High handicap golfers make two fatal mistakes when hitting their approach shots or when chipping. They have a tendency to take a full or three quarter back swing and then stop swinging when they make contact with the golf ball. This leads to errant shots, duffs and skulled shots. As soon as you stop your swing when you make contact with the ball you are going to hit it about two yards or you are going to send it flying low across the green at a thousand miles an hour.

The goal of a chip or approach shot in the game of golf is getting the ball up in the air and having the right distance to land on the green and roll up to the hole. You will never obtain this unless you make the proper swing and this means following through on your swing. Take a nice follow through swing just like you do when hitting off of the tee.

The closer you get to the green the more you want to choke up on the club. This is a way that you take distance off of your shot. When you are close to or beside the green you want to be fully choked up the club. You will be able to control your distance and speed much better. When you are 100 yards out or more you will want to slightly choke up on the club so you can get more distance out of your shot.

The key to making that shot is how much backswing to use. Take your backswing only as far back as you think you have to. This might sound confusing but it makes sense. If you have half a pitching wedge shot to make then take your backswing halfway back. If you have a 30 yard pitch shot to make then take a backswing thirty per cent of the way back. You obviously don’t want to take a full backswing because you will hit the ball 100 yards.

The final step to making a great chip or approach shot is the follow through. If you stop your swing when your club makes contact with the ball then that ball is going nowhere. Take your backswing as far back as you think you have to and then make smooth follow through swing. You will be surprised how easy it is to get that ball up in the air. It is that follow through that pops the ball up in the air. This is what you want to do.

Once you combine these two methods into your shot and get a feel for distance and speed you will start making better shots. I was taught this concept a few games ago by a good golfer and already I am getting the ball up on the air and making more consistent accurate chips and pitch shots. Go out to the driving range and practice this method. Your game will improve.

Your first step in purchasing a set of golf clubs is to recognize your skill level. Just because a set of golf clubs are more expensive does not mean that you will be able to hit them long and straight down the fairway. There are many different styles of golf clubs. A beginner would be better off with an oversized set of irons while a veteran golfer may want a small set of blade irons. A beginner or high handicap golfer will find it very hard to hit a set of blade irons as the heads are very small and do not have a large sweet spot.

Once you recognize your skill level the first place to go to look for golf clubs is the internet. There are many golf club review sites online that can help you find a perfect match for your golf game. You can find golf club review websites where golfers just like you leave their comments about particular brands and styles of clubs. For example, I purchased a set of Taylor Made Oversized Irons last year. Before I purchased them I read a dozen review websites to see if they were a good fit for a high handicap golfer like me. I found that many golfers liked their forgiveness, large sweet spot and quality of workmanship. In short, they were rated very high amongst high handicap golfers and beginners. I knew that they were the clubs I was interested in.

My next step was to visit a golf store. Not just any golf store but one with driving net so I could test the clubs out to see how they feel. This is an important step. Just because other similar type golfers like a club you may not like their feel or weight. Most large golf stores will have golf cages set up where you can hit the balls into a net or computer screen. Some will even have a professional on site to watch your swing and make suggestions on what particular golf club suits your swing. It is very important when purchasing golf clubs to test them out first.

There are other options available to test golf clubs as well. Most golf courses will have demo clubs available in their pro shop. Bigger names like Callaway and Taylor Made will have sales reps that leave demo clubs behind for you to take out in a golf game and test. Golf courses will also have special demo days throughout the golf season. The sales reps will be on hand with lots of demo clubs for you to try.

You can also ask your golf partners if they can recommend a set of clubs that they enjoy playing with. If they enjoy their clubs ask if you can try them out for a round. I have done this several times. I have borrowed my friend’s fairway woods, putters and hybrid clubs for a couple of rounds to see if I liked them before buying them. This has saved me a lot of money in buying clubs that don’t fit my needs.

There are many points to consider when purchasing a new set of golf clubs. The style and make of a golf club should relate to your skill level and style of play. Research any club type you are interested in. Make sure you try out any golf clubs before you buy them.

If you’re hoping to relieve some nervous tension, then swinging a golf club with everything you’ve got might just do it. On the other hand, if you want to play golf the way it should be played, then you’re going to have to exercise a little control.

