golf akeger | 15 Jul 2008
How to Use Golf Training Aids to Improve Your Swing
Looking for better consistency? Need to improve your accuracy? Desperately want some more yards? Or possibly you just want your swing to look a little better so your buddies won’t tease you anymore. These are all great reasons for doing some work on your swing, but what is the best way to go about it?
There are so many factors of the golf swing that it can be intimidating just figuring out what to do first: grip, stance, alignment, takeaway, swing path, shoulder turn, wrist cock, tempo, timing, weight shift, etc. It’s impossible to work on everything at once unless you enjoy tangling yourself into a pretzel. Here are some tips on how to find where to start, and on how to use golf training aids to help you improve your swing.
1. Learn! Get at least one book and one video about the golf swing and learn the basic concepts before you start tinkering. This can really save you some time and heartache. Learn about grip, stance, and alignment. Learn about swing path and clubface angle and how the two combine to affect the flight of the ball. There are lots of great golf videos and books out there written by guys who have spent their lives figuring out the best way(s) to swing, so take advantage!
2. Get lessons from a PGA pro! At the very least, take three lessons to check your grip, stance, and alignment before you start working on your full swing. Swing work is worthless unless you start from the right position, and you can get good instruction about the alignment basics almost anywhere.
3. Get some golf training aids! Golf training aids can really help you get results faster if you use them consistently. Here are some suggestions for golf training aids that will get you going quickly:
a) Molded grip. These are invaluable for learning how to grip it before you rip it. Make sure you get a grip/club combination that allows you to actually hit balls, because this is the fastest way to get used to the new position.
b) Swing Path. The club should approach the ball on a slightly inside out path for optimum distance. Get a swing path training aid to help with this. They can range from a foam barrier that physically prevents you from coming over the top, to a mat that sits on the ground as a visual aid.
c) Swing plane. Swinging the club on plane for the entire swing can help with your consistency. A variety of training aids exists from laser pointers for a visual aid to a large hoop that forces you to stay on plane.
d) Tempo. Get a golf metronome and use it during practice sessions. This will help you groove your swing rhythm and gain consistency.
e) Release. Your wrists must release properly through impact to get good club head speed and clubface angle. Get a release training aid to help with this.
f) Weight shift. You absolutely must shift your weight onto your right foot in your backswing and then back to your left foot as you swing through (for right handers). Many players have a problem with falling back as they swing through, which can cause a nasty slice and too high ball flight. Get a golf training aid that forces you to shift the weight onto your forward foot as you swing through the ball and you will gain distance and directional consistency.
If you follow all these suggestions, you will see results quickly. Good luck and stay focused on your swing goals!
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Mike Gelhaus, once racquetball professional and published author for Racquetball Magazine, has turned his attention back to his first love, the game of Golf. He recently achieved a handicap of 3 only weeks before having to go in for back surgery. Hoping for a quick recovery and possible professional career, Mike Gelhaus is going to help you improve your game through the use of Golf Training Aids. To seriously knock strokes off your score by uncovering the golf training aids which will work best for you, check out his site at http://the-best-golf-training-aids.com. |
golf akeger | 14 Jul 2008
Free Golf Tips That Will Improve Your Score
Who couldn’t use a pointer or two, when it comes to golf. Even a professional takes tips from other professionals. A golf tip is worth its weight in gold. A tip can help a new golfer, or even a pro golfer, turn his swing style into work of art, rather than a sloppy thing thrown together at a moments notice. Tips can come from any source, whether it be a magazine or just a neighbor that yells over “Widen your stance!”.
The ways to gather tips, and methods of playing better, is quite large. You can pay for lessons or just read a golf magazine. Every tip will not work for every person, as with every club does not work with every person. Widening you stance may make your control over the ball quite horrible, or tightening your grip might give you a few extra yards. However, a tip is not something to just simply throw away. Even though it may not work for you, remember it and pass it on to someone else just like the person who told you.
Here are some general golf tips. These may or may not work for you, but are supposed to be a general guideline for everyone.
