Stack Tilt Swing - This Swing May Not be For You

stack tilt swing

The concept may be easy, stack your weight and tilt to the target. But there seems to be a misconceived notion that it's more complicated. Nevertheless, the Stack Tilt swing has convinced many, that this method holds a key to consistency and power. But is this swing for everyone?

Stack & Tilt innovators Andy Plummer and Mike Bennett have pioneered a concept that is truly revolutionizing the golf swing. They have invented a new method that has many of the best golfers in the world to change their golf swing... their swing. Not an easy task! The results have been quite astonishing. Many PGA players are either using it or considering using this swing with the same thing in mind, to gain consistency and power.

For the better player, it holds many possibilities to improve the swing. But for some, it may not quite hold as much promise...

If you are thinking of trying this swing and struggle with an "outside-in" path, a problem that plagues many beginners, you may want to reconsider. A player that struggles with a fault that results in an "over the top" swing path would probably only exaggerate the problem by changing swings. You would be better off trying to correct the fault before making such drastic changes.

If you are a better player that "hangs back" and struggles with pushes and hooks, read on. This swing definitely holds opportunities for improvement.

For the better player that already has a solid foundation and only wants to gain more distance or better control for his irons, the Stack and Tilt may be just the ticket. The "position at impact" is definitely emphasized for better ball striking. Because the conventional swing uses a weight shift to both sides during the swing, players very often get "caught" with their weight on the back foot. This causes mis-hits and tops.

The Stack & Tilt centers your weight over the ball and promotes minimal weight shift, continually remaining centered is the goal. The result is a steeper angle of attack with a flatter and more rotational swing. This provides an element of consistency, especially with irons where your angle of attack needs to be steeper.

So the bottom line, it the Stack & Tilt swing may not be for everyone.If you struggle with the dreaded "over-the-top," you are best to correct this problem before adapting this swing. If however, you are a better player that struggles with the occasional push and/or hook, you will want to seriously consider the Stack & Tilt swing. It provides you the opportunity to add an element of consistency you may not find in the conventional swing.

The Art Of Putting

Welcome back - here's today's featured article:

by: Tim Henry

The majority of the game of golf is putting – pure and simple.

It looks so easy – rolling that little ball into a nearby hole. But mastering the skill has threatened many a golfer’s sanity.

Here are a few tips to help improve your putting skills.

• Use just one ball when you practice your putting. This is closer to what a real game is like. You tend to concentrate better this way than if you have a bucket of balls to keep digging into. And be sure to practice your putting daily.

• Putting isn’t all in the wrists. When you’re putting, the palms of your hands face each other. This prevents one hand from dominating and ensures that both work together for you.

• Make sure you’re totally relaxed before you strike the ball. Loosen up your muscles so they feel flabby and jelly-like. Never tense up your muscles when putting!

• Make your back and follow through strokes the same length.

• Keep your putter face square by weakening your left hand and strengthening your right.

• Rely less on your wrists and more on your shoulders when putting.

• Keep that left wrist firm.

• Relax your knees a little. Don’t lock up.

• Your heels should be shoulder-width apart.

• Gary McCord advises that on curved putts, keep your feel parallel to the line you’ve chosen, not parallel to the hole.

• As you make contact with the ball, you want to accelerate the putter. Keep the putter grip moving toward your target.

• It’s better to miss a putt by sending it beyond the hole than by having it come up short. Finishing off the shot will be easier.

• Practice your putt at home on your carpet when the weather is bad or you can’t get to the golf course.

• Find a putter that works well for you and stay with it.

• Have something at stake at every hole so you become accustomed to putting under pressure.

About The Author Tim Henry This article provide courtesy of http://www.golfers-world-usa.net support@arundel.net

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How To Achieve The Proper Golf Swing

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by: Mike Pedersen

Every golfer wants to know the magic secret to achieving the proper golf swing. One that is repeatable and produces results.

If you have been trying to accomplish the proper golf swing through traditional ways and still aren’t happy with your results…you’ll need to keep reading this article to find out why.

You see…it’s your body that is keeping you from achieving the proper golf swing and playing your best golf! Doesn’t that make sense?

If your body is physically declining, and has limited golf-specific strength and flexibility…you will have a minimal chance at ever achieving the proper golf swing.

I hate to be the bearer of bad news…but this is a fact!

There are certain physical ‘musts’ to achieve a proper golf swing.

Here are just a couple:

• Approximately a 90 degree shoulder turn with a 45 hip turn.
• Golf posture with a slight bend at the hips and in the knees.
• Start the downswing with the lower body first, maintaining your upper body coil.
• Impact…you should be ‘behind the ball’ with your head and upper body as the hips are slightly open.
• Follow through requires maintaining the spine angle you had at address, throughout the follow through.

Now…you don’t see how physical limitations in both strength and flexibility will limit or not allow you to attain the above requirements, I don’t think you’re really looking at it closely.