Swinging a golf club too hard is one of the most common faults in the amateur game. Sure, a hearty swing might demonstrate you have the power [bully for you] but in golf, precision is the name of the game.

As a golfer, you need to stay relaxed throughout the swing, as this will help you swing smoothly and help contain your power. To reduce the strength of your swing even more, you should take up your stance with your feet slightly closer together.

You must keep your head still, since your center of gravity is absolutely crucial and your sense of balance stems from the ears, which are usually located on the side of your head. If you keep your feet in the same spot right the way through your swing, then your center of gravity will maintain that balance.

However, if your body moves, then it’s likely your head will move too and you’ll find it difficult to keep your focus on the ball. What’s more, this will shift your center of gravity.  So it’s vital that your feet stay planted and then when you connect with the ball, your weight transference will be moving in the right direction.

When you strike the ball accurately, it ought to feel smooth and easy. Therefore, conserving energy should be your main concern, since playing an 18-hole round of golf is definitely NOT just a walk in the park.

So remember, when you’re about to make contact with the ball try not to stiffen up, because if your muscles tense, then your stability goes. In order to make proper contact with the ball, the club head should follow the same arc through your backswing and your downswing, unless of course you happen to be Jim Furyk.

You should only use a degree of power over which you have complete control.  Don’t forget, the objective isn’t power, but pin-seeking accuracy. That’s why you need to control every component of your swing, so that you hit the ball out of the sweet spot and it will go exactly where you want it to go.

To achieve a solid connection with the ball, you should increase your speed progressively during your downswing. It’s imperative that you keep your head stationary as this will help you to swing more fluently.

When all’s said and done, you shouldn’t swing too slowly – or too hard. Find a rhythm that suits you best. Try and stay relaxed and swing at a pace, which stops you from becoming too rigid.

Think positive thoughts and try to keep thoughts of power out of your mind. By keeping everything under control, you can be far more accurate and that’s what counts!

Practice as often as you can, it can only help your game (see Vijay Singh). It takes a while to train your body to do what your mind wants it to do, but remember the game is about being relaxed, so whatever you do, don’t stand over the ball worrying.

The unavoidable truth is this – Distance comes from a silky smooth swing and not how much power you put into it. Face it, we can’t all knock it 360yds down the center of the fairway like Tiger Woods, so you should learn to live with that and then go out and enjoy your game.

]]> http://golfindetail.com/index.php/maintaining-a-smooth-golf-swing/feed/ 1 http://golfindetail.com/index.php/golf-exercise-routine/ http://golfindetail.com/index.php/golf-exercise-routine/#comments Sat, 19 Apr 2008 06:07:05 +0000 http://golfindetail.com/index.php/golf-exercise-routine/ The snow is beginning to melt and the possibility of “hitting balls” and hitting the links seems promising. It may be a few weeks or even months before the golf season is in “full swing”, but for those of you that are chomping at the bit for the greens and clubs, here’s a taste of an exercise program that may hold you over until play begins.

Preparing for sport is a concept that is well understood and followed by most competitors. The benefits include protection against injury, improved motor learning, and depending on the type of preparation used, improved sport performance as a result of increased strength and endurance.

Until recently, physical preparation for golf was non-existent. Thanks to top performers such as Tiger Woods and David Duvall, training for golf has become a popular method for improved performance. Coupled with the consistently positive results of research on exercise and aging, exercise and sport performance and exercise and health, exercise and golf are now seen as complimentary activities for most, and required activities for many.

Is Lack of Flexibility Or
Injuries Affecting your Golf Swing?
Find the stretching routines you need to use to succeed at golf!

Most generally, golfers that are looking to improve their performance on the links are in need of a more powerful swing, a more consistent swing, prevention of or relief from injuries, and improved endurance throughout 18 holes and practice. Incorporating specific physical activities into your life throughout the year can help do just that. Stronger muscles can generate greater force throughout the swing while at the same time protecting the muscles, ligaments and joints from injury. Fatigue is delayed as a result of cardiovascular exercise, allowing for not only more energy during a round, but more opportunities to play and practice throughout the season. Range of motion can be improved through both of these activities as well as the incorporation of a few stretching exercises.

And now is the time. If you want to experience how the benefits of exercise and activity translate directly to your golf game this season, follow this simple routine.

