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Golf Swing Tip – “Putting” It All Into Perspective!

September 19, 2010 by Leave a Comment

Putting is one of the most complicated departments of golf where more than one golf swing tip is easy to find.

A valuable golf swing tip however, is one which helps the golfer put putting into a more realistic perspective.

To maintain their sanity, golfers must have a reliable method of approach which helps keep both their putting expectations and frustrations in check.

In the book, “The Winning Touch in Golf, A Psychological Approach” author Peter G. Cranford, Ph.D. dispenses a golf swing tip to help golfers improve their putting game. His golf swing tip could make all the difference in your golf game!

Cranford writes;

“Putting is the most difficult part of the game. If one is not realistic in this regard, they will fail to take the steps which will bring about improvement.

Putting is difficult because it is highly complicated, fully as complicated as three-cushion billiards—and perhaps more so. In fact, Willie Hoppe, who mastered billiards, was astonished that he could not overcome his poor putting. This is not too difficult to understand. His table was small; greens are large. The table was absolutely level; greens never are. The cloth on the table was always of the same speed; greens vary almost from hour to hour. He played on one table; a golfer plays on 18 different greens. Hoppe played in a calm atmosphere; in golf, the weather can change from cold to hot, calm to windy, dry to humid, etc., in a matter of minutes. On the billiard table skill generally wins; on the green, luck is often decisive. In billiards there is virtually no problem of grip, stance, stroke, or type of cue to be used; in golf, the variations are almost endless.

Although we are aware of the danger that this emphasis on difficulty may affect the very confidence which is reputed to be essential for good putting, no progress can be made unless we first face the facts. Even if there is some lessening of confidence at first, this will be better compensated for by relying more on putting practice than by believing that wishful thinking will cause putts to drop. My own experience has been that the more I tried to generate false feelings of confidence, the more careless I became, and the more putts I missed. In fact, I seem to make many of my long putts at unpredictable times—probably because of the laws of chance.

After we accept the fact that putting is a difficult art—a game within a game—it is much easier not to be discouraged. If we know a trip will be long, it is much easier to accommodate to it than if someone says that the journey is a short one and it turns out not to be so. In addition, when the difficulties are overcome, our competitive position is much safer than it would be if the difficulties did not exist at all“.

A golf swing tip which puts putting into perspective can help golfers handle their frustrations and get more enjoyment from their game!

Incorporate Cranford’s professional advice to help you putt to your greatest potential!

Check back soon for more golf swing tip articles and posts!

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Beginner Golf Swing Instruction – Don’t Make Swinging Your Long Irons a Long Shot!

August 17, 2010 by Leave a Comment

Through experience, beginner golf swing instruction programs have found the long irons to be the student golfer’s most challenging clubs to master. Beginner golf swing instruction programs watch their students struggle with these clubs in their practice sessions and clinics – knowing all to well that this struggle will unfortunately be compounded during competitive play.

So why do student golfers have such difficulty learning to successfully swing the long irons?

Many beginner golf swing instruction programs believe this problem to be a result of golfers using an incorrect swing tempo and/or possessing poor “nerve control”.

In the book, “How to Master the Irons, an Illustrated Guide to Better Golf”, authors Gene Littler and Don Collett offer greater insight into these two factors – explaining their powerful influence on the golfers ability to effectively swing the long irons. Littler and Collett recognize the problem as being two fold – the golfers failure to both;

1. “Smoothly” swing the long irons with a consistent tempo

And

2. Properly “mesh the gears of the mind and the muscles together so that they harmonize” during competitive play.

They write;

Swing Smoothly

One of the most important things to remember when hitting a long iron is to swing smoothly. The reason why the average golfer is a poor long-iron player is that they speed up their tempo and rush the swing too fast. Try to swing the long irons to the same tempo as the medium and short irons and you will find the results far more rewarding.

Maintaining a constant and consistent swing tempo is a difficult thing to achieve. I devote a great deal of my practice time working on this because tournament play demands consistency if you are to be a winner. Under these conditions, a golfer’s swing cannot change too much during a round, but their timing and tempo can leave them with one swing of a club. Why is this?

Mesh Mind and Muscle!

The biggest reason is that muscle tension and timing become prime influencing factors on a golf swing once the tournament flag is run up. Have you often wondered how you can swing so freely and score so wonderfully well in a friendly round, then have your game suddenly go sour during a club tournament? Both the mind and the muscles influence the swing, and it takes good nerve control to keep your swing and game under control.