The golf swing puts the body under tremendous stress throughout the entire swing. Especially the lower back (due to the coiling and uncoiling of the upper body over a stable lower body), hips, wrists and even shoulders.

The ONLY way to achieve the proper golf swing is to physically improve your bodies limiting factors, so that you can finally achieve the proper golf swing.

About The Author Mike Pedersen is one of the top golf fitness experts in the country, author of the Ultimate Golf Fitness Guide, and founder of several cutting-edge online golf fitness sites. Take a look at his just released golf fitness manual and dvds at http://www.performbettergolf.com.

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An Easy And Simple Golf Conditioning Program

Here's some good advice in today's featured article:

by: Jack Moorehouse

Your body dictates your golfing ability. There’s no way around it. If you’re fit, chances are you’ll play better golf. If you’re not fit, chances are you’ll play poorly. While you should stay in shape all year round, the winter is great for starting a golf-specific fitness program. Regardless of age, gender, or playing level, participating consistently in a golf-specific exercise program pays dividends in your game and in your life.

A golf-specific conditioning program consists of resistance training, cardiovascular conditioning, and functional flexibility. Resistance training strengthens the “core” body— the abs, low back, and hamstrings. Cardiovascular conditioning generates energy to play longer at peak performance. Functional flexibility enhances swing mechanics and shot execution. Together, these three components build strength, suppleness, and stamina. The also build confidence in yourself and your game.

Functional Flexibility

Flexibly is a key to a consistent golf swing. Recreational golfers often lack the flexibility to perform swing mechanics correctly. Instead, they compensate for it by making adjustments in their swing. They risk hitting a bad shot and injuring themselves. Adding flexibility exercises to your winter workout improves your swing mechanics and your shot execution.

The Lunge with a Twist Exercise combines the power in your lower body with the core rotational movement needed for maximum golf swing speed and distance. Use a medicine ball or a single dumbbell for this exercise.

• Assume a standing position with your arms straight and hanging down in front of you, holding the dumbbell or the medicine ball.
• As you step forward with one leg, rotate your upper body to the same side holding the medicine ball or the dumbbell chest high the whole time.
• Return to the starting position and do the opposite leg.
• Repeat each side 10 times for 3 sets.

This exercise improves rotational range of motion and strength. It also strengthens the core area of your body. The Seated Twist is an offshoot of this exercise. Instead of standing and lunging forward, you simply twist from side to side while sitting on a chair and holding a dumbbell chest high. This exercise can be done in your office.

The Straight Leg Rotational Hamstring Stretch stretches the hamstrings, hips, lower back, and mid-section. It trains the hamstrings, glutes, hips, lower back, obliques, and upper back muscles.

1. Begin by placing feet shoulder-width apart, extend arms overhead, and clasp hands together. Turn so that you are facing to one side.
2. Slowly extend arms toward the top of your shoes, keeping your legs straight.
3. Extend downward to your level of tolerance, pause slightly, and return to the starting position.
4. Rotate torso, shoulders, head, and arms to the other side.
5. Slowly extend arms toward your shoes, keeping your legs straight.
6. Reach downward to your own level of tolerance, pause slightly, and return to the starting position.
7. Return to the other side and repeat the same sequence, then return to the center position.
8. Perform 15 to 25 repetitions.

Yoga is also a good exercise for enhancing flexibility. PGA pro Jamie Mulligan includes Bikram Yoga in his conditioning program. Bikram Yoga involves making precise movements for 90 minutes in a superheated room. It keeps the body loose and supple, and strengthens concentration and focus.

Resistance Training

Resistance training should be part of your winter conditioning program. When you improve strength, you improve control and balance. Also, strength training involves body awareness, muscular control, and coordination—all key elements for improved golf. When you do resistance training, you increase blood flow through a functional range of motion, and strengthen the tendons and ligaments in you body’s joints. In conjunction with a stretching program, strength training improves flexibility, not hinders it.

The strength-for-golf component of your program addresses your body’s “core” area—the abs, low back, and hamstrings. Contrary to popular belief, weight training does not cause you to lose “feel.”

A golf-specific conditioning program incorporates moderate weight, with medium (12-15) repetitions, and in a time frame of 30-45 minutes. This type of program is designed to improve your golf-specific strength and endurance, not build muscle. A typical strength training exercise includes:

• Leg Extensions
• Leg Press
• Leg Curl
• Low Back
• Abdominal
• Rotary Torso
• Double Chest
• Super Pullover
• Triceps
• Biceps
• Forearm
• Four-way Neck

The Tire Exercise is a different type of resistance exercise. Invented by golfing great Henry Cotton, this simple exercise strengthens the arm and wrist muscles and helps you judge swing speed.

Take your normal stance with the tire positioned as the ball. Employing a normal grip use a quarter swing to hit the back of the tire, moving the club head as fast as possible. The pitch of the swishing noise and the sound of the club’s impact are your speed indicators. The loudest crack at impact is heard when the clubhead is released properly. Do 3 sets of 15 to 20 swings. Then turnaround and do it from the left side.

