Getting Your Swing Plane on Track!

After struggling with my swing, especially my driver for months, I’ve finally managed to get my long drive shot back.

Don’t get me wrong, I wasn’t duffing my driver or anything but for the last couple months, I couldn’t hit the driver as long as I used to near 300+ yards and with an effortless swing.

There was something “missing” with my golf swing and for last couple months, I’ve never missed a practice session on a daily basis.

Anyways, I did figure out exactly that yesterday, and boy it was one of the best days in my life!

So, let me just tell you what happened.

First, I got to the range and hit about 150 golf balls. Something just felt weird that day and I couldn’t hit the ball like I wanted to. It felt like my rhythm was gone and all the stuff I have been doing went to pieces.

I felt a but frustrated so I hit another 100 golf balls. Of course, even after hitting so many balls in one day, my swing didn’t feel 100% right.

Finally, I gave up and headed to the short game practice area so I can practice some chipping and pitching.

On the practice green, my chipping had become a lot better over the months and I was able to hit many great chip shots within inches of the cup.

Here’s where it ticked me though, while I was trying to practice these impossible flop shots over the bunker with literally just 5 feet of green to work with, I found a swing that would allow me to hit the ball perfectly and effortlessly. TWICE, I hit the pin and many times, I was able to hit this new flop shot I was working on within inches of the cup.

As I was working on the flop shot, my instincts took over and my swing felt like it was on a “track”.

Right after that, I kept thinking to myself, “what if I use this same swing on my full shots”?

Immediately, I bought another 50 golf balls and headed back to range. My stomach was growling really loud at this point but I was too sure that this new “swing” I found while hitting a flop shot is it.

So, I tried my flop shot swing on the range, and guess what! My swing felt like I was on a “track” and I hit the ball really great, especially with driver, where I can “feel” the solidarity and just rocketed off the sweetspot.

This feeling of ball “sweetness” was what I had been looking for the last 3-4 months.

The big question, “how did you do it”?

So here’s what I did for the flop shot, I just took my regular chip shot and extended it.

The flop shot actually isn’t much more than opening your clubface and using your regular golf swing. There’s a more “riskier” of using your wrists only but I don’t recommend that route as it’s inconsistent and I know this because that’s how I started hitting flop shots 20 years ago.

Here’s exactly how it felt to me:

At address, I simply start my whole body, including my tummy, upperbody (where triangle formed by your shoulders, arms, and hands move together) by “rotating” against my body’s axis slightly inside the target line.

Once my whole body (tummy + upperbod) started rotating slightly inside the target line about 2-3 feet), my body felt like it was on a “track”. I just keep the momentum of that initial rotation going and it “felt” like I was swinging “on-plane” without even trying.

After that, the downswing was easy too, just coming back in the same plane.

You know those big white circle swing-plane trainers? Yup, it felt like my swing was on that without even trying.

I think the “secret” recipe here is that I kept everything more simpler. I just made sure I started my swing with my whole body on the right “track” (which is slightly inside the target line, which is exactly where your swing plane travels) and let the momentum do the rest.

Anyways, I am not giving you tips here, I am just telling you what worked for me but you are free to try it and tell me about it if it worked well for you to.

I know, my swing thoughts/theories change by daily basis but if this new method works time and time (which I highly believe I have finally found it!), I will make sure to take a video next time and show you what I mean.

Well, gotta go hit more balls, enough talkin’, let’s do more golfin’!

If you want to improve your swing, try the Medicus Driver.

For deals on golf clubs, don't forget to check out Golfsmith Outlet store and GlobalGolf for used golf clubs.

View the original article here

Getting Your Swing Plane on Track!

After struggling with my swing, especially my driver for months, I’ve finally managed to get my long drive shot back.

Don’t get me wrong, I wasn’t duffing my driver or anything but for the last couple months, I couldn’t hit the driver as long as I used to near 300+ yards and with an effortless swing.

There was something “missing” with my golf swing and for last couple months, I’ve never missed a practice session on a daily basis.

Anyways, I did figure out exactly that yesterday, and boy it was one of the best days in my life!

So, let me just tell you what happened.

First, I got to the range and hit about 150 golf balls. Something just felt weird that day and I couldn’t hit the ball like I wanted to. It felt like my rhythm was gone and all the stuff I have been doing went to pieces.

I felt a but frustrated so I hit another 100 golf balls. Of course, even after hitting so many balls in one day, my swing didn’t feel 100% right.

Finally, I gave up and headed to the short game practice area so I can practice some chipping and pitching.

On the practice green, my chipping had become a lot better over the months and I was able to hit many great chip shots within inches of the cup.