Exercise Routine

Watch the Glide Ball Video

The action of focusing on the ball not only provides a point of concentration but also keeps the head still.

When Aubrey and I were playing a lot together, we were often congratulated, upon the deftness of our short game—and the congratulations were usually followed by the comment, “How long you keep your head down after the ball has gone!” Their idea was obviously that I kept my head down because it enabled me to “keep my eye on the ball.” But what I was really doing was to keep my head down in order to retain the feel of the swing and to keep my controls going even though the ball had been dispatched. Few spectators realized that I often hit these shots with my eyes shut; yet I did so.
But by playing with my eyes closed, my senses are wide open. My main concern was to see that my general muscular feel and sense of balance continued right through to the end. Not until finishing the follow-thru did I look up to see where the ball had gone. I never miss a shot through looking up too quickly; I do sometimes miss one through fear of missing it! The primary fault is not in looking up but in losing the feel of the swing.
Incidentally I have taught many pupils to play beautiful pitch shots without looking at the ball. One very well-known golfer to whom I taught this brought out his “better-half” to watch him “do his circus stuff.” He played some beautiful shots high in the air over gaping bunkers, dropping close around the pin every time and all the while looking me straight in the face. His wife was utterly astonished; then she saw the funny side of it and laughed herself nearly into hysterics!

My view is that the good golfer can only see the ball when his swing is working smoothly, and then it looks as big as a tennis ball. The beginner sees the ball in another way, and because of this, more often than not he misses it. His attention is so concentrated upon seeing the ball that he cannot feel the action of his swing. The business of seeing the ball occupies him too exclusively.

Do I mean by that that the beginner needs to learn how to see the ball? That is exactly what I do mean. He must learn not to see the ball to the exclusion of all his other senses. So when I tell a pupil to keep his eye on the ball I at once go on to the work of building up a swing that makes looking at the ball a necessity. Of course every pupil “looks up” badly at first to have the pleasure of seeing where the ball has gone, but this is a primitive stage and soon over.

In the next stage, when I am impressing him more with the importance of swinging correctly, I find that he often becomes so engrossed in the swing as to be unable to remember to keep his eye on the ball. But in such a case I believe the cure must come by making the “head down” a natural outcome of the swing. If I simply insist upon “head down,” I run a risk of getting my pupil all stiffened up, “frozen on the ball” as we call it, and consequently only able to make hacking, chopping movements.

It’s essential for a golfer to know how far he’s able to hit his clubs on a consistent basis.  By practiving at the range, you’ll get a good idea of how far your driver can go as well as your 7 iron.  Armed with that knowledge, it’s much easier to manage your game while you’re out on the course.

Start with your driver and a bucket of balls.  Try different stances to discover which ones help you hit the ball further.  By hitting a lot of balls, you can find out what works and what does’nt work, on a consistant basis. Then you can switch to fairway woods and irons.  Practice the same techniques with these clubs.  You might need to buy another bucket of balls, but its well worth the money  to effectively know which clubs will give you the yardage and accuracy you need.

Golf courses often have lighted driving ranges, so even if you’re working during the day,  you can still practice your swing in the evening.  One thing to remeber while on the driving range is that you’re playing in perfect conditions.  There are no hills, there’s no sandtraps or water, and you are concentrating to the best of your ability.  Simply because you can hit a 300 yard drive on the range doesn’t always mean it’s always easy on the course.

Regardless, you can certainly learn quite a bit about your golf game while on the driving range.  Don’t pass up the opportunity to practice as often as you can. The driving range is designed for practice, so buy some balls & whack away.  You never know what you’ll discover!

Some people get plenty of entertainment when they simply play the game of golf. But it can be made so much more fun when you put twists on regular games. You can modify the way you play and get a lot more enjoyment from the game.

For example, why not play a game of “monkey golf”. For this game, you put slips of paper in a hat that bears the name of each club in a normal bag. Players pick out a slip of paper and they have to use only that club for the entire round. The entertainment possibilities here are endless as you can imagine a person driving off the tee with a putter or chipping with a driver!