Aerobic Conditioning

Improving your cardiovascular system boosts energy. It also increases stamina and focus. Waking, biking, stair stepping, running, and swimming are all good cardiovascular exercises. Since golfers walk a lot, many focus on it as their main cardiovascular workout. A cardiovascular program incorporating 20-30-minutes of walking at an intensity 10- to 15-percent higher than when you walk a course works well for most golfers.

Using the winter to get in shape pays dividends. It improves your golf game, enhances your quality of life, and builds self-confidence. Instead of being depressed this winter because the season is over, start a golf-specific conditioning program to get yourself ready for the spring.

About The Author

Jack Moorehouse is the author of the best-selling book “How To Break 80…And Shoot Like The Pros!”. http://www.howtobreak80.com He is NOT a golf pro, rather a working man that has helped thousands across the globe to lower their golf handicaps instantly.



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Keep Your Golf Game In Shape All Year With A Golf Fitness Program

Welcome back. It's getting to be that time of year when the dreaded layoff comes along - hope this will help:

by: Sean Cochran

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

About The Author

Sean Cochran is one of the most recognized golf fitness instructors in the world today. He travels the PGA Tour regularly with 2005 PGA & 2004 Masters Champion Phil Mickelson. He has made many of his golf tips, golf instruction and golf swing improvement techniques available to amateur golfers on the website http://www.bioforcegolf.com. To contact Sean, you can email him at support@bioforcegolf.com.


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Tips For Good Golfing: It's All In The Swing

Welcome back - here's today's featured article:

by: Edwin Shackleford

Believe it or not, when one performs a golf back swing, it is not just your arms. It is also more about the golfer’s back as it turns away from the target. The club is more so as being put behind the golfer’s back than it is swung up towards the air.

The move backswing

If you look at it closely, the golf back swing actually works from up to down. The takeaway back swing begins from the top as you make the movement on your arms and follows as you do that turn on your shoulders. The movement then goes straight down towards the legs and the hips.
The golf back swing is primarily about how the body is being coiled upwards thus creating the needed tension in the muscles as well as torque to be able to let out that all powerful downswing. Particularly, that swing is created anywhere in between the golfer’s turning his or her upper body as well as shoulders and the turning – to a lesser degree – the lower body and the hips.

Relax

It is highly advisable that one should not do the swing in a hurried manner. If a back swing is in any way done in a hurry, the downswing does not become fast, actually it could do the opposite.
The backswing speed should be in a tempo that is steady and should neither be fast nor slow. Although some golfers have that tendency to go way faster than the regular. Anytime you catch or are aware of yourself doing this, try to slow it down a bit.

The move downswing

When you reach the downswing, all you really need to do is to just let it go. Let the downswing happen. However, this only applies if ever you were able to start with a golf stance, backswing and grip that is correct.

The downswing must be the organic result of all that went before it. If you were able to do your backswing in the correct manner, your body will unwind in itself thus releasing the club and striking the ball that will therefore result in a follow through that is balanced.

The follow-through move

A follow-through should be best seen as the feather in your cap move. The legs must be adequately straight and the hips have to form a straight line together with the legs.
This move will serve as the gauge of the whole swing you have just done. You know that you were able to pull a swing that is smooth and balanced if in the end you have a position that looks like the letter C only in reverse.

About The Author

Edwin Shackleford has been helping individuals improve thier golf game for years. Try his Free Online Training Today! http://www.improve-your-golf-game.com.



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Golf Course Management

Welcome back - here's today's featured article:

by: George Gabriel

Playing a good round of golf comes with a lot of good golf course management. Sure it is great to know how to have a great golf swing, but if you haven’t got course management, then you haven’t got a game plan.

Have you ever noticed a professional golfer standing beside their caddie in a discussion about the next golf shot at hand? You can rest assured that they were not talking about Larry King live, unless he was in the pro-am the day before and he was leading the tournament. They are discussing the previous results and golf placement on where they hit their golf shot the prior hole before in the practice round or regulation round. Course management is what they are talking about. Every golf shot is tagged to the nearest yard. If you want to play a good golf shot, you have to know your distance and what type of situation you’re up against. This is where good golfers with a good course management excel over their competition.
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Taking all the great golfers and great golf swings into consideration, without the proper knowledge about distance, wind, uphill, downhill and all the great earthly weather that is always a surprise at times can be quite demanding to the best golfer at times. If you think that all you need is a great golf swing and a great set of golf clubs, you should rethink your game again. A lot of great golfers fall prey to a golfer with better course management. These same golfers with good course management do not need to out distance their competitor. They just need to place their ball where the next golf shot is a walk in the park.

If you haven’t got a clue about course management, your handicap is going to soar into the high double-digit figures. When you are talking about the shot at hand, you must take in consideration the prior distance and weather condition on your previous shot with the club selection at hand. Was the golf shot uphill with a wind behind you or against you? When choosing a golf club, one must ask a series of questions before making a formal decision. Do I want to play my next shot over a sand trap? Do I want to play my next golf shot with a pitching wedge or a 7 iron? In other words, do I want to fly the golf shot into the green, or place it where I can bump and run the next golf shot into the green?

