Hit a Golf Ball Straigt Down the Fareway

How to Drive a Golf Ball Straight

It’s a given that every golfer wants to know how to drive a golf ball straight. The challenge is the driver is one of the most difficult clubs to master. A simple rule of thumb is the longer the club, the harder it is to use properly. But that doesn’t mean it’s impossible to learn how to drive a golf ball straight; you’ll just need a few tips and some consistent practice.

The very best shot off the tee is one that does not impart a lot of backspin to the ball, travels low, and has enough power to add yards by rolling once it lands. If you can achieve all of these elements, your game will improve significantly.

One of the first steps to learning how to drive a golf ball straight is understanding the importance of leverage throughout the entire swing. To achieve proper leverage, keep your head behind the golf ball from address to impact.

The second most important issue is that distance comes more from club head speed than arm strength. Golfers who try to muscle their way through the shot will almost always end up with a poorly hit ball. It is the hips and legs that generate speed and power, so use them.

Other clubs may be somewhat flexible when it comes to swing path, but not the driver. As you begin your backswing, keep the swing plane low (or shallow). Another factor to keep in mind when learning how to drive a golf ball straight is to have your hands lead the club head at impact. This is what people mean when they say to “let your wrists break”.

A common mistake some golfers make is to try to suddenly stop their swing once they hit the ball. To avoid that, let your arms and body move all the way through the swing, including the follow through.Another key to learning how to drive a golf ball straight is to not grip the club too tightly. Concentrate on whipping the golf ball with the club rather than chopping at it.

If you have a tendency to slice the ball, try slowing your downswing. You may be coming down too fast or too hard, causing you to come out of the proper swing path. Another tip for avoiding the slice is to examine your grip. If you cannot see two or three knuckles when looking down at your grip, you are setting yourself up for a slice. This same grip tip applies to those who hook the ball. If you look down at your grip and see more than two or three knuckles, your grip is going to change at impact and cause a severe hook.

One last tip for learning how to drive a golf ball straight is to make sure you are not pulling or pushing the ball. This can happen whether you are coming off the tee or hitting off the fairway. You can tell if you are pushing or pulling the ball by looking at the divot that’s left behind. If the divot is pointing to the left or right of your target line, your body is not properly aligned.

Try implementing some of these tips and see if your game improves. Remember, the best tip for learning how to drive a golf ball straight is to keep at it.

Long Distance Spin Casting

Long Distance Spin Casting

Article by Randy Kadish

You read up on it. You become sure you can do it. After all, hitting a good tee shot seems a lot harder than casting a spinning rod.So you march to the lake with visions of hooking and landing a faraway lunker. You set up your fishing rod and step up to the bank and cast. Your lure, however, flies off to the right and not very far. You cast again and again. The results don’t change.

Golf didn’t seem this frustrating! So you think all you need is some practice.

But after hours and hours of it, you’re still in the same, going-nowhere casting boat, so to speak.

How discouraging! Even makes you think about giving up fishing.

Yes, I know!

But instead of giving up, I wondered, what if there’s a lot more to casting a spinning rod than what I read? What if I experiment with using other techniques, the techniques of throwing a ball and of casting a fly rod?

So I began a year of casting trials and errors. Lots of errors!

Then finally it happened: consistently, I felt the beauty of loading the rod, of watching the lure streak over the water, and land right where I wanted it to.

Here’s how I got there.

THE STANCE. I want to use one that helps me shift my weight so I get as much leverage as possible, and helps me increase the length of my casting stroke, and therefore the bend, or load, in the rod. I’m right handed, so I put my left foot forward and point it straight ahead. I turn my right foot outward about thirty degrees. My feet are shoulder-width apart. The front of my right foot is in-line with the front of my left heel. (If my right foot is too far back or too far pointed outward, I’ll lock my hips and not be able to fully rotate by body and shift all my weight.) I square my hips and shoulders to the target, slightly bend my knees and shift my weight to the ball of my front foot. My right heel is off the ground. I flex my thumb and put it on the top of the rod handle. I hold the rod loosely and point it anywhere from nine o’clock to ten-thirty. My elbow is even with the front of my waist. The lure hangs down about a foot.THE POWER GRIP. I start with two fingers in front of the reel stem and two behind. I pick up the line with my right index finger, and then move my hand back so only my line finger is in front of the stem. Next, I pull the line up and back, then press my fingertip against the stem, but not against the line. (I like to feel the weight of the lure to cast it accurately.)

