 | |
| |
 |
Golf - It's all about Golf sponsered by Indy Golf Shop |
|
|
|
Improving Your Golf Swing
You've got your golf clubs, your 18-pack of golf balls, your bag, your shoes, even one of those fancy little electronic caddies. You're as ready as Tiger Woods ever was when he stepped onto a golf course for the very first time. Maybe you're a little taller and older than he was, but you know you're just as ready. Suddenly, by the third hole, you're beginning to wonder how much you can get for all that "barely-used" equipment. If you're having trouble with consistency and accuracy - putting the ball in the same general spot you intended, each time you hit it - then you might want to step off the course, grab a bucket of golf balls, and head for the driving range to get some practice in on your swing. Since you're probably on your own, unless you decide to take a lesson, just learn this - the secret to improving your swing is to figure out where you might be going wrong and then practice to correct the problem. You want to make all of the major factors affecting your swing consistent, so that you can develop a repeatable swing. Once you've got that consistency, then you can fine-tune the little details. What's so nice about working to improve your swing is that you have such an easy test to see if it's working - is the ball landing in the general area you planned? If the answer is yes, it's working. Pretty simple! Start by reviewing what you are doing now with your stance. If you could place a broom handle on the ground so that it just touched the toe of each shoe, the end heading off towards the green should point directly at the flag. Your shoulders and hips should be parallel to that line and should stay that way throughout your swing. Not keeping the whole body parallel to that imaginary line is probably the most common problem new golfers have with their stance. Now, we're getting to the trickier parts of your golf swing - the moving parts. It's sometimes hard to tell exactly what you might be doing wrong from this point on, so it can help to slow your swing down and have a friend or golfing buddy stand in front of you to explain what they see. Compare that to what you know you should be doing, and take it from there. The first movement you're going to look at is your back swing. Make sure you are using a smooth, even motion during your back swing - nothing jerky or aggressive. Remember, your swing won't get better just because you swing faster or harder, chances are, it will get worse! The most common mistake that novice golfers make on the back swing is to flick their wrists backward right away like they would when swinging a baseball bat. Don't! Let it be a natural motion instead. Watch any of the pros on the PGA tour - watch Woods, Mickelson, Sorenstam and Kim - most of them begin their wrist break just a little bit before the golf club reaches the horizontal position. After looking at your back swing, take a peek at what's going on at the transition - the point at the top of your swing, just before you bring the golf club forward. Most novice golfers don't allow the club to actually stop for a fraction of a second, and it should. After that brief stop, bring the club back down in that same even, fluid motion you worked on for your back swing. Flicking your wrists forward fast and hard is, again, what we do with a baseball bat. And if you haven't noticed by now, that little white critter on the tee is a whole lot smaller than a baseball! Now, you're at the actual point where you make contact with the ball. Don't try to power through the ball with your arm and shoulder muscles. You're probably tired of hearing me say this, but this, too, is how we are used to hitting a baseball. If you do it during your golf swing, though, it only weakens your swing and throws the club head out of alignment. Instead, using your whole torso and even your leg muscles will help correct it, as well as one other common problem novice golfers have - letting the club face close or open up. At the moment of contact, the front and back edges of the club head should perpendicular to that imaginary broom handle you laid out earlier. Think you're done? Not yet! You still have your follow through to consider. The biggest mistake a beginning golfer makes is to slow down after they've hit the ball. To ensure a full swing, keep your club head near the ground for about six inches on the follow through. This helps you swing through the ball, not stab at it. Again, keep that smooth, even speed all the way until the club head is up behind your head - a full swing is just that; it makes a complete circle from start to finish. Remember, it doesn't matter whether you have a driver, an iron, or a wedge in your hands; the swing speed should remain the same throughout the entire swing for all of them, and a consistent swing speed will improve your accuracy noticeably! As you can see, the most common problem most novice golfers have with their golf swing is that they try to hit the ball with the same general motion and muscles that they would use to swing a baseball bat. That's only natural, since a bat's probably the main thing most of us grew up swinging. But it's totally wrong too. Almost everything about a golf swing is different from swinging a bat, and the only way to get it right is practice, practice, practice! Like Bob Hope once said, "If you watch a game, it's fun. If you play it, it's recreation. If you work at it, it's golf!" Copyright 2005 Donald Saunders Once you've kitted yourself out and bought all that shiny new golf equipment find yourself a good local public golf course and set about practicing your golf swing
