Golf Drills from Jack O’Keefe

If you haven’t subscribed to our newsletter, maybe we can entice you to do so with some of the great drills that Ole Miss Assistant Men’s Golf Coach, Jack O’Keefe, has been sharing with us. 

3-6-9 Putting Drill: Place 1 ball 3 feet from the hole, place another ball 6 feet from the hole, and place another ball 9 feet from the hole, all on the same line to the hole. Putt and make the 3 foot putt, Putt and make the 6 foot putt and finally putt and make the 9 foot putt. To complete the drill, you must make all 3 putts in a row. Beginner: complete the drill one time. Average player: complete the drill 2 times in a row. Advanced player: complete the drill 3 times in a row.

Feet Together Drill: While on the driving range hitting balls with a 7, 8, or 9 iron: set up to the ball with your feet only 6 inches apart. Hit balls this way to work on balance and rotation in your swing. You should be able to hit balls and maintain your balance and hit nice shots. The ball may not go as far as with your normal set up but this drill should help you with consistent contact and hopefully straighter shots. If you are comfortable hitting balls this way you can even work up to trying it with the driver.

Putting Drill – Cross Putting Drill – Place a golf tee 3 feet, 4 feet, and 5 feet from the hole at 12:00, 3:00, 6:00 and 9:00 to make a cross. To complete this drill make all the 3 footers in a row, then make all the 4 footers in a row and finally make all the 5 footers in a row. If you miss any putt, you must start again at the 3 foot putts. For the beginner make all the putts in succession 1 time. For the intermediate player, make all the 3 foot putts twice, the 4 foot putts once and the 5 foot putts once, all in succession. For the advanced player, make all the 3 foot putts 3 times, make all the 4 foot putts 2 times, and all the 5 foot putts 1 time, all in succession. This should help you avoid 3-putting and also improve your short putting.

Range Drill – Pull Right Foot Back Drill – Most average golfers suffer from a slice (ball curving way to the right for right handed players). A lot of times this is caused by the golfer swinging over the top and cutting across the ball and imparting side spin to make the ball curve hard left to right. By setting up normal with your feet parallel to the target, simply pull your right back a little (like a closed stance in golf and baseball). By doing this you will swing more from the inside and make more of a hook swing, which will help make the ball go straighter. The key is to make sure you set up normally with your stance and then at the last minute pull your right foot back.

Top Tips with Jack O’Keefe

 Jack O’Keefe, Assistant Golf Coach here at Ole Miss gives us his top three tips for beginning, intermediate, and advanced golfers. 

For Beginners:

Tip 1: The Grip.  The grip is the most important part of golf. A good grip helps in every aspect of the game. The 3 most common types are: 1. Overlap grip, 2. Interlock grip, 3. Baseball or 10 finger grip. Ask a golf professional to show you these in person or search the web for videos or pictures of correct grips.

Tip 2: Hit Chips First (Mini-Swings)- After establishing a correct grip, start with some small swings (CHIPS- with a 9 iron or Pitching Wedge) and make sure you can make contact with the ball. After making contact, be sure you are getting the ball in the air a short time as this is the correct way to CHIP.

Tip 3: Make Full Practice Swings without a Golf Ball in front of you– After learning a correct grip and making some small swings first (CHIPS), the player is now ready to make some full swings. The best way to learn a full swing is to see a golf professional. Otherwise you can emulate the PGA Tour players on TV

For Intermediate Golfers:

Tip 1: Tempo- All good players have good tempo in putting, chipping, iron play, fairway woods and driver. A good way to improve Tempo is to count 1-2-3 as you make a practice swing. A metronome is also a way PGA Tour players work on their tempo for chipping and putting.

Tip 2: Lag Putting– The best way to reduce your score is to putt better. Try and average 2 putts or less per hole to help improve your score. Lag putting is critical for all golfers. To practice Lag Putting, putt from 15-20 feet with you eyes closed and see how close you can roll the ball to the hole. Experiment with shorter and longer putts too.

Tip 3:Hybrids– Hybrids are the future of golf. If you don’t have at least one in your bag you need to get one now. Hybrids are great clubs that eliminate long iron play. These hybrids help players get the ball in the air easier and are much easier to hit from the fairway than a fairway wood or long iron. You can’t have too many hybrids in your bag.

For Advanced Golfers:

Tip 1: Short Game- A great short game is the best way to improve your scores. 67% of your shots are from 150 yards and in so you should know what to practice now. Spend your practice time wisely on the short game and your scores will improve immediately.

 Tip 2: Course Management– The 2nd most important part to shooting the lowest scores is Course Management. The player that makes the fewest mistakes (BOGIES) usually wins on the PGA Tour. You don’t have to make the most birdies, just fewer bogies to win. Start by playing the par 5’s more conservatively by ensuring a birdie putt each time and you will make fewer 6’s.

Tip 3: Mental Game- The third most important way to improve your score behind Short Game and Course Management. The Mental Game is good, positive self-talk to yourself and also thinking the right things in certain situations. There are many good books out there to help with the Mental Game. Go to your nearest book store and find the right mental strategist for you.

Until next time, good Golfing,

Jack O’Keefe

To learn more about Jack, read his bio on OleMissSports.com.