I hold the line this way for the same reason a good fly caster doesn’t let slack form in his fly line: to keep constant tension on the line so as soon as I start the cast the lure pulls on the rod, and therefore fully loads the rod. Holding the line the conventional way made it impossible for me to keep enough tension on the line. Even worse, I found it very difficult to keep my index finger from prematurely straightening and releasing the line.No wonder my casts were short, and high and off to the side.

(Until I got my timing down, I used a golf glove or a Band-Aid to prevent the line from cutting into my finger.)

MOVING THE ROD. I initially assumed the faster I moved the rod the farther I’d cast. For two reasons I was wrong. First: a pitcher achieves maximum power and velocity only when his arm moves in sync with his body rotation. If his arm gets ahead of his body he becomes an “arm thrower.”

No wonder major league pitchers seem to throw as if not using all their might! Maximum arm speed is reached only at the release.Fly casters will tell you the same thing, and also for the second reason: to fully load the rod it must accelerate. If it moves too quickly the speed of the line, or in our case the lure, moves almost as fast as the rod, and therefore doesn’t fully pull on and load the rod. The cast dies well short of its target.

(A stiffer rod loads better with a shorter, faster stroke, but the stroke must still be accelerated.)

THE CAST AND POWER SNAP. I begin the cast by opening the bail, raising my elbow and slowly accelerating the rod up and back. As I move the rod, I rotate my shoulders backwards and shift my weight to the heel of my back foot. When the rod points to about one o’clock I break my wrist back. My elbow continues to point forward. (If it points out to the side, I’ll not be able finish the cast without lowering the rod tip from the target line, and prematurely unloading the rod.) When my forearm points to about one o’clock, and my upper arm points parallel to the water or slightly upward, and the rod points parallel to the water or slightly downward, I immediately and quickly start my forward cast.

(During the back cast I never move the rod too fast. If I do, the lure will bounce at the end of the cast and prematurely unload the rod.)

My eyes are focused on an imaginary target in the sky, about forty-five degrees above the water, but higher if the wind is from behind or lower if it is from in front.Leading with my elbow, rotating my shoulders and shoulders I accelerate the rod and soon move the tip in a straight line that points to the target and move the rod butt at a right angle to the line. (Fully rotating our hips and shoulders allows us to increase the length we can move-and therefore load-the rod at this angle.)When my arm is about three-quarters extended, I increase my grip pressure and my acceleration and shift all my weight to my front foot. I reach maximum arm speed then, as if I’m hammering a nail, I snap my wrist without lowering the rod tip from the target line.

Abruptly, I stop the rod.My front leg is now straight. My right shoulder is all the way forward. My arm is fully extended. My weight is on the ball and toes of my front foot. I hold the rod still so I don’t lower the tip and pull the line down.

AS I DESCRIBE ALL THIS. Learning to cast a spinning rod seems a lot easier than it was. Well maybe if, like most skilled golfers, I had learned the right techniques from the start it would’ve been.But better late than never.

About the Author

Randy’s writing has appeared in many publications, including The Flyfisher, Flyfishing & Tying Journal and Fishing And Hunting News. He is also the author of the historical fly-fishing and fly-casting novel, The Fly Caster Who Tried To Make Peace With the World – now an ebook.

Much of Randy’s writing is about the techniques of spin and fly casting and about the spirituality/recovery of fly fishing.