MORE RESOURCES:
Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Golf Lessons From A Beginning Golfer? Would you rather hear what you need to learn from someone who is already an accomplished golfer? Would a few hours with Jack Nicholas REALLY help your game? "Just do what I do, it's easy!" Or would you rather learn from a beginner, who understands the struggles, the small improvements and remembers those early changes that lead to greater success?It almost makes sense, doesn't it? The best coaches are often mediocre players, and the worst coaches were stars, who had everything come easy to them. Natural ability is hard to teach to others! As a beginning golfer, I have noticed some dramatic improvements, though, and wanted to pass them along to other beginning golfers. Junior Golfers Gain A Competitive Edge By Building A Stronger Body Strength training for juniors is supported by organizations such as the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM), The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA). Each of these organizations encourages children's participation in appropriately designed training programs as long as they are competently supervised. What Night Golf Ball should I use for my Glow Ball event? Believe it or not, there are three different types of Night Golf Balls. The more traditional Night Golf ball has a hollow core in which a light stick is inserted (after activating). Play Better Golf Through Exercise Play better golf. Isn't that what every golfer thinks about 24/7? Golf can be the most humbling game you will ever play?but we keep coming back for more. Golf Swing Exercises Can Add Power Quickly Golf swing exercises are the missing link to adding tremendous power to your golf swing quickly. To be able to execute an effective golf swing. Try Developing Your Own Golf Style Some golf beginners think that all they have to do is copy Ernie Els, Tiger Woods or whoever their favorite golfer might be and bam, immediate golf success!I am sorry to say, it is just not that easy. If it were then everybody would be a lot better. Myrtle Beach Tee Times - A Quick Glance Planning a golf vacation in Myrtle Beach? Here are six things to know before planning your next golf outing to the Grand Strand.Flights - Golfers vacationing in Myrtle Beach can choose to tee off during AM or PM flights. How Golf Stretches In Your Office Can Improve Your Game Yes you heard it right! Golf stretches in your office. What a great way to take a quick break from your computer to not only feel better in the moment, but improve your game at the same time. Golf Course History - You Could Play On The Worlds Oldest Golf Course The oldest golf course in the world.. Shoulder Exercises To Improve Your Game Your shoulder strength and flexibility are essential to producing an optimal swing off the tee. Adequate shoulder rotation is responsible for keeping the club in the desirable swing plane. Golf Swing Improvement The Fast Way Golf swing improvement is a never ending goal for every golfer wanting to play better golf.This is hardly surprising because the golf swing is such a critical area of the game and is indeed the core of the golf game. Preparing Your Body For Golf While You Travel We all know the temptations of traveling? grabbing a slice of pizza while running to your gate at the airport, an elaborate steak dinner with a client, and being so tired at day's end that all you want to do is fall into bed. Traveling can often create havoc on regular exercise and golf conditioning. How Different Courses Can Help You Become a Good Golf Player Golf is an fulfilling and absorbing sport but, even so, there is a risk that you may become stale or bored if you do not change the place where you play. This makes golf different from other games, but the reason for this is the very nature of golf. Golf Tips - Tips to Improve Your Putting If you are seriously considering lowering your scores, then you must take your putting seriously, as roughly half the strokes you play in a round of golf are likely to be on the putting green. However good you are at driving, pitching and chipping, if your putting is not up to standard, you will never make the next level. The Top 10 Life Lessons from Golf Golf is an amazing mirror of life. Yes, other sports provide life lessons as well, but golf happens to be my favorite sport and the one I understand the best. What Will A Good Golf Stretching Program Do For Your Golf? There are many things that a good golf stretching program will do for a persons' game.Firstly a golf stretching program will tremendously improve the golf swing in terms of the power as well as helping the golfer to control the direction. Do You Want To Play Par Golf? The key to playing par golf is to focus on more than just golf techniques, and pay attention to your entire body. Fitness is key to any sport, whether you're running up and down a basketball court, throwing the pigskin or playing the links. Online Golf Lessons Save Time And Can Be A Great Help Online golf lessons have grown tremendously in popularity, for the simple reason that they address a problem faced by most golfers. The problem is that of finding the time away from their golf game to take golf lessons. Tips For Correcting A Golf Slice Correcting a golf slice is the fastest way to shave strokes off of your golf game. Slicing a golf ball is one of the most common errors that an average player makes. Golf Training Programs For Women Golf training programs designed to help condition the body for better golf have really taken off in recent years. Male golfers have not been the only beneficiaries.
|
| home | site map | |
| © 2007 |