Scott Cole asked:


Copyright (c) 2009 Scott Cole

Let’s face it, nearly every golfer wants to add distance to their tee shots, and there is a whole host of marketers who want to sell you the latest driver, the newest training aid, or the newest exercise to help you gain that extra 20 yards you so desire. Here are the key strategies to gain extra distance of the tee.

1. Improve your golf swing! I developed my golf fitness website because I noticed the need to debunk some of the information being put out there by so-called golf fitness gurus and even the golf profession overall. You can NOT gain distance off the tee just by lifting weights or doing any “golf-specific” exercises if you have a significantly flawed swing! Sure, you may increase your swing speed, but that will only make the ball curve further off-line!

For instance, if you have the classic over-the-top golf swing that results in a slice, right there you are limiting your ability to hit the ball further. And, learning a new stretch or exercise will NOT solve this problem!

A hook will always go further than a slice. Learn how to hook the ball by correcting this major swing flaw, and I guarantee you will add yards right away. That is just one example, but the point is to look at ways to improve your golf swing first. If you are able to strike the ball more solidly, you will see an immediate increase in your driving distance!

2. Ok, let’s say you do actually have a decent golf swing, but you want to add some yards. What should you do now? Join a gym with the goal of being able to bench press 300 pounds? No, absolutely not. The best way to increase your distance off the tee, if you have a decent swing already, is to improve your flexibility, especially with your shoulders and your trunk. This will allow you to make a fuller shoulder turn. A fuller shoulder turn will help you to widen the arc of your swing, a key component to hitting it long.

This is especially true with older players. As we watch our golf heroes age, they tend to lose flexibility and their swings get shorter and shorter. Arnold Palmer is a clear example of this. If he had focused a bit more on his fitness and flexibility at a younger age, he could have a longer swing than he has now. We can’t eliminate all of the issues that come with aging, but we can sure hold them off as long as we can.

With that in mind, get yourself on a stretching program. You can learn a few key stretching exercises that you can do from home in 15 to 20 minutes. Stretching should be done every other day. The hamstrings, back and shoulders are what require the most attention.

3. If you’ve significantly improved your flexibility, now you can consider ways to increase the power of your golf swing through strength training. Although I believe in developing a balanced, strength training program which will exercise all of the major body parts, you should evaluate your body and identify the weaknesses first.

First and foremost, the most important muscle group for generating power is your legs. The legs are the foundation for the golf swing, and if they are weak, you will not be able to maximize your power. Now, this does not mean you need to be able to squat 500 pounds! I suggest you learn some classic martial arts stances that are meant to increase strength while improving balance. These can be done in the comfort of your own home with no equipment necessary.

After the legs, probably the next most important muscle group is the upper back and shoulders. I have probably benefited significantly from having strong shoulders as a result of my 10 years as a competitive swimmer when I was a kid. Over the years, I have continued to be sure to maintain strength in these areas. Simple pull ups and a set of dumbbells are all you need to work on these areas. Want to increase their strength and work on some cardio at the same time, a rowing machine might be a good investment.

Finally, work on your core strength as well as your arms. Keep this in mind though, you do not need huge arms to add greater distance, and increasing your core strength will not do much either. However, conditioning these areas is important mainly to help avoid injury.

4. Alright, you’ve got a pretty good golf swing, you’ve increased your flexibility, and improved on the strength of your body. What else is there!? Well, this is where some more advanced golf swing techniques come into play.

You can have a picture perfect golf swing, but there is a swing sequence that will allow you to increase your golf swing speed significantly at impact. This technique is what some refer to as “cracking the whip” or “lagging the hands.All of the big hitters on tour have one thing in common….they start the downswing with their lower body BEFORE their backswing is completed. This causes the arms to lag the lower body, causing that whiplash effect that dramatically increases swing speed right at impact.

Many amateur golfers are so concerned with being in the right position at the top of the backswing that they wait too long to get the downswing started with the lower body, and they lose all the stored up power that results from the coiling of the back swing. If you can get this timing down, you will see a dramatic increase in your driving distance.

One other minor flaw in the golf swing of many amateurs is the lack of wrist action in their golf swings. Most are concerned with hitting the ball straight so they try very hard to limit the action in their hands. This actually defeats that purpose and can result in a greater slice, if that is their typical ball flight. What they really need to do is let the natural rotation of the forearms occur at the bottom of the golf swing when impact occurs.

