Posts tagged "Consistency"

Making Practice Pay Off

No matter how much athletic ability or natural talent you have, you still have to practice to become good. Practicing fine-tunes your skills, develops consistency, and builds confidence. It also improves your balance, rhythm, and timing. Look at VJ Singh. One of the world’s best golfers, he practices tirelessly. Many on the tour consider him its iron- man. If you’re serious about reducing your golf handicap, you’ll practice hard, too.

But practicing has its challenges. Time is one. Productivity is another. Boredom is a third. Then there’s the challenge of taking what you practice to the course. It’s not uncommon to hear students taking golf lessons complain of being unable to transfer what they do in practice to the course. That’s a major challenge. You must overcome its challenges to make practice pay off. Below are some golf tips on how to do that.

Planning Is A Key

Most of us are extremely busy. Between our jobs and our families, there’s not much time to practice. To make practice pay off big time, we must get the most from each session. The best way of doing that is to plan your practices. Planning focuses your efforts and directs your activities. Both are key when time is a factor. Your plan doesn’t have to be elaborate. In fact, it can be quite simple. Just make sure you have one.

Also, make sure plan should include objectives for each session. Quantifiable objectives work best. Try to make them course related as well, like cutting down putts per round. And make sure your plan addresses your weaknesses. We all like hitting bombs in practice. But if you hit your irons poorly, you must spend time practicing them, too. Finally, balance your sessions as much as you can, but plan to spend more time on your short game than anything else. Improving it drives down golf handicaps quickly.

Make Practice Fun

Overcoming boredom is among the biggest challenges in practice. It’s a drag doing the same drills over and over again, no matter how effective they are. Vary your practice sessions as much as you possible. Have three or four drills to improve putting and switch off between them every couple of sessions. Also, try working on different aspects of your game at different sessions. Work one session on your short game. Work the next session on your iron play. Change it up. Keep your mind engaged.

Another way to alleviate boredom is by playing games with yourself or with someone else. Use your imagination to invent games. Challenge your foursome your foursome for a drink or just for bragging rights to a putting contest. Better yet, challenge yourself to beat yourself. Tell yourself you’re going to hit five shots to the red flag. Then see how many you hit. Keep track of how many times you do it. Do this over a few months, and then see what your average is.

Work on Realistic Situations

One of the biggest challenges in practicing is translating what you work on to the course. Many golfers complain that they do well in practice, but when it comes to real-life, they fail to make the transition. One way to do that is to practice on grass whenever you can. It’s nice to hit off the mats at the practice range, but it’s not the same as hitting on grass. Hitting on grass also lets you check your divots, which can tell you a lot about how you’re hitting the ball. And practice the way you play. Practice a wedge shot, and then follow it up with a putt, just like you’d do on the course.

Also, work in some realistic game situations in practice sessions. Try chipping over a wading pool in your bag to practice hitting over an obstacle on the course. Vijay Singh hits half his practice shots under game conditions. First, he hits a couple of balls with each club. Then he places himself in a key situation and practices executing the right shot. The more of “realistic” drills you program into your practice sessions, the easier it is to make the transition to the course.

You have to practice to improve your game and develop consistency. But practicing has its challenges—like boredom and time limitations. Learn to dispel these challenges and you’ll make your practice sessions really pay off. That in turn will help you cut your golf handicap down to single digits.

Jack Moorehouse
http://www.articlesbase.com/golf-articles/making-practice-pay-off-1017537.html

Odyssey White Hot Tour # 5 Putter

As the golf adage goes, players drive for show and putt for dough. You can cut strokes off your game during a friendly weekend round when using the Odyssey® White Hot® Tour #5 putter. The weight ports in the sole maximize consistency and distance control, enhance feel, and provide better roll characteristics. The White Hot® Tour insert is constructed of an elastomer core for enhanced feel and truer roll.

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Nike Golf Method-003 Heel Shafted Mid Mallet Putter

The Nike Golf® Method putter provides faster forward roll at impact, delivering the accuracy and consistency demanded by Tour professionals. Polymetal Groove Technology dampens impact vibrations for soft touch, while the interspersed steel milled face maintains audible feedback for proper distance control. 30g of internal weight has been excavated from the face and body and relocated to the perimeter for higher MOI and added stability.

