Watch your favorite PGA Tour player prepare for hitting any shot, and you will observe a systematic approach to hitting each and everything.

Now the next time you play a casual round with your favorite foursome notice which, if any, of your fellow golfers have any sort of pre-shot routine.

You may not have thought about it before, but your routine can have a very positive affect on the numbers on your scorecard, so let’s look at why.

We can all agree that golf requires intense focus and concentration to perform at a high level. Watch the facial expressions of great players like Woods, Nicklaus or Floyd in the heat of competition, and you can’t help but see the “look,” which is also called being “in the zone.”

We can also agree that maintaining 100 percent concentration for a four hour round of golf is unrealistic as it would be mentally draining. If we could develop a routine that allowed us to tap into this focus state, hit the shot and then resume a normal state of mind we would have the best of both worlds.

By creating an effective routine, not only can you access concentration but also the ability to relax, breathe, visualize and then distract the conscious mind to allow the subconscious mind to actually execute the shot required.

The most effective routine begins with a question

The most effective routine does not begin with selecting a club, checking the wind or the yardage, but it begins with a question. Ask yourself, “What does a good shot look like here?” This allows you to change focus from negative thoughts such as “don’t hit it into that bunker” and replaces that focus onto positive thoughts.

Questions create images in the mind, and you want to see a clear image of what a good shot looks like. Positive images stimulate feelings that trigger emotions, and you want those emotions to feel good about executing that shot!

Your practice swing

The next step in your routine will be your practice swing. The type of practice swing you take will depend on the question you asked in step one. Does this shot need to curve right to left or left to right? Do you need to hit it high or take it in low? Will this shot need extra spin because the greens are firm? If this is a putt, what is the speed that I want the ball to enter the hole?

All of these questions will have images associated with them, and the practice swing should mimic those images. If this shot requires a high draw then your practice swing may feel a bit flatter than normal, you may feel your hands get closer to your body on the downswing and the club path a bit more in-to-out, with the hands finishing high. You just made the practice swing that will produce a high draw. Be careful that you do not break the swing down into pieces; under pressure, the brain prefers a complete motion rather than a segmented one.

Access your performance state via deep breathing

Now that you are two steps into your routine, it will be necessary to make sure that you are calm and your nerves are settled. In the third step, you want to focus on your breathing (more specifically, deep breathing). Deep breathing is one of the most powerful tools that will allow you to access your performance state. What we want to do is make sure the mind does not jump forward and think, “Well what if I don’t hit this one good, and it goes in the water?” Future tense thinking creates anxiety and tension.

Not only does deep breathing help relax you, it helps ground you in the present moment — the state controlled by images. This form of breathing is not your normal breathe in, breathe out exercise but, rather, a specific type called the Reflex Breath, and it’s the opposite of what you would expect.

Begin by completely exhaling all of the air in your lungs, imagine that you are squeezing a sponge filled with air. As you expel all of this air, you will instinctively breathe in a full supply of fresh oxygen. Perform 2-3 relaxing breaths and literally feel like you are blowing out all of the tension.

Clear your mind, then go on automatic

You are getting close now, having picked the club, imagined the shot, made the practice swing and done your breathing, but what if one of those “what if” questions creeps in? Let’s imagine a simple exercise that can temporarily shut down the conscious mind and allow of all that good programming to execute the shot for you. This exercise is called a Clear Key and is simply a phrase that contains no action words that keeps your mind occupied while you perform.

It could be something simple like, “I like my swing, it’s the thing!” or lyrics from your favorite song, etc. Use any phrase that makes you feel good, just be sure it does not contain actions words such as hit, kill, slide, turn or any words that cause you to think about doing something. Once you have your Clear Key, it’s time to “go on automatic.” Imagine a line between you and the ball, and tell yourself that once you cross that line you are only in Clear Key mode. Repeat your Clear Key just like a broken record until the ball is gone!

Remember your Clear Key does not have to make sense, its purpose is to distract you from thinking “what if” and let your subconscious mind do its job.

Now you have established a simple but powerful pre-shot routine. It is up to you to practice your routine and make it a part of every shot from drive to putt. Not only will your routine give you a sense of familiarity and calm, it will become part of you, the golfer. Remember that your routine is not just another “thing that I do here” but a very powerful tool!

