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

Save Par With These Shot

By Jack Moorehouse

Greens hit in regulation (GIR), as we’ve said in our golf tips newsletters, is a critical statistic in golf. GIR measures how often you hit greens with your approach shots, setting you up for a birdie putt. The more greens hit in regulation, the lower your scores. Hitting accurate approach shots is a must if you want to score well and cut your golf handicap. Obviously, you’ll need to put in some work perfecting your iron shots if you’re a poor iron player.

But even with hard work, you’ll still occasionally miss approach shots. If you end up in no man’s land—40 yards or less from the green—you’re often faced with a critical decision on what to do next. With courses becoming longer and longer, you may find yourself facing this decision more and more. Two shots that can help make that decision easier are the bump-and-run and the putt-chip. These shots are often taught in golf instruction sessions because of their stroke-saving capabilities.

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The Bump-And Run
The bump and run is easy to hit. All you need do is follow some simple rules. The first is: select a good landing spot. A general rule of thumb cited in golf lessons is to fly the ball about two-thirds of the way to the hole, then let it run the final third. When you pick your spot, which is usually short of the green, figure on a lower trajectory. Next, set up for a low shot. Narrow your stance with your front foot slightly open, play the ball back of center, and set your hands off the inside of your front thigh.

Once set up, take a short backswing. With a 9-iron all you need to do is take your arms back to waist high with just a touch of wrist hinge. This gives you about 25 yards of carry and 15 of roll. If you need to hit it farther, use an 8-iron. For shorter shots, use a pitching wedge. Your backswing length controls the shot’s distance so there’s no need to adjust your through swing. Also, turn through the shot just as you would normally do. Stop your follow through waist high.

Two keys with the bump-and-run are (1) release the club through impact and (2) keep your lower body still. If you release the club through impact, you’ll strike the ball with a square clubface. You did it right, if the toe of the club points skyward in your finish. If you keep the lower body still, you’ll ensure good solid contact. Start sliding here and you’ll have trouble making crisp contact and possibly mishit the shot.

The Putt Chip
Another par saving shot they teach in golf instruction sessions is the putt-chip. Short chips are critical to breaking 80, 90, or 100. They can turn two shots into one, saving you strokes. The shot’s mechanics are straightforward. Use your normal putting grip, play the ball inside your front heel, and set the club on its toe. Then use a pendulum like swing to chip the ball onto the green. If the ball is sitting down, place more weight on your front foot. This encourages a slight angle of descent through impact.

The key to this shot is setting the club on its toe. Simplifying your motion, hitting off the toe helps replicate your putting stance. It encourages the club to slide through the grass. And it “softens” the shot, increasing feel. In addition, keep your body still when swinging. Swing the club up with your arms going back. Then let it swing down.

Two shots can help save par when your approach shots misses: the bump and run and the putt chip. The bump-and-run provides a safe option when faced with a tight lie. The putt-chip removes the fear of chipping and puts the feel back in. Both shots help generate more pars, if executed correctly. Master them and they’ll also help you chop strokes off your golf handicap.

This entry was posted on Monday, September 13th, 2010 at 3:21 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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Continuous Rhythm, Light Hands!

Well, my swing has been getting better and better, thanks to continuous rhythm and light hands.? Today’s practice was a blast although there was a storm moving here into Northern California.? There was only one other guy at the range today and the range was closing rather early at 7pm.

Anyways, today I probably had one of the best swing days of my life (I know I say this often but my swing is getting better and better so…) and here’s some swing keys that helped me do that:

Hover the clubhead at address and feeling the weight of the golf clubhead.?? This helps you feel the weight of your golf club before you start your golf swing plus you won’t be starting from a completely static position, helping you to get into action.? Jack Nicklaus used to do this on all his shots even on putting, I highly suggest you to do this too.? It can also be a good pre-swing move, sorta like a push forward with your hands.At the top of my swing (actually it felt like I couldn’t distinguish between my backswing and downswing), my hands felt “weightless” or very light.? Also during transition, it felt so “smooth”, like butter.? To accomplish this rhythm, try waving your hands like a music conductor.? Oh yeah, that’s the feeling, smooth.

That was about it and I felt like my swing was simply an exaggerated version of my small chip/pitch shots.