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Odyssey White Hot Tour Rossie 35 Putter

As the golf adage goes, players drive for show and putt for dough. You can cut strokes off your game during a friendly weekend round when using the Odyssey White Hot Tour Rossie putter. The weight ports in the sole maximize consistency and distance control, enhance feel, and provide better roll characteristics. The White Hot Tour insert is constructed of an elastomer core for enhanced feel and truer roll. Weight ports in the sole allow for optimal weighting to maximize consistency and distance control, enhance feel, and provide better roll characteristics Bronzed Tour finish reduces glare and provides the aesthetics accomplished players prefer White Hot Tour insert is constructed of an elastomer core that is highly resilient for enhanced feel and truer roll and a thin, firm cover infused with urethane for fine-tuned responsiveness

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Nike Golf Method-001 Classic Blade Putter

The Nike Golf® Method putter provides faster forward roll at impact, delivering the accuracy and consistency demanded by Tour professionals. Polymetal Groove Technology dampens impact vibrations for soft touch, while the interspersed steel milled face maintains audible feedback for proper distance control. 30g of internal weight has been excavated from the face and body and relocated to the perimeter for higher MOI and added stability.

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What is a Simple Golf Swing?

By John Lynch

This may be the most startling news you ever heard – “A simple golf swing is the secret to a great golf game!”

Eighty percent of the 27 million golfers in this world do NOT achieve a handicap of less than 18. The vast majority of these golfers credit inconsistency as the culprit – inconsistency in their swing.

How many shots per round could you shave if you hit the ball solid, straight, and longer each time?…

7 strokes?…

10 strokes?…

Even more?

If you’re too busy with life to even think about your defective golf swing – what are you to do?

Read on…

The secret: A simple golf swing starts with using your stable spine as an axis to keep your swing on plane – you must swing around a stable spine!

Most high handicap golfers do not swing around a stable spine – they have more sway and unnecessary movements than you could shake a stick at.

Your swing will be most effective if you coil around your stable spine with limited hip rotation – the secret to tremendous power!

Since you are limiting your hip rotation you don’t have to swing the club back too far, your backswing will be shortened yet you will still be storing plenty of power in your backswing coil.

So what have we learnt so far in creating a simple golf swing?

- Swing around a stable spine.

- Your hip rotation is limited.

- Your backswing is shortened – you don’t have to swing back to parallel.

The truth is the most effective swing does not have a lot of moving parts to it. The best golfers on the planet have built themselves a simple golf swing utilizing only the movements that promote solid contact and consistency.

You want a simple golf swing you can perform correctly over and over again – even under the pressures of tournament play.

In fact, once you have programmed your subconscious with a simple golf swing that is fundamentally sound, you know longer have to think about it – your simple golf swing will become automatic! You program your subconscious by practicing the fundamental components of a sound golf swing until they are engrained.

Conventional swing thinking says a fundamentally sound golf swing should have a lot of sway in it and the golf club should go back to parallel at the top…

This is hogwash!

The more moving parts to your swing – the more room for error.

By simplifying your swing with less moving parts you minimize the chance of errors in your swing!

Once you have programmed your simple golf swing into your psyche, you now only have to think about hitting your target.

What a beautiful feeling it will be when you are not thinking about your golf swing out on the golf course – you are only thinking about what matters – things such as your target, your lie, the wind, the slope, or any other factor that affects getting your golf ball to your target….

Isn’t the object of golf to get the ball into the cup in the least amount of strokes?

So go build yourself a simple golf swing and start scoring on the golf course like you’re capable of!

Hit ‘em Long and Straight!

John Lynch

John Lynch
http://www.articlesbase.com/golf-articles/what-is-a-simple-golf-swing-614945.html

Odyssey Golf White Ice Sabertooth Putter

Odyssey White Ice Sabertooth Putter…New for 2010Feel the Ice in Your VeinsThe new White Ice Putters from Odyssey combine Tour trusted shapes with a new look and better feel. The new White Ice Insert is Callaway’s best feeling, multi-layer insert to date. Developed after extensive feedback from players on Tour, Callaway engineers have enhanced the sound, responsiveness and consistency of the insert. Coupled with a new Dark Nickel finish, the new White Ice putters combine Tour-proven looks with Tour-inspired feel.White Ice InsertThe multi-layer insert has been fine-tuned to enhance sound, responsiveness, resiliency and consistency. The inner core is 19.6% firmer to enhance the feel and 92% stiffer for better resiliency, leading to consistent distance control. The face surface has been roughened to enhance the sound at impact with softer golf balls. The rough texture also helps increase friction between the ball and the insert to promote forward roll.Headweight OptimizationIn White Ice core models, Tour-tuned weight ports in the sole optimize the putter head with the shaft length to create the ideal balance that maximizes feel, control and accuracy.Dark Nickel FinishCreates a rich premium for the utmost in confidence.White Ice SabertoothA radical alignment mallet with weighted fangs, aiming channels, a double-bend shaft and full shaft offset.