Here’s where it ticked me though, while I was trying to practice these impossible flop shots over the bunker with literally just 5 feet of green to work with, I found a swing that would allow me to hit the ball perfectly and effortlessly. TWICE, I hit the pin and many times, I was able to hit this new flop shot I was working on within inches of the cup.

As I was working on the flop shot, my instincts took over and my swing felt like it was on a “track”.

Right after that, I kept thinking to myself, “what if I use this same swing on my full shots”?

Immediately, I bought another 50 golf balls and headed back to range. My stomach was growling really loud at this point but I was too sure that this new “swing” I found while hitting a flop shot is it.

So, I tried my flop shot swing on the range, and guess what! My swing felt like I was on a “track” and I hit the ball really great, especially with driver, where I can “feel” the solidarity and just rocketed off the sweetspot.

This feeling of ball “sweetness” was what I had been looking for the last 3-4 months.

The big question, “how did you do it”?

So here’s what I did for the flop shot, I just took my regular chip shot and extended it.

The flop shot actually isn’t much more than opening your clubface and using your regular golf swing. There’s a more “riskier” of using your wrists only but I don’t recommend that route as it’s inconsistent and I know this because that’s how I started hitting flop shots 20 years ago.

Here’s exactly how it felt to me:

At address, I simply start my whole body, including my tummy, upperbody (where triangle formed by your shoulders, arms, and hands move together) by “rotating” against my body’s axis slightly inside the target line.

Once my whole body (tummy + upperbod) started rotating slightly inside the target line about 2-3 feet), my body felt like it was on a “track”. I just keep the momentum of that initial rotation going and it “felt” like I was swinging “on-plane” without even trying.

After that, the downswing was easy too, just coming back in the same plane.

You know those big white circle swing-plane trainers? Yup, it felt like my swing was on that without even trying.

I think the “secret” recipe here is that I kept everything more simpler. I just made sure I started my swing with my whole body on the right “track” (which is slightly inside the target line, which is exactly where your swing plane travels) and let the momentum do the rest.

Anyways, I am not giving you tips here, I am just telling you what worked for me but you are free to try it and tell me about it if it worked well for you to.

I know, my swing thoughts/theories change by daily basis but if this new method works time and time (which I highly believe I have finally found it!), I will make sure to take a video next time and show you what I mean.

Well, gotta go hit more balls, enough talkin’, let’s do more golfin’!

If you want to improve your swing, try the Medicus Driver.

For deals on golf clubs, don't forget to check out Golfsmith Outlet store and GlobalGolf for used golf clubs.

View the original article here

How to Swing “Effortlessly” with Rhythm!

Yesterday, I showed you how to practice with less balls (and with quality), well today, let me show you how to swing “effortlessly” with great rhythm, something that happened to me by accident.

While trying to take it slow and really focus on every practice ball I hit, one of the things I used to do suddenly hit me. ? (I know, it’s slowly coming back, hitting the golf ball pure.)

When I used to hit the ball really well, I remember being able to hit every club in my golf bag effortlessly, even the driver.

Essentially, when I used to hit the ball effortlessly, I could hit thousands of balls continuously without rest.

Well, I suddenly remembered that all I did was think of an “effortless” rhythm.

I started applying an “effortless” rhythm and immediately I began to start hitting the ball pretty darn good, straight and actually longer than ever (because I was hitting the ball squarely on the sweetspot time after time).

If ?you watch pros on TV, you know how “effortless” they swing. ?Simply copy their rhythm and I bet you will hit the ball better.

The only way you will be able to learn the “effortless” rhythm is by seeing it in your mind and practicing it on the practice tee.

So, let me show you exactly what I mean with bunch of great golf swings that I would call “effortless” on YouTube:

Take a look at Fred Couple’s driver shot on (the first one) on this video:

That would be an “ideal” rhythm where you can clearly see Freddie isn’t trying to hit the ball hard (although he does) but has a great “effortless” rhythm.

Here’s Tiger’s iron swing back in 2005:

I like the rhythm on this one, that’s what you should be trying to look at, trying to grasp the “rhythm”.

Also check out Jack Nicklaus’s iron shot rhythm on this one:

A bit fast but the rhythm is “effortless”, you can see how smooth Jack’s transition is from the top to the downswing, that’s what you want.

Also check out Greg Norman’s short iron shot from his prime:

Greg Norman’s wedge shots are a thing of beauty, especially his rhythm, looks so “effortless”.

These are just the “best” examples I could find of many golf pros that looks “effortless”.

Watch these videos over and over and try them the next time you are on the course or the practice range.

Happy golfin’~

If you want to improve your swing, try the Medicus Driver.