With this tool you will know that despite the outcome you have done everything that you can do to execute the shot required. You will build consistency into your game and allow yourself the opportunity to perform at levels you’ve always imagined.

Students ask all the time if they should take a practice swing or not. In response, I ask if they do in fact partake in this all important facet of the game. The answer usually comes back “sometimes.”

That’s like admitting we would “sometimes” like to hit a good shot.

I also hear from many that their practice swing is very good, but the swing they put on the ball is poor. Maybe. Let me explain.

Golf is a motor skill, which means that the way that we swing a golf club is basically formed by an image that we have in our brains. If the imagery we have is poor, than the resulting swing will typically be poor. Many argue that there is no such thing as muscle memory in golf, just motor memory. I agree.

Example: One of the biggest skills missing from golfers is the ability to hit the ball first and then take a divot. Most exclaim that this motion is just for the pros, or must take some great strength. Neither is true. We are all born with an instinct to scoop the ball into the air by releasing the club head too early in the downswing in an attempt to get the club “under” the ball.

Once the student is taught that that, in fact, is not how the ball goes up, but instead the proper motion of taking a divot in front of the ball, all the brain cares about from that point forward is to take the proper divot. The student can draw a line on the ground between their legs perpendicular to the target line and practice taking a divot at or in front of the line.

But what they really are doing is building motor memory. The brain will tell the body how to do this action over time. When the divot is behind the ball, typically subconsciously, the brain has resorted to its old reasoning; not because the golfer has physically performed poorly. As far as I know the arms and the hands that are doing the scooping do not have a brain, so something had to tell them to do it!

Back to practice swings: Take them very seriously; your brain is paying attention. The ball does not really care too much about anything else but what the golf club is doing at the moment of impact. So if taking a good divot in front of the ball is something that happens on chips, pitches, irons, hybrids and fairway woods when hit properly, then when you set up for a practice swing, set up equal to the ball (a few inches away), make a swing not thinking of how to take the divot, just on making the divot in the correct location. This may make a try or two. As soon as you see the proper divot, get right up to the ball and hit it without delay.

Basically what has just happened was your brain gave you the correct information, the body responded with how it is going to do it and you just tried to replicate that motion. That is how you play a motor skill.

Remember, you can drill on the range working on hitting in front of the line, but when it is time to play, your brain does not care about the way it happens, it just wants you to show it the correct motion and then wants to fire.

Those who have trouble taking the “perfect” practice swing and have trouble hitting the ball, upon further review, actually do not have a correct practice swing, they are actually putting the same incorrect motion on the shot and are disappointed.

So, yes, take a practice swing. Know what requirement that practice swing must have (divot in front of ball), set up to your shot, and hit the ball.

Stick with this routine and enjoy the great shots that are coming your way.

Try these quick tips, and see your distance off the tee increase:

• At address, keep 60 to 70 percent of your weight on the right foot. Take a slightly wider stance (a little wider than your shoulders), with toes pointed slightly outward.

• Tee the ball high, and move it forward up by your front toe so you can catch it on the upswing. Use a stronger grip than normal – hands turned back toward your back shoulder and light grip pressure.

• Make a wide arc, and strive for maximum extension. (Stretch your arms outward during the swing.) Maximize coil, and get your left shoulder behind the ball on backswing.

• To maximize coil, don’t lift your left foot on the backswing. (Very important, the lower body has to stay solid during the backswing.)

• Be sure to complete the backswing and the follow through, making a completely full swing. It’s OK to bend your left arm to make a complete backswing.

• Start your downswing by pulling the hands down toward the ball and letting your right knee slide toward the target. Keep your right heel on the ground longer on the downswing, and follow through to help keep your body back. (Watch Ernie Els and Tiger Woods during their practice swings.)

• Try and stay loose during the swing, keeping your head and upper body behind the ball upon impact. Rotate the shaft through impact.

• Generate maximum club-head speed by rotating the shaft through impact. (Let the hands turn over and release.)

• Throughout the swing, try and keep a light grip pressure. (Vijay Singh actually lets go of the grip with his right hand during the impact zone.)

• Remember: Swing the club fast, not hard!

The ultimate goal for most golfers is to drive the ball longer and straighter.

