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It’s officially Masters week. All the hype is swirling over whether Tiger Woods is going to play — and I personally think he will — but even if he does tee it up, it’s hard to believe that he’s at a point physically where he can actually compete for a win. I certainly won’t count him out from winning again in the future, perhaps this season or next even, but I don’t see any realistic scenario of him being at, or even near, the top of the leaderboard this week at Augusta.

My pick for Masters champion is Jon Rahm. He’s had a sneakily quiet season thus far with four top-10 finishes, and so I think he’s poised to bust out with something big. And what better time to do so than the first major of the year at Augusta? 

He’s currently leading the PGA Tour in strokes gained off-the-tee and greens-in-regulation percentage, and top-10 in total strokes gained and driving distance. The big question marks for him are his short game: 138th in strokes gained putting, 168th in strokes gained around-the-green, and 178th in sand save percentage. 

Prior to the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play, he said it’s not an issue: “When you’re No. 1 off the tee and top 10 in strokes gained approach, my putting stats are not going to be top 20. It’s absolutely impossible unless I’m winning every single week by eight. Kind of how it goes. Is it as good as it could be? No, but I think it shows in the stats worse than it actually feels just because I’m hitting so many greens and hitting it so good. Again, I feel like I’ve said it a few times. It’s not as bad as it looks. It feels a lot better than it looks. Maybe I haven’t gotten the results yet, but I’m not worried about it.”

A big reason why I believe Rahm will do well at the Masters is the fact that he lost the No. 1 world ranking last week to Scottie Scheffler. Just like his win at last year’s U.S. Open two weeks after being pulled from Memorial while leading the tournament, I think dropping down to No. 2 will create a fire inside of him going into Augusta. 

My prediction is that Jon Rahm will hoist the green jacket this year with a score of 12-under par.

The 2022 Masters begins Thursday, April 7, on ESPN.

Answer these questions:

On par 3s, do you typically aim directly at the flag and try to reach the green in one?

On par 4s, do you typically try to reach the green in two?

On par 5s, do you typically try to reach the green in three, or even two?

If you’re a mid-to-high handicap golfer and you answered yes to these questions, then you are hurting your game. Going after greens-in-regulation and pars can actually lead to higher scores as opposed to simply trying for bogeys. This may sound counter-intuitive, but it’s true. Let’s examine why.

Say you’re standing over a 410-yard par 4. You take out your driver and hit it 230 yards down the fairway, leaving you with 180 yards to go. It’s a front hole location so you take out your 6-iron and go for the green, hoping to set yourself up with a two-putt for par. But, like most amateurs tend to do, you it it short and leave yourself a tricky up-and-down chip shot with little green to work with. And, again like most amateurs tend to do, you blade the chip across the green and have to do it a second time from the other side. You manage to two-putt from there and end up carding a 6. All because you just had to go for the green right away.

Now let’s rewind back to the fairway shot. Maybe you’re really comfortable hitting a 90-yard shot with your gap wedge, a lot more comfortable than a 6-iron from 180 out. Two of those and you’re on the green, two putts and you’ve got a 5, which is still better than a 6. So why not just do that? Many golfers look down on the idea of laying up, but in reality it’s often the much safer and smarter choice. In fact, most professional players say they don’t usually go for the green with anything longer than a 7 or 8-iron. It’s a much better idea to create an approach shot from a number that you like hitting from rather than trying to force one in with a club you’re not particularly great with,

What if we examine this from a broader perspective? A lot of golfers probably scoff at the idea of aiming for bogeys, but there’s really nothing wrong with them, especially if you’re a high-handicapper. Let me prove it to you. If you’re on a par-70 golf course and you bogey all 18 holes, that’s an 88, which is probably a pretty good score for 15-20 handicappers. For professional golfers, pars are good and birdies are great, but amateurs shouldn’t think that way. For them, it should be that bogeys are good, pars are great, and birdies are fantastic. Thinking that way will cause you to play smarter and safer, which will lead to lower scores.

Let us know what your thoughts are about going for the green as quickly as possible! #MakeItHappen 

When my dad was a youth baseball coach, parents would come up to him and say, “My kid took 500 swings in the batting cage last night,” to which my dad would reply, “He probably did the same wrong thing 500 times.” My dad understood that mindless repetition isn’t productive. In fact, it’s often harmful. That’s because of muscle memory — It takes 1,500 repetitions to correct a bad habit, and so if you’re simply swinging over and over without taking the time to think about and analyze what you’re doing, then most likely you’re actually searing those bad habits further and further into your muscle memory banks. Simply put, it’s better to do 100 correct swings at half-speed than 1,000 incorrect swings at full speed. Take your time, figure out what you’re trying to accomplish, and #MakeItHappen.