Visit his website at: http://www.flyandspincasting.com

Three Techniques to Assist Busy Women in Getting Better at Their Golf Game

Three Techniques to Assist Busy Women in Getting Better at Their Golf Game

Article by Joe Jackson

No matter what level you are on or your duration of playing time, golf is a game that you constantly want to improve. However, many times it is not that simple to do. This is especially the case if you do not know why you are not getting any better, even when you continue to practice for hours on end. Below, you will see easy to use advice that will have a good affect on your golf game.

Confidence is often the biggest struggle women have to deal with when they are playing with men. Women often feel that they have no chance at beating men since they are stronger. They also often believe the men are whispering about them behind their backs which leads to frustration even though it’s not often true. No matter what your skill level is if you lack confidence your game will suffer. Strength can improve you game some but your overall technique and accuracy can be even more important. Where accuracy is concerned women excel which means they can compensate for the difference in strength and play as well as any man. An exact swing is essential for pulling off low scores time and again on the golf course. Increasing the accuracy of your swing is a matter of having excellent control of the club. Still, you might anticipate tightening your grip to elevate control, although the exact opposite is true. A soft grip will authorize you to have a greater feeling of the club. An additional crucial constituent to a perfect swing is to make certain that you aren’t using your muscles to intensify the speed of the club to improve influence the speed of the club Your force should be used to support the swing except you need to let the club do its work, which is to hit the ball. You merely need to take advantage of leverage and momentum in order for your club to reach the most favorable velocity.

Having a good set of professionally fitted clubs can make a big difference in your game as well. Don’t put the cart before the horse however, these clubs are expensive and you shouldn’t jump into buying clubs until you’re sure it’s a sport you’ll continue with long term. It will only fill you with regret later when you quit playing but still have that expensive set of clubs you wasted money on. Avoid this expense at least initially by renting or borrowing clubs at least until you discover whether or not this is the game for you. A custom set of clubs can indeed wait until you are sure you like the game. As you have seen, a lot of things to into the making of a good golfer. However, the good news is that anyone can improve their game and give the pro’s a run for their money. All you have to possess is a little loyalty to the game, a lot of effort and will to persevere and you will be on top of the game soon.

About the Author

Joe has been a full time internet marketer for about a year now, as an IT consultant he is interested in using technology and sometimes writes on this anonymous surfing blog. He uses security products to protect himself online and to obscure his IP address through his ninjaproxy network.

Long Distance Spin Casting

Long Distance Spin Casting

You read up on it. You become sure you can do it. After all, hitting a good tee shot seems a lot harder than casting a spinning rod.

So you march to the lake with visions of hooking and landing a faraway lunker. You set up your fishing rod and step up to the bank and cast. Your lure, however, flies off to the right and not very far. You cast again and again. The results don’t change.

Golf didn’t seem this frustrating! So you think all you need is some practice.

But after hours and hours of it, you’re still in the same, going-nowhere casting boat, so to speak.

How discouraging! Even makes you think about giving up fishing.

Yes, I know!

So I began a year of casting trials and errors. Lots of errors!

Then finally it happened: consistently, I felt the beauty of loading the rod, of watching the lure streak over the water, and land right where I wanted it to.

Here’s how I got there.

THE POWER GRIP. I start with two fingers in front of the reel stem and two behind. I pick up the line with my right index finger, and then move my hand back so only my line finger is in front of the stem. Next, I pull the line up and back, then press my fingertip against the stem, but not against the line. (I like to feel the weight of the lure to cast it accurately.)

No wonder my casts were short, and high and off to the side.

(Until I got my timing down, I used a golf glove or a Band-Aid to prevent the line from cutting into my finger.)

No wonder major league pitchers seem to throw as if not using all their might! Maximum arm speed is reached only at the release.

Fly casters will tell you the same thing, and also for the second reason: to fully load the rod it must accelerate. If it moves too quickly the speed of the line, or in our case the lure, moves almost as fast as the rod, and therefore doesn’t fully pull on and load the rod. The cast dies well short of its target.

(A stiffer rod loads better with a shorter, faster stroke, but the stroke must still be accelerated.)

(During the back cast I never move the rod too fast. If I do, the lure will bounce at the end of the cast and prematurely unload the rod.)

