'Tis the season!

As we head into the heart of the holiday season, the quote above is one that gives me solace. I hope it does the same for you.

More than that, I hope you have a great holiday season and a safe, healthy and prosperous New Year.

The next issue of Finding the Tips will your inbox on Friday, December 27. Ho! Ho! Ho!

In this issue

• Consistently correct setup and back swing

• Instruction from the artist, Sam Snead

• Chipping over a bunker

Consistently correct setup and back swing

How many times are we told that the trail arm (right arm for right-handers) is vitally important if you want to strike the ball consistently well.

Readers of Finding the Tips have come across that truism. But what about the lead arm?

Mark Crossfield brings us a great video that explains how we should set up to the ball and the position of both the trail and lead arms. He also delivers a great method for ensuring that both arms are positioned correctly every time.

With the lead arm, point your thumb straight out, perpendicular to your foot line. With you trail hand, turn your thumb so it’s pointing 15 degrees behind the ball. Think of that thumb as pointing at seven o’clock while the ball sits at six o’clock.

If you look at your elbows, your lead elbow points slight down and toward the target. The trail elbow pit points away from your chest and that arm is in a “giving blood” position.

This position helps keep your shoulders square and parallel to the target line, improving aim and accuracy.

Mark walks us through how to make a great back swing where the trail elbow never moves past the seam on the side of your golf shirt. At the top of the back swing, the angle formed by your forearm and upper arm is no more than 90 degrees.

He also gives us a couple of simple drills that we can do at home during the off season to ingrain the correct back swing into our muscle memory. And as a Black Friday free bonus, Mark busts a couple of swing myths.

Instruction from the artist, Sam Snead

Tour player, teacher and broadcaster Bob Kostis shares this story about a clinic where he saw Sam Snead teaching amateurs how to hit a high three-iron. This video is an instant classic and adds to the legend surrounding Slammin’ Sammy Snead.

Chipping over a bunker

For many people, chipping or pitching over greenside bunkers is a daunting shot.

The YouTube channel called Darin’s Wedge Work says this simple shot is primarily affected by two factors – the lie and your level of confidence with the shot. A bad lie or low confidence will really limit your chances of making a good shot.

If the lie is bad, Darin suggests you simply take your medicine. Don’t try to get cute and hit the perfect shot. Make your goal simply getting the ball over the bunker and somewhere where you can putt it. Hit a standard chip, keeping the club face of your wedge square, feet close together and swinging straight back and through the ball to the target with minimal wrist cock. Position the ball towards the center of your stance.

When I get this shot, I concentrate on having good tempo and I take practice swings until I know I can replicate the swing.

If you have confidence in the shot and want to hit it a little higher, set up with the ball just inside the front heel, and open the club face of your wedge of choice just a little — but make sure it’s pointing at the target. Focus on swinging the club by moving your chest back and through. Limit the amount of movement generated by your hands and wrists. Find your tempo with practice swings and then hit it.

If you need to hit it higher yet, open the club face a little more, swing back a little further by moving your chest back and through, and keep your weight forward. Remember that you want to strike the ground with the bounce of the club, not the leading edge.

Sometimes you need to hit a flop shot if you have to get it close to a short-sided pin. This shot flies very high and lands very soft – like a butterfly with sore feet. This time, set up with the club face pointing to the sky. Open the club face and then take your grip.

Continue to swing with your chest but break your wrists early in the backswing. On the follow through keep the club face open and pointing at the sky.

The flop shot requires some practice from different lies so you can get a feel for how hard you need to hit it. But once you master it, it’s great fun!