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

[JasonFL]

My problem has always been over the top/casting.

Near the end of this lesson he explains where your left elbow, right elbow should be during your swing.  I applied it and my drives are small fades, if not dead straight.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zK7jpmHLloc

[bunkerputt]

Originally Posted by Alex B

A great image for hitting greenside bunker shots: "Fillet it out."

Even regardless of its meaning (which provides a cool metaphor), the sound of "fillet" is exactly what you want in a bunker shot: it begins with a soft backswing ("fil") followed by a harder downswing that nonetheless cuts smoothly through the sand (the "lay" sound is accented but contains the liquid "l" and leaves an open vowel, suggesting a gentle thump -- if you pronounced the "t," that'd be like catching the ball first and skulling it over the green).

Thanks.  Now I'm never going to be able to hit another bunker shot without thinking about a fish.

[bunkerputt]

The hands must always move at the same rate as the grip...  especially in public.

[Gresh24]

Never get less than twelve hours sleep; never play cards with a guy who has the same first name as a city; and never get involved with a woman with a tattoo of a dagger on her body. Now you stick to that, and everything else is cream cheese.

[iacas]

Originally Posted by JetFan1983

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.

Suck up.

But more seriously, thanks, and I hope that the recent creation of the "Swing Thoughts" forum will prompt me to share more thoughts and have more discussions that aren't really related to any one person's specific swing but rather more general and theoretical. I'm looking forward to it.

Best advice I ever got? Different categories.

For playing: have fun. I think that's the #1 reason I'm a good pressure player - it's even more fun when golf matters!

For teaching: prioritize. That's as simple as I can make that one, because there's a lot more to it.

[mchepp]

The greatest tip is still waiting for me to find it on the internet, in an instructional book I haven't read, or on the range. The only place I know it is not is Golf Digest.

[Lag Rag]

If you feel any bodily function coming on, whether it be a burp, gas, sneeze, etc. NEVER start your swing.  You may have a blowout!

[realedge]

I was wondering if you had any pictures that might explain it - In to Out - you being a lefty and me imagining what happened with your club pro, I can't picture it in my minds eye.

Would really like to see what this is...

My drives are generally good but I know I can get extra out of them,, just don't know how...

Originally Posted by Tiger Spuds

I thought it'd be interesting to hear the single best tip or bit of advice people have recieved that have helped them most in Golf.Whether it be from your instructor, playing partner, or some bloke on the Range.

I got a free tip from a club pro a few days ago that instantly changed my golf game.He took one look at my swing, stood in front of me and a little to my left (I'm a lefty) and told me to swing the club in his direction, turning my hands over at impact.After 1 swing, I realised that in 9 months playing the game of Golf, I'd never really understood how to execute an 'In to Out' swingpath properly.I thought I knew what it meant, but obviously I didn't know how it felt, or how to get in that position.This morning on the course I hit a 275 yard drive with a nice draw and I can honestly say I've never stuck a golf ball as well in my entire life.I'm sure many of you know that feeling.It may seem like an obvious and fundamental aspect of the Golf swing, but to me it was nothing less than a revelation and that's why it's my number 1 tip.Please share yours!

[realedge]

The best tip I got was from the lady who put the club in my hand at 10yrs old.  Just watch the club actually hit the ball.

If you ever get the chance to watch the truly greats, they watch the ball get hit before they move their heads.

I'm amazed at how accurate my shots are when I actually do this.

[Rip24]

Best piece of advice I gave myself,... take that 800 bucks your about to spend on some new sticks and go get some f'n lessons

[Precis1on]

Compress, compress, compress the ball!

Other than that, the ball flight laws really helped me understand what I was doing with my swing, and now am able to know what I need to do to work the ball if I need to.

[johnthejoiner]

hit it with your practice swing

[inthehole]

In order of importance ...

1. Slow the backswing down.

2. Don't try to kill it - hitting it on the sweet spot with a nice easy swing will fly farther & straighter than swinging too hard & hitting it off center.

3. Don't dip the right shoulder - I hit too many fat shots & this helps when I focus on it.

4. Focus on the ball until contact - amazing what good comes from actually looking at the golf ball.

5. Keep the head centered - don't shift body rearward during backswing.

Most importantly - the game of golf is exponentially more enjoyable when played from the fairway ... ultimate length shouldn't be the goal (unless you're a top level player, where it's obviously necessary), hitting fairways is paramount.

[sean_miller]

This year it was a sarcastic comment: "You should have hit driver".

I hit my 2-iron a lot, but last year I was hitting my driver more and having more scoring opportunities. I still prefer hitting a 2-iron, but if I'm not getting the ball to at least decision territory on par 5s, then I gotta take more stick and risk putting it in a hazard. The more you challenge yourself off the tee, the easier the routine shots become. Easy par holes become birdie holes. Theoretically.

[robinoso]

Physical - Hitting down on the ball without a doubt.  I remember when I hit and just instantly said...unbelievable.  Where were you 6 months ago?

Mental - Don't think about how bad that shot was, think about how you are going to get in and recover in the least amount of strokes.

[B-Con]

"Let the loft on the club get the ball up, it doesn't need your help." - Paraphrased from various sources. It's a simple, common, and very helpful tip. It helps fix all kinds of hands problems that plague most beginners, and I don't think you can even hope to chip half consistently without realizing that. Once you learn to start hitting the ball with the clubface rather than trying to scoop the ball with the clubface, the game becomes completely different. I've seen a decent number of beginners play by "scooping". They see a ball sitting on a flat surface, and in their mind the club is kind of like a spoon to pick it off the ground and get it up in the air. Naturally, their and and wrists feel obliged to contribute to the effort.

[patrick]

That is a life lesson indeed.

[inthehole]

As I'm learing to play golf on my own, I wouldn't have found out about stack & tilt if it werent for this forum ... I owe alot to this place.