Why do they occur and how can you cut down the incidence of them occurring in your game?

Here’s an all too familiar scenario. You play a tee shot on a par 4 and it’s a good one. You land within 100 yards of the green and you’re thinking birdie opportunity with a par the worse case scenario.

You play the shot and cringe with horror as the ball slices away to the right and into the rough. All the good work you did in getting yourself in a position to register in the black for that hole has been undone.

It’s the difference between a player having a good round and an average round. Here’s a golf swing tip…curing the hook and slice balls can literally shave strokes off your game and have you posting scores you can be proud of.

Let’s take a look at a technique you can practice which will at least get you hitting in the right direction.

Golf Swing Tip - Eliminating The Hook

We are describing this technique based on a right handed golfer. Left handers will just need to adjust to the opposite of what’s described.

1. Standing in an upright position point your right foot straight ahead. In other words, at a 12 o’clock position.

2. Your left foot should be pointed to the left at nine to ten o’clock.

3. This is the stance you’ll assume before playing your shot.

4. Simply practice this stance and your swing motion. The swing should be controlled on the uplift and then increased through the downward motion. It’s important that during the downward play, you maintain the position of your feet.

The idea is to prevent you from hitting the ball with your hands but more with the body. When the hands are more prominent in the followthrough, they will take over the shot increasing the chances of the club closing when it impacts with the ball.

Golf Swing Tip - The Slice

Using this technique works the opposite on the slice. Simply place your left foot straight ahead and your right foot at about two o’clock. Then practice the same swing motion as described earlier with the hook.

You’ll be avoiding the chance of the club face opening out during the impact with the ball. This technique is one golf tip you should put in your coaching memory bank. Talk to an instructor about it if your hooking and slicing problem requires further analysis. ]]> http://www.paid-to-play-golf.com/blog/how-to-eliminate-your-slice-or-hook/feed/ http://www.paid-to-play-golf.com/blog/effortless_distance_with_your_golf_swing/ http://www.paid-to-play-golf.com/blog/effortless_distance_with_your_golf_swing/#comments Mon, 05 Nov 2007 07:05:42 +0000 horsebet Golf Swing Tips 472fdc2f3a9ab Instant Golf(R) Swing Lessons. The Original Breakthrough Golf Swing Method Used By 1000s Worldwide. Instantly Slash Your Scores By Creating Perfect Impact.

Many times when you hear people talking about getting the most distance out of their drives or irons, you probably hear the word timing used as they talk about how to achieve this. Or, when you watch the professionals play (especially in person) the distance they achieve seems to come so effortlessly and smooth.

Although a discussion of the entire golf swing isn’t within the scope of this article, let’s talk about the timing. Timing is a word that is often bantered about when discussing the golf swing and more precisely achieving maximum distance; but timing of what? And how do I achieve it?

In a nutshell, when is comes to getting the most efficient distance out of your golf shot, the timing element is the timing of the release of the stored energy that has amassed during the process of your golf swing.

Again, for the purposes of this article, let’s fast forward just a bit to the point where you are at the top of your golf swing. At this point, if all has gone well, your left arm will straight. The relationship between the club and your wrists will be 90 degrees (wrists will be cocked). Your hips will have rotated approximately 45 degrees away from their original address position, while your shoulders have rotated more toward a 90 degree posture. Essentially, you are in somewhat of a ‘coiled’ position at the top of your back swing.

At this position, you have accumulated your stored energy. Except additional energy that will be stored and released rapidly as your shaft flexes and un-flexes, this is what you have to work with.

Now that you have all this energy stored up, how and when to release it is on of us golfers greatest conundrum. This power that you now possess is but a fleeting thing, and one must apply it at the proper moment in order to achieve the desired results.

Unfortunately, from this position at the top of the back swing is where the vast amount of golfers goes wrong; and that is the first movement they make back toward the ball is with the hands and arms. If you do this, a vast amount of your stored energy has now been released and not available to be applied to the golf ball. When you do this, you lose the angle created between your wrists and your club. You lose the angle that you have created between your shoulder and your hips. In essence, (among other things) you have begun uncoiling way to early.

Among other things, in its simplest form, this type of action is generally called swinging or releasing from the top or casting the club. Aside from grossly leaking energy from your swing this will cause and outside in swing path, and more often than not produce some severity of slice.