My eyes are focused on an imaginary target in the sky, about forty-five degrees above the water, but higher if the wind is from behind or lower if it is from in front.

Leading with my elbow, rotating my shoulders and shoulders I accelerate the rod and soon move the tip in a straight line that points to the target and move the rod butt at a right angle to the line. (Fully rotating our hips and shoulders allows us to increase the length we can move—and therefore load—the rod at this angle.)

When my arm is about three-quarters extended, I increase my grip pressure and my acceleration and shift all my weight to my front foot. I reach maximum arm speed then, as if I’m hammering a nail, I snap my wrist without lowering the rod tip from the target line. Abruptly, I stop the rod.

My front leg is now straight. My right shoulder is all the way forward. My arm is fully extended. My weight is on the ball and toes of my front foot. I hold the rod still so I don’t lower the tip and pull the line down.

AS I DESCRIBE ALL THIS. Learning to cast a spinning rod seems a lot easier than it was. Well maybe if, like most skilled golfers, I had learned the right techniques from the start it would’ve been.

But better late than never.

I’m a native New Yorker. My writing has appeared in many publications, including The Flyfisher, Flyfishing & Tying Journal and Fishing And Hunting News. I’m also the author of the historical novel, The Fly Caster Who Tried To Make Peace With the World.

Much of my writing is about the techniques of spin and fly casting and about the spirituality/recovery of fly fishing. I often fish the streams of Westchester, the piers of New York City and the lakes of Central Park.

Three Techniques to Assist Busy Women in Getting Better at Their Golf Game

Three Techniques to Assist Busy Women in Getting Better at Their Golf Game

No matter what level you are on or your duration of playing time, golf is a game that you constantly want to improve. However, sometimes it is difficult to do so. This is especially the case if you do not know why you are not getting any better, even when you continue to practice for hours on end. Below, you will see easy to use advice that will have a good affect on your golf game.

Confidence is often the biggest struggle women have to deal with when they are playing with men. Women often feel that they have no chance at beating men since they are stronger. They also often believe the men are whispering about them behind their backs which leads to frustration even though it’s not often true. No matter what your skill level is if you lack confidence your game will suffer. It’s more important to concentrate on improving your technique and accuracy more so than your strength. Where accuracy is concerned women excel which means they can compensate for the difference in strength and play as well as any man. An exact swing is essential for pulling off low scores time and again on the golf course. Increasing the accuracy of your swing is a matter of having excellent control of the club. However, you might expect to have to tighten your grip to increase control, but the exact opposite is true. A soft grip will authorize you to have a greater feeling of the club. An additional crucial constituent to a perfect swing is to make certain that you aren’t using your muscles to intensify the speed of the club to improve influence the speed of the club Your might should be utilized to bolster the swing although you have to allow the club to do its work, which is to hit the ball. You basically need to take advantage of leverage and momentum for your club pull off the best possible velocity.

Having a good set of professionally fitted clubs can make a big difference in your game as well. Before you go buy clubs though you’ll want to be sure this isn’t just a passing phase. It will only fill you with regret later when you quit playing but still have that expensive set of clubs you wasted money on. Until you know for sure it’s best to rent or borrow clubs or perhaps try locating a set from a garage sale or second hand shop. A custom set of clubs can indeed wait until you are sure you like the game. As you have seen, a lot of things to into the making of a good golfer. However, the good thing is that anybody can make their game batter and make the professionals sweat. All you have to possess is commitment to the game, hard work and persistence and you will be one of the pros soon.

How To Hit The Golf Ball Longer And Straighter With Your Driver

How To Hit The Golf Ball Longer And Straighter With Your Driver

The mechanics of a golf swing are more complex than perhaps that of any other sport on the planet. A good golf swing must be underpinned with sold fundamentals including solid grip, square alignment to the target, a solid base / stance, and a dynamic upright posture. For the purpose of this article I am going to assume that you have solid basic fundamentals.

