Working on Your Golf Swing

We all read articles and magazines with golf tips and they all make sense over a coffee in the club house, but then you have to put them into action on the course and that’s the hard bit. So, you know the basics and could probably tell them coherently to someone else, but can you train yourself to put what you know into practice at the 14th? The difference between watching an instructional video and doing it yourself is that you can’t see the whole affair - we are not blessed with helicopter vision of ourselves.

Logically then, you need to be able to see what you’re doing. When my eldest son started playing, we would find a quiet time on the course and take a camcorder with us, so that I could capture his game and we could analyze it later. The downside was that he felt the need to reciprocate, so I would have to have my fluffed shots examined in great detail too! Don’t do this on a busy course and never, ever hold up the following players.

Many people would never stop to consider that a golf pro would use any kind of teaching aid to improve his golf swing, but the real truth is that they certainly do. They didn’t get their reliable golf swing without constant work. The golf coach will introduce golf swing aids into the golf pro’s practice regime and while not all of us can afford their own golf coach, we can improvise, and learn something from the way the pros do it and that is to find a strategy that works and stick with it.

Some golf swing aids are very effective, whilst others are not so practical. There is no simple gadget that I have found that will transform your game without work. Do your research and you will uncover some good stuff that will help you; try to find practical aids and if you can, try them out before you buy.

In summary, you need to focus on something that is helping your golf swing and stick with it. Without doubt, you need to see yourself in action, so some kind of video is necessary and you can often get video analysis with the club pro in the driving range. Don’t rush out and buy the latest aid, but think about what you need, and then work at it.

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How to Swing a Golf Club – Simple Tips

The oldest golfing question of all - how should you swing a golf club? Over the years, some of the finest minds have been absorbed in discovering just what comprises a perfect golf swing. There are so many variables such as clubface angles, stance, how much power to apply, speed of the upswing and that’s just the obvious stuff.

Biomechanics opens completely new assortment of problems, with variables beyond description when you consider that every muscle in the body could influence the shot. In fact, you might ague that it is all of the variations thrown up by the research that makes it seem so difficult to hit a good shot.

Perhaps the reality is much simpler. Leaving cricket aside (because in my view, it’s even more difficult to swing a cricket bat than a golf club), it’s just hitting a ball with a bat and subject to few basics, if you can hit a baseball, you can swing a golf club! Now, a golf ball is lying quietly on the ground, just waiting for you to give it the necessary tap, whereas the bowler in a cricket team won’t be entirely happy until he has rendered you unconscious!

So, make a few adjustments, to allow for the fact the ball is on the ground, not in the air and you’re all set.

The set up is all important and if you get your body in the wrong shape here, your muscles through the whole swing will be focused on correcting this misshape in the body, and a lot of energy and direction is wasted. Click Here for full setup details and photographs

Once you’ve got your stance sorted out, the next step is the backswing. Imagine that you are turning your back on the ball and you will find your arms naturally following along. It will also allow you to produce the power required to generate a club head speed.

Don’t push the downswing, just let your body unwind and the natural torque generated by the uncoiling of your back will produce the necessary power, naturally and unforced. If you try to force the downswing, it will cause a tension in the muscles that will work against the very result you are trying to produce. Focusing on your back rather than your arms will often correct a wayward swing!

This is the bit I used to find most difficult; forget the ball is there and complete your swing-through. How many times have you seen a perfectly relaxed practice swing followed by a choppy contact swing? Keep relaxed and let the club flow – don’t force it.

By this time, your swing will be smooth, the ball almost irrelevant. Now, just keep your head down until the follow-through of the club naturally causes your head to lift and follow the flight of your ball.

That’s how good golfers get better results with less effort. Enjoy your golf!

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Coaching Will Improve Your Game

Everyone wants to play like Tiger Woods, but is he the best person to ask for golf tips?

Tiger certainly knows how to play, but does he know how to teach? There is an old saying “those who can, do; those who can’t, teach others how to do it”, which is rather dismissive of the noble art of teaching and does not allow for the different mindset required to watch, analyze and coach.

So, why not Tiger? Partly because he is a competitive professional player, not a teacher. His total focus is on being better than anyone else is and that in itself works against helping someone else to improve. He makes a living (as if he needs to) playing professional tournaments and he will be looking for coaching, not seeking to give it.

When I was starting out playing golf, I found that 15 to 20 handicappers gave me much better and usable advice than far better players. Low handicappers become quickly exasperated with fluffed shots than less able players who probably remember very well their struggle at the beginning of the endless journey that is golf. Also, they have plenty of problems of their own and that lends sympathy to others in the same boat.

All the top pros have coaches of their own and I don’t suppose many of them could play as well as their star pupils! What they can do though is bring their analytical skills to bear and formulate structured ways to address the issues (let’s not call them problems) that their pros have identified themselves or ones that have become apparent in their game.

Many pros, Tiger included, change their coach one or more times during their career. This may lead to a temporary loss of form while they adapt to a changed swing, or iron shots. One thing you can be sure of, they did not just decide to change their game on their own; it will be their coach that identified a longer-term advantage in taking a short-term hit.

Don’t forget too that pros play every single day, practicing driving, putting, chipping and fairway shots. As well as developing very specific shots that suit their style and physique, it enables them to attain a level of understanding about the game that they could never share in a coaching session.

Each of us needs to develop strokes and shots that make the very best of our individual size, musculature and age. Without doubt, most of us would benefit from regular one-to-one coaching to help us make the most of what we have, rather than try to emulate our golfing heroes.

Here’s something to help you Increase Distance, Consistency, and Accuracy and Build Confidence and Perfect your Timing. Click Here

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