Archive for golf lessons
Review Of Golf Training Aids- Can They Really Help Lower Your Scores?
Posted by: | CommentsReview Of Golf Training Aids- Can They Really Help Lower Your Scores?
Article by Jack Moorehouse
Today’s marketplace is flooded with training aids. You can find one for nearly every part of the game. And more and more are being introduced every day. While a training aid won’t lower your golf handicap overnight or replace golf tips, it will help improve your golf game if you work with it faithfully.
Below are five training aids golfers often ask about in my golf lessons. Designed to improve your swing or a phase of your swing, these products help correct faults, groove mechanics, and/or ingrain the feel of swing. The key, as always, is finding a training aid that works for you before investing your hard-earned money.
(And incidentally, I am in no way affiliated with these companies nor do I make money from these reviews.)
Amazing Assist Swing Trainer (www.matzie.com)
Available from Gibas & Matzie Golf Products, the Amazing ASSIST training club improves your swing and increases strength. It’s like getting a golf lesson free of charge. Its weighted head and bent shaft teaches the correct hand action. The ASSIST improves muscle memory, extension, and weight transfer as well as tempo and timing.
As the club is swung, the proper release action is exaggerated to eliminate slicing, increase clubhead speed, and produce straight shots. In addition, the training grip places the thumbs and index fingers Vs of your hands in the traditional 11 o’clock and 12 o’clock positions. You can use it at home, on the range, or before your golf lessons.
The Amazing ASSIST is ideal for pre-game or pre-practice warm-ups or for everyday use to improve your swing. The ASSIST is available for men, women, and juniors, and for right-handers and left-handers. An instructional video comes with the product. The cost is .
The Elbow Tac-Tic (www.4golftraining.com)
Maintaining one’s left elbow (for right-handers) as straight as comfortably possible determines the width of your swing arc, as I’ve explained in my golf tips. The wider the swing arc, the greater the power. The Elbow Tac-Tic sleeve clicks when the elbow breaks down, providing the instant feedback needed to correct the swing and keep the left elbow extended. The Tac-tic also works on the right arm, clicking when the elbow bends at the proper point in the backswing. Cost: 39.95.
The Speed Stik (www.speedstik.com)
Most golf instruction will tell you that clubhead speed determines the distance a ball is hit. The faster the clubhead speed, the farther the ball goes. Working out with the Speed Stik increases a golfer’s clubhead speed and trains proper balance and on-plane swing. Swing the Speed Stick in a continuous motion back and forth, keeping it about 18 inches off the ground. Start slowly at first, and then build momentum. Check the speed gauge for your MPHs. Every increase of 1 MPH equals three more yards of distance. Repeat a few days a week and chart your distance. Cost: .99
The Impact Ball (www.theimpactball.com)
The Impact Ball develops the feel of hitting a ball properly. Available from To-M-Pact Golf, Inc., it’s easy to use and understand. It’s based on the idea that many recreational players have certain swing faults (chicken wing, flying elbows, etc.) or that they try to scoop the ball off the ground when hitting. Sometimes, even the best golf instruction can’t rid a player of certain faults.
The Impact Ball works. It’s placed between the forearms and held there through your swing. The ball is bi-colored, and the only thought to focus on is to getting the ball to change colors as the club moves through the impact area. The product trains golfers to strike the ball solidly with a square clubface, eliminating any attempts to flip or scoop the ball during the shot.
The Impact Ball addresses every phase of the game–chipping, pitching, putting, driving, and bunker play. You can hit balls on the range with the Impact Ball or practice swinging the club with it at home. The cost: .95 + shipping and handling.
The Swing Magic Driver (www.swingmagic.com)
Training with Kallassy’s Swing Magic Driver ingrains the proper motion into your swing. Designed to improve timing, tempo, and rhythm, the Swing Magic synchronizes the movement of your arms, hands, and body. A sliding training clip enables you to separate your right hand (for right handers) during the backswing. By separating the right hand on the backswing and reconnecting it on the downswing imprints an on-plane golf swing, essential for consistent ball striking. It prevents you from coming “over the top” as well. Cost: .95.
Remember, a training aid is not a panacea, as I often mention in my golf tips. It won’t dramatically improve your game overnight. It won’t make up for good course management. And it won’t take the place of a one-on-one golf lesson. But it will ingrain the fundamentals of a good swing, cut strokes off your scores, and lower your golf handicap, if you practice with it faithfully. Just make sure the training aid is right for you before buying.
About the Author
Jack Moorehouse is the author of the best-selling book “How To Break 80 And Shoot Like The Pros.” He is NOT a golf pro, rather a working man that has helped thousands of golfers from all seven continents lower their handicap immediately.
Fix Your Finish To Improve Your Golf Handicap
Posted by: | CommentsFix Your Finish To Improve Your Golf Handicap
Article by Jack Moorehouse
How you finish often reveals what’s happening during your swing In fact, I often key on a player’s finish in my golf lessons to determine exactly how to help he or she can improve their game. You can do the same for yourself–if you know what to look for.