Jackie Burke, the stylish Texan who has won the Masters and many other tournaments, perhaps best summed up tournament golf when he said, “There are a lot of players who have the physical ability to win tournaments, but few of them do.” Burke, of course, was implying that the mind is a strong factor in winning tournaments—about 70 per cent, as a matter of fact. If golf is 70 per cent mental, then we must learn to mesh the gears of the mind and the muscles together so that they harmonize in competition. This takes experience, years of playing, and, most of all, a positive and confident determination that what you are about to undertake (the shot before you) can be performed exactly as you have planned it. This positive attitude starts with the mind and ends with a positive swing that has a good tempo to it.

A golfer in competition must learn to discipline their mind, and not panic or get excited, particularly when the going gets rough or when they face a demanding shot. Long-iron play requires quiet concentration and attention to where the ball should be placed—not where you do not want it to go; that is negative thinking. My long-iron play in the Open championship at Oakland Hills is an example. Throughout the final day, I hit some truly fine shots because I was swinging freely and confidently. I was thinking positively and did not let the excitement of being in contention and winning the tournament influence my play until the eighteenth hole. Then, when I realized I could actually win the tournament, I suddenly let a negative thought creep into my positive attitude. Play it safe, I thought. As a result, I hit a poor second shot to the eighteenth hole with a four-wood and had to scramble mightily for a bogey five.

Thus, you can see what the mind can do to the muscles during the swing. Do your thinking behind the ball—and make it as positive as possible—then step up and hit it without too much mental exertion.

Suggestions for Beginners

If you are a beginner, I suggest that you first learn to swing and control the short and medium irons before tackling the long irons. The latter are the most difficult to hit because they are straighter faced and have less loft. It takes a well-grooved and well-timed swing to hit a perfect long iron, and behind such a swing lie countless hours of practice sessions on the tee, not to mention the sessions spent under the watchful eye of the club teaching professional.

As you progress in ability and experience, you will find the longer irons easier to hit. Try to develop a certain rhythm to your swing, and use it with every swing from the driver on down to the wedge. Some golfers have a quicker tempo than others. Some are swingers, some are hitters. It remains for you to find the proper timing and tempo for your swing, consistent with your physical makeup and temperament. After you develop your swing tempo, stick with it and groove it until it becomes automatic. You will then be on your way to a better swing and better golf“.

Beginner golf swing instruction programs know – to have a winning golf game, student golfers must be able to effectively use their long irons.

Try incorporating Littler and Collett’s advice into your practice routines!

Check back soon for more beginner golf swing instruction articles and posts to help quickly improve your golf game!

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The Proper Golf Swing – 2 Simple Exercises to Help Master the Backswing!

August 16, 2010 by Leave a Comment

A proper golf swing is truly a work of art. It is both a graceful and beautifully sequenced movement which all begins with the correct backswing.

The backswing is the key to a proper golf swing.

It is here that most golfers foul up their swing pattern. Many golfers seem to have trouble either correctly remembering or understanding this phase of their swing instruction – a huge obstacle in achieving a proper golf swing.

To solve this problem, golf instructors have devised ingenious exercises for their students to perform. These exercises are geared toward helping students develop a greater working command of both the club and movement during the backswing phase.

In the book, “The Master Key to Success at Golf” author Leslie King presents two exercises which help golfers quickly master the movement of the backswing; helping them on their path to performing a proper golf swing.

King writes;

“Here are two exercises which will help you to master the main essentials of the backswing.

The whole art of swinging the club back from the ball to a position in which you are poised to deliver a solid and powerful blow is largely governed by a system of control running diagonally down the body from the left shoulder to the right foot.

First, the shoulder, and with it that priceless knack which may seem elusive at first but which you must work to acquire, upper-left-arm-leverage.

Unless you keep that left shoulder UP you cannot hope to achieve upper-arm-leverage, which comes as near to being a secret formula for success as anything in the golf technique. More than any other factor it made Hogan a phenomenal player of all the shots in the bag. Among the lesser men it can make a good player into a very, very good one.

This simple exercise should give you the feeling more readily than any other I know. You do not need a club for this exercise. Just take up the address position and with the left shoulder up grasp the extended left arm with the right hand at the point where the left hand joins the wrist.

Now perform the backswing by turning the shoulders and chest over the stomach and carrying the hands to the top. Do this a number of times daily and keep doing it until you develop the feeling of how the upper left arm is operating.

The second exercise (it could more properly be termed an expedient) is an aid to those who have trouble in keeping the weight on the inside of the right foot as the backswing develops, and the body turn takes place under the control of the right knee and right hip.

Many fine golfers have to fight against a sway creeping into the movement. One such is Guy Wolstenholme, British Walker Cup player and now a professional.

