Peter L asked:


I just signed up for my 2nd set of golf lessons and they have switched up what I have been taught to do. Instead of trying to hit a golf shot with a straight trajectory…my instructor is telling me my bread and butter should be a draw….everything feels different…you guys think this is a good idea? His reasoning is that a straight golf shot is the hardest of all to hit consistently…mixed results so far…what you guys think

Jennifer

Eddy Kong Ww asked:


Many amateurs, even professional golfers are always on a lookout on how to improve their driver golf swing, but sometimes they are also unsure how to? All is needed is a few drills that will provide for the development of the golf skills that make for a great swing. There is no better way to learn the game of golf better and improve your swing with a set of practice drills.

Therefore, it is important to be aware what are the different types of drills to improve your swing.

What are actually golf drills?

Golf drills are a series of isolated exercises designed to develop a specific attribute or skill in one’s golf game.

They may look odd or out of place as the drills sometimes look quite different than how would look actually playing a game of golf.

That is ok. Drills are drills, they are not a golf game! They are merely a set of exercises designed to provide the basis of one’s attributes and skills. Of course, a real practise will prove a better score than just drills.

Here are the various types of driver drill.

The Easy Driver Drill

This is a classic driver golf swing drill. Basically, you head out to the driving range with one goal in mind: hitting the 150 flag. This drill will definitely help improve your driver golf swing in a short amount of time.

The Hip Turn Drill

This is an oddball golf swing drill, but it can also be applied to other clubs as well. This drill works on developing hip alignment and, in some instances, is used as a trick shot gimmick.

In this drill, one stands with their body square and swings the driver one armed. It may seem like an odd drill, but it does wonders for developing hip rotation.

Give no Quarter Drill

This is another oddball drill that is utilized for not only the development of a driver golf swing, but all kinds of swings. The purpose of the “Give No Quarter Drill” is to help develop a strong sense of balance in one’s swing. This is achieved by placing a quarter on one’s golf shoes when swinging. Sounds odd? Maybe it is, but it is also an effective “alarm system” for a golfer with bad balance.

Basically, the golfer places a quarter on the toe of their lead leg. The object is simple: keep the quarter from falling off when practising that driver golf swing? Does it sound too easy?

If you have great balance, then it will be too easy. If that quarter keeps sliding off, then it isn’t as easy as you thought it would be, now is it?

Of course, drills are afterall drills, it is not the real thing as compare to an actual game on the golf course. Go the course and start your real practise is even better and practical.

As stated before, drills are not the actual game itself, but a series of exercises designed to develop attributes. If one invests the proper amount of time in these drills, one will eventually develop that great swing one covets!



Susan

SoSueme asked:


I have tried the Inside Approach and other training devices, but would like to know if anyone has found, used and had great success with a product that really focuses on making more solid contact with a golf ball and helps improve long iron play. I sometimes shank balls, especially with long irons. Please help! Thanks!

Elizabeth

Sean Cochran asked:


Some PGA Tour players have been playing for a couple of weeks in Hawaii and California. Others like Vijay and Ernie have been playing on the European Tour. Regardless of how many tournaments the pros have played this year, they have been working on their games for more time than most of us realize. Make no mistake about it: in golf - or baseball, football, basketball or any other pro sport - there is no longer an off-season.

So while this may be the first official shot of the season for some, the training process to get ready to make that shot has been quietly going on for months.

The amateur can learn a great deal from the professional golfer. Many parts of the world it is not possible to play golf year around, but there are ways to keep your golf game in shape all year long. Professionals know how to do it and so can you.

Realistically, there is very little time to take a break and do absolutely nothing for professional golfers. While every pro is different, there is a generic blueprint most will follow. After the pro finishes his last golf tournament, they take a little break. A few weeks off to give the body and mind a little rest. Every pro athlete needs that time to just recharge and give the body - both physically as well as mentally - time to recover. The PGA Tour season is one of the longest in sports and even though they may not play every week, it’s very taxing on the body and the time off is essential to ensure positive results when we begin training for the next season.