Keep this example in mind. Remember Kirk Gibson’s home run to win the game for the Dodgers in their World Series against the A’s? He had no power in his legs due to bad knees. Yet, just by using his hands, he was able to generate enough bat speed to hit that ball out of the park. Wade Boggs, renowned for being a line drive hitter, was said to be able to hit balls out of the park at will during batting practice since he had such great hands.

Among golfers, Chi Chi Rodriguez is an example of a player with a wristy golf swing that allowed him to hit the ball pretty far for a guy who weighed under 150 pounds.

Learn to incorporate the hands and wrists better in your golf swing, and you will be able to generate more power.

Conclusion

The bottom line is that there are a variety of ways to improve the power of your golf swing through golf strength training and fitness. However, you must first improve your golf swing in order to generate more power. If you are able to develop a sound golf swing, the possibilities become endless.



Jesse

Eric A asked:


How can I separate the good advice from the bad advice? Are there certain principles set in stone that all/most golfers should follow?

Gilbert

Boris Tomson asked:


Elements of a Golf Swing

Golfers should have a mental check list of some of the basic elements of the golf swing before attempting a shot. The golfers body alignment relative to the target is the first basic element. To do this, stand about 5 to 10 feet behind the golf ball. The golf ball should form a straight line with yourself and the intended target. Pick out some targets on the ground to help guide you such as a shadow, tuft of grass, leaf, or whatever you can find. These should be a short distance in front of and behind the golf ball that give you a straight line with you, the golf ball, and the target you are aiming at. As you get into your address position over the golf ball, keep that line on the ground to the target in your site.Visit to : http://golfclub-review.blogspot.com

Align the club face behind the ball, with the center of the club face on a direct line between the two ground targets you have selected. Grip the club with just enough tension to keep it from slipping in your hands throughout the course of the golf swing. Align your feet on a parallel plane with your ground targets, shoulder width apart, and the knees slightly bent. The front foot should be pointed slightly outward, toward the target, to allow your hips to flow freely through the swing.

Tilt your torso slightly towards the ball while keeping your back straight. The arms should now hang freely in front of the body to grip the club. The shoulders should be parallel with the ground targets and the toes, and your head should be tilted downward with your eyes on the ball. These motions described are known as the set-up, or addressing the ball.http://golfclub-review.blogspot.com

The back swing is step 4 of the golf swing. It is also known as the take away. This will be the start of the meat and potatoes of the golf swing. You want to rhythmically take the golf club back on the same plane of the straight line that your ground targets make. Make sure to keep your back elbow close to your ribs. The front elbow should be straight during the back swing. Your eyes should remain on the back of the golf ball, where you want to strike it with the golf club face. The back swing should inherently bring your chin into your front shoulder. The hips will stay quite and tilted a small amount forward. The front knee should also turn inward. At the height of the back swing, you should allow your wrists to break slightly to get ready for the next step of the golf swing.

Step 5 of the golf swing is the down swing. During this element of the golf swing, you will be bringing the golf club down toward the ball on the same plane with the line formed by the ground targets you have setup directly in front and behind the golf ball. The wrists will start uncoiling and your weight will be shifting from the back foot to the front foot. This part of the golf swing will produce the speed and force to carry the golf ball toward the target. Keep the golf club face on the target line throughout the down swing and your eyes always on the back of the golf ball. The golf club face should strike the golf ball and then the ground directly in front of where the golf ball was resting. This will take a divot out of the ground approximately where your ground target was located directly in front of where the golf ball was resting.

Finish the golf swing with a nice, high follow through of the club. Your hips should be turned toward the target. Your weight should have shifted, and should now be firmly on your front foot. Smile and watch the ball fly toward the target. http://golfclub-review.blogspot.com



Ana

Eddy Kong Ww asked:


Every golfers whether they are professionals or amateurs wants a little secret or tip when it comes to a perfectly good golf swing. They are searching for that “holy grail” of golf.

Well, the greatest driver golf swing tip ever to get out is that there is no secret tip or technique that can make you the best golfer on the planet Earth; if there was don’t you think everyone would be playing in the PGA. Everybody would be like Tiger Woods.

What is the hardest club in the bag?

Every golfer knows that the driver is perhaps the hardest club in the bag to use because it’s the biggest club you have which makes it very intimidating mentally and physically. Therefore, the golfer needs lots of strength to lift it in order to execute a good golf swing.