For deals on golf clubs, don't forget to check out Golfsmith Outlet store and GlobalGolf for used golf clubs.

View the original article here

How to Swing With Your Body!

For those of you who want to really learn to swing with your body, you will want to read the rest of this blog post.

To really swing with your body, there’s one exercise I do and let me tell you how to do that exercise.

First, I want you to setup with a golf club (any will do) and take your address as if you are going to swing a real ball.

Second, I want you to grip it with both of your hands like you would normally then take your left hand off there while leaving your right hand on the golf club.

Third, I want you to use your body to move your shoulders, arms, hands, and the golf club to the top of your swing very, very slowly. ?Let me emphasize again that you want to do this as slowly as possible and feel all your big muscles like the torso and the core of your body doing the turning of the backswing.

Also when you use your body to get to the top of the swing, I want you to really “feel” your body “turning”.

Can ?you feel it yet?

If you can feel it, that’s how you swing a golf club with your body.

For the downswing, it’s the same thing, you use your body to control the downswing.

Why is this so important?

Because when you swing the golf club with your body, you will be able to swing the same way time and time and also be able to hit the ball longer, straighter, and effortlessly.

Also if you tend to take a lot of time from golf like I have been, it simply makes sense to have a golf swing that’s easy to repeat and uses your body as control point.

Anyways, I’ve been using this new swing (that I’ve forgotten) lately and hitting like every fairway, flawless iron shots that “nip” the grass just right.

Try it, really, and I bet it will help you feel what the correct golf swing motion is like.

If you want to improve your swing, try the Medicus Driver.

For deals on golf clubs, don't forget to check out Golfsmith Outlet store and GlobalGolf for used golf clubs.

View the original article here

How to Swing Without Using Your Hands!

In golf, using your hands on the downswing too much or manipulating them can be one of the worst things you can do. In fact, that’s what 99% of golfers actually do, uncock their hands first from the top and then wonder why they didn’t hit the ball far enough nor straight.

Today, I realized something about my golf swing, something I used to do, that is to swing without using your hands.

How to swing without using your hands?

It’s easy, don’t use your hands on the downswing.

What I do is actually think of my hips turn instead. From the top of your backswing, all you really need to do is think about your lower body “clearing” or in simple words, turning towards your target. The rest of your body should follow and you shouldn’t need to “consciously” think of your hands at all.

So, next time you head out to the range, don’t swing with your hands, it can only hurt you.

If you want to improve your swing, try the Medicus Driver.

For deals on golf clubs, don't forget to check out Golfsmith Outlet store and GlobalGolf for used golf clubs.

View the original article here

The Right Frame of Mind for Perfecting Your Golf Swing!

The other day I told you I have found my swing and that I was going to detail exactly how to accomplish an easy-to-use and simply golf swing.

Well, it turns out the as soon as I tried to find out exactly what I was doing, I kept having more trouble than ever.

I think the right frame of your mind is more important to “perfect” your swing, that is to try not “perfecting” it.

For example, I can hit the ball super solid with my irons, most of them hitting within yards of my target.? As soon as I get to my driver or 3 wood, my tendency is to pull 30-yards left of my target.

Now, here’s the question of the day, do you fight it so it will go to your target or just play the 30-yard pull-draw?

You could hit 1,000 balls fighting it or simply play your 30-yard pull-draw so long as it brings you consistent results.? (Sometimes, playing your “natural” shots might be the smartest option than fighting it.)

You see, a lot of people depend too much on imaginary lines and alignment to determine where they should be hitting the ball.? With golf, that’s only part of the equation to playing well and those lines do not help you on the golf course since a human body was never “designed” to hit a golf ball.? Thus, we must always fight our human body angles and make-up some sort of sense to our golf swing.? Golf teachers and alike try to devise concrete ways to teach the golf swing but in the end, I feel that those are only “guidelines” and ultimately, every golfer will have different swing based on their human anatomy.

In simple words, there’s a perfect swing for everyone but that cannot apply to everyone else.

Take my human anatomy makeup for example, my left shoulder is higher than my right, which in golf, means that I would have to align slightly more “right” of my target than other normal people with same shoulder height.

That’s only one of the oddities I have, my feet are also “flat-footed”, meaning they stay on the ground more than 99% of the population out there.

All these little things cause the “quirks” in my swing, they are so natural to me and sometimes, I cannot apply every swing technique the top pros use in the world.

No golf pro in the world can tell you exactly the right way you can swing unless they have gone to medical school and examined your whole body thoroughly for any abnormalities.

For most hackers, basic golf tips will help but for those like me who are trying to reach another level from scratch, things I’ve outlined here can make me or kill me.