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Ping G15 complete set of golf clubs RH (1w, 3w, 5w, 3,4,5,6,7,8,9,sw,pw and putter) with bag and head covers

Ping G15 Iron Set The technology of the PING G15 Iron provides the high-launching, maximum forgiveness benefits that the majority of golfers rely on to bring consistency to their iron play. The stainless steel iron’s cavity design features a floating Custom Tuning Port (CTP) which expands the perimeter weighting and increases the moment of inertia. Weight savings from a thinner face is re-positioned to the toe for added forgiveness on miss-hits, and the G15′s wider sole produces a higher launch angle. Stronger lofts combine with a center of gravity located low and farther from the face to produce longer shots without sacrificing the higher launch angle required in a maximum forgiveness iron. PING G15 Fairway Wood The elongated, low profile design of the G15 Fairway Wood offers a long, forgiving option for golfers who rely on the confidence of a larger head. An external weight pad on the sole of the stainless steel head positions the center-of-gravity low and farther back to provide higher trajectories and increased distance. Its low spin feature is the result of the low profile design. Also available in a Draw model. Ping G15 Driver The G15 Driver is engineered for golfers seeking a maximum forgiveness driver that delivers distance and accuracy. Its elongated 460cc titanium head features an external sole weight which positions the center of gravity for a higher trajectory and reduced spin. A larger face is designed to optimize ball speed and provide consistency across the entire hitting surface.

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How to Improve your Golf Chipping Stroke

If you can have the confidence to get your golf balls close to the hole nearly every time you make a golf chipping stroke, your scores are going to come tumbling down faster than you can possibly imagine!

What Is The Chip Shot?

Basically, the chip shot is a flat or low flying, forward moving approach shot.

It’s intended to be used in situations where there is no immediate obstacle between your ball and the target.

Suppose you happened to miss the green with your second shot and your ball landed on the apron or close to the edge of the green. It may not be possible for you to use your putter, because the grass is longer on the apron than it is on the green.

This difference in grass texture is going to affect the roll of the ball, so the idea is to chip the ball over the grass and try to land the ball on the short manicured green, where it can then roll out towards the flag.

You may also have a slight undulation in front of you. If you took the putter to play this shot, the depth of the undulation and the length of grass you’re playing from will also affect the way the ball reacts.

So we need to learn how the ball is going to react once we hit it.

Why Is Chipping So Important?

Golf is not about how far you can hit the ball.

Golf is mainly a target game which demands hitting the ball various distances and seeing how low your score can be at the end of a particular round.

If you can save shots by improving your golf chipping technique, your scores will be lower and as a result your handicap will improve.

Distance & Direction – The Two Secrets To Mastering Your Golf Chipping

Remember, as in Putting, the only way to have consistency is when you can control your distance and direction.

All putts and chips which go in the hole, or come to rest next to the hole, have the magic ingredient of distance and direction.

The saving grace for you is that you’re going to have at least a fifty percent chance of success no matter what your ball does, so long as you can hit it!

The only question you really need to be asking yourself is – “By how much do I want to increase my percentage of success?”

Once you get yourself into the top 70% or 80% range, you’re going to see your handicap come down so fast, it’s not going to be funny!

Judging Distance – Flat Level Green’s Are Easier To Judge

The idea is to get you to understand that if you can imagine playing all your short shots, as though you were playing to a level green, that’s one that has no undulations or slopes by the way, you’ll be able to gauge the roll of the ball more precisely.

You must understand this one very important fact, if you’re going to get good at chipping.

The one thing you really have to burn into your brain is that no matter how long or how short a chip shot you have, THE BALL IS GOING TO ROLL SOME DISTANCE!

I rarely see people chipping around the green and the ball sticks to the ground as soon as it lands. First of all it’s an impossible scenario to imagine and secondly the laws of motion won’t allow it to happen!

So, you had better get ready to understand that your golf ball is going to roll some distance after it hits the green.

Once you start to appreciate this point, you’re now ready to develop a technique that takes this fact into consideration.

If you’re not aware of the distance that your ball is going to roll, you’re not going to get your ball really close to the hole, no matter how good a player you are.

A good way to get used to this new adjustment in your approach is to stand on the edge of the green and just roll balls up to the hole.

You can do this quite easily and it won’t take you long to get used to how much the ball actually begins to roll and react to the slope or “borrow” as we like to call it.

Once you are aware of the Landing Area and not the Finishing Area, you will be absolutely amazed at how good your perception and feel will begin to evolve.

