Posts tagged "Golf Shots"

Amazing Ways To Improve Your Golf Swing

It’s important to remember, your golf swing is what drives your score; not your clubs or ball. When you’re playing golf badly it isn’t a lot of fun. It takes a great deal of skill, mental fortitude and perseverance to excel at golf.

If you’ve hit with your golf driver perfectly once, you can do it every time; the subconscious mind knows the correct number and sequence of muscle contractions and nerve impulses needed, called muscle memory. Always be aware the mental aspect of the game contributes one way or another to the difficulty of the golf swing. It’s been proven that thinking positively about bettering your golf game will benefit you more than playing to compete with your partners and trying to win for winnings sake.

At the end of a swing, the weight has shifted almost entirely to the left foot, the body is fully turned to the left and the hands are above the left shoulder with the club hanging down over the players’ back. Putts and short chips are ideally played without much movement of the body, but most other golf shots are played using variants of the full golf swing. Accomplished golfers purposely use sidespin to steer their ball around obstacles or towards the safe side of fairways and greens.

Use the muscles in your legs and trunk when you swing. When you swing if you have problems with your left knee buckling, imagine you’re holding a soccer ball between your knees. As the body matures, the ability to rotate the upper torso is affected by age, and the hand action can also slow down requiring a slightly stronger grip.

The most important thing about the golf swing is the angle and not the strength that’s applied to it. Swing slowly and steadily using a nice rhythm. Sidespin occurs when the clubface is not aligned perpendicularly to the plane of swing.

The backswing is a rotation to the right, consisting of a shifting of the player’s body weight to the right side, a turning of the pelvis and shoulders, lifting of the arms and flexing of the elbows and wrists. After the ball is hit, the follow-through stage consists of a continued rotation to the left.

It’s no secret; most of the professional players actively participate in workouts. To prevent injury and improve swing speed and distance requires your body to be both strong and flexible. Hold a medicine ball and turn back and forth; it must be rotational to improve your driving distance.

Sporting goods stores have golf aids to improve your game. Ask an expert, who is not associated with the shop you would buy your golf aid from, for advice on the right aid for you. There are a number of good golf swing aids on the market today.

You can find golf swing aids that will help you with your wrist and arm position. Before buying any golf swing aid, check with an expert to get an idea of what problem you need to work on first; backlift of golf swing, momentum of downward thrust or stance for example. Overall, investing in aids will greatly improve your golf swing and your golf game.

Whether you’re a seasoned golfer or just starting out, pick just one golf swing aid and go to work on your swing. If you’re looking for an aid to improve your stance they’re not hard to find. Keep in mind that with some aids, you may still need advice or help from an expert.

Most of all don’t waste your money on an aid you don’t need or will never use. Be careful about the claims on TV commercials and magazine ads; seek expert advice before you buy because they may not live up to their claims.

Get some golf DVDs and commit yourself to a time to practice what you learn. Try to concentrate on one golf swing weakness at time. If you apply both physical and mental workouts, golf swing improvement will be your reward.

Helen Hecker
http://www.articlesbase.com/golf-articles/amazing-ways-to-improve-your-golf-swing-133774.html

Golf Clubs: How to Make the Right Choice

There are a mind-blowing number of choices of equipment used in golf today. This indeed makes it much harder for golfers-especially amateurs-to know which products will best fit their individual games’ needs. The fact of the matter is that playing with golf clubs that do not fit a golfer’s particular needs and experience can produce more harm than good, both in terms of scoring and enjoyment.

According to the golf game’s rules a player cannot carry more than fourteen clubs during a game. Thus, most of today’s players do not carry more than this maximum permitted number.
There four basic types of golf clubs: Woods, Irons, Wedges, and Putters.

Woods are usually used to hit long golf shots. Standard woods that are carried in a golf bag are 1, 3, and 5 Woods. A 1 Wood is typically referred to as a ‘driver’. As the number of your wood increases (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9) you lose the amount of distance it can go, but you gain a higher trajectory. Recent golf club technology has made higher lofted woods for shorter distances. A standard golfer’s bag will have a driver (1 wood) and a couple of fairway woods (3- and/or 5-wood). A driver is the longest club (typically 45 inches) making it the toughest to handle during a swing.

Iron clubs are mostly used for shots that are expected to go an average distance – typically from 125 to 200 yards. The lower the number iron, the less degree on the face of the club, hence, the farther the distance the ball will travel. On the other hand, the higher the number iron, the higher the degree on the face, and consequently, the loftier the shot will be.
An Iron features a thin clubhead with grooves on it. Experienced players opt for a blade style iron, while beginners get a cavity-back style. A blade-style has a clubhead with a full back, but a cavity back’s clubhead is hollow. It is hollowed out to make a perimeter weighting effect helpful for less-experienced golfers.
Irons are categorized as long (1, 2, 3,4), mid- (5,6,7) and short (8,9). Short irons are the easiest to hit while the long ones are the hardest. The shorter the iron, the more loft there is and for beginners, the more loft, the better.