Course management requires the golfer in paying attention to golf holes that are next to the hole that they are playing. They are constantly looking for good golf position for the next hole before they even tee up the golf ball. They are also checking out greens as far as slope and surrounding sand traps. Knowing where pin placement is, way before you’re sitting out in the middle of the fairway will definitely help on club selection. You may decide to play less club, because of the simple fact of a two-tier green and the pin is sitting on the bottom level. You would never have that knowledge at hand if you did not eye the situation on the prior hole unless you played it once before. It is called course management.
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Take a good look at the golf terrain and conditions that you are playing in and pay attention to golf holes that you walk by. Knowing the golf terrain well in advance will make it a lot easier on golf club selection and help drive confidence going forward.

About The Author

George Gabriel learned to play golf as a caddie in the mid sixties and continue to enjoy the game today. Now running a discount tee time site at http://www.golfanchor.net and a sister site at http://www.golfanchor.com.

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Editor's note: Next time, Edwin Shackleford gives us some great tips for good golfing. Until then, stay well and keep swingin'.

Jim Nettleton

My Golfing Life As A Hooker!

Welcome back - here's today's featured article:

by: David Barnard

Here's my warning to all wannabe golfer's, if you start on this sorry path, and do nothing to stop it, you will lead a life of pain and anguish.

All my golfing life I've been a hooker! How or why it started I don't know. I never wanted it to happen, it just did.

When I first started hooking, it was not every shot. It just sort of creeps up on you, over days, weeks, even months, and gets gradually worse, until nearly every shot is hanging left. And I don't mean just a little bit left, these 90 degree plus benders would make a circle look tame.
Finally, it got so bad, I was spending so much time in the trees, searching for lost balls, that my friends stopped coming round, and asking me out to play.

Then came that dreaded day. I can remember this so clearly, its almost as if it happened yesterday. I ran out of golf balls during a round. It was SOooo embarrassing. Thats what made me finally seek professional help.

After walking off the course that afternoon, I went straight to the clubhouse and spoke to The Pro. When I spoke to The Pro, he admitted that he had already heard about my little problem. It seems that a few of my so-called friends had already spoken to him, to find out if it was contagious. What he told me, certainly made me feel better.

There is a cure. And its really quite easy. Just keep reading:

THE PROBLEM:

Hitting the ball with a closed clubface, causing shots to curve (sometimes dramatically) to the left.
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THE CURE:

The first thing you should do is check your grip. When you grip the club the Vs in each hand should point over your right shoulder. If they point farther to the right, then your grip is too “strong” and could produce a closed face and a hook at impact – when the hands return to their normal position.

If your grip is good and you are still hooking, try weakening your grip by gradually moving both hands to the left. Check your stance to make sure that your feet, knees, hips and shoulders are all parallel to your target line.

Another cause could be the ball position. If it is too far back, it could produce an excessive in-to-out swingpath. Try gripping the club more in the palm of your hands, rather than the fingers, to reduce wrist action and premature closing of the clubface.

Make sure that your left wrist is not too relaxed at impact. If it is, your right wrist will take control and close the clubface too early. On your downswing, make sure that the action begins with your legs and body. This will stop your wrists unhinging and closing the clubface too soon.
There, you see. I told you it was curable. Although, maybe not TOTALLY curable. To this day, many years later, occasionally it happens.

But the major difference is that, now as I'm walking towards the trees to look for that wayward shot, I'M SMILING - because I know how to fix the problem.
The Happy (occasional) Hooker

About The Author

David Barnard has been playing golf for more years than he would care to remember. But he can also be found hanging around, and passing on tips at http://golf--swing.blogspot.com.

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Editor's note: Next time, George Gabriel talks about course management. Until then, stay well and keep swingin' - and enjoy your Labor Day Holiday.

Jim Nettleton

The Anatomy Of Slicing The Golf Ball

Welcome back - here's today's featured article:

by: Jeff O'Brien
In order to slice a golf ball (impart a left to right ball flight for a right handed golfer) you have to strike the golf ball in a manner that will cause a clockwise rotation of the ball. The more dramatic the rotation the more dramatic or worse the golf slice.

For the context of this article, I will speak from a right handed golfer’s swing and perspective.
When defining the golf slice there are a couple of basics characteristics to the ball flight. First, there is the slice that initially may start down the target line then move off line in a left to right movement. This type of slice tells us that the swing path was traveling down the intended target line, but at impact the club face was left open and did not get back to a square position at impact. Usually this type of golf slice doesn’t produce as sever of left to right movement of the golf ball since the swing path itself was not cutting across the ball in an outside to inside manner. This type of slicing of the golf ball is more easily cured. And can usually be done so with a bit of work on the golfer’s setup, alignment, and or grip.