Also, one more thing, if you start swinging badly, stop hitting full shots and hit very short 30 yard pitch shots.? To hit great 30 yard pitch shots, you will need to lighten your hands a lot and swing very smooth.? Once you can hit the ball really solid with your pitch shot rhythm, try it on your full shots.

Well, gotta go, I got a long weekend ahead of me although I still haven’t played a single round this year.? Gotta make money first then I should be on my way to PGA Tour baby!

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 Hit Downhill/Uphill/Sidehill Shots!

A lot of you may play great golf on flat courses where there are no hills but suffer bad scores on courses that have lots of hills. ? I personally grew up playing very, very hilly golf courses and practically 90% of all my shots were either downhill, uphill, or sidehill.

If you don’t know how to hit these shots, you might want to keep reading as I can show you that they are not that hard, you just need to understand the fundamentals behind it.

Downhill shots are probably the hardest of them all to hit because most of the time, the downhill slope de-lofts your clubface. ?For example, on a downhill shot, your pitching wedge will be more like a 9-iron or even 8-iron, depending on the angle of the slope.

Here’s THREE simple rules to remember about downhill shots:

One, setup with your ball further towards your right foot. ?Because of the downhill slope, your clubface will contact the ground much sooner, meaning you need to place your golf ball where you will hit it, further towards your right foot.

Two, obviously you will need to lean a bit more toward the hillside, the right, otherwise you will lose your balance.

Three, because your ball is now further towards your right foot, you need to aim left as your clubface will be slightly open at impact. ? Most of the time, I hit a 5-10 yard fade on downhill shots, just a rule of thumb I follow so I aim about 5-10 yards left target.

There’s more things you can do to enhance your downhill shotmaking skills but I am only going to make you learn the first three I mentioned here because these are perhaps the most important. ?One more thing, try to keep your best balance here and swing smooth and easy. ?This isn’t the best time to swing all-out.

For golf strategy, when you are on a downhill, your percentages are against you so play the safer shot instead of going for the green.

Uphill shots are probably the easiest of them all because you are hitting into the slope and usually you can get by hitting it pretty hard.

Uphill shots are just the exact opposite of downhill shots, here’s THREE simple rules to remember about uphill shots:

One, setup with your ball further towards the left foot. ?Again, the sloper will dictate that the best chance of hitting the ball is further towards the left foot.

Two, again lean a bit more towards the hillside, the left to keep balance.

Three, most likely you will hit a nice little draw because your golf ball is placed further left, aim 5-10 yards right of your target as a general rule of thumb.

For golf strategy, uphill shots are the ones to go for. ?If you are in a grey area where you could make a potential eagle/birdie by going for the green, by all means, this is the time to go for it, just aim right enough and make sure to follow through all the way to your target on the finish.

Sidehill shots are also one of the hardest to master, especially the ones where your body is sitting higher than your golfball.

For sidehill shots when your body is sitting higher than your golf ball, try to stand a bit closer to your golfball and also as tall as possible. ?From there, make a very smooth and easy swing. ? Remember, this is one of the most delicate shots (because of the angle) so take it easy!

Also, don’t forget to aim about 5-10 yards left (depending on the side slope) as your ball will be not fading but actually going at a different angle!

When your body is sitting lower than your golf ball, grip down about 1-2 inches on your golf club and make the same golf swing. ?No need for any changes other than that and also your golf ball will travel slightly from right to left so aim 5-10 yards right. ?This is much easier shot in my mind (because of the angles) so play more aggressive when you have lies where your golf ball is higher than your body.

For shots that are mix of an uphill and sidehill, you will have to take everything into consideration.

For example, if you have a downhill shot on a right-to-left slope (where your ball is higher than your body), you might want to put the ball slightly right toward the right foot, grip down about an inch on the club, and aim slightly right of the hole. ?Of course, the aiming part might be completely different depending on how much downhill/sidehill slope you are facing.

The important part is that you actually practice these uphill/downhill/sidehill shots with every club in your bag so you have your own “feel” of how the distance/aiming vary.

Trust me, these are one of the hardest shots to master but they could potentially be your best weapon when you are playing a hilly golf course.

You won’t be able to practice most of these shots on a practice range so I suggest you to practice them on the golf course. ?When it’s not too busy on the golf course, just make sure to hit 3-4 shots whenever you encounter these hilly shots.