The most popular irons used are 3 Irons and 9 Irons, however, many companies also manufacture 1 Irons as well as 10 Irons.

Wedges are used for semi-short shots. They are also used for chipping, and sand shots. There are several types of Wedges, including sand wedges, pitching wedges, and lob wedges. These are iron clubs and are used for games played on difficult grounds, and approach shots to the green.

A putter is a golf club that has a low loft. This enables the ball to roll farther. A putter is typically shorter than all of your other golf clubs. Putters are the clubs most regularly used in the game and come in clubhead styles of blade, heel-toe and mallet. Lengths come in belly putters, standard and broomstick (long) putters. Which selection to choose will be based on an individual preference.
Another popular type of golf club nowadays is the Hybrid club. The Hybrid club is a cross between the Iron and the Wood, and is made for people who have difficulty using these other types of clubs.

The physical capability of every golfer is different – stance, posture, size, swing characteristics etc yet golf manufacturers make golf clubs identical as an off-the-shelf product. However with a custom fit golf club in your hands you can be safe in the knowledge that your clubs are personalized for you and be sure that when you make a good swing the club will be square at impact and your shot should soar down the middle of the fairway.

The majority of golf clubs which you can purchase today can be customized to accommodate the individual differences between golfers. The lie angle/loft, type of shaft, length of shaft, grip type and grip size can be modified. All that is required to custom fit these clubs is some simple measurements and a basic analysis of your swing.

The following information is usually all that is required: gender, height, distance from the wrist to the floor, age, handicap/skill Level, and swing speed.

Gender is utilised as the golf industry in general utilises different definitions as to what the standard length is for both a male and a female.

Height and distance from wrist to floor is used jointly so that the fitter can determine the length of club which is best suited for you. For example a tall man with long arms could easily be fitted with a shorter shaft than an average height male with short arms. The majority of golfers however use standard length clubs.

The remainder of the measurements are used to determine what type of flex the shaft on your club should have.

The notion that the more costly the club the better it is purely doesn’t hold water anymore. If you do enough research and read reviews you’ll find a club that matches your degree of interest. Some play for a weekend activity and there are others who’d like to move up in the rankings. If the occasional pastime is your stride, a low- to mid-performance club can work for you. But those of you who intend to play more regularly should seriously consider custom, higher-performance clubs.

Paul Buntrage
http://www.articlesbase.com/golf-articles/golf-clubs-how-to-make-the-right-choice-70564.html

Take Your Golf Swing To Another Level Now

If you’re like most golfers, you want to improve, not just hack around the golf course. The biggest concerns of golfers today are inconsistency first of all, followed by slicing and distance. You need great hand-eye coordination, balance, athletic ability and creativity to play golf.

Approach the game with a positive attitude and repeat affirmations if you can, such as “I play great golf all the time.” Don’t worry about what others think or may say about your swing; work to improve it at your own speed. Overall, you generally want to play golf with confidence.

After the ball is hit, the follow-through stage consists of a continued rotation to the left. Swing slowly and steadily using a nice rhythm. The backswing is a rotation to the right, consisting of a shifting of the player’s body weight to the right side, a turning of the pelvis and shoulders, lifting of the arms and flexing of the elbows and wrists.

When you swing if you have problems with your left knee buckling, imagine you’re holding a soccer ball between your knees. Ask your golf pro to evaluate your posture while swinging. Trust your golf club to do the job it was intended to do.

The most important thing about the golf swing is the angle and not the strength that’s applied to it. One of the problems that most inexperienced golfers share is they think too much about their swing. Many golfers who are strongly left-handed in their daily life prefer the right-handed golf swing.

It’s difficult for a golfer to practice hitting shots longer than short pitch shots unless one pays to play golf or pays to practice at a driving range or indoor golf training facility. Putts and short chips are ideally played without much movement of the body, but most other golf shots are played using variants of the full golf swing.

Turn to golf exercise and techniques if you want strength and power. Using a weighted club, make rotational golf swings to improve your power. Using some simple tips, techniques and stretches, you can increase your drives by up to 20 yards– practically overnight.

Sporting goods stores have golf aids to improve your game. Look for golf swing aids at your local golf course. Most of all don’t waste your money on an aid you don’t need or will never use.

You can find aids that will help you with your wrist and arm position. Be careful about the claims on TV commercials and magazine ads; seek expert advice before you buy because they may not live up to their claims. Golf swing aids come in all shapes and sizes including apparel type accessories to correct alignment or a golf club add-on accessory to monitor your swing.