Please try a selection of the following tips and see which ones have a positive impact on your game. I can guarantee that you will begin to hit the ball further than you have ever done before.

Tip # 1 – Adopt a Stronger Grip

A neutral golf grip is when you can see 2 knuckles of your left hand / the hand at the top of the shaft. A weak grip is when you see less than 2 knuckles on the upper hand. This action tends to promote a fade or slice as the grip returns to neutral at impact thus ensuring the face is opened if the grip is weak. A strong grip is one in which you can see 3 or 4 knuckles on your left hand (for right handed golfers).

A good way to measure a strong grip is to make the “V’s” formed by the thumb and index finger point towards your right shoulder. A strong grip will tend to promote a draw which every golfer knows is a top spin shot that travels much further.

This is especially true with their left hand. To achieve this you should see about three to four knuckles on your left hand. This gives you so much more leverage in terms of your wrist movement. You are able to wait to the last moment to release the club, which results in a surge of club head speed through impact.

Tip # 2 – Release Tensions in Your Hands and Arms

If you were to really tense up your leg muscles and attempt to run a race, you would not be able to walk very fast let alone say run. The muscles in your hands and arms are no different. The grip pressure is perhaps the most important element to eliminating a tense rigid swing. Grip pressure should be light but firm. Professional golfers have stated that you should grip the golf club with the same pressure as if you were:

Lightly squeezing a tube of tooth paste Holding a child’s hand Holding a small bird in your hand Use which ever analogy is best for you but remember always be conscious of your grip pressure especially just before you commence your take away. It is literally not possible to grip a club too lightly. Your muscles will instinctively increase grip pressure throughout your swing to ensure the club does not fly out of your hands.

A light grip pressure will also have the positive effect of releasing tension in your arms. Build a few waggles into your pre-shot routine to further ensure there is no build up of tension.

You will be shocked an amazed how much further your ball will fly as a result of relaxed hand and arm muscles.

Tip # 3 – Increase the Width of Your Arc

Try this simple drill to realize the importance of the swing arc. Hold a golf ball in your hand 10 or so inches directly over your right shoulder. Now throw the ball as far as you can. You will notice the ball didn’t travel very far. Now extend you right hand back as far as is comfortably possible and throw the ball as far as you can. You will notice that the ball traveled significantly further. Many amateur golfers fail to realize the importance of the width of the swing arc in determining the distance the ball flies.

Perhaps the best tip that I have come across for creating a wide powerful swing arc is that of Greg Normans. Greg Norman has long been one of the longest straightest drivers of the golf ball. His tip is simple and powerful. At your address position ensure your left arm and club shaft form a straight line down to the ball. Make sure there is no tension whatsoever in the hand or arm.

Now simply push your left elbow back away from the target. Keep pushing it back, back, back all the way. Sooner or later as your swing reaches the three quarter way position, somethings going to give and your wrist will automatically cock at the top. This business of an early wrist cock advocated by some of the games teachers doesn’t work very well because it eliminates the extension of your arc which is a key source of power in the swing. With sufficient practice, this powerful technique will seriously increase your driving distance.

Tip # 4 – Delay the Club Head Release Through Impact

Many of the games greats will differ in their back swing but generate a very similar down swing sequence. Contrast “Jim Furyk” with “Tiger Woods”. One swing attribute that they all have in common is a powerful late release of the club head (also known as club head lag). In my opinion the golfer with one of the most powerful late releases is “Sergio Garcia”. He has a rather unorthodox back swing but a powerful late release ensures he hits the golf ball a long, long way. What I mean by late release of the golf club is a delayed uncocking/release of the wrists just before impact.

Many amateurs suffer from the dreaded ‘casting’ motion whereby they throw the club at the ball from the top of the swing. Thus they are releasing all their power long before the club ever nears the ball. In order to create a late release you should consciously focus on retaining your fully cocked wrists for as long as possible prior to impact. I have come across two excellent tips to achieve this goal. Please only use one or the other as you should never have two simultaneous swing thoughts prior to impact. The club head is moving too fast to execute more than one.