A golf swing tip is that golf is a sport and for most sports you have to have some kind of physical conditioning. This doesn’t mean that you have to look like Arnold Schwarzenegger in his youth to hit that tiny little ball, but you need to be in good form.

Good form is another good driver golf swing tip.

How to achieve good form?

There is a price to pay when it comes to have good form in golfing. If you don’t have good form then the game is over and the only way to achieve good form is to practice a technique that is taught to you by a qualified golf instructor.

You don’t have to pay millions of dollars to get good instructions, most of your public golf courses have instructors to help you out and for around twenty-five bucks a lesson that’s not a bad deal. Remember, unless you are on a shoe-string budget, then hiring a freelance instructors would definitely saves you lots of time.

You should only need a few lessons and once you learn the basic technique, practice that technique until you can hit the ball off the tee. Also the instructor will have some valuable driver swing tips that you can apply as you progress in your golfing skills.

Some basic tips.

The first driver golf swing tip is to warm up before going to the first tee. If you have ever played the game of golf or watched the game then you have seen the tee shot and you know that the golf swing in not the most natural move a body can make.

The pro’s can make it look so easy and graceful but they have years of experience and practice. They have conditioned their bodies for the swing. So warm up first, stretch the “golf” muscles before the first swing.

Some basic simple exercises.

Arm circles are a great way to warm up the shoulder muscles. Toe touches for the lower back and hamstrings. Mid section twist; hold a golf club (doesn’t matter which one) on top of your shoulders and with your feet about shoulder length apart slowly twist your mid section as far as you can to one side hold for a few seconds and do the other side. Do this a couple of times.

After the Warm-up

After you warm up don’t let the body cool down do some stretches on the course to keep the “golf” muscles warm. This doesn’t mean that you have to run around the course while waiting for your turn, it simply means that while you are waiting for your chance on the tee take out your driver and swing it at about fifty percent of what you would normally swing off the tee. This exercise is efficient enough to keep the body from getting stiff while waiting your turn.

That’s why it is rather important to have warm up exercises before the actual session, besides have good form, you also will minimize back injuries as you are aware that the driver is the hardest club in your bag.



Darren

ChantalLuvsSummer asked:


I’m sure I could figure it out, but I’m so busy and haven’t had much time to play it, so if I knew what I needed to do I could work on doing that. Thanks!

Katie

MIKE SELVON asked:


Anyone who is even a little bit familiar with the game of golf knows that perfecting its swing is one of the most important things that they can do to improve their game and lower their score. These days, with the popularity of this sport at an all time high all around the world, golf swing training is something that more people are seeking out.

One of the simplest approaches to golf swing improvement is to use a special golf training club. This type of club can help to increase the golf swing speed and the power behind the swing as well. If you really want to improve your golf swing, then you cannot really find a training device that is more specific or effective.

It has been proven over the course of many years that the best way to undertake golf swing training is to use a golf swing trainer. This is a club that is specially weighted. The additional weight of this golf trainer provides resistance and if you repeatedly practice your swing with this resistance, then you have the potential to quickly improve your overall swing.

The most apparent and direct result of using a golf training club correctly is an increase in driving distance that a golfer will notice almost immediately. This is because the golfer is training the muscles that he uses during a swing to work against the resistance of the weighted club, which provides an element of strength training. When the golfer picks up a standard club, his muscles will have been readied to hit the ball harder than ever before because of this strength training.

Training to improve the swing is primarily a function of repetition combined with muscle training. It is helpful to go through the complete range of motions for a standard swing, or an even bigger range of movement if possible, with as many repetitions as possible.

However, it is more important to make sure that you are also practicing the correct stance during this training. Using a golf training club, or any other type of golf training aid, without taking the time to learn how to use them correctly will only result in frustration and disappointment.

Practicing a swing that has poor form will not improve your game. If you are not sure whether or not you have proper form, then you should seek out the help of professional golf swing trainers.

Another way that you can benefit from golf swing training is in improving your backswing and your follow through. This is also accomplished with the help of a good quality golf swing trainer club and can result in a great deal more power at the point of impact on the ball. In addition to using a golf trainer club, it is also a good idea to do other stretching and strengthening exercises that will help support your entire frame and make you stronger overall and therefore a better golfer.



