Intermediate Target

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Tonight Rob Myers, PGA is here to talk about intermediate targets...

This evening I'm going to spend some time talking about alignment, in particular finding intermediate targets.  For those of you who are not familar with using intermediate targets this will no doubt improve your alignment.  You will find after reading the following few paragraphs that intermediate targets can be used for better alignment on all of your shots from the full swing, to chipping, and even on the putting green.

The first step to finding an intermediate target is getting behind the golf ball so that the ball is directly between you and your intended target.  Next draw an imaginary line from your intended target back to yourself disecting the golf ball on the way.  Once you have that imaginary line, pick out something on the ground just in front of the ball ( 6 inches - 6 feet, normally the closer the better) that your imaginary line intersects as well.  That "something" that you pick out on the ground could be a broken tee, a leaf, a discoloration in the grass, or even an old divot.  You will call this spot that you have chosen on the ground your intermediate target.  When you address the golf ball you want to line the club face up with the intermediate target that you have chosen and this will help you to get properly aligned to the target.  You will find it much easier to line up to a target that is within several inches or a couple of feet of the golf ball rather than something that is a couple hundred yards away. 

Next time you are on the driving range try practicing with an intermediate target and see how much easier it will be to get properly aligned to your intended target.  The margin for error on getting aligned to something that is closer to you is significantly less than trying to get lined up to something that is far distance from you.  As always, good luck and let me know if you have any questions!  Make it a great day! 

Don't Stop!

Rob Myers is here today to give us all a little advice on our putting.

I often run into people having difficulty putting due to the inconsistency in the length of their putting stroke. Many amateurs have a tendency to take the putter too far back on the backstroke and then stop their putter upon impact with the ball. This type of putting stroke normally leads to decelerating the putter causing a change in the club face angle just prior to and at impact. I think many people feel that once the ball has been struck that the stroke is finished. So, how can you ensure that you accelerate the putter and follow through after impact? One of the best ways I have found to help ensure acceleration is to shorten the backstroke. By shortening the backstroke you will encourage yourself to to swing the putter forward with more speed to get the ball to the hole. As the putter speeds up on the forward stroke it will help to maintain a square putter face leading to more consistent results.

The next time you are on the practice green try taking the putter back a shorter distance. You should find that it will encourage you to accelerate the putter on the forward stroke leading to a longer follow through and more consistent results. As always, good luck and let me know if you have any questions!

Visit Rob at: www.riimgolf.com 

Call 210-545-5300 ext. 1 to book a private lesson with Rob.

Rob offers discounted lessons for SilverHorn members and you can become a member for just $10 a YEAR!

Make Your Practice Count

Make Practice Count by:

Rob Myers, PGA (Director of Instruction at SilverHorn)

I'm happy to say that over the past several weeks I have seen 

a number of new faces around the golf course practicing.  

Since this is a time of year where people spend a fair amount of time practicing, that is what I'm going to discuss today.  I would like to spend a few minutes talking about how to make your practice count.

Too often I hear people on the range talk about how long they practiced for, or how many golf balls they hit in a practice session.  While both of those things are admirable, it says very little about the quality of the practice.  I'm sure everybody is familiar with the saying, "practice like you play."  There is a lot of truth to that saying, especially with golf.  One of the most important things you can do on the driving range to have more meaningful practice is to slow down.  How often do you hit 4 shots in a matter of 60 seconds on the golf course?  Hopefully never, but it happens quite a bit on the range.  Next time you are at the range try taking your time in between shots.  Whether it's getting a drink of water, taking a practice swing, taking a deep breath, or simply just walking back to your golf bag to clean your club, make sure that you are slowing down your practice and giving each shot a little more thought. 

You might find that you hit half as many balls this way, but the shots you do hit will be well thought out, quality golf shots.  Remember it's not the amount of time you practice, but rather the quality of your practice that counts.  As always, good luck! 

Visit Rob at: www.riimgolf.com 

Call 210-545-5300 ext. 1 to book a private lesson with Rob

Grip Pressure

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Director of Instruction- Rob Myers, PGA is back again this week to teach us all about grip pressure. We all know the importance of a good grip. Take it away Rob...

"Today I will be disussing an something that is often forgot about or overlooked, but is an extremely important part of having consistency.  That something is your grip!  It's difficult to learn how to really swing the golf club properly if you never learn how to grip it properly.  Imagine trying to learn how to write if nobody ever taught you the most efficient way to hold a pen.  You would eventually find a way to do it, but odds are it  would be much more difficult and probably not very conventional.  There are two things that you need to understand in order to learn to grip the club properly.  Those two things are your hand position and your grip pressure.  This morning I will be focusing primarily on grip pressure.

I'm sure that many of you are familiar with the saying in regards to grip pressure that says, "hold the club like you would hold a bird; tight enough so that the bird won't fly away, but not so tight that you would crush it."  That would be fine if you were just holding the club and not swinging it, but thats not the case.  As you swing the golf club it generates a great deal of force that requires a firm grip on the club if you have any intention of controlling it.  I tell my students that they should be holding onto the club firmly with 5 fingers and loosely with the other 5.  With your top hand (left hand for right handers) you should be holding onto the club firmly with your pinky, ring, and middle fingers while the other 2 should be relaxed.  In your bottom hand (right hand for right handers) you should be gripping the club tightly with your thumb and pointer finger while the other 3 fingers are just along for the ride.  The 5 fingers that you are gripping the club firmly with are primarily responsible for releasing the club in a manner that will provide you with more power and consistency.  Having the pressure in the correct fingers will allow you to have the control of the club you need without feeling like you are strangling it.

This change to your grip pressure will most certainly feel awkward, but I have no doubt it will improve your solidness of contact and consistency.  Be patient as you make this adjustment as often times changes to the grip are some of the most difficult changes to make.  As always let me know if you have any questions!"