Most importantly, know that you need to make these small adjustments on these shots, even on a slight slope. ? When you don’t, that might be the reason why you “duff” or “skull” the golf ball because you don’t play the slope, the slope plays you.

Practice, practice, and practice.

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 Properly Warm Up before Practicing/Playing Golf!

One of the most overlooked facts about golf is that most people believe it’s physically not intensive enough that you need to warm up before practicing/playing.

Actually the opposite is true, a golf swing requires proper functioning of your spine, lower body, shoulders, and the rest of the body.

I probably overlooked this fact too that I didn’t mention it so far on this golf blog but before any golf practice/play, I do a proper warm up for my body by swinging 2-clubs and stretching.

This is simple and common sense for those of you who have played golf for a long time but most amateurs do not warm up before practicing/playing golf.

Especially on cold days if you don’t warm up and stretch beforehand, you have more chances of injuring your lower back, which is critical for good golf.

So, here’s few warm up/stretching exercises you can do (that I do) before hitting any golf shots:

Get 2 of your heaviest clubs (for me it’s my lob and sand wedge) and start swinging very very slowly about 10-20 times until you can feel your body warm a bit.Next, you can do a bit of stretching.? First, I try touching my toes with my hands while standing up.? This gets you whole body and hamstrings stretched out well.Then, I will do some lateral rotations to stretch my spine, do like 5-10 of these.? When I do these, I usually hear some nice pops/cracks, which feels good and also prevents your muscles from hardening during practice/play.Also do some more leg stretching such as holding one of you foot behind you and standing with one leg.

These are just couple warm up/stretching exercises you can do but do them and I assure you, your back will thank you for it.

And one more thought, DON’T SWING THE DRIVER right away!

I usually start with small 50 to 75 yard pitch shots before moving up to full shots and the woods.? If you start with the driver, I guarantee you that you are going to ruin your swing.

Of course, that’s for practice.? If you are playing, just really try to get yourself warmed up on the practice tee beforehand.

P.S. Even better, if you have a practice green near where you practice shots, try hitting putts/chips before moving to the range.? This will help you maintain a good, soft rhythm that will carry to your full shots.

I’ve seen a handful of great players who do this, start with short shots and gradually move up to longer shots.? And they have great rhythm.

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 Much Divot Should You Take? [Advanced Golf]

This whole month I am guilty of practicing only on mats at the range. ?Usually that’s no biggie but sometimes it can make you think you are hitting the ball awfully well but you might actually “not” be.

I did hit up the grass tees couple times lately at the range and notice something funny, I was taking rather large divots. ?Although I hit the ball good, making big and thick divots can make you hit “fliers”, ball with too much overspin and goes farther than you expected.

It’s always good to take the less divot as possible, especially if you hit the ball long like me. ?For most long hitters, hitting a flier can become a big problem as your error (of hitting fliers/too much divot) literally multiplies.

Also, divots should be as shallow as possible. ?Plus, by taking shallow divots, you are putting less strain on your hands, which also allows you to achieve higher swing speeds.

Bryon Nelson used to take huge divots that looked literally like a dollar bill. ?Of course, his divots were also “thin” as dollar bill.

My point here is that you want to make the shallowest, smallest divot possible because when you do that, it means you are getting more of the clubface onto the ball.

For long irons and woods off the fairway, you probably don’t even need any divot because your swing arc becomes shallow.

For middle to short irons off the fairway, a nice shallow divot starting “after” the ball is struck, would be ideal.

Most likely if you are making big-a** divots, there can be several reasons.

First, your golf clubs might be not probably fitted. ?If your taller or shorter than average AND you use standard-size golf clubs, you are probably gonna dig that toe or heel end of the clubhead into the ground at impact, throwing off your shot and also cause bigger divots. ? This is number one mistake I see among amateurs, they buy $2000 golf clubs and forget to custom-fit it to their body by getting longer shafts or cutting them to fit. ?Also, there’s the loft and lie angles of the clubhead you NEED to adjust. ? These things can all be done correctly if you ask your golf shop before ordering them. ?Don’t get lazy.

If you don’t custom-fit your clubs, that’s like buying medium size T-shirts and giving it to your super tall/skinny daughter and super short/fat son who needs to wear 2XXL.

Second, if you are making big divots, examine what they look like. ? For example, today I noticed that my divots were actually “aligned” about 15 yards left of my target, meaning my clubhead was closed at impact. ? The real cause of this closed clubface was because I didn’t rotate my clubhead and body enough to the right on my backswing.