Although it’s the short game that will allow them to improve their scores, most golfers are driven by hitting drives longer than their playing partners. That’s what keeps golf manufactures in business, selling golfers the hope of longer, straighter drives.

Well, here are a few tips that will help in your quest to drive the ball with added power off the tee:

It starts with the proper setup

Because today’s modern drivers have larger heads and are weighted to help get the ball up in the air quickly, you need to catch the ball on the upswing.

Position the ball opposite your left toe; (right-handed golfers) take a slightly wider stance and drop your right shoulder slightly more than normal. Tee the ball high, and swing up to a full follow through position.

A little tip: pick out a target in the distance that helps you swing up, something like clouds, mountains tops or trees that allows you to visualize your ball flying high into the distance.

A full, complete backswing

It starts by turning your left shoulder away from the target and allowing your weight to shift back onto your right foot (right-handed golfers).

At the top of the backswing, your back should be facing the target with your weight behind the ball (make sure your hands are high above your right shoulder, not too far inside your swing path). Your weight should be on the inside of your right foot.

Starting the downswing

This is where most golfers loose their power. Your weight should shift left by your lower body leading the way.

Start the downswing by sliding your right knee toward the target, this will allow your right elbow to drop into your right side. From this position, just let your weight shift to your left foot and allow your arms and hands to swing the club into a follow through position. This part of your golf swing is where the shifting of the weight unleashes the power and speed of the swing.

Most average golfers start the downswing with the upper body not the lower body (the dreaded over-the-top-move). This is where they loose all their power. The lower body “must” start the downswing!

The release: Just let it happen

Most golf instructors will give you many varying ideas on how to release the club head through the impact zone.

Over the years I have noticed that if golfers have the proper weight shift from the top of their backswing, it allows them to drop the right elbow down, properly having the hands and arms naturally release through the hitting area.

I simply say a full release is when nothing is being held back; just allow the speed and force of your downswing to pull you into the follow-through position. (Don’t slow down to hit the ball; just let the club head go).

Try these tips and see your power and direction improve off the tee!

Driving the ball longer is the ultimate goal for most golfers, and there’s no doubt we all can improve our distance off the tee by making a few simple adjustments.

The following golf tips will absolutely improve your driving distance potential …

1. Turn on the power:

During the backswing turn your right shoulder away from the ball while shifting your weight and the club head back (right handed golfers). This puts you into a powerful position at the top of the backswing.

2. Generate power to the ball:

Much of the power in your golf swing comes from a solid base. As you swing the club down from the top of your back swing feel as though your front leg is as solid as it can be. At impact your front hip should be turning out of the way so you can straighten the front leg upon impact. Allow the force of your swing to let the hands release the club head into the follow-through position.

3. Loosen up:

Before your round, hit as many driver shots as possible (15 to 20), making a full backswing and full follow-through. These full swings will get your body loose faster than any other exercise. Also, end on a good shot, as it will be the last thing you remember before you hit that opening tee shot.

4. Chin at the ball during impact:

Keep your chin over the ball while swinging though the impact zone. Allow the force of your swing to pull your head up after you hit the ball, as this will keep you “behind the ball” upon impact. All good players do this to generate power.

5. Maintain your spine angle:

Power comes from releasing your coil at impact. When you hunch over the ball you lose your coil and decrease swing speed. The proper address position is to stick out your butt, straighten your back and bend from the hips. (Feel like you are about to sit in a chair.) Try to maintain this position through the entire swing. Begin by taking easy half swings to get the feel. As it becomes more comfortable lengthen your swing and increase the speed.

Experiment with these tips and find the one or two that help the most. Practice those and see your distance increase.

Problem: You can’t seem to find the fairway with your driver, OB right, trees to the left, your inaccuracy off the tee is moving that handicap higher and higher. How do you put that tee shot in the fairway?

Here’s a tip that can help: On the practice range, pick out a spot a few feet in front of your ball (place a ball or tee on that spot) and make sure you focus on it. As you look down the fairway, feel as though you are driving the ball down the center of a tunnel that starts over the spot you have picked out.

Now hit drives, but concentrate on hitting the ball over the spot down the tunnel without any thought of where you want the ball to finish. (Next time you watch PGA Tour players on TV, take notice of how many seem to be looking at a spot in front of their ball during their pre-shot routine). Jack Nicklaus was one of the first players to do this, and it really makes it much easier to start the ball online off the club face.

