What is the best golf lesson or tip you ever received?

[Chris223]

my friend getting me to really wrap my right hand over my left on my grip. Getting my right palm over my left thumb while gripping the club, especially with driver and fairway woods. Prior to doing this... I would NEVER hit the driver straight, not even on occasion. Since doing that I hit my driver pretty straight on a pretty consistent basis and usually BOMB it. Distance and accuracy off the tee made a lot of difference for me. Rather than being in the trees and punching out with a 5 iron I'm in the fairway hitting a 7 or below.

[scgolf]

Fix my shanks from Tina Mickelson (Phil's sister) on Golf Channel many years ago, that was the best single golfing advice that i've ever had. Thanks, Tina!!

[pavespawn]

I heard Arnold Palmer say once, "If you want to see a bad shot just look up." That has helped me a lot.

Then again while warming up before my very first lesson my instructor walks over and whispers, "Gary, slow down." That has stuck with me ever since.

[sc13ntific]

Only recently started playing agin and mostly by myself. The other day I did get out with a few wof the old guys at the club and they did give me some good advice. After hitthng a good drive on my second shots they said I was trying too hard to hit the ball. Letting the moment get to me and to just slow down and approach it like any other shot. It made perfect sense, now I just need to find a way to remember that the next time I get out (hopefully tomorrow)

[Dr. Griefo]

Iacas's thread on the biggest secret the hip swing. I always seemed to hit the ball better when my swing accidently felt like those pics looked like but I thought it was a reverse pivot so stayed away from it. Since seeing that I have been the range grass a nice buzz cut and hitting the ball fairly well during a game. Once I get it ingrained to where I no longer have to think about it I should probably be ready to win at Q school..on the Wii. The real course will get me in some other way.

[ohiolefty]

The biggest one for me ---

If you don't feel right over a shot, mentally or physically, take a deep breath and start over. Never hit a shot when you don't feel right.

[pavespawn]

The biggest one for me ---

I wish I could hold myself to this. Great advice. I've seen Tiger stop himself at the top of his backswing. Amazing.

[mdbuschsr]

Some of mine are:

The best piece of advice I was ever given is actually counter to this. I was told to line up down the right edge of the fairway. It seems that my brain knowing that I'm lined up to that side makes my swing better. Don't know exactly why it works, but it does... Most of the time.

[stianvm]

Trust your read. Get as close to plane on the green to get a proper read on the putt, walk off the green if necessary. When figured out how the putt will go, trust this read when over the ball and putting.

Focusing on this have done wonders to my puttingstats.

[trickymicky69]

The biggest one for me ---

I really wish I could do this.

The worst feeling is when the club catches the ground on the way back and I still end up taking the shot It never works so god only knows why I carry on. The best piece of advice I have ever been given is always take too much club as most of the dangers lay when you short side yourself.

[TourSpoon]

When I realized that the golf swing is a golf swing and not a golf hit...that the left and right side both have to be used to effectively swing.

[washmo]

As a teenager I tried to rip the cover off the ball with every swing. A local pro happened to be at the range while I chunked and skulled away.

"Swing a little harder, you might hit it next time."

Having come back to the game after a decade away, forcing myself to slow down is still the single most important thing I can do to play better golf.

[GolferDot]

Be the ball.

Tried that once ...... hurt like hell

[Easy]

Swing, set, through...

or beep, BEEP!, BEEEP....

[Rip24]

A friend of mine who is a better golfer than I with Freddie Couples like tempo made me play an entire round taking one longer club than I normally would.  In order to not fly the green I had to slow it down.  Immeadatly my ball striking was so much more crisp and my control much more accurate.  He made me realize I had a good swing but was ruining my game by trying to swing way to hard.

[JetFan1983]

Originally Posted by JetFan1983

This isn't meant to stroke anyone's ego but I have never felt more confident that I know the anatomy of the golf swing after iacas went on his posting rampage after he met David Weznik.

So read iacas's posts from like August 2009 and on or so. They're better than any tip you'll ever find in a book or magazine.

Over a year and a half later, this still holds true. Except, now I actually know how to spell Dave's name correctly.

And just to clarify, Erik's posts pre-2009 were still excellent; they've just "evolved" over the years.

When I'm at the range or on the course, I am constantly drawing on the many things Erik has written and suggested to me (and the community) about this game. I am no longer frustrated by "not knowing why" so to speak. That by itself is huge. I wouldn't enjoy this game as much as I do if it wasn't for all the stuff I've learned here. That's why I'm a supporter now!

Ultimately, my ability to discern good tips from bad tips is my probably my best learned golf asset -- and I learned how to do that here, over the course of the last three years. I think this ability is invaluable and (as I have proven) learnable if one is willing to listen.

[rustyredcab]

Best advise ever was choose to Moe Norman as my model. The advise went on to say if I was not going to choose to swing like Moe, I should choose some other model. Find a swing model and stick with it all the way. Copy everything. Never fall into the a little of this and some of that.

I can look at my swing, look at video of Moe, and know exactly what I'm doing right and wrong. Doing it right is not always easy, but it is a plan that stays the same every season.

[MiniBlueDragon]

Lately it's definitely "rotate the shoulders, don't tilt the shoulders"