Below I describe four of the more common finishes I see when giving golf lessons, possible causes of the finish, and ideas on how to eliminate, the swing faults that cause them.
High FinishThe high finish position is among the most common. Hands held high and a flying left elbow (for right handers) characterize the position, associated with pushes, thins shots, and shots struck toward the clubface’s heel. High finishers tend to swing on an in to out path that’s extreme, with the club traveling to the right of the target, minimizing control.
If you read my golf tips, you’ll find that the in-to-out swing is my preferred approach; however, in this case, it’s extreme. When the inside-out move becomes severe, you push the shot. When club comes too far inside with a closed clubface, you pull the shot. Also, swinging too far inside delivers the club below the swing plane, preventing the club from striking the ball on a descending path. The key is not to exaggerate the move too much.
Low FinishThe low finish stems from an overly out-to-in swing path, caused by a downswing motion initiated by the arms instead of the body. Players developing this finish come over the top of the plane, as I’ve explained in my golf tips, causing the clubhead to cut across the ball through the impact zone. The position is associated with pull slices, pull hooks, and shots off the toe. Since the club is moving steeply and across the ball, none of the shots are well struck. Nor do they fly toward the intended target.
If you freeze this finish, you’ll notice that the player’s hands and arms seemed to be all jammed up. That’s because the arms have moved earlier than the body, impeding the arm’s movement and limiting their extension. To fix this problem, you obviously need to work on the body/arm synchronization, so your arms don’t out race your body on the downswing.
Lunge FinishI don’t know how popular this finish is statistically, but I often see it in my golf lessons. With this type of finish, the player’s head is in front of his or her left leg, or the golfer feels himself or herself falling forward. It stems from a poor rotation of the lower body through the hitting zone, causing the upper body to get ahead of the ball. The end result: the player fails to stay behind the ball during the swing.
To correct this fault, you need to work on your hip rotation. Try leading the down swing with your hips instead of your body. Try placing a chair to your front side, with the back of the chair just touching your hips. Take a few practice swings being careful to stay in contact with the chair’s back as you turn through impact. Also, try finishing with your head over your left leg.
Reverse C FinishThe Reverse C Finish, in many golf instruction courses, was thought of as the perfect finish– that is, up until a few years ago. Now, it’s not as highly regarded. With the reverse C, the golfer slides his legs and body laterally to the left (for right-handers) and too fast through impact. The weight, however, remains on the back foot. A reverse pivot–which occurs when you fail to transfer your weight from the front foot to the back foot–also produces a Reverse C finish configuration.
To correct this fault, you need more hip rotation and less slide. To cure the reverse pivot, you need more weight transfer. If your problem is the reverse pivot, try making your ordinary swing while lifting your front foot of the ground on your back swing, then replant it on the downswing. This helps transfer the weight from the front foot to the back foot, as it should. If you want to build more hip rotation in the swing, try taking practice swings with a shaft placed on right side of your hips. Your hips should rotate so that they never touch the shafts. If they touch, you slid.
The reverse C finish is one of the more prominent finishes. But like the lunge, low, or high finishes, it can indicate hidden swing faults that need correcting. The sooner you start working on correcting the swing faults discussed here, the sooner you’ll start lowering your golf handicap.
About the Author
Jack Moorehouse is the author of the best-selling book “How To Break 80 And Shoot Like The Pros.” He is NOT a golf pro, rather a working man that has helped thousands of golfers from all seven continents lower their handicap immediately.
The Four Key Factors In Your Swing
Posted by: | CommentsThe Four Key Factors In Your Swing
Article by Jack Moorehouse
When I mention the word basics in my golf lessons, players start thinking about things like grip, posture, ball position, alignment, and so on. That’s only natural. Golf pros talk so much about these subjects in golf instruction sessions that players assume they’re the focus when the discussion comes round to the basics of a golf shot.
But there are four other basics–plane, centering, radius, and face–that key good ball striking. Players must master the four factors to cut their golf handicaps down to size. These factors, which are sometimes neglected in golf lessons and golf tips, determine consistency. If you’re off with these even slightly, you’ll slice, hook, or mis-hit the shot, regardless of your grip, posture, ball position, or alignment.
Plane:
Plane is the angle your club takes at address. Your swing should have a circular look to it when viewed from a face on perspective. The swing won’t be a pure circle, but it will have a recognizable circular shape. Looking from down the target line, the circle should be tilted the same angle as the clubshaft as it sits at address. This area encompasses the most direct and powerful route back to the golf ball.
The club must remain in this defined plane as it approaches the golf ball on the downswing. While your swing plane may change from waist high in your downswing to waist high in your finish, your club must go through the original plane at address to hit straight shots solidly. So while you may see some odd looking swings by Tour players, you’ll also see that they always return the club to the same plane of address at the bottom of their swings.
Face:
Face is the second important factor. To gain control over the clubface at the moment of impact, your hands must be at the same position when you make contact with the ball as at address or may be a bit forward. Returning your hands to the same position guarantees that your clubface is pointing in the same direction as when you set up to hit the ball.