So what?

You need to try different things to see if you strike the ball more solid and square that might be more “natural” to your anatomy.

Here’s some great ways to find your own golf swing and something I do to find my own golf swing:

First and foremost, you will want to find a golf grip that feels comfortable to you whether that’s weak or strong.? Try a weak grip, neutral grip, and a strong grip and see what feels most natural to you.? For most of you, a neutral grip will be the best (where the Vs point to your right shoulder).? For me, I use a neutral grip with my right hand slightly weaker with the V pointing at my chin or even my left shoulder.? This is also because I have a tendency to “flip” with my hands.? With a slightly weaker right hand grip, I find I can hit the golf ball super solid and straight.? Even Ben Hogan did something along the lines of this.? Important part here is to find your “comfortable” grip that lets you hit the ball straight and far. Too many golf pros tell you to use either neutral grip or strong grip, I think that starts a lot of unnatural golf movements.After you find the grip, try different swing planes.? As a general rule of thumb, a strong grip will work best with more vertical swing planes (like Fred Couples) whereas a weak grip will work best with flatter swing planes (like Ben Hogan).? These are simply due to human anatomy, so please make sure to follow the guide as using strong grip on flatter plane will probably make you duck-hook every shot while using weak grip with a vertical swing plane will make you banana-slice every shot.? Grip and plane always go in sets, you must have the right swing plane for your grip, something most golfers don’t know.Stance – Try narrow and wide stance, see what feels more comfortable to you.? I use a slightly narrower stance for my normal shots because I feel like I am in more balance.? You might feel the opposite though, try both and see which one works for you.?? Remember, a perfect golf swing is the one that feels good to you, not one where you have to manipulate.

These are probably the 3 things you can experiment with to find a better way to strike the golf ball.? I just find that there’s too many traditional golf instructions out there but not many mention the fact that everyone has a different human make-up and a golf swing must be “custom-made” for each person.

Well, these are my golf tips for those of you who want to improve your shotmaking, I will regress myself from saying that I have ever found a “method” to swing but rather, there’s a way for you to find it yourself.

If you want to improve your swing, try the Medicus Driver.

For deals on golf clubs, don't forget to check out Golfsmith Outlet store and GlobalGolf for used golf clubs.

View the original article here

Tips for Improving the Follow Through of Your Golf Swing!

(This was my follow through couple years back, one of the best ways to improve your follow through is to imagine the swing plane (as I have drawn the yellow line, and try swinging your body in sync with it.)

Today, I was at the range and had one of those “ah ha” moments. ?Because I haven’t really played much golf up until recently around end of last year, I had failed to follow through correctly.

But, today I figured it out and got my swing back.

Here’s what I realized and some tips for improving your golf swing’s follow through.

Like I was telling you the other day you want to use images as swing thoughts, I want you to do the same except “vision” your hands, arms, and body following through toward your target.

When you do this correctly, your body should automatically turn to your left side and come up. ?If your body doesn’t come up, that means you are probably not following through correctly.

After the follow through, you should arrive at a nice finish with most of your weight on the left foot for a full swing.

Also, one more thing, you want to feel “free” while doing this. ?When you really free yourself of any tension during the follow-through, you will feel like you are actually swinging in an imaginary track formed by your swing plane. ?This is because you are swinging correctly, with your body, and you are feeling the centripetal force pushing your arms, hands, and the golf club outwards towards the target.

If you can achieve this feeling, you will inevitably hit the ball more solid and consistently as I did today.

Well, that’s all for today folks, have a great weekend and I will tell you all about my round tomorrow.

P.S. Oh yeah, my chipping is awesome now, I kept it simple now getting everything within a foot! ?If you haven’t practiced your short game (even though I haven’t wrote much on it lately), YOU SHOULD!!!

If you want to improve your swing, try the Medicus Driver.

For deals on golf clubs, don't forget to check out Golfsmith Outlet store and GlobalGolf for used golf clubs.

View the original article here

Four Steps To A Slice-Free Swing

By Jack Moorehouse

If you usually slice off the tee, you’re costing yourself strokes. Slicing lands you in instant trouble, leaving you with bad lies and tough shots. More importantly, slicing boosts your golf handicap and increases pressure on your short game. Most slicers know this. That’s why they’re always looking for a cure. Some find it. Others don’t. Those who don’t find a solution often get frustrated.