To counter the tendency to sway and to maintain the weight on the inside of the right foot he practiced with a golf ball wedged between the outside edge of the right foot and the ground. This not only acted as a buttress but helped to train the muscles as he required them to be set. In this way the right hip was prevented from riding too high and the right knee was held in the same position as at address“.

A correct backswing is the key to a proper golf swing.

Try incorporating King’s two exercises into your practice session!

Check back soon for more articles and posts – helping you to quickly develop the proper golf swing!

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Golf Swing Tip – How to Best Learn This Great Game of Golf – Take a Tip From the Past!

August 15, 2010 by Leave a Comment

There is a golf swing tip for every department of the game. From driving to putting and everywhere in between, a “reliable” golf swing tip you are sure to find.

Most likely, a golf swing tip you’ve heard is either a watered down or distorted version of the original, past on from generation to generation. But no matter, this “oral tradition” is truly great, helping to advance both the player and the game.

The fact that golfers are willing to entertain a golf swing tip is a testament to the respect and admiration they have for the previous generation’s knowledge and experience.

In the book, “The Winning Touch in Golf, A Psychological Approach” author Peter G. Cranford, Ph.D. offers a worthy golf swing tip of his own. Cranford discusses the value of leveraging the wisdom of golfers past to help accelerate your mastering of the game.

Cranford writes;

“A great deal of time can be saved if we absorb what is already ‘pretty well known about the game. Each generation of golfers is better than the preceding one because use is made of the experiences of those who have come before us. Hence the individual can speed up their mastery of the game by sticking close to present orthodox form. A description of this form is the stock in trade of the professionals, and should be acquired from them. It is true that there are good golfers who profess never to have taken a lesson, but most of these have been good imitators. Further, there are hundreds of thousands who have not taken lessons who are still duffers, and thus are not in a position to boast. There is no greater frustration in golf than to find out, ten years too late, that a golfing flaw could have easily been corrected by a competent professional. All would be well advised to seek the services of one, and to stick to them until what they had to teach had been absorbed. This does not mean that many lessons should be taken ad infinitum. Fewer lessons, spaced so that ample time is allowed for the learning to sink in, is the better way.

In addition, it is an excellent idea to obtain all the visual instruction one can. This can come from a study of still pictures, or films, or from observing professional golfers, particularly when they are practicing. Written instruction from golf books and magazines is also valuable, provided it is followed by the objective observation of your professional. Otherwise, a misconception of what the author intended will bring about a confusion in your golf learning. It has taken golf 500 years to develop the modern grip, stance, and swing. It is the height of folly not to take advantage of these discoveries.

In the early stages of lesson taking, it is advisable to spread the instruction time over many parts of the game. If, for instance, you had the good fortune to be able to take a series of lessons from someone of the calibre of Arnold Palmer, it would be best to obtain instruction in all broad aspects of the game, such as might be obtained from a playing lesson. Generally speaking, it has been found that learning is tied together much better if one goes through the whole process than if they learn it piece by piece. This should be followed up with considerable practice before the next lesson. By “considerable,” we would mean at least a thousand shots each for woods, irons, chips, and putts“.

A golf swing tip is a product of all the experiments, fortune and misfortunes of golfers past. Leverage the previous generation’s wisdom to help accelerate your golfing success.

Remember to keep Cranford’s advice in mind next time you’re approached with a golf swing tip!

Check back soon for more golf swing tip articles and posts!

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Golf Swing Mechanics – Timing is Everything!

August 14, 2010 by Leave a Comment

All golfers are taught the fundamentals of golf swing mechanics – that is the easy part.

The harder task, for the student golfer, is learning to put all the swing components together in a beautifully choreographed and precisely timed movement. A smoothly timed movement is essential to creating that powerful and seamless swing pattern and expression.

Golfer’s who possess the very best golf swing mechanics but lack the necessary swing rhythm and coordination will never play golf to their true potential. How frustrating is that?!

How do golfers develop this timing which pieces all the golf swing mechanics together? Take a tip from author Joe Novak.

In his book, “Golf Can Be an Easy Game”, Novak shares his perspective on the importance of timing and its affect on golf swing mechanics.

Novak writes;

“The formula reads as follows:

Ultimate results depend on post factor efficiency.

These seven words succinctly describe the artistry of a golf swing; there are things to do, but there is a certain time to do them.

First the golfer must handle their weight; but shifting the weight from one foot to the other does nothing of itself, it only places the player in a position where they can use and utilize their body correctly.

Secondly, only when the golfer has the basic or prior footwork so that they are in a position to use their body to swing the club, are the hands free to exert over the club the proper sense of position and control, and the ability to apply the club correctly to the ball. In other words, a golf shot only flies as the club makes it fly, and how the ball flies is a direct result of the club position. The club position is a direct result of what the hands are doing, and what the hands are doing is the post factor that determines ultimate efficiency.