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The second type of golf slice is the one that plagues the vast majority of beginning and high handicap golfer’s. This is the type of slice that produces the ‘banana ball’ type of flight and is very uncontrollable and frustrating.

The attributes of this type of slice for the golfer are the ball will initially start left of the target line indicating that the swing path is incorrect right from the get go. When the ball immediately begins left of the target line that tells you that your swing path has come from the outside to the inside.

Now, having done that with your swing, doesn’t necessarily guarantee that you are going to slice the golf ball but you sure have made much easier for a slice to occur. Now combine the outside to inside swing path with an open clubface at impact and you now have a golf shot that starts left and has the double whammy of a slicing swing path across the golf ball, and an open club face. With these two laws of physics going for you; you have just produced one beautiful slice. One that only a proud parent could love! You know the one I’m talking about. The ball that travels 300 yards total distance, but only about 220 yards further down the course (if you can find it all).

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A golfer who is plagued with this type of golf slice is going to require quite a bit more work in order to correct this because their basic swing is flawed and must be corrected. But, it’s important to understand what it is in your golf swing and your golf swing mechanics that makes the ball do what it does. Once you understand the 9 rules of ball flight you’ll be more able to understand what it is in your swing that is producing the flight of the ball you are seeing, and as such you can more quickly address and adjust to ensure success.

About The Author

Jeff O'Brien is a youth and beginning golfer instructor with a real insight on getting your golf swing and game off to a start by establishing a good foundation onto which you build your golf swing and game. Please visit (www.golf-ology.com) for more of Jeff's golf tips and online golf lessons. publish@golf-ology.com

Editor's note: Next time around, Jeff Barnard talks about the opposite problem - hooking the ball. Until then, stay well and keep swingin'.

Jim Nettleton

It May Not Be Your Golf Swing That's Rubbish

Welcom back - here's today's featured article:

by: David Barnard

You could be making a big mistake blaming your mishits and mishaps on your golf swing.

No matter how much time and effort you have been spending, grooving your golf swing to perfection, you still will not achieve your goal if you are using unsuitable or defective golf clubs, will you?

Now is the time for you to consider the following Golf Tip - this covers an examination of your golf clubs quality.

If you plan on buying used golf clubs as beginner's tools, scrutinizing before purchasing is a must. The clubheads, the shafts, and the grips are golf club parts that should pass inspection first, before landing a decent spot in your golf equipment locker.

Another excellent golf tip that will help you when buying a used set of golf clubs, try and ensure you have set consistency. If all the clubs have the same grip, shaft and heads then this will add consistency to your golf swing. It will also help a lot if you check the price of new clubs versus used clubs.

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A golf tip for a golfer that plans to regrip his clubs - Be cautious. This is because the grips are the only point of contact you have on the club during your swing. If the grips are too thin or too fat, this will make a big difference to your swing. Before carrying out the regripping, you need to know the core grip of the club and your hands grip size. To determine your core size grip, measure the diameter of the butt of the shaft you're going to re-grip. The shaft's diameter should match the grip's core diameter. In determining your hands grip, the available size grips are regular, mid-size, oversize and jumbo. Use only the best re-gripping materials that will provide optimum performance for your golf clubs.

Another golf tip is that using ill-fitted clubs will be an obstacle to your golf playing success. A golfer must consider his or her body type in choosing the best-fitting equipment to support and carry out the golf swing effectively. Too heavy or too light clubs will result in changes to your swing angles when carrying out your golf swing. With the resulting poor results. This will be avoided if you select the best fitting equipment available.

Custom golf club fitting makes a better option than just buying a new set of golf clubs. Getting custom fitting golf clubs is a golf tip that translates to a very worthy investment. The uniqueness of each person is attributed to the need of this way of buying new golf clubs. A custom fitting produces golf clubs that specifically suit the height, strength, swing characteristics and clubhead speed of the golfer.

The type of club shaft also helps in predicting whether you'll do well in a game or you won't. There's a choice between a steel club shaft and a graphite-made club shaft. This golf tip aims to make you realize which type of golf club shaft will benefit your game.

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Observations show that the steel club shafts are more preferred by professional golfers while graphite shafts have become more popular with women, senior players and beginners. Steel shafts are less expensive than graphite shafts though.

One more golf tip that could help you is that the golf clubs in your bag must suit your skill level. Since various skill levels need various golf clubs, it won't be wise to just use or bring a golf club that is just lying around. And, don't ever forget about the maximum golf club load your bag is allowed to hold during a round. You can only carry a maximum of 14 golf clubs in your bag. No more.

Aside from your skill level contemplation, your mastery of a certain golf club and being comfortable with using it must also be put into consideration in deciding which golf club to hit.
The correct combination of the right swing and a good choice of equipment will better arm you to become the best golfer you could ever be.

About The Author

David Barnard has been playing golf for more years than he would care to remember. But he can also be found hanging around, and passing on tips at http://golf--tip.blogspot.com.

Editor's note: next time, Jeff O'Brien talks about the slice - and what you can do to get rid of it. Until then, stay well and keep swingin'.