But you don’t have to get frustrated with your slice. You can eliminate it once and for all by following a simple, four-step process. It tells you why you slice and provides golf tips that can help correct it. In the end you get a slice-free swing that has you thinking—and acting—like a new player. Eliminating your slice helps chop strokes off your golf handicap and eliminates frustration. Below is the four-step process:

Step 1: Examine Your Divots
Slicers create three types of divots. Each reveals the mechanical problems behind their slice.
Divots that move extremely left of the target line result from swings combining an open clubface and an incorrect swing path.
Divots that move somewhat left of target and then curve back across the target line result from a faulty swing path traveling outside in and across the ball.
Divots that move relatively in line with the swing path but drift slightly left result from and open clubface at impact.

Step 2: Determine Your Downswing Type
Downswings are driven by either a pulling (rotary) or a pushing (lever) motion. A rotary-driven swing uses the hip and trunk rotation as the primary force moving the club. With this type of swing, the golfer turns his or her body counterclockwise, with the club being dragged through impact. A lever-driven swing is one in which the right hand and forearm are the primary force behind the downswing. With this type of swing, the shoulder and chest rotation are delayed as the right hand and forearm power the club down into impact.

Step 3: Match Your Grip
It’s critical that your grip matches your downswing type. If you’re a rotary swinger, you need a stronger grip than a leverage swinger. A stronger grip counters the open impact position by keeping the right hand and elbow bent and tucked into the body, which in turn lowers the right shoulder and keeps the clubhead on the correct path.

If you’re a lever swinger, you want a more conventional grip or even a bit of a weaker grip. For a lever swinger, a grip that’s too strong results in a closed clubface at impact, producing hooks. To make sure your grip works with your swing type, focus on developing a setup position that’s correct and use your impact position to check on your grip—when your wrists unhinge at impact, the clubface should be square.

Step 4: Find The Slot
It’s critical you get the club properly slotted.? It’s also critical you match your transition to your swing type. If you’re a rotary swinger, the most important things to focus on when making the transition into the slot are letting the arms be relatively passive so they can swing freely and maintaining a slightly closed clubface position. At the top the rotary swinger’s position is somewhat flatter than the lever swinger’s and the left wrist is slightly bowed. Both are musts.

If you’re a lever swinger, the most important things to focus on when making the transition is shifting your weight onto the left leg, shifting the left shoulder left with no pulling of the left arm, and keeping the right wrists bent. At the top, the most important things are keeping the clubface square and the right hand and wrist bent to maintain width and keep the club on path.

Slicing is the game’s most common swing fault. It’s also among its deadliest. If you slice consistently off the tee, you’re often find yourself in instant trouble. This costs you strokes and boosts your golf handicap. To eliminate your slice, follow the four-step process described above. It will help you to hit them long and straight. Hitting them long and straight like they teach you in golf lessons boosts confidence and saves frustration.

This entry was posted on Monday, August 9th, 2010 at 2:17 pm and is filed under Golf Articles. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

View the original article here

Trusting Your Swing Cuts Golf Handicaps

By Jack Moorehouse

Concentrating on your mechanics while swinging usually leads to disaster. Thinking about how to hold your hands, make a good shoulder turn, or execute one of the other golf tips we pick up from magazines, newsletters, or golf lessons leads to topped shots, shanks, pushes, and other bad shots. More importantly, thinking about your mechanics causes you to ignore critical swing elements like rhythm and tempo, which contribute greatly to accuracy and consistency.

A great way to stop thinking about your mechanics while swinging is to build a swing you can trust—one that lets you focus on rhythm, tempo, and timing. How do you do this? You do it by ingraining key moves at critical swing points—like your set-up, downswing, and follow-through. Ingraining these moves enables you to forget about your mechanics and focus entirely on the task at hand. Improved focus leads to better shots. Better shots lead to better scores and better golf handicaps.

Let’s look at five key points where can ingrain moves that build trust in your swing:

Set-up
Setting up incorrectly generates swing faults that lead to bad shots. So you always want to set up correctly. For example, if you set up so that you’re reaching for the ball with your arms disconnected from your body, you’ll tend to take the club back to the outside. To build trust in your address position, set up your arm hang so that the club swings back automatically on plane. You can do this by bending from the waist so that when your arms hang down your triceps rest against your chest.

Takeaway

What you need to do with your takeaway, as I’ve said in hundreds of golf instruction sessions and golf tips, is start everything back in one piece. To help execute a one-piece takeaway correctly, try lightly brushing the grass behind that ball. When you keep the clubhead low to the ground like this, it makes it easy to stay on plane and create proper width in your swing. You may not actually hear the clubhead brush the grass during your takeaway, but keeping low helps builds trust in your takeaway and your swing.

Backswing
Your backswing is the source of many swing errors. If you could eliminate your backswing, you fee yourself of many swing errors. Obviously, you can’t eliminate your backswing. But you can build trust in it. To do that, you need to let the club swing freely to the top. You can do this by turning your back hip pocket behind you so that it feels like your clubhead and torso are moving back together. They should arrive at the top simultaneously.

