Golf Swing Lessons, Tips & Instruction – Proper Golf Grip

How To Have the Proper Golf Grip www.swingmangolf.com Golf Swing Lessons, Tips & Instruction – How To Have the Proper Golf Grip Learn how to have the proper golf grip and how to hit more powerful and consistent golf shots. Having the proper golf grip or a better golf grip is important to starting your golf swing on the right track. In this video Golf Instructor, Jaacob Bowden will give you a couple golf tips on how to have a golf grip that will let you hit more powerful and consistent golf shots. Leave a COMMENT if this video was of help to your golf game. Get Your Free Article “The 3 Keys To Distance” at http
Video Rating: 4 / 5

Golf Tips From The Pros

Golf Tips From The Pros

Article by Jack Moorehouse

When weekend golfers watch the pros hit unbelievable shots their amazed. The typical reaction is often “How do they do that?” It’s not magic. It’s solid fundamentals, plus hours and hours of practice and constant attention to their swings. Or course, the fact that most of the pros have been honing their swings since they were kids doesn’t hurt either.

Weekend golfers can learn a lot by studying the pros. They just need to look closely. Below we describe some golf tips derived from watching various players over the years. These mini golf lessons may not help you hit the long, straight drives, towering long irons, and delicate wedge shots the pros do. But they will improve your swing and cut strokes from your golf handicap.

Power and Accuracy In The Swing – Golf Tips from the Pros

Chip Beck isn’t nearly as famous as Tiger Woods. But he is a respected member of the Tour. Beck’s known for his accuracy off the tee. It stems primarily from an on-plane swing. He swings his arm up the plane rather than around his body. That keeps the club moving toward the target, generating accuracy. If you were to draw a line from his hands to the ground when he’s in his finish position, it would point exactly where the ball was at address-a sign that he swung up the plane.

Mark O’Meara is known for his power. He generates it by making a complete shoulder turn at the top of his swing. A right-hander, he keeps his back pointing at the target as long as he can before committing to his downswing. Keeping his back facing the target allows his right elbow to stay close to his body, dropping the club inside. This starts his shots to the target’s right. When combined with the proper clubhead release, this swing draws the ball back to the left. It’s a good way to eliminate a slice.

Brad Faxon is known for his putting. But he also excels at getting off the tee. The secret to his swing’s success is in his right elbow. A right-hander, he keeps the elbow bent and close to his right hip as he approaches impact. This delivers the club to the ball from the inside, eliminating pulls, pull-slices, and pop ups. In addition, Faxon keeps his right shoulder markedly lower than his left before impact. That keeps his head behind the ball. It also produces more leverage, which in turn increases clubhead speed.

Tips On The Downswing – Golf Tips from the Pros

Vijay Sing is among the world’s best golfers. He’s also among the world’s highest money winners annually. His classic swing combines precision and accuracy. It includes a narrow downswing with the clubface close to his left shoulder. A wide follow-through with the club and arms launched from his shoulder sockets also contributes to his classic swing. To create this swing, he keeps his arm and hands relaxed. His legs and hips power the downswing as the club’s weight lags behind until impact. Once the club is released, his arms follow the club’s wieght into the finish. This creates a free flowing swing.

Don’t have to be large in stature – Golf Tips from the Pros

Although he’s small, Shigeki Maruyama generates enough power to play with the big boys. How does he do it? He does it with solid mechanics. Most notably, he keeps his hands high at the top of his backswing. High hands expand the swing arc and increase clubhead speed. Meanwhile, a massive shoulder turn allows him to keep his head behind the ball. It also allows him to shift his weight properly and sets up a more powerful and athletic downswing. To better rotate his hips, Maruyama flares his right toe out at address.

Watch the pros whenever you can. It’s like getting a free golf instruction session. So use the opportunity wisely. It can provide valuable golf tips, like those discussed above, that can cut strokes from your golf handicap. They might even transform your game. So keep a close eye on the pros on Sundays.

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. Free weekly newsletter with the latest golf tips, lessons and instructions.