I would recommend the same recipe for the amateur. Regardless if you are able to play year around or not, take a period of at least 2 weeks to put the golf clubs in the closet. The break away from the game will do wonders. You may even find after you return you are playing better golf and shooting lower scores.

Following the rest time - and like I said, it’s longer for some, shorter for others - its time for the tour player to begin ramping up for the next season by physically improving the parameters of the body for the upcoming year. Just like any other golfer - from the Sunday hacker to the scratch golfer to the club pro - the professional golfer will work on trying to increase flexibility, balance, strength, endurance and power.

The amateur during this time of the year (usually the winter when snow is on the ground) can implement a golf fitness program. A golf fitness program will entail developing the physical capacities of the body around the golf swing. The program will look to develop flexibility, balance, strength, endurance, and power in relation to the golf swing. This is the first step for the amateur to keeping their golf swing in shape all year long.

The amateur during this time of year can also implement swing drills into their training program. The professional may or may not incorporate swing drills into their program at this time year. But for the amateur I recommend it, why? This is the time of year in addition to developing the body for the golf swing. The amateur can work on swing faults that hindered their scores the previous season.

The swing drills can be simply performing “mirror drills” to work on posture and the phases of the golf swing.

You should start putting drills this time of the year. If you are lucky enough to live in a region you can play golf year around, a couple short sessions at the range every week is a good idea. I would recommend the range sessions be kept short and focused on fixing the “problem” areas in your golf swing. The important point is the off-season is a time the amateur can take advantage of working on both their bodies and their golf swing

Professionally when the PGA Tour season approaches, we begin what is essentially the preseason. This is when the player starts to practice the fundamental mechanics of the sport. If it’s a golfer, he’s on the range working on his swing, if it’s a pitcher, he’s throwing getting ready for spring training. Physically, we’re still training the body, but we tone it down while the player fine tunes his game. But make no mistake about it, even though working on the golf game is 75 percent of the focus of this pre-season training program, we’re still working on the basics of flexibility, balance, strength, endurance and power training.

The pre-season for the amateur marks the time of year when the snow is beginning to melt and the “itch” to play golf comes around. I would suggest the amateur follow a similar program as the professional during this time of year. Start spending more time at the range. Working on all aspects of your golf game. Continue with your golf fitness program, but you may want to back off it a little as a result of the increased practice time. Again, keep in mind the body swings the golf club and we must keep the body in shape to do so.

The pre-season program of increased golf practice and a little less golf fitness continues with the professional golfer until their first tournament. This marks the point when we shift to an in-season golf fitness program. The golf fitness exercises don’t stop, but we back off on the intensity. The program doesn’t change much. We’re still focused on flexibility, balance, strength, endurance and power, but the amount or volume of work is much less to accommodate the physical and mental strain of competition.

Four days of tournament play can take a toll on the body. As a result, we must back off on the amount of golf fitness training. The amateur during the golf season is probably in a little different of a situation. They are probably not playing 4 competitive rounds of golf per week plus practice. At most, they may be playing 2-3 rounds per week with a couple practice sessions. As a result of the lower volumes of golf they can spend a little more amount of time with their golf fitness program.

Essentially, the amateur can pretty much stick to pre-season volume of golf fitness training unless they are playing quite a bit. Just make sure the right balance of golf fitness training is in place in relation to your golf practice and playing. This is necessary so that you do not physically over-tax the body. Bottom line if you are looking to keep your golf game in shape and improving year around, I recommend following what the pros do; take a break at the end of the season, implement a golf fitness program, work on your swing faults during the winter, increase your practice time at the range before the season, and during the season keep a good balance of playing, practicing, and working out.

Sean Cochran



Marjorie

summer-is-hot asked:


i need the specific muscles. not just ‘forearms’ etc.
all of those answers were worthless. i needed specific.

Mike

Golfer 2008 asked:


Its weird, however i seem to keep a square clubface on my backswing, but my swing plane is across the line. Please help with a drill to overcome closing the face on the halfway back, or some advice please!!!