At The Top
The top position is another key point where you want to build trust. But there’s some dispute as to where the toe of your club should be pointing when you reach the top. Some say it should be square or closed. Others say it should be pointing downward to provide the freedom to let the club go at the bottom. Most great golfers—the one’s that have lasted for years—pointed the club down and cupped their left wrist at the top. To build trust in your top position, do the same. It jump-starts a powerful release through the ball.

Impact
When you make good impact, you should feel like your back shoulder is on top of the ball. Too many weekend golfers ignore their back shoulders when swinging. To them the only thing that counts is their front shoulder. But ignoring your back shoulder produces pushes and hooks. To build trust at impact, swing the club so that it feels like the clubhead is passing through your hands at impact, not your hands trying to hold the face square at impact.

Building trust at these five key points in your swing builds trust in your entire swing. As a result, you won’t be thinking about the newest golf tips you’ve read or learned about in golf lessons during your swing. Instead, you’ll be focusing on more important things like rhythm, tempo, and timing—things that contribute greatly to better shots. Better shots lead to better scores and better scores lead to better golf handicaps. Trust me.

This entry was posted on Friday, August 20th, 2010 at 12:58 pm and is filed under Golf Articles. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

View the original article here

Trusting Your Swing Cuts Golf Handicaps

By Jack Moorehouse

Concentrating on your mechanics while swinging usually leads to disaster. Thinking about how to hold your hands, make a good shoulder turn, or execute one of the other golf tips we pick up from magazines, newsletters, or golf lessons leads to topped shots, shanks, pushes, and other bad shots. More importantly, thinking about your mechanics causes you to ignore critical swing elements like rhythm and tempo, which contribute greatly to accuracy and consistency.

A great way to stop thinking about your mechanics while swinging is to build a swing you can trust—one that lets you focus on rhythm, tempo, and timing. How do you do this? You do it by ingraining key moves at critical swing points—like your set-up, downswing, and follow-through. Ingraining these moves enables you to forget about your mechanics and focus entirely on the task at hand. Improved focus leads to better shots. Better shots lead to better scores and better golf handicaps.

Let’s look at five key points where can ingrain moves that build trust in your swing:

Set-up
Setting up incorrectly generates swing faults that lead to bad shots. So you always want to set up correctly. For example, if you set up so that you’re reaching for the ball with your arms disconnected from your body, you’ll tend to take the club back to the outside. To build trust in your address position, set up your arm hang so that the club swings back automatically on plane. You can do this by bending from the waist so that when your arms hang down your triceps rest against your chest.

Takeaway

What you need to do with your takeaway, as I’ve said in hundreds of golf instruction sessions and golf tips, is start everything back in one piece. To help execute a one-piece takeaway correctly, try lightly brushing the grass behind that ball. When you keep the clubhead low to the ground like this, it makes it easy to stay on plane and create proper width in your swing. You may not actually hear the clubhead brush the grass during your takeaway, but keeping low helps builds trust in your takeaway and your swing.

Backswing
Your backswing is the source of many swing errors. If you could eliminate your backswing, you fee yourself of many swing errors. Obviously, you can’t eliminate your backswing. But you can build trust in it. To do that, you need to let the club swing freely to the top. You can do this by turning your back hip pocket behind you so that it feels like your clubhead and torso are moving back together. They should arrive at the top simultaneously.

At The Top
The top position is another key point where you want to build trust. But there’s some dispute as to where the toe of your club should be pointing when you reach the top. Some say it should be square or closed. Others say it should be pointing downward to provide the freedom to let the club go at the bottom. Most great golfers—the one’s that have lasted for years—pointed the club down and cupped their left wrist at the top. To build trust in your top position, do the same. It jump-starts a powerful release through the ball.

Impact
When you make good impact, you should feel like your back shoulder is on top of the ball. Too many weekend golfers ignore their back shoulders when swinging. To them the only thing that counts is their front shoulder. But ignoring your back shoulder produces pushes and hooks. To build trust at impact, swing the club so that it feels like the clubhead is passing through your hands at impact, not your hands trying to hold the face square at impact.

Building trust at these five key points in your swing builds trust in your entire swing. As a result, you won’t be thinking about the newest golf tips you’ve read or learned about in golf lessons during your swing. Instead, you’ll be focusing on more important things like rhythm, tempo, and timing—things that contribute greatly to better shots. Better shots lead to better scores and better scores lead to better golf handicaps. Trust me.