Overall, investing in golf swing aids will greatly improve your golf swing and your golf game. There are a wide range of aids on the market today to help the beginning and advanced golfer. There are aids that will help you with swing alignment. Aids are often for sale at your pro shop or local golf shop. Aids can be found online and are often cheaper.

Take as many private lessons as you can afford with a good golf pro. Find and use golf aids and golf swing aids that help improve your game. Get some golf DVDs and commit yourself to a time to practice what you learn.

Helen Hecker
http://www.articlesbase.com/golf-articles/take-your-golf-swing-to-another-level-now-119402.html

Finding The Best Golf Swing Tips That Fit Your Needs

No matter what area of your game needs improving, whether it’s balance and alignment or power and speed, there’s a solution waiting for you. The biggest concerns of golfers today are inconsistency first of all, followed by slicing and distance. You need great hand-eye coordination, balance, athletic ability and creativity to play golf.

Concentrate totally on your game and you’ll get the best score. Overall, you generally want to play golf with confidence. Always be aware the mental aspect of the game contributes one way or another to the difficulty of the golf swing.

Use the muscles in your legs and trunk when you swing. Swing slowly and steadily using a nice rhythm. The backswing is a rotation to the right, consisting of a shifting of the player’s body weight to the right side, a turning of the pelvis and shoulders, lifting of the arms and flexing of the elbows and wrists.

Putts and short chips are ideally played without much movement of the body, but most other golf shots are played using variants of the full golf swing. Pick out a spot on the course, preferably the green of the fairway, and concentrate on hitting the ball to that spot. Accomplished golfers purposely use sidespin to steer their ball around obstacles or towards the safe side of fairways and greens.

Standing over the ball for too long a time and wondering whether you’re going to swing the club correctly can easily result in a skewed shot, or completely missing the ball. One of the problems that most inexperienced golfers share is they think too much about their swing. After the ball is hit, the follow-through stage consists of a continued rotation to the left.

Use the basic ‘hitchhiker’ position when you’re working on your backswing. Try not to grip the club too tightly.

Conditioning your golf muscles will reward you with straighter swings. The state of the physical condition is very often overlooked as a possible cause of golf swing problems. Once you understand that you can change your swing by using a simple technique, you’ll never underestimate golf fitness again.

Overall, investing in golf swing aids will greatly improve your golf swing and your golf game. Look for golf swing aids at your local golf course. If you’re looking for an aid to improve your stance they’re not hard to find.

Make sure to look for reviews and ratings online for any golf swing aid you’re considering. Aids come in all shapes and sizes including apparel type accessories to correct alignment or a golf club add-on accessory to monitor your swing. Keep in mind that with some aids, you may still need advice or help from an expert.

Golf magazines often review the newest golf swing aids and are reviewed by golfers, making it easy to choose the right one for you. In any case, stick to just one aid at a time; don’t load up on them. Whether you’re a seasoned golfer or just starting out, pick just one aid, then go to work on your swing.

Before buying any golf swing aid, check with an expert to get an idea of what problem you need to work on first; backlift of golf swing, momentum of downward thrust or stance for example. If you’re a golfing novice just starting out, it’s easy to become overwhelmed.

When you play a round of golf, concentrate on improving your golf swing, putting or something specific that day; have a plan in mind. There are hundreds of useful golf tips to seek out in golf magazines, consumer magazines, sports magazines, in books, ebooks, DVDs, online and offline. Practice, practice, practice!

Helen Hecker
http://www.articlesbase.com/golf-articles/finding-the-best-golf-swing-tips-that-fit-your-needs-120797.html

How To Get A Perfect Golf Swing Every Time

Golf is a difficult game to master and most golfers don’t have the time it takes to practice, practice, and practice to significantly improve. When you’re playing golf badly it isn’t a lot of fun. Even the guys who play golf for a living and get the best golf instruction in the world still struggle to improve their golf; and they practice each and every day!

Concentrate totally on your game and you’ll get the best score. The positive energy you send out will influence your game, just as negative thinking and therefore negative energy will affect it also. Golf requires tough mental fitness as well as physical fitness and is often overlooked.

Use the basic ‘hitchhiker’ position when you’re working on your backswing. Ask your golf pro to evaluate your posture while swinging. One of the problems that most inexperienced golfers share is they think too much about their swing.

Before you swing, make sure you’re relaxed; contract all your muscles tightly for a moment and then relax them. As the body matures, the ability to rotate the upper torso is affected by age, and the hand action can also slow down requiring a slightly stronger grip. Try not to grip the club too tightly.