This works because focusing your thoughts on the ball and where you want it to go immediately after being struck helps you concentrate on the hitting area, not the landing area. This allows you to lock-in to the club head striking the ball, which all great ball strikers do.

When you become too fixed on your target, you lose focus on the ball, which causes missed-hit shots that travel off-line. Keeping focus on where you want the ball to start while feeling like you are hitting it down the tunnel will also help eliminate negative thoughts during the swing.

These tips will help you be a better ball striker, with a more consistent swing, which will have you driving that ball in the fairway.

Need help with your short game? Want to shoot lower scores in the near future?

Take a few lessons with your local PGA Professional, and spend half of the time on putting and the other half on the golf course.

For example, let’s say you take two one-hour golf lessons. Start off with whatever part of your swing needs the work. Show the pro what your problem shot is. Work to correct the issue.

Next, go to the putting green, and work on the putting stroke. Most of the golfers I ask say that putting is not their strong suit. They state that it is probably the weakest link. So the first half hour is on the swing, and the next 30 minutes is on putting technique.

I can show a student a lot in 30 minutes. During some lessons, I even video the golfer making putting strokes. Feedback is key. The putting stoke is a simple action. Correct form is fairly simple. I am always amazed how creative golfers get when it comes to making a simple putting swing.

If you are not a great putter, and you currently use a non-conventional method, I think you should consider reviewing some basics with your pro, such as: reverse over-lap grip; flat left wrist; ball left center; no wrist action; stance 12-inches apart; ball 12 inches from front of feet; center of golf ball opposite sight line on putter; swing putter with shoulder; and no lower body movement

Practice these basics on a putting green until comfortable. Next, take the next hour-long lesson on the golf course. Yes, a playing lesson. Spend the entire hour on the course learning how to read the greens better and how to lag your first putt closer to the hole.

One basic rule I have golfers follow is that if you are outside four paces from the hole, just go for a two putt. Work on your distance control. Three-putting is caused by poor distance control on the first putt and by bad green reading or a combination of both. Most putting greens are relatively flat, whereas greens on the golf course have much more slope.

Spending time with a pro and talking about how to play these breaking putts can help. Hitting extra putts on the course late in the day to get experience at playing more break can be a fantastic learning experience. I highly recommend this type of lesson and practice for improving your putting.

Have you ever watched a tour pro play a practice round? Watch what they do on the greens. Typically, they putt several balls from different locations. They watch how the ball rolls across the green. This improves feel and increases the chance for success on the greens.

In review, take a couple of lessons. Spend half the time on putting technique lesson one. The next lesson is on the golf course. Become a good green reader. Practice on the course if possible, and gain experience in rolling the ball on greens that have more break. Work on distance control.

Your scores are going to drop, and you will be developing a solid short game.

The majority of golf strokes occur near or on the putting green, but every day on the lesson tee I see players who have no concept of how to hit a basic short shot in golf, whether it’s a putt or a chip.

If you want to save shots and lower your score, here are some tips.

First, understand that a solid putting swing and a chipping swing are pretty much the same. So why is it that players often fear these short golf shots? The answer is that the cause of the issue is the breakdown (or collapse) of the left wrist in the hitting area.

I like to call the bottom of the golf swing the “impact zone.” When the left wrist bends or flips during the swing, the club head travels in an upward direction when it should move down and forward through the swing.

When I see great putters, I see absolutely no change in their wrist position. The left wrist is flat.

When I see great chippers, I notice a flat left wrist at impact and into the follow-through. This is a very important swing dynamic to work on. Some even refer to a flat wrist as a “secret.”

When I see a golfer with bent wrist action, I suggest they consider changing to a flat left wrist type stroke.

Start with your putter and position your left wrist on the golf grip so that your flat left wrist matches the flat club face. I have my students check this by holding the club perpendicular to the green and visually check the putter face alignment to their flat left wrist. If your grip in straight the two should line up.

Now, you are ready to roll a few putts. When putting, focus on your shoulders moving the arms and the flat wrist. The shaft and the left arm should form a straight vertical line.

Check this in front of a mirror or stand next to a wall and press your arm and club up against the wall. With this alignment you will feel a solid impact with the ball. Make sure the left wrist is flat.