Jim Nettleton

So Your Teenager Wants To Be A Champion Golfer

Welcome back - here's today's featured article:

by: Lawrie Montague

Do you harbour secret desires that your teenager will one day play the PGA or LPGA tour? Millions of dollars in prize money attracts so many talented golfers willing to sacrifice everything to have a crack at making money playing golf.

So how can you help your teenager become a more successful golfer? Give every opportunity to develop their skills, experience and knowledge in golf. Becoming successful at golf is not easy, so you need a solid team to give you help and guidance to make it happen. At the Australian High Performance Golf Academy we design programs to the specific needs of our students.

Your Golf Support Team

To progress to professional golf, your teenager must understand what is required to nurture their talent continually. Golf is as much a mental game. Ideally they need one hour golf lessons every week (forty to forty five lessons per year) from the age of twelve and they should be focused on a number of critical factors;

1. Good good grip produce good golf swings.

2. Start right and practice right; a golf swing that is in plane and a strong rotation of the body and arms to generate sufficient club-head speed.

3. Junior golfers grow continually; they can suffer from postural problems like slouching shoulders and bending from the waist not from the hips. Shoulder stretching every day particularly in the back of the legs, (hamstrings) and upper body (shoulders/chest) is vital.

4. Begin working with your teenager’s attitude towards adversity. Develop effective coping strategies to deal with setbacks and accelerate their progress through the tough spots.

5. Get them into competition right from the beginning and teach them to enjoy the idea of competing against others and also the added bonus of developing lifelong friendships.

6. Encourage your teenager to study the rules and etiquette of golf and become familiar with the most important and most common rules infractions so they feel confident about any situation that may arise on the golf course.

7. Your teenager should spend sixty to seventy percent of their time working on their short game and the rest of the time on their long game.

Find a good golf instructor early in your child’s development and build a committed relationship with them. Ask around and find a coach who is getting success with junior golfers and interview them about their approach to teaching junior golfers. I’ve seen many parents chop and change golf teachers to the detriment of their son or daughters golf progress. It is critical to start laying down a good golf technique as early as possible and going to different teachers looking for the ultimate golf lesson doesn’t work and will lead to confusion and dissatisfaction.

About The Author

Lawrence Montague one of Australia's leading golf instructors and Director of the Australian High Performance Golf Academy which runs courses throughout the year. For more information about their unique training techniques and training aids visit their website at http://www.golf-school-australia.com/.
This article is freely available for publication ONLY if the content is retained IN FULL, UNEDITED including the resource box and all links. Furthermore we would appreciate you sending us an email with a link to the page where the article has been published.©2006 Australian High Performance Golf Academy http://www.golf-school-australia.com/.
articles@golf-school-australia.com

Bargain Golf Equipment - How To Find The Best Deals On All Your Favorite Golf Equipment

Here's today's featured article:

by: John Bolt

Everyone in this world loves a good bargain, and for golf equipment the song remains the same. The one thing to remember is that bargain doesn’t always have to mean cheap, used, or damaged. You can find some really good buys if you just spend a little time and research to find what you’re after. Let’s look closer at the different avenues to finding some great bargain golf equipment.

Previously Owned Gear

This is a perfect place to start for any golfer just beginning the game or for someone who doesn’t want to spend a small fortune on brand new equipment. There are a number of great places that you can find top notch used equipment. If you think of it like buying a car, the minute that brand new car is driven off the lot its value starts to decrease. But that doesn’t mean it won’t work as good as it did the day before when it was still on the car lot.

The same theory applies to golf equipment. You can usually get last years equipment that has hardly used for almost half the price. The technology is still just as good as it was last year but you won’t have to pay the price for this year’s model. There are number of great websites that deal strictly in this type of business. One of them being the ever popular EBAY, another is Callaway Golf Pre-owned and finally GolfClubExchange.com are the three biggest and most popular. You’ll be able to find all degrees of used equipment that is priced accordingly.

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End of Season

Another place a golfer looking for bargain golf equipment might look is any major golf store. It can be online or a department store. The key to this type of strategy is timing. If you go searching for new equipment near the end of the season a lot of company’s will have year end sales where they’re looking to give the consumer one last chance at this years equipment at better prices.

But the best time to buy is just after Christmas right before the beginning of the new season. The golf stores will offer huge savings on all the equipment they’re trying to clear out to make room for the new stuff coming in for the up coming season. This is where I feel you’ll find the best bargains on all types of brand new golf equipment that has never had an owner. This especially holds true for such items as golf shoes and clothing. If you want to save a little money then look for last years models and you’ll get some great deals.

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Where to Shop

If you’re wondering where to go to get these great bargains there’s only one place. The internet is the best place to find what ever you’re looking for. There’s one main reason for shopping online, and that’s competition. There are so many online retailers competing for your business you can find some ridiculously low prices. You just have to take your time and look. The best thing about this is you don’t have leave the comfort of your own home to find your new gear for this year. The bottom line about bargain golf equipment is to take your time and look in all the right places. You’ll find an awesome deal!