Insert a tee peg at the butt end of your shaft and focus on the mental image of trying to drive that tee peg into the back of the ball. To condense this into one neat phrase think “pull butt of shaft down to back of ball”. This will cause a very late release of your club and store up considerable power during the downswing.

Ernie Els uses ‘Golf’s Magic Move’, which is a swing thought devised by guru Harvey Pennick for creating a late release of the golf club. To execute this technique, one you arrived at the top of your back swing think “right elbow down to right side”. This effectively retains the wrist angle and ensures a late release into the back of the ball.

Tip # 5 – Increase Your Coil

This move is not for those who have a stiff, unsupple back or back problems in any sense of the word. Effectively one of the greatest sources of power in a golf swing is the coiling of your shoulder turn against your hip turn. The further you can turn your shoulder and limit your hip turn the more wind up you generate in the backswing. This results in a powerful uncoiling in the downswing generating substantial power into the back of the ball. The effect is similar to wrapping an elastic band around your finger. The more tightly you wind it the faster it unwinds. A good mental image to achieve this goal is to imagine you are standing in a barrel of cement. Your legs and hips are thus restricted in their movement. Now focus on turning your back fully to the target. This will create a powerful shoulder turn on top of a limited hip turn. You will create massive distance gains with this single tip alone.

Tip # 6 – Widen Your Stance, Retain Flex in Right Knee

In order to generate strong club head speed, you need a stable base to ensure it is correctly delivered to the back of the ball. Ensure the inside of your insteps are outside the width of your shoulders. To ensure the correct distance apart simply hang two clubs vertically from the outside of both shoulders. The club heads should be directly over the insteps in both feet.

Tip # 7 – Retain Flex in Right Knee

A critical element in the creation of a powerful golf swing is the retention of flex in the right knee in the back swing. If your right knee straightens it’s like snapping the tension in the swing and all your power is immediately destroyed. A good tip is to bend the right knee and tilt it slightly in towards the ball. Focus on retaining this inward tilt throughout the back swing.

With practice you will build muscle memory and these swing changes will become a habit that will not require any conscious effort to execute. In the immortal words of John Daly “Grip it and Rip it.”

Claim your FREE GOLF MEMBERSHIP at http://www.hobeze.com. Hobeze is the Golf Social Network that connects like minded golfers worldwide. The site offers members; PGA Video Lessons, Golf Tips, PGA News Feeds, Equipment Reviews, Golf Forum and a great way to chat with like minded golfers worldwide. Martin O Flynn is a director of Hobeze.com, a 3 handicap, and a regular contributor of golf tips.

Lower Your Golf Score – Tips to Drive the Golf Ball Straight

How to Drive a Golf Ball Straight

One of the first steps to learning how to drive a golf ball straight

– is understanding the importance of leverage throughout the entire swing. To achieve proper leverage, keep your head behind the golf ball from address to impact.

Other clubs may be somewhat flexible when it comes to swing path, but not the driver. As you begin your back swing, keep the swing plane low (or shallow).

Another factor to keep in mind when learning how to drive a golf ball straight is to have your hands lead the club head at impact. This is what people mean when they say to “let your wrists break”.

Another key to learning how to drive a golf ball straight

– is to not grip the club too tightly. Concentrate on whipping the golf ball with the club rather than chopping at it.

This same grip tip applies to those who hook the ball. If you look down at your grip and see more than two or three knuckles, your grip is going to change at impact and cause a severe hook.

One last tip for learning how to drive a golf ball straight is to make sure you are not pulling or pushing the ball. This can happen whether you are coming off the tee or hitting off the fairway.

You can tell if you are pushing or pulling the ball by looking at the divot that’s left behind. If the divot is pointing to the left or right of your target line, your body is not properly aligned.

Try implementing some of these tips and see if your game improves. Remember, the best tip for learning how to drive a golf ball straight is to keep at it. One other thing is keeping your back muscles loose and from fatiguing. One product that can help is AMR-7 arthritis and muscle pain relief gel by Performance Health, LLC.