Review Of Golf Training Aids- Can They Really Help Lower Your Scores?

Review 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.

The Four Key Factors In Your Swing

The 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

Mastering the Basics of the Golf Swing

Mastering 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.

Unique Golf Gifts For The Holiday Golfer

Unique Golf Gifts For The Holiday Golfer

Article by Chris A Smith

If you have a golfer on your gift list, make this the year you give him or her an unique golf gift. Actually, it’s more a perfect golf gift than unique. Do you know what it is?

Ask any golfer what they would like as a gift for the holidays. They may come back with a dozen different answers but at the heart of it, they all want the same thing. The golfer who absolutely needs a new driver to cure his slice, wants the same thing as the golfer who needs to start making those three foot putts and believes he has to have a new putter.

What they both want is a better golf game.

There’s an old adage about amateur golf that says all bad shots can be blamed on the equipment. The logical follow up to that is the fastest way to improve your game is to buy new equipment. Now that’s great news for club manufacturers, but in reality, it does nothing for the golfer.

If your golfer friend has a bad swing, or doesn’t know the fundamentals, he or she is doomed to continue to play badly regardless of what piece of equipment you give them.

Do you know what would turn that around?

Lessons. Another old adage that I am personally way to familiar with is “When all else fails, read the instructions”. Most amateur golfers had never had a lesson. They picked up the club and tried to copy what they saw on TV or their buddy or on the range or whatever. The net result is that there are some really unique, if not effective, golf swings out there.

You could be their saving grace. You could be the person that finally allows them to win a bet or two. Your gift will not be forgotten.

So where do you get these golf lessons. Almost every golf course has a teaching pro or two. Typically you can get gift certificates and then let your golfer work out the time that suits him or her best. Lessons from a pro are the best way to go but they are pricey and will typically run to 0 an hour for individual lessons.

The alternative can work just as well if your golfer puts their mind to it. The internet is full of DVDs and e books that will effectively walk him through all the different swings and strategies. These products are significantly more affordable and are obviously more convenient.

So this holiday forget the new golf towel or 12 piece divot repair tool and give your golfer something that will make their game truly better. Give him lessons.

About the Author

Want that perfect golf gift that your golfer will remember you by? Give him or her the gift of a lower score by visiting Perfect Golf Gifts for the latest in DVDs, audio files and other golf instruction material.

Golf Training Review – The Simple Golf Swing System

Golf Training Review – The Simple Golf Swing System

Article by Anthony Devine

Are you looking for online golf training lessons at an affordable price to help improve your golf swing? If so, this article is a review of The Simple Golf Swing system, an online golf swing e-course and guide that has already been sold and used by more than 260,000 golfers! If you are interested to learn more about a golf swing training program that claims it can reduce your golf handicap by 7 to 12 strokes in only two weeks or less, please continue to read this review.

For most golfers, it is difficult to find, perform and repeat their ideal swing. It can be downright difficult and frustrating, even for the most of seasoned golfers. When golf training, your swing requires so much, but, at the same time, so little going on for you to be successful. Ideally, you want your body to be relaxed and at ease, without tension, and allow your hands and arms to swing the club through the golf ball like a pendulum on a clock. Additionally, as you follow through and finish your swing, you need to be balanced as well as freely, yet forcefully, drive your club’s hear through the golf ball.

With The Simple Golf Swing e-course, it provides you with a full golf swing breakdown and analysis, which enables you to identify and correct your swing flaws at any point in the swing process. As discussed in the e-course, the golf swing steps include:

The Setup – In this portion of the e-course, it provides both text and pictures to illustrate proper swing discipline and setting your swing up prior to the swing to help achieve maximum success with each swing you take on the course. Any golfer, regardless of years’ experience and/or skill set, will be able to quickly go through, understand and implement the swing set up tools provided in this section of the e-course. Proper setup, both physically and mentally, can definitely reduce the average golfer’s handicap by 2-4 strokes per round.