I fixed it by making sure to “turn and rotate” my clubhead and body starting from address. ? Voila, I started making very, very thin and shallow divots again, the ones I am used to when I shoot under par.

Also, one more tip, when you are playing in the wind, actually try hitting the ball a bit thin. ?What this does is keeps your ball flight down and puts less backspin on your ball, which makes your shot less vulnerable to the wind.

You can practice these slightly “thin” shots by really keeping your upper body “UP” throughout the swing. ?Plus, these can come in reaaaaal handy out of those fairway bunkers, allowing you to easily hit the green when you have a decent lie.

Well, I just told you what kind of divots you should be making out there (and some wind-play secrets), don’t forget to subscribe!

P.S. I am actually in the process of writing my new golf book, “How to Lower Your Golf Scores”, if you want a free review copy, let me know at the comments line!

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 Practice the Driver!

For most of you, you probably have one shot with your driver, that is trying to hit it long as possible.

Well, let me tell you right off the bat, I can hit at least a dozen different shots with my driver including the full long drive, short knock-down drive, driver off the fairway, low-bullet slice shots around the trees, and the list can go endless.

Because of how the driver is designed, it can be a great weapon to use even off the fairway when there’s a fair amount of wind on the golf course or you are stuck under a low-hanging tree and you need to get the ball down the fairway as far as possible.

Of course, a long iron such as a 2 or 3-iron can also be good for hitting a low-bullet shot but the driver has some better results such as putting less backspin on the ball.? In the time you need to roll it more, the driver can come in very handy.

Well, let me just go over couple of these different shots you can practice with your driver so you can make 12 shots out of this driver club, not just one.

Having more weapons in your bag will help you become a scratch or better golfer but only knowing how to hit full shots will limit your potential as a golfer.

1. The Long Drive – I am sure you have this in your bag already, I won’t go much into details other than you should have a super-long drive ready to launch at a long par 5.

2. The Short Drive – At times, there’s a need for you to hit a distance off the tee, something between a driver and a 3-wood.? At those times you will want to grip down on the driver a little bit and make a three-quarter swing.? This will allow you to hit the ball little bit lower and control it better.? This short drive also works well on windy holes where a 3-wood balloon the golf ball in the air too much.? Anyways, this is probably more important driver shot than the Long Drive.? Look at the pros, even they are using it, especially Anthony Kim, he will grip down on almost every drive for better control and lower ball flight.? This isn’t an easy shot by the way if you don’t practice and learn to control your backswing so make sure you practice this before using it on the golf course. (or any of these shots for that matter)

3. The Short Drive Fade and Draw – Learn to really be able to work the ball left-to-right or right-to-left with these short drives, they can come in very handy for those dogleg-lefts and rights.

4. The Long Drive off the Fairway – This will require that you already hit the golf ball pretty solid.? This Long Drive off the Fairway can come in handy on super, long par 5s or super, windy conditions where you need to hit the ball far and run it too.

5. The Short Drive off the Fairway – This one is another one to practice for windy conditions and when you need to run the ball more than the 3-wood.

6. The Low-Bullet Shot – This low-bullet shot with the driver is basically same as a short drive off the fairway except you put the ball back in your stance slightly.? You won’t have to put the ball back too far back because the loft on the driver is already de-lofted a lot, just make a nice and short swing.

Also practice with different clubface angles.? For one, don’t close your clubface but rather open it up gradually and see what kind of results you get.

These shots can come in handy where you have to hit it under the tree then slice the heck out of it down the fairway.

Other than these, you might want to keep experimenting with different driver shots.? All these shots may seem like a waste of time but will actually help you hit the Long Drive good too because your hands will have to be light and your body will adjust to swing correctly.

Banging Long Drives one after another can be fun but they are usually detrimental to your overall golf swing and rhythm but if you mix your driver practice with all of these different ones I’ve outlined, you will make a much better use out of your driver plus better rhythm in the long run.

Remember, if you practice like everyone else on the range, you will only become like them. (a real good HACKER!)

Learn to be creative and create your own golf shots, that will ultimately be your competitive edge on the golf course when your competitor thinks you are stymied behind a tree, then stick it 2-feet from the pin using the low-bullet slice driver shot.

Bring out the best in yourself, don’t limit capabilities of a golf club to one shot.