No wonder so much time and effort is concentrated on the correct grip in golf.

I have often said that a runner runs with their feet, but a golfer golf’s with their hands. Of course, for the runner to get their feet in action, there is a lot of arm and shoulder work, and for a golfer to get their hands working, there is a lot of footwork and body action.

To repeat, there are three basic factors in golf:

1. Footwork, for balance
2. Body action, for power
3. Hand action, for club control

But to these three factors there is an order of importance, a delicate sense of timing that so many golfers miss. They fail to get the knack of properly coordinating these three factors into a working arrangement.

As there is a certain order of importance, so likewise there is a certain order of performance in these three basic operations of a golf swing. In other words, in the properly executed golf shot the player moves smoothly from one operation to the other, but all operations function collectively towards the final goal of applying the club to the ball. So there is in the golf shot an order of importance and an order of performance which precludes any such thing as a one-piece swing. Be prepared to reach your ultimate goal of a smooth, flowing performance through a natural step-by-step procedure rather than through any short cut.

The other comment I wish to make is that if there is error in the performance of any operation in the swing, then such an error would multiply and increase as it would be carried on into the next operation. So there must be sure performance in the execution of each of the three factors”.

Professional instructors know golf swing mechanics alone are not sufficient enough to create a winning golf swing – timing is necessary.

Implement Novak’s professional advice into your practice routine!

Check back soon for more tips and posts on golf swing mechanics!

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Improve Golf Swing – Wrist Action and Swing Performance

August 13, 2010 by Leave a Comment

In order to improve golf swing performance, golfers must correctly incorporate proper wrist action into their golf swing.

For many golf instructors and their students, this is easier said than done.

To truly improve golf swing performance golfers must understand that, during the swing pattern, the mechanical action of the wrists is to be both “passive” and “reactive”. Properly applying this “passive” and “reactive” wrist action, however, is where most golfers struggle.

The reality is proper use of the wrists in the swing pattern is critical to swing timing. A mistimed swing will forever ruin your drives and your game. Get this action right however, and golfers will improve golf swing performance almost instantly!

In the book, “On Learning Golf”, author Percy Boomer offers some professional instruction to help reader’s improve golf swing performance. Boomer focuses attention on the wrists and their confusing role in the golf swing.

Boomer writes;

“There is no action in golf less understood than the use of the wrists, for curiously enough we do not have to work them, but we have to let them work themselves —like the hinges on a door.

This is important because the wrists will only be used correctly when we have the right idea of their correct mechanical action. If we get the wrong idea, the opening of the wrists in the region of the ball is bound to be mistimed. You will never get perfect timing if you try to flick the club head through the ball by wrist and hand action—perfect timing will come only when the opening of the wrists is brought about automatically by the momentum of the whole swing.

To put it in another way, the movements of the feet, legs and hips belong to the active, intentioned part of the down swing; the opening of the wrists belongs to the passive, purely reactive part of it. So keep at the forefront of your mind that the hands and wrists do not and must not “nip the club head through the ball.”

The trouble in learning to let your wrists open them¬selves (which is what they must do) is, that at the top of the swing, the club head seems so far from the ball that you feel that, if you do not help it down with wrist and hand action, it will never get there—or will get there so late as to make a horrible slice. The result is that you do work your wrists, you come down too soon, and pull instead of slicing! Low ground shots to the left are most frequently due to this premature and faulty wrist action.

Now this feel of the club head being a long way from the ball and a long way from your left side is actually a most desirable one. Register it in your feel cabinet, and if you can widen the gap between the club head and your left side, do so; you can never get it too wide. The gap means that you are “coming down one after another.”

Personally I detest the word “flick”. It suggests a local effort where there should be none. That is why teachers now prefer the word “flail” to describe the function of the wrists…

…Another image that has helped some of my pupils to visualize the development of a correct swing is that (in this section of the swing) our arms and the club form a fan—the line of the left arm being one edge of the fan, the club being the other. The two are pivoted together by the wrists and (like the two edges of an actual fan) may be shut close together or opened out at quite a wide angle. We open the fan partially on the up swing, complete the opening at the beginning of the down swing—and snap together again some two feet or more past the ball.

The hands and wrists are passive agents, they are not free agents—they do not decide in which direction they shall go; they go in the arc set out for them by the turning of the pivot. This is true of the up swing as well as the down. The pivot not only provides the power, it also controls direction—guiding the club head in its correct plane through the ball. That is why a good pivot is so important.