Bernard

Chris Simpson asked:


Wouldn’t you simply like to be given some reliable golf swing tips? Though, there are voices who claim one should learn by trial and error, many professional sites provide reliable golf swings tips online. The body movement is everything in golf; this is why you need to learn how to actually feel the club as a natural extension of your body. Here are some golf swing tips to make you feel more natural and master your moves in the best way possible. You may use other sources to assist you: golf videos, swing instructions or friends’ advice, the important thing is not to forget you should be having fun.

One first golf swing tip for the peace of your mind is not to believe a setup to be too tough a challenge, as it is not. Most beginners who look for golf swing tips only need to brush their swing up a little and they’ll soon see improvements; it usually goes hand in hand with the hand grip of the club, so be careful with that too. Golf swing tips say that a too tight a grip will ruin the move; just relax and hold the club firmly but tension-free, otherwise you’ll kill the effect of the body swing. The club should make a forty five degree angle in front of you, so your club will be pointing forward.

Then another, golf swing tip would be to start the movement from the feet up and not vice versa. When you backswing you will also have to move the head in that direction too, thus creating some sort of axis, with the feet and the legs at the bottom. A golf swing tip says that when you hit the ball, your head should move three to even five inches to the right. After you made the shot, your head will move forward, a little over the tip of the left foot, creating a second axis and some sort of circular movement. Watch several professional players before you try this golf swing tip yourself.

Another golf swing tip would tell you to avoid putting too much speed in a swing. Those golf players that look fast aren’t necessarily good. Hitting the ball fast means that the arms move independently from the body, which totally contradicts golf principles. The real golf swing tip here is to make the body and arms move synchronically, meaning that the two would move like one, following the same speed pattern.



Donald

Ryan C. Nagy, M.A. asked:


It’s no secret that improving your golf swing can be exasperating and even seem impossible at times. It’s also fairly obvious that thousands (if not hundreds of thousands) of people claim to know some type of “secret” for golf swing instruction.

But is there really a secret to improving your golf swing? The human body is capable of learning virtually any kind of behavior and movement, so why does the golf swing seem so difficult? Many people have problems with their golf swing or golf putt. Why? Because golfing actions are unfamiliar to most people (unless they have been doing them since childhood). There are very few actions that we do in golf that have any relationship to actions that we do in daily life.

What you need is a way to make the unfamiliar become familiar. What you need is way to make golfing feel correct from deep inside the core of your body’s movement.

Golf Swing Instruction: Imitation or Learning?

Golf Pros and instructors often teach us the game by having us imitate other’s actions - like their swing, putt, or hand placement. Imitation is “OK” for a start and we all have to imitate to some extent. But true improvement in your golf swing, true comfort while playing, and true mastery will come from you learning to be true to the often hidden dynamics of your own movement. This type of sensory-motor-learning is how you initially learned about movement as a child. It’s less common in adults, but it is still possible to use it.

What is sensory motor learning?

Sensory motor learning is the best and most effective way to improve your golf swing. Part of the process is getting yourself into a relaxed and open state so that you can learn to feel the inner dynamics of your movement and how you can change them. This type of movement learning involves noticing the proprioceptive (feeling and sensation) core of your body’s movement.

Now, that may sound like a lot of new-age mumbo jumbo to some people, but it’s not. We are talking about sound scientific principles from the field of motor learning and human development. The problem is that the techniques and processes have largely been untapped by the golfing community.

Where do you begin the process of using sensory-motor-learning to improve your golf swing?

I am sorry to say, that you can’t improve your golf swing by reading about the techniques or thinking about the techniques. You will actually have to do the techniques and get comfortable with the idea of trying some new and often strange movements. For instance, what if I had you lie on the floor and engage in an entire sequence of movements designed to improve the coordination of your head, eyes and neck? What if I told you to keep you eyes closed the entire time, so that you could have greater focus on yourself and your body? Would you be willing to do that? If not, you wouldn’t be able to benefit from sensor motor learning systems. If you were willing to explore, you would find a whole wealth of new possibilities and golf swing improvement.

The most evolved practitioners of sensory motor learning are “alternative health practitioners” such as those who do the Feldenkrais Method, Alexander Technique, or Rolfing. The trick is to find someone who understands the needs and desires of golfers. But even if they don’t, consider that a slight improvement in your ability to move from your core could unleash a whole new potential in your ability to improve your swing.



Helen

bsm asked:


I am a 2 handicap, current head speed around 105mph.
I am a male, age in 30’s, 5′10″, 170 lbs, in good physical condition.

Sylvia

Catch 22 asked:


What pro has the best golf swing for me to imitate?

Terri