About The Author

John Bolt - You don’t have to spend a fortune on new equipment? Take the worry out of buying golf gear with John Bolt’s ULTIMATE FREE equipment guide from http://www.golfequipmentsource.com./ Enjoy your game…and have tons more fun! => http://www.golfequipmentsource.com/golfclubs.html

Editor's Note: For those of you who are confused by the match play format in golf, help is on the way. In our next post, golf coach John Retzer takes you step by step through the fundamentals and the details of match play. Until then, stay well and keep swingin'.

Jim Nettleton
Saturday July 28, 2007 - 08:13am (PST) Edit Delete Comments

Tension In Your Swing?

Welcome back - here is today's featured article:

by: Paul Wilson

It's often said that you shouldn't have any tension in your swing. This isn't true. You need tension, the thing you don’t need is strength. There's a big difference between the two, and if you can't distinguish between them, it may be stopping you from reaching your potential.
To get the feeling of both tension and strength, simply stand up and hang your arms at your side. To feel tension, extend your arms downward to the ground as far as they go. As you do this, you will feel tension in your arms because they are stretched to their longest point. Now to feel strength, make two fists and squeeze as hard as you can. These are two totally different feelings that have two totally different affects on your swing.

This feeling of strength is what most inexperienced players feel when they hit the ball and they mistake it for tension. They get this feeling because they're trying to hit the ball so hard that their arm muscles lock up. This feeling of strength is deceiving though because it also gives the person the feeling of power. If this feeling of strength is removed, the inexperienced player then thinks that they are not going hit the ball as far so, they immediately they tighten up again.

This feeling of strength in your arms will do two things to destroy your swing:

1. It will narrow your swing arc because the feeling of strength makes your arm muscles contract or buckle through and past impact. The narrower your swing arc, the slower the club will swing.

2. It will inhibit the hinging and re-hinging of your wrists also resulting in a slower clubhead speed. The harder you hit, the tighter your wrists will which will also slow the club down.
So how is the clubhead speed increased if you feel tension?

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1. To achieve the tension I am talking about, you must allow the arms to be stretched out to their fullest through and past impact. To stretch them out means your muscles cannot be turned on. You have to keep them loose. To understand the increase in arc width, imagine that your golf swing is like picking up a weight and swinging it in a circle on a piece of string. The weight represents your club, the string is your arms, and your body is your hand that is twirling it.

As the weight swings, the piece of string will get tense. This is because the weight is stretching it to its longest point. This maximizes its arc. It's this wide arc that allows the weight to swing its fastest. Remember, feeling strength in your arms pulls the clubhead closer to you because it contracts your arm muscles. If your arm muscles contract, it would be like the piece of string getting shorter as you spin the weight not longer. The shorter the piece of string, the slower it will swing.

2. Loosening up the arms, and keeping the muscles turn off, will also loosen up your wrists. To understand how the wrist hinge will help to create clubhead speed, imagine opening a door with rusty hinges and one with well oiled hinges. Obviously, the well oiled hinges will allow the door swing open and closed faster. If your wrists were "well oiled" it would result in more clubhead speed as well. To get the feeling of wrists that are too tight (rusty hinges), try clenching your fists again. This time pay attention to your wrists and how locked up they become when you feel strength in your arms. So allowing the arms to stretch out through and past impact not only maximizes the arc width, but it also loosens your wrists.

Now that you know how detrimental strength is to your swing as opposed to tension, take a look at a few areas where you are likely to feel it:

1. The first area is your grip. Your grip pressure at set up should be 2 out of 10 where 10 is the tightest.

2. In your set up you should feel like your arms are just hanging and there is no strength in them. If you don't start with them stretched out how are they going to stretch out through and past impact?

3. The takeaway is the next area to check. If you take the club away fast, you are turning on your arm muscles. You should take the club away slow and smooth to avoid this arm strength. To feel this, just flip the club upside down so you are gripping the club where the clubhead is (flipping the club this way makes it really light). Now as you take a few practice swings, you can immediately tell if your arms are tightening. Make sure you take the club back slow enough that you don't feel your arms turn on then apply this same feeling to your actual takeaway (once you flip the club around to the correct position).

4. The next area is just as you are going to start your downswing. Remember, human nature is telling you to hit the ball hard. If you follow you instincts, you are guaranteed to feel strength in your arms. So from now on, don't think about hitting anything. A great way to achieve this is to imagine you have a magic marker taped to your clubhead and there's a huge piece of paper you are swinging against. Your objective is to draw the widest circle you can on the piece of paper as you swing down and through past impact. If you can think of this image you will definitely increase the width of your arc and feel the tension in your arms from the club pulling them out.

5. The final area is just before contact. People feel they have to give the shot just that little extra help to get it in the air. In doing so, they also turn on their arms. Remember to keep the image of the weight swinging on a piece of string in your mind as you swing your club. The weight swings freely around an axis pulling the string to its longest point. Your club should be allowed to swing freely around your body so it too, is allowed to swing to its widest point. You don't have to help the ball get in the air.