But, let’s stay strictly within the confines of energy and timing. If, from the top of your swing, you begin the ascent of your golf swing toward the impact zone from the ground up and maintain the aforementioned angles we discussed much longer, you’ll be well on your way to applying the energy of your swing at the proper moment (not to mention your swing path will be much more desirable).

From the top of your swing, the weight beginning to transfer from your back instep toward your front foot is what initiates the downswing. Not your hands, not your shoulders, not a spinning motion with your hips. As your weigh begins to move toward your front side, your hips will follow by beginning to release (uncoil) from the angle they had attained at the top of the swing. As the hips begin to uncoil and continue to follow the weight shift your shoulders and arms will naturally follow. Note that I said naturally. You shouldn’t be consciously firing your arms and shoulders to catch up. If you do, once again, you have just spent more of your stored energy.

As the weight shifts, the hips follow with rotation and the shoulders and arms now begin to follow suit, your wrists should still be in a ‘cocked’ position in relationship to the club. In other words, this angle is still maintained.

As your left hip clears, this imparts a tremendous amount of pressure for your upper body to catch up. And catch up it will in a big way. With you hips cleared and your belly beginning to point down the target line, you shoulders will follow through the hitting zone and finally your arms and hands will be naturally force to release in a dramatic fashion through the impact zone. As all this happens the shaft of your club will have a pretty fair amount of flex imparted on it. This is easily discernable if you look at a slow motion or still photo view of the club coming into the impact zone.

It is at this point, with the shaft flexed that the right hand begins to release (and eventually pronate) that is the culmination of releasing all this stored energy upon the golf ball with the proper timing.

In a sense, the release of the energy which entails the hips following the initiated weight shift, followed by the upper body responding to the hips uncoiling, that then begins to lead the arms and hands down the target line and through the hitting zone until finally the hands can no longer remain ‘cocked’ and they release the club naturally as a result of rapidly catching up to the rest of what the body has done.

In summary it is the arms and hands that complete the release of your stored energy NOT initiate it from the top of your swing. As you begin to bring this concept together it may actually feel to you as though your arms and hand are ‘trailing’ the rest of your swing. And in sense they are… they are waiting for the precise timing. And the great thing is, is that the physics of this will all take place quite naturally once you begin to refine the mechanics of your golf swing with your teaching professional. And with some practice you’ll soon be able to let the natural forces and physics of a good golf swing apply the proper timing to the golf ball in a smooth and effortless… longer distance manner.

Jeff O’Brien offers instruction and insight on golf that will get your golf swing and golf game on track or off to a good start by establishing a good foundation on which you will build your golf swing and game. Be sure to visit (http://www.golf-ology.com) for more of Jeff’s golf tips and online golf lessons.

A golf swing analyzer is a very useful device to help you to improve your golfing game by improving your golf swing. Although it is not the same as getting feedback from a real golfing professional a swing analyzer still works well at improving your drive. Besides, there are not many of us that can have a real professional on call whenever we would like a bit of instruction. They are very useful in bringing things to your attention that you would not usually notice if you were just practicing your swing. A golf swing analyzer is a device that analyzes your golf swing, either by the movement of your club or through a video and tells you what you can do to make your swing better.

There are different types of golf swing analyzers, but the real difference is in the cost. If you are just buying a golf swing analyzer to use at home then you are not likely to be spending the type of money that a golf clubhouse or country club would be spending on an analyzer. You can buy a fairly straightforward golf swing analyzer for a few hundred dollars or less that is just attached to your club when you swing and that can tell from the movement how your swing could be improved.

There are also more expensive analyzers where you video your swing and then load it into your computer. It is then run through a software program that analyzes your golf swing for the direction, speed, and angle of the shot. It can also project the direction and accuracy of the shot. This means that it has a much greater amount of data to analyze than with the cheaper models and for this reason is much more likely to be able to give a more comprehensive analysis of your golf swing. The more expensive machines at golf centers use a much more sophisticated technology. The shots are actually hit at a target and a camera records this from several angles so that an accurate picture can be made of the golfer’s swing and technique.

A golf swing analyzer can be a really good way to improve your game and no matter what type you use, it can help you to understand the best way to make your swing better. Naturally, if you get your swing right then it is a great part of improving your whole game and a good golf swing analyzer is a great way to help you. Don’t forget that you have to try to use the information that it gives you in practice so that you can really make your swing better.

Timothy Gorman is a successful Webmaster and publisher of Golf-Swing-Improvement.com He provides more golf swing tips, putting tips and more information on golf swing analyzers that you can research in your pajamas on his website.