Putting can become a nightmare and a condition called the ‘yips’ has affected not only amateurs but professionals as well; get expert advice and consider a golf swing aid. Putts and short chips are ideally played without much movement of the body, but most other golf shots are played using variants of the full golf swing.

At the end of a swing, the weight has shifted almost entirely to the left foot, the body is fully turned to the left and the hands are above the left shoulder with the club hanging down over the players’ back.

Swing slowly and steadily using a nice rhythm. At the end of a backswing the hands are above the right shoulder, with the golf club pointing more or less in the intended direction of ball flight.

Workouts with straight crunches won’t improve your swing or driving distance; concentrate on weighted rotational exercises instead. Using a weighted club, make rotational golf swings to improve your power. Once you understand that you can change your swing by using a simple technique, you’ll never underestimate golf fitness again.

Golf swing aids come in all shapes and sizes including apparel type accessories to correct alignment or a golf club add-on accessory to monitor your swing. There are golf swing aids that act as driving range simulators. Golf aids are often for sale at your pro shop or local golf shop.

Most of all don’t waste your money on a golf swing aid you don’t need or will never use. Sporting goods stores have golf aids to improve your game. Look for golf swing aids at your local golf course.

Golf magazines often review the newest golf swing aids and are reviewed by golfers, making it easy to choose the right one for you. Overall, investing in golf swing aids will greatly improve your golf swing and your golf game. If you’re looking for an aid to improve your stance they’re not hard to find.

Before buying any golf swing aid, check with an expert to get an idea of what problem you need to work on first; backlift of golf swing, momentum of downward thrust or stance for example. In any case, stick to just one golf swing aid at a time; don’t load up on them.

If you’ve hit with your golf driver perfectly once, you can do it every time. There are a lot of places to get golf swing tips, golf game tips and golf instruction so when you do have time to hit the course, you’ll have a plan in mind. Having a plan and working on specific aspects of the swing or game should be your goal.

Helen Hecker
http://www.articlesbase.com/golf-articles/how-to-get-a-perfect-golf-swing-every-time-110138.html

My golf shots are slicing IRONS ONLY?

Hi everyone,

I am having some real trouble with my iron shots. I am a sophmore in high school and average about a 53 in our golf matches. The bad thing is i literally chunk 1 to 2 swings every hole. if i can get These shots shaved off then i think i can do a lot better. My drives are about 215 (i shoot a fade driver, not on purpose) and I putt 1-2 MAXIMUM. My Irons are really bringing my game down. I can hit my SW an easy 75 straight and my PW an easy 115 a little to the right. BUT MY DAMN 8 AND 6 IRON ARE CHUNK CHUNK OR MAJOR SLICEEEEE. I dont know what is wrong. Yes i could only afford a SW,PW,8 and 6, i plan on getting others later but for now this must suffice. Any advice???

Sure it has something to do with "coming over the top", also known as making your downswing from the outside in. It also has to do with coming down at a steep angle. It’s the combination of swing path and swing steepness that cause the chunk and/or slice. Here are a couple drills that will help:

(1) Make your swing more shallow.

— Another way of looking at this is to widen your swing, or don’t pick the club up so much with your hands/arms.

Drill – Start by placing a golf ball about 18 inches behind the golf ball you are about to hit. That’s 18 inches to the right of the ball you are going to hit (if u are right handed). Make sure your weight is centered and then begin your takeaway (start the backswing). Brush the grass with the bottom of your clubhead and maintain that until you knock the 2nd golf ball out of the way. This will ensure a smooth, shallow takeaway and minimize the steepness of your swing. Long story short, this will get rid of the chunks.

(2) Reverse swing path drill.

— If you are slicing the ball, you need to try a drill that reverses your current swing path, from outside in (across your body) to inside out…
… and from swinging at the ball, to swinging through the ball.

For a drill, try taking the club back on an outside path (think Fred Couples or Lee Trevino here, and if you don’t know those guys, find a video on youTube of one of them) and dropping it in and around your body as you swing through the ball. It’s almost like you’re trying to block a shot out to right field intentionally. The only difference is, you want to extend thru the ball at impact and don’t be afraid to release the club by turning your body thru to the finish of your swing.

So to summarize, drill #1 – put a 2nd golf ball about 18 inches behind the ball you want to hit. Make your backswing and be sure to brush the grass and knock the ball out the way in the backswing.

#2 Do the same as drill #1, but this time move the 2nd ball away from your body about 2 inches. Try and hit the 2nd ball again in your backswing and in doing so, your swing path should start outside of where it normally does. Re-route the club back to the inside and when you get to impact, be sure to swing thru the ball and release the club, kind of like cracking a whip thru the ball and at your target.

I hope this helps!