The Grip – Without the proper golf club grip, your likelihood for success on the course is not very good. This e-course will take you by the hand and show you the proper grip you need to have a solid, correct and fluid golf swing. This one golf training tip can save the average golfer several golf strokes each time out on the course. This section of the e-course, complete with photos and text, can further reduce an average golfer’s score by another 2-3 strokes per 18 holes.

Alignment – One obvious, but often overlooked, flaw in many golfers’ swing systems is the alignment of their golf club in relation to the golf ball. This is a simple correction, but many golfers do not do it, not because they don’t want to, but rather they do not realize that their golf club’s face is misaligned to the ball in the first place. Consequently, with improper golf club alignment, the average golfer has already lowered his or her probability of success of hitting the ball straight. Once a golfer reads and visually sees the alignment issue in the e-course, he or she will be able to instantly incorporate an alignment correction into their golf swing and thus, should reduce their handicap by 2-4 strokes per round.

Timing – Proper swing timing, which is very difficult to teach, is even more difficult to obtain, but essential to the average golfer’s overall success on the golf course. Much of a golfer’s swing timing is a mental one – trying not to rush or take the swing too slow. The Simple Golf Swing system discusses timing and will help you break down this mental barrier that many golfers have, even after years of playing and experience. That’s what makes golf fun, yet frustrating all at the same time! However, with improved timing, your swing and overall score will greatly improve in a very short period of time!

About the Author

Like myself and many other golfers, golf is, bar none, the most difficult and frustrating game in the world to master and play. And yet, it is one of the most endearing and fun games to play as well. With The Simple Golf Swing system, the average golfer has the opportunity learn the necessary golf training and swing system needed to reduce his or her handicap by 7 to 12 strokes in two weeks or less.

While I’m not the world’s greatest golfer, I have enjoyed the game a little bit more each and every time I go out on to the course. If you are like me, want to learn more about improving your swing, your handicap, and are interested in learning more about an online golf training system, go to http://www.golftrainingsecrets.com, where you will find additional information about The Simple Golf Swing system.

Turning Your Slice Into A Draw Now

Turning Your Slice Into A Draw Now

Article by Jack Moorehouse

If you’ve ever tried to correct a slice, you know how hard it is to do it. You’ve probably taken golf lessons. Read golf tips. And consulted trusted friends with low golf handicaps. You’ve tried everything you can think of but nothing’s worked. You still hit a slice. Frustration sets in after awhile and you back off. But you haven’t given up. You’d still want to correct your slice.

The problem here isn’t the sources you’ve consulted. It’s the messages they carry. All too often these sources tell you why you slice, but not how to correct it. While knowing why you slice is nice, it doesn’t help correct it. Nor does it help you cut strokes from your golf handicap. What you need is golf tips on how to correct a slice. Below are six key golf tips on turning your slice into a draw.

Starts At Address

Turning your slice into a draw starts at address. Golfers fighting a slice tend to lean away from the ball. It’s a natural reaction. But it makes your slice worse. At address, your weight should be balanced in every direction. It also should be evenly distributed over both feet and proportionally on the balls and heels of your feet. This position prepares you to make a good golf swing.

Tilt Away From The Target

Also, tilt your shoulders away from the target at address as well. This lowers your back shoulder, which is key. Golfers struggling with a slice tend to invert their shoulders at address. This causes them to swipe down on the ball with a forward shoulder that’s lower than the rear one. Instead, tilt your shoulders away from the target. It helps you hit the ball straighter, higher and farther.

Check your Alignment

Aiming your shoulders left of the target (right, if you’re a lefty) encourages a swing that cuts across the ball from outside to inside. Aiming your shoulders right of the target forces your upper body to over-rotate or even come too much inside during the swing. A good way to align yourself is to aim the clubface at the target, draw an imaginary line from the target to the clubface, and position your shoulders parallel to the line.