There are three ways you can hold the club at address–with your hands on the left side of the grip (weak), the middle of the grip (neutral), or the right hand side of the grip (strong) for right-handers. The best grip is the one you can produce naturally shot, after shot, after shot. If you look closely at the pros, you’ll see players with different grips, yet they still hit consistently straight shots. Why? Because the way you grip the club matters less than the how your hands are at address. If you have a strong grip at address, you better not have a weak grip when making impact; otherwise, you’ll end up with either an opened or a closed clubface at impact.
Radius
Radius is the distance from your left shoulder (for right handers) to the end of the clubshaft. In other words, it is the distance from the center of your golf swing to the outer-edge. Your lead arm must be in line with or trailing your arm at impact, known as “maintaining radius.” Bobby Jones, the great amateur, called this “good timing.”
Maintaining radius enables you to strike the ball solidly. Many recreational players that I give golf lessons to try to force the shaft of the club past the lead arm prior to impact. This effort causes the clubface to travel up not down, resulting in a fat or thin shot. A loss of radius causes a hook, slice, loss of distance, and wide assortment of other poor shots.
Centering:
Centering refers to the spine and head at address. While you may have some lateral movement of your head and spine in your swing, consistent hitters keep these areas, or their centers, steady. A steady center involves two things. From a down-the-line-look, the amount that you bend forward from your hips at address is constant throughout your swing. From a face-on perspective, your center (spine and head) remains as constant as possible as well. Your swing, as I’ve explained in my golf tips, revolves around your center.
While the basics like grip, posture, ball position, and alignment are important, they only prepare you to take your swing. They increase your chances of hitting a golf ball when the more important basics are in order, producing accurate, solid shots. To lower your golf handicap, you must the other “basics” of the swing–plane, fact, radius, and center.
About the Author
Jack Moorehouse is the author of the best-selling book “How To Break 80 And Shoot Like The Pros.” He is NOT a golf pro, rather a working man that has helped thousands of golfers from all seven continents lower their handicap immediately.
Mastering the Basics of the Golf Swing
Posted by: | CommentsMastering the Basics of the Golf Swing
Article by Howard Brule
You are an aspiring golfer who isn’t scoring the way you want. Welcome to the world of golf because golf is a difficult game to excel at. Maybe you can play the game okay, but just aren’t performing the way you know you can. Is it a swing problem that is the source of your problems? Here are a few suggestions to help you see some golf swing improvement.
The place to start, no matter if you are a scratch golfer or high handicapper is with a dedicated practice routine. Set up a routine that focuses on your troublesome areas as well as key in on the other critical aspects of your golf swing.
You can arrange for Golf lessons from a golf professional, but before you take that route there are some simple things you can try on your own to improve your basic swing. Golf theory may be worth studying but it is important to have at least the basics of a swing before spending hard earned dollars on instruction.
A helpful way to think of improving your swing is to think of it as giving your swing the g-a-s, as in grip, alignment and stance. The first step toward golf swing improvement is taking a close look at your grip. Your hands should come together naturally and comfortably on the club. If you swing right handed, hooking the pinky finger of your right hand over the index finger of your left is a great way to start. Hold the shaft of the club lightly without tension. There is no need to hold the club tightly in your hands to put a good hit on the ball.
Many players who have difficulty striking the ball with power find their alignment is wrong. You should be aiming where you want the ball to go with your shoulders parallel to the intended line of flight. Most inexperienced golfers take a “closed” stance with their body and shoulders aimed out to the right (for right handers.) You can overcome this by simply shifting your body slightly to a more “open” position when you take your stance. This will help you avoid swinging “across” the ball – the primary source of the slice.
Golf swing improvement will occur naturally if you are aiming correctly and have a good athletic stance. Your knees should be bent slightly, your spine angled forward but fairly straight, and your rear end in something of a sitting position. Don’t be tense. You should be relaxed when you swing a golf club.
Now, before you swing, step back from your ball and take a practice swing. Sweep the club head back and up keeping your arms extended and cocking your wrists as the club is taken up.
Your head should remain quite still and you should try to avoid “sliding” your body back as you take the club around and up. Taking the club back should be a rotational movement with your spine remaining more or less stationary and angled in the same way while rotating your upper body around your spine. As you take the club up and back your shoulders will naturally turn and the club will end up parallel to the target line. Then, keeping that athletic stance, throw the club out and back and down through the ball as you rotate your hips and upper body around your spine.
The golf swing may seem difficult at first but with a bit of dedication toward improving your swing you will almost certainly see an improvement in your game in a matter of weeks. Get to a practice facility or driving range, warm up, then practice swinging using the proper grip, stance and alignment and you will definitely see golf swing improvement. Then once you have mastered the basics you can take your game to the next level.
About the Author
Anton Brule is an avid golfer and student of the golf swing. He makes regular contributions to Internet Golf Review and recommends this free 7 part golf swing improvement course.