Professionals advocate an open stance for the short golf shots. From 100 yards in to the pin. I have messed around with this over the years, not being able to make up my mind which is more successful for me.
You will either like or not like what I am about to say.

An open stance is when your feet and hips are set up along a line to the left of the target, while the club blade is directed directly towards the target.

When making such shots, you want your body movement reduced to a minimum. With most of your weight on your left foot for the duration of the shot.

Standing with an open stance will help you achieve this.

Also, an open stance will help you to hit from in to out with little thought about this aspect of the swing.
Your back swing will be more upright and you will have a steeper down swing resulting in a sharply descending blow which is just what is needed to pitch the ball in the way you want.

Have a look at this and experiment. However, there are no rules about how you should hit hour shots. If you are having better results with a square stance then please do not change.

All you want is to hit the ball in the air, have it land near the pin and stop.

If you are achieving this on a consistent basis, there is certainly no need to change anything.

Bill Maitland is a thinking, inventive golf guru.
He thought out and developed simple techniques and tips which enabled him to lower his handicap from 25 to 18, then from 18 to 15, and finally from 15 to 12.
He is a passionate golfer, and delights in helping others with their game should they want his help.
To learn about his tips and simple techniques visit Online Golfers Handbook

I suppose the obvious tip to receive when asking what to do when wanting to improve your golf swing, is to make serious attempts to actually and firstly connect with the ball. Maybe take special attention to your eye contact. Eye contact is crucial. Find out where you are failing with your swing, why you can’t even make the connection sometimes and put a stop to those humiliating excursions at the country club that end up in miserable embarrassment. If only you learned how to hit your ball just so, it would be helpless and surrender to your swing. You’ve heard of ways to improve your swing, but you’re not ready to go for those types of aides. You’re afraid of what people might think of you. Perhaps you can resort to a quiet night of those special DVDs, some wine, a dimly lit room.

One knows the kind we speak of, that’s right, the kind of DVD that will let you know how to make your ball go far, take it places it’s never been before. And maybe if your lucky after watching this DVD your ball may even go to that special hole you’ve always dreamed of it going into in just one fair swing. The one and only, mother of all holes, the hole in one is what we speak of.

There are a million DVDs out there, what if you get the wrong kind, and you can’t take the ball to the mother place after viewing it? You don’t want to take that chance at miserable failure again. You want to guarantee yourself and your ball great results. So you do an internet search and come up with various titles, this one appeals to you, ‘The Ultimate Golf Fitness Guide’ it offers ‘longer drives’ and is ‘all about getting your body to move just a little better.’ That sounds like just what you need to drive that ball all the way home.

Article by Diane Parker. Looking to take your golf swing from mediocre to sensational? Look no more:
http://www.netproductreviews.com/golfswing.html

Do not use hockey players as icons to perform a proper golf swing, although some of the follow through elements are similar, as they are in tennis. If you are serious about improving your golf skills, take the time to view pro golfers, they are experts and are doing so because they are consistently good. Take into consideration your swing again, your posture, your grip, width of stance, knee flex, make sure your back is straight (to avoid injury), hip flex, pivot, the alignment of everything as you swing, and most importantly by allowing all of the above to occur subconsciously and naturally will help ease your muscles from tensing up thereby dodging injury.

Once the above is mastered, your swing should improve vastly, but perhaps you already knew that, and don’t know what the proper stance for someone your size should be? Or perhaps you doubt your grip; do your wrists get too much play time, when they should be firm? The internet has plenty of free information and sights for daily pointers and tips to continue to help you to understand the essential fundamentals and the importance of perfecting them.

Knowledge and practice and implementing your new skills and experience will build confidence. It’s like anything else, you are taking up a new sport and it’s not going to happen over night as we all wished things would happen when we start a new hobby, but the hard work put into it will eventually pay off when you see that your handicaps are fewer and that your swing is far more effective when getting behind that ball and driving it closer to the wanted destination. A little hard work is what’s needed for these new skills to feel like second nature. Try practicing on the driving range and not on the golf course, and remember it’s about the quality of practice and using your head to harness these new skills.

Article by Diane Parker. Looking to take your golf swing from mediocre to sensational? Look no more:
http://www.netproductreviews.com/golfswing.html

Have a pesky curve and put a stop to your slice? Want to shave the excess strokes? How does one develop the proper golf swing? It seems that there is no one ultimate proper golf swing. Just like a good pair of jeans, they have to be molded to your personal shape, as does a proper swing. The rules and regulations to the swing however seem rudimentary and from there you take the form and shape that suits your height and stance the best. There are three primary basics that create a proper swing. They are: downswing, backswing, and follow-through and the actual impact you have on the ball.