But we must not forget that we are going to learn golf by feel; so here is a little exercise that will teach you to detect and ever afterwards to recognize the difference between feet activity and hand activity at the beginning of the back swing.

Take up your normal stance before the ball. Then without movement of feet, pivot, shoulders, or arms, take the club head back a full three feet entirely by wrist and hand movement. Note the feel. Then re-ad¬dress the ball (being careful this time to keep your left arm and the club shaft in a straight line from shoulder to club head). Now turn your body around from the knees only until your club head is a yard back again—making no use of any movement above the hips. Note the entirely different feel.

In the first case, your hands lifted the club head back; in the second, your pivot carried it back, and you will have felt at once that the latter is much the smoother and much the more consistent way. It is this carry back beginning at the pivot which I want you to cultivate“.

Learning to correctly incorporate proper wrist action into your swing pattern will dramatically improve golf swing performance!

Use Boomer’s professional tips and techniques to help guide your swing practice.

Check back soon for more articles and posts to improve golf swing performance!

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Beginner Golf Swing Instruction – The 4 Fundamentals of Successful Swing Performance!

August 12, 2010 by Leave a Comment

Beginner golf swing instruction programs know – to develop a successful swing – student golfers must completely master four fundamental components of the swing pattern – the grip, the address, the backswing and the downswing.

Though simple to define and explain, truly mastering these four components could take students years. Regardless of the amount, beginner golf swing instruction programs believe taking the time to fully teach students the fundamental components is time well spent.

In the book, “How to Master the Irons, An Illustrated Guide to Better Golf”, authors Gene Littler and Don Collett offer some beginner golf swing instruction of their own. Littler and Collett outline the four fundamentals of swing performance and explain its importance to the golfers game.

They write;

“Mastery of golf’s fundamentals is the first step toward better golf and consistent iron play. The fundamentals form the framework and the foundation upon which the entire swing is constructed.

Actually, building a swing is much like an architect building a house. If they build it hurriedly—without a good set of plans—it becomes structurally weak and the slightest of pressures could send it tumbling to the ground. Such is the case in golf.

Since you are the principal architect of your swing, how can you develop it so that it will consistently repeat itself, swing after swing, no matter what club you may have in your hand? Where do you start and what should you work on to develop your swing? The answers to these questions lie principally within the framework of golf’s four fundamentals: (1) the grip, (2) the address, (3) the backswing, and (4) the downswing.

Developing The Swing

From the outset, every golfer should realize that certain procedures must be followed if they are to develop a swing.

There is a certain fundamental process, or sequence, involved in learning how to play golf, and it cannot be circumvented.

THE PROCEDURE. To the beginner, and even some advanced golfers, this fundamental process of learning how to play golf may seem a little involved, but it actually is not, particularly if you develop your game in an orderly, sensible manner. The orderly sequence would be this way:

1. You learn to swing first by practicing the fundamentals.

2. Secondly, you learn to control the ball by practicing intentional fades, hooks, high shots, and low shots.

3. Finally, incorporating the first two phases into your over-all game you learn how to score by playing as regularly as you can.

Obviously, you cannot learn control and scoring techniques before you master golf’s fundamentals. Many have tried—and are still trying—but they cannot hope to improve unless they overhaul their swing completely because the swing habits they have formed are permanently ingrained within their muscle structure. Doctors will tell you that it is easier to form a habit than break one, and in golf this is especially true. You will progress faster and will become a more consistent player if you form the correct habits of the swing than if you learn to play in a haphazard manner…

…The average golfer, however, courts disaster if they become too conscious of their hand action through the ball. That is why this swing exercise is so important, because it will teach them every fundamental movement in the swing without too much of a mental effort on their part.

If you will practice this swing—the right way—for five or ten minutes a day for six months, you will be surprised at your progress in developing a fundamentally sound swing.

Another reason it is so important to you is that it makes the swing perform automatically. After a while, your swing becomes less and less a conscious effort and your reflexes take over. The great players of today swing almost totally by masterfully controlled reflex actions in which they do their shot planning behind the ball; then they step up and hit it without thinking too much, because they have committed their swing to “muscle memory.” In the long run, the closer you can come to making your swing a reflex action, the better player you will become.

My advice in this regard is to make a thorough and diligent search for a swing that is completely natural for you and which embraces the fundamentals. Then stick with it”.

Beginner golf swing instruction programs know – to have a successful golf game – student golfers must master the four foundational components of their swing pattern.

Try incorporating Littler and Collett’s expert advice into your practice sessions, making your winning golf swing automatic!

Check back soon for more tips and posts on beginner golf swing instruction!

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