball direction relative to your body lines. If your swing is good, but your alignment is off, the ball will definitely begin its flight away from the intended line.

1. Most people need to find one ball position for all shots from level lies. It can be anywhere from one inch inside the left heel to three inches.
2. The only thing that makes ball position change is width of stance.
3. Most people play the ball too far back, closer to the rear foot.

 A final thought ... The ball needs to stay in the same position relative to the forward foot.  Moving it all around for different clubs means you have a different amount of weight shift for every different club. That's too much for anyone to have to manage.

1. The left shoulder and club head move away from the ball as one unit.
2. The arms stay in front of the body.
3. Posture remains constant. Said another way, to whatever degree you tilt forward at address, you maintain that degree of tilt during the backswing.

A final thought ... There are two parts of the swing that must be slow at first, and then gradually pick up speed. They are the start of the backswing, and the start of the downswing.

1. The right hip should not move farther right as you take the club back. It should rotate clockwise. Had they named it a golf turn instead of a golf swing people would have a better idea of how to pivot.
2. Loading up the right side takes place automatically by turning. You have to rotate 90 degrees around your spine going back in order to return powerfully to impact.
3. If your right foot has a tendency to move during the takeaway, it is much better if it rotates clockwise than that the arch of the foot actually lifts off of the That would indicate that, at least, you're turning and not sliding. If you spend any of the time between the takeaway and impact on the outer edge of your right foot, a good shot can only be ascribed to luck.

A final thought... There are some areas of the game that can be improved in one lesson.  Others take a while, maybe a few hundred swings to work out. Correcting a faulty pivot falls under the latter heading. It takes a while to undo the habits of an improper pivot, but it is well worth the time and effort.

1. For most golfers, the club needs to point parallel to the target line at the top of the backswing. The only exceptions are those with extra short or long backswings.
2. The right elbow should point down, but shouldn't necessarily stay close to the body at the top.
3. With a proper grip and proper grip pressure, the wrists will cock naturally by the time you get to the top of the backswing.

 A final thought ... Remember to finish your backswing, especially when under the gun.

1. The first move down is definitely a transfer of weight to the forward leg.
2. Any pulling with the arms, independent of the rotating hips, leads to errant shots.
3. The mindset of the downswing should be that of finishing full and balanced. The importance of this cannot be overstated.

A final thought ... You can blame your bad shots on not keeping your head down or your left arm not staying straight or whatever you want, but the first place to look is whether or not the downswing started with the lower body, and not the arms. Nothing destroys a shot like a quick pull of the arms and upper body from the top of the backswing.

1. Spend more time looking at the hole and less looking at your set up.
2. Use practice swings to get a sense for the right amount of follow-through to effortlessly get the ball to the hole.
3. Practice four footers every day.

A final thought ... Knowing you can make all your short putts will take the fear out of the long putts too.  You have to start with the short ones.

1. Have your hands forward at address, impact, and the finish.
2. Keep your weight on your forward leg throughout the entire motion.
3. Your sternum has to be forward of the ball at both address and impact so that the ball can be property nipped.

A final thought ... Most people have problems with the standard chip shot because they try to lift the ball in the air.  As a result, right at the moment of impact, the head and shoulders move slightly rearward (away from the target), and the head of the club passes the hands.  This makes solid contact with the ball much less likely.

1. Select a club with enough loft to get the height you Otherwise, you'll be tempted to manufacture loft in the swing, a definite no-no.
2. Let the turning body, not the wrists and arms, fuel the motion.
3. Learn to let the club swing in the same way a child swings on a swing set. Natural acceleration, free from sudden bursts, is the key to rhythmic short shots.

 A final thought ... Pitching and putting are the two areas of the game that take a lot of time to get a feel for because you have one club for all different distances.  That means you have to have a feel for how hard to swing, so be patient.

1. Count on entering the sand somewhere before the ball. Two inches is as good as three or four. But, you have to come out of the sand on the far (target) side of the ball, and not before.
2. Learn to follow through, even on short sand shots.
3. Never try to lift the ball out. Doing so will cause you to enter the sand too far behind the ball.

 A final thought... The golden rule has two parts: TAKE SAND and FOLLOW THROUGH.

1. Move the ball a couple of inches farther back in your stance than normal.
2. Make sure your weight is on your forward leg before impact.
3. Fix your eyes on the front (target side) of the ball.

 A final thought ... You have to pretend that ball is sitting on top of hard turf and just pick it out of there.

1. Factor in that whatever club you swing will go higher and not as far as usual.
2. Tilt your body down the hill until your shoulders are near parallel to the slope of the ground.
3. Take enough practice swings to get a feel for ball position and the upper limit to how hard you can swing without losing the tilt in your set up.

A final thought ... The uphill lie looks friendly, but should be respected the same as the others.  Trying to swing too hard, or pressing a club to its limit, greatly reduces one's chances of controlling the flight of the ball.

1. Choose a club with enough loft to get the ball up in the air. For most, that means no more than a seven-iron, regardless of how slight the slope.
2. Tilt down the hill (toward the target) until your shoulders are near parallel with the slope.  Again, take extra practice swings to see where the club wants to bottom out.
3. Finish your swing low to the ground as if chasing the ball down the hill.

 A final thought ... You have to accept your punishment.  You put yourself on a down slope, so you have to settle for being less-than-aggressive on your next shot.

1. Stand up a bit taller and allow your arms to get farther away than normal.
2. Take extra practice swings, rehearsing the flatter backswing needed to hit a ball off the side of the hill, and imagining how far right you should aim to allow for right-to-left curvature.
3. A conservative approach is best. Choose a club and aim line that will keep you out of trouble.

 A final thought... Once you've decided on a line of flight, you have to trust it and not try to guide the ball back to the flag, or worse yet, steer it away from trouble.

1. Pick a club you feel like you're in control of (most likely a short iron) and take extra practice swings.
2. Set up with more knee bend than usual and your rear end extra low.
3. Give the ball room to curve to the right.

 A final thought ... Everybody makes the same mistake on these shots: they stand up in mid-swing.  You have to keep your knees bent and your rear end low to get to the bottom half of the ball.