Dawn

Kevin T. Fairbanks asked:


There are 6 basic steps in the golf swing that each golfer should be aware prior to each golf shot. Step number 1 is body alignment relative to the target. Start by standing 2 to 3 yards behind the golf ball, with your body and the ball forming a straight line to the target. Pick out a guiding target directly behind and directly in front of the golf ball that is in the line your body and the golf make toward the target. These targets could be anything on the ground inches in front and behind the golf ball like leaves, grass, a broken tee, whatever. Focus on these ground targets that fall on the line you picked out to the target as you approach the golf ball.

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.

Your upper body should tilt a bit toward the ball while keeping good posture. Your arms should hang loosely in front of your body to loosely grip the golf club. Your shoulders should line up parallel with the golf ball to target line and your toes. Your head should tilt down with your eyes on the back of the golf ball where you want the club head to impact it. This part of the golf swing is known as the setup or addressing the ball.

This element of the golf swing is the back swing or take away. Your back elbow should remain closely tucked to your ribs as you slowly take the golf club back. The golf club should remain on a straight line along the plane of your alignment toward the target on the ground. The front arm should remain straight throughout this part of the swing and always keep your eye on the back of the golf ball where you want the club face to impact the ball. This back swing motion should instinctively place your chin into your front shoulder. Your hips should stay still and tilted a bit, while your front knee will turn in. At the top of your back swing, your wrists should cock a little. This allows for a more powerful down swing and more distance on your golf shot.

Bring the club downward toward the ball, uncoiling the wrists, and shifting your weight onto your front foot. You should attempt to generate force and speed on your down swing, while never taking the club face off of the target line. Upon making contact with the ball, the club face should strike the ground as it moves through, taking a divot from the ground in the area past where the ball was lying, and through your second ground target.

The finish will generate a bit more distance if done properly. Follow through the golf swing with a high follow through of the golf club. Your rotation of the hips should have turned them directly toward your target. Since your weight will shift, it should now be squarely on your front leg. You should now be seeing your golf ball soaring toward your target in a nice arcing trajectory.



Miguel

Scott Cole asked:


Copyright (c) 2009 Scott Cole

To help increase the power of your golf swing, your first focus should be on improving your balance. This is the most overlooked key to increasing the power of the golf swing.

I trained for eight years in the martial art of Pai Lum Kung Fu, and proper balance was stressed throughout my training, from my days as a beginner student, and even beyond when I attained 1st Degree Black Belt. However, in our training, we focused on every possible detail regarding balance, from the feet, to proper stance width, posture and center of gravity. These are all important keys to developing power in our Kung Fu techniques, and they are important keys to helping golfers develop more power in their golf swings as well.

In describing the swing of J.B. Holmes, noted golf instructor David Leadbetter has this to say…” Starting down, his legs get into a squat position, which lets him use the ground as resistance and create an unbelievable energy flow from his legs, up through his shoulders and down into his arms and the club.”

Using the ground as resistance and the creation of energy flow from the legs are two important components we focused on for generating power in our techniques at the kung fu school.

To increase the power in our punching techniques, my teacher often stressted getting our feet rooted into the ground. We devote an entire breathing exercise that lasts about five minutes to this concept of rooting. Later in our training, we were taught to focus on a specific spot on the bottom of our foot where our balance will be rooted into the ground. This spot will also draw energy from the earth into our body, and then we learn how to transfer this energy into our technique. When you develop this ability, you become capable of generating incredible bower with minimal movement.

To locate this specific spot on the bottom of your foot, take a moment to sit down, and take off your shoes and socks. On the bottom of your feet you will notice thick pads, that are often described as the balls of the feet. The biggest of these pads is under the area beneath the big toe. Next to this large pad is an area that looks like a small hollow. Take your thumb and push into this hollow firmly. If you feel a nice jolt of pain, you have found the right spot! If not, keep searching until you feel that bit of pain. In Chinese medicine, this spot is known as Kidney Point 1, and it is viewed as a very significant healing point, even for a heart attack victim.

Now that we have identified this point, we want to take this information and transfer it into our golf swing. So, with your shoes off, find a spot on a hard floor and get into your golf stance (without a club of course). As you get yourself set into your golf stance, focus hard on these specific points in the bottom of your feet. These are the points where you should focus your balance.