This entry was posted on Friday, August 20th, 2010 at 12:58 pm and is filed under Golf Articles. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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Improve Your Golf Swing Tempo

Golf swing tempo and golf swing rhythm are, arguably, some of the most important factors in playing solid golf. How many times have you felt like you “muscled” the ball? if you’re, like me, too many times. But when you have that effortless feeling and the ball explodes of the club – well, there’s nothing quite like it.

John recently wrote about this too in his article Tempo – Golf’s Most Important Teacher and we have also spoken about how this is one of the truly overlooked fundamentals of golf. Sam Snead, who had one of the most effortless swings ever gives a few tips on how to not overswing and also how to maintain rhythm and tempo in your swing. It’s well worth checking out.

Also, check out the Anna Rawson interview over on the right. She is working with Butch Harmon and Butch gave her 1 tip that she is continually working on and another that sounds so simple that it’s easy to dismiss. I won’t give it away – you’ll have to watch the video.

Finally, one thought to leave you with. Why do we try to swing to hard? Is it to look good to our playing partners? To try to hit it as far as they do? I guarantee, if you suffer from this, and you throttle down to 85% or so you will see a marked improvement in your ball striking and ultimately scoring.

Related posts: Training Tempo With Eyeline Golf’s Metronome ProTempo – Golf’s Most Important TeacherWhy Amateur Golfers Don’t ImproveJohnny Miller Shares Secrets of the Golf SwingTake a closer look at yourself – Video Swing Analysis

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Johnny Miller Shares Secrets of the Golf Swing

Whether you like Johnny Miller as an announcer is one thing but as a player you cannot deny this guy knows about the golf swing. He has (as he mentions in this short video) “dug it out of the dirt” like Hogan did. In it he shares often overlooked golf swing fundamentals.

Here’s a couple of things you’ll pick up in this approximately 8 minute video:

A secret “power” tip about the gripLearn how far away from the ball you should standHow to to use the “entire body” in the takeaway to improve your rhythmWhat to “tuck” and what not to “tuck”Why the initial part of the downswing you need ZERO powerJohnny’s secret “karate move”How to master the “impact zone” and hit the ball with an exploding THUD (drill included)Why a good follow through is critical

Please share your comments.

Related posts: Nick Faldo Versus Johnny MillerThe Secret to Hitting Good Golf ShotsTake a closer look at yourself – Video Swing AnalysisHelp My Swing, Please!!!!Left Arm in Golf Swing – Straight or Relaxed?

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Perfect Your Swing With Position Practice

I can’t tell you what the right way is to swing a golf club. I’m not a teaching pro and I haven’t written any books on the subject. I’m not even a scratch golfer. I probably have 25 ‘how to’ books in my own library, most of which I’ve been through numerous times. And God only knows how many ‘how to’ articles I’ve read in golf magazines over the years. BUT, I do have something of value to pass along – how to ingrain what you know.

First, you’ve got to come to grips with the basics of the swing via some means; a teaching pro, your scratch playing buddy, a book – something. From this you need to take away where the various parts of your body should be at: (1) address, (2) 90′s into the backswing, (3) the top of the backswing, (4) 90 degrees into the downswing, (5) at contact with the ball, (6) 90 degrees past contact and (7) completion of your swing. I know this is a lot to ask of you, but you’ve got to get these right.

My advice pertains with what to do with this information. Practice holding these 7 positions every day for a few minutes in the backyard or in the house if the ceilings are high enough. Hold each position for a second or two. Your body will learn where it’s supposed to be if you keep repeating the positions. So all you have to do is to figure out what they are. Good Luck

And here’s the best tip I’ve had in the last month. It’s from Tiger Woods website. Hit your pitch shots with your chest! Not literally of course, but feel like it’s your chest that’s driving your arms and ultimately the club head. If you do this you won’t quit on the swing and decelerate – the kiss of death. Thank you Tiger, I’ve saved myself a lot of strokes in the last month.

Related posts: Left Arm in Golf Swing – Straight or Relaxed?Is Your Practice Routine Sound?A Sure Fix For Improving Your SwingCure For The Shanks“Digging It Out of the Dirt” and the Lonely Art of Practice

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The Golf Swing Is Pretty Simple

Right now you’re thinking ‘Is this guy nuts?’. Hopefully not, but I had a moment of insight the other day while struggling with my own swing issues. Consider this:

When someone who knows what they’re doing hits a good shot, the swing looks – and is – downright simple. If you watch Tour golf you see this a lot. Any one of a hundred pros makes what looks to be an effortless swing and the ball stops 10 feet from the pin. As Ross Perot used to say ‘it’s that simple’.