Happy golfing!

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 Properly Warm Up before Practicing/Playing Golf!

One of the most overlooked facts about golf is that most people believe it’s physically not intensive enough that you need to warm up before practicing/playing.

Actually the opposite is true, a golf swing requires proper functioning of your spine, lower body, shoulders, and the rest of the body.

I probably overlooked this fact too that I didn’t mention it so far on this golf blog but before any golf practice/play, I do a proper warm up for my body by swinging 2-clubs and stretching.

This is simple and common sense for those of you who have played golf for a long time but most amateurs do not warm up before practicing/playing golf.

Especially on cold days if you don’t warm up and stretch beforehand, you have more chances of injuring your lower back, which is critical for good golf.

So, here’s few warm up/stretching exercises you can do (that I do) before hitting any golf shots:

Get 2 of your heaviest clubs (for me it’s my lob and sand wedge) and start swinging very very slowly about 10-20 times until you can feel your body warm a bit.Next, you can do a bit of stretching.? First, I try touching my toes with my hands while standing up.? This gets you whole body and hamstrings stretched out well.Then, I will do some lateral rotations to stretch my spine, do like 5-10 of these.? When I do these, I usually hear some nice pops/cracks, which feels good and also prevents your muscles from hardening during practice/play.Also do some more leg stretching such as holding one of you foot behind you and standing with one leg.

These are just couple warm up/stretching exercises you can do but do them and I assure you, your back will thank you for it.

And one more thought, DON’T SWING THE DRIVER right away!

I usually start with small 50 to 75 yard pitch shots before moving up to full shots and the woods.? If you start with the driver, I guarantee you that you are going to ruin your swing.

Of course, that’s for practice.? If you are playing, just really try to get yourself warmed up on the practice tee beforehand.

P.S. Even better, if you have a practice green near where you practice shots, try hitting putts/chips before moving to the range.? This will help you maintain a good, soft rhythm that will carry to your full shots.

I’ve seen a handful of great players who do this, start with short shots and gradually move up to longer shots.? And they have great rhythm.

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.

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How to Putt Better by Trying Less!

If you want to improve your putting, first thing you will want to do is “stop trying” to sink your putts.

I know, I know, the whole point of putting is that you want to make the ball go in the hole but if you keep your focus there, you will inevitably make less putts.

So, how do you putt better by trying less and “not” trying to sink every putt?

I want you to try this exercise, I assure you, this will help you putt better.

The next time you go out to the putting green, I want you to practice putting by hitting towards “nothing”.

What do I mean?

I want you to actually don’t worry about where your golf ball goes but rather, focus on your putting stroke. ?Keep putting the ball into “nothingness” while focusing on achieving solid hits.

When you start letting go of everything including that of making putts into a target, you will inevitably start developing a better putting stroke.

Having a good solid contact on all your putts is not only essential, it will pretty much determine whether your putt has a chance to go in the hole or not.

When you hit a solid putt, you will be able to feel it in your hands. ?This will happen because you made a good, free putting stroke without trying to manipulate it. ?When you hit your putts solid, you will be hitting them squarely in the center of the putter’s sweetspot.

When you hit putts solid, two things happen.

One, your putt won’t be affected as much by the slope nor the putting surface.

Second, you will inevitably sink more putts because your putts “roll” true and smooth.

On the other hand, if you don’t hit your putts solid, you probably don’t even have a chance of making it. (unless you got lucky)

Most pros on tour don’t miss putts because they mis-read the putt, they miss them because they didn’t hit their putts solid.

Once you have mastered your putting stroke, then you can start trying to sink putts on the practice green.

If you keep hitting putts that don’t feel good in your hands, it’s always a good idea to focus on your putting stroke by practicing the stroke itself.

Even one of the best putters in the world Ben Crenshaw tells you to do this in his instructional putting video. ?Plus, did you know that Ben Crenshaw used to sink putts from everywhere with 1 quick look at the hole when he was a teenager? ?This is because when you hit your putts solid as hell, you will sink a LOT of putts, as simple as that.

If you don’t believe me, try this next time you are on the putting green.

I really could give a damn how you putt whether that’s left hand down the shaft, criss-cross, or whatever but if you can hit your putts solid, you are gonna be winning more skins and your friends will wonder why you are such damn good putter. (and them always buying you dinner)

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