Stance:
- Keep head up
- 80% of weight on right foot during a drive.
- Aim the club-face first, then your body
- Minimum knee bend
- Arms should hang naturally.
Drives:
- Relax and have soft grip.
- Left hip should not pass your left foot during the downswing.
Grip:
- Your grip should be in the fingers, not the palms.
- There should be no pressure at all in the thumb and forefinger of the right hand.
- Majority of grip pressure should be felt in the last three fingers of your left hand.
- Your grip pressure should be relatively light.
- Keep hands close together
- Strong left hand grips will produce a solid shot.
Putting:
- Hit ball slightly on upstroke.
- Head and body should remain still.
- Follow through on your putt
- Do not use your wrists, use your arms.
- Do not overpower the ball, be gentle.
- Aim for a spot in the cup, not just the cup in general. “aim small, miss small”
Although many golf tips are free, some can be payed for. If they are payed for, they technically aren’t called tips anymore, but lessons. it is recommended that you play and get acquainted to the game first. You can find out a lot of the basics just by playing the game, and you wouldn’t have to pay someone to tell you very general things. Paying for lessons is usually done by those who have learned the basics, but can’t find a way of improving their overall game. For those who wish to learn by themselves, a golf course is a great way to start. Of course, you will have play on one in order to get the full affect of the game anyways. Just by watching some of the golfers playing you may pick up some very valuable information. Above all else, have fun and learn the game while you play and enjoy the game.
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Timothy Gorman is a successful Webmaster and publisher of Golf-Swing-Improvement.com He provides more golf swing instruction, putting tips and free golf tips that you can research in your pajamas on his website. |
golf akeger | 13 Jul 2008
Mastering Golf Basics - Approach Shots & Shots Around The Green
It doesn’t matter how much you biff and bash on the fairways, sooner or later, assuming you haven’t lost all your balls, you’re going to get close to the green and then you’re going to be faced with some tricky decisions on the kind of shot to make and which club to use. There are very many different situations which can arise here so we’ll deal with just one or two of the obvious ones.
Some will disagree, but we are going to suggest you use the sand wedge for virtually all your chip shots around the green. Using this club so frequently you will gain complete mastery over it in time and you will develop instinctive confidence in how the ball will behave.
Further, we would suggest you consider using two sand wedges, one with standard loft and one with a few degrees more loft. If necessary, leave one of your long clubs behind. Most club golfers probably carry too many anyway!
For a LONG CHIP AND RUN shot or a SHORT CHIP OVER THE FRINGE, take a stance with the ball nearer the centre of your body; i.e. towards the rearmost position used, and, keeping you hands forward and using a firm wristed action, strike downwards on the ball. By keeping your hands forward you will take some of the loft off the club and the ball will rise enough to clear the hazard but stay low enough to run on after landing, rather than stopping short.
SHORT PITCH
For some reason, when facing a pitch from c.45m, many golfers seem to get struck by fear - so much so that they cannot decide what course of action to take. What is required is a shot with some height so the ball stops fairly quickly on landing. Use your sand wedge.
Take a slightly open stance and position yourself so the ball is further back than usual. This will ensure you hit down onto the ball.
As we said, there is an infinite number of variations of conditions you can meet on approach to the green and only experience will equip you with the shot armoury to deal with each of them. So - practice. Take a some balls and play shots to the same hole, using different clubs. Experiment with your ball/body position as well.
Remember that the high pitch over a hazard is a difficult shot to get right so you should perhaps avoid it if you can. If there’s no hazard in your path take a low shot which will run on.
To cover all the variables would take volumes and we don’t have time here but we will probably revisit some of these subjects in later articles so keep looking. For now, all we can say is that this is one area where, although there are some basic measures you can adopt, only practice and experience will really make the difference.
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Lester Mann writes golf-related articles, intended to aid amateur golfers to master the basic skills needed to play a competent round of golf so they may enjoy their game the better. He has written numerous articles with tips to help you |