Are your golf skills in need if a tune-up? Sexy LPGA pro Natalie Gulbis offers these quick tips on how to improve the key elements of your game.
DRIVING “The proper driver position is right off your left foot,” says Gulbis. “That’ll help you hit it a little more solidly.” Don’t grip too hard, and keep your lower body still while your upper body rotates through the ball. To hit your shot from right to left, move the ball back in your stance, closer to your right foot, and swing inside out. To hit it left to right, move it up in your stance, and swing from the outside in.
BUNKER PLAY Playing a bunker the right way can shave strokes off your score. Have the ball in the middle of your slightly open stance with a slightly open club head. Don’t be fancy, just get the ball out of the bunker. “The key is to make sure you take your shot two inches behind the ball,” says Gulbis. “The sand will help carry the ball out and spin it a little better.”
PUTTING You can putt a million different ways, but the key is to repeat your stroke. “If you cut across it, if you hit it hard, if you hit it soft, whatever it is, just be able to work from there,” says Gulbis. Get used to hitting the ball the same way every time. “Draw a line on your golf ball and line it up with your target,” she says. “Then, you can just roll it along that line.”
MENTAL GAME Golf can be one of the most frustrating hobbies in the world, if you let it get to you. “You’ve got to get in a positive frame of mind, or else you’re going straight downhill.”
WORKOUT Gulbis makes sure to do at least five minutes of stretching at the gym. Anything you can do to keep loose will help. “It’s easy to skip flexibility,” she says. “But it’s amazing what it will do for your game.”