If you are looking to improve your golf game Rob is available for lessons at SilverHorn and offers discounted rates for members of SilverHorn (our lowest memberships start at $10 a month!). E-mail Rob at rmyers@centurygolf.com to schedule a lesson or to simply ask Rob a question.

Also visit Rob online at Rob's website: www.riimgolf.com. 

If you need new grips for your golf clubs hit up Chris Hopkins at chopkins@centurygolf.com. 

Keep Up The Pace

Our director of instructor, Rob Myers is here today to educate us all on the best way to keep up the pace of play. 


Take it away Rob...


"As the weather continues to improve and more and more 


people begin flocking to area golf courses it is important that 


everybody understands the importance of pace of play.  Pace of play is something that is becoming a large area of concern for many golfers and golf courses as the popularity of the game increases.  Tonight, I am going to discuss a few small things that you can do to ensure that you are not contributing to a slow pace of play.  Hitting provisionals for lost balls, preparing for your shot while somebody else is playing their shot, and playing ready golf are just a few ways that you can help to keep a faster pace of play. 

1.  Hitting Provisional Shots

A provisional is an additional shot that is played when one is not certain where their first ball has come to rest.  This is a quick and easy way to help speed up your pace of play.  Next time you are out on the golf course, and you or one of your playing partners hits an errant shot that you are not able to see come to a complete stop, hit a provisional.  If you are unable to find your original shot than you can play your provisional ball which will save you the time of having to go back and replay the shot or to continue searching until you find the first ball. 

2.  Preparing For Your Shot Early

I often times see people on the golf course who wait until it is their turn to play before determining their distance from the hole, the type of shot they will play, or starting their pre-shot routine.  All of this can and should be done as soon as you reach your golf ball. 

3.  Playing ready golf

Playing "ready golf" is really just a fancy golf term for playing out of turn or hitting your shot as soon as you are ready.  Obviously during tournament play it is very important to maintain the appropriate order of play, but when playing recreationally it is far more important to keep a comfortable pace than play in the proper order. 

These are just a few simple things that can help to improve pace of play making the game much more enjoyable for others as well as yourself.  It doesn't take much effort to implement some of these things into your game, but it can make a monumental difference to the pace on the golf course if everybody is practicing these pace of play tips.  As always, let me know if you have any questions!  Make it a great week!"

If you are looking to improve your golf game Rob is available for lessons at SilverHorn and offers discounted rates for members of SilverHorn (our lowest memberships start at $10 a month!). E-mail Rob at rmyers@centurygolf.com to schedule a lesson or to simply ask Rob a question.

Also visit Rob online at Rob's website: www.riimgolf.com. 

Putting On Fast Greens

SilverHorn  PGA, instructor Rob Myers is back with some more great advice that we could all benefit from- how to putt on fast greens.

"When you find yourself putting on fast greens there are a couple things that are super important to remember.  On fast greens it is imperative that you pick intermediate targets on the putting green, and it is equally important that the intermediate target you pick keeps you on the high side of the hole.   Not only will choosing an intermediate target help you get the ball started on the right line, but it will also help you focus on something that is short of the hole.  By focussing short of the hole you might be able to keep from hitting the ball as firm as you normally would.  This is a huge key in being able to "die" the ball in hole on quicker putting surfaces.  Another thing to make sure you are focussing on is making sure that the intermediate target you pick gets the ball started on the high side of the hole.  It's dangerous to get the ball on the low side of the hole too soon on quick greens because then the ball is rolling quickly away from the hole rather than towards it.  The longer you can get the ball breaking towards the hole and not away from it the better off you will be.

Putting on quick greens can be tricky, but if you are able to keep these couple things in mind they should help you be a little more consistent.  Over time you will probably find that while putting on fast greens is a challenge, its a fun one!  Let me know if you have any questions.  Good luck, and make it a great week!"

If you are looking to improve your golf game Rob is available for lessons at SilverHorn and offers discounted rates for members of SilverHorn (our lowest memberships start at $10 a month!). E-mail Rob at rmyers@centurygolf.com to schedule a lesson or to simply ask Rob a question.

Also visit Rob online at Rob's website: www.riimgolf.com. 

Hit Your Wedges Closer

We are lucky enough to have an excellent PGA teaching professional at SilverHorn, Rob Myers. Rob is here today to give us a little bit of advice on hitting our wedges...


"Today I'm going to spend a few minutes talking about wedge shots, and how you can better control your distances with them. When you are working on distance control with your wedges it's important to first have control over your trajectory. Without having control over your trajectory it will be very difficult to know exactly how far you will hit the ball. 

To better control your trajectory with your wedges you need to keep two things in mind, ball position and speed of swing. Moving the ball position in your stance can certainly help you to hit lower or higher wedge shots when desired. As you move the ball more forward in your stance you are likely to hit the ball higher while moving the ball back in your stance will encourage a lower ball flight. The speed of the golf swing plays a little bigger role in controlling trajectory then ball position. The harder you swing (particularly with your wedges) the more spin you put on the ball and the higher it is likely to fly. When you slow down the pace of your swing it is easier to flight the ball down. This might often times require you taking "more" club (a less lofted wedge) and swinging a little smoother.

The next time you are on the range spend some time practicing with your wedges. Experiment with the ball position and the pace of your swing and see how your trajectory changes. Once you are able to better control your trajectory you should find yourself having much more control over your distances. Best of luck, and let me know if you have any questions. Thanks, and make it a great week! "


If you are looking to improve your game Rob is available for lessons at SilverHorn and offers discounted rates for members of SilverHorn. E-mail Rob at rmyers@centurygolf.com to schedule a lesson or ask Rob a question. Also visit Rob online at Rob's website: www.riimgolf.com.