June 10, 2021

It’s that time of year. If you’re not working on your golf game, what are you doing? We recently caught up with Greg Norman, who dominated the golf world for 331 weeks, to get his best playing tips. Read what he had to share below.

GET READY

Greg suggests getting your body ready to play — both mentally and physically — before teeing off. Get out and do some stretches at the golf course and hit some golf balls. Every day is different, and every day your body is different, so you need to warmup.

HIT THE DRIVING RANGE

One day you might be hitting a beautiful fade; the next day you could be pulling the ball. Play to what your driving range practice was and take that to the course. Don’t correct anything during play.

TAKE A SWING

The best long-game tip Greg has is to swing within your capabilities. And second: don’t swing from the top. He recommends swinging from the ground up instead. Plant yourself in the ground, and as you’re coming down toward the ball, power through at the end while you come up through it.

USE TECHNOLOGY

There are many golf courses that don’t suit your eye. Technology can be a huge advantage to get around that. Greg uses an Approach® Z82 range finder to identify hazards, see how far away they are and aim to shoot over them. Use this tool to navigate courses you’ve never played before.

PLAY WITHIN YOUR LIMITATIONS

If you hit a golf ball a certain distance, don’t try to hit it perfect every time. No golf pro tries to play 100 percent every swing. Greg said he’d be happy if he hit four perfect shots in a good round of golf.

DRIVE WITH CONTROL

Don’t try to max out your driver all the time. At the end of the day, it’s all about control. The more you get your ball in play, the more control you have over your game. Greg also adds to think about distance without effort. Never try to force the golf ball.

USE YOUR BIG MUSCLES

As you address the golf ball, you have a triangle between your grip and your shoulders. You need to maintain that triangle as long as you possibly can, and the only way to do that is to rotate your torso. Doing so will help you keep the club deep on the way back and gives a nice width on the way down. During a swing, don’t rotate your club with your hands or arms.  

DON’T OVERTHINK IT

It’s your game, play it your way.