But wait, every golfer on the planet – and I mean every – has had to deal with golf swing demons. If you haven’t pulled hair out of your head or, come on admit it, wanted to toss your bag into the nearest body of water,?then you aren’t really a dedicated golfer.

So here’s the insight: when all goes well the golf swing is a pretty simple thing. You can prove it to yourself. Next time you hit a shot right where you want it,?reflect and see if it didn’t feel as easy as falling off a log. Golf is difficult because while the swing in it’s essence is simple, in fact a thousand things can go wrong. Think about that for 60 seconds! Maybe I’m a dunce, but that was an epiphany to me.

Will this insight help you play better golf? Maybe not, but it might help you enjoy the game more by giving you the unalienable right to cut yourself some slack. This in turn will help you relax and that, in turn, will help anyone’s game.

Here’s another idea to take out on the course: You don’t have to fix every bad shot! Let’s say you’re playing a decent round and you hit a real stinker. Stop trying to figure out what went wrong so you can correct it on the next swing. Just chalk it up to a brain fart, forget it and move on without giving it another thought. You’ll play better golf.

Related posts: Help My Swing, Please!!!!The Simple Game of GolfA Sure Fix For Improving Your SwingGolf Swing Turn! Turn! Turn!What Is A Peak Performance Golf Swing?

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4 Steps To A Better Golf Swing

When you think of achieving a better golf swing, what comes to your mind? Is it taking more golf lessons? Buying another training aid? How about pounding more golf balls? Has that worked for you yet?

What’s that phrase? “If you keep doing what you’re doing, you’re going to keep getting what you get”. Is that right I think it is.

What’s needed (IMHO) is going to back to the basics to see if something is out of whack. What I mean by basics is your fundamentals. You should always go back to fundamentals when your game goes south.

Recently I was shocked to find out my grip was incorrect. My address position with my clubface was wrong (it was open). And I had no spine tilt. I can tell you… before I found that out, I was practicing 2-3 hours a day (I am NOT kidding ) … and not seeing a dang bit of improvement… so learn from me if you have to. It was all about getting my grip right. My address and tilt corrected, and presto… I was hitting great golf shots without spending my life on the range in utter frustrationg.

So here are my simple Steps To A Better Golf Swing

Proper Grip

Make sure for most of you, you have a slightly stronger grip, which makes it easier to square your clubface at impact. Also, place your right hand more on top and not to the side. This is a more natural position for your hand to lay on the club.

Golf Address Position

Make sure your clubface is perfectly square, facing the target. Here’s what it should look like, from an overhead view (see below).

Spine Tilt

Make sure you have a slight tilt “away” from the target with your upper body spine. I had no tilt, and therefore never really got behind the ball on my backswing. The added spine tilt made it instantly happen. With the longer clubs and driver, your tilt will be a little more.

Ball Position

This is a controversial topic, but the placement of your golf ball at address should be directly in line with your left logo on your golf shirt; or even your left or lead armpit. This is a must! My ball position was too far back creating a steep blow on top of the ball; or for me, I would come up at impact and flip it through

So… work on these fundamentals, and steps to a better golf swing, and I’m sure you’ll see improvement quickly.

What do you think? What’s worked for you? Comment below

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Tags: better golf swing, step by step golf swing

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Increase Driving Distance With Golf Swing Weight

I get dozens of emails EVERY day from golfers wanting to know the quickest way to increase their driving distance. There’s nothing worse than being the shortest hitter in your foursome, and knowing that everytime you walk down the fairway to hit your second shot, you’re ALWAYS the FIRST one to hit

The are many issues that might be causing your lack of distance, including off-center contact on the clubface. You can lose up to 30 yards on your drives with a toe or heel hit. I can assure you that many of us mere mortals do not find the center too often

If you know me at all I will surely encourage you to improve your golf specific strength and flexibility, which will no doubt massively increase your distance off the tee…but…if you’re like many golfers, embarking on a golf training program seems daunting, and you want a simpler way to add yards.

Well…like any other sport, if you can mimmic your movement with resistance, and build up your speed with this resistance you will quickly improve your distance through a higher swing speed, and stronger golf muscles impart a more powerful blog into the golf ball at impact

With that being said, I came across the coolest training aid to instantly add resistance to your golf club, and you can insert it on your club in 5 seconds. Swing it as many times as you want, then remove it and stick it in your bag. I truly believe, this is one of the neatest power golf training aids I’ve ever come across…and it’s ONLY 30 bucks!

I swing my Power Golf Swing Weight Trainer EVERY day to…

Warm up for either practice or play.
For my golf-specific swing training.
To increase my swing speed for longer drives.

Popularity: 24% [?]

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