Chip, Putt, Swing and More Like a Pro with Prescott, Arizona Golf Pro Jim Leisenring

Prescott, Arizona golf is good in the high-country, especially at Talking Rock. The 3,600-acre private, luxury home community offers a peaceful, rural setting complete with modern amenities including a Jay Morrish-designed championship Prescott, Arizona golf course. The 7,350-yard Prescott, Arizona golf course is managed by PGA member Jim Leisenring, who brings years of excellence and experience to Talking Rock.

With a passion for the game and almost a lifetime spent on courses around the world, Jim shares his expertise and quick-tips for golf success.

2 X 4 Putting

Get a couple of standard 2 X 4 pieces of wood about two-feet long. Make a track on the floor approximately one inch wider than the head of your putter. With or without using a golf ball, practice making your putting stroke inside the track. Try not to hit either piece of wood. This drill will help you to develop a "square" putting stroke that stays on your intended target line. It also gives you immediate feedback if you hit the track allowing for you to learn and make adjustments to your stroke. You can do this at home on any surface.

Strike a Pose

Ben Hogan used to spend hours practicing his golf swing looking at a mirror in slow motion. He felt that by making his "ideal" swing in slow motion, he would train his muscles to duplicate the moves at real speed. You be the judge. Use a mirror (full-length works the best) and watch yourself swing in slow motion. Look at it from the front and side. Make adjustments and continue to put your body in the ideal position. You will be surprised at the difference this can make. For an even better effect, I like to use a weighted club adding more resistance creating even more muscle memory.

Patio / Driveway Chipping

Throw an old "welcome" or floor mat down on the concrete. You can use golf balls or whiffle balls. Hit short chip shots off of the mat. This will give you more confidence striking chips off of firm, tight lies (a common shot on the Prescott, Arizona golf course of Talking Rock). Use a variety of clubs from sandwedge to six-iron. The hard service requires precision and precise contact. If you really want a challenge, grab a few old-fashioned marbles and try to chip those!

Get better acquainted with your wedges

When you go to the range for practice only on cool days just take your wedges. Resist the urge to grab the driver, 5-iron etc. Hit your wedges a variety of distances. Before each shot tell yourself how far you are going to hit it. After you hit it tell yourself how far you did hit it. I watched Tom Kite do this for an hour at the Olympic Club a few years ago. And yes he had it down to the yard! You will be surprised at how good you get and you will be teaching yourself distance control - the key to scoring.

Offering the best of both worlds, Talking Rock is located in a peaceful, rural setting and yet is just minutes from the city of Prescott, Arizona. Golf is only one of the many things to do in the area. Homeowners also have access to shopping, dining, entertainment and many recreational opportunities. It is a 3,600-acre private, luxury home community with a casual western lifestyle with the amenities of an exclusive country club. The 7,350-yard championship Prescott, Arizona golf course intertwines through more than 1,000 acres of preserved open space, presenting residents with the spaciousness of Arizona's high country. Talking Rock offers spacious custom homesites, as well as Ranch Cottages, Ranch Homes and custom homes designed in an authentic ranch style and built by the area's finest craftsmen.

Talking Rock is a Prescott, Arizona golf community and a development of Harvard Investments, a Scottsdale, Arizona based real estate development company respected for its high quality, residential projects throughout the Southwest. Harvard designed and developed communities are found in Austin, San Antonio, and Dallas, Texas; and in Phoenix, Sedona, and Tucson, Arizona.

Harvard's Canadian parent, the Hill Companies, is a privately held diversified company involved in real estate development, oil and gas production and distribution, broadcasting, surety bonding, and life insurance. The Hill Companies celebrated its 100th year of continuous family ownership and operation in February, 2003.

More information on the Prescott, Arizona golf community of Talking Rock and Harvard Investments, Inc. can be found at www.talkingrockranch.com.

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