To conquer this proper golf swing each of these three elements needs to be given adequate attention to be assured a promising attempt in achieving this euphoric swing. A common misconception is that arm strength is the primary source of strength to drive the ball and swing. But this strength comes from the legs and the hips, the core midsection, therefore conditioning would be wise to partake in to avoid straining and tension of the muscles which often leads to back injuries. Bending of the knees and learning the correct way to tilt the hips to give you the appropriate amount of power to drive the ball to the wanted destination on the course.

Adjusting to and getting the right feeling for what is comfortable without injury is a key factor in finding the proper golf swing. And once these primary factors of the swing are perfected one can start to focus ones attentions on mastering and testing out various swings till the desired impact on the ball is met. This may take time to allow your muscles a period of adjustment. By mastering these elements of downswing, backswing, and follow-through, will surely bring you closer to a proper golf swing.

Article by Diane Parker. Looking to take your golf swing from mediocre to sensational? Look no more:
http://www.netproductreviews.com/golfswing.html

Golf is undeniably a game of swings. With exception of “putts” and “short chips”, most of the other golf shots e.g. “fairway shots”, “tee shots” etc. require a full golf swing. In fact, it is the most important part of golf as perfecting this stroke could bring about the best in a golfer. Thus in spite of it being a major cause for all golf related injuries, the game cannot be played without it.

So what is this “full golf swing”? It is a complicated movement or rotation of the body, in order to accelerate the clubhead to a great speed. It consists of a “backswing”, a “downswing” to actually hit the ball and a “follow through”. The perfect way of getting the swing right begins with the club held firmly with both hands. The clubhead should be rested on the ground and behind the ball. The body position becomes the next most important aspect. Hips and knees should be flexed while the arms simply hang from the shoulders. The first part is the “backswing”. It is a rotation to the right for a right handed player. The player’s body weight is shifted to the right with a turn of the pelvis and shoulders while the arms are lifted and elbows and wrists are flexed. The end position of a backswing will have the arms above the right shoulder, with the club pointing more or less in the intended direction of ball flight. The “downswing” is just the reverse of a backswing until the ball is hit. After the ball is hit comes the “follow through”. It consists of a continued rotation to the left as the body weight is shifts entirely to the left foot. The body completely turns to the left and the arms are above the left shoulder.

Thus a swing requires a complete twist of the body and a shift of the body weight from right to left. This might sound simple but it’s actually a complicated process causing a lot of injuries. In fact, about 60% of golf related injuries are due to the swing. A wrong twist or turn can strain quite a number of muscles thus putting an abrupt end to an interesting game. This could result in a golfer not being able to play for quite a few months.

What could be done to ensure a comfortable full swing without its hazards? Well, the answer could be many things. Most importantly, regular fitness training should be taken to keep the muscles flexible and strong. Moreover, carrying around the weight of the golf bag, which often exceeds 20 kilograms, also weakens the shoulder and wrist muscles. This in turn results in a poor swing and also potential injuries. An Electric Golf Trolley is a new golf accessory that effectively reduces this risk. An Electric Golf Trolley is in fact recommended to all golfers who are susceptible to such injuries.

An Electric Golf Trolley is a new age version of the old golf bags that were required to be carried around with the clubs and other accessories in them. It is an automatic battery operated trolley and is designed to carry all the golf accessories on its own over the vast stretch of uneven golf courses. An Electric Golf Trolley can be manual or remote controlled. As it does not require somebody to constantly pull it around, it provides the golfers with the comfort and concentration to make the most out of their swing.

Without doubt, an Electric Golf Trolley will help in reducing stresses and thus allows a golfer to produce a full golf swing with maximum comfort. With its automatic functions and injury-reducing capabilities, an Electric Golf Trolley is an aid to a comfortable and smooth swing.

This article is written by Ray Smith, a marketing expert with years of experience in different industries and specialized knowledge on branding and Internet marketing.
Electric Golf Trolley

Anyone who picks up a golf club and begins to play golf inevitably becomes consumed with the desire to improve their golf swing. This desire does not fade away quickly either and usually lasts as long as they play golf. The main reason for this is that no one can ever perfect the game of golf or get to the point where they feel they can no longer improve. Golf is always a battle to beat your best round and to improve with every round you play, every time you play.