Flatten The Wrists

It’s critical that your left wrist (right for southpaws) remain flat at the top of the backswing, which avoids rotating the clubface too far open. With a flat left wrist, the clubface remains square or closed at the top of the swing. In this position, the back of your gloved hand is flat with your forearm and both hands above the back shoulder at the top. This position prevents the ball from veering off right (or left) at impact. Move Inside Out

To draw the ball, your swing must move inside out. Thus, you must swing below your shoulders. If your hands get above your shoulders or out in front of them, you’ll come over the top and hit either a double-crossed hook or a big slice. Which you hit depends on whether the clubface is closed or open. Also, you can move your head forward on the downswing. But not so far forward that your head gets out in front of the ball. Keep your head behind the ball.

Rotate Your Arms

If you’re a slicer, you probably don’t rotate your hands properly on the downswing. The way to square a clubface at impact is to continually close it through the downswing. If you stop closing the clubface and start sliding, the face will open and you’ll slice more. As you make the backswing, concentrate on rolling your clubface open. Then, as begin your downswing, roll your hands over and straight out in front of you as they cross your sternum.

Extend Your Arms

Extending your arms after impact closes the clubface and prevents a slice-inducing swing at impact. Extending the arms also encourages the rest of the body to continue turning-a necessary ingredient to hitting a draw. After impact, the ungloved hand should be on top of the gloved hand. Remind yourself to extend your arms during your swing.

Turning a slice into a draw isn’t easy. It won’t come in a day. It takes practice and hard work to do it. But if you follow the golf tips explained above, you can turn your slice into a draw. That in turn will increase your distance and accuracy off the tee and help you trim that golf handicap down to size.

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. Free weekly newsletter available with the latest golf tips, lessons and instructions.

How Good Can Your Putting Get?

How Good Can Your Putting Get?

Article by Jack Moorehouse

Anyone who’s taken my golf lessons or read my golf tips knows how important I consider putting. Since about 30 percent of your shots during a match are putts, improving your putting is among the fastest ways of lowering your scores and cutting your golf handicap down to size. Improving your putting takes practice. But the question remains, how good can your putting get?

Two factors hamper putting accuracy. First, despite the most intensive care, greens are still natural lawns. They’ll never have flawless surfaces, like those of billiard tables, which means you can execute a putt perfectly and the ball can still miss the hole by a wide margin. Because of these imperfections (or in the ball itself), putts don’t always go in the direction you aim.

Second, even when the shot is off, you can’t see from the course of the ball what went wrong. You could have angled the club to the left or the right at impact. You could have moved the putter during the stroke. Or, you could have mis-hit the ball at impact. Whatever the reason, you don’t get sufficient feedback, so it’s hard improving your putting while practicing. Taking golf lessons helps, but it ‘s not enough.

How Good Can You Get?Thanks to these two factors your ability to sink putts-and lower your golf handicap-is limited. To test just how good a player can get at putting, experts conducted tests on well-kept greens using special equipment, designed to roll balls in the same direction and at the same speed every time. The experts used this equipment on numerous greens and from all sides of the pin, and were able to determine the maximum success rate from 12 feet (3.5 meters).

Most golfers would guess that the success rate was about 70 to 80 percent. No so. The maximum success rate is only 50 percent. That’s right, 50 percent. That means that from 12 feet (3.5 meters) a player can hit a ball perfectly every time and still sink only half of his or her putts. Even the pros’ statistics at this distance might surprise you. Results of research conducted by statisticians of the USPGA show that the average pro, under tour conditions, sinks only about 20 percent of his putts from 12 feet (3.5 meters) with the first shot.

Since most golfers think they don’t sink as many putts as they should, many alter their putting technique again and again to increase accuracy-which I see all the time with players taking my golf lessons. Thus, these players constantly readjust and make changes in how they putt. This approach promises little success and is completely unnecessary. It’s a major cause of the constant dissatisfaction of many players.

Improving Your PuttingGiven the above scenario, what can you do to improve your putting in addition to practicing more? Develop a good solid per-shot putting routine and use it every time you putt. If you saw the 2007 U.S. Women’s Open the other week, you saw a classic example of this. Before sinking an easy 2-foot putt for the title, Cristie Kerr executed her compete pre-shot putting routine, even though she was 2 shots ahead.