Next, try it with a short iron. The chip swing is the same as a putt, but the set-up is different. What I recommend is to play the ball back in your stance, lean the shaft left so your hands are opposite your left leg, aim your feet left of the target (10-30 degrees), open your stance and keep your weight on the left foot.

Now, make a putting type swing with the flat left wrist. Notice that the club head stays low after impact and the left wrist is still flat. The divot or contact point with the turf is in front of the golf ball. The flat wrist ensures that you’ll make solid contact with the ball. Keep the shoulders, arms and club moving at the same pace. The flat wrist keeps this in line. This will help you control the distance and direction of your short shots.

This flat wrist is very important for golfers at any level. Pro golfers know this secret and practice it all the time. Next time you watch golf on TV, look for the flat wrist. Next time you see your local PGA Professional, ask him or her to help you develop this skill and show you some drills to practice. If you work on keeping the flat wrist through this impact zone, you will see great results.

One of the most respected short-game teachers these days is Stan Utley, who came to the forefront in the early part of the decade when he started working with Jay Haas.

Utley, who played the PGA Tour himself with limited success (he won the 1989 Chattanooga Classic), was known for his ability to get it up and down from anywhere. Soft hands and great feel combined with an easy technique made Utley great around and on the greens.

Now Utley, who lives in Scottsdale, Ariz., works with many top professionals and amateurs on their short games. Author of “The Art of the Short Game,” he has some definite thoughts on some of the myths and misconceptions. Utley says his ideas aren’t new; he just found better ways to explain them.

Recently, he shared a few of his tips during a golf clinic at Grayhawk Golf Club n Scottsdale.

Stan Utley: It’s in the wrists

When it comes to chipping and pitching around the greens, most players have heard how using the wrists can lead to all sorts of problems in the short game. Utley thinks most players have taken that too far and lack any kind of feel in the short game. Trying to take the wrists and hands out of the stroke also leads to unnecessary tension, he says.

His advice: Be a little wristy. But he’s “guarded” in that advice. What he means is that there must be some release, and the hands have to be involved in the stroke. The idea of just leaving it up to the big muscles of the shoulders, for example, is flawed.

Utley points out that there are three circles in the golf swing – the body, hands and grip, and the clubhead.

“The clubhead has a long way to go,” he said. Which means that the hands and wrists need to move to allow the clubhead to catch up to the inner circle.

Footwork and bounce

Utley points out that most amateurs have very poor footwork when it comes to the short game. They are too still and don’t allow the right knee (for right-handers) to turn into the left leg as they come through the shot. The body movement would be similar to that of a short throwing motion.

He also advises players to have plenty of bounce on their wedges and he advocates hitting a variety of shots from one wedge to develop great feel. The bounce is important, he said, because it allows you to skid the bottom of the club through the turf instead of sticking the leading edge into the ground.

Stan Utley’s putting philosophy

With regard to putting, Utley said, “There’s no wrong way to do it,” but he does differ in his philosophy from Dave Pelz, who advocates a straight back and straight through stroke.

Utley said he believes in the same philosophy except his straight back and straight through are on the slightly tilted plane on which people swing the putter. That means it looks like the club moves inside, but in reality it’s just following the naturally tilted plane.

Utley also believes the putting stroke should not be a shoulder-only stroke. He believes the hands and wrists provide the most feel and smoothest and most natural strokes. And he also says, contrary to what many high handicappers believe, the through-stroke should be shorter than the back stroke. The reason for this is that in a true stroke, the ball should absorb the energy of the putter at impact; therefore the through-stroke would naturally be shorter.

“I’m very focused on joint tension,” he said.

Slice or hook?

Finally, Utley posed two questions to the audience: What rolls farther? A hook or a slice? Naturally, the answer is hook, to which Utley followed, “Then why would I want to slice a putt if it doesn’t roll as well as a hook.”

His point is that you must release the putter just as you must release the clubhead if you’re going to hit a putt. He used Tiger Woods as a great example. “It never looks like he’s expending much energy.”

His second question to the audience was how do we produce a hook – by hitting the ball on the inside or the outside? The answer is the outside, which means the toe must pass the heel through impact? In other words, release.

As he concluded his presentation, the audience headed to the golf carts and Utley issued this advice: “Now go out and hook some putts.”