High handicap golfers often make the mistake of not accelerating their golf club head into the golf ball on the short shot into the green. I know that I often found myself pulling back at the last moment hoping that I would not over hit or miss-hit the golf ball.

The result was often a duff shot. The golf club digging into the grass behind the ball with the golf ball hopping forward - going nowhere. Or maybe- in the hesitation - and momentarily lifting my eyes off the ball - topping the ball and sending it skidding across the grass. Sometimes even kissing the club head up against the golf ball in a kind of non-shot going nowhere. The outcome...

Me feeling stupid, maybe dropping a shot and worst of all - having to do it all over again.

Now I've seen the pro's do this on the golf course and they should know better. But that is no comfort when it's my shot and it's my partner looking at me with sympathy - or frustration if it's not the first time in the game.

The answer to this problem is to accelerate through the shot.

Too often I found myself taking an exceptionally long backswing and then sort of letting the club head drop down to the ball.

The correct way to approach this is to accelerate through the shot. Short golf shots into the green require a fir

m and decisive stroke. A smooth and rhythmical swing with a shorter backswing, accelerating down into the ball and striking it squarely just before the club head bites into the grass will produce the results you want. It's also important to keep your wrists firm on impact with a steady follow through.

This requires some courage though. Because if you strike the golf ball firmly and top it you could be picking the ball out of some rabbit's teeth on the far side of the green.

The trick is to vary the backswing to provide different flight distances rather than try to control the flight path with club speed. With a little practice I found that I could begin to relate backswing to flight path distance.

And as I get better at this I know the strokes will begin to drop of my score.

............ And the rabbit's feel safer..........

Have a go. It is working for me - and it should work for you.

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