While everyone’s pre-shot putting routine will be different, they all should include the following six elements:

1. Take your last reading from behind the ball2. Hit your practice shots at this point3. Go to the ball/Align your putter4. Align your body at right angles to the putter’s face5. Take a last look from the head of the putter to the target6. Activate your “triggering mechanism” before stroking the ball.

Within these six elements, there’s room for variation. Some players like to practice while standing behind the ball. Others like to practice while standing beside the ball. Some players like to lift the club off the ground as a triggering mechanism. Others like to use the “forward press.” It doesn’t matter. When developing a pre-shot putting routine, find out what works for you and us it.

Always follow the steps of your pre-shot routine in the same order. Stay in motion, even though these movements are imperceptible. And never come to a complete stop before the shot. It gives you too much time to think about the putt. Finally, make sure no repetitions exist in the routine and that your subconscious always know where you are in the routine. Use this routine every time you putt and you may find yourself not only improving your putting, but also your cutting your golf handicap down to size.

About the Author

Tame Your Slice In Three Easy Steps

Tame Your Slice In Three Easy Steps

Article by Jack Moorehouse

Hooking and slicing can get you into trouble—especially off the tee. Even players with low golf handicaps find it hard to go low if they’re constantly getting themselves into trouble. In addition to costing you strokes, slicing or hooking can ruin your position for your next shot. That makes it harder to greens hit in regulation (GIR). Fewer GIRs mean fewer birdies and pars, and higher scores. While we see more slicers than hookers in our golf lessons, one thing is certain: Eliminate a hook or a slice takes a little time and some work. Trying the golf tips given below will make the transition easier.

Taming Your SliceGolfers slice when the clubhead is open at impact. An open clubhead causes the clubface to cut across the ball at impact, putting sidespin on it. Sidespin causes the ball to curve in the direction the clubface is pointing.

To correct a slice:

Strengthen Your GripTo adopt a stronger grip, turn your left hand (right hand for left-handers) so you can see three knuckles at address. This promotes a closed clubface at impact.

Close Your StanceAn open stance causes the clubface to cut across the ball. Remedying this is simple. Turn your body a little to the right to set up an in-to-out swing path. By turning your body to the right, you close your stance

Rotate Your Right ArmsWith your body closed to the target line, your right arm will rotate over your left as you swing past your chest. This also promotes a closed clubface at the moment of impact.

Anti-slice Drill:Using a 7-iron, grip the club extra lightly. Set it down with the toe of the clubhead perpendicular to the ground. From there, swing the club halfway back and halfway through. As you swing through, let the toe of the clubhead hit the ground first. Feel the head take over as your forearms rotate through impact.

Taming Your HookA closed clubface at impact, on the other hand, triggers a hook. A closed clubface causes the clubhead to come too far inside. The key to curing a hook is to make contact with a slightly more open clubface.

Weaken Your GripTo tame a hook, you’ll want to “weaken” your grip. To do that, turn your left hand left (right if you’re a left hander) so you can see two knuckles at address.

Open Your StanceJust as you needed to close your stance to beat a slice, so to do you need to open your stance to produce a fade. So turn your body to the left slightly (left-handers turn right). That sets up a slightly out-to-in swing path.

Hold Off Arm RotationWith your body open to the target line, your chest turns open faster on the downswing. This enables you to hold off arm rotation for a bit. It also keeps the face open for a shot that starts left and curves right slightly.

Anti-Hooking DrillUse a 7-iron, set up with your back foot turned out about forty-five degrees and the ball positioned forward. Now make relatively easy swings, using your shoulders and upper body to do all the work. As you increase speed and improve ball flight, use longer clubs for the drill.

Hooking and slicing can get you into serious trouble—especially off the tee. That can ruin a hole and add strokes to your golf handicap. Taming your hook or slice using the golf tips described above will help you hit more fairways. That will put you into position to hit more GIRs. Do that and you’ll card more birdies and pars, and lower your golf handicap a couple of strokes.

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. He has a free weekly newsletter with the latest golf tips, golf lessons and golf instruction. http://www.howtobreak80.com