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The next time you go to the practice range, try to get this new feeling of tension that I have described. If you're doing it properly, you can tell because you will probably hit the ground behind the ball a few times. Don't avoid these fat shots. If you try to avoid them, you will do so by tightening your arms again. Just keep hitting shots (even if the club hits the ground behind the ball). Within 20 balls, you'll get used to your new, wider swing arc and start to hit some of the most solid shots of your life!

Until next time,

Paul Wilson

About The Author

Paul Wilson teaches how to copy the perfect golf swing of the Iron Byron swing machine. For more information, please visit: http://www.paulwilsongolf.com/ or http://www.swingmachinegolf.com/.

Editor's Note: In our next post, John Bolt takes us bargain hunting to save us money buying discounted golf equipment. Until then, stay well and keep swingin'.

Jim Nettleton

A Feel For Your Golf Game

Here's today's featured article:
by: Craig Sigl

Let's get down and dirty about the word "feel" and how I apply it to golf the "Without Practice" way so you can shave some strokes effortlessly this weekend. You know deep down if not at the top of your head, that when you feel good, you will perform or act your best in anything right? Most of us struggle with our feelings because we just let them occur based on whatever is happening in our lives at the time.

For instance, if you just get news that you got a raise at work, you are going to have a great feeling for some time after correct? This is a great time to get out on the course as your bio-computer (brain) is now in the optimum conditon for performance. Nobody denies this and yet we go out on the course and choose to say and do things that destroy our optimum performance potential.

I am becoming more and more convinced the longer I play this game that how we "feel" during our round determines the variation from our average score more than anything else. What I mean by feel is our STATE.

STATE is physiology plus internal representation. It's short for "state of being." So what if we can do things to affect our state just the same as receiving the news that we got a raise at work? We can!

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Recently, I shot my best round of my life at 1 under par. As I teach people to really dig into how they "felt" when they played a great round, I took notes and after the round really went over the things I was thinking, how my body was responding, what did I eat, what were my eyes seeing, etc.

You need this information to help build your optimal state in the future! Once built, you can rebuild it any time since you now have the blueprint or instructions. WE NEED to pay far more attention to when we play well than when we don't!

Many golfers completely dissect their rounds afterward replaying their bad shots over and over in their minds trying to figure out what went wrong. This only serves to implant suggestions in our subconscious mind that that is how we play.

Not good for future rounds.

Remember: "as a man thinketh, so shall he become" and other quotes like that? It all stems from the concept of the duality of our mind; the subconscious and the conscious functions. Once we get this, we can do a lot toward the mental side of our game to reach our scoring potential.
I used to take advice from the magazines that say you have to keep track of your Greens in regulation, how many putts you had, how many sand saves etc. and then "identify" my weaknesses.

Forgettaboutit!

Again, this is not good since putting the focus on the negatives only gives them power and the repetition of thinking about them starts to solidify in your subconscious. Your subconscious mind doesn't know the difference between a positive or negative thought, it just accepts that which it is most convinced of by repetitive thought or action.

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And besides, I don't need a scorecard to remind me of my weaknesses on a given round. I know what they are after every round and I can usually pin it down to something I did or didn't do prior to hitting the ball.

What you need to start doing right now, next round, is really zero in on the things that go well. Make little celebrations in your mind (be humble with your partners) when you hit a great shot. Turn on the positive emotions and show a big smile when you sink that long putt! Take mental, if not paper and pen, notes on anything worth remembering when you do anything that puts you into that "feel good" state.

Create an anchor that you do every time you hit a shot exactly the way you planned it just like the ringing buzzer that Pavlov's dogs were trained to salivate to.

When you have bad shots, immediately analyze it afterward, see what you can learn from it and then FORGET IT! It will do you no good whatsoever to hold onto it. You know that your swing is different from day to day as all the pros also complain about. So what benefit can be gained from going over bad shots that could be gone the next day without even trying?

Save the analyzing for the range if you do have time to practice. If not, then just keep pounding your subconscious with images of you accomplishing the little things you had trouble with until your next round. If you don't have time to practice your swing, then "practice" getting yourself into that state or feeling of power and confidence instead of daydreaming during boring or mundance tasks you work on through your day.

That is the "Without Practice" way.

Greens and fairways!

About The Author

Craig Sigl teaches how you can score lower Without Practice and The Legends of Golf teach fundamentals. For details and to claim a free digitized paperback book: "How You Can Play Better Golf Using Self-hypnosis" visit: http://www.break80golf.com/
craig@break80golf.com


Editor's note: Craig will be featured in future articles as well. Come back often for more informative, interesting and helpful articles on the great game of golf. In our next post, the well-known Paul Wilson will offer some eye-opening thoughts on tension in your swing. Until then, stay well and keep swingin'.

Jim Nettleton