Now I want you to feel a sort of corkscrewing motion, starting with that spot in the bottom of your feet, then feel it up into your knees, then into your hips. You should feel as if you are trying to screw the bottom of your foot into the ground, and then the hips tuck under your torso, and maybe move forward a little bit (we also refer to this as a curling of the hips). Practice a few times at home with your shoes off, then try getting that same feeling with your golf shoes on (preferably not indoors or you will have some damaged floors!). You see, it is absolutely critical that you engage the hips in your golf swing, particularly at the start of your downswing. Engaging the hips in this manner will help them clear out the path for the golf club more quickly, generating more power.

Posture also plays a significant role in developing proper balance. Although we want to feel as if we are rooted into the ground like a tree, we certainly do not want to stand straight up in our golf stance, nor do we want to be bent over too far in our stance. Generally speaking, if we draw a straight line up from the ground to the sky at the back our hips, we then want to be bent at the hips so that our spine is angled about 30 degrees from that straight line. Find a photo of Tiger Woods’ stance and you have a perfect picture of what I describe. This stance allows the arms plenty of room to swing freely in the golf swing.

Finally, it is important to maintain a low center of gravity throughout your golf swing. You will often hear football announcers describe how a running back is difficult to tackle because he has a low center of gravity. The martial artist looks to develop that low center of gravity as well, in order to generate power in his punches. The golfer will lose power by rising up in his/her golf swing.

To make sure you keep your center of gravity as low as possible, it is important to learn how to relax your abdomen during the golf swing. In other words, let your gut sag instead of sucking it in! This will require you to learn how to breathe so that you fill up all three levels of your lungs (lower, middle, upper), rather than just the upper level of your lungs. By learning how to breathe in this manner, you will learn how to maintain a low center of gravity even while holding your breath at the beginning of the swing (you should learn how to exhale during the downswing).

Once you learn to combine proper balance and posture this way, you will increase the power of your golf swing.



Kim

Joseph Tierney asked:


If only we all had the perfect golf swing, wouldn’t that be nice? Too bad we don’t - but hey, that is why I am here right? I have all kinds of great tips that you can use to make your golf swing better than you ever dreamed possible. You would be surprised to learn how many people don’t really know what the proper golf swing is all about. Keep reading and test your knowledge!

First comes the grip, even if you have been playing for years there is a chance that you are not holding the golf club in the best fashion. People can pull off swings with things all out of whack but if you want to be good, I mean really good, you have to learn what makes a grip a good grip.

So, grab your club and hold it like you would if you were going to take a swing at the golf ball. How are your hands situated? Neither hand should be facing right down, this is vital to a good swing. Many people have their hands going in all directions and this leads to a very awkward swing indeed. You should have your hands to the side, similar to the way they would be facing if you were to be shaking someone hand. Your thumbs should be going in the same direction towards the head of the golf club with the only real spot of overlap there the backhands thumb is under the other hand a bit. Does that make sense? Having this correct grip will change the way that you play golf, just give it a try, it will take you far in learning the proper golf swing.

Another thing to remember is that the golf swing does not have to be one continuous motion. Most of the best golfers have a small pause at the top of their backswing. By taking that little break just before you begin your downswing you will be able to assure that your downswing is all that it can be. If you rush it and you go too fast then you are going to run into trouble and lose all control on the way down. This will lead to wild swings that get you nowhere in your game.

Then there are the body factors, the actual muscles and things of that nature. What many people do not realize is that there are a lot of muscles that go into playing golf, in fact if you are not careful you could even throw out your back. It may be tempting to use the wrists a lot when you swing that club but you need to understand that a good golf swing does not come from the writ, it comes from the legs and the trunk of your body. When you throw your whole body into the proper golf swing you are going to connect with the ball every time and you are going to find that your stroke is more powerful and more accurate than if you tried to simply strong arm the club.

The proper golf swing is made up of many little elements that all go together to make one perfect whole. By focusing on each of them you will be able to put them together like a fantastic puzzle t the end. This will leave you with a golf swing to die for and you will be the envy of everyone at the club, I guarantee it.



Vanessa