Driver, short game and AI

This edition of Finding the Tips presents fundamentals and drills that will help improve your driver performance, as well as a conversation with a short game expert who works with Tour pros. He offers a new way of approaching short game chips and pitches that helps improve contact and accuracy.

There’s also a first in this week’s newsletter: an advertisement.

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Speaking of AI, a YouTube creator reviews an AI app to see if it really helps a golfer improve.

In this issue

• Complete driver guide

• Short game: Three releases

• Can AI Improve your golf swing?

Complete driver guide

Giles Gill is one of my favourite YouTube golf coaches. He is very clear and concise in his descriptions of technique and his demonstrations and drills are spot on.

This time, he brings us a complete driver guide. 

Usually, his videos run between 4 and 10 minutes. This one is nearly 47 minutes. But don’t be put off. Everything you ever wanted to know about driving is a big topic. There are a number of concepts, skills and drills that need to be understood and practiced.

To help manage the content, Giles breaks it all down into chapters. Click the time stamps shown below to find the information you need.

Driver Guide Chapters

• 00:00 Introduction

• 01:02 Key Concept 1

• 02:16 Key Concept 2

• 03:25 Key Concept 3

• 04:09 Key Concept 4

• 05:03 Setup (Face On View)

• 11:42 Setup (Down The Line View)

• 15:16 Backswing Body Motion

• 20:07 Backswing Arms & Club

• 23:25 Wrist set

• 26:43 Transition, Downswing & Impact

• 31:35 Split Hands Pump Drill

• 33:06 Rotating Through Impact

• 34:00 Throw the Rock Drill

• 35:47 Chopsticks Drill

• 36:48 Stop Drill

• 38:44 The release

• 41:30 Analyzing Your Swing

• 42:41 Taking It to the Course

• 44:29 Fairway Finder

This kind of content is made to be revisited again and again. The next time your driver gives you fits, go back to the Complete Driver Guide and reset.

Short game: 3 releases

A world-renowned short game coach, Dan Grieve, demonstrates the three releases you need in your short game. These releases will give you everything you need to hit just about any shot near the green.

Dan defines release as the way the club swings through the ball. The three releases produce three different shots:

• Release one gives you a low, running chip shot

• Release two produces a soft-landing spin shot

• Release three gives you the lob shot that flies very high and lands very softly

Take a look at the video and give the releases a try the next time you’re at a chipping green.

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Can AI improve your golf swing?

The free GolfFix app has been around for a few months. It’s been downloaded heavily onto both Android and IOS devices.

This review includes a demonstration of the app in use. The reviewer has a YouTube channel called Zim and the Rocket. In the last seven years, the channel has evolved to deliver golf content in the form of course videos and product reviews.

Blaine Zimmer walks us through his own use of the GolfFix app and how it allows him to download a video of his swing. A minute or so later, the swing has been analyzed and improvements/changes are suggested.

The user reviews are very positive in the app stores, with most people surprised that the app is free.

I’ve downloaded it and I’m going to give it a try. What have I got to lose? 😊