Nine out of 10 golfers, when they’re at the driving range, only care about distance and speed. If they hit a shot and it goes 150 yards, then they want the next shot to go 155. This results in golfers hitting ball after ball in rapid succession as hard as they can, only focusing on how far the ball is going and with no other real thoughts in mind. If you are a golfer who does this, then you need to stop immediately because you are not doing yourself any favors. 

Don’t get me wrong, speed training has a place in golf, but it’s much more useful once you have your swing figured out. If you’re trying to improve your swing from a technical standpoint, then swinging as hard as you can won’t help you, you’ll never improve your swing this way. And unless you have a consistent, repeatable swing and can reliably hit fades and draws, then distance means nothing. Golf is more about how well you can control your shots rather than how far you can hit. 

When at the driving range, instead of hitting every shot with full power, find targets and try to hit to them. Pick a distance and try to hit directly at it, not over it. Don’t do a full swing every time, do three-quarter and half swings so you understand what your numbers are from those positions. Do this with every club — Full swing, three-quarter swing, half swing — and that will really help you minimize the yardage gaps between your clubs. Also, practice hitting different types of shots — fades and draws, lows and highs. After all, that’s what it’s like when you’re actually on the course, dialing in specific numbers and hitting towards specific targets. 

Once you have all of this down, then you can start worrying about speed and distance. But control and proper technique should always come first. Let’s get out there and #MakeItHappen!

I think that most amateur golfers are aware of where their feet are pointing in relation to the club face when they’re standing over the ball. Sure, every once in a while you see someone who usually slices the ball point their feet way left, but for the most part, golfers are generally aware of their feet. What I see a lot of the time, however, are golfers whose feet are pointed in the right direction, but their shoulders are way off. As we’ll discuss in this post, having your shoulders too open or closed at address could lead to a plethora of other issues later in the swing.

How do I check where my shoulders are pointing?

There are multiple ways to check shoulder alignment. One of the easiest ways is to stand over the ball with a club or alignment stick parallel to your feet line, and then hold another club or alignment stick across your shoulders. If the two are not parallel, then your feet and shoulders are not properly aligned. Another easy way is to stand next to a mirror, with the mirror facing down the line. This method can be a little imperfect, however, because it requires you to turn your head, which could lead your shoulders turning as well. Finally, another great way to see where your shoulders are pointing is to film yourself from down the line, either by propping up a camera or having someone else film you.

Why are my shoulders too open/too closed?

Several factors could be contributing to shoulders being too open or too closed, which could then lead to a lot of different swing problems. By far the biggest of these is ball position. Having the ball too far forward in your stance can cause the shoulders to be too far open, and having the ball too far back can make the shoulders too closed. This is usually the result of people having to reach for the ball if it’s too far forward or back, causing the chest and shoulders to turn too much. Another possible factor is swing thought. If you’re trying to hit a fade, for example, you may find yourself opening your shoulders to help get your path to the left. Conversely, if you’re looking to hit a draw, you might subconsciously close your shoulders to help get the path to the right. 

What sorts of problems can this lead to?

Slightly turning the shoulders can help with hitting fades and draws, but too much misalignment can lead to many problems. If your shoulders are too open, for example, this will likely produce a very steep over-the-top swing, which leads to a slice. If they’re too closed, then there’s a good chance that you’ll either swing way too shallow, or you’ll loop around and still swing over-the-top. And so if you’re someone who slices the ball or hits chunks and you can’t figure out what’s wrong with your swing, well maybe it’s not your swing. Maybe it’s as simple as pointing your shoulders in the right direction.

What can I do to point my shoulders in the right direction?

If the problem is your ball position, then you should start there. There’s nothing wrong with having the ball slightly forward or back in your stance, it doesn’t have to be exactly in the middle, but too much either way is not optimal. Once you have your ball position in a good chance, make sure to avoid turning your upper body towards the ball. Focus on keeping the shoulders and club face pointing in the same direction. If the ball is forward in your stance then the club will be slightly on your left side of your body, and if it’s back in your stance then it will be slightly on the right side of your body. This will seem strange at first, but this is okay. And it’s still much better than having your shoulders pointed in the wrong direction.

Let us know where your shoulders point and how that influences your swing. As always, let’s #MakeItHappen together!