You can find great entertainment in the golf game when you play a little night golf. Golf courses aren’t lighted, but you can get glow in the dark balls and have grease pots on the greens so you can see where you’re going – well, sort of. It’s great fun to drive your ball and then have to navigate in the dark to see where it went! Let’s hope you didn’t slice into the woods!

A friendly game of Wolf is hilarious entertainment. With this game, you have the option of picking players to be on your team based on how they hit the ball. Teams can change often. But the most fun of this game is when a player is putting to win the hole. The other players are allowed to do anything they want as long as they don’t touch the ball. That leaves the field wide open. You can cover the player’s eyes, place obstacles in front of the hole – the possibilities are endless – and great fun!

Some friendly side bets can also increase the entertainment value of the golf game. Try making these bets with dares instead of money. Wouldn’t it be funny to make your opponent play with his or clothes turned inside out if they don’t make that putt? Use your imagination and be creative – however, keep it G-rated. The golf course is, after all, a public place!

Finding entertainment on the golf course is actually quite easy when you think outside of the proverbial box. Just remember that the whole point of a friendly game is to have fun. So go out and do it!

When you are conducting business on the golf course, you have the luxury of sharing a common goal – to beat each other.  Yet at the same time, when you are playing with business associates on the golf course, you really need to practice some decorum as you compete against each other.

So how do you balance business with sport on the golf course?  Unfortunately, there is no easy answer to this question.  Just as with any decision in business, you have to weigh the outcome with what is happening.  If you are trying to land a big account, you probably won’t want to make fun of your potential client’s missed chip shot.

However, you won’t want to gain a reputation as a suck-up either.  If your potential client makes a 7 on a par 3 hole, you really don’t want to whoop and holler because it will be obvious you are just trying to stroke his (or her) ego.  Conducting business on the golf course is a delicate proposition, so start with a plan in mind.

DO NOT – (and this can’t be stressed too much) – DO NOT begin your golf match with a declaration of what business outcome you hope to accomplish by the end of the round.  If you want to insure that you will be landing that big account, don’t put on your golf glove on tee #1 and declare your intention.  The idea behind conducting business on the golf course is to make friends first and then do your business.

As you are playing, keep in mind that you will want to bring your “A” game as much as is humanly possible.  Sure, you might be playing against a person who is head and shoulders above you, but if you are the better player, DON’T let them win just because you want to gain their business.  Play golf like you mean it and you’ll gain the prospect’s respect.

There is much business that is done on the golf course every day of every week.  You won’t find a better place to make a business deal than on the links.  However, you will want to use some form of decorum to insure that your business goals will come to reality.  Taking business to the golf course could be the best business decision you ever make!

PowaKaddy golf carts are pull carts on which you put your club so you can easily walk your round of golf.  Most are run by small batteries that are on the cart.  Here are some of their products along with a brief description of each:

* Freeway Titanium Compact and All-Terrain – These carts break down for easy transportation.  In just two simple clicks, it opens and closes making these carts very easy to use.  PowaKaddy has made these carts from an AMST alloy chassis which makes them light and strong.  These are their best selling power carts.  The compact version is easily transportable, and the all-terrain version is designed for rugged, hilly courses.
* Freeway Titanium Sport – This cart is similar to the Compact, but PowaKaddy has added some touches of refinement.  The chassis is also made with AMST alloy steel, but it also has low profile sport wheels and a nearly noiseless engine.  It also has an Electronic Distance Function which will automatically drive your cart forward.
* Robokaddy – This cart is touted as the neatest, lightest powered cart that obeys your every command by remote control.  You direct operations via a small pocket sized transmitter.  The motors are very quiet and it easily folds up for convenient transportation and storage.
* Classic Legend – This new cart combines all the best features of the Classic with the PowaKaddy Freeway.  It has a removable handle, and is made with AMST steel just like the other PowaKaddy carts. 

PowaKaddy also sells state-of-the-art regular pull carts for golfers who don’t mind providing their own power to transport their clubs.  Their extensive line of golf bags fit perfectly on any of their carts as well as any other pull cart.  PowaKaddy provides a large line of golf accessories as well for golfers to choose from.

This amazing company has great products for the avid golfer.  If you’ve never considered the possibility of a motorized pull cart, go over to the PowaKaddy website and find out everything you need to know about their exciting new innovations!  You can find them at www.powakaddyusa.com.