There are many ways to help improve your golf swing. One of the best ways to improve you golf swing quickly is with the help of a golf instructor. An instructor will allow you to determine your strengths and weaknesses and in turn teach you how to play to your strengths and minimize your weaknesses. This is a great way for the average golfer to improve their score quickly.

You do not need to hire a coach for an extended period. In most cases a two or three month period will help you dramatically improve your game. Once you know the proper techniques, you can always practice them on your own. The most important factor when working with an instructor is to find one who can put you on the right path.

A golfer can also learn a lot from the tips that other golfers share with them. In fact, many of these tips are very beneficial. However, if you really want to learn from these tips, you will need to document them in a small notebook so you can practice them and learn whether they are applicable to your game. Just be aware that there are many tips that will work great for one golfer and not for another. This is due to the fact that no two golfers are alike and what suits one may not suit another.

The best fool proof method for improving your golf game is to attend a crash course at a good golf training school. Golf schools can have amazing results when it comes to cramming a lot of instruction into the shortest time possible. Often a short period of six weeks can have you looking like a pro. This is because golf schools are designed for people who are new and have excellent instructors who are excellent at showing all types of short cuts.

When it comes to improving your golf swing, the best way to improve quickly is to combine good advice and instruction with a lot of practice and training.

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Watch the PGA Tour and you’ll see professional golfers get upset with shots you would kill to make consistently. Occasionally, you’ll see them hit one into the netherworld and somehow escape with par or bogie.

How do they do it?

It’s the biggest difference between professional golfers and amateur golfers. When a pro goes to the driving range, he’s there to warm up, check how his swing feels and maybe make some minor tweaks to adapt his shots to the course conditions.

An amateur is trying to find his golf swing. Once he’s found his golf swing, his battle will be to keep it working and pray that it doesn’t disappear once he’s out on the golf course.

The difference is that the professional golfer has a Master Swing locked into memory. He has a pattern to reference every swing by so he knows as soon as his swing feels a little off that he needs to make some minor adjustments to his routines to keep things working.

Now the amateur will say that he doesn’t have time to hit 500 balls a day to create his own Master Swing and he’s right, but there is a way to do it practicing just 15 minutes per night.

How?

Well, the first trick is to practice before you go to bed. If you do, your mind will continue practicing while you sleep, but on one condition…That you don’t confuse it with too much information.

The Master Swing was also Ben Hogan’s real secret. He didn’t get it by hitting 500 balls per day, he did it by feel, using sometimes as few as 40 golf balls during his practice sessions.

The second trick is a technique used by John Wooden when he Coached the UCLA Bruins. During practice, he would tell his players to identify their greatest weakness, what they should do to correct it, and work on nothing else until they were satisfied with the results. The next practice would start with an assessment of strengths and weaknesses to find what to work on next.

At first, this would seem to be the long way to fix things, but in fact, this method creates the most permenent changes with less time re-learning or reviewing old issues, and therefore works most efficiently.

You can do the same thing with your golf swing. Rather than going to the range and beating golf balls, you can practice any part of your swing at home by working on how it feels so that your mind remembers the Master swing you will eventually create.

Now you might be thinking, “How do I know what I’m doing is correct?”

That’s the third trick. You must do like the professional golfers and develop routines for every part of your game, including your swing. Watch professional golfers setup to the ball. They do it the same way every time. If they get interrupted, they start over. Their physical routines start with golf swing biomechanics as it relates to their personal body structure to make sure they aren’t practicing a routine their body will reject.

Why?

Because they’ve practiced the routine and the routine takes care of every aspect of their setup without needing to think about it. They have routines for the backswing and the downswing as well.

So how do you create a Master Swing, become a consistent golfer and learn to recover from bad shots on the golf course?

• Develop routines for every aspect of your golf game.
• Practice them at night before you go to bed, only working on one part at a time.
• Learn how your Master Swing feels so you have a pattern to follow and a reference to tell you when it’s time to look at your routines to fix the problem.

Teaching golfers in 29 countries, Tracy Reed is a Golf Biomechanic, Mental Game Coach, and author of “Golf Swing Control”. With over 6100 students around the globe, he’s mastered the art of teaching golfers how to quickly develop a Master Swing and to be able to fix a swing fault, even right on the golf course when needed. Go to http://www.golfswingcontrol.com.