So do the same exercise again, except this time, try and gauge where the ball needs to land so that it rolls out and finishes next to or near to the hole you’ve chosen.

After you’ve done this exercise a few times, you’re now ready to move onto understanding why the pro’s are so good at chipping!

Why 3 Clubs And What’s So Special About Them?

If you’ve watched any live coverage of golf tournaments on the television, then you’ve no doubt been amazed at just how good the pro’s are at getting up and down from around the green.

It doesn’t matter how difficult the shot looks, they always seem to be able to get it close and on the rare occassion – it even goes in!

The majority of pro’s only hit about thirteen or fourteen greens in regulation during a round of golf, so somewhere along the way they’re going to have to chip or pitch the ball close enough to the hole, so that they only need a putt to save their par.

The Secret Clubs The Pro’s Use!

The 3 clubs that the pro’s choose to use are the one’s which allow them to get the majority of their balls close to the hole, even if they make a mistake!

The three clubs are:

The Pitching Wedge

The Sand Iron

The Eight Iron

The Pitching Wedge is the cornerstone. This is what everything revolves around.

The Pitching Wedge will be used for a ball that has to fly fifty percent of the way to the target and then roll the other fifty percent of the distance to the hole.

The Sand Iron is used when the ball has to fly two-thirds of the way to the target and then roll one-third after landing.

And the Eight Iron is used when the ball only has to fly one-third of the way to the target and then is expected to roll the other two-thirds.

So if we break that formula down for you, you can see that the pro’s use percentages to increase their skill.

Let’s see that formula broken down:

Pitching Wedge – 50% Carry – 50% Roll

Sand Iron – 2/3 Carry – 1/3 Roll

Eight Iron – 1/3 Carry – 2/3 Roll

Now, the next time you get to play a chip shot, remember how far the ball needs to roll after it lands on the green, then choose one of the clubs above to help you get it closer!

Remember – “Play with Passion!”

Charles Peter Lindup
http://www.articlesbase.com/golf-articles/how-to-improve-your-golf-chipping-stroke-237022.html

Simple Golf Swing Review – Improve Your Game By Altering Your Swing

Golf is a game that interests many a person. While there are many people who aspire to be Golfing greats but just end up being average due to lack of proper instructions and being unable to master the right techniques. One avenue that is commonly attributed to be the cause of trouble is the lack of consistency in the way the people hit the ball which can in turn lead to other troubles such as lack of distance covered that increases the number of strokes one has to hit to reach the green.

As a solution to these kinds of problems faced by average golfers, David Nevogt brought out the ebook known as “The Simple Golf Swing” that has step-by-step instructions by which avid golfers can improve their golf swing. By adopting the simple golf swing system, these golfers can improve the way in which they hit the ball so that they can help hit it with a fuller force and can do this consistently.

So, what is the principle used in the simple golf swing system and how does it improve the way you play golf?

The simple golf swing focuses on utilizing the spine for alignment while swinging the club. This simple focusing technique helps in improving the consistency with which you hit the ball each time. The swing technique also focuses on gaining knowledge of the right way to hold the club so that you will be able to hit the ball with the right amount of force to travel the distance you need it to go. Another important feature that one gets to study and improve is the timing with which the swing is made so that it helps in getting the ball to go where it needs to go and the distance it has to go.

The simple golf swing also helps improve various parts of your swing in a step-by-step approach. In this manner, every aspect of your swing will be touched upon and ways in which it can be improved will be taught. All these procedures of improving the swing are taught to you by the use of various photographs detailing the instructions or by means of instruction video clips.

The instructions provided in The Simple Golf Swing makes you understand the topics better by advising you to follow what is taught during a practice drill. By doing so, one can have the pleasure of playing while learning the correct methods to be followed. The subscribers also get to participate in live tele-seminars to discuss aspects they are having trouble with.

Simple Golf Swing also provides information about handy stuff that can be used as wonderful training aids in making their swing better. There is also the option of participating in a forum where people can get their doubts cleared and also get to communicate with many people of their caliber to see how they had improvements to their game.

You can download the ebook directly from their website at golf swing guru com and purchasing it for a deal of $47 that also provides many other extra bonuses. Some of these added bonuses include ebooks like The Simple Chip, Secrets from the Game’s Longest Hitter and Fit to a Tee. It also provides various add-ons that will help in providing more tips on improving your game. Last but not the least you also get to enjoy the benefit of receiving free lifetime upgrades of the Simple Golf Swing.

Dennis Eisenhower
http://www.articlesbase.com/sports-and-fitness-articles/simple-golf-swing-review-improve-your-game-by-altering-your-swing-581000.html